Prose Society with Eli Rallo

Another week of Prose Society is here, and Eli is back with a little bit of everything: half culture catch-up, half book club. We start off with some life updates, including her first vote as a newlywed in Houston, her first-ever UT game, and a recap of her housewarming. The FYP is jam-packed this week, including Taylor Swift in Dior at the Academy Museum Gala, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, Sofia Franklyn's upcoming book, and what Jay-Z’s Super Bowl halftime show could consist of.

Switching gears to the book review portion, Eli gives her full spoiler review of our October pick, HONEY by Imani Thompson. She shares why she doesn’t think it belongs in the “weird girl litfic” box, why she was secretly rooting for Yrsa, and why she’s fully on board with that ending. Lastly, stick around for a spoiler-filled movie breakdown of You Can See Everything and the twist that had the whole theater gasping.

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe now to join the group chat. See you between the pages!

Keep up to date! Follow our socials: @Eli.Rallo | @ProseSocietyPodcast

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This week, Eli is joined by Antonia (@BlackGirlThatReads), one of the best follows on bookish Instagram. Since late July, Antonia has been welcoming people who have just moved to Texas on Threads with one simple question: are you registered to vote? She shares what she’s learned about the state’s voter registration process and how a few replies online turned into something much bigger.

Then, of course, it’s time to talk books. Antonia’s almost done reading our monthly pick, HONEY, so she shares her honest early thoughts, and the two defend the right of a main character to be messy. They get into Goodreads reviews, hate-reading, whether anyone is actually reading 500 books a year, and why it’s okay to wait until you’re ready for a book. Plus, Antonia talks about her year of Toni Morrison, her all-time favorite book, and the Black-owned bookstore in Houston’s Third Ward she swears by.

Follow Antonia! @BlackGirlThatReads

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe now to join the group chat. See you between the pages!

Keep up to date! Follow our socials: @Eli.Rallo | @ProseSocietyPodcast

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This week's Culture Catch-Up is packed with life updates! Eli's prepping for her Houston housewarming, recovering from a stubborn cold, and reminiscing about how her sister-in-law Jess went from community theater kid to marrying her brother. She dishes on spotting Florence Pugh at the Polo Bar, finishing her book I Hope Eden Reads This, and her newfound Kindle reading ecosystem. There's a deep dive into the Verity premiere, Taylor Swift discourse, and why the internet can't let people just like or dislike things anymore — plus thoughts on the Glee reboot, Dancing With the Stars voting chaos, and a midterms voting push. And of course, a Sweetie and Lover of the Week tribute to her SolidCore instructor.

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe now to join the group chat. See you between the pages!

Keep up to date! Follow our socials: @Eli.Rallo | @ProseSocietyPodcast

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Actress, screenwriter, and playwright Zoe Kazan joins this episode of Prose Society to discuss her Netflix adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden — a project six years in the making. Zoe shares her approach to adaptation, why she centered the anti-hero Cathy Ames (played by Florence Pugh), and what it meant to carry forward a story her own grandfather adapted for the screen in 1955. She also opens up about the personal identities — mother, sister, daughter — that shaped her writing, the casting process behind the series' star-studded ensemble, and why she believes adaptation is an advanced form of reading. Plus, rapid-fire recommendations spanning Toni Morrison to Stephen King.

Follow Zoe! @Zoe.Kazan

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This week's a long one. We're recapping the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Vegas, the VMAs, Dancing With the Stars, and The Traitors — plus a deep dive into Taylor Swift's Showgirl Encore with a track-by-track review and thoughts on the fandom discourse. We're talking Martha Stewart at 85, the foldable iPhone, generative AI, Stella Lefty's hater-fueled career, TikTok's hyper-local For You Page, and the iced coffee interview debate that turned into a generational war (justice for millennials!). Plus: October's book club pick Honey by Imani Thompson, what I'm reading now, a voter registration reminder, and my Sweetie & Lover of the Week.

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe now to join the group chat. See you between the pages!

Keep up to date! Follow our socials: @Eli.Rallo | @ProseSocietyPodcast

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This week we're reviewing Waist Deep, the debut novel by Danish author Linea Maja Ernst that became a smash hit across Scandinavia. Five university friends and their partners spend seven days at a lake house in Denmark, and old feelings of love and lust resurface as they confront the big question: who makes the rules for how we live our lives, and which is the right way?

We break down every character — Sylvia, the insufferable-but-relatable protagonist who can't figure out what she wants; Charlie, the perfect partner she can't bring herself to love; Quince, the charming bachelor who's okay with not knowing; Karen (who is essentially Dua Lipa); Gri, the mom friend questioning her identity beyond motherhood; and Adam, the straight guy who just chose and got on with it.

Plus: how the author dared to call Sally Rooney's sex scenes "beige" and then wrote an entire novel by hand in response, why this book would make a perfect Broadway play, the privilege of being able to ask existential questions when your basic needs are met, and why "Getting married is no big deal" is one of the best closing lines in recent literary fiction.

