Pop Cult

We never fret too much when Love Is Blind ends, because we know Netflix will hit us with a new season basically instantly. Ohio certainly has not disappointed…yet. We will admit, we had our hesitations but we’re locked in. Traitors is starting to give us serious anxiety, in part due to Eric possibly being the worst Traitor of all time - TBD on that one. The sous chef on Below Deck is making us feel better about our own incompetencies on the job. Summer House is showing that the final answer to the age old question “do men ever change” is in fact, no. VPR was actually our tame show this week with the absence of a certain someone, but we’re sure that won’t last long.Reality Digest is part of Pop Cult, where we break down the wildest moments in reality TV and the week’s biggest celebrity stories.Join us on Thursday for The Fame Files! This week’s episode breaks down the very odd situation between Olympic Figure Skaters, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan - in honor of the Winter Olympics. Who else only watches Figure Skating and Women’s Gymnastics? Oh, and Equestrian, if you’re Julia. Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Welcome to Pop Cult: The Fame FilesTo celebrate the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics we’re bringing you one of the most notorious Olympic scandals and throwing it back to 1994. That one fateful day when an innocent competitor was attacked at practice, figure skating was changed forever…but who would do this to her?The Fame Files is part of Pop Cult, where we unpack pop culture’s biggest stories, scandals, and icons.Join us on Tuesday for our next episode of Reality Digest, where we’ll cover the previous weeks’ pop culture chaos and debrief the latest episodes of our favorite reality shows! Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

It’s a very big week because we had not one, but TWO premieres!!!! We’re missing our Below Deck Med cast but we’re warming up to Down Under and are wondering if we, too, can become a sous chef without knowing how to cook??? You could cut the tension in the Summer House with a knife….Amanda and Kyle we’re looking at you. Angelica might be the most annoying person on VPR and this is a show where Scheana Shay was a main cast member for 11 seasons. Call us crazy but we seem to be in the minority on our Traitor’s opinions. We’re only human after all and in case anyone needed a reminder: it’s just a game!!!!!!!!!!Reality Digest is part of Pop Cult, where we break down the wildest moments in reality TV and the week’s biggest celebrity stories.Join us on Thursday for The Fame Files! This week’s episode breaks down the very odd situation between Olympic Figure Skaters, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan - in honor of the Winter Olympics. Who else only watches Figure Skating and Women’s Gymnastics? Oh, and Equestrian, if you’re Julia. Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Welcome to Pop Cult: The Fame FilesTyra Banks was the face of the cultural phenomenon that was America’s Next Top Model. Television that truly only rivals that of Vanderpump Rules in our humble opinion. But who is Tyra outside of ANTM? We get into all of it - her upbringing, VERY successful modeling career, her ice cream endeavors, and OFC some of her missteps as a host of nearly 15 years. The Fame Files is part of Pop Cult, where we unpack pop culture’s biggest stories, scandals, and icons.Join us on Tuesday for our next episode of Reality Digest, where we’ll cover the previous weeks’ pop culture chaos and debrief the latest episodes of our favorite reality shows! Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

The depression is sinking in because we lost two shows this week. Rest in Peace the women of Salt Lake City and our Mediterranean crew…….for now. We debate on whether Rob deserves our grace and forgiveness for his behavior on Traitors and we’re kindly asking that the VPR staff step it up with spreading rumors about each other. That’s what being on reality TV is all about, after all.Reality Digest is part of Pop Cult, where we break down the wildest moments in reality TV and the week’s biggest celebrity stories.Join us on Thursday for The Fame Files! This week’s episode is our very first celebrity deep dive on none other than Tyra Banks - aka the icon that brought us America’s Next Top Model. We get into her career, life, and the many moments throughout her time on our TVs that had our eyebrows raised.Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Welcome to Pop Cult: The Fame FilesThe year was 2008. A much simpler time where social media was up and coming and celebrities apparently had zero home security. This was a major flop on their part because a group of troubled teens was able to rob multiple A-list celebs - multiple times - right under their noses.The Fame Files is part of Pop Cult, where we unpack pop culture’s biggest stories, scandals, and icons.Join us on Tuesday for our next episode of Reality Digest, where we’ll cover the previous weeks’ pop culture chaos and debrief the latest episodes of our favorite reality shows! Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

