Shows
Pop LiteracySummer Rerun | The ‘Jenny from the Block’ Video: A Historical AnalysisThe episode originally aired July 23, 2019. Jennifer Lopez turns 50 this month and is at the top of her game: dancing her way through an international tour, engaged to baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez, and managing to be one of the few massive pop stars with lots of loyal fans and relatively few haters. But it wasn’t always thus. Her career hit a precarious point in 2002—when, yes, she was churning out hits, but the tabloids were constantly on her tail and media coverage spewed vitriolic hatred at her very public relationship with actor Ben Affleck (and even blamed her f...2022-08-021h 37
Pop LiteracySummer Rerun | 2000s Nostalgia: Yes, It’s HappeningThis episode originally aired February 19, 2019. AOL Instant Messenger, the first iPods, Paris Hilton, emo, Mean Girls, The O.C., low-rise jeans… Now that it’s 2019, it’s time to prepare for a wave of 2000s nostalgia. Pop Literacy host Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is joined by guest co-host Andrea Bartz, author of the forthcoming 2009 nostalgia novel The Lost Night, to discuss what we miss most about the 2000s, from MySpace to the very first memes, The Osbournes to the rise of the Brooklyn hipster. We also discuss the innocence of a time before 24/7 social media saturation and news alerts, eve...2022-06-211h 31
Pop LiteracyRemembering Betty WhiteWhen Betty White died on New Year’s Eve, it was a shocker—even though she was 99 years, 11 months, and two weeks old. It seemed impossible to conceive of living in this world without White, who brought us so much joy via a television career that has spanned the entire length of the medium’s history. We talk about the heartrending outpouring of celebrity grief that accompanied the news—including an amazing story involving Steve Martin and Linda Ronstadt—and walk through the highlights of her career, from her pioneering days in early television, to her sitcom queen era...2022-01-041h 04
Pop LiteracyWhat Makes Samuel L. Jackson One Bad Motherfucker, with Gavin EdwardsIt’s hard to imagine a time when Samuel L. Jackson wasn’t the unassailable pinnacle of Hollywood cool, but cool is made, not born. And that’s where Gavin Edwards’ new biography of the actor, Bad Motherfucker, comes in. Edwards charts Jackson’s rise from his southern upbringing to his radicalization at Morehouse College, through his struggles with addiction and, finally, his triumph as the highest-grossing actor of all time. In this episode, we talk to Gavin about the definition of cool, Jackson’s contentious relationship with frequent collaborator Spike Lee, and what Gavin discovered from watching all 140 of Jackson’s...2021-11-091h 09
Pop LiteracyThe History of 20th Century Fox … Before DisneyDecades before it came under Disney control, 20th Century Fox was one of the most respected, innovative movie studios in Hollywood, under the leadership of legendary, complicated, producer Darryl F. Zanuck. The bad: he was a notorious and habitual user of the casting couch, and he was certainly never mistaken as one of Hollywood’s nice guys on any front. Zanuck did truly love movies, and finding the best ways to tell fantastic stories, and that led to early movie musicals featuring future icons like Betty Grable and Shirley Temple; the first CinemaScope production with The Robe; and...2021-10-2652 min
Pop LiteracyLynette Rice on the Backstage Drama at ‘Grey’s Anatomy’—and Why We Keep WatchingLynette Rice has covered Grey’s Anatomy from the beginning: as it became a culture-defining phenomenon in the 2000s, as it faced cast meltdowns and blowups, as it cycled through stars, as it killed off McDreamy, and as it aged into an old reliable in an otherwise uncertain network television landscape (18 seasons and counting!). She delves into it all in her oral history How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy. In this episode we talk to Lynette about the show’s heady early days, Isaiah Washington and Katherine Heigl’s fraught departures, and how it’s kept go...2021-10-121h 08
Pop LiteracyNichole Perkins on the Healing Power of ‘Frasier,’ the Exclusive Whiteness of Brat Pack Movies, and the Complications of Miss PiggyNichole Perkins knows the power of pop culture: She has seen how Frasier’s Niles Crane inspired her to overcome her own professional hang-ups, how Prince taught her critical lessons about sex, and how Miss Piggy served as both a role model and a cautionary tale about modern femininity. She writes poetically about all of that and more in her essay collection Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be. Writer and poet Saeed Jones said of the collection: “Hear the dark liquor of her laughter rippling behind her sentences in this magnetic memoir as it explor...2021-09-2855 min
Pop LiteracyChatting With Daniel Paisner, the Author Who the Stars Share All Their Secrets WithDenzel Washington, Serena Williams, Shark Tank star Daymond John, Mets World Series champ Ron Darling…those are but a few famous names who have entrusted author Daniel Paisner to help tell their personal and professional stories via ghostwritten memoirs. There are few ghostwriters more prolific, and with a more eclectic lineup of subjects, than Paisner, in fact, and that’s one of the many topics we’re thrilled to discuss with him in this episode. We’re also proud to help introduce our Pop Literacy listeners to Daniel’s new podcast, As Told To, in which he talks with...2021-09-1459 min
Pop LiteracyKathleen Collins on Growing Up a TV Junkie in the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s and Her Book ‘From Rabbit Ears to the Rabbit Hole’TV scholar Kathleen Collins grew up loving television before it was cool—while others fancied themselves sophisticated for digging film and music, she was unapologetically obsessing over Square Pegs. In her book From Rabbit Ears to the Rabbit Hole, she shares her nostalgic journey as a kid growing up with a four-channel, cathode-ray set, to her choice to study television as an academic pursuit, and through our national obsession with streaming today. In this conversation, we travel back in time with her to discuss why Norman Lear’s 1970s shows stand the test of time, why the only w...2021-08-171h 01
Pop LiteracyJames Tate Hill on ‘Blind Man’s Bluff’ and How Tom Cruise Got Him Through the Hardest Times in His LifeJames Tate Hill gradually began losing his sight while still in high school—and worked hard to hide this fact from the world well into adulthood. While he employed more practical tactics like filling his bookshelves with the selections he’d first read on tape or arriving to dates early so whoever he was meeting would have to find him, he also discovered the great conversational—and distracting—possibilities of pop culture. Throw a Tom Cruise, Prince, Golden Girls, or Breakfast Club reference into a conversation, and often your acquaintances will stop asking probing questions that might lead to uncomfor...2021-08-031h 00
Pop Literacy‘Clueless’ Star Elisa Donovan on Grief, Loss, and Life in HollywoodYou know her from roles on Sabrina the Teenage Witch and particularly in Clueless as Cher’s nemesis Amber. Elisa Donovan thought she had her life and career all figured out until her father was diagnosed with cancer at the same time that Sabrina was canceled. In her book Wake Me When You Leave: Love and Encouragement from the Other Side, she tells the story of how, after her father’s death, she began a relationship redemption with him that she never thought possible, via dreams, visitations, and signs. In this conversation, she tells us about her path to the...2021-07-2051 min
Pop LiteracyGetting the Real Scoop on the Real Housewives with Bestselling Author Brian MoylanFrom his clever Vulture.com Real Housewives recaps to his newly launched “The Housewives Institute Bulletin” newsletter, Brian Moylan has certainly earned the nickname bestowed upon him by Kirkus: “The Bard of Real Housewives Drama.” Moylan is with Pop Literacy this episode for a super fun chat about the project that cinched his reality TV literary moniker: The Housewives: The Real Story Behind The Real Housewives, his New York Times bestseller that unfolds Housewives history, and answers all those behind-the-scenes questions every Housewives fan – including Moylan himself – has always had about the Bravo series. Read more about it: The Housewives...2021-07-061h 02
