The High Low
A weekly conversation between writers Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes, that covers highbrow and lowbrow culture.
It’s our favourite time of year: The OED have released their new admissions. Are you feeling bongga? Or are you - whisper it - just a nothingburger?
We also discuss the Banksy that shredded itself; Brett Kavanaugh’s ascendancy into The Supreme Court; Taylor Swift’s Instagram politics; and that time Trump walked around with a wad of bog roll stuck to his shoe. It’s the little things.
This episode concerns two men accused of domestic abuse - comedian Seann Walsh, and Johnny Depp who currently covers British GQ. Were Strictly Come Dancing wrong not to drop Walsh? Were GQ wrong to profile Depp? We deep-dive into both and wonder: what’s the protocol, when it comes to the accused?
E-mail: thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet us: @thehighlowshow
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Fashion’s Dirty Secrets, on the BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bn6034
Can I re-think my love affair with clothes? by Jess Cartner-Morley for The Guardian magazine https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/oct/06/sustainable-fashion-impact-on-planet-jess-cartner-morley
Sorry For Your Loss, on Facebook Watch
A Woman’s Anger, an episode with Rebecca Traister for Call Your Girlfriend podcast https://www.callyourgirlfriend.com/a-womans-anger-with-rebecca-traister/
Good and Mad, by Rebecca Traister https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Rebecca-Traister/Good-and-Mad--The-Revolutionary-Power-of-Womens-Anger/22853939
Notes On A Nervous Planet, by Matt Haig https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Matt-Haig/Notes-on-a-Nervous-Planet/21949786
‘The Outlaw’ - Johnny Depp will not be buried, by Jonathan Heaf for British GQ https://t.co/0d7xQvg0yB
Wanderlust on The BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bjckgv
Not Working by Lisa Owens Radio Adaptation: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07blldr
Christopher Bland Award for Writing: https://rsliterature.org/award/rsl-christopher-bland-prize/
Daisy Buchanan on Rebecca Humphries’ statement for The Pool: https://www.the-pool.com/news-views/opinion/2018/41/Strictly-Come-Dancing-Seann-Walsh-ex-girlfriend-statement
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s here! Expect many tears, intense nostalgia, beautiful letters from our listeners and a big ole dose of DJ CJ to celebrate the last four glorious years of The High Low.
Book tickets to the last ever High Low live show, streaming next week and raising money for Blood Cancer UK https://www.fane.co.uk/high-low
Recommendations:
Michaela Coel on Grounded with Louis Theroux
Billy Crystal on Awards Chatter
Pandemic at the disco playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3dW4ddgwOxj4q7XVvbOa7w?si=-xXJ81SkTLS0ZU2w9v-v3g
The School of Life’s Connect card game
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
Tiny Lungs - 28 poems by Joanna Bennett
Small Axe by Steve McQueen on BBC iplayer
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We are so thrilled to have the one and only Graham Norton on today's episode, talking all about his new novel, Home Stretch, his favourite celebrities to interview on his chat show, and the weird wonderfulness that is Eurovision.
Graham is The High Low's last ever author special - because the High Low will be coming to a close next week, after 4 joyous, life-changing years for us both. But before we go, we have one last LIVE show for you: the High Low Christmas LIVE will be live streamed on Vimeo at 7pm on December 8th, with all proceeds going to Blood Cancer UK, a charity that is very close to both of our hearts, in memory of Florence Kleiner and Enzo Saunt. We promise a festive extravaganza featuring a VERY special musical performance.
Tickets start at £10, please book yourself a ticket at: https://www.fane.co.uk/high-low.
With special thanks to Fane Productions, and our sponsor, the eco-friendly brand Method (and their delicious pink grapefruit cleaning spray) for making this live show possible
We will see you next week for our last ever podcast!
E-mail (while the inbox is still open!) thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com where 100% profits go to Fare Share
Links
Home Stretch, by Graham Norton
Wintering, by Katherine May
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen inteview by Chris Godfrey for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/nov/23/laurence-llewelyn-bowen-ive-been-trying-to-get-sacked-from-television-for-years
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Brace yourself: Emily in Paris is back for a second series. More importantly: the Christmas ads have dropped! We discuss some of them, and why a great Christmas ad doesn't actually.... have to have anything to do with Christmas.
Also today, we discuss Maggi Hambling's controversial nude statue of founding feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Rupert Everett's new autobiography, a documentary about Vivienne Westwood and the punk movement, and we deep dive into the Princess Diana content of the last week: the two-parter on ITV, with staggering allegations made against Martin Bashir, and the new series of The Crown, starring the magnificent Emma Corrin as Diana.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits for November go to Fare Share
Links
To The End Of The World, by Rupert Everett
The Crown series 4 now on Netflix
The Diana Interview: Revenge of a Princess, on ITV Player
What I've learned from 7 years of being single, by Camille Charriere for Harper's Bazaar https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/a34587107/camille-charriere-love-in-your-30s/
How long Covid forced me to confront my past and my identity, by Kathryn Bromwich for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/08/how-long-covid-forced-me-to-confront-my-past-and-my-identity
Vivienne Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist
Candice Carty-Williams on The Adam Buxton Podcast, Glenn Close on WTF, Keir Starmer on Desert Island Discs and What Trump Might Do In His Remaining Weeks in Office on Fresh Air
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
What a week to be alive! We discuss some of the many ridiculous things that have happened, mainly on the television, during this last monumental week, plus the riveting revelating that Dr Fauci of the Coronavirus task force in the US, had a celebrity zoom to help stop the spread of misinformation during the pandemic. Plus, swans in love and what we'd call our pet tortoise. And we talk telly: The Undoing, The Queen's Gambit, Emily in Paris (again) and Been So Long, an ambitious, upifting musical rom-com starring Michaela Coel.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com, 100% of profits for November go to Fare Share
Links
You're Wrong About podcast
Been So Long on Netflix
The Queens Gambit on Netflix
The Undoing, on Sky
Making Love With The Paint, on BBC iPlayer
Octavia Bright on her father being in a care home during lockdown, for The Sunday Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-can-speak-to-dad-but-i-may-never-hold-him-again-gtnq27p5s
Modern Love in The New York Times
Buy There's Something About Wallace: Lockdown Love on Hampstead Heath by Louisa Green: https://www.deemclean.co.uk/swan-story/
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Are you familiar with No Nut November? Move over Movember, there's a slightly queasy new internet challenge in town. Also today, we discuss whether a burger is a sandwich, the concerning omission from the Sean Connery obituaries, and the new YouTube record-breaker. And we have an author special today with Otegha Uwagba, who came on to discuss her new long-form essay, Whites.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet@thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com where 100% of profits go to Fare Share
Links
Whites, by Otegha Uwagba, out 12th November
Sacha Baron Cohen on Fresh Air: https://www.npr.org/2012/05/21/153204627/sacha-baron-cohen-the-fresh-air-interview?t=1604443983616
The Undoing, on Sky
You're Wrong About, on all podcast platforms
Ghosting stories at hardtoforget.com
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
From a naturally green puppy called Pistachio, to a charming and surprising memoir by Matthew McConnaughey, this week is your usual mixed bag -- including discussion of the government's abhorrent decision to stop funding free school meals for vulnerable children outside of term time (see a petition you can sign and charities you can donate to, below) and some television that has moved us. Also! A book that made Dolly's week, and Pandora's new favourite podcast.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% profits go to charity, 50% to Black Minds Matter and 50% to The Freedom Charity. For November, all profits will be going to Fare Share
Links
Reading
Elle Hunt on Matthew McConnaughey's memoir, Greenlights, for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/oct/26/greenlights-matthew-mcconaugheys-guide-to-life-livin-hollywood-star
What happened when me and Kim Kardashian both turned 40? By Eva Wiseman, for The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/oct/25/what-happened-when-both-me-and-kim-kardashian-turned-40-joint-party
Help Yourself, by Curtis Sittenfeld
Quite, by Claudia Winkleman
Watching
Enslaved on BBC iPlayer
Maggi Hambling on BBC iPlayer
Out Of Her Mind, on BBC iPlayer
Listening
You're Wrong About podcast
Dawn French on Table Manners podcast
Elvis Costello on The New Yorker Radio Hour podcast
Timothy Leary on Fresh Air podcast
Sign and donate for free school meals
Sign Marcus Rashford's petition for free school meals for vulnerable children, here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/554276
Charities to donate to:
Fare Share fareshare.org
Feeding Britain feedingbritain.org
Kitchen Social mayorsfundforlondon.org.uk/kitchen-social/
The Trussell Trust trusselltrust.org
Magic Breakfast magicbreakfast.com
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Today we discuss a love story in Venice, the new "wellness" trend of cow hugging, Matt Hancock's personal app (???) and listeners tell us what they think makes "a good deed". And some things we've been loving, including the feel good Love Life on Netflix. Plus! An exclusive, filthy extract from Joan and Jericha's new book, out on the 29th October.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits go to charity, 50% to Black Minds Matter and 50% to Freedom Charity
Links
Max Woosey's fundraising page for North Devon hospice https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/max-woosey1
Daddy, by Emma Cline, out now
Luster, by Raven Leilani, out in January 2021 and available for pre-order now
Love Life, on BBC iPlayer
Nigella Lawson on the fallacy of guilty pleasures for The Guardian: https://amp.theguardian.com/food/2020/oct/10/peanut-butter-chocolate-cake-and-vegan-gingerbread-five-new-sweet-recipes-from-nigella-lawson?__twitter_impression=true
The role of food in Jewish celebration for Radio 4’s The Food Programme: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-food-programme/id342927791?i=1000495160731
How My Mother and I Became Chinese Propaganda, by Jiayang Fan for The New Yorker (listen to the audio on the same link) https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/09/14/how-my-mother-and-i-became-chinese-propaganda
Dear Joan and Jericha: Why He Turns Away, Do’s and Don’ts from Dating to Death, out on the 29th October
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We continue our conversation about sharing grief in the aftermath of a still birth or miscarriage, with a special contribution from the grief psychotherapist Julia Samuel MBE. We also discuss penguin and seahorse reproduction, a delicious piece of Hollywood gossip involving Cary Grant and Clark Gable, and - mais bien sûr - we plunge into Emily and Paris aka 2020's answer to Sex And The City and all its associated controversy.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet@thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshow.com - 100% profits go to charity, 50% Black Minds Matter and 50% to Freedom Charity
Links
10 Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, by Jaron Lanier summarised on Blinkist
What to say to women going through miscarriage and baby loss, by Alexandra King for CNN https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/09/health/miscarriage-what-to-say-wellness/index.html
I find myself apologising for the complex nature of my motherhood, by Sophie Beresiner for The Sunday Times Style https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sophie-beresiner-i-find-myself-apologising-for-the-complex-nature-of-my-motherhood-thqdl0b92
Follow Sophie @motherprojectofficial and pre-order her book here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mother-Project-Sophie-Beresiner/dp/0008456860
Titting About, an Audible podcast series by French and Saunders
Emily in Paris, on Netflix
Everything that's wrong with Emily in Paris by an actual French person, by Marie Telling for Buzzfeed https://www.buzzfeed.com/marietelling/emily-in-paris-reviewed-by-french-person
Would Emily's Bot actually go viral? By Rachel Handler for Vulture https://www.vulture.com/2020/10/emily-in-paris-instagram-influencers.html
On The Rocks, at cinemas now
Samantha Morton on Desert Island Discs, Radio 4
Floella Benjamin on Desert Island Discs, Radio 4
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We discuss Chrissy Tiegen's social media posts about the death of her baby Jack, and the judgement around public grief. Also today, we dissect a list of words and phrases facing expiration (40% of under 30s don't know what "getting sozzled" means) and the fascinating docu-drama, The Social Dilemma. Plus, Pandora falls in love with a film called Rocks, and Dolly has a(nother) Springsteen moment.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% proceeds go to charity (50% to Black Minds Matter, and 50% to The Freedom Charity)
Links
If Chrissy Tiegen wants to share the agony of losing her baby, let her, by Barbara Ellen for The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/03/if-chrissy-teigen-wants-to-share-the-agony-of-losing-her-baby-let-her
Why Chrissy Tiegen's story is so helpful to other women, by Jennifer Handt for WBUR https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2020/10/06/miscarriage-pregnancy-loss-chrissy-teigen-jennifer-handt
The Social Dilemma, on Netflix
Rocks, on general release and now on Netflix
Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, by Jaron Lanier (2018)
A Life in The Day interview with Tom Hollander for The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tom-hollander-on-sleeping-pills-and-hugging-pillows-jrg892zl9
Bruce Springsteen: From My Home To Yours, on BBC Sounds
Once Were Brothers on Amazon Video
Robbie Williams on The Adam Buxton Podcast
The Duchess on Netflix
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This year has seen even our closest friendships turn into long-distance ones; what is the impact - and the thought spirals - of your A-list friends becoming peripheral specks in your vision? We discuss, with a funny and thought-provoking piece by Katie Heaney for The Cut. Also today, we natter about how to mend a broken heart, and the evolving nature of romantic relationships, with a special reading from the author Nick Hornby.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet@thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com with 100% profits going to charity (50% Black Minds Matter, 50% Freedom Charity)
Links
Are All My Friends Mad At Me? By Katie Heaney, for The Cut https://www.thecut.com/2020/09/are-all-my-friends-mad-at-me.html
High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby
Schitt's Creek, on Netflix
Guys We Fucked - Heartbreak Is Universal? with Guy Winch https://luminary.link/8lCmg8hebab
The Psychology of Friendship, by Mahzad Hojjit
Us, on BBC iPlayer
Safe Spaces for Black Women, created by Leyla Hussein https://gf.me/u/y2khxi
Dawn French's Desert Island Discs, 2012 on Radio 4 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pf6dx
The Wife, by Meg Wolitzer
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Doll's Polls is back, with a strange fact about what heterosexual women most look for, in a man. A handsome face? A tight tush? Nope -- quite frankly, you'll never guess. We also discuss a beautiful ode from a coupled-up woman to her single friends, Matt Haig's new book about finding hope in the lives you could have lived, and a couple of our favourite comedy shows by women.
And - deep breath - we dive into the issues raised by a personal essay penned by the model and actor Emily Ratajkowski, that blew up certain parts of the internet this week, about who owns a public image. We address women's bodies and the ethics of sharing in the age of Instagram, with a side order of choice feminism. You can share your thoughts with us via e-mail -- we're sure you'll have a few.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits go to charity, currently Black Minds Matter and Freedom charity
Links
Emily Ratajkowski on reclaiming her own image, for New York magazine https://www.thecut.com/article/emily-ratajkowski-owning-my-image-essay.html
The Emily Ratajkowski effect, by Haley Nahman for her Maybe Baby newsletter https://haleynahman.substack.com/p/24-the-cult-of-emily-ratajkowski
The Duchess, on Netflix
RBG, on Netflix
Ruth Bader Ginsberg's death means pro-choicers have a fight on their hands, by Zoe Williams for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/22/ruth-bader-ginsburg-pro-choicers-abortion-us-presidential-election
Tracks, on BBC Sounds
The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig, out now
This Way Up on All4
Seven Pledges to My Single Friends by Caroline O’Donoghue https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/arid-40048532.html
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In today's episode we discuss news of the telly: decade-defining reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, is ending after 20 seasons; US soap The Bold & The Beautiful are using dummies in their snogging scenes; and most depressingly and shamefully, Ofcom have received 22,000 (15,600 at the time of record) complaints over dance troupe Diversity's moving dance rendition of George Floyd's death on Britain's Got Talent.
Also today, we discuss the joy of a buffet (with an excerpt from new book In The Kitchen read by Joel Golby), the world's first ever A.I. model agency and the emergence of lockdown literature, featuring Zadie Smith's booklet of essays, Intimations.
E-mail us thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet us @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits go to charity: Black Minds Matter and Freedom Charity
Links
Intimations by Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith on Adam Buxton podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-130-zadie-smith/id1040481893?i=1000487206444?i=1000487206444
Is this the end of the buffet? by Joel Golby https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/sep/13/joel-golby-end-of-the-buffet-in-covid-19
Keeping up with the Kardashians is ending. What does it all mean? by Rosa Lyster https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/13/keeping-up-with-the-kardashians-ending-reality-tv
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We reminisce over garage music (without being entirely sure what officially defines a garage track), discuss the dicey new Dettol ad that's got everyone's knickers in a twist and why we both felt ashamed when we read Gwyneth Paltrow's recent piece about the trauma of her 'conscious uncoupling', ten years ago.
Plus, the sensitive and moving BBC drama about a life never lived, Anthony; a brilliant pocket-sized book on race by Ijeoma Oluo; and Dolly's favourite show, Circus of Books, about a famous gay bookshop of the 1980s.
Oh! And Dolly's solved the mystery of Francesco - her long-term house ghost. You're welcome.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits go to charity (50% to Black Minds Matter, 50% to Freedom Charity)
Links
Gwyneth Paltrow on her experience of conscious uncoupling https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/gwyneth-paltrow-conscious-uncoupling
Circus of Books, on Netflix
So You Want To Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
Anthony, on BBC iPlayer
Bella Mackie on the joy of small purchases for British Vogue, https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/new-shopping-habits
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We back! And it's the old mixed bag of content: from grubby gussets to bathroom-heavy mansions in WeHo, via a revisitation of our noughties book shelves. Links below, you know what to do.
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% profits go to charity (Freedom Charity and Black Minds Matter)
Links
Watching/ listening
Mrs America on Netflix
Selling Sunset on Netflix
Shagged Married Annoyed on all podcast apps
Jim Nicholson on Fresh Air https://www.npr.org/2019/03/01/698908276/fresh-air-remembers-philadelphia-daily-news-obituary-writer-jim-nicholson?t=1598993655688
Reading
The Confession by Jessie Burton
Dominicana by Angie Cruz
Lost To The Virus, a series for The Guardian by Sirin Kale
26a by Diana Evans
Two Lives by Vikram Seth
'Heirlooms' a short story by Bryan Washington for The New Yorker
More Than A Woman by Caitlin Moran
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
How to Live On 24 Hours a Day by Arnold Bennett
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s our last episode of the season - and boy, do we have a bumper episode for you. In this week’s show we discuss what Twitter’s failure to suspend Wiley says about our failure to combat anti-semitism (and what you can do to help), the graphic and glorious podcast of the year, Brown Girls Do It Too, Kiley Reid’s incisive and compulsively readable novel Such A Fun Age and an author special with the inspiring and thought-provoking columnist and author of We Need New Stories, Nesrine Malik about why we must resist cultural myths. Plus, some newsletters to subscribe to right now, and an Ask The High Low question about dating after cancer. We’ll be back in early September!
E-mail: thehighlowshow@gmail.com (but please do note the inbox will be unmanned for August)
Tweet: @thehighlowshow
Shop: thehighlowshop.com where 100% proceeds go to charity - 50% to Black Minds Matter and 50% to Freedom Charity
Links
Following/ signing
@geraldstratfor3 on Twitter
Sign the petition for Wiley to have his MBE removed
Write to honours.cabinetoffice@gov.uk to request the removal of Wiley’s MBE
Reading
The Waiting Room, a newsletter by Amelia Tait
Sidenotes, a newsletter by Sophie Wilkinson
The Red Hand Files, a newsletter by Nick Cave
https://www.theredhandfiles.com
The Meander, a newsletter by Dolly Alderton
Such A Fun Age, by Kiley Reid
We Need New Stories, by Nesrine Malik
Hot Little Hands, by Abigail Ulman
Listening/ watching
Brown Girls Do It Too, on BBC Sounds
In Writing podcast, by Hattie Crissell
Call My Agent, on Netflix
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We dig further into the cultural conversation around parenting, courtesy of masses of feedback from our listeners on last week's ep and a thoughtful piece on same-sex parenting. Also today: Taffy Brodesser-Akner's short story, Dolly's favourite new dating columnist, a novel that delves into the foibles as much as the grand themes of old age, and why people are happier by the sea. And we introduce our new charitable outlets for The High Low shop.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet@thehighlowshow
Shop at thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits go to charity (50% to Black Minds Matter, 50% to The Orchid Project.)
Links
The Weekend, by Charlotte Wood
A Curious Career by Lynn Barber
Taffy Brodesser Akner's short story https://www.thecut.com/2020/07/fleishman-is-in-lockdown-a-story-by-taffy-brodesser-akner.html
Annie Lorde's dating column for Vogue https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/sexting
What adopting as a same-sex couple taught us, by Ben Fergusson for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jul/18/mums-day-off-is-it-what-adopting-as-a-same-sex-couple-taught-us
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Today we discuss how motherhood and child-free women are culturally discussed and pitted against one another, referencing podcasts, a journalistic series and Emma Gannon's new novel, Olive, along the way. We also answer an Ask The High Low from a woman whose partner wants children, but she's worried about how pregnancy, birth and motherhood may affect her mental health.
Also today, we talk about a candid interview with Thandie Newton, where the actor reflects on a 30 year career often rife with micro-aggressions and misogyny, Nick Hornby's new novel and recommend two social and mentorship networks: City Girl Network and The Black Agents and Editors Group, for people of African descent working in publishing or media.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits go to charity, 50% to Show Racism The Red Card and 50% to Women's Aid
Links
Reading
Olive by Emma Gannon
Just Like You by Nick Hornby
Thandie Newton interview by E Alex Jung for Vulture https://www.vulture.com/article/thandie-newton-in-conversation.html
Michaela Cole interview by E Alex Jung for Vulture https://www.vulture.com/article/michaela-coel-i-may-destroy-you.html
'Am I willing to risk my mental health to have a baby?' by Bella Mackie for The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bella-mackie-am-i-willing-to-risk-my-mental-health-to-have-a-baby-36pvzdl50
Guardian US series on being child-free https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/series/childfree
Listening/ watching
Helen Mirren on WTF with Marc Maron
Sian Harries and Grace Dent are ambivalent about motherhood https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jd32d
Networks, petitions and mentorship
City Girls Network https://citygirlnetwork.com
The Black Agents and Editors Group https://blackagentsandeditors.com
Sign the petition to protect free hospital parking for NHS staff https://www.change.org/p/uk-parliament-free-parking-at-work-for-all-nhs-staff?recruiter=60114810&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=11bcc65d09ce4da697c7beddfbe0a4f7&recruited_by_id=2c992f50-ed5e-0130-e2cf-3c764e044346
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The pubs have opened; but why is the beauty sector still in lockdown? Also today, we discuss the slew of videos of children interrupting their parents during a pandemic, a new book about love and loneliness in 1950s suburbia, and a deep-dive into Nora Ephron. And Dolly interviews the brilliant former doctor, comic and writer, Adam Kay, about a new book he has edited, Dear NHS: 100 Stories To Say Thank You.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% profits go to charity (50% to Show Racism The Red Card, 50% to Women's Aid)
Links
Small Pleasures, by Clare Chambers, out now
The Old Man, by Roger Angel https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/02/17/old-man-3
Everything Is Copy, on NOW TV via Sky Documentaries
Dear NHS: A Collection of 100 Stories To Say Thank You, edited by Adam Kay - out 9th July
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Wishing you were at Glastonbury? Get stuck into Zing Tseng's piece, instead. Ruby Tandoh reads us an excerpt of her beautiful piece on quitting, and we discuss why quitting is not just a physical act - but a state of mind. Also today: a Doll's Polls on first date turn-offs (verdict: most of them are unavoidable), a hilarious analysis by Diyora Shadijanova of what Gen Z'ers really think about millennials (verdict: old and boring), plus a great primer on white privilege by Robin DiAngelo and Channel 4's documentary, The School That Tried To End Racism.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% profits go to charity (50% Show Racism The Red Card, 50% Women's Aid)
Links
Zing Tseng on festivals for Vice https://www.vice.com/amp/en_uk/article/4ayagj/what-i-miss-festivals-glastonbury
Ruby Tandoh on the art of quitting for WePresent https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/story/work-sucks-i-know-ruby-tandoh/
Eat Up, by Ruby Tandoh
What Gen Z'ers think about millennials, by Diyora Shadijanova https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/4ay3gw/what-gen-z-thinks-of-millennials?
