The Polyester Podcast
The Polyester Podcast is a weekly feminist pop culture digest hosted by Ione Gamble and Gina Tonic. Each episode dives into online discourse, from trad wives and surrogacy to celebrity press tours and internet controversies. The show features guests like Tavi Gevinson and Stacey Battat, and is recorded at cultural venues such as the Tate Modern and Barbican Centre. It offers a down-to-earth take on the intersection of internet culture, feminism, and celebrity.
Episodes
The Girlification of Surveillance Culture
The OOTD has taken on a new look: A still snapped from the video your Amazon owned Ring doorbell. Or, if you're Kylie Jenner, a selfie taken on your Meta glasses after bossing around your assistants for an #ad on Instagram. Nadia Lee Cohen and Alex Consani are amongst the swathes of fashion industry heavyweights embracing surveillance tech - but why are they allowing their images to be used for so
How Horny Is the Slasher Genre? Dissecting The Queer Metaverse of 'Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma'
It's a long, hot American Summerween and we're so excited for Jane Schoenbrun's third feature film to finally hit our screens. 'Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma' is Schoenbrun's third feature film and this time, they're taking on the slasher genre.This week, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the queer metaverse of Camp Miasma, the poignancy of casting Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson,
Our Take On Charli xcx's New Album, 'Music, Fashion, Film'
Pop's favourite provocateur Charli xcx is back - not that she ever went away - with a host of ‘anti-marketing marketing’ launch her seventh studio album 'Music, Fashion, Film'. From ‘in conversation with’ events and cover profiles to teasing lyrics via Substack posts and arthouse cinema screenings; the rollout for the project looks suspiciously like… the same old marketing tactics. But is the alb
Extreme Thinness Has Never Been More Coveted, Visible, and Depressing
From Caroline Calloway penning viral essays to the constant discourse surrounding Ariana Grande - it’s no news to listeners of this podcast that thin is in. Yet on a weekly if not daily basis, a new Internet fixation surrounding weight loss rears its ugly head. The content is impossible to avoid, but in a culture that is normalising extreme thinness more and more, is it any wonder how we got to th
Live: Do Gen Z Have A Problem With Age Shaming?
As Gen Z have aged up, they have become known for a generational distaste (at best) and fear (at worst) of ageing. But how is this expressed and how does it manifest? And why has it developed at all? This week, hosts Ione and Gina are joined by Ellen Atlanta, author of Pixel Flesh, for an extra special live episode of the podcast at the Wellcome Collection. The three discuss sunscreens pros and co
A Retcon On Self Infantilisation Culture Ft. Toddlercore, Fro-Yo, And Commercial Girlhood
It's been three years, how are we still 'just girls'? Is it because of food trend focussing on nostalgia? A need to heal our inner child? Or a lack of definition of what adulthood without conservative family goals can be?This week, hosts Ione and Gina reckon with what some media outlets are calling 'toddlercore'. From eating tater tots and fro-yo to wearing baggy jeans, is arrested development a s
Are Teenage Social Media Bans Slay Or Unc?
The UK - and a lot of other countries, actually - are rolling out social media bans for under sixteens as well as social media curfews for those under eighteen. The news has caused uproar with teens promising they'll find workarounds, parents stressing about the impact on their kids and everyone raising concerns about giving mega corporations access to our government ID info.This week, hosts Ione
Why Has Taste Become an Internet-wide Obsession?
It appears tech bros are shaking in their boots because... they're being called cringe - even when they buy a Rimowa suitcase and a full wardrobe from The Row. In a now viral essay, writer Emily Segal assigns the term 'tasteslop' to the lack of taste signified by items that used to be upheld highly in the taste algorithm when enjoyed by those who don't get it - aka, AI bots and the AI company owne
Is Being Lonely The New Status Symbol?