Pop LiteracyRobert McKee Talking Character With the Master of StorytellingHis books and lectures on storytelling are so iconic that he was portrayed by Brian Cox in the Oscar-winning film Adaptation, and guest starred as himself in an episode of The Simpsons. This week we’re thrilled to chat with Robert McKee about his newest book, Character: The Art of Role and Cast Design for Page, Stage, and Screen. Joining his classics the bestselling Story and Dialogue, this third entry in his trilogy on writing fiction finds McKee sharing his thoughts on how to create compelling characters, from keeping the well-worn antihero fresh to understanding that we can lear...2021-06-241h 09
Pop LiteracyBecause He’s Jeff Goldblum with Travis M. AndrewsJeff Goldblum’s career is a unique reflection of our times: He’s a character actor who eschews attention outside of his films, yet he’s more popular than ever, thanks to a quality that can only be described as memeability. He’s also ageless, timeless, and stylish, and prefers magic and jazz to acting, all of which just makes him seem … perpetually cool, whether you spot in him a nearly wordless role in a 1970s film or in blockbusters like Jurassic Park and Independence Day. On this episode, we dissect the magic that is Jeff Goldblum with Travis M...2021-06-0844 min
Pop LiteracyA Trip to Lilyville with the Great Tovah FeldshuhPrepare to be entertained, enlightened, and entranced in this week’s episode of Pop Literacy, as we welcome Tony and Emmy-nominated actress and singer Tovah Feldshuh, who talks to us about her engrossing new book Lilyville: Mother, Daughter, and Other Roles I’ve Played. Lilyvilleis part memoir, part ode to Feldshuh’s late mother, Lily, who lived to be 103 years old, and whose complicated relationship with her daughter helped shape Feldshuh into the fierce, thoughtful, loving, and supremely talented woman she is. Whether you know her from more than four decades of Broadway performances in classics like Yentl, P...2021-05-2557 min
Pop LiteracyDawnie Walton’s ‘The Final Revival of Opal & Nev’Dawnie Walton’s debut novel The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is getting terrific reviews: “Feels truer and more mesmerizing than some true stories. It’s a packed time capsule that doubles as a stick of dynamite,” said The New York Times. “One of the most immersive novels I’ve ever read….This is a thrilling work of polyphony—a first novel, that reads like the work of an old hand,” said Ta-Nehisi Coates. And for good reason. This faux oral history of a ‘70s rock duo undone by a starring role in a racially charged concert incident reads like the...2021-05-111h 01
Pop LiteracyCaroline Kepnes’ You Love MeShe’s a Pop Literacy returning guest. And though fans of her delicious, Netflix drama-inspiring thriller series of books about handsome stalker Joe Goldberg might not think it possible, we’re telling you: You Love Me, the latest and third book in her Joe series is the best one yet. We’re not spoiling anything major, but in our chat with Caroline, she tells you just enough of the whats and whys to tease this latest adventure – misadventure – with the perpetually lovesick Joe to have us sure that you will come to the same conclusion about You Love Me. We als...2021-04-2752 min
Pop LiteracyRock Me on the Water: How 1974 Changed Hollywood’s Politics Forever, with Ronald BrownsteinIn 1974, Los Angeles crackled with astonishing creative output: movies such as Chinatown, The Godfather Part II, Shampoo, and Nashville; seminal albums from Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, and the Eagles; and the TV series All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and M*A*S*H. Not only were these great works of art, but they also signaled a major shift in Hollywood, from ignoring the political upheaval of the previous decade to reflecting the progressive values a huge, new, young audience of Baby Boomers demanded. This is the story captured by two-time Pulitzer Prize...2021-04-1346 min
Pop LiteracyWhen Women Invented TelevisionWe all know Betty White from her years on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls. But decades before she was making us laugh in primetime, White was hosting a daytime TV talk show that saw her improvising more than five hours of programming every day. Yep, she’s not only one of our most beloved funny ladies, she’s also a TV pioneer. She is one of the superstars from the era When Women Invented Television, as Pop Literacy co-host Jennifer Keishin Armstrong chronicles in her fantastic new book of the same name. From White and...2021-03-301h 09
Pop LiteracyFrom Immigrant to the Graduate to Hollywood Legend: Mike Nichols, With Mark HarrisDirector Mike Nichols lived an extraordinary life: He immigrated from Berlin to America as a young boy in 1939, lost his father at age 12, and was bullied throughout childhood because of a condition that had rendered him permanently hairless. But his difficulties only fueled his rise to comedy, Broadway, and Hollywood success. He became a comedy sensation in his twenties as a duo with Elaine May, then switched to directing theater and won back-to-back Tonys for a run of Neil Simon plays that included Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple. When he switched to film, he str...2021-03-161h 09
Pop LiteracyWhat Happens When People Stop Being Polite: The Real World“Video Killed the Radio Star,” as the song and video that launched MTV in 1981 told us, and Millennials, among other pop culture deaths they have been accused of, killed the music video star at the end of the TRL era. It was replaced by reality series on MTV … though many current viewers may not know that before reality TV was the thing on MTV, it was most definitely athing – thanks to The Real World. The granddaddy of all MTV reality shows, and a seminal series in all of American reality TV, The Real World began in 1993 with seven strangers picked to live i...2021-03-0249 min
Pop LiteracyThe History and Future of Pro Women’s Wrestling with Scarlett Harris“To be a women’s wrestling fan, particularly one who patronizes WWE … is to be constantly disappointed,” Scarlett Harris writes in her book-length critical essay A Diva Was a Female Version of a Wrestler: An Abbreviated Herstory of World Wrestling Entertainment. In this episode, Harris walks us through some of that harrowingly sexist history—God help us, “bra and panty matches”!—which is also full of women whose determination, ambition, and athletic prowess have inspired generations of girls and women (and a few real-life female villains, to be sure). She also shares the heartbreak of being a fan despite the c...2021-02-1656 min
Pop LiteracyHoopin’ It Up with Pete Croatto and the History of the Modern NBA“The narrative of the NBA’s rise to become arguably the world’s second-most popular sport is frequently summed up as a rapid-fire afterthought: BirdMagicMichaelStern,” author Pete Croatto writes in his stellar new book From Hang Time to Prime Time: Business, Entertainment and the Birth of the Modern-Day NBA. He’s talking about superstar players Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan, and the late David Stern, the NBA’s attorney-turned commissioner, who, as a foursome, are often credited as the forces behind the NBA’s evolution as the pro league that reigns as high in American pop culture as it...2021-02-0257 min
Pop LiteracyCelebs Spilling Tea on Themselves: The Must-Read Celebrity Memoirs of 2020Bingewatching every TV show ever produced isn’t the only way we’ve survived 2020. We’ve also read a whole mess of books, and among our favorites have been a stack of truly delicious celebrity autobiographies. Yep, famous folk did not disappoint with their literary endeavors this year, dishing up deep, headline-making revelations from their personal lives and sharing behind-the-headlines truths about their most noted career moments. From Jessica Simpson’s bestselling Open Book and Mariah Carey’s bestseller The Meaning of Mariah Carey to engrossing tomes from Michael J. Fox and daytime TV royalty Melody Thomas Scott (and lot...2020-12-091h 31
Pop LiteracyMichael J. Fox: The Making of an IconThe Back to the Future films were among the most popular choices on Netflix this year, and for good reason: We can all use a few extra doses of Michael J. Fox right now. As he publishes his fourth memoir, No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality, we look back on his truly iconic career, from Reaganite teen Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties and rebellious time traveler Marty McFly to crusader for Parkinson’s Disease research. Through it all, he’s remained bitingly funny and refreshingly honest about his own Parkinson’s diagnosis, incorporating it into s...2020-11-171h 28
