Midwest Besties
The pop culture podcast for the rest of us. TV, Books, Reality, Movies, Celeb Gossip, and More.
Taylor Swift Needs to Stop Chart Blocking
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In this week’s Popculture Potluck, we get into this dismal season of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, gush over Olivia’s remix of “Expectations” with Chappell Roan, groan over the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show being back in the zeitgeist, and much more. We also discuss the horrific news about NFL star Jalen Hurts and the NFL’s carelessness (Sports Besties, get ready to be annoyed with us 😉). We outline our concerns about Taylor Swift’s knack for dropping new music on the same day as her contemporaries, round up the TV and books we a...
The GIRLS are Back in Town
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This week on Midwest Besties, we're talking about the GIRLS reboot, the latest drama on RHOSLC, and Sh*ne G*ll*s wildly offensive and unfunny SNL monologue. In TV news, we chat about the Gilded Age trailer, Lanterns on HBO, and Carrie on Prime. And because we love a random pop culture detour, we're wrapping things up with Kelly Clarkson vs. Art of...
Literacy Crisis?! Alix Earle Has Never Read A Book
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It’s a smorgasbord today, Besties! In this week’s Popculture Potluck, we discuss everything from Nicole Kidman (the song) to Nicole Kidman (the wig wearer)—that’s A to Z in our world.
In between, we defend Alix Earle for admitting she’s never read a book and give her some recommendations we think she would LOVE (we know she’s listening). We recap the kind of abysmal 2nd and 3rd episodes of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. The Snowflakes headed to San Francisc...
FLYOVER DEEPDIVE - The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson
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This week, the besties are taking a flyover deep dive into The Shampoo Effect! We’re sharing our thoughts, hot takes, and plenty of opinions on the book. What did we love, what didn’t work for us, and is it worth the read? Tune in to find out!
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FLYOVER DEEPDIVE - Taylor Swift’s Showgirl Encore
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In this week’s Deep Dive, the besties have MANY opinions on Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl: Encore. We’re breaking down what we like, what we don’t, and what really isn’t doing it for us.
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Charles vs. Charles: Princess Diana’s Baby Bro Goes Scorched Earth
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Anyone ever wake up to find they’ve been gaslit by a king? Charles Spencer, apparently. Princess Diana’s younger brother has released Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, and his press tour is putting King Charles in quite a tizzy. The Besties break down the royal drama on this week’s Popculture Potluck. We also talk about Meghan’s Mom Chat leak (is nothing sacred over there?). In non-royal news, we welcome the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City back to our screens, discuss the new Traitors cast announcement, and the Netflix drama The Beas...
Widow’s Bay Dominated The Emmys
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This week on Midwest Besties, we’re doing a major recap of the Emmys, and talk Sydney Sweeney’s horrifying sports ad. We discuss how Amanda Hirsch will do anything for a paycheck, including a Polymarket ad about the Lindsay Clancy trial. We also check in on The Toast and they are still as awful and unfunny as ever. In happier news, we celebrate that Lady Gaga is officially a mom, and catch up on the latest British Royal Family antics from Harry and Meghan.
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We Are The Daughters of Ina Garten
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Listening to a podcast episode about two white ladies’ love of Ina Garten? How easy is THAT?!
On this week’s Popculture Potluck, Lauren and Emily take a deep dive into their mutual love, respect, and adoration for television cook and author Ina Garten—otherwise known as the Barefoot Contessa. We break down Ina’s recent interview with our li’l diva antihero Lulu Garcia-Navarro, her “everyone’s welcome” ethos, her relationship with Martha Stewart, and more.
Also in this episode, Emily talks about Lanterns on HBO, Lauren discusses the latest unsav...
Calloway Shot a Double Bogey
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In this week’s episode, the besties pour one out for Dolly and unpack Meghan and Harry’s messy move back to Britain. We get into TV news, including Hulu canceling Not Suitable for Work and the Gilded Age Season 4 trailer. Lauren discusses Brighton Butler’s surprise engagement (trigger warning: white woman nonsense), and Emily tackles the truly important issues by ranking her best chip-and-sandwich pairings.