You're in bed on your own scrolling through your phone. On your screen, a woman your age is entering her new build apartment, making herself a bowl of pasta and a glass of Diet Coke on a lap tray, then sitting on a huge sofa to rewatch Friends with a candle burning. Her caption reads 'Life when you have no kids. No friends. No boyfriend.' and her comments are full of other women seeing her lonely
So… Euphoria Season 3 Is A Flop
It's no surprise to many that the third season of Sam Levinson's former hit TV show has had a less than best reaction from audiences. Aside from the show's actual plot and characterisations - don't worry, we'll get into those later - Levinson's real life reputation and his own world view has seeped into even the most die hard Euphoria stan's perception of the show.This week, hosts Ione and Gina di
Let Olivia Rodrigo Wear Babydoll Dresses
Olivia Rodrigo is the subject of the internet's ire for *checks notes* allegations of pedobaiting. The star's music video and stage outfits - consisting of babydoll dresses, bloomers and ruffles - are causing controversy as the 'drop dead' singer is accused of simultaneously sexualising and infantilising herself and indoctrinating her young audience into pandering to the male gaze.In this week's e
Live: In An Era Of Oversharing, Why Is Women’s Art Still Shocking?
Celebs are no longer monoliths, Instagram is my diary and you no longer need to buy a memoir to know the intricate details of a public figure’s life. Across PR campaigns, podcast appearances and TikTok lives, influencers, musicians and actors alike push to seem authentic and relatable. With those in the public eye sharing more and more, why does the incredibly personal art still manage to shock us
How Pilates Girls Became An Incel Dog Whistle
Why are manosphere influencers, Hinge bios and cast members of Love Is Blind requiring 'doing pilates' from their potential beaus? In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the pervasion of this particular exercise in pop culture, the potential abuse inherent in men's preferences towards women's exercise and whether or not we should consider the fascist implications of influenc
Can True Crime Ever Be Feminist?
While the biggest audience for true crime content is young women, it's not often that anyone considers the every growing cultural phenomenon through a feminist lens. What do podcasts, documentaries and tv shows get right about revealing the reality of crime against women? And do we benefit from being more about what violence can (and has) happened against women throughout history?This week, our ho
The Lena Dunham Renaissance Is Here
Did Girls shape a generation (or two) of women? Yes. Is Famesick a great memoir? Yes. Should we be more forgiving of the writer considering everything she has (and hasn't) been through? Maybe.This week, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with one of the most controversial figures of our lifetime - the inimitable over-sharer Lena Dunham. It's undeniable that the multi hyphenate has had an indelible i
Are Botox, Fillers and GLP1’s Changing Not Just Our Bodies, But Our Minds Too?
As we’re slowly learning more about drugs like Ozempic, we’re also finding out more about their side effects. Does botox reduce our ability to empathise? Are we all just numbing ourselves from the world in the pursuit of self optimisation?In this week’s episode, hosts Ione and Gina dig into how people are using tweakments not just for their advertised effects - but for the ways they change our emo
Is A24’s 'The Drama' Worth This Much Discourse?
It's that time y'all! The Polyester Podcast is wading into the discourse deep end about another widely critiqued movie but this time, there's a twist: We're actually enjoyed the film!In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina dig into the subtext of Kristoffer Borgli's new dark comedy The Drama. Is the Zendaya and Robert Pattinson fronted flick a failure at analysing such a sensitive subject matt
Millennial Feminism Is Dead, Long Live Millennial Feminism
We're back and the world has gone ape in our absence! Between X discourse about Slut Walks and criticism of Lindy West's new memoir Adult Braces, it's time for a full retcon of the past and present state of Millennial Feminism.In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina reflect on 2010s sex positivity, the commodification of feminism throughout the ages and the nihilistic point of view gen z femin
How Mormonism Took Over Pop Culture
Please note this was recorded and released prior to the release of series four of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, the cancellation of The Bachelorette and the news regarding Taylor Frankie Paul.Growing up, Mormonism's pop culture imprint belonged solely in South Park jokes and the occasional mention in American politics. Now, it feels like we can't move without a new Mormon influencer - from Nara Sm
How Looksmaxxing, Clavicular, And Alt-Right Masculinity Went Mainstream
Before 21 year old looksmaxxer streamer Clavicular walked the Elena Valez runway at NYFW, his brand of hyper misogynist masculinity was confined to teenage boys in their bedrooms and the terminally online taking the piss out of him. But after making his fashion debut, Clavicular has garnered attention from nearly every mainstream mag imaginable. With other designers sending ‘looksmaxxing’ T-shirts