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 26: She Wrote the Book on Jeopardy!Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History and Insider's Guide to Jeopardy! For $1000, Alex, what is a fantastic new book from author Claire McNear? Culture and sports journalist McNear has written a delightful history not only of the game show itself, but she also chronicles the fascinating history of the impressive efforts of would-be contestants to get a spot on the ultimate trivia show. Aspiring competitors have built elaborate systems and spent years in some cases for the chance to show off their deep knowledge of everything from sports and history to literature and pop c...2020-11-0345 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 25: How to Be a Sports Fan in 2020 (or “Searching Constantly for That Middle Space That Allows You to Quiet Your Conscience and Indulge Your Fandom”)That parenthetical quote above comes directly from the fantastic new book Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back: Dilemmas of the Modern Fan, and we are very excited to have that book’s authors, Jessica Luther and Kavitha A. Davidson, on #Authoring this week. The sports journalists have written a deeply insightful and thoughtful examination of the many issues that today’s thinking sports fan faces when considering their fandom. From the life-altering brain injuries plaguing NFL players and insensitive mascots rampant throughout sports at all levels to the legal problems some of our favorite sports...2020-10-281h 07
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 24: How and Why You Should Build an Author Platform, with Brielle CottermanThe concept of “building an author platform” provokes fear in many writers: Why do we need to be media stars in addition to writing great books? The simple answers: so you can get paid more for your work, get your books into more readers’ hands, and go on to write and sell more books. But building a platform might not be as hard as you think—and it doesn’t necessarily require Today show appearances or millions of social media followers. Luckily we have publicity expert Brielle Cotterman—who helps clients raise their profiles through books, media, and public spe...2020-10-2138 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 23: How Does a Book Become a TV Show or Movie?You’re writing your book, dreaming of the Hollywood stars who will play the leads in the TV or movie version. But what are the chances you’ll really see your book on the small screen? How might that happen? And what are the chances of that happening right now, given the pandemic? We get all the answers from Chris Ceccotti, head of development and content strategy at Gidden Media. He walks us through the process of a book getting a producer’s attention, finding its stars and writers, and becoming Netflix’s next big thing. And he’s got...2020-10-131h 03
Pop LiteracyStream to the Extreme: The State of Streaming TV and Why Binge-Watching Is One of the Only Good Things We’ve Had in 2020Would any of us being surviving the pandemic without binge-watching comforting old TV and finding some new favorites along the way, too? We certainly wouldn’t, which made us want to catch up on all things streaming TV, with our friend and the go-to guy for the scoop on the streaming business, Vulture.com West Coast Editor and Buffering and streaming TV columnist, Joe Adalian. Joe gives us the rundown on all the streaming services, including some you may not have heard of that offer free viewing, tells us if anyone is seriously challenging Netflix’s reign, and...2020-10-061h 27
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 22: She Wrote the Book on How to Write the BookYou want to write a nonfiction book. Maybe you’ve already written a book proposal. Maybe you’ve already sold the book. Now you have to actually write it, which has you wondering: HOW DO I ACTUALLY WRITE A BOOK?! They don’t give you a handbook with the book contract (no matter how much you may wish for one), and no bookstore shelf has yet contained that magic tome that will guide you step-by-step through the writing of 300 glorious pages of prose (trust us, we’ve looked for such a treasure). So what’s an author to do when sh...2020-09-2946 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 21: Switching Genres, with Leah KonenJust because you started your career in one genre doesn’t mean you have to stick with it for the rest of your life—just ask Judy Blume and J.K. Rowling! But it’s not as easy as it might seem (especially when you’re not Judy Blume or J.K. Rowling). It may involve starting all over with a new agent, a new publisher, and new readers. We talk this week with Leah Konen, the author of five Young Adult novels, who recently published her first adult thriller, All the Broken People, about how she did it—wi...2020-09-2239 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 20: How to Get a Fiction Agent, with Kate McKeanWhy do you have to finish your novel before getting an agent? What should you look for when choosing agents to send it to? What does an effective fiction query letter include? We walk through exactly how to get from having a cool novel idea to having a cool agent representing it with the help of Kate McKean, VP and agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency and author of the indispensable Agents & Books newsletter. Resources: Agents & Books newsletter sign-up Kate McKean's website 2020-09-1539 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 19: Reader Questions! On Developing Expertise, Building a Social Media Platform, and Promoting Your Book Online in Our Pandemic RealityWe answer questions from listeners Beth Schap, Kirthana Ramisetti, and Curtis Honeycutt! From Beth: Can you become enough of an expert on a passion topic to be a credible author of articles or books if you're not in that industry? And if so how? (Spoiler: yes, and we tell you how!) From Kirthana: Right now I'm back on Twitter and am trying to re-establish my presence and organically increase my followers. I like what I've seen of the book community on Twitter, and would love to connect with other debut writers and novelists, but not q...2020-08-111h 03
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 18: A Career Memoir About Gossip and Smart Pop Culture, From Ben WiddicombeBen Widdicombe is the only writer to have worked for the New York Post’s Page Six, TMZ, and The New York Times, “an unusual Triple Crown,” to say the least. It also helped him build a resume of interviewees that includes bold-faced names from Hollywood, high society, New York hotspots, and the White House. He recalls his most memorable experiences with all of them in his fun, insightful new book, Gatecrasher: How I Helped the Rich Become Famous and Ruin the World, which he talks to us about on this week’s #Authoring. Run in with a red-fa...2020-07-2848 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 17: Should I Consider Self-Publishing My Next Book?Curious about self-publishing? Considered trying it, but found the whole process complicated and more than a little intimidating? Ditto, which is why we sought out expert advice from Miral Sattar, founder and CEO of self-publishing go-to sites Bibliocrunch and LearnSelfPublishingFast.com. Miral chats with us about why now is the perfect time to try self-publishing, who makes a good candidate to be a successful self-publisher, and what the keys are to selling a self-published book. Hint: marketing, marketing, marketing. That’s the name of the game for every author, self-published and traditionally published, but since se...2020-07-2139 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 16: The Art of the Memoir – Or the Biz-oir – with New York Times Bestselling Author Anna DavidAnna David’s done the memoir thing, to critical acclaim. And having shared her own story, as well as that of one very interesting, Golden Globe-nominated actor, in multiple books, now she’s created a clever new way to tell even more of her life experiences, while helping other writers figure out how to tell theirs: introducing the “biz-oir.” The biz-oir, as per the term Anna coins, is a combination memoir and how-to on writing your own life tale; like the title says, how to Make Your Mess Your Memoir. We are thrilled to chat with Anna about th...2020-07-1432 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 15: Advancing the Truth About Book Advances with Agent Laurie AbkemeierWe know it means money in our bank accounts, but beyond that, there is a lot about book advances that a lot of authors don’t know. While it might seem, for instance, that publishers are just pulling arbitrary numbers out of the air, there is a process they follow before every contract they offer: the P & L, or profit and loss spreadsheet. How exactly does that work? It’s a key document in any traditionally published book project, and we’re lucky to have superagent Laurie Abkemeier (Marley & Me, Rise of the Rocket Girls, Seinfeldia) – Jennifer and Kim’s agent – to...2020-07-071h 07