Why “I’m not racist” is only half the story, by Robin DiAngelo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzLT54QjclA&feature=emb_title
The School That Tried To End Racism, on Channel 4od
Oprah's SuperSoul Conversations: Ellen DeGeneres Comes Out https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ellen-degeneres-comes-out/id1264843400?i=1000475900203
Desert Island Discs - Chili Bouchier https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0093nxc
The Great Godden, by Meg Rosoff
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Mmmm get that yeasty pong. Today we recall the wisdom of Zadie Smith, chat more about the jaw-dropping drama that is Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You, discuss Naoise Dolan's piece on how autism has shaped her work and recommend Munroe Bergdorf's Table Manners interview. We also drop a lot of not entirely irrelevant but mostly random animal facts - including the retirement of Diego, the Warren Beatty of tortoises. Plus, an Ask The High Low about what to do when you're single, and none of your coupled up friends understand.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits go to charity (Women's Aid and Show Racism The Red Card)
Links
A Ladder To The Sky
How Being Diagnosed with Autism Changed My Life, by Naoise Dolan for The Sunday Times Style https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/naoise-dolan-how-being-diagnosed-with-autism-aged-27-changed-my-life-lc9f7bzp0
I May Destroy You, on BBC iPlayer
Arena: Desert Island Discs 1982 on BBC iPlayer
Big Brother: Best Shows Ever on 4OD
Zadie Smith on Literary Friction
Munroe Bergdorf on Table Manners
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In today's episode, we discuss the findings on Sex In Lockdown: Keep Shagging And Carry On; the astounding work that is Michaela Coel's I Never Said I Love You and in light of JK Rowling's comments last week, some recommendations for understanding the trans experience. We also feature an exclusive extract from the writer Rhik Samadder's memoir about mental health, love and family, I Never Said I Love You and lots more podcast recs from Dolly. Plus! Ask The High Low is back.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet@thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop - 100% profits go to charity (Show Racism The Red Card and Women's Aid)
Links
Reading
I Never Said I Loved You, by Rhik Samadder
Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man, by Thomas Page McBee
The Gender Games, by Juno Dawson
Consider The Greenland Shark by Katherine Rundell
Brit-ish by Afua Hirsch
Watching and Listening
Sex In Lockdown: Keep Shagging and Carry On, on Channel 4
I May Destroy You, on BBC iPlayer
Seahorse, on Vimeo
Laura Marling on Song Exploder
Radio 4’s The Food Programme - Food On Film
Jerry Seinfeld on WTF
Afua Hirsch on Fortunately
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We discuss online vs offline behaviour, when it comes to social change; and why historical progress has long relied on the removal of monuments. Also today, tons of podcast recommendations, an homage to Gogglebox and the size 75 shoes made especially for social distancing.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Social media
@multiculturalkidsbooks on IG
@diverse_kids_books on IG
@novelallure on IG
Reading
Knights Of bookshop http://knightsof.media
Anti-Racist Baby, by Ibram X. Kendi
Little Leaders: Bold Women In Black History
Superior by Angela Saini
Stolen Legacy by George James
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
You're Silence Will Not Protect you by Audre Lorde
Here For It by R. Eric Thomas
Candice Brathwaite interview by Johanna Thomas-Corr for Observer https://bit.ly/37hGPKa
Bernadine Evaristo on inclusive publishing for British Vogue https://bit.ly/2XOoaCX
Yomi Adegoke on the "pics or it didn't happen approach" for British Vogue https://bit.ly/2znzRac
8 Books by Black authors that aren't about Black pain by Natalie Morris for Metro https://bit.ly/2MLU8Ju
Fighting racism requires more than hashtags by Nesrine Malik for The Guardian https://bit.ly/2BTpoUT
Why You Should Say Black Lives Matter by Bob and Peppermint https://bit.ly/2Ur97g3
The Resilience of Marga Griesbach by Rebecca Traister for New York mag https://bit.ly/3dKzKnY
Watching & Listening
Sabrina Cohen-Hatton on Rangan Chatterjee's podcast, Feel Better, Live More
Ibram X Kendi interview with Brene Brown for Unlocking Us
Celebrity Gogglebox
Days of the Bagnold Summer
Douglas by Hannah Gadsby on Netflix
Fresh Air: Hannah Gadsby
The C Word: Paula Yates
Jay Rayner’s Out To Lunch
Desert Island Discs: Professor Dame Elizabeth Anionwu
Grounded with Louis Theroux: Miriam Margolyes
Nick Cave: The Red Hand Files
Petitions
Healthcare for black women in the U.K. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/301079
Paul Stephenson statue https://www.change.org/p/bristol-city-council-replace-the-colston-statue-with-paul-stephenson
Donate to Black Minds Matter https://uk.gofundme.com/f/black-minds-matter-uk
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This week’s episode is focused on the resources we can access to educate ourselves on racism. These lists are not exhaustive but may provide a starting point. We also interview the creator of Make Motherhood Diverse, Candice Brathwaite, about her searing new book I Am Not Your Baby Mother.
Non-Fiction
Why I Am No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
I Am Not Your Baby Mother by Candice Brathwaite
White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
How To Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
The Good Immigrant compiled by Nikesh Shukla
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Women Race and Class by Angela Davis
White Rage by Carol Anderson
Brit-ish by Afua Hirsch
My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay
Slay In Your Lane by Elizabeth Uviebinené & Yomi Adegoke
A Burst of Light by Audre Lorde
Don’t Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri
Taking Up Space: The Black Girls Manifesto For Change by Chelsea Kwakye & Ore Ogunbiyi
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F Saad
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
Natives: Race & Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala
Aint I a Woman: Black Women & Feminism by bell hooks
Why You Need To Stop Saying “All Lives Matter” by Rachel Elizabeth Cargle for Harper’s Bazaar https://bit.ly/3gG8rgq
Ibram X. Kendi’s reading list for The New York Times https://nyti.ms/3gKL8lH
Fiction
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie
Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Ordinary People by Diana Evans
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
On Beauty and White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Citizen: An American Life by Claudia Rankine
Social media
@theconsciouskid
@taranaburke
@galdemzine
@tamikadmallory
@privtoprog
@blklivesmatter
Donate
George Floyd’s Memorial Fund
Black Lives Matter
Black Protest Legal Support UK
Liberty
Stop Hate UK
The Stephen Lawrence Trust
The Innocence Project
Show Racism The Red Card
Black Visions Collective
Mentorship
Routes
Girls Out Loud
Fluid
Kids resources
Raising White Kids by Jennifer Harvey
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Brad Meltzer’s Ordinary People Can Change The World series on Rosa Parks & Harriet Tubman
A Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Other links
Petition to update GCSE reading list https://bit.ly/2U6foOl
1619 podcast by The NY Times
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Did you know there is a word in German for 'social distancing whilst wearing swimming pool noodles as a hat'? We're sceptical, but charmed.
As the heaviness weighs on many of you, we have a batch of podcasts, books, articles and surprising lockdown stats to cheer and distract you.
Please do e-mail any questions or issues to thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Or you can tweet us @thehighlowshow
Shop thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits go to charity (Women's Aid and NHS Charities urgent cover relief fund)
Links
Book a goat for Zoom (yes) at www.cronkshawfoldfarm.co.uk/goatsonzoom
Volunteer during furlough at www.furlonteer.com
Find @_lockdownstories on Instagram
Reading
Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernadine Evaristo
Ramble Book: Musings on Childhood, Friendship, Family and 80s Pop Culture, by Adam Buxton, available on audio book now (and in print in September)
Insanity Can Keep You Sane, by Molly Young for The New York Times Mag www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/11/magazine/quarantine-insanity.html
Where to start in Joni Mitchell's back catalogue, by Hannah Stevens for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/may/20/joni-mitchell-where-to-start-in-her-back-catalogue
Listening and watching
Sir Lenny Henry interview with Louis Theroux's Grounded podcast
Grayson Perry's Art Club, on Channel 4
Gemma Collins: Diva on Lockdown, on ITV Player
Love, Loss and What I Wore by Nora and Delia Ephron https://www.92y.org/love-loss-and-what-i-wore
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It's a pot noodle of an episode this week. From our favourite pandemic stories around the globe - selected especially to cheer you up - to a bunch of recommendations, a deep-dive into the way we metabolise information now, and a compulsory dwell on Stanley Tucci.
E-mail: thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet: @thehighlowshow
Shop: thehighlowshop.com where 100% of profits go to charity (Women's Aid and Covid-19 NHS Urgent Appeal)
Links
Book a Migrateful cookery class at migrateful.org
The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett - out 2nd June
Brit Bennett and Emma Cline in conversation for Entertainment Weekly https://ew.com/books/author-interviews/brit-bennett-emma-cline-in-conversation/
Robert Pattinson interview by Zach Baron for GQ, US edition https://www.gq.com/story/robert-pattinson-on-batman-tenet-isolation-june-cover
Lockdown with My Gen Z nieces, by Sathnam Sanghera for The Times magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sathnam-sanghera-lockdown-with-my-gen-z-nieces-8bcm9qxcx
Dating After Coronavirus, by Nayeema Raza for The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/opinion/coronavirus-dating.html
Here’s how time works now by Eli Grober for McSweeney's: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/heres-how-time-works-now
A Love In Verse: https://www.aloveinverse.com/
Stanley Tucci's Life in Quarantine, for The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/05/stanley-tuccis-life-quarantine/611557/
Sinéad Burke interview on Desert Island Discs https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000j7q5
Dissect podcast https://dissectpodcast.com
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Today we discuss the surprising lockdown sales boom, an animal fact and a few new pandemic lifestyle theories. Just another episode of The High Low, then.
We also ring up Samatha Irby in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to discuss her hilarious new essay collection (a joy for anxiety-ridden times) wow, no thank you.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop at www.thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits go to charity (currently Women's Aid and the COVID-19 NHS Urgent Appeal)
Links
wow, no thank you, by Samantha Irby - out now
I've craved a slower pace of life - and want to make it permanent, a Dear Mariella column for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/may/10/i-have-craved-a-slower-pace-of-life-and-want-to-make-it-permanent-mariella-frostrup
The lockdown dick margin, by Lauren Bravo for Refinery29 https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/bad-temper-lockdown
The buzz of big cities is losing out to cottagecore, by India Knight for The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-what-is-the-point-of-cities-with-no-buzz-h532fgnjd
My sister died of coronavirus. She needed care, but her life was not disposable. By Rory Kinnear for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/12/rory-kinnearsister-protect-vulnerable-coronavirus-rory-kinnear
Things need me, by Charles Simic https://www.instagram.com/p/B_-gZk4jkFP/?igshid=cerd2jisw0n4
As isolation drags on, I've found myself wanting to be a friend to myself, by Emma Jane Unsworth for Grazia, issue published May 5th
Tayari Jones on Open Book https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/books-and-authors/id331296649?i=1000474155261
Cate Blanchett on WTF https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/wtf-with-marc-maron-podcast/id329875043?i=1000474214665
Laura Marling on The Adam Buxton podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-adam-buxton-podcast/id1040481893?i=1000474168608
Steve Martin on Fresh Air https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/fresh-air/id214089682?i=1000474020262
Run, on Sky Atlantic and Now TV
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This week we discuss what your books on your bookshelf say about you, the new lockdown lingo (are you drinking furlough merlot?), whether lockdown telly might have reached its apex, and the concept of heteropessimism.
You can e-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com and shop at thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits go to charity.
Links
Apply here for Penguin's WriteNow scheme: https://www.penguin.co.uk/company/creative-responsibility/writenow.html
If I Had Your Face, by Frances Cha
Culture Call, a podcast by The Financial Times
Louis Theroux on Adam Buxton podcast
A Manual For Heartache: How To Feel Better, by Cathy Rentzenbrink
Exploding the myths behind K-Pop, by Crystal Tai for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/mar/29/behind-k-pops-perfect-smiles-and-dance-routines-are-tales-of-sexism-and-abuse
Marian Keyes interview with The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/28/marian-keyes-books-that-made-me
Indiana Seresin on heteropessimism for The New Inquiry https://thenewinquiry.com/on-heteropessimism/
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Thank you for bearing with us. We weren't able to bring you an episode last week for personal reasons, but we will try and make it up to you today - starting with a BIG apology to Lizzo for saying it wasn't possible to jam on a flute. It bloody well is. Mea culpa.
Today we discuss the micro-trends of lockdown (are you a lockdown cliche?) and a Dolls Polls about what we're all apparently buying. You will never guess the top billing (no - it's not loo roll. Or pasta.) Also today, a new podcast from Louis Theroux, a discussion of the adaptation of Normal People, the wonder that is Quiz and lots more reading, audio reccs and daft stories.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Shop online at www.thehighlowshop.com - 100% of profits go to charity (currently Women's Aid and the NHS Charities Covid-19 Urgent Appeal)
Links
Breathing Lessons, by Anne Tyler
The Wonder Spot, by Melissa Banks
Grounded, by Louis Theroux for BBC Radio 4
Sentimental Garbage: Eat Pray Love https://sentimentalgarbage.substack.com/p/eat-pray-love-with-abigail-bergstrom-cdf
Tash Demetriou on The Adam Buxton Podcast https://play.acast.com/s/adambuxton/d71a3ce3-6de0-4707-8ddb-3d5e8f1b4ea7
Difficult To Buy For, by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff for Tortoise https://members.tortoisemedia.com/2020/04/15/letters-from-lockdown-charlie-brinkhurst-cuff-transcript/content.html
My dad said I wasn't black enough. At least, I know what he meant, by Raven Smith for The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/apr/26/my-dad-said-i-wasnt-black-enough-at-last-i-know-what-he-meant
Quiz on ITV Player
Normal People on BBC iPlayer
All or Nothing at All on BBC
What Kinda Music, by Tom Misch
Sentimental Garbage: Eat Pray Love https://sentimentalgarbage.substack.com/p/eat-pray-love-with-abigail-bergstrom-cdf
Tash Demetriou on The Adam Buxton Podcast https://play.acast.com/s/adambuxton/d71a3ce3-6de0-4707-8ddb-3d5e8f1b4ea7
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It's Week 4 of lockdown and we hope all you cats and kittens are doing okay. Sorry - blame Carole Baskin. We've been watching Tiger King and eesh, do we feel icky. We discuss why that is and why streamed content is becoming increasingly crass. What does the flatpacking of problematic people into entertainment, reveal about us?
Also today, Dolly interviews the YA and contemporary novelist, Holly Bourne, about her new book, Pretending. They discuss sexual violence, the cultural expectations of sex and romance and why porn is doing women a disservice. And we discuss some podcasts that will help us all navigate what Brene Brown calls "the collective weary".
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Reading
House of Glass by Hadley Freeman
Pretending, by Holly Bourne
Sense and Sensibility: The Screenplay and Diaries, by Emma Thompson
Coming Undone, by Terri White, out July and avail online for pre-order
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
Watching & Listening
Alain de Botton on How To Fail with Elizabeth Day https://howtofail.podbean.com/e/how-to-fail-alain-de-botton/
Unlocking Us, with Brene Brown https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-on-comparative-suffering-the-50-50-myth-and-settling-the-ball/
Save Me Too, on Sky Atlantic
Tiger King, on Netflix
Nothing Like A Dame, available to buy or rent on Amazon prime
Song For Our Daughter by Laura Marling
Retro Sweat - the 80s aerobics class online https://www.instagram.com/retrosweat/?hl=en
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It's been a rough few weeks so we thought we'd bring you an extra episode for the long Easter weekend. Lots more culture reccs and more thoughts on lockdown life (with a belated shout out to Madonna's Instagram page.)
We've also bought back Ask The High Low! You can e-mail us with your question at thehighlowshow@gmail.com and we will be answering a few every week.
You can shop our merchandise at www.thehighlowshop.com and 100% of profits go to charity - 10% to Women's Aid and 90% to the NHS Charities Urgent Appeal for COVID-19.
Watching
Little Women - available on Amazon Prime on 11th May
Cheer, Love is Blind, Sex Education and Don't Fuck With Cats, and Marriage Story - all on Netflix
Listening to
Guys We Fucked on Luminary https://luminarypodcasts.com/listen/corinne-fisher-and-krystyna-hutchinson-465/guys-we-f-d-luminary-exclusive/drunk-v-day-special-he-used-your-duvet-as-a-diaphragm/d5dfed7c-f10c-41ed-bbb3-03c5573f8a35
Greta Gerwig on Scriptnotes https://johnaugust.com/2020/the-one-with-greta-gerwig
Pandemic at the Disco playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3dW4ddgwOxj4q7XVvbOa7w?si=o15nzeS0QVKzf_tFxJTd_w
Reading
Your Voice in My Head, by Emma Forrest - out now
Exciting Times, by Naoise Dolan - out April 16th and available now for pre-order
Scenes of a Graphic Nature, by Caroline O'Donoghue - out 18th June and available now for pre-order
Glorious Rock Bottom, by Bryony Gordon - *new publication date* 6th August and available now for pre-order
Hadley Freeman on the death of FOMO, for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/04/bye-bye-fomo-now-the-party-is-being-zoomed-to-my-laptop
Ann Patchett interviews Reese Witherspoon, for Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/03/the-book-of-reese
Mark Seal interviews James Stunt, for Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/02/the-prince-charles-art-forgeries-royal-scandal
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
What a time to be alive. It feels like we've all aged a decade since our last episode under 4 months ago.
Today we discuss lockdown life - what we're wearing; eating; meme-ing - and recommend a plethora of articles, books and podcasts. There will be another episode on Sat.
*Please do note that because we are recording remotely via a trilogy of new tech, there may be some occasional audio issues.*
This year 100% of profits for The High Low's merchandise (thehighlowshop.com) will be going to charity - 10% to Women's Aid and 90% to the NHS Charities COVID-19 Urgent Appeal. You can donate directly here: https://bit.ly/2xc17Hx
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet @thehighlowshow
Reading
David Nicholls #twitterbooklaunch on Twitter @DavidNWriter
Fatima Bhutto and Sanam Maher's Stay Home, Stay Reading initiative, via @fbhutto and @topbastard on Instagram
Florence Welch's book club @betweentwobooks on Instagram
The Love Letters of Dylan Thomas https://amzn.to/3e6Io0v
Join Me In My Obsession With Desert Island Discs, by Hua Hzu for The New Yorker https://bit.ly/3aTdjeX
The Discomfort You're Feeling is Grief, by Scott Berinato https://bit.ly/2y2h9DK
Languages of Loss, A Psychotherapist's Journey, by Sasha Bates https://amzn.to/2URT3ET
The Luxury of Awkwardness, by Hugo Rifkind for The Times LUXX https://bit.ly/2wt2hOE
What Brits need to learn about being Danish, by Sofie Hagen for The Guardian https://bit.ly/2wkyTd8
The Panic Years, by Nell Frizzell https://bit.ly/2JLyaF2
The Hungover Games, by Sophie Heawood https://bit.ly/2JLybc4
Listening & Watching
Dawn O'Porter on The Adam Buxton podcast https://adam-buxton.co.uk/podcasts/ep109-dawn-oporter
Ian Wright's Desert Island Discs https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000fdxw
Feel Good, by Mae Martin https://www.channel4.com/programmes/feel-good
Sorry You're Sick, by Ted Hawkins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeuLTL8pQRQ
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Oodles of cracker jokes, festive Dolls polls, jolly songs and weird Christmas facts; and Dolly pays a snowy visit to everyone’s favourite filthy agony aunts, Joan and Jericha for their first EVER audio interview. Their top tip for Christmas? A handjob under the dining room table.
Tweet @thehighlowshow
E-mail @thehighlowshow
We’ll be back from maternity leave in April 2020!
Donate to Solace Women’s Aid:
Buy a homeless young person a Christmas dinner:
https://centrepoint.org.uk/more-than-a-christmas-dinner/
Painfully British Haikus, by Dale Shaw
*Please note that the inbox will be unmanned during this time.*
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The High Low has launched merch! Roll up, roll up: berets, sweaters, t-shirts, tote bags and notepads are on sale at www.thehighlowshop.com and 10% of all profits go to Women's Aid. Order by December 18th to get your goodies in time for Christmas.
Today we discuss Boris's prediction for a post-Brexit "bonking bonanza", the brilliant scheme that is Press Pad and (more) global idioms.
Also today, the woman who was chucked off an American Airlines flight for her "offensive" slogan tee, which read 'Hail Satan.' Are words the same as actions? Dolly says no; Pandora thinks that in our scripturient time, they just might be.
Links
Donate to PressPad https://natwestbackherbusiness.co.uk/diversifythemedia
Elizabeth Is Missing, on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000c6pv
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover and Me, by Adrienne Brodeur https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1116165/wild-game/9781784742577.html
How To Throw A Great Christmas party, by Raven Smith https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/raven-smith-on-how-to-throw-a-great-christmas-party-shpjjgnjm
Ode to the Dinkus, by Daisy Alioto for The Paris Review https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/06/08/ode-to-the-dinkus/
The Manifesto Read https://www.manifestoread.com
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet@thehighlowshow
*Please note that although there will be a Christmas special released on 18th December, The High Low is now on maternity leave until April 2020 and the inbox will not be monitored during this time*
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We talk perineum sunning, Christmas tree erection, global idioms and polygraphs. And we host the journalist and author of Jog On: How Running Saved My Life and The Jog On Journal, Bella Mackie, to discuss mental health, running and why it's nothing to do with wellness or personal bests, divorce before the age of 30 and what the media gets wrong about mental health.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Jog On: How Running Saved My Life, by Bella Mackie
The Jog on Journal, by Bella Mackie
Being Single at 30, by Bella Mackie for British Vogue https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/being-single-at-30-a-vogue-memoir
How I Found My Wedding Dress (For The Second Time), by Bella Mackie for British Vogue https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/how-i-chose-the-dress-for-my-second-wedding
In the Dream House, by Carmen Maria Machado
When I Hit You, by Meena Kandasamy
Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80221584
David Merritt on the death of his son, Jack Merritt, for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/02/jack-merritt-london-bridge-attack-dave-merrit
For Desire, by Kim Addonizio http://pureapplesauce.blogspot.com/2009/01/for-desire-kim-addonizio.html
Derren Brown on The Adam Buxton podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-110-derren-brown/id1040481893?i=1000457582733
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This week we discuss the party leaders Question Time, the tragic murder of Grace Millane (and what we have learned and still need to learn about BDSM), the incredible documentary that is For Sama and the upcoming shortage of middle-class foods. Hold on to your halloumi...
And we cover the news that Victoria's Secret have axed their catwalk show - a pop-culture institution that cost £12 million to produce - after sales continue to dive at the lingerie brand. We talk choice feminism, body diversity, the underwear market and models in the age of social media.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
@sendb00ks on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sendb00ks/?hl=en
MUBI.com for international cinema
Onloan clothing rental: https://onloan.co/
73 Questions with Cardi B, for US Vogue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qTROr7cgCY
My Wild and Sleepless Nights: A Mother's Story, by Clover Stroud https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1116784/my-wild-and-sleepless-nights/9780857525901.html
For Sama, on Channel 4od https://www.channel4.com/programmes/for-sama
Broken: Jeffrey Epstein podcast https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sony-music-podcasts/broken-jeffrey-epstein
Dolly Parton's America: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/dolly-partons-america/episodes/only-one-me-jolene
Jane Garvey on How To Fail: https://play.acast.com/s/how-to-fail1/howtofail.podbean.com%2Fhow-to-fail-jane-garvey-256a07c04edf0b34828bd1ad62d2a867
Sophie Wilkinson on the murder of Grace Millane, for The Huffington Post https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/grace-millane-bdsm_uk_5dd57b30e4b0fc53f20cde5e
Halloumi Hell, by Séamus O'Reilly for The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/global/2019/nov/24/the-halloumi-crisis-supplies-of-one-of-britains-best-loved-imports-are-running-low
This Be The Worst, by Adrian Mitchell: http://aotearoasunrise.blogspot.com/2013/09/tuesday-poem-this-be-worst-by-adrian.html
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Dolly goes wild for Rod's railway, whilst Pandora decides to spend her upcoming maternity leave at the world's first vagina museum. Plus: Gregg's diet donut, the cassette tape revival and Nan Goldin's protest against the Sackler family.
And of course, we discuss Prince Andrew's disastrous, obfuscating interview with Emily Maitlis, as she quizzes him about the allegations of sexual assault against him and his continued friendship with the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Refinery 29's campaign to decriminalise abortion https://www.change.org/p/boris-johnson-make-abortion-a-medical-issue-not-a-criminal-offence-imacriminal
To buy Christmas cards from the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists visit www.mfpa.uk
The Crane Wife, by CJ Hauser for the Paris Review https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/07/16/the-crane-wife/
Naomi Campbell interview, by Nosheen Iqbal for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/nov/16/naomi-campbell-friends-enemies-tabloids-fashions-new-world-order
Tom Hanks interview, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner for The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/movies/tom-hanks-mister-rogers.html
Hood Feminism, by Mikki Kendall https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/hood-feminism-9781526622402/
I write in pockets of stolen time, by Roxane Gay for WePresents https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/story/roxane-gay-essay/
Elizabeth Day on Prince Andrew https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-7693403/ELIZABETH-DAY-not-victim-Andrew-real-victims-invisible-you.html
Suzanne Moore on Prince Andrew https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/17/prince-andrew-abuse-emily-maitlis-queen
Camilla Long on Prince Andrew https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/poor-st-andrew-far-too-honourable-to-leave-sex-offender-pal-to-stew-7vtjxwbx5
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We talk about rapper T.I.'s incredibly creepy confession that he gets his teenager daughter's hymen checked every year, what 'shitposting' really means and Emma Watson's re-naming of singledom as 'self-parternering'. And of course: there are some updates in the now legendary segment, Dolls Polls.
This week we have one of the most important and moving author specials we have ever had. Megan Phelps-Roper's memoir, Unfollow, charts her upbringing in the radical Westboro Baptist Church, a church in Kansas made famous by their shocking picketing of funerals, where they held up signs that read: God Hates Fags, and Pray For More Dead Soldiers. They were also the subject of two Louis Theroux documentaries, including the 2007, 'The Most Hated Family In America' - as WBC then became known. Megan left the church in 2012, aged 26, after her conversations with 'outsiders' on Twitter opened up an internal chasm in her faith.
We talk about radicalism, indoctrination, religion and how the ideology of a binary, black and white world, is not something specific to Westboro. It defines the time that we live in, too. And Megan describes the agony of leaving her family behind with her faith. "I left the church - but never you. And never will" she writes in her epigraph to her parents.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Unfollow, by Megan Phelps-Roper
Do Humankind's Best Days Lie Ahead? By Pinker, Ridley, De Botton and Gladwell
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, by Elizabeth Smart
Emma Watson interviewed by Paris Lees for British Vogue www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/emma-watson-on-fame-activism-little-women
What is shitposting? By Sarah Manavis for The New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/media/2019/11/what-is-shitposting-and-why-does-it-matter-bbc-brexitcast-laura-kuenssberg-got-it-wrong
Cruel Intentions, on Netflix
The Souvenir, on Amazon Prime
Black Woman, by Twayna Mayne on BBC Sounds www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07r9qy3
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This week we discuss Snapchat dysmorphia, the data-collection of period-tracking apps and why Dolly wants to shag Autumn. Also today we discuss Obama's speech-gone-viral on wokeness - which wasn't really about wokeness but on seeking not to shame, or humiliate others, in the name of progress. Is there space for Obama's brand of gradualism - or do we actually need radical change?