Our Take On Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights
Emerald Fennell has only gone and done it again - made a visually stimulating but emotionally empty film for posh people to coo over. Is it a faithful adaptation of Wuthering Heights? No. Is it an amazing film in its own right regardless? Also no. Do the sets and costumes make up for bad casting and crap script? Unfortunately, this time, I'm afraid it's a no. In this week's episode, hosts Ione and
The Girlification Of Beta Blockers
“TAKE THAT BETA BLOCKER, GIRL!" exclaims Rachel Sennott on your iPhone from the Oscars red carpet. A couple of years ago, you remember a Kardashian episode dedicated to Khloe taking beta blockers on the back of Kris's advice. Giggly Squad sell you a baseball cap with 'Beta Blockers' emblazoned across it.This week, hosts Ione and Gina dig into the normalisation of the blood pressure medication for
Nicki Minaj is MAGA, ICE out, and If Celebrity Activism Can Be Successful
As we've come to expect with a political crisis, celebrities have no idea how to act - Do you post to story even if you get labelled performative a la Billie Eilish? Do you prepare a speech in case you're stopped on the red carpet wearing an ICE OUT pin, so you're not caught out like Jack Antonoff? Do you align yourself with the worst people in the world, as Nicki Minaj as opted for in the past co
Our Take On The Brooklyn Beckham Saga
In the final hour before recording this week, we had to push our planned research aside and get stuck into the meat and bones of the juiciest celeb drama 2026 has given us so far: Brooklyn Beckham released an eight part Instagram story tell all about his much rumoured estrangement from his parents, Victoria and David Beckham.In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the implica
Is My Life Too Easy? What Is Frictionmaxxing? And Should We All Be Doing It?
Would you like an app that analyses your Google calendar and plans your day for you? Have you tried ChatGPT for meal planning? What about this ring that tracks your sleep habits and creates a routine that will mean you get to sleep even faster than before? We're suffering a convenience endemic, where the tech and AI solutions to being uncomfortable are breeding new, depressing ways to avoid the re
Why Are Men Using Elon Musk’s AI Chatbot to Undress Women Without Their Consent? The Latest In AI's Abuse Of Women
A dark new issue has arisen on the platform formerly known as Twitter (a likely place for it to happen) where users are asking X's inbuilt AI bot, Grok, for indecent and sexualised images of women and children. While, as discussed in the ep, nudeification isn't exactly a new problematic facet of life online, it's only in the last month that the act has become a "trend" - for lack of a better word.
The Only 2026 Ins And Outs List You Need
Happy new year girlies! As is tradition in this joint (and across the internet at large), our hosts are giving their hot or not predictions for the upcoming twelve months.In this week's episode, Ione and Gina discuss the possible return of woke, whether Substack is over, Timothée Chalamet’s chances of winning the Oscar, whether we’ll finally see the death of on the street voxpop TikToks, and much
Mar-A-Lago Face And The Grotesque Beauty Of MAGA Women
Vanity Fair has gone and done it, they've revealed the true grotesqueness of the Trump administration with high res, close up photos of the White House staff. Or is it really all that surprising, when we've been chatting about Republican makeup and Mar-A-Lago face for months?This week, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the reasons behind why MAGA women are investing so heavily in this particul
All The Gossip From Our Print Issue Launch In New York
Surprise! A little midweek episode to keep you updated on the Polyester goings on! This week, hosts Ione and Gina chat the new issue with Sky Ferreira on the cover, the launch events in New York plus a little sidebar into this week's cultural going ons.Buy the issue here!Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast member <3Order Ione's book, Poor Little Sick Girls, here!Order Gina's bo
The Club Chalamet Deep Dive
It's been a bumper week for the Timothee Chalamet stans - Marty Supreme is getting hit reviews, his hair is starting to grow back and the very controversial key holder of the kingdom has done her first ever media feature. That's right, Club Chalamet just got profiled by the Wall Street Journal.This week, hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the reaction surrounding the feature, Club Chalamet's fr
Good For Nothing? Why We’ve All Had Enough Of Wicked
As we're all subjected to another Wicked press tour for the second instalment of the blockbuster, the question on everyone's lips is whether the Wicked press tour ever stopped in the first place? Greeted with another series of emotional interviews, reaction tweets and harrowing body discourse, it felt urgent to dissect what precisely is dampening the furore this time around.This week, hosts (and W
Who Is Nick Fuentes? What is a Groyper? And How Is Red Scare’s Dasha Nekrasova Involved?