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 14: The Secret Money-Making Superpowers of Authors with Dorie ClarkWe continue discussing ways to strengthen your author business plan in a recession with superstar business coach, branding expert, and author Dorie Clark. As Clark explains, authors are uniquely positioned to turn their platform into more money-making opportunities to further fund their writing. Here, she walks us through why authors should work through their resistance to personal branding, how we can do it in totally authentic ways, and why we should embrace making the money we deserve. She also offers concrete steps for ways to translate our authoring into coaching, public speaking, podcasting, blogging, teaching online courses...2020-06-3039 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 13: Managing the Ebb and Flow of Author Finances with Jen A. MillerWhether you’re making most of your living from writing books or using it as a side hustle, you still must contend with some sticky financial issues: how to manage large(ish) checks with long dry spells in between, how to pay taxes when they’re not automatically deducted for you, and how to pay for, you know, life when those authoring checks aren’t enough to live off of. Journalist and author Jen A. Miller has figured this stuff out better than most: She has been freelancing for more than 15 years and has developed systems for dealin...2020-06-2355 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 12: Publishing in a Pandemic, Part 2: Social Media Tips and Pivoting to New News CyclesWe continue our discussion about how to handle book releases when events are canceled, authors are stuck in their houses indefinitely, and it’s nearly impossible to break into a packed—and terrifying—news cycle. This week, we get insightful social media tips from Sarah Frier, the author of the excellent new narrative history No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram; and we brainstorm publicity ideas with Edward Gross, the co-author of Nobody Does It Better, an oral history of the James Bond franchise that came out amid both breaking pandemic news and the delay of the latest Bond film. 2020-04-1440 min
Pop LiteracyPop Literacy Is All About That Pop Life with Pop Star GoddessesIn a very special return episode, we talk about the fantastic, and oh-so-perfectly timed new book Pop Star Goddesses, by Pop Literacy co-host Jennifer Keishin Armstrong. A beautifully illustrated collection of biographies of pop divas from Adele to Shakira and Beyonce to Solange, Pop Star Goddesses arrives to share how an incredibly deep bench of talented, inspiring women in pop music are shaping the larger culture with their skills, performances, and passion. We talk about how, just like the goddesses of ancient culture, our pop stars have much to teach us, from the resilience of Britney Spears...2020-04-071h 20
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 11: Publishing In A Pandemic: A Special ReportPublishing a book is stressful enough, as we have noted many times on this podcast, even in the most normal of times. But books are continuing to come out, even as much of the world takes to quarantining itself in the coronavirus pandemic. That means many authors are left with cancelled book tours and are now scrambling to refocus their efforts toward online promotion—and hope at least some readers can tear themselves away from the news, tune in, and buy some books online. This week, we’re attempting to remain calm while talking through the options with...2020-03-241h 10
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 10: Self Care in the Time of AuthoringThere are any number of things related to releasing a book that can send your stress level off the charts … like, for instance, monitoring how well your book is doing on the sales charts! That’s why it’s so crucial to practice extra good self care at these times in your authoring career. From setting and maintaining routines with your physical and mental health – yoga! meditation! healthy meals! – and talking to friends and colleagues who’ve had similar experiences to taking the time to celebrate your work and taking care to make sure the rest of your life do...2020-03-1743 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 9: Pitching Articles Related to Your Books for Publicity and Profit With Andrea BartzIt’s harder than ever to break through the crowded media landscape to get coverage for your upcoming book release. But one great way to do it—and to literally create your own publicity—is to pitch articles and essays that you yourself can write, tied to your book release. Novelist Andrea Bartz (The Lost Night, The Herd) has been extraordinarily successful at this, and for good reason: She’s also a longtime freelance journalist and former magazine and online editor. In this conversation, she spills all of her secrets, from how she comes up with ideas to which...2020-03-1055 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 8: How to Prepare for Book Tour and Other Promotional EventsThink publishing a book is a competitive business? So is promoting one! Book tours are not a given for the majority of authors, and planning an event – even finding a venue to host you – takes a lot of time and know-how. On this episode of #Authoring, we chat with Allison Sansone, the Program Director of the American Writers Museum in Chicago, who tells us exactly what makes for an appealing author event, some specific things you can do to make yourself and your book event-worthy, and how to get people other than your mom and dad to show...2020-03-0349 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 7: Book Publicity with Kamrun NesaIt’s harder than ever to break through the endless media noise to get the word out about your book. Grand Central Publishing publicist Kamrun Nesa walks us through how you, as an author, can generate publicity for your work, and how you can better work with your publisher and publicist. She offers insight about how and when to pitch your book to media, what the publicity cycle looks like, whether to hire an outside publicist, and when to ask for help. Resources: You can find her on Twitter @kamrunnesa 2020-02-2545 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 6: Authors Helping Authors and The Art of the Blurb, with Bestselling Author Gavin EdwardsIntrovert, extrovert, it doesn’t matter: asking other authors for help, especially for the considerable favor of a book blurb, can be nerve-racking. Jennifer and Kim have been there, and share some specific tips for approaching your fellow scribes for those back-of-the-book endorsements (hint: a little smooching of the tuchus is in order). And we talk with Gavin Edwards, author of wonderfully unique biographies of Mister Rogers and Tom Hanks and generous giver of book blurbs, who shares a great story about how he got a celebrity book blurb for himself. Resources: Gavin Edwards au...2020-02-1846 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 5: Working with a Publisher, From Edits to Titles to CoversAfter you’ve written a book, what happens when you turn it over to your editor to be published? Suddenly, after months or years of being alone with your work, you’re suddenly subjected to outside feedback and faced with some major decisions regarding packaging, like choosing a title and subtitle and commissioning a cover. These steps are perhaps the most critical to how your book will look to the world—and the final decisions are not always within your control if you’re going the traditional publishing route. In this episode, Jennifer and Kimberly share insights and war...2020-02-1146 