Shows
History Harpies: Pop Culture, Past and PresentNo, Beaches Do Not Always Mean Bad Decisions (Ft. Love Island, Blame It On Rio, and Where the Boys Are)Lauren and Christine get out the sunscreen and head to the beach, asking why films and tv often associate this setting with booze, hooking up, and regrets. And they resolve never to go to Rio with Michael Caine. 2025-07-171h 18
History Harpies: Pop Culture, Past and PresentYes, Sex and the City Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda Skipped the Reboot (Ft. And Just Like That)In a double-sized episode, Lauren and Christine say “hello, lover” to Sex and the City, while leaving a break-up Post-It note for And Just Like That.Book recommendations:Colette, Chéri Ann Douglas, Terrible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan in the 1920s2025-06-292h 00
History Harpies: Pop Culture, Past and PresentYes, “Forever” Has Been Around Forever, Pt. 2 (Ft. American Pie, Fast Times, and Beverly Hills 90210)Lauren and Christine return to first love and high school, surveying American culture’s fascination with virgins. If we can’t all be Brenda and Dylan, or even Jim and Michelle, can we at least avoid being Stacy and Ron?2025-06-161h 08
History Harpies: Pop Culture, Past and PresentYes, “Forever" Has Been Around Forever, Pt. 1 (Ft. Fast Times at Ridgemont High)Lauren and Christine cast a misty eye on stories of first love, senior year in high school, and college applications — and feel nostalgic about the days when teachers and students could smoke in school.Book recommendations:Wendy Mogel, The Blessing of a Skinned KneeTheodore Sizer, Horace’s Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School 2025-05-271h 11
History Harpies: Pop Culture, Past and PresentYes, There Were Angry Young Men Before the Internet (Ft. Adolescence, 8 Mile, and Blackboard Jungle)Lauren and Christine ask if Adolescence deserves its anti-misogyny hype, if anger can boost a young man's ambition, and if World War II created a generation of angry, jazz-hating, rock-and-roll loving, juvenile delinquents.Book recommendations:Dan T. Carter, The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politicshttps://www.amazon.com/Politics-Rage-Conservatism-Transformation-American/dp/0807125970Leonard Sax, Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men https://www.amazon.com/Boys-Adrift-Epidemic-Unmotivated-Underachieving/dp/04650721002025-05-111h 10
History Harpies: Pop Culture, Past and PresentYes, Women Can Be Friends and Not Frenemies (Ft. White Lotus, Gossip Girl, and The Women)Lauren and Christine ask why bitchy, backstabbing lady-friends have always been so compelling in popular culture, and if “best friends” should make compromising videos of themselves with their friends’ boyfriends.Book RecommendationsSusan Douglas, Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Mediahttps://a.co/d/2s1Ib7mJane Austen, Pride and Prejudice https://a.co/d/bKDE7242025-04-281h 10
History Harpies: Pop Culture, Past and PresentNo, Biopics Don’t Always Suck (Ft. Val Kilmer) Lauren and Christine ask why biopics and biographies of musicians and other celebrities are so hard to do well, what we really want when we want to “know” a celebrity through a film or book, and why everyone is staring so adoringly at Bob Dylan all the time. Check out our book recommendations!Lauren Sklaroff, Red Hot Mamahttps://a.co/d/hVAmXZUHarvey Cohen, Duke Ellington's Americahttps://a.co/d/8Dcgv1ONick Tosches, Hellfirehttps://a.co/d/1DgSX...2025-04-131h 07
History Harpies: Pop Culture, Past and PresentNo, Anora is Not a Good Film About Sex Workers (Ft. Pretty Woman & Belle de Jour)Pop-culture-loving history professors Lauren and Christine discuss three films about sex workers. Is it really so hard to make a good movie about the world’s oldest profession?Book links:Murder of Helen Jewetthttps://www.amazon.com/Murder-Helen-Jewett-Patricia-Cline/dp/0679740759/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2QXSITL9P8AHO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1piwib8a9EvuEnthmq_q4AIABiYlipZO38yrp9J1qhNhYmzOIiv4FYxf-5fSBqZ3cuRiaiMdWjrEg_J8uX_MORG3uf430nxd_MwdT0hpwBK2FkoohKSsgAnFSGfBKtx6.G-bOUX610gAuhOaXM1_81r5XesxmfQ6DmFgD0gHGmzs&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+murder+of+helen+jewett&qid=1743378804&sprefix=Helen+Jewett%2Caps%2C8199&sr=8-1...2025-03-311h 04