Nick Fuentes has spent five years building not only a name for himself but an army of his own to fight in what the far right incel community has dubbed the groyper war. The live streamer uses his platform, America First, to push for an ultra conservative agenda not just among his peers but with actual political figures too.In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina track the impact of Fuentes and
Is Having A Boyfriend Embarrassing Now? Dissecting The Essay That Set The Internet Ablaze
The internet, left and right leaning, has been set ablaze by a ragebait headline and a deep dive into our dating practices or rather, our online posting of our burgeoning and established relationships. The British Vogue article, titled 'Is It Embarrassing To Have A Boyfriend' feels like harkening back to an earlier time on the internet, when one op-ed could get everyone talking about one topic and
Let’s Talk About Lily Allen's New Album, West End Girl
West End Girl has taken the internet by storm as Lily Allen returns to the charts with a new confessional album dissecting the relationship breakdown between her and ex husband David Harbour. From the extremely detailed lyrics to the, well, even more extremely detailed lyrics, fans are thrilled to get fully behind the curtain of everything that's gone wrong in Allen’s marriage.In this week's episo
Cute Debt - Is Klarna Killing Our Self Esteem?
Would you rather one payment of $150 or three monthly payments of $50? Is this pizza basically free if I pay $4 for a few months rather than twelve bucks at once? As the famously moral financial institution CashApp once said, “Little payments are so much cuter.”In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina look at the rise of "cute debt" - the monicker given to Buy Now, Pay Later schemes that pointe
Why Kim Kardashian’s Pubic Wigs Are So Depressing
2025 has been the year of the pube, from bushtok going viral for promoting an overgrown mon pubis to the sold out SKIMS merkins that Kim Kardashian launched last week, we can't stop talking about our intimate hair - or lackthereof.While some point to the Margiela couture show last year that promoted fake pubic freedom for the rise in intimate hair's popularity in the zeitgeist, this week's episode
On Taylor Swift's Biggest Flop To Date: ‘The Life Of a Showgirl’ Dissected
The reception to Taylor Swift’s twelfth studio album has been markedly different than historic fan reactions; as Swifties and Swift haters unite to deliver the best meme about how bad the new music is.In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina dissect the poorly received Charli xcx diss track, why the album’s lyricism has fallen flat, and whether just how rubbish The Life Of a Showgirl is indicat
Is Harry Potter Worth Human Rights Violations? The Emma Watson Vs. JK Rowling Debacle Dissected
It doesn't take much to goad JK Rowling into a Twitter tirade these days (allegedly.) A fake news story about bra buying in Markses? Up for days raving about it? A former colleague gives a milquetoast response about differing opinions and expresses love towards her? Time to take advantage of the X Premium perk of no word count limit. Pronouns in bio? Great opportunity to go berserk. In this week's
Is Jimmy Kimmel A Martyr For Fascist America?
It's been an absolutely mental month for the US media and one face has emerged as the hero of free speech for the Left, a person none of us saw coming to the pulpit to expunge us of our sins: Jimmy Kimmel. The late night host was promptly reprimanded by being taken off the air after making light of Trump's lack of visible grief over the murder of Charlie Kirk, only to be quickly reinstated after
Are We All Doomed To Have AI Boyfriends?