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 4: Selling Nonfiction, and How to Choose Book Ideas with Bestselling Author Sheila WellerFrom selling a book idea to selling yourself as the best person to write it, a stellar book proposal is a must. Jennifer and Kim chat about the specific parts of a proposal – with examples from the winning proposals that sold their books – including your author biography, market research, a promotion and marketing plan, and the sample chapters. We also chat with bestselling author Sheila Weller, writer of a fantastic new biography of Carrie Fisher, about how she comes up with her book topics. And, score!, Jennifer offers listeners a free annotated copy of her book...2020-02-0452 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 3: Non-Traditional Publishing with Anna DavidWith self-publishing available at the click of a mouse and traditional publishing struggling to find what works, going outside the Big Five looks better than ever. Is some form of self-publishing right for you? We’re talking with Anna David, the founder of Launch Pad Publishing, a company that walks you through the process, from idea and manuscript to a finished book available for purchase. David knows of what she speaks: She’s the New York Times bestselling author of eight books who lived the best and worst of Big Five life before she turned toward helping othe...2020-01-2843 min
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 2: Author/Agent Relationships with Laurie AbkemeierEvery book project begins with an idea. And after that, it’s up to the author and her or his agent to get that idea out into the world (more specifically, into the hands of an enthusiastic editor). From finding the right agent and how to manage what will hopefully be a long client/agent relationship to demystifying the process of publishing a book and working with editors, superagent Laurie Abkemeier (Marley & Me, Rise of the Rocket Girls, Seinfeldia) – Jennifer and Kim’s agent – engages in a real talk conversation about one of the most important members of an auth...2020-01-211h 06
#Authoring#Authoring Episode 1: Introducing #Authoring!Authors Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (New York Times bestseller Seinfeldia, Sex and the City and Us) and Kimberly Potts (The Way We All Became the Brady Bunch) introduce #Authoring, the podcast by authors, for authors, featuring 100% real talk about the wild, wonderful publishing business. We're here to talk about everything that comes after writing the book: working with editors, promoting your work, making money, and beyond. In this episode, we give you some background on our own credentials and walk you through what to expect from the rest of Season 1, from getting and keeping an agent to self-publishing, from...2020-01-2030 min
Pop LiteracyHow Did The Brady Bunch Become A Pop Culture Icon?The Brady Bunch never got higher than No. 31 on the ratings charts, and it was far from a critical favorite or a television masterpiece. But it's celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with loving tributes to its theme song, its opening credits, its iconic house, and that perfectly symmetrical, blended family of three boys and three girls who had only the tiniest problems to solve within a half-hour every week. Pop Literacy co-host Kimberly Potts has written a new book, The Way We All Became the Brady Bunch, investigating how such a middling show gained such cultural...2019-12-101h 04
Pop LiteracyCarrie Fisher, Feminist Princess and Hollywood QueenShe was the child of a Hollywood couple notorious for their public breakup, an iconic sci-fi princess, the wife of a great singer-songwriter, a brilliant author and screenwriter, a caustic comedian, a great sidekick, a monologist, and a fierce advocate for mental health awareness. Carrie Fisher packed many lives into her time on earth, even though it was all too short. This week, we pay tribute to her many identities and massive pop culture impact with Sheila Weller, the author of Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge—the first definitive biography of Fisher since her death in 2016 at age...2019-11-0251 min
Pop LiteracyLet’s Make the Most of This Beautiful Day … and Talk to Author Gavin Edwards About His New Book on Mister RogersThe cardigan, the sneakers, the voice so soothing it should be its own brand of stress therapy. We speak, of course, about Mister Rogers, and we speak about him this week with New York Times bestselling author Gavin Edwards, whose new book is a prescriptive biography of all things Fred Rogers. Prescriptive because, in Kindness and Wonder: Why Mister Rogers Matters Now More Than Ever, Gavin not only builds on the legend of Mister Rogers, he shares the many ways the beloved children’s television star walked the walk of the life lessons he shared with generations of viewe...2019-10-1646 min
Pop LiteracyGeneration X Is Having Its (Nostalgia) MomentIt’s the smallest of the three generations currently ruling the world—sandwiched between Boomers and Millennials—but Gen X is not skimping on its nostalgia moment, probably because its defining trait is an (ironic, post-modern, skeptical) embrace of pop culture. This week, we run through the many current and upcoming revisitings of Gen X culture, including a book by Wham!’s Andrew Ridgeley, Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill in Broadway musical form, the 25th anniversary of Reality Bites, Hootie & the Blowfish’s reunion tour, the recent death of John Singleton, that Jeffersons and All in the Family live reenactment, an...2019-10-101h 17
Pop LiteracyWhy Jeannie Gaffigan Was, Is, and Will Always Be, a SuperwomanShe was already a writer, producer, and director, a mom of five, and the personal and professional partner of her husband, comedian Jim Gaffigan. Then Jeannie Gaffigan found out she had a tumor the size of a pear in her brain, and her fierceness really kicked in. This week on Pop Literacy, we have the pleasure of talking to Jeannie about her life-changing experience, which she details with honesty, heart, and humor in her new memoir When Life Gives You Pears. 2019-10-011h 13
Pop LiteracyAll Hail The Queen, Queen Meryl of Hollywood!She’s been nominated for a record 21 Oscars (and won three). She can sing, she can dance, she can whip up an accent like nobody’s business. She can make you laugh, cry, quake in your stilettos with a mere two-word phrase (“That’s all”). She is, quite simply, and quite universally, called the best actress of her (and, those to come, we’re guessing) generation. We speak oh so reverently, of course, about Meryl Streep, the subject of author Erin Carlson’s engaging, fun new biography, Queen Meryl: The Iconic Roles, Heroic Deeds, and Legendary Life of Meryl Streep. We chat...2019-09-241h 23
Pop LiteracyGeneration FriendsWe talk with author Saul Austerlitz about his excellent new book Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era. Discussions include: the recent spate of internet takedowns calling out Friends as problematic; why the show has endured long enough to be subject to such takedowns and enchant new generations of fans; and the writers’ room debates that considered moving the sexy sextet to Minneapolis, came up with the surprisingly brilliant pairing of Monica and Chandler, and the less-inspired Joey-Rachel romance. Pop Literacy cohost Jennifer Keishin Armstrong will be in conversation with Austerlitz at a...2019-09-1754 min
Pop LiteracyStealing BH90210: A No-Fucks-Given Conversation With Christine EliseChristine Elise is the greatest revelation of the mind-bending, meta reboot-about-a-reboot BH90210: The actress who once played bad girl Emily Valentine on the original 90210 returned to play a version of “herself” as a network executive in charge of the show-within-a-show, oozing punk rock attitude and sex appeal and stealing every one of her scenes. And yet, it turns out she’s an even bigger character when she’s off script. This week, she talks to us about how she brazenly pitched herself as a character to the producers; why she had the best professional experience of her life on the reboot...2019-09-091h 07
Pop LiteracyWhy Women Matter in TV and Criticism: With Maureen Ryan Maureen Ryan has been a TV critic for the Chicago Tribune and Variety through the medium’s seismic changes over the last two decades and continues to write about it for basically every high-profile outlet that covers television. She’s also long been among the few prominent female critics during that time, and, as such, she has advocated for more women behind the camera and better representation in front of the camera. She’s featured in a new documentary, This Changes Everything, discussing sexism in film and television alongside Geena Davis, Marisa Tomei, Meryl Streep, Sandra Oh, Zoe Saldana...2019-08-261h 07
