Show Notes
The Beast in Me is the buzzy new Netflix thriller everyone’s talking about, so this week we’re sharing our (spoiler-free!) review and the standout moments from its star Claire Danes’ latest interviews. First, though, we dive into Jennifer Lawrence’s career-defining performance in Die My Love, also starring Robert Pattinson, and her personal reflections on postpartum life, as well as Charli XCX’s fab Substack on the realities of being a pop star and the celeb newsletter boom more generally. Plus: the brilliant new sci-fi about a romantasy writer, Pluribus; the Guardian’s viral investigation into ‘free birth’ influencers; and Ambika Mod’s latest role as a porn-addicted academic. Enjoy hunnies!
Get 10% off our fave sofa brand Swyft with the code straightup10 at swyfthome.com, and the code works on top of Black Friday sales! Stylish, comfy, flat-packed and no tools required.
We love hearing from you, DM us @straightuppod, email at [email protected] and follow us on TikTok @straightuppod too!
Recs/reviews:
Pluribus, AppleTV The Lost Bus, AppleTV Die My Love, in cinemas now ‘Die My Love’ and the savage truth about the postpartum experience, Gillian Orr, Substack Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world, Guardian The realities of being a pop star, Charli XCX’s substack Why is Everybody Losing Weight and What do we do Sincerely? A person who's lost weight, Lizzo’s Substack Lizzo Starts Over The pop star’s success once felt radical. Can she capture the Zeitgeist again?, Vulture The Beast In Me, Netflix ‘I’d barely kissed a boy, but was making out with Adonis’: Claire Danes on sex, spy camp and teen stardom, Guardian Porn Play, Royal Court The 31-Year-Old Creator Of Porn Play Wanted To “Do Something Provocative”, Vogue .
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Straight Up
The Victoria’s Secret fashion show is back and seemingly more popular than ever, just years after it was dismissed as sexist and outdated. So how did we get here, and why are we suddenly celebrating a version of femininity we thought we’d left behind? Also this week: the newly-announced reboot of Lena Dunham’s Girls and whether it can capture the zeitgeist again, the controversy surrounding Sally Rooney’s book ban, plus reviews of Florence Pugh’s East of Eden adaptation and Ben Affleck’s new Netflix thriller.
Elizabeth Day’s bestselling novel The Party has been turned into a glossy new TV thriller with Luke Evans, exploring toxic friendships and the dark side of the British upper classes. Plus, a comedian has sparked a furious backlash after calling women in gym shorts “whores” on SNL. Is misogyny being repackaged as edgy comedy? Also on the show: the must-watch new series of prison drama Time starring David Tennant and the questions it raises about our broken criminal justice system, a gripping new investigative podcast about an LA couple who had 21 children via surrogacy, a review of Jeremy Strong’s turn as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning and Nara Smith’s “sexy rebrand”.
Sienna Miller and Dominic West play a celebrity couple at war in Sky’s hyped new divorce drama, so this week we’re getting into some of Hollywood’s messiest breakups – not to mention the stars’ own experiences with relationship scrutiny – from Halle Berry’s current custody battle to how Olivia Wilde and Tom Cruise were both “blindsided” by their exes. Also on the show: The Celebrity Traitors is back and we couldn’t be more thrilled, why contestant Richard E. Grant has our hearts, the Fourth Wing prequel and a review of Daisy Edgar Jones’ Sense and Sensibility. Plus, we reveal all the details of our first ever virtual book club!
Miquita Oliver went on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place pod this week, marking the end of a decades-long feud fuelled by the toxic tabloid culture of the early noughties. We debrief on their heart-warming reconciliation and how female rivalry is so often rooted in insecurity. Also on the show: Amelia Dimoldenberg hosted SNL, Taylor Swift has upset fans and critics alike with her latest release Encore (despite cleaning up at the VMAs on Sunday) and Vogue is engulfed in yet another controversy after the company behind Mounjaro sponsored its latest event. Plus: Colin From Accounts season three, Anne Hathaway’s dinosaur movie and a couple of great recs for weekend watching. Enjoy huns!
From Lena Dunham announcing the birth of her baby girl via surrogate in a fashion piece for Vogue, to Ed Sheeran’s PR disaster over Palestine and free speech, this week both celebs have found themselves at the centre of debates they’d tried to side-step. Is commercial surrogacy inherently “anti-feminist”? And can stars really be apolitical in this day and age? Also on the show: we review Sharon Horgan’s brilliant new series YOUTH, all about ageing anxiety and dating in your 50s.