If over half of gen z have interacted with an AI companion and dating apps are rolling out bots to date on your behalf - where is the line drawn between real love and falling for a fantasy?In this week's episode, Ione and Gina dig into the growing romantic relationships people are having with Replika, how AI companies are ignoring queerness, whether or not bot love is legitimate and why everyone i
Is Woke Cool Again? Why The Dirtbag Left Are Pivoting
Another day, another Cumtown alumni going viral for doing something politically sound - from Adam Friedland's interview with Ritchie Torres to Stavros Halkias challenging his podcast guest on transphobic rhetoric, the former courters of controversy have apparently done a complete u turn on their previous edgelord output.This week, hosts Ione and Gina take a look at what's made the most famous male
We’ve Had ENOUGH of The Performative Male
The newest evolution of softboi has just landed with the most on the nose name yet - the performative male. He reads Sylvia Plath outside indie coffee shops as he sips matcha. He has a Labubu and his Labubu has a cute nickname. He is a little bit Letterboxd famous and he calls his mother once a week. He's also the worst man you have ever dated in your life.In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gi
Taylor Swift’s Engagement, Toxic Fandom, And The Death Of The Critic
It's been a bumper month for Taylor Swift - when is it not? - as she made her first ever podcast appearance, announced a new album and got engaged all within the space of a fortnight. As everyone online and off gears up for what will likely be a never ending news and meme cycle on the singer's upcoming nuptials, many quake in fear for what the Swift fandom are going to unleash on anyone who doesn'
Ethel Cain vs. Lana Del Rey: Is This The Sad Girl Apocalypse?
Our favourite Americana girlies are fighting! Alligator wife Lana Del Rey aired her beef with American Teenager singer Ethel Cain to the public by sharing a snippet of an upcoming diss track entitled 'All About Ethel'. The lyrics call out Cain for hating her Instagram post, posing similarly with the pair's shared ex Jack Donoghue and trying to be the most famous girl at Waffle House. In the hours
Why Does The Internet Keep Getting Worse? Ft. Slop Content, Brain Rot, & The Attention Economy
Slop content - AI generated videos and images created to bait engagement on social media content - is getting more and more unavoidable. Whether you’ve been duped by bunnies on trampolines or enthralled by a AI cat fronted soap opera; we face a social media landscape that's no longer fit for purpose.This week, Ione and Gina dive into who benefits from the enshittification of the internet, why bots
From The Tea App To Princess Treatment: How The Right Wing Agenda Is Poisoning The Dating Pool
Should you quiz your man on if he's doing princess treatment or the bare minimum? Are you allowed to look waiters in the eye or would that ruin you and your husband's night? Have you tried to check if your Hinge date is a creep and ended up getting doxxed by 4chan? If you're single and looking to mingle, these extreme situations - or, extreme online recommendations of how to act - are getting more
Are Sydney Sweeney's Jeans The Harbinger Of Doom?
It's been over a year since we last spoke about Sydney Sweeney and how many online and off see the Euphoria actress as a MAGA spokeswoman. Her latest scandal - an American Eagle advert celebrating the blonde's "great genes" - cements Sweeney's spot as the right's poster child.In this week's episode, recorded before that expose revealing Sweeney is a registered Republican - hosts Ione and Gina dig
Is It 'The Gen Z Stare' Or Have Young People Always Been Called Rude?
Just as the internet once spent years ripping into the minutia of what made up Millennial sociological habits and expression, now the younger generation is feeling the flack as social media takes the mickey out of 'the gen z stare'. The look itself is comprised of staring blankly when presented with a query, especially when in a work environment.In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina ask whet
Our Verdict on Lena Dunham’s Too Much: Are We So Back Or Is The Rom Com Not Good Enough?