Pop LiteracyBeing A Stay-At-Work Mom on the ‘Roseanne’ Reboot, ‘Two Broke Girls,’ and Other Great SitcomsLiz Astrof is a “stay-at-work mom,” by her own admission—and for her, “work” means writing sitcoms such as Two Broke Girls, King of Queens, and the infamous Roseanne reboot. To celebrate her great new essay collection, Don’t Wait Up, Liz gives us some inside scoop on the surprising sexism behind the scenes of the Roseanne reboot, the feminism of Two Broke Girls, and the future of comedy on television.2019-08-1951 min
Pop LiteracyRebooting Beverly Hills 90210: What Did We Just Watch?From its hashtag-friendly title to its celebreality-meets-where are they now character throwback premise, Fox’s BH90210 gave viewers all the feels during its premiere last week: joy at seeing these ‘90s teen pin-ups back on our small screens, amusement at how willing they were to poke fun at their own most famous (or infamous, and alleged) histories, confusion about what exactly to expect – will the rest of the six-episode run focus mostly on the heightened versions of the actors or on the West Beverly High characters? –and tear-inducing sadness that Luke Perry was not there for our reunion with this bel...2019-08-112h 00
Pop LiteracySummer Road Trippin’, Pop Culture StyleSummer vacation means heading out on the highway for a lot of travelers, and if you’re a TV fan looking for some primetime inspiration for a New York City road trip, author Marion Miclet has written the perfect road map with her new book Binge Watching New York: A Travel Guide Through the Most Emblematic TV Series. The book, a beautiful, photo-packed tome filled with NYC sites from and inspired by series like Seinfeld, Friends, Law & Order, Will & Grace, Billions, The Affair, The Mindy Project, Mad Men, Sex and the City, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Gotham, Gossip Girl, and dozens more...2019-07-2953 min
Pop LiteracyThe ‘Jenny from the Block’ Video: A Historical AnalysisJennifer Lopez turns 50 this month and is at the top of her game: dancing her way through an international tour, engaged to baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez, and managing to be one of the few massive pop stars with lots of loyal fans and relatively few haters. But it wasn’t always thus. Her career hit a precarious point in 2002—when, yes, she was churning out hits, but the tabloids were constantly on her tail and media coverage spewed vitriolic hatred at her very public relationship with actor Ben Affleck (and even blamed her for his career nosedive). This i...2019-07-231h 24
Pop LiteracyThe Lifelong Appeal of The Muppets and Sesame StreetThe Muppet Movie is celebrating its 40th anniversary (with special screenings in movie theaters July 25 and 30) and Sesame Street is celebrating its 50th. That means they’ve been around for nearly the entire lifespan of Gen Xers, many of whom remain fans of the characters originally created to entertain them as children. In this episode, we talk to Joe Hennes, editor of the Muppet fan site Tough Pigs, about the enduring appeal of Kermit, Piggy, Bert and Ernie, and the rest of the Muppetverse, and make a plea for The Muppet Show to run on Disney’s upcoming streaming service. 2019-07-151h 02
Pop LiteracyDaniel Ford and ‘Black Coffee’ in Pop CulturePop Literacy producer Daniel Ford’s short story collection Black Coffee inspired us to talk about our favorite legal stimulant and its role in popular culture. We talk Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, You’ve Got Mail, and many other pop icons driven by caffeine, and we recommend some of our favorite pop culture pick-me-ups. Discussions include: Black Coffee playlist Aug. 24 Black Coffee book event hosted by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong at Kew and Willow Books in Queens, N.Y. Tom Hanks John Wesley Harding’s “There’s a Starbucks Where the Starbucks Used to Be” 2019-07-0853 min
Pop Literacy‘Seinfeld’ at 30: Reconsidering That Finale, Celebrating the Legacy of ‘Nothing’Seinfeld celebrates its 30th anniversary this month, and that show about “nothing” still gives us plenty to talk about. We pay tribute by sharing behind-the-Seinfeld-reporting tidbits from throughout our careers, some insights from Jennifer’s experience writing and touring with her bestseller Seinfeldia, alternative theories about the polarizing finale (spoiler: we actually love it), and some thoughts about its TV comedy descendants such as Barry and Veep. Plus we recommend some of our favorite ways to keep exploring the Seinfeld-verse, online and IRL. Discussed: Seinfeld2000’s Twitter feed Kramer’s Reality Tour 2019-07-021h 18
Pop LiteracyCountry Music’s Reckoning: Race and Gender, 2019-StyleThe song of the summer, “Old Town Road,” is as 2019 as it gets: It’s a bop, but it’s a hit that rose to popularity thanks to online platforms and that calls into question all conventional wisdom about race and country music. This showdown also comes amid a years-long discussion about the lack of women allowed into the upper echelon of still-critical radio airplay in the country music industry. (Even awards queens such as Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert aren't immune.) So can country music get woke? We investigate with the help of country music journalist Marissa R. Moss.2019-06-2558 min
Pop LiteracyEltonpalooza: Celebrating the Summer of ‘Rocketman’Elton John burst onto the music scene in 1970 with his self-titled album, dominated the charts in the 1970s and ‘80s, gave us enduring songs like “Tiny Dancer” and “Your Song,” survived a classic rock ‘n’ roll rock-bottom, and became an icon. It’s a journey beautifully rendered in the new musical biopic Rocketman. The exhilarating film is just one plank in the legacy platform John is carefully constructing this year, which also includes his farewell tour and an autobiography due out in the fall. In this episode, we look back through his massive catalog, sharing our own favorites, a few leas...2019-06-171h 30
Pop LiteracyThe Dream of the ‘80s Is Alive: Framing John DeLoreanIt was the 1980s, and John DeLorean was livin’ large: a supermodel wife, two children, and a swanky New York City apartment he’d bought from pal Johnny Carson. DeLorean’s lifelong dream was coming true, too, as his passion project, a gulf winged sports car, was about to be released. It was a car that would become one of the most famous autos in pop culture history. But by the time the DeLorean car co-starred alongside Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future, DeLorean’s dream had crashed. Underwhelming reviews of the car, mounting legal woes, an...2019-06-1049 min
Pop LiteracyHow to Find New Music, Plus: A BTS Concert Update!Summer’s the perfect time to relax with some new tunes in your earbuds … but with so many options, finding stuff you haven’t heard before can feel overwhelming. On this week’s Pop Literacy, we get help from Billboard’s Joe Lynch to give you the best new acts to listen to, the best ways to use Spotify, and the best websites and music writers to follow for new-music tips. Plus: an update from the BTS concert scene!2019-05-281h 12
Pop LiteracyLive Sitcom Throwbacks: Why ABC’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons Have Us So ExcitedThis week ABC airs a throwback stunt that thrills us TV history nerds: On Wednesday May 22, star-filled casts will perform old All in the Family and The Jeffersons episodes, live in front of a studio audience. On this week’s Pop Literacy, we break down all the reasons we’re excited: the high-wire act of live TV, the fact that these aren’t just more reboots, and the stellar casts. (Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes as George and Weezy! Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei as Archie and Edith! And so many others.) We also walk you through what you need to kno...2019-05-201h 14