And we talk about Amazon Prime's Modern Love, based on the New York Times column, which we have both fallen hook, line and sinker for - because we are but sentimental fools.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Modern Love on Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Love-Season-1/dp/B07VNF5351
Modern Love, Edited by Daniel Jones https://www.waterstones.com/book/modern-love/daniel-jones/9780307351043
One Dimensional Woman, by Nina Power https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Dimensional-Woman-Zero-Books/dp/1846942411
Sabotage, by Emma Gannon for The Pound Project https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/poundproject/the-pound-project-part-six-emma-gannon
Exposure, by Olivia Sudjic https://peninsulapress.co.uk/product/exposure
A Woman's Beauty: Put Down or Power Source? By Susan Sontag, 1975 http://www.wheelersburg.net/Downloads/Sontag.pdf
The backlash against birth control apps, by Olivia Sudjic for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/21/colossally-naive-backlash-birth-control-app
Malaika Jabali on Obama https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/01/does-obamas-critique-of-radical-politics-help-bring-about-the-change-he-wanted
Sarah Ditum on Obama https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/02/barack-obama-right-you-dont-change-minds-by-damning-your-opponents
I walked out on my husband and kids for true love, by anon for The Sunday Times Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-walked-out-on-my-husband-and-kids-for-true-love-and-im-not-going-to-live-with-aching-regret-8xnjkgqpd
Instagram might be removing plastic surgery filters, but what about the skin lightening ones? By Ellie Abraham for gal-dem
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We've got facts about sloths, sea turtles and rats that drive cars. We also discuss the new terms we've learned this week - 'soft ghosting' and 'gradualism' - and Harvey Weinstein's appearance at a showcase for emerging comics.
Our author special today is with award-wining journalist and The Sunday Times Middle East correspondent, Louise Callaghan, who has written a tender, funny and impactful book, Father of Lions, about the zookeeper of Mosul who kept his animals alive through the ISIS occupation of 2014-2017. We discuss the nuances of radicalism, what the west is getting wrong with the dialogue around ISIS brides and the reality of working in a warzone. What is daily life like when you're on the frontline? How do you decompress?
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet@thehighlowshow
Links
Postmark collaboration with The Miscarriage Association https://postmarkonline.co.uk/miscarriage-association-cards
Father of Lions, by Louise Callaghan https://www.waterstones.com/book/father-of-lions/louise-callaghan/9781789540765
The Examined Life, by Stephen Grosz https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-examined-life/stephen-grosz/9780099549031
Suzanne Moore on Deborah Orr:
Sophie Heawood on ageing:
Alain de Botton on philosophical concepts of failure, on Elizabeth's Day How To Fail podcast https://howtofail.podbean.com/e/how-to-fail-alain-de-botton/
Fortunately with Fi and Jane:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/fortunately-with-fi-and-jane/id1220808096?i=1000454885674
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We discuss Extinction Rebellion, Meghan and Harry's African tour documentary for ITV and Deborah Orr, the brilliant journalist who sadly died this week.
And it's our favourite time of year: that time when The OED adds its new words into the dictionary. 2019's additions include 'omnishambles', 'nomophobia' and 'simples'. We unpick the good, the bag and the ugly new entries.
The High Low is currently on tour! The next High Low Experience tour date is Monday 28th October in Manchester. For more info: https://www.fane.co.uk/our-shows/the-high-low-experience
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, for ITV https://www.itv.com/hub/harry-meghan-an-african-journey/2a7842a0001
The creator of 90s anxiety unpicks the appeal of his 5 most popular posts, for Man Repeller https://www.manrepeller.com/2019/10/90s-anxiety-instagram-nostalgia.html
The sadness of miscarriage can build up like soot, by Lucy Pavia for The Evening Standard https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/health/the-sadness-of-miscarriage-can-build-up-like-soot-baby-loss-awareness-week-a4259591.html
The essays of Rebecca Solnit http://rebeccasolnit.net/books/
Bernadine Evaristo on black female writers https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/19/bernadine-evaristo-what-a-time-to-be-a-black-british-womxn-writer
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/media/2019/oct/21/deborah-orr-obituary
Anita O’Day on Fresh Air https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/fresh-air/id214089682?i=1000454020504
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The chicken nugget Reddit scandal and our favourite polls from the week including what is no longer selling in shops (drones and suspenders) and what not to say on a date.
And of course, it's the Wagatha Christie scandal. Coleen Rooney masked as Poirot outed fellow WAG Rebekah Vardy as the person she believed to be leaking false stories about her to the tabloids. Coleen social's media post went viral and soon Netflix were wondering if they should launch a series about it, Keira Knightley offered to play Coleen, and Paul Rudd just looked baffled. How and why did this story gather such extraordinary reach? Is it anything to do with feminism? What does it say about the way celebrities now use social media? And our perception of WAGs? And DID SHE DO IT?
The High Low is now on tour - thank you to everyone who came to the Barbican on the 12th, see some more of you in Dublin on the 20th!
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet@thehighlowshow
Links
Ronan Farrow interview, by Emma Brockes for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/oct/15/ronan-farrow-book-harvey-weinstein-measures-bury-alleged-crimes
Paloma Faith interview, by Helena de Bertadano for The Sunday Times magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/paloma-faith-interview-gender-parenting-zwdslqq8p
Abbey Clancy interview, by Sophie Heawood for YOU magazine https://www.you.co.uk/abbey-clancy-interview-2019/
Peter Crouch extract from his book, I, Robot, How To Be A Footballer 2 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/peter-crouch-extract-from-i-robot-how-to-be-a-footballer-2-w0h7xvjlz
Mim Skinner on being an orphan by the age of 30, for The Sunday Times Style https://www.thetimes.co.uk/magazine/style/how-being-orphaned-before-30-brought-me-closer-to-my-sisters-and-led-us-to-form-a-new-normal-3jfjwrbj5
The Capture, on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m00085sx/the-capture
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It's a big week for the food chains: Pizza Express - every millennial's favourite nostalgic restaurant - is in chronic debt; and Rory Stewart has pledged allegiance to Pret. We talk loos and why women spend 2.3 times as long in the loo as men, the return of our favourite podcast, Dear Joan and Jericha, Jason Donovan's turn as a fire fighter and Rod Stewart's heroic move, after a couple's wedding was scuppered by the Thomas Cook crash.
Also today, Prince Harry's letter to the tabloids and Meghan's lawsuit against The Mail on Sunday, about the paparazzi bullying of his wife, Meghan (and the leaking of Thomas Markle's letter) which he compares to the plight of his mother, Princess Diana and calls, "history repeating itself". The royal biographers are muttering into their bone china tea cups, but is his voluble emotion - and fury - justified, or will it prove counter-productive?
And Dolly has found a poll about politeness. Do British people spend more money on being polite?
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Patrick Jephson on Prince Harry's war on the media, for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/05/i-was-by-dianas-side-in-her-press-battles-meghan-harry-patrick-jephson
Annie Lord on break-ups for Vice https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/a35nw8/getting-over-a-long-term-relationship-break-up
Shelf Respect, by Annie Austen
Olive, Again, by Elizabeth Strout
Dear Joan and Jericha, Series 2 https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/dear-joan-and-jericha-julia-davis-and-vicki-pepperdine/id1376577916
Liam Gallagher's 73 Questions for American Vogue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBWHXDzWrw4
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Greta Thunberg gave an emotional speech at the UN Climate Summit in NYC, Sally Challen did her first video interview about emotional abuse and coercive control to Sky News since she was cleared of murdering her husband in July and Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry became Dolly's new hero after her vibey turn at the Labour party conference.
In shocking news, the inventor of the labradoodle has admitted that he regrets creating the hybrid dog and Demi Moore has released a sizzling autobiography about her marriage to Ashton Kutcher.
This week we have an author special with Amrou Al-Kadhi. The Iraqi-Brit drag queen known as Glamrou of the drag troupe Denim, they are the author of a new coming-of-age memoir, Unicorn, about navigating a queer identity within a religion that considers homosexuality a crime. They talk about intersectionality, family, the act of transforming pain into pleasure via drag, discovering Sufism and seeking acceptance.
The High Low Experience starts next week - and while London, Dublin and Glasgow are sold out, we have a few tickets left for the Manchester show! Go to faneproductions.com/highlow to book.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Unicorn, by Amrou Al-Kadhi https://www.waterstones.com/book/unicorn/amrou-al-kadhi/9780008306069
The Opposite of Loneliness, by Marina Keegan
In praise of autumn dawns by Nell Frizzell:
An Unbelievable Story of Rape, by T.Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong, for ProPublica, 2015 https://www.propublica.org/article/false-rape-accusations-an-unbelievable-story
Unbelievable, on Netflix
The Rewatchables podcast series https://www.theringer.com/the-rewatchables
The Open Ears Project with Eddie Izzard:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/17-on-elevation/id1477850699?i=1000451298008
The Open Ears Project with Aminatou Sow:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-open-ears-project/id1477850699?i=1000449737238
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s a riot of celebrity news this week: Madonna, J-Lo and Brad n Leo’s sarnie dates. Whole gang’s here. Plus: Mark Ronson’s sapiosexuality, Fleabag’s Emmy sweep, Thomas Cook’s crash and Justin Trudeau’s blackface scandal.
Also this week: we discuss male vs female vanity (klaxon: men look in the mirror more than women) and Debrett’s etiquette guide for Facebook messenger. What does this (slightly hilarious) meeting of minds tell us about how desperately we need digital etiquette? We discuss online communication in the age of the constant feedback loop.
We’re going on tour and we want your stories! Send us your best yarns - funny, moving, shocking, riveting - to the e-mail address below.
And for those of you who still want tickets to The High Low Experience - there are a few left for our Manchester show: www.faneproductions.com/our-shows/the-high-low-experience
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Talking To Strangers, by Malcolm Gladwell
State of the Union, on BBC iPlayer
The Red Hand Files: How Long Will I Be Alone: https://www.theredhandfiles.com/how-long-will-i-be-alone/
On The Psychological Effect Of Living With Houseplants by Stephanie Bishop: https://www.lrb.co.uk/v41/n18/stephanie-bishop/on-the-psychological-effect-of-living-with-houseplants
Why Back To Black is The Best Album of The 21st Century by Alexis Petridis: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/13/best-album-21st-century-amy-winehouse-back-to-black
Juno Dawson on The Beauty Podcast with Sali Hughes https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/transition-and-the-power-of-beauty-with-juno-dawson/id1473108312?i=1000448498677
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It's always good to start with a jolly, and this time we've found a woman who wore a dinosaur costume to her sister's wedding. Also today, we play a clip from Chanel Miller, the "Emily Doe" of the Brock Turner sexual assault case, whose memoir is soon to be published, and discuss the shocking news that domestic abuse is at a 5-year high in the UK.
This week Pandora has devoured She Said, the book by the Pulitzer prizewinning journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey who broke the Harvey Weinstein story, followed by that of Christine Blasey Ford. We discuss their impact on MeToo, *that* leaked Lisa Bloom memo and their thoughts on the Believe All Women hashtag.
We also discuss Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Tarantino's fictional re-telling of the Manson murders and the personal essay that 'broke' the internet: by the Instagram ghost-writer, Natalie Beach, which we received an unprecedented amount of requests to cover. What does the enthusiasm for this story - it was in the UK's top 5 tweets - tell us about female friendship, schadenfreude and emotional exposure in the internet age?
ALSO: WE NEED YOUR STORIES! As part of The High Low Experience, we want to include your best stories: your funniest, saddest, weirdest, most shocking, interesting, moving - stories that have been passed down/ along through friends, family, the pub. Please e-mail: thehighlowshow@gmail.com. Send us your best yarns.
Recommendations
She Said, by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
Know My Name, by Chanel Miller (out Sept 24th)
The White Album by Joan Didion
Bolder by Helen Cathcart and Dominique Afacan
The story of Caroline Calloway and her ghost writer, Natalie Beach, for The Cut https://bit.ly/2mbLY3j
The complicated ethics of publishing personal essays online, by Micha Frazer-Carroll for gal-dem https://bit.ly/2kmG9iR
The con-artist and her mark, by Sarah Ditum for The Guardian https://bit.ly/2m1gRXN
An interview with Natalie Beach, by Jonah Engel Bromwich for The New York Times https://nyti.ms/2kj2k9E
The pain of clearing out my parents' house, by Janice Turner for The Times https://bit.ly/2kjnK6q
Interview with Kantor and Twohey on NPR's Fresh Air https://n.pr/2kD2icN
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Dolly's found an emotional support horse called Flirty; Pandora is in love with a Twitter thread about what it was really like to work in HMV. And - gird your loins - Thatcher Wine has done his FIRST INTERVIEW. It's predictably surreal.
Today we host comedian Jen Brister, the author of The Other Mother, published by Square Peg at Penguin Random House, about same sex relationships and being not the biological mother to her twin boys, but "the other one". We talk parenthood, partnership and the pressure of having to come out all over again, as a gay mother.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
The Other Mother, by Jen Brister https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1116917/the-other-mother/9781910931967
The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-testaments/9781784742324
Thatcher Wine interview by Hilary Reid for The Cut https://www.thecut.com/2019/09/thatcher-wine-juniper-books.html
Anthony Ekundayo Lennon interview on being accused of 'passing' as a black man, by Simon Hattenstone for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/07/anthony-lennon-theatre-director-accused-of-passing-as-black-interview-simon-hattenstone
Three Vicars Talking https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0007qb0
Donna Schaper on Here’s The Thing https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/heres-the-thing-with-alec-baldwin/id472939437?i=1000447319326
MUNA https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mGkMQc308wY
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Hello High Lowers! Sharpen your pencils, the heat wave is over and a new school term is upon us. We cover some of the news stories of the summer plus our favourite bonkers surveys, including a shockingly disgusting underpants poll and the best place to find love (Oxford, apparently). Plus, it's Pandora's favourite prize of the year - no, not the Pulitzer, not even the Nobel - it's Rear of the Year.
Reccs
Euphoria on Sky
Game Face on Channel 4
Scarlett Curtis on Russell Brand’s Under The Skin
Giles Coren on novel acknowledgements
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pretentious-bores-make-me-want-to-burn-every-book-7lh5cv8cn
Indistractable, by Nir Eyal
Cribsheet, by Emily Ostler
We Need New Stories, by Nesrine Malik
Such A Fun Age, by Kiley Reid
The Most Fun We Ever Had, by Claire Lombardo
Twas The Night Before Christmas, by Adam Kay
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong
Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout
Expectations, by Anna Hope
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Calypso by David Sedaris
Theft by Luke Brown
The New Me by Halle Butler
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
All At Sea by Decca Aikenhead
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
The Confession by Jessie Burton
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Have you survived the heat wave? HAVE YOU? This week, Dolly discovers a woman who loves a chandelier, Jared O’Mara resigns after assault charges and his press chief sensationally quit via Jared’s own Twitter, and justice is served as the 4 teenagers who assaulted Melania Geymonat and Chris, in May, are charged. Plus a clip from the archive of Kate Moss and Johnny Depp’s arsecrack. It’ll make sense when you hear it. (God bless the 90s.)
We discuss Leader of the House of Commons’ Jacob Rees-Mogg’s antiquated style guide (banning the use of ‘very’, ‘lot’, commas after ‘and’ and, (see what we did there?) er, ‘got’) and the practicalities of a life led in Esq. We also discuss how young people get their news and the pros and cons to less television.
The High Low is now on a break for August and will be back in September!
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Buy tickets to our Manchester show of The High Low Experience at www.faneproductions.com/highlow
Links
Taffy Brodesser-Akner on thriving under stress, for Real Simple https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/taffy-brodesser-akner-stress-tips
Elizabeth Day on other people’s kids, for Mail on Sunday’s YOU magazine https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-7261445/amp/Elizabeth-Day-peoples-kids-really-to.html
Lena Dunham on Love Island and heartbreak, for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jul/27/lena-dunham-love-island-can-you-love-after-hurt
We’re all content providers now, by Lou Stoppard for The Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/f4d47bf6-e1ac-11e8-a8a0-99b2e340ffeb
My Name Is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Strout
Midnight Chicken by Ella Risbridger Midnight Chicken: & Other Recipes Worth Living For https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1408867761/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Lw8pDb7JPW1QG
This American Life: Rom Com
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/638/rom-com
This American Life: Americans In Paris
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/165/americans-in-paris
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Ding dong the BoJo's in. Duuuuuude.
This week: curry seagull; the controversial Cats trailer; and why Ireland's 8th amendment might have been repealed - but is far from what has been legally mandated.
And on today’s agenda, we delve into Instagram's proposed removal of the 'like' counter, which is being trialled in countries including Japan and Australia. Will this change social media for the better? Will it eradicate 'comparisonitus', a flimsiness of self constructed on dopamine hits, and the homogeneity of 'basic' culture? And what is the future for influencer culture? Dolly and I discuss, with reference to our own complicity in this personal profit model.
We also tackle our growing obsession with the processes and routines of people we admire. From beauty to work to sleep to exercise, we are obsessed with the schedules of other people. But what does that say about the way we live our lives? Is it an attempt to shrug off our own lives and co-opt what we perceive to be a happier, more optimised one?
If you would like to come and see The High Low live in action, there are a few tickets left to our Manchester show. Book here! www.faneproductions/com/highlow
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Kate Kellaway interviews Lemn Sissay for The Guardian, 2016 https://bit.ly/2bs5oGL
Frank Sinatra Has Got A Cold, by Gay Talese for Esquire, 1966 https://bit.ly/2uLGEqS
Profile of Zadie Smith in The Telegraph, 2002 https://bit.ly/2JV4ftK
'Police officers demanded to see my books' by Elif Shafak for The Guardian https://bit.ly/2Y63aZ8
Is Instagram's removal of its 'like' counter a turning point in social media? https://bit.ly/2Y220yI
Megan Nolan on her teenage relationships with older men for The New Statesman: https://bit.ly/2McXEhb
Caitlin Moran on not slut-shaming daughters: https://bit.ly/2YnjLrt
Why are we obsessed with other people's daily habits? by Suzannah Showler: https://bit.ly/32OVIkP
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
So Lucky, by Dawn O'Porter, pre-order now
10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World, by Elif Shafak
Have You Heard George's Podcast? By George Mpanga https://apple.co/2PieAST
Zadie Smith interview on the Touré Show https://bit.ly/2M9mDBM
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Westminster rules in favour of gay marriage and abortion rights in Northern Ireland, former EDL leader Tommy Robinson is sentenced to 9 months in prison (and banned from YouTube), a man dressed in a gimp suit terrorises the people of Somerset, and a love letter from Tupac to Madonna is expected to fetch $300,000 at auction. Plus, how do YOU feel about Matt Hancock's plan to link up Alexa and the NHS? (Spoiler alert: Dolly doesn't like robots.)
Today we have the man who has sold 8 million books, who possesses the most delicious voice you've ever heard (it even beats Philippe Sands), the one and only David Nicholls, on the show. The screenwriter of multiple hits such as Great Expectations and Patrick Melrose and the best-selling author of Starter for 10, The Understudy, One Day and Us, he is back with a new novel, Sweet Sorrow, about a teenage summer romance in the 80s. We talk about teenage love, parenting and being parented, writing, anxiety in the internet age and that twist in One Day.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Pre-order Dolly's novel, Ghosts, here! https://www.waterstones.com/book/ghosts/dolly-alderton/9781785177255
Sweet Sorrow, by David Nicholls https://www.waterstones.com/book/sweet-sorrow/david-nicholls/9781529393088
Sweet Home, by Wendy Erskine https://www.waterstones.com/book/sweet-home/wendy-erskine/9781906539726
My Name Is Why, by Lemn Sissay https://www.waterstones.com/book/my-name-is-why/lemn-sissay/9781786892348
The Lingering of Loss, by Jill Lepore for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/08/the-lingering-of-loss
Kids Don't Damage Women's Careers - Men Do, by Jessica Valenti for Medium's GEN https://gen.medium.com/kids-dont-damage-women-s-careers-men-do-eb07cba689b8
David Szalay on All That Man Is, for BBC Radio 4's Bookclub https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005mg6
Lemn Sissay on Radio 4 Desert Island Discs https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06gthsz
The Adam Buxton Podcast: episode 100 http://adam-buxton.co.uk/podcasts/ep100-joe-cornish-louis-theroux
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Glasto's been and gone and the USA won the Women's World Cup - as the crowd began chanting "equal pay, equal pay."
This week we cover the latest royal storm in a bone-china teacup, as Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex refuse to name the godparents of their newborn baby, Archie. Are the taxpayers entitled to this intel? Or is it time to stop seeing privacy, in our era of 360 surveillance, in black and white terms?
We also take the BBC's eccentric quiz and discuss Will Self's riveting new documentary on what makes a true eccentric and how 'the eccentric' is oft commodified or misunderstood. Take the quiz and let us know - how eccentric are YOU?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2xKy0KkffPNDywmxxC6qrkm/how-eccentric-are-you
Donate to Broadwater Farm's summer play experience https://justgiving.com/crowdfunding/broadwaterfarm
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
The Falconer, by Dana Czapnik
The New Me, by Halle Butler
Bitch, by Elizabeth Wurtzel
Camilla Long on HRH Killjoy, for The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/for-keeping-mum-about-archies-godparents-i-rechristen-the-peoples-prince-hrh-killjoy-qs87wlrz6
When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez met Greta Thunberg, for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/29/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-met-greta-thunberg-hope-contagious-climate
Pete Paphides' gorgeous Twitter thread on Glastonbury https://twitter.com/petepaphides/status/1145666196622254081
The Death of the Eccentric, hosted by Will Self for BBC Radio 4 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0006kt6
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We're recording this in advance, so no news update this week but a bunch of reccs and an author special!
Do you swear by your daily turmeric latte? Are you a celery juice fanatic? From placenta pills to kombucha, the registered dietitians, co-founders of The Rooted Project and authors of Is Butter A Carb? Unpicking Fact From Fiction In The World Of Nutrition, Rosie Saunt and Helen West, take us through the myths, fads and where the *actual* science can be found in our wellness crisis.
We talk about body positivity, veganism, food shame, the privilege of wellness and - hardest of all - what constitutes a healthy diet? This is a must-read book that will change the way you think about food, diet, health and happiness. You can follow @rooted_project on Instagram and Twitter.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Is Butter A Carb? Unpicking Fact From Fiction In The World of Nutrition, by Rosie Saunt and Helen West https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-rooted-project/rosie-saunt/helen-west/9780349419299
Swan Song, by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott
The Second Mountain: The Quest For A Moral Life, by David Brooks
The Bold Type, on Amazon Prime
TED Talks Daily podcast with David Brooks https://player.fm/series/tedtalks-video/the-lies-our-culture-tells-us-about-what-matters-and-a-better-way-to-live-david-brooks
David Brooks on TBD with Tina Brown podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/david-brooks-moral-journey/id1441327188?i=1000435034594
David Brooks on Vox's The Ezra Klein Show podcast
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
‘Twas the week of Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds’ sofa row, the ‘tube pusher’ is charged with attempted murder and the president of Colombia warns against the hypocrisy of the “woke who do coke”. Dolly’s obsessed with Pink Gin Lady - her new summer meme - and Pandora’s perturbed by Charmin’s industrial-sized ‘Forever Roll’ for millennials (do we hate shopping for basic sanitation? Or do we just shit more?)
In this week’s ep we discuss the #sponcon leak that blew up the internet - after the ‘pitch deck’ for New York influencer and Goop Partnership Director, Marissa Casey Fuchs, was leaked to The Atlantic. Does she deserve the white hot wrath of the Internet? And what does this incident tell us about the celebrification of everyone, schadenfreude and our consumer obsession with free shit?
Also today, a new survey has revealed that 72% of Brits ‘recoil’ when they hear another Brit abroad. NB: if we hear you on our holiday, we *will* hide behind a pot plant.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Easy on Netflix
Booksmart
Evvie Drake Starts Over, by Linda Holmes
You Accomplished Something Great. So Now What? A. C. Shilton on ‘Arrival Fallacy’, for The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/28/smarter-living/you-accomplished-something-great-so-now-what.amp.html
Why Going To Bed By 10pm is The Secret To A Happy, Healthy Life, by India Knight for The Sunday Times Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-going-to-bed-by-10pm-is-the-secret-to-a-happy-healthy-life-qp69kkmxz
The Case For Re-Defining Fertility, by Anna Louie Sussman for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/the-case-for-social-infertility/amp
The Rise and Fall of Babe.Net, by Allison P. Davies for The Cut https://www.thecut.com/2019/06/babe-net-aziz-ansari-date-rise-and-fall.html
Welcome to the Era of Branded Engagements, by Taylor Lorenz for The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/592141/
Why 200K People Couldn’t Look Away From This Influencer’s Viral Engagement Stunt, by Cait Munro for Refinery 29 https://www.refinery29.com/amp/en-gb/2019/06/236248/marissa-fuchs-engagement-proposal-instagram-influencer-viral-response
Brene Brown on Russell Brand https://player.fm/series/under-the-skin-with-russell-brand-1504231/ep-85-vulnerability-and-power-with-brene-brown
Fortunately With Fi And Jane https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p07dstjl
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has undertaken her 3rd hunger strike (joined by husband Richard) and ship captain Pia Klemp, who rescued drowning migrants, faces 20 years in prison. On the other end of the news spectrum, Kylie Jenner has been criticised for her Handmaid’s Tale fancy dress party (including Under His Eye tequila) and Missguided have sold out of their 100% plastic £1 bikini. And Dolly’s got a new story from Orkney, naturally.