We're back from our (unplanned, sorry!!) break with a big one. Lena Dunham has returned to television with a Netflix series that many online are claiming to be as good as - or even better than - Girls, the much lauded HBO show that launched her career. Conversely, critics are writing scathing reviews for broadsheets about the portrayal of romance, women and London in the show. But which is it
The Summer Of Crashing Out: Justin Bieber, Cory's World And Tattle Life
Ding dong the witch is dead - in a Scooby Doo worthy unveiling, the 'Helen McDougal' that began infamous British influencer gossip forum has been unmasked as vegan influencer Sebastian Bond. In the aftermath, TikTokers like Cory's World are cashing in on the moment to detail exactly how hate on platforms like these and trolls across the board has affected their mental health. Following a similar t
Labubu? Lafufu? LaTime Has Come To Stop This Nonsense
We're addressing the elephant kids toy in the room - the Labubu craze. You've definitely seen these monsters everywhere from exclusive brand collabs to Gemma Collins' Instagram reels to hanging off handbags while you wait in line at the cocktail bar. But where did they come from? And why is everyone going absolutely mad for the Pop Mart blind box item? This week, our hosts Ione and Gina go head to
Yes, We’re Talking About Sabrina Carpenter’s Album Cover
Freeze! The Polyester Podcast had a whole episode planned for our lovely listeners until Sabrina Carpenter delivered us feminist discourse on a silver platter, or rather, on a silver dog leash. On Wednesday, the singer announced her forthcoming summer album titled 'Man's Best Friend' along with artwork picturing Sabrina on all fours having her hair pulled by an anonymous suited figure.Is the cover
Kylie Jenner's Boob Job, Kris Jenner's Facelift & The Problem With Choice Feminism
Last week Kylie Jenner cemented her new identity as a ‘girl's girl’ revealing the specificities of her boob job while momager Kris chimed in with details of not just one face lift, but two of them. Are the KarJenners finally letting their guard down about how they crafted themselves in line with the modern beauty standards they've helped craft, or is it all a marketing ploy to win relatability bro
Skinnytok, Crunchy Teens , & The Return Of Pro Ana Content
The writing has been on the wall for a while - Thin is in, pop songs are referencing eating disorders and flexing our ribcages in selfies and fashion content is back full force. In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina get stuck into the spectre that has been haunting social media platforms for the past six months and more - the pervasive return of pro ana content, now newly dubbed #Skinnytok.F
Where Are The Thinkers? Why Pop Culture Feels Doomed Right Now
Currently trending on TikTok, FKA Twigs is going viral for an interview in which she asks the host and the crowd - "Where are the thinkers?"While internet users raise eyebrows at her question, one that ignores the socioeconomic conditions that affect our ability to create, this week our hosts Ione and Gina use the soundbite to discuss the wider problem at hand - when did pop culture turn into such
Is Ovulation Making You Horny Or Is It Fascist To Think So?
The girlies are going feral across the internet - one one hand, Lorde is calling ovulation the best drug she’s ever taken. On the other, TikTok’s reveal during ovulation many of us get uncontrollably horny. But is it true? Do our hormones control our libidos and cognition or do we have more free will than that? TikTok wellness huns are using pseudoscience to back up their claims, while Twitter fem
Not Everything is a Recession Indicator
Black tights under denim shorts? Recession indicator. Good outfits at the Met Gala? Recession indicator. Crying because you can't afford to pay your one in three Klarna payment for a Domino's pizza last month? Recession indicator.This week, our hosts Ione and Gina are dissecting our latest impulse to jump at the chance to label every single behaviour a recession indicator. Is it an attempt to make
Is Jojo Siwa Letting Down Lesbians Or Are We Over Intellectualising Reality TV?
Who'd have thought at the announcement of this year's Celebrity Big Brother cast that the two people being chatted about the most are Jojo Siwa and ex-Love Islander Chris Hughes. If you didn't know - the pair's intimate friendship in the house caused chaos on social media as many accused Jojo of emotionally cheating on her partner, the Neighbours actor Kath Ebbs. In this week's episode, our hosts
We Live in Hell ft: Katy Perry In Space, AI Selfie Dolls And The Great Teeth Debacle
It's been a helluva week for the news cycle and our social feeds - Katy Perry's been on Amazon's first, girls only, space trip (for exactly 11 minutes), Aimee Lou Wood has taken to Instagram stories to call out an off colour joke about herself on Saturday Night Live and everyone has taken to ChatGPT to generate extremely specific and fairly ugly blister packed dolls of themselves. Stuck between wh
Are You 'Too Pretty to Work', or Just a Victim Of Alt Right Psyops?
"I'm too pretty to work." "This face wasn't meant to know excel." "Looking for a man who doesn't want me to work." On the surface these adages are silly throwaways in the face of a late capitalist work culture that has made trying to make a living a literal hellscape - or are they?In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina take apart the trend of dreaming for a rich husband and reckon with a not
Adolescence: TV Event Of The Year, Or Too Little Too Late?