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe now to join the group chat. See you between the pages!

Keep up to date! Follow our socials: @Eli.Rallo | @ProseSocietyPodcast

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This week's Culture Catch-Up is a big one. We dig into the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and what it means to reflect on it depending on where you grew up, unpack the backlash over the Sydney Sweeney sports betting ad and the "choice feminism" debate, and recap the Emmys (the best and worst looks, iconic moments, and why award shows feel more forgettable every year). Plus: Taylor Swift's new album era and the internet's obsessive theorizing, Celine Dion's comeback, Dancing with the Stars predictions, a discourse-y article about influencers and designer bags, and a full For You Page rundown of everything worth talking about this week.

The craziest bag collection on my FYP goes to @nkasuga89.

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe now to join the group chat. See you between the pages!

Keep up to date! Follow our socials: @Eli.Rallo | @ProseSocietyPodcast

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This week on Prose Society, we're joined by writer, content creator, and sociologist Josh Lora (@tellthebeees) — one of our favorite voices covering books, culture, and internet discourse across TikTok and Substack.

We dig into Josh's journey from viral book reviewer to cultural commentator, unpacking his master's in social research and how it shapes his takes on everything from "American Cheating" and celebrity scandal to Love Island and the Real Housewives. We talk about why reality TV deserves more respect, the double standards women face for "being mean" or unfaithful, and what makes a friend group's dynamics so ripe for drama.

Then we dive deep into our September book pick, Waist Deep — a buzzy Scandinavian bestseller about a wedding, a friend group at a crossroads, and the messy pull of desire, monogamy, and what makes a "good life." Plus: book recs, our hottest Love Island takes, and a rapid-fire round covering favorite reality stars, underrated books, and the fictional character Josh relates to most.

Grab a copy of Waist Deep and follow along — then come back and let us know what you thought!

Follow Josh: @tellthebeees on TikTok, Substack, and Instagram.

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This week's Culture Catch-Up covers a lot of ground: personal life updates and housewarming plans, honoring Dolly Parton and the recent losses in music and theater, the Met Gala's controversial theme change, Ariana Grande's ongoing scrutiny and the double standards female celebrities face, the "Tony" biopic on Anthony Bourdain, true crime culture and its ethical blind spots, Sydney Sweeney's viral wedding and celebrity privacy, and reactions to Dancing With the Stars and The Traitors casting news.

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe now to join the group chat. See you between the pages!

Keep up to date! Follow our socials: @Eli.Rallo | @ProseSocietyPodcast

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This episode is all about Amy Chozick's debut fiction novel, With Friends Like You — a sharp, darkly funny thriller about new motherhood, capitalist excess, and a narrator you can't quite trust. I'm breaking down the plot, the characters (including one seriously unsettling "Daisy"), the twist, and why it reminded me of everything from Gossip Girl to Fight Club. Plus: a little detour into my high school reading era and why I'll never rank books on Goodreads. Grab a copy and let's get into it.

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe now to join the group chat. See you between the pages!

Keep up to date! Follow our socials: @Eli.Rallo | @ProseSocietyPodcast

Follow Amy: @AmyChozick | https://amychozick.com

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Journalist-turned-novelist Amy Chozick (Chasing Hillary, The Girls on the Bus) joins us to discuss her debut novel, With Friends Like You. We talk about leaving hard-news journalism for fiction, the surprising freedom of writing something that isn't "about her," adapting her own memoir for HBO Max, and the real story behind her new book's tangled mommy-and-me friendship plot. Plus: casting her dream movie adaptation, her thoughts on Lena Dunham, Martha Stewart as an icon, Bravo obsessions, and the fictional character she's built her whole personality around.

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe now to join the group chat. See you between the pages!

Keep up to date! Follow our socials: @Eli.Rallo | @ProseSocietyPodcast

Follow Amy: @AmyChozick | https://amychozick.com

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Welcome to Prose Society — the book club, community, and weekly culture podcast you didn't know you needed. In this debut episode, Eli opens up about why it took months to bring the show back (hint: business negotiations), what to expect each month (Culture Catch-Ups, book reviews, and monthly guest interviews), and a little bit about herself — from her Jersey roots to her writing career. Then she dives into a spicy culture catch-up: her unpopular Love Island opinions, three podcast pet peeves, and her take on the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce Madison Square Garden wedding discourse. Grab your book club pick and settle in — this is just the beginning.

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe now to join the group chat. See you between the pages!

Keep up to date! Follow our socials: @Eli.Rallo | @ProseSocietyPodcast

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Prose Society. Each month we pick one featured book together, then spend the weeks going far beyond the pages — the ideas, the characters, the culture, the conversations that make a great book worth obsessing over. New episodes every Wednesday, beginning August 12. Subscribe now to join the group chat. See you between the pages!

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