Today’s author is the utterly brilliant Nimko Ali OBE, am anti-FGM campaigner whose book What We’re Told Not To Talk About (But Are Going To Anyway) sees stories from 42 women across 14 countries on emotional and shocking topics including forced marriage, genital mutilation, the menopause and what it’s like to get your period when you’re homeless.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
Pre-order Pandora’s book! How Do We Know We’re Getting It Right & other essays on modern life (published July 2020) https://www.waterstones.com/book/how-do-we-know-were-doing-it-right/pandora-sykes/9781785176876
What We’re Told Not To Talk About (But Are Going To Anyway), by Nimko Ali
This Will Only Hurt A Little, by Busy Philipps
All Families Are Psychotic, by Douglas Coupland
Look Alive Out There, by Sloane Crosley
Exposure, by Emily Gould for The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/magazine/25internet-t.html
The Making of a Millennial Woman, by Rebecca Liu for Another Gaze http://www.anothergaze.com/making-millennial-woman-feminist-capitalist-fleabag-girls-sally-rooney-lena-dunham-unlikeable-female-character-relatable/
Are only certain kinds of people deemed worthy of our compassion? By Kenan Malik for The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/15/are-only-kinds-of-people-deemed-worthy-of-our-compassion
You saw me covered in blood on a bus. But do you get outraged about all homophobia? By Chris for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/14/homophobic-attack-bus-outrage-media-white
Charlotte Church on The Adam Buxton podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-adam-buxton-podcast/id1040481893?i=1000440911416
Daisy Buchanan on emotional eating and weight loss:
Eva Wiseman on small talk
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
*Apologies for some slight sound issues this week*
Dolly's lost her passport and Michael Gove's nose is feeling regretful. We talk Sally Challen, humpback whales and why sleep apps could make your sleeping worse.
And we deep-dive into pride month and discuss the fallacy that is the proposed straight pride march, particularly in the wake of recent homophobic hate crimes in the UK. Also, the euthanasia that never was: after the false news story about 17 year old Dutch teenager, Noa Pothoven, did the rounds, we discuss the complexity and implications of euthanasia, social media and the suicide contagion.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet@thehighlowshow
Links
Easy on Netflix
Queer Intentions, by Amelia Abraham
Florence Welch on self-sabotage, for the July issue of British Vogue - on sale now
The Age of the Internet 'Wife Guy', by Amanda Hess for The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/arts/internet-wife-guy-robbie-tripp.html
Sloane Crosley on the Longform Podcast https://longform.org/posts/longform-podcast-343-sloane-crosley
The Pleasure Podcast https://thepleasurepodcast.com
Emma Jane Unsworth on post natal depression https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/08/lie-health-visitor-lie-friends-truth-postnatal-depression?CMP=twt_b-gdnweekend
What does childbirth feel like? By Nell Frizzell for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/18/what-does-childbirth-feel-like-google
When will homophobes learn that lesbians aren't their playthings? By Sophie Wilkinson for The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/sophie-wilkinson0/
Death on demand: has euthanasia gone too far? By Christopher de Bellaigue for Guardian Long Reads https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/18/death-on-demand-has-euthanasia-gone-too-far-netherlands-assisted-dying
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
There's been a garden gnome heist and Trump's on his state visit (those are inter-connected stories, naturally.) Love Island is back - but is there any actual body diversity?
We discuss Kim Kardashian-West's campaign for clemency for convicted murderer and death row inmate, Kevin Cooper. Should celebrities lend their weight to social reform; or is this signify a dangerous "mission creep"?
And it's silly season: that of hens and stags. With the help of YOU, our brilliant High Low listeners, we discuss the maddest hen stories out there and throw in a few new surveys, for good measure.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Grief is the Thing With Feathers, by Max Porter
My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read by Philippa Perry
Terry Gross interviews Howard Stern, for Fresh Air https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2019/05/14/723182920/fresh-air-for-may-14-2019-howard-stern-part-1
Why Morrissey Fans Feel So Betrayed by Tim Jonze https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/30/bigmouth-strikes-again-morrissey-songs-loneliness-shyness-misfits-far-right-party-tonight-show-jimmy-fallon
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Dolly talks bird-feeding and rabid Game of Thrones fans who want to re-make the ending; Pandora ponders what Spice Girl merch to get her hands on; and we discuss Oxbridge's first appointment of its first black female master.
In this episode, a talk-gone-viral from Hay Festival, by behavioural scientist and LSE scientist Paul Dolan, who claimed that women without a spouse and children are happier. We call on the words of Grace Dent, Corinne Fisher and Terri Gross; Simone de Beauvoir and Jacqueline Rose in order to try and determine what makes a happy woman (and is it ever possible to contrast two very different lives?)
We also muse upon the Moby vs. Natalie Portman row, after the musician claimed in his memoir that they dated when she was 20; she says they didn't date - oh and she was 18. What does this story tell us about about entitlement, fact-checking and truth-telling?
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet@thehighlowshow
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
Years and Years, on BBC iPlayer
Mothers, by Jacqueline Rose
Hadley Freeman on the pro-life lobby, for The Guardian https://bit.ly/2HFQmjg
Eva Wiseman on why life is shades of grey, for The Observer magazine https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/may/26/why-are-arguments-always-so-black-and-white-reality-television
Terri Gross on not having kids, on The Longest Short podcast https://longestshortesttime.com/episode-79-terry-gross-on-not-having-kids/
The C Word on Luminary: https://bit.ly/2HHhVsz
The Scarcity Mindset by Octavia Bright: https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/a27527675/scarcity-mindset-competition-women/
Laura Snapes reviews The Spice Girls reunion show: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/25/spice-girls-review-nostalgia-live-croke-park-dublin
Nina Stibbe on The Adam Buxton podcast: https://soundcloud.com/adam-buxton/podcast-ep90-nina-stibbe
Wait by Galway Kinnell: https://poets.org/poem/wait
Grace Dent and Sian Harries on not having children: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jd32d
Arwa Mahdawi on Moby and nice-guy misogyny: https://bit.ly/2HDM7op
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Grumpy Cat has died and we came last (again) in Eurovision. This week Dolly's down a Doris Day content-hole and Pandora's bewitched by the Instagram account @90sanxiety.
We discuss Alabama's new abortion ban - the most restrictive in the States - voted in by 25 white men and reflect on the ongoing battle for agency in Northern Ireland, which sees 28 women travel to England every single day, for an abortion.
Donate here to Abortion Support Network - https://donate.asn.org.uk/gb-en/donate
And we debate Uber's new 'silence mode' - whereby you will be able to silence your driver. A practical solution for when you need a bit of quiet; or a worrying indicator of our inability to entertain ad hoc conversation?
It's Time To Hear Alabama's Women - stories from 200 women by The Alabama Media Group https://www.al.com/opinion/2019/05/its-time-to-hear-alabamas-women.html
The clock is turning back on women's rights, by Janice Turner for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-clock-is-turning-back-on-women-s-rights-x9n9mvqrw
The Matchless Presence of Doris Day, by Anthony Lane: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/postscript/the-matchless-presence-of-doris-day
Fresh Air remembers Doris Day: https://www.npr.org/2019/05/15/723531128/fresh-air-remembers-hollywood-legend-doris-day
Jemima Kirke on Woman Of The Hour with Lena Dunham: https://play.acast.com/s/womenofthehour/friendship-bonus-episode-lena-and-jemima
Anjelica Huston on WTF: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-1018-anjelica-huston
Brene Brown on WTF: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-1012-bren-brown
Homefire, by Kamila Shamsie
David Harewood on Psychosis, on BBC iPlayer
Dead To Me, on Netflix
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Pandora’s listened to a podcast on ‘workism’ - the idea that work is now the cornerstone of your identity - and it’s changed her life; meanwhile, Dolly’s tits deep in Doris Day nostalgia.
We talk Danny Baker’s racist tweet, why maternity clothes should be modelled by pregnant models, the Philippines’ proposed ban on gossip. How many mins do you gossip each day? A new study tells us the answer.
And we host journalist, author and mental health campaigner Bryony Gordon to discuss her new book You Got This and why we need to focus on the mental health of and myths fed to teenage girls.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
You Got This, by Bryony Gordon
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read, by Philippa Perry
Mama’s Boy, by Dustin Lance Black
Louis Theroux: Mothers on the Edge, BBC iPlayer
The Ezra Klein Show: Work as identity, burnout as lifestyle https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1081584611?i=1000436045971
Louis Theroux on Desert Island Discs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00050p7
Alexis Georgoulis interviewed for The Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/its-spiro-from-the-durrells-and-hes-single-zg3hgf6kn
Eddie Izzard on Joe Rogan: https://www.reddit.com/r/JoeRogan/comments/bk34bd/joe_rogan_experience_1289_eddie_izzard/
Phoebe Waller Bridge on THR Awards Chatter: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/awards-chatter/id1039032256?i=1000437565819
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The new royal baby, the Caster Semenya furore, the 'hogspital' and the proposed raise to the minimum wage - oh, and 86% of people have revealed that they are disappointed by the Mona Lisa. Sorry, Lis.
Dolly's discovered tribute bands and Pandora's tits-deep in Refinery 29's Money Diaries series.
Also today we have an author special with Rosie Price, the author of sensational debut fiction, What Red Was. A book about family, friendship, privilege and class, at the centre of the narrative is a rape. We discuss trauma, the aftershock of sexual assault and why the idea of writing as 'catharsis' is problematic. What Red Was is out on May 7th and we cannot recommend it enough.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
What Red Was, by Rosie Price https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Rosie-Price/What-Red-Was/23570030
Caster Semenya is a victim of rules that are confusing and unfair, by Kenan Malik for The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/05/caster-semenya-is-a-victim-of-rules-that-are-confusing-and-unfair
Larry Ray and the Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence, by Ezra Marcus and James D. Walsh for New York Magazine https://www.thecut.com/2019/04/larry-ray-sarah-lawrence-students.html
Refinery29's Money Diary Series https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/money-diary-uk
Conversations on Love with Dr. Lucy Kalanithi, by Natasha Lunn https://instagram.us18.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=ca50d07f68560ca687f3eece1&id=f8198ddab2
When Did Pop Culture Become Homework? by Soraya Roberts for Longreads https://longreads.com/2019/04/26/when-did-pop-culture-become-homework/
How shocking books have changed with their readers, by Leo Benedictus for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/02/has-fiction-lost-its-edge-american-psycho-bret-easton-ellis-leila-slimani
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Welcome back to the summer term, High Lowers! We recap some news and bring you a boat load of televisual, podcast and - mainly - book recommendations. Plus, Dolly falls for the ultimate whale hoax/ocean con. Enjoy.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
American Marriage, by Tarayi Jones
This is The Story of a Happy Marriage, by Ann Patchett
My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Three Women, by Lisa Taddeo
Bad Behaviour, by Mary Gaitskill
Trick Mirror, by Jill Tolentino
Guantanamo's Darkest Secret, by Ben Taub for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/22/guantanamos-darkest-secret
Undercover, on BBC iPlayer
This Is Us, Series 2, on Amazon Prime
Fleishman Is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner: https://amzn.to/2J5VoGO
A Half-baked Idea by Olivia Potts https://amzn.to/2DH9GtZ
One Day by David Nicholls: https://amzn.to/2VBXeWA
Close To Where The Heart Gives Out by Dr Malcolm Alexander https://amzn.to/2J6y2Rp
Terrific Mother by Lorrie Moore: https://amzn.to/2WdSPWJ
How To Become a Writer by Lorrie Moore: http://www.sfuadcnf.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/How-to-Become-a-Writer-Lorrie-Moore.pdf
Fortunately With Fi and Jane: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04x5pd7/episodes/downloads
Glenda Jackson on Fresh Air: https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2019/04/23/716229468
David Tenant does a podcast with Tina Fey: https://bit.ly/2ZNpdSz
Private Life: https://www.netflix.com/title/80168222
Don't Think Twice: https://www.netflix.com/title/80103372
My Finest Work Yet by Andrew Bird https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/my-finest-work-yet/1449649405
Molly Parkin on The Last Bohemians: https://www.thelastbohemians.co.uk/molly
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We discuss Lorraine Kelly’s “performative construct”, Dolly’s piece about I’m In Trouble syndrome and what we don’t know - and need to know - about women in prison, rehabilitation and reform.
And we deep-dive into perfectionism, failure and why society needs to re-frame the idea of “childless” women, with novelist and High Low returning guest, Elizabeth Day, whose memoir How To Fail comes out on April 4th.
Tweet @thehighlowshow
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
The High Low is now on Easter holidays. We’ll be back in May!
How To Fail, by Elizabeth Day https://www.waterstones.com/book/how-to-fail/elizabeth-day//9780008327323?awc=3787_1553638468_1a3ae434886bc59cdb0f76a91f73672c&utm_source=176013&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Shopping+FM
Brave, Not Perfect, by Reshma Saujani https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/561367/brave-not-perfect-by-reshma-saujani/9781524762339/
Inheritance, by Dani Shapiro https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554262/inheritance-by-dani-shapiro/9781524732714/
Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant, by Joel Golby https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Joel-Golby/Brilliant-Brilliant-Brilliant-Brilliant-Brilliant--Modern/21821485
Jailbirds, by Mim Skinner https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/titles/mim-skinner/jailbirds/9781841883328/
On the enduring feeling that you’re doing something wrong, by Dolly Alderton for The Sunday Times Style https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dolly-alderton-on-that-enduring-feeling-that-you-ve-done-something-wrong-ckl8wpj6s
MotherFatherSon on BBC iPlayer
Hell Yes, I’m Tough Enough fundraising page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ben-alderton
Emilia at The Vaudeville Theatre: https://www.nimaxtheatres.com/shows/emilia/
After Life on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80998491
The emotional life of primates: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/fresh-air/id214089682?mt=2&i=1000432961859
Interviews with Cat Marnell: https://www.thecut.com/2019/03/cat-marnell-money-book-deal.html
https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/cat-marnell-how-to-murder-your-life.html
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We ring up director Dan Reed to discuss his sensational documentary, Leaving Neverland, which is all anyone else is talking about. We deep-dive into the allegations against Michael Jackson - so long, brushed over - and what Reed's documentary teaches us about child sex abuse, trauma, grooming, the aura of celebrity and how the internet has changed popular culture - and accountability - for the better.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
SARC information: https://twitter.com/Essex_SARC
To The Woman, an Audible Originals series https://adbl.co/2HwwPTC
Ordinary People, by Diane Evans https://bit.ly/2OhAK6Z
Life Itself, on Sky or Amazon Prime
Dirty John, on Netflix and podcast, by The LA Times https://lat.ms/2ui8mIW
Louis Theroux, The Night In Question https://bbc.in/2ES7C3f
Color and Light, by Sally Rooney for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/18/color-and-light
Everybody Died, So I Got a Dog, by Emily Dean https://bit.ly/2HIVTGf
Calypso, by David Sedaris https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/David-Sedaris/Calypso/23638009
Is Jair Bolsonaro the New Trump of South America? By Matt Sandy for GQ https://bit.ly/2TeTYLH
Eva Wiseman on flying with babies, for The Guardian https://bit.ly/2UK82hw
Leaving Neverland, on Channel 4 https://bit.ly/2C626Z8
What Michael Jackson sold us: https://bit.ly/2FiRXJb
Michael Jackson's trick was to groom an entire culture, by Emma Brockes for The Guardian https://bit.ly/2JrGaxy
A Day of Reckoning for Michael Jackson, by Amanda Petrusich for The New Yorker https://bit.ly/2HbTovK
Leaving Neverland and Surviving R.Kelly Ask Too Much of Victims, by Nylah Burton for Vulture https://bit.ly/2Y9W2Iv
Dan Reed interview, by Jonathan Dean for The Sunday Times Culture https://bit.ly/2UMKSr4
Dan Reed interview, by Bilge Ebiri for Vulture https://bit.ly/2IcPHYT
Tracy Emin at The White Cube https://whitecube.com/exhibitions/exhibition/tracey_emin_bermondsey_2019
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert: https://www.amazon.co.uk/City-Girls-Elizabeth-Gilbert/dp/1408867044/ref=nodl_
Elizabeth Gilbert on Hello Monday: https://apple.co/2FoQZwm
Marlon James on Desert Island Discs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0003cqx
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
*** PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded several days before it was announced that Shamima Begum's baby had died, which is why it is not discussed in this episode ***
This is one of the most important - and certainly prescient - author specials we’ve ever had. The journalist and author Fatima Bhutto (the niece and granddaughter of two Pakistani Prime Ministers and the daughter of a political exile) joins us to discuss her new novel, The Runaways, about the radicalisation of 3 teenagers. As the Shamima Begum - and now Hoda Muthana - citizenship furore gains momentum, we discuss what lures teenagers to the Islamic State, what the West doesn’t understand about radicalisation and the problem with pitting the East, and West against one another. As Fatima says, “who decided that freedom is a Western value? Or that tolerance is a Western value? Why can’t it be an Eastern value, too?”
The Runaways, by Fatima Bhutto https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/308/308064/the-runaways/9780241346990.html
Shamima Begum’s image problem, by Caitlin Moran for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/caitlin-moran-isis-brides-image-problem-6njvqhlxx
Rukmini Callimachi’s tweet series on Hoda Muthana https://mobile.twitter.com/rcallimachi/status/1098315438478540801?lang=en
Meatmarket, by Juno Dawson (out May 2019) https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/meat-market/9781786540386
Fleabag Series 2, on BBC iPlayer now
Documentary about The Ponds https://www.thepondsfilm.com/about
Whatever Happened To Rachel - One From The Vaults https://m.soundcloud.com/onefromthevaultspodcast/oftv-1-whatever-happened-to-rachel-1
Three Identical Strangers https://www.channel4.com/programmes/three-identical-strangers/episode-guide/
The Marianne Faithfull story https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00030w3
Jim Nicholson remembered on Fresh Air https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/fresh-air/id214089682?mt=2&i=1000430902937
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We’re live from Pandora jewellery’s flagship store in London on Friday 1st March, in partnership with Ovacome for Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. Aaaand this week we bring you Emma Thompson’s open letter to The LA Times after she quit an animated movie in protest against the studio’s new hire (a man accused of multiple counts of sexual harassment) and we do a deep-dive into self-discipline. Pandora’s discovered the Pomodoro technique; but is Dolly a fan of self-imposed rules? Take a listen and find out.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
You, Me & The Big C, a BBC podcast https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/you-me-and-the-big-c-putting-the-can-in-cancer/id1356165446?mt=2
Camping, on Sky Atlantic
This Time with Alan Partridge, on BBC iPlayer
Emma Thompson’s Open Letter to The LA Times https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-mn-emma-thompson-john-lasseter-skydance-20190226-story.html%3foutputType=amp
How I Hacked My Most-Used Apps to Calculate My Day Rate, by Anna Codrea-Rado for Contently.Net https://contently.net/2019/02/21/resources/rates/how-i-hacked-my-most-used-apps-to-calculate-my-day-rate/
Relationship Advice From 3 Older Women, by Iman Hariri-Kia for Man Repeller https://www.manrepeller.com/2019/02/older-women-relationship-dating-advice.html
The Joy of Being A Woman in Her 70s by Mary Pipher for The NY Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/12/opinion/sunday/women-older-happiness.amp.html
Zadie Smith on Touré Show podcast https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/cadence13/toure-show/e/53184632
The Secret Life of Spaghetti on Radio 4: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002rk8
Russian Doll on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80211627
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The High Low turns TWO this week! Excuse us while we wallow in (the admittedly shallow) nostalgia of it all.
This week we discuss the Oscars; the ongoing case of Shamima Begum’s citizenship; the Insta-tributes to Karl Lagerfeld; and the Martin Scorsese fan who wants to erase a film ending he doesn’t like. Where does our ability to meme popular culture end; and how will it affect problematic art? Is Animal Hospital without Rolf, just a koala hanging in mid-air?
Today we have an author special with Candice Carty-Williams, whose debut novel, Queenie, has been making waves ahead of its publication (published by Trapeze on 11th April.) Queenie is the young black female protagonist you’ve been hoping for - and the book is funny, raw and wise in equal measure.
Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams. Pre-order the Waterstones exclusive https://www.waterstones.com/book/queenie/candice-carty-williams/9781409180050
City of Girls, by Elizabeth Gilbert (out June 2019)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/City-Girls-Elizabeth-Gilbert/dp/1408867044/ref=nodl_
Lorena, on Amazon Prime
David Remnick on TBD with Tina Brown https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/tbd-with-tina-brown/id1441327188?mt=2&i=1000430163514
Johann Hari on The Joe Rogan Experience with Joe Rogan https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-joe-rogan-experience/id360084272?mt=2&i=1000430287073
How Trump Made Andrea Dworkin Relevant Again, by Michelle Goldberg for The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/opinion/sunday/trump-feminism-andrea-dworkin.amp.html
Dani Shapiro on writing a memoir (2016), for The New York Times
Do The Jews Own Anxiety? By Daniel Smith (2012) for The New York Times
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/26/do-the-jews-own-anxiety/
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
*** PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded about 8 hours before it was announced that Shamima Begum had been denied entry back to the UK and was stripped of her British citizenship.***
This week, we discuss the most flammable news story of the week: the return of Shamima Begum, the 19 year old Londoner who fled to the Islamic State 4 years ago and returned to have her 3rd baby in the UK. Home Secretary Sajid Javid wants to deny her entry - but should a humane society seek to rehabilitate? We also discuss the idea that “young women do not know their own minds” and why vulnerability does not negate agency.
Also this week, we discuss the allegations against singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, and why the ‘tortured artist’ trope is tired and misogynistic.
Plus, Jenna Coleman’s interview gone viral, creepy finger grapes and Dolly’s favourite new musical.
I Met Fear On A Hill, by Leslie Jamison for The Paris Review https://www.theparisreview.org/letters-essays/7318/i-met-fear-on-the-hill-leslie-jamison
In Search of Equilibrium, by Theresa Lola http://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/in%20search%20of%20equilibrium.html
The Sisterhood, by Daisy Buchanan https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-sisterhood/daisy-buchanan/9781472238856
Roma, on Netflix now
The possibility of redemption is central to a humane society, by Kenan Malik for The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/17/possibility-of-redemption-is-central-to-a-humane-society-shamima-begum
Shamima doesn’t look like anyone’s victim, by Janice Turner for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/shamima-doesn-t-look-like-anyone-s-victim-whtkc9qln
Anthony Lloyd discusses Shamima Begum https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/shamima-begum-isis-bride
Shamima Begum interview with Quentin Sommerville for BBC News https://youtu.be/TGAxm6KJTWE
A Love Letter to realism in a time of grief: https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_pollock_and_simone_george_a_love_letter_to_realism_in_a_time_of_grief?language=en
Rosita Boland’s investigative piece on Ann Lovett’s boyfriend Richard McDonnell for The Irish Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/i-was-ann-lovett-s-boyfriend-1.3484311?mode=amp
Daisy Jones and The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Daisy-Jones-Taylor-Jenkins-Reid/dp/1786331519/ref=nodl_
Anna Leszkiewicz on Johnny Depp for The New Statesman: https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/film/2018/10/johnny-depp-gq-cover-domestic-abuse-allegations
Laura Snapes on Ryan Adams for The...
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We couldn't not discuss Liam Neeson's race row and The New Yorker long-read setting the publishing world alight: about best-selling novelist Dan Mallory, aka AJ Finn, who built his career on an extensive web of lies. How did it take a decade for anyone to see through his deception? And what does it tell us about the publishing world - and ourselves?
Also today, we discuss Valentine's Day (and reveal our best and worst and our plans for this year), the diversity of vaginas and the M&S love sausage.