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What We Should Be Talking About With The Lindsay Clancy Trial
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Content Warning: Child loss, violence, suicide, drug use, and postpartum mental illness. Please listen with care.
This week, the Besties are discussing some much darker subjects than usual—but don’t worry, we still have our usual stupid content roundup because, as you know, we contain multitudes.
We discuss Hayden Panettiere’s devastating passing and the internet discourse surrounding the Lindsay Clancy trial. Are we sensationalizing this tragedy and playing internet sleuths when we should be focusing on society’s lack of mental health resources?
Later, w...
Team Green? Team Black? We are Team Rhaenyra’s New Glam
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This week, we’re catching up on all the pop culture that matters! We’re talking Reece starring in Chicago, breaking down the House of the Dragon finale (and, more importantly, Rhaenyra’s smoky eye), and unpacking Nara Smith’s insistence that she is NOT a TradWife. Plus, The Toast is MAGA, House of Stassi, Adults on FX, Sterling Point on Prime, and Emily’s ongoing OG RHONY rewatch.
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FLYOVER DEEPDIVE - Our Perfect Storm By Carly Fortune
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In the latest edition of Besties Read Books™, Emily and Lauren dive into the romance queen of Canada’s latest summer must-read, Our Perfect Storm.
We rank it against Carly Fortune’s other books, dive into the friends-to-lovers trope, our own love stories (Lauren’s a Mastermind), and admit that even though we love to dog on the romance genre, we’re also some of its biggest fans.
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There Once Were No Influencers From Nantucket
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No, this isn’t the beginning of a dirty limerick—it’s the latest petty gossip the besties are LOVING. In our most random Pop Culture Potluck yet, we unpack influencer Paige Lorenze’s beef with a Nantucket antiques store owner and his possibly sexist new store policy.
Also in this episode: Summer House’s Kyle Cooke and Southern Charm’s Salley Carson’s new romance; the In the City reunion that not even Andy Cohen cares about; and Whitney most definitely coming off as a mom-hater.
In more influencer new...
The Besties Talk Emmys
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The besties break down the Emmy nominations, biggest snubs, surprise picks, and their predictions. Then they dive into DCC: America's Sweethearts Season 3 to debate if Kelli and Judy are simply complicated divas...or are they actually evil? (Maybe both.)
Next, they unpack the latest Sussexes news, including Meghan's surprising decision to return to the UK. Finally, they wrap up the episode by sharing everything they've been watching lately, including House of the Dragon, Love Island, Widow's Bay, The Five-Star Weekend, and The Four Seasons.
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We Are NoT&T Feeling Taylor’s Wedding
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Our favorite artist, Taylor Alison Swift, is married! And while our hearts are full, the nuptials have left us majorly scratching our heads. Madison Square Garden? Stadium seat chair covers? Adam Sandler officiating? Chanel bag raffles?!?
Take us to the lakes where all the poets went to die, because this wedding was so tacky it's killing us.
Also in this podcast, we discuss Lizzo's flop era and how (much like our skin) we want to see her bounce back and glow like she did in 2018. Because this is NOT...
FLYOVER DEEPDIVE - Strangers By Belle Burden
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You've asked for more deep dives into the books we're reading, and we listened! Originally recorded back in May as part of our Pop-Culture Potluck, we're releasing this Flyover Deep Dive as a standalone episode dedicated to one of the summer's most talked-about books: Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden.
This haunting work of nonfiction tells the story of Burden's separation and divorce from her hedge-fund husband during the early days of the pandemic. It's filled with the glittering world of New York high society, but it's also an...
Episode 124 - The Beckhams are Fighting Again
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In this week’s pop culture potluck, the besties have a lot to discuss. First up: the explosive Vanity Fair article on Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network (spoiler alert: it’s not going well). Then, they dive into Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, and explain why they think it’s an absolute masterpiece. The conversation continues with the latest Beckham family drama (Team Brooklyn), the New York Knicks’ NBA Finals victory, and a roundup of all the TV shows currently consuming the besties’ lives.