Pop LiteracyStreaming TV: Understanding the (Many, Many) Options That Overwhelm Us AllTo cord cut or not to cord cut; that is the question. Or rather, one of the many questions that overwhelm TV watchers, as the amount of television programming, and the number of ways to watch it, continue to multiply at a faster and faster pace. Do we replace our cable with a streaming service and a live TV option, plus several other streaming sites? Do we stick with cable and resign ourselves to at least half a dozen streaming subscriptions each month? What happens when Disney and Apple launch their streaming packages later this year? Can any of us re...2019-05-131h 04
Pop LiteracyPop Culture Pacifiers and Palette CleansersBetween the exhausting news cycle and the endless selection of complicated TV dramas to watch, we can all use a shot of lighter pop culture sometimes. This week, we discuss what we call our “pop culture pacifiers”—the short, sweet online videos, clips, and songs that lift our spirits in the middle of the hardest days—and “palette cleansers”—the rewatches and brain-candy TV and movies that allow us to relax and enjoy ourselves mindlessly. Hint: Jamie Foxx singing The Brady Bunch, a cat named Ravioli, Will & Grace reruns, and Queer Eye are involved. (Links to all of our online favorit...2019-04-2956 min
Pop LiteracyDid You Hear the One About the Movie Salvador Dali Wrote for The Marx Brothers?Even some of the most devoted of Marx Brothers fans don’t know about this project: a wild, fantastical movie script that Surrealist artist Salvador Dali wrote for the comedy icons, after forging a fast friendship with the most beloved of the Marxes, Harpo. The movie was called Giraffes on Horseback Salad, and not only was it too over the top to get made, the film script was also lost to history. Until now. Pop culture archaeologist, and lifelong Marx Brothers fan, Josh Frank, spent six years piecing the storyline together from copious amounts of research and co...2019-04-2251 min
Pop LiteracyBTS for BeginnersAfter years of massive popularity around the world, Korean boy band BTS is breaking through to the top of mainstream American culture. They just dropped a new album (Map of the Soul: Persona), which includes the single “Boy with Luv,” featuring Halsey; and they played Saturday Night Live, a first for a Korean act. They also recently surpassed 5 billion streams on Spotify. All of this has many Americans wondering what, exactly, is going on with these seven boys with pastel-colored hair, Korean lyrics, impeccable stage production, and supernaturally synched dance moves. We walk through the BTS basics with...2019-04-1648 min
Pop LiteracyThe State of the Boy BandBoy bands as we know them have been around since New Edition got together in 1978—and now, they’re bigger than ever, thanks to online fandom. New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, O-Town, 98 Degrees, and Boyz II Men are among the groups who have recently been on tour or recorded new music. And the boy band legacy is evident in two recent developments: An excellent new YouTube Originals documentary, “The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story,” tells the cautionary tale of the impresario behind Backstreet Boys and NSYNC; and, on the lighter side, a New Kids on the Bloc...2019-04-081h 13
Pop LiteracyA Tribute to Luke Perry, the Nicest Bad Boy Who Ever LivedLuke Perry had a solid 30-year acting career, but he became an instant ‘90s icon with one of his first roles: dreamy “bad boy” Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210. When he died March 4 after a massive stroke at age 52, the outpouring of public grief was overwhelming. He was still young and starring as a dad on the teen drama Riverdale, so it took his untimely death for most of us to calculate how much he had meant to us. With the help of guest Kristen Baldwin, Entertainment Weekly’s TV critic, Pop Literacy co-host Jennifer Keishin Armstrong discusses the...2019-03-1128 min
Pop LiteracyWill 1990s Nostalgia Always Be the Best Nostalgia?It was the decade of “The Macarena,” the O.J. Simpson trial, the teen pop boom, VHS tapes, and Nintendo. It was also before 9/11 and Columbine, a time when the nation hung on every lurid detail of the president’s sex life and the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan feud. Though 2000s nostalgia is on the way—as we discussed previously—it’s hard to let go of our nostalgia for what looks like our last relatively innocent decade from here. Is there something extra special about the ‘90s? We discuss with guest host Sam Slaughter, author of the forthcoming Are You Afraid of th...2019-03-0438 min
Pop LiteracyPaul Simon: Timeless Treasure and Poet of the Midlife Crisis"Graceland," "America," "You Can Call Me Al," "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"—Paul Simon’s list of classic songs is long and literary. So any week is the perfect week for Pop Literacy to celebrate this rare master of songwriting, who completed his final tour in the fall and has an album out, In the Blue Light, filled with reimagined versions of some of his songs. A literary master is always revising. Pop Literacy host Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is joined by guest hosts (and fello...2019-02-261h 12
Pop Literacy2000s Nostalgia: Yes, It’s HappeningAOL Instant Messenger, the first iPods, Paris Hilton, emo, Mean Girls, The O.C., low-rise jeans… Now that it’s 2019, it’s time to prepare for a wave of 2000s nostalgia. Pop Literacy host Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is joined by guest co-host Andrea Bartz, author of the forthcoming 2009 nostalgia novel The Lost Night, to discuss what we miss most about the 2000s, from MySpace to the very first memes, The Osbournes to the rise of the Brooklyn hipster. We also discuss the innocence of a time before 24/7 social media saturation and news alerts, even as the terror of 9/11 and the stock m...2019-02-191h 19
Pop LiteracyFandemonium Extra: A Podcast for Stans of Stans, by Stans of StansWelcome to our insanely experimental pretend backdoor pilot for It’s It’s Britney Bitch, Bitch!, “a podcast for stans of stans, by stans of stans.” As a follow-up to last week’s chat with T. Kyle and Bradley Stern, the hosts of the It’s Britney, Bitch! podcast for Britney fans, we fall further down the internet fandom rabbit hole with our loving breakdown of their loving breakdowns. Just call us the Seinfeld2000 of Britney fandom. Or something. Regular Pop Literacy host Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is joined by guest cohost Julie Armstrong (her sister) to discuss how It’s Britney, B...2019-02-121h 01
Pop LiteracyFandemonium: The Britney Army With It’s Britney, Bitch!In the first of an occasional series on fandom, we dive into one of the most loyal, long-running followings in pop music: that of the humble legend Ms. Britney Spears. As an official Britney stan, Pop Literacy cohost Jennifer Keishin Armstrong knows it well, and is here to dissect it with the cohosts of her favorite podcast, It’s Britney, Bitch!, T. Kyle and Bradley Stern. With Kyle and Bradley, we walk you through the incredible 20-year tale of Britney, from her astonishing debut at 17, to her public struggles with fame at the heights of tabloid culture, to...2019-02-041h 08
Pop LiteracyEpisode 14: Super Bowl Box Set Part 2 – The Commercials and Post-Game ProgrammingLast week, we talked about this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, and the collective lack of enthusiasm for it. Could this year’s SB commercials and post-game programming save the entertainment aspects of Super Bowl LIII from being a big, dull dud? Well … With 100 million viewers every year, the Super Bowl is the one telecast networks and advertisers can be sure we’ll be watching. Even after the game is over, a big percentage of the audience is willing to stick around for a series debut or a big, often guest star-packed episode of an existing hit seri...2019-01-281h 13
Pop LiteracyEpisode 13: Super Bowl Box Set Part 1 – Halftime ShowsEveryone’s talking about who isn’t playing the Super Bowl halftime show this year: Rihanna, Cardi B, and most anyone else who isn’t Maroon 5. Could this be the end of the Super Bowl halftime show as a cultural event? Possibly. Meanwhile, we look back on the history of the halftime show, from college marching bands to Up With People to Phil Collins in cargo pants to, somehow, because humanity is terrible and grand, Prince. In this review of modern halftimes, we talk the good (Aerosmith with Peak Britney, and a side of distracting boy bandery), the bad...2019-01-211h 31