Vagina: A Re-Education, by Lynn Enright https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/lgbt-gender-studies/vagina-a-reeducation,lynn-enright-9781911630012
A Suspense Novelist’s Trail is Deception, by Ian Parker for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/02/11/a-suspense-novelists-trail-of-deceptions/amp
Why I Photographed 100 Vaginas, by Laura Dodsworth for The BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/Why_I_Photographed_100_Vulvas
Rachel Cooke on Dan Mallory for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/10/we-rush-to-condemn-fakers-such-as-dan-mallory-world-has-made-impostors-of-us-all
Otegha Uwagba’s In Good Company podcast with Abigail Bergstrom https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/otegha-uwagba/id1294215581?mt=2&i=1000426027620
TBD with Tina Brown interview with Laura Wasser https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/tbd-with-tina-brown/id1441327188?mt=2&i=1000428209917
Josh Barrie eats the Love Sausage for iNews https://www.inews.co.uk/news/consumer/love-sausage-m-and-s-valentines-day-2019-taste-test-review/amp/
The Last Days Of August https://www.audible.co.uk/?ref=Adbl_ip_rdr_from_US&source_code=AUK30DFT1BkWS010516905U&ipRedirectFrom=US&ipRedirectOriginalURL=pd%2FThe-Last-Days-of-August-Audiobook%2FB07JK61MK3
Richard E Grant on Awards Chatter https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/awards-chatter/id1039032256?mt=2&i=1000429288454
Camping, on Sky Atlantic
True West, at the Vaudeville Theatre in London
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We’re back! Have you missed us? Dolly’s tits-deep in her Everything I Know About Love tour (buy tickets here: faneproductions.com/dolly and the paperback is out now) and Pandora’s essay, The Authentic Lie, for independent crowd-funding publisher, The Pound Project, is now open for pledging. Buy in online or mini book form, here! (Plus, there’s a foreword by Elizabeth Day.) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/poundproject/the-pound-project-part-four-pandora-sykes
This week we discuss everything we’ve been enjoying since Christmas - what we’ve been watching, listening to and reading (a lot.) It’s all listed below. Sign the The High Low’s sub-editor and freelance journalist Anna Codrea Rado’s brilliant open letter to the media, to secure #FairPayForFreelancers http://bit.ly/fairpayforfreelancers. Donate to help The Pool's staff and freelancers get paid: https://www.gofundme.com/help-the-pool-staff-and-freelancers-get-paid?pc=&rcid=r01-154905562015-fce176adade44eb7
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet us @thehighlowshow
Books
Notes To Self, by Emilie Pine
Ordinary People, by Diana Evans
All That Man Is, by David Szalay
Becoming, by Michelle Obama
Duped, by Abby Ellin
The Tattooist of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris
Once More We Saw Stars, by Jayson Greene
Vox, by Christina Dalcher
Small Great Things, by Jodi Picoult
A Spark of Light, by Jodi Picoult
My Year or Rest and Relaxation, by Odessa Moshfegh
Swan Song, by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott
Bottled Goods, by Sophie van Llewyn
Putney, by Sofka Zinovieff
Instead of a Letter, by Diana Athill
The Orange, by Wendy Cope
Watching & Listening
Bros: After The Screaming Stops, available on BBC iPlayer
Origins With James Andrew Miller, on Sex And The City
Bohemian Rhapsody, at cinemas now
The Favourite, at cinemas now
Mary Poppins Returns, at cinemas now
Emily Blunt, interviewed on Fresh Air
Alison Janney, on WTF
Sex Education, on Netflix now
Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, on Netflix now
Wendy Cope, on Desert Island Discs
Diana Athill, on Desert Island Discs
Journalism
Lauren Bravo for foodism https://foodism.co.uk/features/long-reads/romantic-food-myths-and-realities/
The World of Nora Ephron: a reading list https://foodism.co.uk/features/long-reads/romantic-food-myths-and-realities/
The Ten best life mantras of Diana Athill: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/10-best-life-mantras-brilliant-author-diana-athill/
Diana Athill interviewed for The Lenny Letter: https://www.lennyletter.com/story/diana-athill-interview
Dolly's songs about places playlist -
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s our favourite time of year: Betwixtmas. We hope you’re face-planted on the sofa, whilst we waltz down your ears with this end of year episode. Dolly devises a very silly quiz which *sort* of refers to things that happened in 2018 and sort of includes rogue personal questions about her internet provider. The High Low is taking a winter holiday, so here’s what’s on our bookshelf to devour — whilst the pod is sunning itself with a cocky by the pool, restoring and renewing its energy for a new term in February.
The Milkman, by Anna Burns
Kudos, by Rachel Cusk
Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant, by Joel Golby
Becoming, by Michelle Obama
Notes to Self, by Emilie Pine
The Parisian, by Isabella Hammad
Vox, by Christine Dalcher
Diary of a Somebody, by Brian Bilston
Duped: Double Lives, False Identities, and the Con Man I Almost Married, by Abby Ellin
A Spark of Light, by Jodi Picoult
Sweet, Fruit, Sour, Land by Rebecca Ley
@thehighlowshow
The High Low will be back in early February!
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s Chriiiiiiiistmas! From cracker jokes to festive songs; Yuletide readings and actual Christmas cards from the ACTUAL ye olde mail bag; a host of Christmas surveys unpicked and the ultimate question: should a parent ever tell their kid Father Christmas doesn’t exist?
Also today, a ton of recs and a quick-fire festive round of Ask The High Low.
The Pact We Made, by Layla AlAmmar https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008284442/the-pact-we-made/
Hannah Gadsby meets Roxane Gay for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/dec/08/hannah-gadsby-roxane-gay-in-conversation-body-image-fan-encounters-trolls
Reni Eddo-Lodge on the Blackfishing Phenomenon for British Vogue https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/blackfishing-phenomenon
Aimee Mullins interview in the current issue of PORTER magazine, out now
Christine Amanpour: Sex and Love Around the World, on Netflix
The American Meme on Netflix
Jill Soloway Wants It, TBD by Tina Brown https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/tbd-with-tina-brown/id1441327188?mt=2&i=1000424654080
The psychology power of the toys we keep, by Moya Sarner for The Guardian https://theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/12/still-have-childhood-teddy-psychological-power-toys-we-keep
Conversations On Love, by Natasha Lunn https://tinyletter.com/Conversations_on_Love
Nut roast recipe: https://www.redonline.co.uk/food/recipes/a500362/hairy-bikers-spinach-nut-roast-with-wild-mushroom-gravy/
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It was the week of Knickers (the cow too big for the abattoir), a Guardian long-read about poo (much to Dolly’s dismay) and Ada Hegerberg, the Norwegian Ballon d’Or winner who coolly refused to twerk.
This episode, we discuss the proposed ban of the Christmas song, ‘Baby It’s Cold Out Here’, on account of its supposed coercion (“I really must go”) and connotations of date-rape (“what’s in this drink?”) But, when you dig into the lyrics and read what music historians have to say - it turns out this song was the very opposite. Is this a reminder that a ‘past-present’ translator is mandatory, with cultural artifacts? And Google, when are you making one?
Also on the agenda, abuse against women on social media, as written about by journalists Polly Vernon, in Grazia and Daisy Buchanan, on Twitter. Polly calls every day ‘Righteous Internet Pile-in Day’ where women are “attacked, vilified and lampooned by complete strangers.” Meanwhile, Daisy says “I’m sick of being told to just ignore it. What has become so broken?” We discuss the internet’s empathy deficit and why Amnesty International has declared abuse against women on the internet a violation of human rights.
Mrs Wilson on iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b0btk3w3
Babies: Their Wonderful World, on iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b0bt7v0j
What Red Was, by Rosie Price, pre-order here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Red-Was-Rosie-Price/dp/1787301389
Bowel Movement - the push to change the way you poo, by Alex Blasdel for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/nov/30/bowel-movement-change-the-way-you-poo-squatty-potty-toilet
Vanessa Paridis gets uppity with Chrissy Iley, by (um) Chrissy Iley for The Sunday Times Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-interview-vanessa-paradis-singer-and-johnny-depps-ex-gets-uppity-with-chrissy-iley-6bftjx57w
"I got used to lying. I didn’t want anyone to find out’” -An interview with Mel C, by Simon Hattenstone for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/dec/01/mel-b-i-got-used-to-lying-i-didnt-want-anyone-to-find-out
My Cook Book Crushes, by Nora Ephron: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/02/13/serial-monogamy
The Marvellous Mrs Maisel on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07G9PHJJH
Nish Kumar on The Adam Buxton Podcast: http://adam-buxton.co.uk/podcasts/ep87-nish-kumar
E-mail: thehighlow@gmail.com
Tweet: @thehighlowshow
If you want to write an IRL letter for Dolly’s ***new IRL ye old mailbag***, please send your wax-sealed correspondence to: Grace O’Leary, Independent Talent Group, 40 Whitfield Street, London, W1T 2RH
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We're back at Google's Curiosity Rooms to celebrate the launch of their Google Pixel 3 phone and we're still not over Baby Shark. On the agenda today: the zeitgeisty new buzz-phrase 'emotional labour'. What does it mean and are we using it correctly? We also discuss Sarah Michelle Gellar's thanksgiving gaffe, after she shared a pic of her in her underwear, as a 'warning' not to over-eat at Thanksgiving. Do women in the public eye hold responsibility for how we feel about their bodies? Plus, how incels are using sex robots; a powerful piece of 'ethical-dilemma' fiction about abortion; and our guardian angel Tina Brown's new podcast.
Russell Brand on Happy Place, by Fearne Cotton https://www.acast.com/happy-place/russell-brand
A Spark of Light, by Jodi Picoult https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jodi-Picoult/A-Spark-of-Light--from-the-author-everyone-should-be-reading/22391565
The Reddit sex robot forums radicalising men, by Jade Angeles Fitton for New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/11/no-bio-wife-will-ever-be-loyal-reddit-sex-robot-forums-radicalising-men
Joni Mitchell Taught Me How To Feel:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00019d9
TBD with Tina Brown
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/tbd-with-tina-brown/id1441327188?mt=2&i=1000424654080
On Margate Sands by Octavia Bright:
http://somesuchstories.co/story/on-margate-sands
Just Eat It by Laura Thomas:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Just-Eat-intuitive-eating-together/dp/1509893911
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The Baby Shark ear-worm; Joanna Lumley saying the word 'waz'; and the Chinese man who got so drunk on Black Friday (aka Single's Day in China) he bought a salamander and a tiny Thai pig. Oh, it's a good week at The High Low.
Today we discuss M&S's Christmas display - a woman in red lace underwear next to a man in a suit - which one Twitter user gone viral called "vomit-inducing." Is it? We also discuss John Allen Chau, the American missionary killed by the isolated Sentinelese tribe and Lena Dunham's extraordinarily revealing interview for New York Magazine.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Budget Christmas ad goes viral https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/11/26/budget-love-gift-christmas-ad-goes-viral
Little Mix: these issues of body shaming needed exposure, by Gaby Hinsliff for The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/23/little-mix-body-shaming-piers-morgan-naked-strip
Meet the traumatised Asian men who are trapped in forced marriages, by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown for The Sunday Times magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meet-the-traumatised-asian-men-who-are-trapped-in-forced-marriages-9n2cl5tsr
It melts plastic and can kill - so why is club drug GHB on the rise? By Alexandra Jones for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/24/club-drug-ghb-melts-plastic-kill
Ayiti, by Roxane Gay https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Roxane-Gay/Ayiti/21948009
Lena Dunham Comes To Terms With Herself, by Allison P. Davis https://www.thecut.com/2018/11/lena-dunham-comes-to-terms-with-herself.html#comments
Amy Schumer on The Armchair Expert: https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/amy-schumer
Brian May on Fresh Air: https://www.npr.org/2018/11/09/666197208/queen-guitarist-brian-may-on-writing-anthems-and-studying-astrophysics
Bougie London Literary Woman on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BougieLitWoman
Bougie London Literary Woman interviewed for Vice: https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/59v9yq/a-bewitching-interview-with-bougie-london-literary-woman
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It was the week of the BBC's 100 Women of the Year list, Hockney's record-breaking art sale and the story of Deke Duncan, a radio jockey playing to an audience of one (Dolly's spirit animal.)
On today's agenda, the 'cleanfluencer' phenomenon, Mrs Hinch - who has over 1.3 million IG followers and shares videos of herself cleaning. Why DO people go so potty for her? Does she offer an ordered escape from a terrifyingly messy world?
And we discuss Lolly Adefope's wry joke about a whitewashed comedy line-up - which escalated into a perceived 'race row' and saw Lolly cast in the role of 'Angry Black Woman.' Why is calm and valid criticism so hard for us to accept? And what does it say about diversity - or rather, the continued lack of it?
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet us @The High Low
Links
Mother Ship, by Francesca Segal https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1116702/mother-ship/9781784742690.html
Why Are Young People Having So Little Sex? By Katie Julian for The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/the-sex-recession/573949/
Popular, by Mitch Prinstein https://www.amazon.co.uk/Popular-Finding-Happiness-Success-Relationships/dp/039956375X
BBC's 100 Women list of 2018 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-46225037
Tara Westover on How To Fail, with Elizabeth Day https://www.acast.com/how-to-fail1/how-to-fail-tara-westover
When Michelle Met Oprah - Dec issue of ELLE UK https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/a25007149/michelle-obama-is-still-optimistic/
Could The Palm Oil Boycott Increase Deforestation?: https://theconversation.com/palm-oil-boycott-could-actually-increase-deforestation-sustainable-products-are-the-solution-106733
Why Young Men Need More Pornography, by Eva Wiseman: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/young-men-pornography
India Knight on Sex Education for Girls: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/india-knight-mp-jess-phillips-sex-ed-must-change-help-girls-take-ownership-bodies-97c96k5n7
Homecoming on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B07FP41Z59
Lena Dunham on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/lena-dunham
Elizabeth Gilbert on The Ted Interview: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/elizabeth-gilbert-shows-up-for-everything/id1437306870?i=1000421929243&mt=2
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It's World Kindness Day & Dolly has a beautiful poem to kick us off, whilst Pandora has a new Spotify suggestion for everyone who went nutty for French Chill.
46% of men remove their body hair, up from 36% in 2017. Is it the fusion of porn culture and pop culture?
Plus we discuss Collins dictionary's word of the year - 'single-use.' What were the other contenders? Are you a plogger?
Lastly, Iceland's Christmas ad, banned for being political, after the supermarket re-branded a Greenpeace advert warning against the dangers of palm oil.
E-mail: thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet: @thehighlowshow
Good Morning Jazz on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX71VcjjnyaBQ?si=fPT3z_VuSti-bZBSfccYPQ
Like Women, Men Are Now Suffering in Their Pursuit of the 'Perfect Body', by Barbara Ellen for The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/11/men-suffer-as-much-as-women-in-their-pursuit-of-the-perfect-body
Victoria's Secret is Trying to Change With The Times. Or is it? By Vanessa Friedman for The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/fashion/victorias-secret-liberation-in-corsets-and-spike-heels.html
Nick Cave on grief, for The Red Hand Files https://www.theredhandfiles.com/communication-dream-feeling/
Yes I Have White Parents. But I Have African Ancestry Too, by Anthony Ekundayo Lennon for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/10/white-parents-african-ancestry-anthony-ekundayo-lennon
Anthony Ekundayo Lennon and The Left's Dilemma About Race, by Toby Young for The Spectator https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p06lh7gk/informer-series-1-1-no-sleep-till-brooklyn
The Informer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p06lh7gk/informer-series-1-1-no-sleep-till-brooklyn
The Sinner Season 2 https://www.netflix.com/title/80175802
To The Woman Crying Uncontrollably In TheNext Stall, by Kim Addonizio http://diodepoetry.com/v9n1/content/addonizio_k.html
Barneys, Books, and Bust-ups: 50 Years of The Booker Prize https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bntjf6
Sally4ever on Now TV https://www.nowtv.com/gb/watch/sally4ever/iYEQZ2rcf32XP8H8XCTxU5
The Adam Buxton Podcast https://www.acast.com/adambuxton
Petition to release Iceland's banned Christmas advert on TV
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
From Prince George memes (@garyjanetti) to vegan abuse (last week journalist William Sitwell was sacked from the Waitrose Food magazine, for his jokes about killing vegans) via the healthiest/ unhealthiest high streets in the UK, as voted by The Royal Society of Public Health. Edinburgh won, Grimsby lost, and you’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out why.
Today we have author Olivia Sudjic on the show to discuss her new essay, Exposure, about the anxiety that threatened to engulf her after her debut novel, Sympathy, became a literary success. Part literary criticism, drawing on some of her favourite works by female authors, Sudjic’s intelligent, sharp, thoughtful and deeply confronting essay discusses not just anxiety but all of its merry cohorts: insomnia, self-surveillance, self-loathing, sabotage, imposter syndrome and the gender imbalance when it comes to critiquing women’s fiction (as Roxane Gay points out, Knausgård is never called a ‘diarist‘.) Sudjic discusses what it means to be a published author, divorcing yourself from your art and why anxiety, when correctly managed, can be a positive force: a galvanizing ‘self-awareness’ which keeps you writing.
According to The World Health Organisation (2017) over 260 million people worldwide suffer from an anxiety disorder; it affects almost twice as many women as men. Oft considered a modern epidemic, the subject is something we’ve long deliberated about covering on The High Low, but have never had the nerve. We hope the conversation proves as valuable to others, as much as it did us.
Please do note that nothing discussed in today’s episode constitutes advice from a healthcare professional. If you think you might be suffering from anxiety, or an anxiety disorder, please do contact your local GP, or visit mind.org.uk and anxietyuk.org.uk to get the help and support you need.
The Little Drummer Girl https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqs366
Informer https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=informer
There She Goes (all BBC iPlayer) https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=there+she+goes&sa_f=search-product&scope=
The Good Place on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80113701
A Love Story for Bewildered Girls, by Emma Morgan (February 2019, pre-order now) https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/309/309817/a-love-story-for-bewildered-girls/9780241357767.html
Zoe Williams on William Sitwell's resignation: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/31/waitrose-editor-quits-vegan
You're Booked with Daisy Buchanan: https://www.acast.com/booked
Sheridan Smith interviewed for The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/nov/03/sheridan-smith-fell-apart-lost-my-mind-tom-lamont
Morwenna Ferrier on the fashion in Killing Eve:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Since we’ve been gone, Apple has added cream cheese to its emoji bagel after furious complaints (we discuss what we have on OUR bagels and spoiler alert: it’s not cream cheese, Apple); Urban Outfitters has produced an “influencer’ Halloween costume of crop top and leggings; and, of course, a new scandal which features a megalomaniac at its centre, has broken: Arcadia chairman, Philip Green, has been accused of sexual and racial harassment after peer Lord Hain exercised his parliamentary immunity (where injunctions do not apply) to name him as the anonymous retail boss who allegedly paid off employees. We discuss the difference between the injunction and the NDA and what constitutes ‘in the public interest.’
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom
https://www.hive.co.uk/Search/Keyword?keyword=Tuesdays%20with%20morrie%20&productType=0
Seven Days of Us, by Francesca Hornak
https://www.hive.co.uk/Search/Keyword?keyword=Seven%20Days%20of%20Us&productType=0
Rituals For Everyday, by Nadia Narain and Katia Narain Phillips (pre-order) https://www.hive.co.uk/Search/Keyword?keyword=Rituals%20for%20Every%20Day&productType=0
Late In The Day, by Tessa Hadley (pre-order)
https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Tessa-Hadley/Late-in-the-Day/22991701
A Keeper, by Graham Norton
https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Graham-Norton/A-Keeper/22246134
The class of 1946-2018: Twenty-seven school-shooting survivors bear their scars, and bear witness, as told to Jared Soule and Amelia Schonbek, with a portfolio shot by Michael Avedon for New York magazine
https://www.nymag.com/intelligencer/amp/2018/10/school-shooting-survivors.html
What is camp now? By Charlie Porter, for The Financial Times
https://www.ft.com/content/175c0956-cc99-11e8-8d0b-a6539b949662
Why it’s okay to cut off family members, by Sali Hughes, for The Pool
https://www.the-pool.com/news-views/opinion/2018/42/Meghan-Markle-estranged-family-Sali-Hughes
Busy Phillips on WTF: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-959-busy-philipps
Richard E Grant on WTF: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-960-richard-e-grant-brian-posehn
Roisin Meets Richard E Grant: https://soundcloud.com/irishtimes-lifestyle/richard-e-grant
With Nails by Richard E Grant:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
By the time she died in Syria, in 2012, Marie Colvin was one of the world’s most renowned and courageous war correspondents. Recognised for her trademark eye patch - the consequence of a grenade in Sri Lanka, in 2001 - and revered as a journalist, with a 25 year tenure at The Sunday Times, Marie Colvin had a personal life as tumultuous as the war zones she covered. With the help of 300 of Marie’s journals, her friend and colleague, Channel 4’s International Editor, Lindsey Hilsum, has written a funny, frank and moving biography, In Extremis: The Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin, where she separates the myth from the woman: as brave as she is glamorous; as fierce as she is vulnerable. Ahead of the release of A Private War - a film of Marie’s life, with Rosamund Pike as Marie and Jamie Dornan as photographer, Paul Conroy - we talk to Lindsey about her friendship with Marie, the reality of being a war correspondent and how you keep mentally strong and sane, the bad news cycle, social media and MeToo.
Pre-order In Extremis, by Lindsey Hilsum (published 11th November by Penguin) here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1111214/in-extremis/9781784740931.html
Dopesick, by Beth Macy https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Beth-Macy/Dopesick--Dealers-Doctors-and-the-Drug-Company-that-Addicted-America/22704243
Tom Daley’s Desert Island Discs https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0blhfpj
Witness for the Prosecution, an Agatha Christie play on London’s Southbank https://www.southbanklondon.com/Witness-for-the-Prosecution
How Goop’s haters made Gwyneth Paltrow’s Company worth $250 million - by Taffy Brodesser-Akner for The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/magazine/big-business-gwyneth-paltrow-wellness.html
Recommended apps:
Deliveries: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/deliveries-a-package-tracker/id290986013?mt=8
Gone For Good: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/gone-for-good/id1055619157?mt=8
Treatwell: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/treatwell-nails-hair-wax/id814443140?mt=8
Taskrabbit: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/taskrabbit-chores-done-today/id374165361?mt=8
Blythe Danner on The Goop Podcast:
https://goop.com/work/parenthood/gwyneth-x-blythe-on-mothers-and-daughters/
Simon Cowell on Desert Island Discs:
Sara Pascoe on theatre:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=enoj6OK9j0U
Information on Lips choir:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Everyone’s talking about Kanye’s nutty meeting with Trump in The Oval Office last week; whilst Melania, in her most frank televised interview yet, described herself as the most bullied person in the world. Meanwhile, Fendi has made a £750 scarf which looks like a vulva (transcendental experience of being ‘born again’ presumably baked in to the price), the Duchess of Sussex is having a baby and we discuss the juiciest tidbits of the 850-guest royal wedding that we both, accidentally, got really quite into.
Also this week we discuss why 1/3 of Gen Z don’t drink (and interview two Gen Z authors Scarlett Curtis and Charly Cox about their differing attitudes to alcohol) and some brilliant pieces of journalism this weekend by Josh Glancy and Max Hastings, that discuss how feelings have trumped rational thought. Is The Enlightenment’s 300-year intellectual tenure under threat? And what are the dangers of placing heart and gut above facts and mind?
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet @thehighlowshow
Links
It’s time to do away with the gay best friend, by Philip Ellis for Man Repeller https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/10/gay-best-friend-stereotype.html
I’ll Be There For You, by Kelsey Miller https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Kelsey-Miller/Ill-Be-There-For-You/22458067
Motherhood, by Sheila Heti https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Sheila-Heti/Motherhood/22325906
The xx, by Angela Chadwick https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Angela-Chadwick/XX/22437212
Christene Barberich interviews Hanya Yanaghihara for Refinery29’s UnStyled podcast https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/hanya-yanagihara-on-making-your-mark-in-brave-new-media/id1171140955?i=1000421309939&mt=2
@brian_bilston on Instagram for poetry
How have we let feelings obscure rational debate, by Josh Glancy’s column for The Sunday Times magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/josh-glancy-brett-kavanaugh-case-has-ignited-online-fury-like-never-before-how-have-we-let-feelings-obscure-rational-debate-6nq6h6hpq
We’re in a dark age where hearts rule minds, by Max Hastings for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/we-re-in-a-dark-age-where-hearts-rule-minds-5p7gl6g5q
For millennials, thinking and emotions are equals — more or less, by Karl Moore https://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2017/06/26/for-millennials-thinking-and-emotions-are-equals-more-or-less/amp/
Sophie Wilkinson on Cara Delevigne for Grazia:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Hello October! It’s Dolly’s favourite month of the year. If she were reincarnated, says Pandora, it would be as a knee-high boot.
This week we discuss MeToo’s infighting - as Asia Argento unveils a new bloody dagger tattoo aimed at Rose McGowan; Pret’s tragic error and the 14 allergens that all foodstuffs should be labelled with; and why the Nobel peace prize should be taken away from Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi despite the organisation’s novel explanation as to why it hasn’t.
Masses of recommendations from us both, including Lily Allen’s memoir, the film Tully, a beautiful piece on grief by Alice Edwards, and a series of accounts on what it was really like to work for Harvey Weinstein, in The Guardian magazine. Are NDAs protecting the wrong people?
We couldn’t *not* talk about Brett Kavanaugh - the Republican judge who looks set to enter the Supreme Court, the highest law-making body in the USA, despite the accusation of sexual assault lodged against him by Dr Christine Ford. Do men (and women) of a certain age - and political view - still subscribe to the belief “that if it isn’t rape, it doesn’t count”? And are we surprised that Trump is still endorsing Kavanaugh?
Also this week, we discuss a brilliant piece by the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, Farrah Storr, for The Times Magazine - about why women can’t (and maybe don’t want) it all. Dolly and I talk about the ‘splintered woman’ (domestic, professional, sexual) and get personal on the subconscious pressure to have it all; why we don’t have it all; and why having different things, at different times, is actually even better.
Links:
Tully (2018) film
Kavanaugh v Ford is a litmus test for our times, by Janice Turner for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kavanaugh-v-ford-is-litmus-test-of-our-times-6xrmt5v7w
Suzanne Moore on Brett Kavanaugh: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/28/brett-kavanaugh-christine-blasey-ford-senate-supreme-court
Why women can’t have it all, by Farrah Storr for The Times magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/you-can-t-have-it-all-admits-cosmopolitan-editor-farrah-storr-kt89pqm37
Episode #149 of Ctrl, Alt, Delete podcast hosted by Emma Gannon, with Farrah Storr https://www.emmagannon.co.uk/2018/09/27/ctrl-alt-delete-podcast-149-farrah-storr/
Jackie Onassis and Lee Radziwill: the truth about their rivalry, (extracted from a book) by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger for The Times magazine
Life as a Harvey Weinstein employee, three accounts for The Guardian magazine https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/29/harvey-weinstein-three-former-employees-on-working-for-him
‘I carry your hearts with me’ - an essay on grief by Alice Edwards for the current print issue of Porter magazine
‘My anxiety was a tool to survive’, Claire Foy interview by Tom...
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Arden made history when she took baby Neve to the UN Assembly in NYC this week; meanwhile, Trump made world leaders laugh out loud with his address (“that’s not what I was expecting” he replied, surprised at the lols.) In the domestic landscape, Dolly discovers a great new podcast and Pandora reads a unnerving but thought-provoking book.