WAR IS OVER! We’re done covering Mormon Wives….for a month. Pls give the husbands zero screen time next season - we’re begging. Something is in the air in Utah because part 2 of the RHOSLC finale had us gobsmacked and wondering if there might be a housewife switcheroo next season. We’re about to trade our friends in the Mediterranean out for our friend down under but not before we leave Joe and Kizzi with some more choice words. The new Vanderpump cast has us seriously questioning the legality of some of their extra-curriculars. And finally, Traitors has us on the edge of our seats and about ready to fly to the castle to banish C*lton ourselves.Reality Digest is part of Pop Cult, where we break down the wildest moments in reality TV and the week’s biggest celebrity stories.Join us on Thursday for The Fame Files! This week’s episode covers a very niche topic - the millennial mass exodus from Buzzfeed Video and the barrage of “why I left” videos that followed. What on earth was going on at that company? Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Welcome to Pop Cult: The Fame FilesIn honor of the year 2016 and all of it’s millennial-powered trends resurface in the internet zeitgeist, we’re throwing it back to the 20-teens to debrief the mass exodus from everyone’s favorite pop culture site - Buzzfeed Video. We discuss the unreal influx of “why I left Buzzfeed” videos that flooded Youtube and spilled the tea on a company that, from the outside, seemed like a dream job. From The Try Guys to Ladylike, and everyone in between, we take a look into the real reasons Buzzfeed lost all of their self-produced internet stars. The Fame Files is part of Pop Cult, where we unpack pop culture’s biggest stories, scandals, and icons.Join us on Tuesday for our next episode of Reality Digest, where we’ll cover the previous weeks’ pop culture chaos and debrief the latest episodes of our favorite reality shows! Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

The aura of us being done with SLOMW but knowing there’s another season just around the corner is very…threatening to say the least. What’s devastating is Below Deck Med almost being over while Kizzi and Joe simultaneously steal V’s sparkle. OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! Or whatever ppl from the UK say. We still don’t know what Lisa Barlow does for work but we do know that Shayne doesn’t work at SUR so what exactly was he doing at the merch photoshoot? The world may never know. As for our current favorite show, we’re devastated by the loss of Caroline, Monet and Tiffany - but as for Michael? We hope to never lay eyes on him again - especially while he’s eating. GAG!Reality Digest is part of Pop Cult, where we break down the wildest moments in reality TV and the week’s biggest celebrity stories.Join us on Thursday for The Fame Files! This week’s episode covers a very niche topic - the millennial mass exodus from Buzzfeed Video and the barrage of “why I left” videos that followed. What on earth was going on at that company? Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Welcome to Pop Cult: The Fame FilesIn honor of his very confusing casting on the new season of The Traitors, our Fame Files this week is about the infamous stalking scandal involving former Bachelor lead, Colton Underwood and his finalist (who is the classiest and most graceful woman who did not deserve any of this) Cassie Randolph. We talk about how this sh*t show ended up in a restraining order and all of the details that go along with it. And of course, we give our very biased opinions on the controversy surrounding Colton who, for reasons unbeknownst to us, still remains on our TV screens. The Fame Files is part of Pop Cult, where we unpack pop culture’s biggest stories, scandals, and icons.Join us on Tuesday for our next episode of Reality Digest, where we’ll cover the previous weeks’ pop culture chaos and debrief the latest episodes of our favorite reality shows! Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