FLYOVER DEEPDIVE - Summer House: The Aftermath
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It’s finally here: the end of the road for Summer House Season 10 (we mean it this time). The besties unpack The Aftermath sit-downs, including Lindsay giving Amanda every possible reason to run far, far away from West—only for Amanda to go to Italy with him anyway. We also cover Kyle and West’s conversation, which somehow lasted several minutes while providing exactly zero new information, and Ciara’s long-awaited chat with Meija. Sadly, the most baffling revelation of all is that Meija is apparently still talking to West. Ladies, stand up.
Supp...
Episode 123 - Love Island USA's Newest Fan
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We got our first heat wave of the season, besties—not just from these Midwestern temps, but from all the pop culture news, too.
On today’s episode, we share our concerns about how World Cup international teams will handle America’s humidity (it’s what’ll get ya), discuss how horror movies are bringing audiences back to theaters, and follow Lauren’s ascension into the Love Island fandom.
We also delicately discuss Ariana Grande’s shocking tour footage (Content Warning: Discussion of Disordered Eating), share the latest Taylor news, talk abo...
FLYOVER DEEPDIVE - Summer House Season 10 Reunion Part 3
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I’m tired of this reunion, Grandpa! Emily and Lauren are back to discuss the Summer House Season 10 Reunion Part 3. And wow! We hope you weren’t hungry because West and Amanda gave us nothing. And much like when your idiot coworkers don’t come to the meeting prepared, we now have to reschedule the drama for a later date, with Summer House: The Aftermath premiering next week. Bravo literally said, “That’s too damn bad, keep digging!” But we digress. In this episode, we discuss the revelations we did get, including West’s word-salad r...
The Boy Mom™ Essay that Broke the Internet
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In this week’s pop culture potluck, the besties talk about what is possibly the darkest of your for you page: Boy Moms™. Jenny Mollen’s weird Instagram post with her son and bizarre Substack essay left us with questions and concerns. We also chat about Taylor Swift’s original song for Toy Story and whether this will finally get her that coveted Oscar. We switch to TV to give our thoughts on the Hacks series finale and dive into the latest episode of Bravo’s In the City.
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FLYOVER DEEPDIVE - Summer House Season 10 Reunion Part 2
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In this fly over deep dive, your favorite besties get into the Summer House season 10 reunion (part two). The girlies discuss Amanda’s walk-off, West and Amanda giving us absolutely nothing, and Kyle trying to justify his bad behavior. They discuss Dara’s articulate read on West, a sweet moment between Carl and Lindsay, and so much more!
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Episode 121 - She's Definitely Not Our Wife
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The Summer House Season 10 Reunion Part 1 is officially here, and after weeks of us being absolutely rabid waiting for it, it did not disappoint. Who else is ready for the “She’s Your Wife. She’s Not My Wife” merch? WE ARE! Emily and Lauren dissect the intense episode from start to finish: Amanda’s cocktail of zoned out and coming in hot, Kyle barely keeping it together, Bailey giving us fabulous non-ScAmanda content, KJ’s vulnerability, and so much more. And hey, guess what? This isn’t (just) a Summer House podcast! We do...
Episode 120 - Everyone Needs to Get ON Off Campus
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The besties are back with a jam-packed episode. Emily and Lauren recap the Summer House season finale that lowkey felt like a series finale(yes, Lauren cried) and unpack the explosive reunion trailer. Lauren shares her newest TV obsession, Off Campus, while Emily gets into Widow’s Bay—romance and horror are SO BACK BABY. We also discuss why we know longer ride for Mary Beth Barone, the latest male loser on TV, Danny Booko from The Valley
FLYOVER DEEPDIVE - Famesick by Lena Dunham
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In this Flyover Deep Dive, the besties unpack Famesick by Lena Dunham. In her memoir, Lena gets into it all: skyrocketing to fame with Girls, her deeply dysfunctional friendship with Jenni Konner, Adam Driver (spoiler: apparently he really is just Adam IRL), and her six-year relationship with Jack Antonoff. Lena’s story is always set against the backdrop of her chronic illness–suffering from near-constant pain, endometriosis flares, surgeries, and her mental health. She gets into her complicated family dynamics, putting her work before her...