Also this week, we host comedian and podcast supremo, Deborah Frances-White, creator and host of The Guilty Feminist. The podcast has had 50 million download since inception and is one of our favourites to listen to: it's funny, provoking, smart and political. The USP of The Guilty Feminist is: let humour do the heavy-lifting — something The High Low heartily admires. We talk inclusivity, intersectional feminism and why we are all guilty feminists.
Links
Putney, by Sofka Zinovieff https://www.amazon.co.uk/Putney-Sofka-Zinovieff/dp/1408895757
Killing Eve and Press on BBC iPlayer
Fortunately with Fi and Jane, a BBC podcast on iTunes
Book a ticket to The Rooted Project’s ‘Skin Food’ event at https://www.picatic.com/event15345039853892
The Ratline on BBC Radio 4
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04sj2pt
Bella Mackie on being single at 30 for Vogue
https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/being-single-at-30-a-vogue-memoir
The Guilty Feminist by Deborah Francis White:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guilty-Feminist-noble-goals-hypocrisies/dp/0349010145
E-mail us thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet us @thehhglowshow
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The High Low inbox was full of people asking us to cover the media coverage of Carrie Symonds, the former Tory comms director accused of having an affair with Boris Johnson. We discuss the ‘scarlet woman’ trope, historically embodied by Monica Lewinsky, the then intern who was globally shamed for her affair with Bill Clinton (if you haven’t watched her 2015 TED talk yet - DO IT.) Let’s stop with the ‘tabloidese’ whereby women accused of having affairs with famous, married men are party-loving sluts designed to attack the patriarchy. Here’s a thought: let’s cover women in the same way we do men?
Also today, we celebrate the 18 year tenure - yes, 18 years - of Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother. Whether 'civilian or celebrity' (our new favourite phrase), Big Brother was once a pop-culture phenomenon, at the vanguard of the zeitgeist. Rather than examine where it all went wrong (nothing lasts forever) we dive into the nostalgia and share our favourite bits plus YOUR favourite bits, as garnered from Twitter. Plus, Dolly interviews an ex story producer of MIC, ex head writer for TOWIE and culture journalist, Ed Cripps, to discuss the BB phenomenon in more detail.
E-mail us thehighlowshow@gmail.com
Tweet us @thehighlowshow
Hadley Freeman on Serena Williams https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/15/give-serena-williams-break-working-mothers
Sophie Heawood interviews Lily Allen https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/sep/15/lily-allen-brazen-behaviour-didnt-care-sophie-heawood
The Pursuit of Love, by Nancy Mitford https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pursuit-Love-Nancy-Mitford/dp/0141044012
Episode 59 of Fortunately with Fi and Jane, with Susanna Reid https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06f8njn
Killing Eve, on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p06jy6bc
Fran Yeoman on Carrie Symonds for iNews https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/people/boris-johnson-carrie-symonds-affair-allegations-sexism-media/
Monica Lewinsky’s TED talk, ‘The price of shame’ https://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame/up-next?language=en
Nadia Petschek Rawls, Director of Social Media at TED, on Monica Lewinsky’s TED talk https://ideas.ted.com/want-to-help-prevent-online-bullying-comment-on-facebook/
She Wants It by Jill Soloway: https://www.amazon.co.uk/She-Wants-Desire-Toppling-Patriarchy/dp/1785032844
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Roxanne Pallett has been cast (and since left) Celebrity Island since our last record (exploitative, much?) and Hurricane Florence is heading towards the USA. Meanwhile, 2 more people have attempted to make bookings at The High Low hotel. Our towels must be reeeeeally soft, or something.
Today, we discuss Serena Williams’s epic tantrum at the US Open final - and how it overshadowed Naomi Osaka’s first Grand Slam win. The most interesting part of the narrative isn’t the tantrum, itself: but how it’s culturally metabolised.
And another woman in trouble getting angry is Kirstie Allsopp who recently admitted to smashing her kids iPad in fury, after they wouldn’t stop playing computer games. She’s quit Twitter, amidst the furore and her parenting - and privilege - is now under scrutiny. We chew over the makings of a modern-day Twitter storm and wonder if parenting and social media are destined for trouble.
Please go to https://www.gofundme.com/emergency-support-for-rwc to donate to the Refugee Women’s Centre, helping refugee families in Calais and Dunkirk
Recommendations
Adèle, by Leila Slimani, out January 2019 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adèle-Leila-Slimani/dp/0143132180
Ben Machell interviews Grenfell firefighter Edric Kennedy-Malfoy and Peter Crouch, both for The Times magazine
Simon Hattenstone interviews Phoebe Waller-Bridge for The Guardian magazine
Zadie Smith essay on ageing, in the (current) October issue of ELLE magazine
Remembering Aretha Franklin on Fresh Air https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2018/08/16/639157290?t=1536776911699
Steve Young on Here’s The Thing With Alec Baldwin: https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/hidden-trove-musicals-broadways-greatest-talents
Slate’s Slow Burn series two: http://www.slate.com/articles/slate_plus/watergate.html?via=gdpr-consent
Daisy Buchanan on Sofie Hagen’s Made of Human podcast: https://www.madeofhumanpodcast.com/episodes/2018/8/30/105-daisy-buchanan-a-gymnastics-routine-of-shame
Guys We F****d with Dan Soder https://m.soundcloud.com/guyswefucked/dan-you-give-please-dont-leave-me-head
Where Should We Begin with Esther Perel:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We’re back! We wish we were still on the sun lounger, but here we are, at your disposal - with a giant book chat of what we have enjoyed in the last month.
Also today, we discuss the social media trolling of the late Sinéad McNamara and Instagram influencer Scarlett Dixon; and Celebrity Big Brother’s biggest controversy yet - after soap actor Roxanne Pallet accused fellow contestant and actor Ryan Thomas of assault, which footage revealed to have never happened. The fall-out has been swift; Roxanne has described herself as “the most hated person in Britain.” But when does criticism morph into crucifixion? When will we stop trying to ‘cancel’ or ‘delete’ people - particularly women - from public consciousness? And how do Roxanne’s allegations damage the #MeToo movement?
You can e-mail The High Low thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet us @thehighlowshow
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
Normal People, by Sally Rooney
How Do You Like Me Now, by Holly Bourne
Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng
Bitter Orange, by Claire Fuller
The Pisces, by Melissa Broder
Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan
Educated, by Tara Westover
Confessions of a Single Mother, by Amy Nicoll
The Wives, by Lauren Weisberger
The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley
The Break, by Marian Keys
This Is Going To Hurt, by Adam Kay
A Short Affair, edited by Simon Oldfield
The End of The Affair - Graham Green
The Outline - Rachel Cusk
The Cost of Living - Deborah Levy
Cassandra At The Wedding - Dorothy Baker
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jeremy Hunt forgot his wife's nationality; someone tried to book 6 hotel rooms at The High Low (us neither); & Dolly smashed a glass of wine all over CJ's recording equipment. Hola August: the summer madness has officially begun!
We discuss Jane Garvey's comment on Radio 4's Woman's Hour this week: that "hey guys" should not be used when a gathering includes women. Is "guys" an anti-feminist collective term; or has it evolved into unisex slang? And are there any non-gross alternatives?
Also today, we talk about comedian and talk show host Trevor Noah and his distasteful 2013 joke about aboriginal women, which has recently re-surfaced and has seen Australians boycotting his upcoming tour in Australia. Should we be allowed to evolve beyond our past (worst) jokes? And what is the role of comedy, in a post-MeToo, Trumpian world?
The High Low will be taking a summer break, so Pandora can play with her baby and Dolly can take a post-book tour breather. We'll be back on September 6th. Byeeeeeee!
EMAIL: thehighlowshow@gmail.com
TWITTER: @thehighlowshow
LINKS:
Fight Like A Girl, by Clementine Ford https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fight-Like-Girl-Clementine-Ford/dp/1760292362
Paris For One (& Other Stories), by Jojo Moyes https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paris-One-Other-Stories-Discover/dp/1405928166/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1533158639&sr=1-1&keywords=jojo+moyes+paris
American Housewife, by Helen Ellis https://www.amazon.co.uk/American-Housewife-Helen-Ellis/dp/1471153800/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1533158662&sr=1-1&keywords=american+wives+helen+ellis
Hadley Freeman interviews Jameela Jamil, for The Guardian magazine https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jul/28/jameela-jamil-wont-become-double-agent-patriarchy
Table Manners With Jessie Ware: https://www.acast.com/tablemanners/
Jason Segel on WTF with Marc Maron: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_623_-_jason_segel
The Florence Kleiner Bursary at The Old Vic: https://www.oldvictheatre.com/news/2018/07/the-florence-kleiner-bursary
Why It’s Wrong To Call Out Trevor Noah For Off-Colour Jokes They Made In Their Past, by Shappi Khorsandi for The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trevor-noah-dan-harmon-old-jokes-exposure-wrong-alt-right-james-gunn-a8466011.html
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We might be a little delayed - much like a Ryanair flight - but we got there in the end. Yup, that’s a pun; we’re talking about Plane Bae. Unfolding like a modern meet-cute, the tweet story of a ‘romance’ observed by another passenger over the course of over 50 tweets-gone viral, Plane Bae soon morphed into a cautionary tale of consent, privacy and doxxing. What does this incident reveal to us, except, yet again, that the internet is misogynistic?
Also today, we discuss two news stories surrounding mental health: firstly, that mental health may be taught to children as young as 4, and secondly, that 70,000 young people including 2,000 young children, are on anti-depressants. Are we right to be cautious of becoming a pill-addicted nation; or do we need to overcome this stigma? And will children as young as 4, really absorb the nuances of mental health? Ultimately, education starts at a grassroots level and needs to be woven throughout the curriculum, focusing on positive preventative measures like exercise and healthy eating. We’d love to here your thoughts on this. If you are suffering with mental health issues or believe someone you know is, you can contact mental health charity MIND at mind.org.uk, to find out more about your local support network.
Also today, a beautiful piece on becoming 2 when you thought you would always be 1, by Hannah Betts, why you should fear ‘femtech’ and birth control apps by Olivia Sudjic and Viv Albertine’s polemic on Fresh Air.
Links
Neon Daylight, by Hermione Hoby https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neon-Daylight-Hermione-Hoby/dp/193678775X
Picnic at Hanging Rock, on BBC2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b0bb6xvm
Hannah Betts, the postergirl for singletons, on coupledom for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hannah-betts-how-the-poster-girl-for-singletons-found-love-at-last-gjxbfgtng
A letter to my friend who is getting married, by Marisa Bate for The Pool https://www.the-pool.com/life/life-honestly/2018/30/Marisa-Bate-letter-to-a-friend-who-is-getting-married
The dangers of Natural Cycle and birth control apps, by Olivia Sudjic for The Guardian magazine https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/21/colossally-naive-backlash-birth-control-app
All Saints on how to be a girl group, by Michael Cragg for The Observer magazine https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/24/all-saints-on-how-to-be-a-girl-group
Viv Albertine on a lifetime of fighting the patriarchy, on NPR's Fresh Air podcast https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2018/07/16/629365712
You can e-mail The High Low thehighlowshow@gmail.com and tweet us @thehighlowshow.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The POTUS hit the UK for his week of ridicule: the balloon; the march; the press conference and *that* video gone viral of Trump barging in front of the Queen. Meanwhile, Dolly discovers a new music hero (David Keenan) and Pandora reads her first ‘work-help’ book (The Discomfort Zone by Farrah Storr.) Oh, and Love Island fans: Undercover Lover is your new favourite podcast. You’re welcome.
Today we are honoured to host Yomi Adegoke & Elizabeth Uviebinené, the writers of Slay In Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible. A meticulously researched and brilliantly written deep-dive into what it is to be a young black woman in the UK, the book prompted a 9-way publishing war and is stuffed full of interviews with famous black women including Olympic athlete Denise Lewis, barrister and author Afua Hirsch and former pop star Jamelia.
We discuss microaggressions and microinvalidations; the ‘white co-sign’; being racially palatable; why representation and sponsorship is so important (just 0.49% of university professors are black women); why black women are swiped left more than any other ethnic group on Tinder; and how Rihanna changed the black beauty industry.
You can email The High Low thehighlowshow@gmail.com and tweet us @thehighlowshow
Links
Slay In Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, by Yomi Adegoke & Elizabeth Uviebinené https://www.amazon.co.uk/Slay-Your-Lane-Black-Bible/dp/0008235627
Undercover Lover, hosted by Harriet Minter https://www.acast.com/undercoverlover
Caliphate - a New York Times podcast about ISIS, hosted by Rukmini Callimachi https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/podcasts/caliphate-isis-rukmini-callimachi.html
True heroes insist on staying in the shadows, by Janice Turner for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/true-heroes-insist-on-staying-in-the-shadows-fkl7lj53w
Suzanne Moore on turning 60 for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/17/im-a-woman-about-to-turn-60-heres-what-ive-learned-about-life
Elizabeth Day's new podcast How To Fail https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-to-fail-phoebe-waller-bridge/id1407451189?i=1000415790730&mt=2
David Keenan on Roisin Meets https://soundcloud.com/irishtimes-lifestyle/david-keenan
David Keenan https://www.davidkeenan.ie/
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
There’s a ton of cabinet reshuffles this week and baby Trump - all 6-foot helium-filled malevolence - is flying over London. Is the balloon a meaningful protest; or is it a childish blimp that could ruin a trade agreement with the US? And aren’t there leaders (Erdogan, for example) whose visit to the UK we should protest more?
Also this week, Justin Bieber’s engaged! Kylie Jenner’s almost a billionaire! Cardi(gan) B has had a baby called Kulture! In (more important) news, we discuss Amanda Knox’s comments on sexuality (she says she taught herself how to masturbate in prison), Terri White’s piece on poverty (30% of children live below the poverty line), Giles Coren’s piece on why ‘liking’ things draws us further away from our authentic self and Richard Godwin’s shocking piece on noise pollution - which is killing 10,000 people a year.
And of course, we *had* to mention Love Island. Dolly raises Alex’s comment about liking ‘natural’ women (what damage does the #ijustwokeuplikethis emphasis do to women?) whilst Pandora laments our cultural obsession with augmented hotness, flagging a brilliant piece on Vice about Megan Barton-Hanson.
Links
- Glow on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80114988
- In defense of Megan Barton-Hanson, by Emma Garland for Vice https://www.vice.com/amp/en_uk/article/vbq5dy/in-defence-of-megan-barton-hanson
- Terri White on Britain’s poverty problem (last week’s issue; not yet online)
- The goop podcast on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-goop-podcast/id1352546554?mt=2
- She Must Be Mad, by Charley Cox https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008291662/she-must-be-mad/
- Sonic Doom: how noise pollution is killing 10,000 people a year, by Richard Godwin for The Guardian
- The Urge To Like Everything Is Rotting Our Brains, by Giles Coren: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-urge-to-like-everything-is-rotting-our-brains-vdttbtmdx
- Guys We F****d with Amanda Knox: https://soundcloud.com/guyswefucked/amandaknox
You can e-mail us thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet us @thehighlowshow.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s the week that England broke their penalty curse; Cheryl Cole and Liam Payne broke up; Roman Polanski (yup, he who is wanted for statutory rape) sat FROW at Miu Miu; and let’s not forget! There’s a bumper session of Ask The High Low. We resisted doing it in Joan and Jericha’s voices - but it was hard.
We’ve never had something recommended so much to The High Low - via email; Twitter; Instagram DM - as much as we had ‘Nanette’ a stand-up show performed by Australian comic, Hannah Gadsby. A surprise Netflix hit, loved by everyone from Roxane Gay to Monica Lewinsky, Hannah Gadsby has produced a piece of comedy so hilarious, so original, so shocking and so devastating - it’ll have you thinking about it, like we are, for weeks to come. We talk about why this show has everyone talking and discuss why self-deprecation is so dangerous for women; why punchlines don’t tell true stories; and why artists (even Van Gogh) are not mad geniuses - but just humans, who need connections. Hannah says that ‘Nanette’ is her last piece of stand-up - and that she wants to quit comedy, so that she doesn’t spread her anger. We hope she doesn’t quit comedy: we hope she changes the genre forever.
You can email us thehighlowshow@gmail.com and tweet us @thehighlowshow.
Links:
Nanette by Hannah Gadsby on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/watch/80233611?trackId=14277281&tctx=0%2C0%2C4c07843d-89e8-403a-a3c7-b1d861a56f0d-39237366%2C%2C
Nanette Is Not Just A Queer Woman's Story - It's A Revolution by Zoe Beaty: https://www.the-pool.com/arts-culture/tv/2018/26/zoe-beaty-on-hannah-gadsby-nanette-on-netflix
Why I’m Done With The Mental Health Conversation, by Hannah Jane Parkinson for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/30/nothing-like-broken-leg-mental-health-conversation
Caitlin Moran interviewed by Alastair Campbell for the August 2018 issue of GQ magazine - on sale now
Adam Kay interviewed by Emma Gannon for Ctrl Alt Delete podcast https://www.emmagannon.co.uk/2018/06/22/ctrl-alt-delete-podcast-135-adam-kay/
Zadie Smith on The Touré Show: https://art19.com/shows/toure-show/episodes/e6dbe4c7-c2ad-4342-b120-bd666ab2eef6
Geography by Tom Misch https://www.amazon.co.uk/Geography-Tom-Misch/dp/B0774WX37X
The Durrels on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80989475
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In today's episode, we discuss that jacket worn by Melania Trump whilst visiting an immigrant children's camp in Texas; Lionel Shriver's follow-up to her anti-diversity rant; Johnny Depp's bonkers Rolling Stone interview; Dolly's new favourite podcast Dear Joan and Jericha; and why mindfulness should be less about emptying your mind - than filling it.
Also today, we host the Oscar-nominated actor, producer and now memoirist, Gabourey Sidibe. Her book, This Is Just My Face, Try Not To Stare is a hilarious and brutally honest account of her life, from working as a phone-sex operator, to her breakout role in Precious, via fat-shaming in Hollywood.
You can e-mail The High Low thehighlowshow@gmail.com and tweet us, @thehighlowshow.
Links
This Is Just My Face, Try Not To Stare, by Gabourey Sidibe
The Economist Radio
On mindFULLness over mindfullness, by Laura Freeman for The Times
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/this-meditation-mania-makes-me-anxious-l6fggsm9p
The Pisces, by Melissa Broder
Are plus-size clothes really making us put on weight? By Victoria Moss for The Telegraph
The diversity trap, by Lionel Shriver for The Spectator
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/06/the-diversity-trap/
On The (Nearly Lethal) Comforts Of A Luxury Cruise by David Foster Wallace: https://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/HarpersMagazine-1996-01-0007859.pdf
Dear Joan and Jericha: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/dear-joan-and-jericha-julia-davis-and-vicki-pepperdine/id1376577916?mt=2
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We speak to Clemmie Hooper - aka the midwife and influencer Mother of Daughters, who recently suspended her Instagram account after the trolling got too much - about why men and women are not equal in the eyes of social media. Why doesn’t her husband, Simon (aka Father of Daughters), who exists in exactly the same family and has twice the amount of followers, get nearly so much abuse? We talk misogyny and mothering; why women aren’t allowed to be financially successful in the same way men are; and why the best thing to do is to just rise above.
Also today, we make Producer Charlie’s week, and discuss The World Cup - High Low style.
For anyone experiencing domestic abuse or if you know of someone who is and want to help them, please call The National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Links
Mothers, an Essay on Love and Cruelty by Jacqueline Rose https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mothers-Essay-Cruelty-Jacqueline-Rose/dp/0571331432/ref=nodl_
Marc Maron interview by Hadley Freeman for The Guardian https://theguardian.com/culture/2018/jun/16/marc-maron-im-familiar-with-coke-anger-bullying-selfishness
What I Owe The NHS, by Mark Haddon and others for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/16/forever-grateful-what-i-owe-nhs-nadiya-hussain-clive-james
West Cork on Audible: https://www.audible.co.uk/ep/title?asin=B079M4J86L&source_code=M2M30DFT1BkSH101514006U
Susan Calman's Mrs Brightside: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0683q6p
Unpopped with Hayley Campbell: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05wxg9q
You can e-mail The High Low thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet us @thehighlowshow.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s a live podcast brought to you from the Möet & Chandon Summer House, in London! This week we are discussing the story gone viral, of party-girl-fraud, Anna Delvey. Are we living through the golden age of scamming?
Also today, Love Island and it’s golden homogenised beauty types. Do producers of structured reality shows owe us a more realistic body type; or should we expect nothing less from a show which is a platform for Instagram influencers-in-waiting? BooHooMan awaits.
Links
Dietland, on Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B07DDHFPWG
How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People, by Jessica Presser for New York Magazine https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/how-anna-delvey-tricked-new-york.html
The Fiends and the Folk Heroes in Grifter Season, by Jia Tolentino for The New Yorker
Scammers: They’re Just Like Us, by Tom Gara for Buzzfeed
https://www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/tomgara/anna-delvey-scammers-theyre-just-like-us
Bonjour Tristesse, by Francoise Sagan https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bonjour-tristesse-Francoise-Sagan/dp/2266195581/ref=nodl_
Moi Non Plus, on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b42wwt moi non plus on BBC iplayer
Sex And The City’s Lesser Known Icons, by Caroline O’Donoghue for The Pool
A History of Sex And The City’s “Splat” Episode, via Vulture http://www.vulture.com/2013/12/sex-and-the-city-oral-history-splat-episode.html
You can e-mail us thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet us @thehighlowshow.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
What does a trailblazer owe us? That’s a question we’re pondering this week, as we discuss actor Issa Rae’s spicy monologue on Kanye West - who many believe is betraying his black identity, in support of Trumpian conservatism - and Germaine Greer’s controversial views on rape. Once a radical second-wave feminist, is she in danger of becoming a parody? Also this week, we discuss the misogyny in social media; the concept of ‘moral triumphalism’; why processed food feels like a cuddle; and the glory of being single. And of course, we also discuss the 20 year anniversary of Sex And The City. Join us on this joyous romp down memory lane!
Links
Successful black men have targets on their backs, by Maurice Mcleod for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/30/raheem-sterling-media-young-black-men-footballer-tattoo
Barbara Ellen on Germaine Greer, for The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/03/germaine-greer-rape-wrong-feminists
Janice Turner on fallen trailblazers, for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/it-s-hard-to-see-your-heroines-fall-from-grace-6w8qcx68p
Robyn Wilder on the misogyny of parenting and social media, for Grazia - out now
The Processed Food Debate Is A Delicious, MSG-Sprinkled Class War by Grace Dent, for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jun/02/grace-dent-processed-food-delicious-msg-sprinkled-class-war
Nothing Like A Dame on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b5y3xn
Sex And The City Might Be Dated, But It'll Never Get Old, for Refinery 29 https://www.refinery29.com/2018/06/201164/sex-and-the-city-friends-women-nyc-relevance-today
I Was Just As Happy When I Was a Singleton by Matthew Parris, for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-was-just-as-happy-when-i-was-a-singleton-bb5d2fhl7
Matthew Parris on moral triumphalism, for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/abortion-triumphalism-is-deeply-troubling-bmv9xxsdd
Radio 4’s Friday Night Comedy News quiz https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02pc9pj/episodes/downloads
TED’s WorkLife with Adam Grant podcast: #MeToo, with Ashley Judd, Ronan Farrow, and Tarana Burke https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/bonus-metoo-with-ashley-judd-ronan-farrow-and-tarana-burke/id1346314086?i=1000409799054&mt=2
I’m Not Black, I’m Kanye, by Ta-Nehisi Coates for The Atlantic
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s National Biscuit Day! One of (but not the only) favourite days in Dolly’s calendar. We discuss the huge response to our segment on Ireland’s abortion referendum (they repealed!) and issue some vital corrections; natter about why we’re in the golden age of telly; and debate whether a role model - specifically, footballer Raheem Sterling and his gun tattoo - has to reflect societal concerns.
Also today, we host one of our favourite authors Meg Wolitzer, whose novel, The Female Persuasion, makes a timely landing in a post-MeToo age. We discuss inter-generational feminism, female friendship and idolatry and why the ‘domestic novel’ is as important as a grand polemic.
Links
Atlanta, on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b3q4bk
Hard Knock Wife, by Ali Wong on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80186940
A Very English Scandal on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0b5b3z4/a-very-english-scandal-series-1-episode-2
Hadley Freeman on Hugh Grant for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/26/renaissance-hugh-grant-freed-romcom-hell
Chrissy Iley interviews Patti Smith for The Sunday Times Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/patti-smith-interview-the-return-of-the-punk-priestess-58s05xq00
Diana Tourjee interviews Caitlyn Jenner for Broadly https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/wjb8nb/caitlyn-jenners-quest-for-acceptance
Decca Aitkenhead interviews Chelsea Clinton for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/26/chelsea-clinton-vitriol-flung-at-me
Tad Friend interviews Donald Glover for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/05/donald-glover-cant-save-you
Nobody Cares by Anne T. Donahue: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nobody-Cares-Anne-T-Donahue/dp/1770414231
Patrick Melrose on Now TV: https://www.nowtv.com/watch-patrick-melrose/6ed3e8a5a9b23610VgnVCM1000000b43150a____
BBC Radio 4's Soul Music: Strange Fruit: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03jb1w1
BBC Radio 4's Soul Music: Hallelujah: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05mbc0p
Donate to the Royal College of Nursing foundation here > www.rcnfoundation.org.uk
You can e-mail us thehiglowshow@gmail.com, and tweet us @thehighlowshow
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This week, we discuss why Ireland’s proposed repeal of the 8th amendment on 25th May, is so important. We learn about Ireland’s history (from the brutal 'symphysiotomy’ procedure, to the abuse of unmarried mothers in mother and baby homes like Bon Secours) and talk to Irish writer, Caroline O’Donoghue about what pro-choice campaigners learned from Brexit’s liberal echo chamber.