We introduce The Traitors to our line up this week and it already has us fully CACKLING!!!!! The casting department deserves and award for their work this season. Our bliss can only last for so long though, because America’s Sweethearts (the cast of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City) will no longer be gracing our screens every week….luckily they’re weaning us off slowly with a 3-part reunion. All good things must come to an end - unlike The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives which feels like it will never end. These women have us in a chokehold and we don’t understand what’s in the water in Utah (and don’t want to find out). We are SO glad we finally wrapped up Selling Sunset and personally think the entire series is a wrap after the dumpster fire that was season 9 - like they srsly all hate each other, right?? The jury is still out on the VPR reboot but they sure are giving us a lot to talk about. Below Deck Med is coming to a close much like all of their relationships. The cast vibes were deader than that pig that Josh had to cut. Reality Digest is part of Pop Cult, where we break down the wildest moments in reality TV and the week’s biggest celebrity stories.Join us on Thursday for The Fame Files! This week’s episode includes some special guests - our MOMS! They add some most welcome context to our topic this week which is Matt Lauer’s Today Show scandal. He’s a real freak and loser!Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Welcome to Pop Cult: The Fame FilesWe have two very special guests to join us for the re-telling of this very disturbing scenario at one of TV’s most watched shows. We can only imagine the collective number of jaws that hit the floor on the morning of November 29, 2017. Matt Lauer’s fall from grace was truly unprecedented but also loooooong overdue. If we leave you with nothing else let it be this: what a f*cking freak UGH! The Fame Files is part of Pop Cult, where we unpack pop culture’s biggest stories, scandals, and icons.Join us on Tuesday for our next episode of Reality Digest, where we’ll cover the previous weeks’ pop culture chaos and debrief the latest episodes of our favorite reality shows! Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Our show line up had us utterly stunned this week. We’re living in a world where Below Deck only got a $16,000 tip after cleaning up literal sh*t. Britani is screeching at the spa. Kim refuses to have a convo with Natalie on camera even though it’s literally her JOB! The Selling Sunset girlies are this close to putting out a hit on one another. And the Mormon Wives have legit the worst taste in men possibly of anyone in the world. I mean seriously WHAT is going on in Utah???!!!Reality Digest is part of Pop Cult, where we break down the wildest moments in reality TV and the week’s biggest celebrity stories.Join us on Thursday for The Fame Files! This week’s episode includes some special guests - our MOMS! They add some most welcome context to our topic this week which is Matt Lauer’s Today Show scandal. He’s a real freak and loser!Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Welcome to Pop Cult: The Fame FilesPerhaps the most strange celebrity death we’re aware of, Brittany Murphy’s case is one that left us perplexed. She was gone far too soon and deserved SO much better from all of the people in her life - we’re looking at you, Sharon.  The Fame Files is part of Pop Cult, where we unpack pop culture’s biggest stories, scandals, and icons.Join us on Tuesday for our next episode of Reality Digest, where we’ll cover the previous weeks’ pop culture chaos and debrief the latest episodes of our favorite reality shows! Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

