Celebrity podcast interviews be like "the plot thins..."

last meals is so good too 😭

I'm earning my Master's in journalism and it upsets me so much how important short form journalism "content" has become and the otherwise algorithm-friendly nature interviews have had to take on and adapt into. In a time when good journalism has never been more important, we're losing so much effort and talent and opportunity to appeasing an audience who is so disengaged and uninterested in the world around them.

I think it's rare for anything of substance to have emerged from the new-media interview style. Even in their best forms, like Sean Evans and the Hot Ones interviews, the game still takes the precedence. Honestly, for my want out of an interview, the best in the short-form landscape right now is the Letterboxd Top 4 interviews. Letting actors and directors be pretentious and be experts in their field is such a breath of fresh air. Yes, I want to hear about the inspiration for an artist's craft, that should be the point of interviewing an artist. Is it fun to hear an anecdote about Paul Rudd's early career, yeah sure, but if it doesn't lead into a discussion about the challenges of entering the world of acting both and the contrast of those challenges from 30 years ago to now then what's the point? Fun doesn't always have to be the enemy of important, they can go hand-in-hand, but right now, for the most part, fun is where the money is and important is a turn-off.

I'm so glad the video ended on Jeremy Strong, both because I adore his acting, but also he's become the face of the modern pretentious actor. I want my artists to be pretentious, to be pompous about their life's ambition, to give a shit about pushing the boundaries of the medium. I don't agree with every acting decision out of Strong but I've never been bored or uninspired by him. He has enabled a seriousness to the conversation and has become a vector for importance when fun is the favourite child.


Caroline is inarguably correct about the importance of pop culture discussion. It enables tough conversations. I like to think we invented celebrities so that these conversations can have a face and a name and a destination without having to hurt people in our immediate vicinity. Turning local gossip into national, or even international, discussion. I think the harm that celebrity can and does inflict has definitely grown, particularly with the rise of the internet and the ability to directly message the famous with and outsized grievance. Not to mention the parasociality of fandom. But I think we recognised this damage and swung too far in the opposite direction to compensate leaving us bereft of purpose and substance and value in the celebrity interview. So what happens now that we've stripped down the conversations into games and laughs? What happens after we lose access to these chances to be serious?

35:26 this why I love Jack Edwards’ interviews. You can see the genuine shock in celebrities faces when he hands them a book, links the themes, plot or characters to the project they’re promoting and asks them an insightful question about their work. And he somehow manages to keep it interesting for social media!

19:05, I can not see any mention of this Katherine Hepburn interview without feeling compelled to share that her answer to “why don’t you wear skirts?” was “I’ll wear one to your funeral” like PLEASE KATHERINE😂😭

I'm eating peanut M&M's

Melissa Barrera got cancelled for being pro Palestine and is only getting back to acting bc she got an opportunity from someone willing to take a chance

I think also Zack sang. I remarried his Ariana grande interviews a lot back in the day

i don't have time to watch this rn but i did open the comments just to say i LOVE mina & have been following her forever so im thrilled to see this crossover

30:48 I do this at work fr

Did the internet give too much power to literal children?

Shannon Sharp has an excellent podcast.

Justin Timberlake on star and buckwild ??  Who tf booked that?! You gotta be from NY and a certain age to understand how bonkers that is.

call her daddy is the taylor swift of podcasts except worse cus atleast taylor swift has an (albeit mid) artistic output. miss thing just exists in front of a camera for a bit and calls it a day. i don't understand how she's so popular.

I'd looove to hear you react to Tee Noir's content one day :) I'm a Patron of hers and she's just SO SMART

I am so pissed that anyone has to apologize to J.Lo. She was not lying about her singer "skills", but she had to apologize to this DIVA?

The hate for Roan is misogyny but its from other women. Most men couldnt care less.

Hasan interviewing Norm Finkelstein showed me what celeb journalism could look like. Norm is the farthest thing from a celebrity but the point still stands.

Personally I think celebrity interviews are just more accessible now so its not as prestigious and this is all elitism BS who cares. Its sad for journalists who want to focus on that but celebrities interviews are a such small facet of journalism. This is a non issue. They’re more accessible so they’re not as special.

How do you get away with minimal commentary on this so you are basically just sitting there watching Mina Le. I think I'll just go watch Mina Le because at least she's actually put work into it and never bother with this channel again.