And of COURSE, we discuss the royal wedding. From the funny bits (he-llo Bishop Michael Curry) to the starry bits (Oprah, hashtag kween); the cringe bits (hi Suits cast on Instagram) to the emo bits (Harry thanking his “pa”); and, of course, the socio-political bits (is this the first time the media has used the term ‘bi-racial’? And why is that so meaningful?) we cover it all.
We’ll be doing a *live* episode of The High Low at the Möet & Chandon summer house in London on the 8th June, and you can sign up here > www.moetsummerhouse.com
Links for this week’s show
Justice for Noura Change.Org petition https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-noura-maritalrape-deathsentence-sudan
The Let Down, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80198635
The Scarlett Letter Reports, hosted by Amanda Knox for Broadly https://www.facebook.com/TheScarletLetterReports/
The Real Housewives of Cheshire, on ITVBe https://www.itv.com/hub/the-real-housewives-of-cheshire/2a3398
Euthanasia: one family’s story, by Mark Smith for The Times Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/euthanasia-one-familys-story-3jl83tgbr
This Is Ireland - a short documentary on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB7Ifu4nl0U
Abortion: Ireland's last taboo by Janice Turner for The Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/abortion-irelands-last-taboo-mbgh7c79m
Elaine Welteroth on the media’s embrace of the term, ‘bi-racial’ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi-0XssloBl/?hl=en&taken-by=elainewelteroth
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are the first woke royals, by India Knight for The Sunday Times Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/magazine/the-sunday-times-magazine/prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-are-the-first-woke-royals-this-was-a-royal-wedding-for-everyone-8d0g2xzpg
Reads Like A Four podcast: https://www.acast.com/readslikeafour
A Very English Scandal on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p065sk93
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s another live episode, recorded at The Old Selfridges Hotel in collaboration with Google Pixel 2. Dolly’s hungover, Pandora’s no longer pregnant - so some things have changed since our last live episode; but some things have stayed the same.
We discuss Georgina Chapman’s first ever interview about her ex-husband Harvey Weinstein in US Vogue, 5 months after allegations broke, triggering MeToo. Was this the right outlet for fashion designer Georgina, to give this interview? Is it a PR move? Did she know? And most importantly: why are innocent women seen as the accomplice of guilty men?
In lighter news, we also discuss the Cannes Film Festival’s selfie ban and why you cannot stall a content creator.
E-mail us thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet us @thehighlowshow
Links
Georgina Chapman on Life After Harvey Weinstein, by Jonathan Van Meter for US Vogue https://www.vogue.com/article/georgina-chapman-life-after-harvey-weinstein
Who Is Anna Winter Asking Us to Forgive, In Her Editor’s Letter? By Stella Bugbee for The Cut https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/anna-wintour-asks-us-to-forgive-in-her-editors-letter.html
The Defiant Ones, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80214552
The Break Up Episode, by Guys We Fucked podcast https://soundcloud.com/guyswefucked/gwf-breakup-episode-final
Hey Ladies, by Call Your Girlfriend podcast http://www.callyourgirlfriend.com/episodes/#/hey-ladies/
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s a week of controversy: Rachel Dolezal, the white woman who says she’s black, is back in the public eye thanks to a Netflix documentary, The Rachel Divide. What trauma led to her fraudulent ‘transracial’ identity? And why does Rachel refuse to back down? We called up gal-dem deputy editor and Guardian writer Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff to discuss the documentary - and whether or not Netflix were right to air it.
Also on today’s agenda: the glitzy annual Met Gala and it’s ‘Catholic’ theme, courtesy of Andrew Bolton’s ‘Heavenly Bodies’ exhibition. From Rihanna’s papal mitre to Lena Waithe’s politically charged rainbow cape, via Jared Leto dressed as Jesus (God complex, much?) the dress code might have been crassly interpreted and as camp as Christmas, but does that make it offensive? We run the full gamut of opinions.
Last thing - the Chuckle Brothers have not fallen out. We repeat: rumours of a feud are false.
@thehighlowshow
Links
The Rachel Divide review by Doreen St Felix for The New Yorker
The Rachel Divide on Netflix
https://www.netflix.com/title/80149821
Does Anyone Have The Right To Sex? By Amia Srinivasan, for The London Review of Books
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n06/amia-srinivasan/does-anyone-have-the-right-to-sex
Sean Penn interview, by Emma Brockes for The Guardian
You Think It, I’ll Say It, short stories by Curtis Sittenfeld
https://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Think-Ill-Say-Stories/dp/052552777X/ref=nodl_
Patrick Melrose, starts on Sunday on Sky Atlantic
How The Met Gala Guests Tackled “The Heavenly Bodies” Theme, by Osman Ahmed for Vogue.co.uk
http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/how-met-gala-guests-tackled-heavenly-bodies-them
Radio 4 Soul Music on God Only Knows
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b01jsk
Abi Morgan’s Desert Island Discs
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b01jsk
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Amber Rudd’s resignation; Mary Beard’s sparkly sneaks; Kanye’s ‘basic Plato’ tweets - oh and the news that beer goggles really DO exist. Yup, it’s just another week at The High Low.
This week sees the return of the author special, with trans activist and YA author, Juno Dawson, whose 14th book about a teenage heroin addict, Clean, had us both hooked. We discuss addiction, privilege, teenhood and trans issues with Juno, whilst her miniature chihuahua Prince, looked on.
Links
Milk & Honey, by Rupi Kaur https://www.amazon.co.uk/Milk-Honey-Rupi-Kaur/dp/144947425X
Clean, by Juno Dawson https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clean-Juno-Dawson/dp/1786540363/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525277433&sr=1-1&keywords=clean+juno+dawson
The Comments on my Selfies Are Different Now I’m a Mom, by Leandra Medine for ManRepeller https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/04/why-i-take-selfies.html
I Am The One Woman Who Has it All, by Kimberley Harrington for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/i-am-the-one-woman-who-has-it-all
Breasts Unbound, an Audible podcast series hosted by Florence Williams https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/breasts-unbound/id1314135350?mt=2
What Do Your Boobs Mean To You, by Pandora [yes, the same one!] http://www.pandorasykes.com/what-do-your-boobs-mean-to-you/
Wild Wild Country, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80145240
Stephen: The Murder That Changed a Nation on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0b09dss/ad/stephen-the-murder-that-changed-a-nation-series-1-1-the-loss-of-joy
Soul Music on BBC Radio 4 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008mj7p
BOOK a ticket to Consent Matters: millennial voices changing the narrative, on 14th May https://www.facebook.com/events/1581406098643539/)
You can tweet us @thehighlowshow or e-mail us thehighlowshow@gmail.com.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to another baby prince, but all anyone’s talking about is that bouncy blow dry, that red dress and those heels - a mere 7 hours after she gave birth. Is this glamorous portrayal of new motherhood doing a disservice to mothers and the trauma of birth? Why is it an inevitable part of Kate’s role as a princess? And could it in fact be a form of protection?
Also today: we discuss Millie Bobby Brown’s inclusion on Time’s 100 Most Influential List. The 14 year old actor has over 16 million Instagram followers and is currently producing her first film. Is she too young for such adulation?
You can email us thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet us @thehighlowshow.
Links:
- Lovesick on Netflix
https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80041601
- The Week Unwrapped, hosted by Olly Mann
- When Beauty Is A Troll, by Megan Garber for The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/558467/
- The Rise of Beauty-Standard Denialism, by Amanda Hess for The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/movies/i-feel-pretty-amy-schumer-beauty.amp.html
- Heartburn, by Nora Ephron with an introduction by the author
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heartburn-Virago-Modern-Classics-Ephron/dp/0349010358/ref=nodl_
- Cariad Lloyd on The Adam Buxton podcast
https://m.soundcloud.com/adam-buxton/ep73-cariad-lloyd
- No woman should have to pose post-birth, by Sali Hughes for The Pool
https://www.the-pool.com/health/wombs-etc/2018/17/sali-hughes-on-kate-middleton-post-birth-scrutiny
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Some excellent e-mails on voice notes in The High Low mailbag this week - turns out The HL listeners are more than a little bit obsessed with voice notes. On this week’s agenda: a butt-load of article recommendations from Pandora (Christie Watson’s book about the NHS had Pandora in a puddle), some stellar advice from Dolly on how to survive your social life sober, a hefty discussion on miscreditation and appropriation in the internet age and - the big stuff - why we all love to hate Coachella (it’s not just the headdresses, people.)
You can e-mail us any thoughts on this week’s episode at thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet us @thehighlowshow.
Reading
Anatomy of a Scandal, by Sarah Vaughan https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anatomy-Scandal-bestseller-everyone-talking/dp/1471165000
Falsely accused of rape: is the justice system biased against men? - by Katie Glass, for The Sunday Times Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/magazine/the-sunday-times-magazine/falsely-accused-rape-men-reveal-deepest-shame-gvxh88f9w
Social media helped me connect with my husband in a way I couldn’t in real life - by Jennifer Malia for New York Magazine, https://www.thecut.com/2018/04/the-relief-of-social-media-dating-as-a-woman-with-autism.html
The Language of Kindness: A Nurse’s Story, by Christie Watson https://www.amazon.co.uk/Language-Kindness-Nurses-Story/dp/1784741973
Elitism and the Oxbridge access problem, by Sathnam Sanghera for The Times Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sathnam-sanghera-elitism-the-oxbridge-access-problem-and-why-i-never-felt-i-belonged-at-cambridge-8dtm77jvf
The Friendship Cure by Kate Leaver
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Friendship-Cure-Kate-Leaver-ebook/dp/B076J26KZQ
To Throw Away Unopened by Viv Albertine
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Throw-Away-Unopened-Viv-Albertine/dp/0571326218
Listening
Call Your Girlfriend podcast on shine theory and millennial pinkwashing http://www.callyourgirlfriend.com/millennial-pinkwashing/
Literary Friction’s memoir episode
https://m.soundcloud.com/literaryfriction/memoir-viv-albertine
Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place with Alexandra Shulman
http://www.officialfearnecotton.com/news/2018/4/9/happy-place-alexandra-shulman#C1IlcccJVh3q2EGA.97
Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place with Kirsty Young http://www.officialfearnecotton.com/news/2018/4/16/happy-place-kirsty-young#P6mbddR5SEszBZSM.97
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Well, THANK YOU High Lowers - last week’s episode pushed us over 2 million downloads and up to No.3 on the iTunes podcast charts. The mailbag was also bulging this week: some helpful kind corrections; some not-so-helpful - and we’ve got a little something to say on that....
This week we discuss the results of The ONS’s report into loneliness, which has revealed that - contrary to popular belief - it is not pensioners who are society’s most lonely, but 16-24 year olds. Is social media to blame? Has celebrity replaced community? And what will Tracey Crouch do about it?
Also today, we talk about former Everton footballer Neville Southall who has been lending his Twitter platform (with its associated 127,000 followers) to minorities less privileged than him. Pretty great, huh? Well, apparently not. We talk about criticism, the liberal echo chamber and why curiosity is something to be prized not derided. Ultimately, we could all be a bit more Neville.
And on a lighter note: there’s Cardi B; the fragrance that ‘smells like’ Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding; why Cynthia Nixon hates it when Big builds Carrie a wardrobe; and Dolly’s drunken obsession with voice notes.
Use an exclusive discount to get £10 off your first Treatwell booking with HIGHLOW10. You can tweet us @thehighlowshow or e-mail is thehighlowshow@gmail.com - but please do note that we are unable to reply to all messages.
Links:
Neville Southall - A Man Too Good For This Cruel World by Stuart Heritage
https://www.esquire.com/uk/life/amp19733417/neville-southall-a-man-too-good-for-this-cruel-world/
Interview with New Zealand’s pregnant Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden - by Helena de Bertadano for The Sunday Times Magazine
The Chinese workers who assemble designer bags in Tuscany - by D. T. Max for The New Yorker
Kim Noble - The Woman With 100 Personalities
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/sep/30/kim-noble-woman-with-100-personalities
Is It Time For Small Plates To Die? by Lauren Bravo
https://www.the-pool.com/food-home/food-honestly/2018/14/Lauren-Bravo-calls-time-on-sharing-menus
How Do You Want Me? By Ruby Wax
https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Do-You-Want-Me/dp/0091887895
James Martin interviewed by Laura Pullman
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/134b3bfe-39d5-11e8-a03f-05e11e5a873a
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The High Low is back! Where did those 6 weeks go? Dolly’s been on a nationwide book tour; Pandora’s birthed a tiny dictator. We round-up all the articles, programmes and podcasts we’ve been enjoying during our hiatus, as well as the topics that made us miss The High Low.
On today’s agenda: the depressing arc of the weightloss celebrity and the esoteric nature of reality TV (Dolly compares it to an old-fashioned Italian family - Pandora wonders if that is a good thing); and the controversial verdict of the Ulster Rugby rape case, which concluded last week, after a 42 day trial, with an innocent verdict. 2018 may have been a year of MeToo; but does the disappointing denouement to this case suggest that it’s all just hot air?
You can tweet The High Low @thehighlowshow or e-mail us thehighlowshow@gmail.com.
Reading
How A Young Woman Lost Her Identity - byRachel Aviv for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/02/how-a-young-woman-lost-her-identity
Will Ferrell interviews Joaquin Phoenix -
for Interview magazine https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/joaquin-phoenix-april-2018-cover-story-will-ferrell
Promising Young Women by Caroline O'Donoghue
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Promising-Young-Women-Caroline-ODonoghue/dp/0349009902
Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch
Inside Court 12: the complete story of the Belfast rape trial - The Irish Times
Who Was Really On Trial In The Ireland And Ulster Rugby Rape Case? - The Independent
Watching
This Is Us - on Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-is-Us-Season-1/dp/B01N1PBW1G
Save Me - on Sky https://www.sky.com/watch/title/series/f9843d4d-5610-4b7f-abc9-fb7a6d3bb61a
UnREAL - on Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B014GGAJQI
Sex, Drugs and Murder - on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/group/p04nllxx
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The High Low is going on maternity leave - or maturity leave, as Pandora accidentally e-mailed someone this week - for 6 weeks, so we’ve decided to go out with a bang, with an interview with the Oscar nominated actor and producer, Margot Robbie. We discuss I, Tonya, about American figure skater, Tonya Harding, with the Australian A-Lister, how she plans to put women centre stage via her production company, LuckyChap productions and what Hollywood really looks like, post MeToo.
Also this week, Pandora champions the feel-good, feminist Amazon Prime drama about a women’s glossy, The Bold Type (like a ‘woke' How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days) and a brilliant new podcast series produced by Save The Children. If you’re looking for some powerful, real-life story-telling, please give it a listen. Meanwhile, Dolly has weaned herself off Mad Men, in order to discover the Instagram account skewering men’s pointed shoes (Sniper Watch, if you’re interested) and read a new book that promises to reduce your worries and anxieties.
We’ll see you in April!
Links
The Bold Type, on Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0731NL1W3
Anywhere But Home, a podcast by Save The Children https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/anywhere-but-home/id1343264169?mt=2
Sniper Watch instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/sniper_watch_101/
The Worry Trick by David A Carbonell: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Worry-Trick-Brain-Tricks-Expecting/dp/1626253188
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
An explosive Quincy Jones interview via Vulture; an even more explosive Sex and The City row via Kim Cattrall (just try and get Dolly to shut up about it); and some fun Valentine’s Day facts for you: did you know that 5% more babies are conceived during Valentines week than any other time (Christmas comes second); and that 52% of people are choosing to stay at home for Valentine’s - or Galentines - this year? Also, old people are having more sex than ever and Dolly’s very happy about it.
Much has been happening in the world of celebrity, but we’ve also been reading some great new books (Pandora recommends Zadie Smith’s short story anthology, Feel Free; whilst Dolly’s pick for this week is Bad Romance, by Emily Hill) and The Reading Cure, by journalist Laura Freeman, who is also our guest today.
A lyrical book from a former anorexia sufferer, on how books restored her appetite, Laura compares a disordered mind to that of a disordered library: where the books have flown off the shelves, the pages are ripped and the windows are smashed. We discuss the increase in eating disorders - according to a report by The Guardian this week, they have doubled in women - and why Laura sees the term ‘eating disorder’ as an insufficient descriptor of this obsessive mental illness.
Links
Feel Free, by Zadie Smith https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feel-Free-Essays-Zadie-Smith/dp/0241146895/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518639110&sr=8-1&keywords=zadie+smith+feel+free
The Reading Cure: How Books Restored My Appetite, by Laura Freeman https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reading-Cure-Books-Restored-Appetite/dp/1474604641
Bad Romance, by Emily Hill https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Romance-Emily-Hill/dp/1783524960/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518639876&sr=1-1&keywords=bad+romance+emily+hill
Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain, by James Bloodworth https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hired-Months-Undercover-Low-Wage-Britain/dp/1786490145
In Conversation: Quincy Jones, by David Marchese for Vulture http://www.vulture.com/2018/02/quincy-jones-in-conversation.html
You don't have to be a CEO to be a superwoman, by India Knight for The Sunday Times magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/india-knight-you-don-t-have-to-be-a-city-ceo-with-nine-kids-to-be-a-superwoman-ordinary-women-perform-miracles-every-day-nnkbw2r72
Carey Mulligan and David Hare interview, by Louis Wise for The Sunday Times Culture magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/interview-carey-mulligan-david-hare-bbc-drama-tv-show-collateral-3w5dj7308
Inside The Mean-Girls Culture That Destroyed Sex And The City for the New York Post:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Your usual mixed bag this week: Cheddar Man, Nutella fights and Lady Doritos.
It’s the 100 year anniversary of the Suffragettes! We deliver to you some facts and a round-up of this week’s celebrations.
We discuss Kylie Jenner’s secret pregnancy (her daughter, Stormi Webster was born this week.) How did the world’s most famous 20 year old - Kylie has over 100 million followers and is the richest of all of the Kardashian/Jenners - hide her pregnancy from the paps for an entire 10 months? Is it yet another PR ploy; or a genuine bid for privacy from a young woman long uncomfortable with her own, inherited fame?
Also today, some discussion of Woody Allen - mainly via some excellent journalism, links below - and the latest Hollywood MeToo, via Uma Thurman. This one’s a little different though… it’s more about Quentin Tarantino than it is Harvey Weinstein. And, a first: Tarantino replies, at length. Both articles, below, are well worth reading.
Plus, a bit on food snobbery, after the wonderful writer and former Bake Off contestant, Ruby Tandoh, spoke out against the “classism and ableism” inherent in slamming ready-made meals. Choice is a luxury; and ‘wellness’ is a concept that the working class can ill afford (there’s also a bit of personal bias from Pandora, on this subject.)
Reading
The Friendship Cure, by Kate Leaver https://www.amazon.co.uk/Friendship-Cure-Manifesto-Reconnecting-Modern/dp/0715652524
Why Woody Allen should be tried in court and not by public opinion, by Hadley Freeman for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/feb/03/actors-condemn-woody-allen-hadley-Freeman
Feminism is excluding working class women, by Camilla Long for The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/thats-right-sack-the-poor-grid-girls-only-the-rich-are-entitled-to-flaunt-their-bits-ctw9p6szw
This is why Uma Thurman is angry, by Maureen Dowd for The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/03/opinion/sunday/this-is-why-uma-thurman-is-angry.html
Quentin Tarantino responds to Uma Thurman http://deadline.com/2018/02/quentin-tarantino-uma-thurman-harvey-weinstein-kill-bill-car-crash-new-york-times-1202278988/
Kylie Jenner has baby and seemingly grows way up, by Harling Ross for Man Repeller https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/02/kylie-jenner-baby-girl.html
Listening & Watching
Jack Whitehall on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09qb1hw
Love Stories, by Dolly Alderton (Pandora’s insertion, not Dolly’s) https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/love-stories/id1343714594?mt=2
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - at cinemas now
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Kim Kardashian is making all kinds of headlines this week; not because her new baby boy, Chicago, arrived via surrogacy - but because she’s sharing dozens of pics of herself in the nuddy with what she has called ‘Bo Derek’ braids aka: cornrows or Fulani braids. We discuss the knotty issue of cultural appropriation, how it exists within fashion and beauty and speak to Sharmadean Reid, the founder of WAH Nails and Beauty Stack, on why she isn’t offended by Kim’s appropriation of a black hairstyle - but how offence is not a blanket thing. How can and should we navigate the nuances?
Also today, we discuss Trump’s assertion that he isn’t a feminist (snore), why the world’s gone mad for Tupperware (and why no-one has written about this?) and the brilliant Radio 4 show that had us both wincing: are women sexist towards other women? Before you shake your head - take a listen (link in the show notes.) We plunge deep into our unconscious bias and try to be as honest as possible.
A note from Pandora (who writes these bios, because Dolly’s skills lie, let’s say, elsewhere): Dolly’s book, Everything I Know About Love, published by Penguin, is out today. GO BUY IT! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everything-I-Know-About-Love/dp/0241322715
Links
The Mothers, by Brit Bennett https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mothers-Brit-Bennett/dp/0399184511
Ex-convicts on how to go ‘straight', on BBC Radio 4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b074zbxg
Why are even women biased against other women? On BBC Radio 4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09pl66d
An interview with Helena Morrissey, by Eleanor Mills for The Sunday Time Magazine https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/helena-morrissey-nine-kids-and-a-mega-salary-has-she-found-the-secret-to-having-it-all-k2h6ktjkk
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
First thing’s first: 1 in 4 women are still skipping their smear test - please don’t be one of them. Dolly talks to Kate Sanger from Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust who emphasises the importance of smear tests in preventing cervical cancer.
Also today, we discuss the UK’s newly appointed Minister for Loneliness, Tracey Crouch - and why loneliness is not just a problem in the elderly ; new evidence which suggests that psychologically we are all children until the age of not 18, but - duh duh duhhhhhh - 25; and why “well-intentioned racism” is still, well, racism.
NB: Courtesy of our kind sponsors, Treatwell, you can get yourself £10 off a £25 treatment with the code HIGHLOW10. Visit treatwell.co.uk to book!
Reading:
The linguistic evolution of ‘like’, by John McWhorter for The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/11/the-evolution-of-like/507614/
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman https://www.netflix.com/title/80133311
Money Diary: A freelance writer living in London on 14K, by Anon for Refinery29 http://www.refinery29.uk/money-diary-freelance-writer
The minister for loneliness will need all the friends she can get, by Stewart Dakers for the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/23/tracey-crouch-minister-loneliness-friends-powerful-vested-interests
Listening:
Fashion Unzipped, by The Telegraph http://unzipped.podcast.telegraph.co.uk
So You've Been Publicly Shamed on Audible by Jon Ronson: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Non-fiction/So-Youve-Been-Publicly-Shamed-Audiobook/B00S8QO068
Peter Morgan on Fresh Air: https://www.npr.org/2018/01/16/578281741/crown-creator-sees-britains-reigning-monarchs-as-just-a-regular-family
David Remnick interviews David Attenborough for The New Yorker Hour: https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/david-attenboroughs-planet-we-just-live-it/
Watching:
Riverdale, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80133311
Dreams of A Life on 4 OD: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dreams-of-a-life/on-demand/50028-001
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 43 is a pretty exciting one for The High Low - a bit of a pinch-me moment, if you will. One minute we were begging Faber & Faber for an advance copy of French novelist Leila Slimani’s cult read, Lullaby - a troubling but beautifully written read about a nanny who murders her two young charges - the next, we had Leila in our studio.
The twelfth woman to win the Prix Goncourt, last year (the highest literary prize in France, previous winners include Proust) Lullaby sold a whopping 600,000 copies in Leila’s native France (under the title, ‘Chanson Douce’), led to Emmanuel Macron asking Leila to be the Minister for Culture (she turned it down) and the movie rights have, unsurprisingly, been snapped up. Comparisons with Gone Girl and Girl on a Train are crass - but indicative of the book’s breathtaking success.
Leila talks to us about finding unexpected success with her “ little book” (“I thought my great book would be about war”), the societal role of working motherhood and the nanny (who is both "inside and outside of the home”) and why being a Muslim woman of North African descent “does not mean I care about identity.”
Also today, we discuss Catherine Deneuve’s apology, whether the Babe.Net piece about Aziz Ansari undermines the MeToo movement; the H&M hoodie-race-row, why the new cultural buzz-trend of ’self-care’ is lofty BS (isn’t it just letting yourself buy the cushiony bog roll, not the scratchy stuff?) and the joyous news that The Bayeux Tapestry is coming to the UK for the very first time in 950 years. Joking, thought that’s quite cool that France finally let it leave. Not so cool? That 24,000 attempts to access porn from inside the Houses of Parliament have been made since the General Election. THAT’S 700 A DAY.
Lots of pieces have been getting us talking and hotly debating this week. Read them - and lots of podcast recs - below!
Thanks you to our sponsors Treatwell and Google Pixel 2 and Wardour Studios, who hosted us this week.
You can e-mail The High Low thehighlowshow@gmail.com, or tweet us @thehighlowshow.
LISTENING:
Angela Hartnett on Desert Island Discs http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09lxn6w
Daisy Buchanan on Desert Island Dishes https://www.acast.com/margiebroadhead/29-daisy-buchanan-author-and-journalist
READING:
Lullaby, by Leila Slimani https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lullaby-Leïla-Slimani/dp/0571337538
The Killer-Nanny Novel That Conquered France by Lauren Collins for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/01/the-killer-nanny-novel-that-conquered-france
The Melting Season, by Jami Attenburg https://www.amazon.co.uk/Melting-Season-Jami-Attenberg/dp/1594484996
Swimming Underwater, by Tatterhood http://www.tatterhood.co.uk/poems/
I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned out to be the worst night of my life, by Katie Way for Babe.Net https://babe.net/2018/01/13/aziz-ansari-28355
The humiliation of Aziz Ansari, by Caitlin Flanagan for The Atlantic
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Hello, you stable geniuses! (Or as the pedants may prefer, genii.)