Pop LiteracyEpisode 12: Mrs. Maisel, Transparent, and the Importance of Jewish Life on TVWith anti-Semitism on an astonishing rise and the recent mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, it suddenly seems more important than ever that Jews are depicted sympathetically on television. Luckily, Jewish TV writers have been “coming out” as Jewish the last few years with unapologetic depictions on shows such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Transparent. On this week’s episode, we explore the skittish history of Jews on television with Allison Perlman, an associate professor of film and media studies at the University of California Irvine. She helps us to walk through the highs and lows of Mai...2018-12-1747 min
Pop LiteracyEpisode 11: Journey, Jail, and Jesse Gets Away: TV Series Finales We Love, Hate, and Love to DebateIt’s been five years since Jesse Pinkman took off like a bat out of a drug-making hell in the final episode of Breaking Bad. It’s been more than a decade since Tony Soprano may or may not have been whacked by that dude coming out of the Holsten’s bathroom. It was 20 years ago that Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George were sentenced to jail time for, well, basically for being jerks, in the Seinfeld series ender. And viewers have been debating those television series finales ever since they first aired. On this week’s Pop Literacy, Je...2018-12-1059 min
Pop LiteracyEpisode 10: Should We Still Care About Movies?2018 has brought a few glimmers of hope for disaffected moviegoers sick of superheroes, explosions, and special effects: A Star Is Born, Crazy Rich Asians, Eighth Grade, Boy Erased. But many of us (your hosts included) are much more excited about the seemingly infinite great TV offerings these days than by the prospect of schlepping to the movies to see the latest in high-budget forgettableness. Are we wrong to cross movies off our pop culture to-do lists? Our guests this week are here to persuade us to care about film again. Our Writer's Bone Podcast Network siblings at...2018-12-0357 min
Pop LiteracyEpisode 9: Prison Life in Pop Culture: Why Are We So Obsessed?Orange Is the New Black, The Night Of, Oz, Rectify… they’re the finest examples of what TV has offered viewers in depictions of prison life. Add in classic movies like The Shawshank Redemption, Cool Hand Luke, The Green Mile, and American History X, and there’s no lack of quality storytelling when it comes to Hollywood’s spin on the unique system of rules and roles that make up life inside the penitentiary. We’re fascinated by these tales, because they give us access to a world most of us – hopefully – will never know firsthand. The very best of them are...2018-11-1943 min
Pop LiteracyEpisode 8: A Very Pop Literacy Holiday: The One About Thanksgiving and Christmas TV EpisodesThe Office owns TV Christmas episodes, the Friends own TV Thanksgivings, and Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang have been serving up leftovers, er, repeats, of their beloved classic specials for both holidays for more than four decades. In this week’s very special holiday-themed episode of Pop Literacy, Jennifer and Kim trace the history of holiday episodes, break down the differences between Christmas and Turkey Day TV, and share their all-time favorites from each. We also examine such TV tropes as A Christmas Carol (Alex P. Keaton as Scrooge!) and The Gift of the M...2018-11-121h 12
Pop LiteracyEpisode 7: How to Be a Male Pop Star in 2018: The John Mayer Story John Mayer has been releasing new pop tunes this year and even did something that looked suspiciously like a comeback interview. It didn’t go so well; even though it was for his own Instagram show, he sparked a flurry of 2010-reminiscent headlines by saying he’d slept with “sub-500” women, which was interpreted as around 500 women, which he later clarified was closer to 6. Given that his celebrity reputation was built on the details (often revealed by him) of his time scoring with the ladies, he seems to be struggling in the "Me Too" consciousness of 2018. The point being: As John May...2018-11-051h 07
Pop LiteracyEpisode 6: The Cultural Power of Friendships Or: What is Dave Chappelle doing in A Star Is Born? We were intrigued when Chappelle showed up in the middle of that delirious fever dream of a trailer for A Star Is Born, so we investigated. Turns out he’s friends with director-star Bradley Cooper, so, voila! A dramatic acting cameo is born. Inspired by this chance cinematic encounter, this week we investigate the cultural power of friendships. First, we talk to Sam Maggs about her new book Girl Squads: 20 Female Friendships That Changed History. She tells us about the ways some brave women came together to support and inspire...2018-10-2946 min
Pop LiteracyEpisode 5: Is Tom Hanks Hollywood’s Last True Adult Man?In a culture where every day we’re afraid to look at the news, lest we hear of yet another public figure who’s caught up in an appalling scandal, Oscar winner Tom Hanks remains one of Hollywood’s best examples of a decent guy. Not perfect, not a scoundrel; not too political, but ready to stand up for what he believes in; not preachy, but, well, he’s a guy who takes the time to return a lost ID card to a college student. All of these traits are what inspired bestselling author Gavin Edwards to devote his late...2018-10-2249 min
Pop LiteracyEpisode 4: Women Who Survived – and Thrived – in TV’s (Even More) Sexist PastWomen have been battling their way through Hollywood sexism behind the scenes for decades to get us to the point where more women than ever are now making television shows. This week we talk to two heroines of the male-dominated past. First, Mary Tyler Moore Show writer Susan Silver, whose memoir Hot Pants in Hollywood details her days as a writer on some of the best sitcoms of the 1970s, her mentorship with Garry Marshall, and a jaw-dropping TV Guide profile on her headlined “The Writer Wore Hotpants.” Then, we chat with Emmy and Golden Globe-winning...2018-10-151h 31
Pop LiteracyEpisode 3: Maybe Reboots Aren’t So BadWe’re certainly at Peak Reboot, with this fall’s Magnum P.I., Charmed, and Murphy Brown reimaginings hitting the air, and talk of rebooting everything from Frasier and Mad About You to Alf and The Twilight Zone. Few will argue passionately in favor of another round of Alf, but perhaps our griping about reboots has also gotten out of hand. In this episode, Pop Literacy talks to Charmed executive producers Jessica O’Toole and Amy Rardin about the pleasures of updating the inherently empowering witch-sisters drama at a time when women are flexing their power against some serious politica...2018-10-0827 min
Pop LiteracyEpisode 1: Meet the Writer Who's Making BET the New HBOIn Episode 1, Pop Literacy investigates: Why the hell is BET’s new biographical miniseries about Bobby Brown so extraordinary? The short answer is that it was written by the same guy who scripted BET’s last ingenious biographical excursion, The New Edition Story. Abdul Williams talks to Pop Literacy about doing therapy-level interviews with the guys from the OG boy band, New Edition, as they worked out their decades’ worth of bad blood, good times, money woes, and ego battles—and then crafted them into a gripping, accurate, and satisfying miniseries. And then did it again with New Edit...2018-10-011h 00
Pop LiteracyEpisode 2: Female Authors Are Fueling TV’s Darkest ShowsMany of this year’s biggest shows are dark, twisted, complicated, and angry. And many of them come from books written by women—The Handmaid’s Tale, Sharp Objects, Big Little Lies, Dietland, and You among them. In this episode, Pop Literacy peeks behind the scenes of Lifetime’s You with author Caroline Kepnes, who dreamed up the twisted tale of toxic masculinity, the vulnerabilities of social media life, and how classic romantic ideals blend into straight-up stalking. We also offer our thoughts on when to read the book, and when to just watch the TV adaptation...2018-10-0140 min
Pop LiteracyIntroducing Pop LiteracyWe find smart things to say about pop culture so you don’t have to. We’ll take you into the writers’ rooms, songwriters’ heads, and novelists’ thoughts that are fueling pop culture conversations. And we’ll give you the smart insights, factoids, and conversation starters to get you through your next cocktail party conversation about the latest in TV, music, movies, and books. Seriously: You don’t even have to binge watch that whole season or read that whole book. Just listen to Pop Literacy and you’ll be the smartest person in the room. Jennifer Keishin Armstron...2018-09-2101 min