Episode 119: The Met Gala Sucks Now, But Girl, The LEWKS!
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Pop culture Potluck is BACK, and we have a smorgasbord! In this episode, we discuss our complicated feelings about the Met Gala and share our favorite and least favorite looks. Just because 90% of our closet is Old Navy doesn’t mean we don’t know fashion, hunty.
We also give the lowdown on the dark energy of Hulu’s new reality show lineups, including Vulture’s new Reality Masterclass, which features our arch-nemesis, N*** V****. We are not happy about it. What is making us happy is Middle...
FLYOVER DEEPDIVE - Yesteryear By Caro Clare Burke
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Besties, it’s Book Club Time! This week, Emily and Lauren take a break from discussing TV the internet can’t stop talking about to discuss the BOOK the internet can’t stop talking about. Yesteryear, by political and pop culture podcaster Caro Claire Burke, takes us inside the mind of the fictional tradwife social media influencer Natalie Heller Mills. The story is about what happens when Natalie wakes up to discover she is actually in the 1855 pioneer era. This book is a WILD RIDE, and the Besties talk about it all—influencer culture...
The Loose Tum in Jennifer Tilly's $40K Purse
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In this week’s pop culture potluck, we start off strong with the latest Summer House gossip. We chat about West and Amanda’s at the Yankees game, Ciara’s Glamour Cover, Mia’s WWHL interview, and recap S10 E12. We give our final thoughts on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as the season finally wraps up, and get into Coachella Weekend Two. We chat Sabrina’s set, Olivia Rodrigo’s new single, and Kacey Musgraves’ last-minute show. We switch gears to TV, sharing what we’re watching now, including Big Mistakes<...
Episode 117: Alex vs Alix: The Hot White Girls Are Beefing
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What is up, Daddy Gang?! It’s us, your besties! And this week in our Pop Culture Potluck, we have quite the spread! First, we discuss the trailer for the new Summer House spin-off, In The City. Lauren talks about how Danielle has personally victimized her. We follow up on the Summer House Scamanda scandal and how we are low-key loving Amanda and West owning their pieces of SH*T era. We break down Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber’s Coachella performances. Two artists living their truth, or the painful example of the...
Carl’s a Mess! The Aftermath of the Summer House Scandal
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Carl’s a mess, and so are we! In this week’s pop culture Pot Luck, the besties discuss the aftermath of the Summer House Scamanda (™). Emily explains the latest Lindy West memoir, Adult Braces, and the besties break down Belle Burden’s recently released book, Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage. In table scraps, we touch on Ina Garten and how Meghan Markle straight up copies her, the latest Sussex missteps, Real Housewives of Rhode Island, and The Valley premiere. Pull up a chair because this is a big ol’ meal!
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The Summer House Love Triangle Scandal Explained
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Have you checked on your Bravo fans lately, Besties? You should. They are not okay. In this very special episode, Lauren and Emily go FULL detective mode and take you through the Summer House scandal that has ROCKED the internet. If you've been in a coma for the past week, newly separated Amanda and newly redeemed f*** boy West are an ITEM. One small problem – West is the on-again, off-again love of Amanda’s best friend (and fellow Bed BugTM) Ciara. This story is developing so quickly that we got our first-ever brea...
Episode 114: Chappell Roan Hates Nepobabies
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Despite allergy season woes, your besties are locked in this week! In this pop culture potluck, we dig into Chappell Roan’s latest security drama, and do our best to delicately discuss Taylor Frankie Paul, The Bachelorette cancellation, and Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (trigger warning: domestic violence). We move into lighter territory to recap the latest Summer House episode, where we are yelling justice for Bailey and in awe of Ciara, Mia, and KJ’s vulnerability. We chat about TV we’re super excited about, including The Pitt, The Valley, and Hacks...