Just like clockwork, a gritty British Netflix drama about a taboo topic is doing the rounds - last year it was Baby Reindeer and this year it's Adolescence. The Stephen Graham produced and fronted programme takes a look at how the manosphere and incel culture are corrupting a whole generation of teenage boys - but does it manage the subject well? In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina discuss
Why is Labour Using Disabled People to Peddle The Lie of The Benefit Thief?
If there's one scapegoat the government loves to roll out when it's doing poorly, it's the benefits thief. This imaginary person uses loopholes and caveats to steal tax money to buy themselves tellies and holidays in Lanzarote. In the UK, the new-ish-ly elected Labour party has announced new budget reforms that plays into this trope with an especially sinister new edge - tightening the pursestring
We Trialled The Morning Shed So You Don’t Have To
You must've seen some form of this morning routine on your feed in the last six months: A woman removing a chin strap, mouth tape, sheet mask, lip stain, silk bonnet, heatless curling rod and/or nose magnets with a caption explaining how 'the morning shed' saves them time, helps regulate breathing and, ‘most importantly’, aids the de-aging process.While we thought we were past the point of portray
Why Is Gen Z Suddenly Jealous Of Millennials?
Pass me my moustache print mug and 3D glasses with the lenses popped out because millennial cringe is finally being lauded online. The latest meme du jour - 'I would be a great millennial. I was born to write Buzzfeed quizzes and listen to Ke$ha' - has been a beacon of light in a social media landscape previously used to bully milliennials at every chance.This week, hosts Ione and Gina look at the
Society Has Never Hated Fat People As Much As We Do Right Now
To celebrate the release of Gina's memoir Greedy Guts, this episode hosts Ione and Gina get to grips with the current state of fat liberation. Is body positivity too commodified to be salvageable? Are people scared of fatness due to lingering Covid scaremongering resentment? Will GLP-1 injections end fat existence entirely?Join Ione and Gina as they reckon with what it means to be fat in what is p
How The Left Turned On Woke
In a new interview, singer songwriter Sam Fender claimed he understood why young white men from Northern towns are being radicalised by misogynist social media influencers like Andrew Tate - it's because they're being accused of having privilege. In similarly convoluted language, Novara Media has rage baited the nation by releasing content claiming Woke Is Dead to promote Ash Sarkar's new book tha
The Bianca Censori Deep Dive: a Victim, Empowered, or a Secret Third Thing?
At the start of this month Bianca Censori and her husband Kanye West courted controversy at the 67th Grammy Awards with a stunt that they've become fairly renowned for - brazen female nudity. The act got them allegedly kicked out of the award show and made waves across social media as many rushed to put words into the notoriously mute Bianca's mouth. Across the board, people wonder publicly if Kan
Why Are Slurs Suddenly ‘Cool’ Again?
Each week we are greeted with new flash photos of Young Republicans celebrating, Trump government rulings, and regressive Conservatives embracing their right to say slurs as often as they can. But why are our left leaning peers, Oscar winning movies and Twitter pals using the R word so casually too?This week, hosts Ione and Gina dissect the politics of language, the pendulum swing to being anti-Wo
Surrogacy: Important And Vital Or Unethical And Classist?
In the midst of Trump causing high hell for everything he can regarding reproductive rights Stateside, one birth announcement caused massive controversy on the grid - a post by Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell welcoming their daughter to the world via a surrogate mother. Twitter users went wild on both sides of the coin; one half defending the couple's right to surrogacy, referencing queer famili
Bonnie Blue, Lily Phillips & a New Era of Sex Work as Competitive Sport
There's been two OnlyFans stars absolutely dominating (not literally, actually) the UK tabloid headlines, Twitter trending topics bar and the girls' group chats in the past eight weeks, and their names are Bonnie Blue and Lily Phillips. The latter kicked off December's discourse by starring in a YouTube documentary about having sex with 100 men in a day while the former stole the show by live-blog
Fashion Goes Fascist: Melania Trump Isn’t Slaying, You Just Have Brainworms
In a stark contrast to Trump's first inauguration as president in 2016, this month's event became a showcase for fashion houses wanting to dress the Republican party's top ladies. Not only that, but the fashion press and style influencers took to Instagram stories and long read columns to praise the looks presented throughout the festivities. In this week's episode, Ione and Gina analyse how irony
Female Sexuality is Taking Over The Box Office; But Are Nosferatu and Babygirl Even Any Good?