The Golden Globes happened on Sunday night in Hollywood and The High Low has many a point to discuss:
Does the #TimesUp movement - where actors wore black dresses on the red carpet, in solidarity with victims of sexual harassment - convey a real and true political message? Can a gown be a harbinger for social change? The New York Times’ T Magazine Fashion Critic, Alexander Fury, provides an eloquent argument in favour. Or, is it mere Hollywood “fakery’ - as actor Rose McGowan denounced it.
Self-deprecating and woke as he was, should Seth Meyers have been the host... or should it have been a woman?
And what about Natalie Portman, who pointed out that no female directors were nominated for best director? No amount of black gowns can cloak that.
Either way, Justin Timberlake *perhaps* missed the point. “Damn my wife looks hot! #timesup” the Trousersnake tweeted.
From Hollywood, to Westminster. Also on this weekend agenda, journalist Toby Young’s resignation from his university regulator role, for the Office for Students - just 8 days in the job - after thousands of Young’s archive ‘titty tweets’ caused 20,000 people to sign a petition arguing for his sacking.
Is a man, or woman, the sum of their tweets? Should your ability to be do your job dependent on your social media timeline? Possibly not. But when you become more known for a tweet that reads “I had my dick up her arse, mate” than your work in the education sector, we wonder if, possibly, a governmental role isn’t quite for you.
Episode takeaway, kids: the internet never forgets.
Thank you very much to our sponsors Google Pixel 2 and Treatwell and to Acast, for letting us use your studio.
E-mail thehighlowshow@gmail.com and tweet us @thehighlowshow.
Links
Listening
You & Yours - on parity, post Carrie Gracie’s resignation from the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qps9
Sarah Jessica Parker on The Nerdist: https://nerdist.com/nerdist-829-sarah-jessica-parker/
Janeane Garofalo on Guys We F****d: https://soundcloud.com/guyswefucked/0173-01042017-janeane-garofalo
Sandi Toksvig on Table Manners with Jessie Ware: https://www.acast.com/tablemanners/ep7-sanditoksvig
Reading
The Female Persuasion, by Meg Wolitzer
https://www.amazon.com/Female-Persuasion-Novel-Meg-Wolitzer/dp/1594488401
Toxic Femininity, by Ginny Hogan for The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/examples-of-toxic-femininity-in-the-workplace/amp
Belle Gibson: the wellness blogger who fooled the world, by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano for The Sunday Times magazine
Pre-order Things Bright and Beautiful by Anbara Salam:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Happy 2018! It's the first High Low episode of the year. We've got some books, shows, podcasts and articles to recommend to you, a Queens impression from Pandora (that's the suburb in New York, not the royal OAP) and a reader question about what to do when you're a Hot Mess.
In this week's episode, we discuss the shocking - or is it so shocking? - new research from Kings College London, which reveals that 27% of pregnant women suffer from mental health problems. Is the 'pregnancy glow' myth to blame? Pandora - who at 8 months pregnant, believes the 'glow' to have passed her by entirely - speaks from experience; whilst Dolly muses upon the fetishisation of pregnant women in the media. Also in today's episode, we talk Dry January, Veganuary and other zeitgeisty lifestyle trends. Should we stop being so negative about 'new year, new me'?
Thank you to our sponsors Google Pixel 2 and Treatwell plus Acast, for letting us use your studio.
E-mail us thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet us @thehighlowshow.
Links
Listening
Romesh Ranganathan on The Adam Buxton podcast
https://soundcloud.com/adam-buxton/ep61-romesh-ranganathan
Reading
The Magical Art Of Not Giving a F**k by Sarah Knight
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Changing-Magic-Not-Giving-Spending/dp/0316270725
Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blink-Power-Thinking-Without/dp/0141014598
The Vagina Monologues, 20th anniversary edition, by Eve Ensler https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vagina-Monologues-Eve-Ensler/dp/0349011281
The Year the Grenfell Tower Fire Revealed The Lies That Londoners Tell Themselves, by Sam Knight for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2017-in-review/the-year-the-grenfell-tower-fire-revealed-the-lie-that-londoners-tell-themselves
There's Nothing Empowering or Feminist About The All-Female Line-Up on Celebrity Big Brother, by Georgia Aspinall for The Debrief https://thedebrief.co.uk/news/celebrity/celebrity-big-brother-anti-feminist/
Braids, Cultural Appropriation And The Media's Erasure of Black Women, by Jamé Jackson for Fashionista.com https://fashionista.com/2018/01/black-hair-braids-cultural-appropriation-media-erasure
We Need To Stop Our Obsession With Lifestyle Trends (Particularly Danish Ones) - archive piece by Pandora (ahem) for The Spectator https://life.spectator.co.uk/2017/01/need-stop-obsessed-lifestyle-trends-especially-scandinavian-ones/
Watching
Black Mirror - series 4
https://www.netflix.com/title/70264888
Jim and Andy - The Great Beyond
https://www.netflix.com/title/80209608
Little Women - BBC...
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Happy New Year High Lowers! 2017 has been the year of covfefe, Dr Robert Kelly and of course the birth of yours truly. We have friend of The High Low’s and Guardian journalist Stu Heritage on to review the highs and lows of the past year, including Pandora’s very own and rather difficult Big Fat Quiz of the year which listeners can play at home.
We talk resolutions, New Year plans and Stu’s fantastic book published earlier this year called Don’t Be A Dick, Pete. The book is a very funny and often moving memoir, told through the story of Stu’s relationship with his brother Pete. We sort of wish we’d invited Pete on too, tbh.
Finally, we answer listener questions with Stu as our visiting agony uncle. Including one of our own: who is responsible for those slightly dismissive reviews of The High Low from The Guardian, Stu? Hmmmmm?
Happy New Year High Low listeners. We end on a compilation of the best bits of our first year, one that we couldn’t have done without you and your support. Thank you - and see you in 2018 for more!
LINKS:
Don’t Be A Dick, Pete by Stuart Heritage: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Dick-Pete-Stuart-Heritage/dp/1910931470
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s a festive episode with a special High Low nativity play; written by professional screenwriter (as you will be able to tell) Dolly - and sponsored by frankincense and myrrh.
As Amazon and John Lewis declare ambitions to open their end of year sales on Christmas Day itself, and the Bishop of Cambridge descends into outrage, we talk the evolution of ‘family time’ and whether online shopping during a day of rest (and/or religion) is a moral issue or merely one of ease and convenience. What about all the people that don’t celebrate Christmas? And side note: HOW has Amazon only just launched in Australia?
Also up for discussion, Twitter finally rules against hate speech - with the leaders of far right party Britain First suspended from Twitter for Islamaphobic fake news (which was retweeted by Covfefe Trump - natch.) We discuss censorship versus the oft hackneyed cliché of free speech: and why a bigot is not one size fits all.
Two book recommendation via Pandora:
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brain-Fire-My-Month-Madness/dp/0141975342/ref=nodl_
Nobody Told Me: Poetry and Parenthood by Hollie McNish
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nobody-Told-Me-Poetry-Parenthood/dp/0349134359
Don’t forget to shop the Papier.com site with or excloooosive discount HIGHLOW for 15% off all your customisable stationary needs.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM THE HIGH LOW!
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Pandora's been moving house and Dolly's been hosting Pretendmas (don't ask; she'll tell you all about it anyway) but there are still plenty of water cooler topics to discuss this week.
From some brilliant pieces of journalism (including a heart-breaking piece by Empire Editor Terri White on the vital role a woman's refuge played in both her own childhood and in British society as a whole) to plenty of podcast recommendations from the ultimate podcat, Dolly, this week we discuss 'Cat Person', the New Yorker short story that went viral - and what this piece of fiction tells us about modern relationships; toxic masculinity; bad sex and female pleasure.
We also play you an excerpt of the shocking and riveting speech given by former Facebook VP Chamath Palihapitiya at Stanford University, on how Facebook is ripping society apart. In light of this and plenty of other disclaimers from both former and present tech execs, we discuss the dangers of social media in both a personal and a social context. From the richest (first world FOMO caused by your Instagram feed) to the poorest (Whatsapp hoax that caused violence in a rural Indian village), we are all affected by social media in its myriad forms.
What we are reading, watching and listening to:
A Woman's Refuge Saved My Family, by Terri White for The Pool https://www.the-pool.com/life/life-honestly/2017/49/Terri-White-on-the-funding-crisis-hitting-women-s-refuges
I Made My Shed The Top Rated Restaurant on Trip Advisor, by Oobah Butler for VICE https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/434gqw/i-made-my-shed-the-top-rated-restaurant-on-tripadvisor
The People vs O.J.Simpson: American Crime Story, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80083977
'Cat Person' - a short story, by Kristen Roupenian for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/cat-person
Fallout, by Sadie Jones https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fallout-Sadie-Jones/dp/0701188502
Ladybird directed by Greta Gerwig:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNi_HC839Wo
Cariad Lloyd's Griefcast with Adam Buxton:
https://www.acast.com/griefcast/episode-1---adam-buxton
James Franco on WTF:
http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-870-james-franco
Cariad Lloyd's Made of Human with Jo Brand:
http://mohpod.libsyn.com/31-jo-brand-i-was-surprised-the-heroin-addict-was-unfaithful
Felicity Morse on Cat Person for The Debrief:
https://thedebrief.co.uk/news/real-life/cat-person-short-story-new-yorker-consent/
Amy Jones on Cat Person for The Pool:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s December, which means that silly season is officially upon us. Thank goodness, then, for Alabama student Kelsey who dressed up as a Christmas tree - for every single lecture. Oh, and the scientists who think they’ve found one of Santa’s bones. We discuss Christmas in all it’s technicolour madness, and whether or not it’s really anything to do with religion anymore.
Also today, the hashtagged social trend of 'women spreading’ (Pandora prefers ‘fem spreading’ but also acknowledges that it sounds a little too like margarine for your vag.) Is women spreading a symbolic riposte to man spreading? Or, is it a gimmick confined to Instagram? We talk activism in it various guises. Either way, Dolly won’t be getting her gusset out on the tube this December. Sorry lads.
This festive month, The High Low is sponsored by Papier. You can get 15% off their gorgeous stationary - it’s not too late for Christmas cards! - at papier.com, using HIGHLOW.
This week, we are reading, listening and watching:
Demi-Gods by Eliza Robertson https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33414010-demi-gods
Friends From College, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80117485
Internetting with Amanda Hess for The New York Times: The White Internet’s Love Affair With Digital Blackface Is https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/28/arts/internetting-with-amanda-hess.html
Eva Wiseman interviews Graham Norton for The Observer magazine https://www.theguardian.com/global/2017/dec/03/graham-norton-the-bbc-dont-defend-themselves-robustly-enough-
Sarfraz Manzoor on Muslim foster parents for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/03/muslim-foster-parents-it-has-been-such-a-blessing
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3WEKki6znk
India Knight's Sunday Times Magazine column on the joy of a drink at Christmas:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/india-knight-look-out-there-s-a-new-puritanism-afoot-don-t-let-abstemious-control-freaks-spoil-the-christmas-party-9wpv8zxn9
You can e-mail us at thehighlowshow@gmail.com, and tweet us @thehighlowshow
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Thank you to everyone who enjoyed our special episode with Tina Brown last week - we had a huge response. We miss her already <3
This week in the Tina-free studio, we discuss whether corporations offering to pay for women to freeze their eggs - as happening in America and soon, Australia - is a generous health benefit, or a patriarchal attempt to stave off motherhood. Shouldn’t we improve conditions and parity for working mothers (subsidised nurseries, better paternity leave, flexi-hours) first?
Also in this week’s episode: Taylor Swift has been accused of espousing Trumpian values, with her white feminism and political silence. We draw on several brilliant pop-culture writers, to discuss whether this theory has any value. We cannot help but wonder, in that Carrie Bradshaw way: when did it become possible for a popstar to just be, well, a popstar? Now, they must be a symbol, an icon, a vessel and a plate. As Greta Gerwig says on Fresh Air, when quizzed why she worked with Woody Allen - women are just terrified of saying the wrong thing and getting it wrong. Tiring, huh.
Nuggets from The Top Line include the revelation that salted caramel is comparable to heroin; Christmas dinners are more expensive than ever before; and, devastatingly, that a third of women’s refuges are under threat of closure in the UK.
There’s a slew of podcast episode, series, articles and exhibition recommendations this week - links all below - and in the run up to Christmas, a few requests:
Who will help Pandora find a Father Christmas jumper, complete with patent belt, to spread across her pudding-like paunch?
And, Adam Buxton, when will you come on our podcast?
You can e-mail us thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet us @thehighlowshow.
Reading/ watching/ viewing & listening this week:
Laura Freeman on Modigliani for The Sunday Times Culture mag https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/art-review-amedeo-modigliani-nudes-tate-modern-mfn8mkvp2
Book tickets to Modigliani at The Tate Modern http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/modigliani
Watch The Sinner, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80175802
Hadley Freeman on why feminist theory didn’t cure her anorexia, for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/nov/25/wasnt-feminist-theory-cured-anorexia
Eva Wiseman interviews Little Mix for The Observer mag https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/26/little-mix-interview-new-album-we-embrace-who-we-are-not-perfect
Dorian Lynskey on Taylor Swift for GQ mag (December issue, on sale now)
Taylor Swift: An Envoy for Trump’s Values? By anon for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/24/the-guardian-view-on-taylor-swift-an-envoy-for-trumps-values
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Welcome to our favourite *ever* episode of The High Low - as we try not to fangirl the fuck out.
For those of you with short memories, the High Low is named in homage to iconic editor Tina Brown. The creator of High Low journalism - our founding ethos of merging the trivial with the political; the irreverent with the weighty - Tina became editor of Tatler aged just 25, of Vanity Fair aged 29, and then The New Yorker, before launching the short-lived Talk and then The Daily Beast.
Now, in an arguably meta move, we get Tina into the studio, to discuss her hilarious, pacey and searingly honest memoir The Vanity Fair Diaries. We talk misogyny and #MeToo; Princess Diana and Trump; the Kardashians and Meghan Markle; and, of course, Weinstein - who Tina worked with for a disastrous 2 years after they launched Talk magazine together. We take a romp through the media decadence of the 80s (when having a ‘dress allowance’ and a ’social secretary' was vital for any editor worth their salt), with the thread of tragedy thanks to the AIDS crisis, weaving its way throughout.
The Vanity Fair Diaries have now been optioned by producer Bruna Papandrea, who is behind the epic hit Big Little Lies. So expect to see a gripping mini series of Tina’s diary on your screens ASAP.
Links:
The Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown: http://amzn.to/2hINVyx
Marlena by Julie Buntin: http://amzn.to/2AmKR6K
Sarah Silverman on Louis CK, via The Guardian: http://bit.ly/2zN6r3n
Nora Ephron Knows What To Do, by Ariel Levy for The New Yorker: http://bit.ly/2jOkAa2
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
No singing this week courtesy of Louis Theroux, but three different accents from Pandora in compensation.
This week on The High Low, we discuss Boris Johnson’s buffoonery - and when being a dotard can put another woman’s life in danger. Our hearts go out to Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 19 months into a 5 year sentence in Iran. As Boris (finally) meets Nazanin’s husband, Richard, we discuss the Foreign Secretary and why we struggle to understand the seeming impotence of the government in scenarios such as these.
Also today, the controversial new app, MakeApp, which leaves women ‘barefaced’. Dolly think it’s misogynistic; Pandora thinks it’s yet another example of tech working against cultural psychology and the greater good. BTW Pandora did it and Dolly thought she looked better than normal, so, that’s interesting.
And Pandora busts the myth of tumeric lattes with the help of registered dietician Rosie Saunt.
Fun fact to (slightly) bum you out: Amazon have revealed that Fifty Shades of Grey is the No1 downloaded book on Kindle, of all time.
DO SUMMINK GOOD TODAY: buy a pin from The Pin Project and support refugees, returnees and people displaced by war
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1541394380/the-pin-project
BUY YOURSELF A TREAT: if you liked our The High Low pyjamas, you can buy your own pair of Poplin London pyjamas with neon pink piping, at poplin-london.co.uk with 20% off when you enter thehighlow at checkout.
WATCHING
Louis Theroux documentaries on anorexia, and heroin, on BBC iPlayer
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09d5nk2/louis-theroux-talking-to-anorexia
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0991fsb/louis-theroux-dark-states-1-heroin-town
Motherland, on BBC iPlayer
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p05j1k3t/motherland-series-1-episode-1
READING
Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everything-I-Never-Told-You/dp/0349134286
A Different Kind of Pregnancy Announcement, by Leandra Medine for Man Repeller
https://www.manrepeller.com/2017/11/leandra-medine-pregnant.html
How The Myth of The Artistic Genius Excuses The Abuse of Women, by Amanda Hess for The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/arts/sexual-harassment-art-hollywood.html
Out of Time by Miranda Sawyer: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Out-Time-Miranda-Sawyer/dp/0007521073
The Cult of Boris Johnson by Grace Dent: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-fast-growing-cult-of-boris-really-ought-not-to-be-underestimated-by-his-detractors-and-enemies-8126023.html
Is MakeApp sexist, by Madison Malone Kircher:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
After some disruption to the schedule (namely two live recordings in a row and an author special, whilst Dolly’s enjoyed monsoon season in Thailand and practiced wellness with a monk) The High Low is back in the Acast studio. And we’ve got tons (literally tons) of reading, listening and watching recs for you, from our sojourns away.
This week we discuss Kevin Spacey’s “I’m Gay” disclaimer, Netflix dropping him and whether or not you can separate the art from the artist. Will their legacy live on? Is the whole thing a hackneyed debate? And if Frank doesn’t come back…. will Claire?
Also today, we speak to a High Low listener about the difference between an arranged and a forced marriage, after the sad news story of Aasiya Bibi, the 21-year-od Pakistani girl who murdered 15 of her husband’s family with poison, in her desperation to escape her forced marriage.
It’s our first official week with Google, our sexy new partner, and Dolly kickstarts our new ‘curiosity’ segment with the Google Pixel 2, by asking Pandora what the meaning of love is. A nice gentle ease into the series, that. If you want to see the fruits of our new Google Pixel shoot, head on over to our Instagram’s @pandorasykes @dollyalderton for a taster. More magic to come, my friends.
Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to The High Low on iTunes. You can e-mail The High Low thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet us @thehighlowshow.
READING
The Wife, by Meg Wolitzer https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wife-Meg-Wolitzer/dp/0099478196\
Valley Of The Dolls, by Jacqueline Susan https://www.amazon.co.uk/Valley-Dolls-VMC-Jacqueline-Susann/dp/1860498876
Disclaimer, by Renee Knight https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disclaimer-Renée-Knight/dp/1784160229
Lust, by Roald Dahl https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lust-Roald-Dahl/dp/0718185617
Zoe Heller profile on Roald Dahl for New Republic, 2010 https://newrepublic.com/article/78552/the-miserabilist-roald-dahl
Owen Jones on Kevin Spacey https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/30/kevin-spacey-vicious-lie-gay-men-accusation-attempted-sexual-assault
Jess Phillips on A Terrible, Toxic Week at Westminster https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/05/jess-phillips-a-terrible-toxic-week-in-westminster
Alec Baldwin interview by Janice Turner https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/alec-baldwin-for-president-0r5b8k08w
LISTENING
The Adam Buxton interviews with Zadie Smith, Kathy Burke and Louis Theroux https://soundcloud.com/adam-buxton
Here's The Thing interview with Barbra Streisand http://www.wnyc.org/story/visit-barbras-place/
Kay Mellor's Desert Island Discs
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Vlogger Jim Chapman is YouTube royalty. But what happened when “the guy from the internet" turned his hand to a book? We chat animal facts (did you know that a group of baboons is called a flange?), whether or not the intent is misogynistic and why millennials have it good, with Jim Chapman.
LINK:
147 Things: My User’s Guide to The Universe, by Jim Chapman, published by Pan Macmillan, is out now:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Jim-Chapman/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AJim%20Chapman
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s another live episode! (Normal recording will resume soon.) We’re at The Curiosity Rooms, in collaboration with Google and Selfridges, talking about the #MeToo hashtag and - because it’s called The High Low - the Kardashians.
The #MeToo hashtag has swept across society in the wake of Weinstein, as hundreds of thousands of women come out to share their stories of harassment and abuse. Pandora has collated over 85 on her Instagram, some of which she reads out - while we both discuss the nuances of this campaign: are men excluded? Does it dwell on collective victim-hood? Does it place the onus on the women, to come out - rather than the men, to ‘fess up? You’ll have to listen to find out, but one conclusion you can be sure of, to paraphrase Emma Watson speaking at the UN in 2014: women’s rights are not about man-hating. We need to break this thought pattern ASAP.
On to the Kardashians - whom Blac Chyna is suing. Yup, the lot of them. Rob Kardashian’s ex fiancee is suing the entire family for “torpedoing” her reality TV career and preventing her from reaching her potential as a social media entrepreneur. When did a social media entrepreneur become a thing? And is this the first time a whole family has been sued, because of it?
Please do get in touch with The High Low thehighlowshow@gmail.com and you can tweet us @thehighlowshow.
The High Low is going on holiday next week, so you’ve got a nice author special to look forward to.
Bye bye!
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s our first ever live podcast! This week The High Low is brought to you live from tibits, a vegetarian restaurant in Mayfair, where we recorded the episode on Monday 16th October. Thanks to everyone who came and latterly stuffed their faces with the food boat.
This week we discuss Hollywood in the aftermath of Harvey Weinstein’s downfall - and, specifically, James Corden’s controversial jokes about Weinstein at the AmFar Gala. Was Corden speaking out of turn; or have we begun to censor the role of the comic too much?
Also on this week’s agenda is culture overload, after we read a brilliant piece in November’s issue of British Esquire by the Culture Editor, Miranda Collinge, who returned from holiday to find 81 books on her desk. Yes, 81. Are you mired in podcasts, not knowing which way to turn; being buried alive by the pile of books by your bedside table, unsure which to start fast; feeling the impending doom of a boxset binge, knowing that as soon as you finish this series, there’s another that just HAS to be read? And what if you read/watch/listen to the wrong thing. What do you do THEN? We discuss making your own culture agenda and consuming the culture that resonates with you, not your Twitter/Instagram timeline.
Highlights from The Top Line: diet avocados (for god’s sake), the man who changed his middle name to Yorkshire Tea and why Ivana Trump is, in her own words, the real First Lady.
You can e-mail us @thehighlowshow - short of tattooing her tits, Pandora isn’t sure where else to put this e-mail address - and tweet us @thehighlowshow. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on iTunes!
READING/ LISTENING
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
Marina O’Loughlin's first restaurant review for The Sunday Times - Dolly can provide link
Grace Dent for The Independent on James Corden’s jokes about Harvey Weinstein - Dolly can provide link
LINKS:
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/james-corden-harvey-weinstein-women-can-joke-but-you-cant-a8002926.html
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/table-talk-our-new-restaurant-critic-marina-oloughlin-on-the-biting-wit-of-her-predecessor-the-late-aa-gill-k3djnc930
Laura Snapes for The Dolly Mail:
http://us14.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d694237eb6ca85f6f4c7d854b&id=e1fc988477
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The High Low is a quarter of a century old (sort of) and to celebrate we have a ton of great reading recommendations for you - scroll down to see our favourite pieces of the week, including a piece on the rise and full of a Muslim cop at the NYPD in The New Yorker, everything you need to know about therapy by Hannah Ewans for Vice and the story of the 48-year-old intern, as seen at The Spectator. This week, we discuss Kate Winslet’s controversial comments (or lack thereof) when asked about working with Woody Allen. Should Hollywood actors seek to distance themselves from known paedophiles like Allen and Polanski; or does great art stand alone? We discuss ethics and responsibility... when your boss is a creep. Also work-related, the tech CEO who dyed her blonde hair brown, to be taken more seriously in the workplace. Have you ever toned down your looks, in an effort to get ahead? We discuss misogyny at work and why it’s important to hold your own.
You can e-mail The High Low thehighlowshow@gmail.com, or tweet us @thehighlowshow. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to The High Low on iTunes - it helps boost us our ratings and allows other people to find us.
OH! And before you go: Dolly solved her phone storage issue. Thank fuck for that.
Books, shows & podcasts that we’ve been consuming this week:
The Most Dangerous Place On Earth, by Lindsey Lee Johnson https://www.amazon.co.uk/Most-Dangerous-Place-Earth/dp/0451483987
The Trials of a Muslim Cop, by Rachel Aviv for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/11/the-trials-of-a-muslim-cop
The Girlfriend Experience, directed by Steven Soderbergh https://play.google.com/store/tv/show?id=7vM4RanppsI&cdid=tvseason-vo4wdThuG0ESdOZssmmlrw&gdid=tvepisode-BP6eerEBbsA
The 48-year-old intern, for The Spectator https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/09/at-48-and-with-my-three-boys-growing-up-fast-im-the-new-office-intern/
Hannah Ewans on therapy, for Vice https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/8xxyj3/everything-i-wish-id-been-told-before-starting-therapy
Nigella Lawson on home cooking, for The Sunday Times Magazine https://t.co/1wMDrLPw5C?amp=1
Daisy Buchanan on Woody Allen, for The Pool https://www.the-pool.com/news-views/opinion/2017/37/daisy-buchanan-on-famously-abusive-men-and-power
WTF episode with Lena Dunham, on Woody Allen: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p3Y-JWimJic
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Pandora Sykes and Dolly Alderton discuss some thorny issues in the world of pop culture. Plus the real reason Nicole Kidman can't clap.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