FLYOVER DEEPDIVE - Episode 113.1 - Summer House Sn 10 Eps 5 & 6
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These are your captains speaking! We have a new Flyover Deepdive, which is what we call our special TV episode recap episodes! (Aren’t we cute?). In this Deepdive, we break down Summer House Season 10, Episode 5: “Summer Knights” and Season 10, Episode 6: "The Joke's on You." We discuss Jesse’s apology to Ciara for once again treating her like an object, Kyle’s advisory board position at Soft Bar, Carl’s cattiness, Ben and Bailey’s awkward blow-up, and we rag on Kias for a little bit (nat...
Episode 113: YEEHAW! Kacey Musgraves Is Back… But Did She Ever Actually Leave?
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And we’re back! After some technical difficulties, we have a potluck episode coming for you tomorrow! On this week’s episode, we talk about Kacey and Harry’s new music, Timothée Chalamet being an artist who shits on other artists, being Michael B. Jordan stans, Love Story, and so much more!
If you are looking for a Summer House recap, stay tuned! We have our “Flyover Deep Dive” (what we call our TV recap episodes because we are whimsical) coming for you on Tuesday.
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Episode 112: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy Would Hate You
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In this week's Pop Culture Potluck on Midwest Besties, we break down The Traitors finale and reunion, recap the latest Summer House drama, including the apology dune and Jesse Solomon being CRINGE. We dive into the back half of Bridgerton S4 (spoiler alert: we LOVE Benephie). In Table Scraps, we discuss Craig Conover giving sweaty loser energy, Lisa Rinna’s new memoir, and a very specific love story where Carolyn Bessette Kennedy would actually hate you. Plus: Batman casting what-ifs, Ballerina Farm announcing baby #9, and why some people think Love Is Blind ha...
Episode 111: Discourse About the Wuthering Heights Discourse
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Happy Three-Month Anniversary, Besties! Our podcast has officially lasted a Sales Quarter! On this week’s episode Lauren and Emily give their heavily researched review of Wuthering Heights. Just kidding — we didn’t watch the movie or read the book, but we do have a lot of opinions (hint: the skin room is gross).
Meanwhile, we recap the second episode of Summer House Season 10. Summer is NOT looking fun for Kyle Cooke, and if he keeps fighting randos in the commen...
Episode 110: Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show: We Laughed, We Cried, We Learned
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Love is in the air, Besties! Love for talking sh*t on celebrities, that is! On this week’s episode of the Popculture Potluck, we talk about the AMAZING Benito Bowl. I know y’all are just dying to hear what two lame liberal white ladies from the Midwest thought of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, and you are IN LUCK because the besties don’t shut up about it for approximately 20 minutes.
Also in this episode, the besties defend Chappell Roan, check in...
Episode 109: Luther Grandross’ Grammys Win
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We might be living in hell, but at least TV is HOT. 🔥
This week's Popculture Potluck, the besties break down the best (Bad Bunny!) and worst (Somebody come get Meemaw Cher) of the Grammys—including Jack Antonoff’s cancellable 404 error on the red carpet, questionable wardrobe choices, and more.
Bridgerton is BACK and better than ever, serving a hot lack of glow-ups. And maybe we are a Peacock podcast now as we recap the season...
Episode 108: It Ends With Us Drama is Never-ending
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In this week’s pop culture potluck, the besties discuss Brooklyn Beckham putting his entire family on blast through his ig stories, and spoiler alert, we are Team Brooklyn. We catch you up on the It Ends With Us drama (which is never-ending), and dive into the texts between Taylor and Blake. In reality TV news, Kyle and Amanda have confirmed they’re calling it quits, Michael Rapaport was banished from Traitors, and RHOBH continues to be a snooze.
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Episode 107: And the Golden Globe Goes To…Plastic Surgeons!
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This week’s Pop Culture Potluck has it all! (Literally, because we didn’t do a deep dive like we said we would 💁♀️) We dish on the Golden Globes. We didn’t know a lot of the shows, movies, or actors nominated, but we sure did clock all the plastic surgery! Once again, we discuss the chokehold the Heated Rivalry Boys currently have on us (“Hey, Moms!”) and the dawn of the Mary Beth Barone era, and more! Podcast hosts had a MESSY week last week, and we have opinions. We talk about Matt Rogers and his...