Is Count Orlok sexy? Or is Babygirl not sexy enough? With both films focus on female yearning - as well as the same US release date - Nosferatu and Babygirl have been paired together in the public consciousness. This week, hosts Ione and Gina dissect Barbenheimer part two; from sexy monsters and film discourse Twitter, to glugging milk and cringe worthy needle drops. Support our work and become a
How Elon Musk Became Such A Pathetic Villain
We've finally gone and done it, our official breakdown of our generation's Scrooge McDuck, Elon Musk. From saying he wants to destroy the ‘woke virus’ and spreading racist conspiracy theories on X, to pushing right-wing ideologies in the US, Germany and the UK - Elon’s moved from being a punch-line in a joke about Grimes to being a serious political actor. In this week’s episode, hosts Ione a
Blake Lively Versus Justin Baldoni: Dissecting The 'It Ends With Us' Legal Battles
Last summer, we covered the dramatic press tour for the on screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel It Ends With Us, digging into the speculation surrounding a beef between co-leads Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Over the Christmas break the story exploded, as Lively and Baldoni filed lawsuits detailing not just the drama but levying accusations of on set abuse, social media smear campaigns a
The Definitive 2025 Ins and Outs List: No Style As Personal Style, AI, Timothée Chalamet & More
Surprise!! As new year looms and as the internet declares in/out lists over, Ione and Gina share theirs for 2025. Will it be Lady Gaga's year? Is AI going rogue? Why are all the influencer girlies embracing having no taste? Should video content be longer or shorter? And are tabis finally over? Tune in to this extra special long episode to find out!Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast me
Have Bag Charms and Blind Boxes Killed Personal Style?
Are you an Anik Anik girly or are you misappropriating cultural language as an excuse to buy more stuff? Whether you love or loathe blind boxes, this year we’ve all become obsessed with collecting bits and bobs - with the internet fiercely debating the ‘right’ type of knick knacks. In our final episode of the year, hosts Ione and Gina dig into the chaotic customisation trend and discuss why we’re
Holding Space For The Unhinged Wicked Press Tour
As two members of the queer media, this week Ione and Gina are taking the lyrics of Defying Gravity, and taking a deep dive into the most mind boggling film rollout of 2024. From the holding of a singular acrylic nail that broke the internet, to Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s friendship, we’re left questioning what the hell Wicked is about to warrant all of this anyway. Support our work and bec
Is Giving Up Men a Form of Political Resistance?
The 4B movement is a South Korean fringe feminist movement operating on four principles - Bihon (no to heterosexual marriage), Bichulsan (no to childbirth), Biyeonae (no to dating), and Bisekseu (no to heterosexual sexual relationships) - the aim being to remove women from patriarchal lifestyles. After the announcement of Trump's win in the American election on the 5th November, women in the
Is Online Superiority & The Irony Epidemic Rotting Our Brains?
How many times a day do you - publicly or privately - berate someone online for being worse than you? From Halsey calling out critics to Pitchfork doing the aforementioned critiquing and Ethel Cain telling us to cut the irony - this week Ione and Gina are discussing how social media has made us all into holier than thou nightmares. Support our work and become a Polyester Podcast member <3Order
Sabrina Carpenter, Pedobaiting And The Infantilisation Of Adult Women
Sabrina Carpenter's 'Short n' Sweet' tour is off to a (literal) bang as right wing parents and TikTok teens are up in arms over Carpenter wearing lingerie on stage, claiming her costume is too sexual for her underage audience. Simultaneously on SWERF twitter, a new term has reared its head: Pedobaiting.Is the internet combining the Madonna/Whore complex to produce a new kind of sexism? Is this all
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