We’re having withdrawals on not only one but two fronts this week. We’ve eaten up every crumb that Taylor has given us and trust we WILL be rewatching. The Kardashians has ended after 10 short episodes and Avery is devastated because her TV bestie, Khloe, will no longer be handing out the best advice to have ever been heard. Julia is Kim K’s biggest supporter on her law school endeavors and would honestly take The Bar for if given the option. The Mormon Wives' consistently terrible decisions make us want to rip our hair out much like Sandra does to all of the other Selling Sunset women. We don’t even know what to say about what transpired on the yacht in the Mediterranean this week…all we can say is p*op belongs IN THE TOILET.Reality Digest is part of Pop Cult, where we break down the wildest moments in reality TV and the week’s biggest celebrity stories.Join us on Thursday for The Fame Files! This week’s episode we get into the very strange death of Clueless star, Brittany Murphy. We speculate on the very weird details and of course offer our opinions on the family members she left behind.Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Welcome to Pop Cult: The Fame FilesAs some of you may know, icon and absolute legend, Taylor Swift, bought her masters back earlier this year after a years-long battle with many underhanded men in the industry who sold them behind her back. Now that she officially owns her body of work and is wildly more successful than any of those little sh*ts, we are unpacking the details of one of the music industries longest and most well-known feuds. We get into all of the little details and the many social media statements flying back and forth. Moral of the story: Karma’s a b*tch!   The Fame Files is part of Pop Cult, where we unpack pop culture’s biggest stories, scandals, and icons.Join us on Tuesday for our next episode of Reality Digest, where we’ll cover the previous weeks’ pop culture chaos and debrief the latest episodes of our favorite reality shows! Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Taylor had us glued to our screens once again, to the point that Julia only took one note the entire two episodes. Kylie has us in a debate about ghosts and potential….squatters?? Demi is wreaking havoc upon everyone in her life, but most notably, her own. The girls have decided it’s time to throw Joe and Kizzi overboard due to their transgressions. There’s a new girl at SUR and Avery identifies with her experience of taking a tumble in a restaurant. And Venus has officially won us over - so much so that we have proclaimed that a *reality* star is born. Reality Digest is part of Pop Cult, where we break down the wildest moments in reality TV and the week’s biggest celebrity stories.Join us on Thursday for The Fame Files! This week’s episode covers the years-long feud between Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun in which, spoiler alert, blondie of course comes out on top in the end.Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Welcome to Pop Cult: The Fame FilesThis catastrophic event will forever be known to us as the festival that went to shit…….like, literally. Julia and Avery both agree that this sounds like our own personal hell and if you don’t agree - we’re clinically concerned. We dive into perhaps the most unsafe and unsanitary weekend in the history of music and we’re frankly thrilled that we as a society left this one behind in the 20th century.The Fame Files is part of Pop Cult, where we unpack pop culture’s biggest stories, scandals, and icons.Join us on Tuesday for our next episode of Reality Digest, where we’ll cover the previous weeks’ pop culture chaos and debrief the latest episodes of our favorite reality shows! Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

It’s officially been 4 days since Miss Swift herself graced us with the docuseries of a lifetime. We couldn’t be more enthralled if we tried. ROUND OF APPLAUSE SHE’S DONE IT AGAIN. We agree that VPR season 12 is giving what it needs to give so far even though the men are diabolically evil. Whitney has returned to MomTok with a not so warm welcome, similar to Kourtney at Kim’s graduation party. The women of Salt Lake City traded the Bahamas for Greece and after their last trip the Med crew should really be counting their blessings that they didn’t have to work that charter. RIP Below Deck Down Under. The women of Selling Sunset are disgustingly rich and we fear this show has seen its final days.  Reality Digest is part of Pop Cult, where we break down the wildest moments in reality TV and the week’s biggest celebrity stories.Join us on Thursday for The Fame Files! This week’s episode is about the shit show that was Woodstock ‘99. The year of Avery’s birth and perhaps the worst entry to the new millennium that the music industry could have ever asked for.Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastDisclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.

Welcome to Pop Cult: The Fame FilesI think we can all agree that The Ellen Degeneres Show feels nostalgic for many reasons - the giveaway, the games, Ellen dancing down the stairs at 3pm everyday. But there was a much darker energy lurking around behind closed doors. We dive into the details behind the toxic workplace allegations and whether or not Ellen is really to blame…The Fame Files is part of Pop Cult, where we unpack pop culture’s biggest stories, scandals, and icons.Join us on Tuesday for our next episode of Reality Digest, where we’ll cover the previous weeks’ pop culture chaos and debrief the latest episodes of our favorite reality shows! Follow us on socials!Youtube: @PopCultPodcastInstagram: @pop.cult.podcastTikTok: @pop.cult.podcastNote: This being Pop Cult’s early days, we are still baby podcasters and are working on our audio quality and episode flow so please stick with us and we will get better, PINKY PROMISE!Disclaimer: The stories we cover are based on research and publicly available sources. While we strive for accuracy, some details may be disputed or unverified, and this episode is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All research in this episode is based on publicly available reporting and archival interviews and documentaries. Full list of sources available upon request.