Episodes
July 5, 2021
Ep. 71: Soft, Yacht, and Spago Rock with Mike Pace and Molly Lambert
We go long this week to pore over all the shout horns, crotchy synth chords and late-80s affluence of what Mike Pace famously describes as Spago rock. Molly Lambert explains the Spago-adjacent music she and her brother have …
June 21, 2021
Ep. 70: Gamechangers: Film & TV Edition
Wynter asks us all to think about the films and TV shows that changed the game, from those that captured the style and essence of their era (Clueless), to those that transformed the cultural conversation (Boyz N The Hood, an…
June 7, 2021
Ep. 69: The One With the Friends Reunion
Wynter and Karen hit all the angles of the HBO Max Friends reunion, from the true MVPs of the cast, to Irish uncle Joey, to its efforts to compensate for the show’s lack of diversity by highlighting its global legacy. The tw…
May 24, 2021
Ep. 68: Girls 5 Eva, 3gether with Guy Branum
Their former girl group sister, Guy Branum told Karen and Wynter to watch the new Peacock series Girls 5Eva so they could all process it 3gether, which they do on this week’s ep. Karen is too busy cavorting in the gay woods …
May 10, 2021
Ep. 67: Our AIM is True - Social Media Through the Ages
Dust off your dial-up, and join Wynter and Karen for a glimpse at social media through the ages, from the classic AOL Instant Messenger, to all the apps we rushed to download during the pandemmy like Marco Polo, HouseParty, …
April 26, 2021
Ep. 66 At the Movies (Again!)
What upcoming movie releases will inspire Karen and Wynter to leave the comfort and safety of their pandemic bunkers to go to an actual theater?!? This is an especially tall order since news broke of the Arclight & Cineramad…
April 12, 2021
Ep. 65 Better Be Good to TINA, with Nick Murphy
Wynter and Karen welcome longtime listener Nick Murphy, a fierce advocate and fan of the great Tina Turner, to chat about the new HBO doc revisiting her legacy. The three focus on what it means to truly pursue your dreams in…
March 29, 2021
Ep. 64 It’s An Honor Just to Be Asian... #StopWhiteSupremacy
Karen and Wynter confront the surge in anti-AAPI hate and violence during Covid, while exploring how its longer histories are intertwined with pop culture. Karen shouts out some writers doing the hard work of responding to t…
March 15, 2021
Ep. 63 - Coming Home to The Real World
Wynter and Karen reveal the different reasons each of them cried when they watched The Real World: Homecoming, which reunites the cast of MTV’s first season of The Real World: New York (1992). Whose fashion and “smooth conca…
March 1, 2021
Ep. 62: The World of WandaVision
Wynter and Karen immerse themselves into WandaVision, as they explore how we use TV to work through our grief in myriad ways. Ever the completist, Karen re-watched all 23 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in timeline or…
Feb. 15, 2021
Ep. 61: #FreeBritney + Bling Empire w/ Jenny Yang
Writer, comedian, and Asian American cultural icon Jenny Yang joins us to process WTF Bling Empire is all about. Karen and Wynter call an audible, and devote their ‘sup segment to Framing Britney Spears, because it truly is …
Feb. 1, 2021
Ep. 60: FOREVER 21
Karen and Wynter kick off season 4 and 2021--the year this millennium is finally old enough to drink--with reflections on when they each turned 21. For Wynter, it was 2001, and she recalls her days tearing up the San Francis…
Dec. 28, 2020
Bonus Trailer: Dance Hubs
While the show is on a holiday hiatus, we wanted to share a podcast project Karen has been working on at USC that you might be into! The Consortium for Gender, Sexuality, Race and Popular Culture is a start-up podcast netwo…
Dec. 18, 2020
Ep. 59: Gifts that Keep on Giving from our Family to Yours
It’s a family affair for our season 3 finale, as both Wynter and Karen’s parents pop into our Zoom room to chat about their favorite pop cultural memories--the gifts that keep on giving--from then and now. Each of our hosts …
Dec. 4, 2020
Ep. 58: The Happiest Season...OR IS IT?!
Karen could barely wait through the holiday weekend to hear what Wynter, her self-described “cis-het” gal pal thought of The Happiest Season, the new holiday romcom with sapphist leads. Find out what a “Madewell femme” is in…
Nov. 26, 2020
Ep. 57: Thank You, Thank You: Listener Dedications + An Amazing Race detour w/ Nicole J. Georges
We are so grateful to our extended W2X family, and some very special guests, who sent us their dedications and messages of gratitude for the Thanksgiving holiday, while also reminding us about this vexed occasion’s origins. …
Nov. 20, 2020
Ep. 56: Crownin’ Around with Diana: The Crown S4
Karen & Wynter binged all of Netflix’s The Crown in a single day, as season 4 of the prestige series swerves into the GenX sweet spot of 1977-1990. The two get into the Charles & Diana of it all, and the cognitive dissonance…
Nov. 13, 2020
Ep. 55: Lipsync for Your Life: From Milli Vanilli to Sarah Cooper w/ Sarah Kessler
Wynter and Karen visit USC--this time virtually--in Sarah Kessler’s class on Audio(visuality). Sarah is a media studies scholar, TV editor of Public Books, and KT’s spouse aka quarantine hostage. The three get into a discuss…
Nov. 6, 2020
Ep. 54: Reunion for a Fair Fight w/ Guy Branum and Margaret Wappler
This week, we teamed up with our old pals Guy Branum and Margaret Wappler and raised $750 for Stacey Abrams' FAIR FIGHT! During our taping the day before election day, we covered everything from Who's the Boss, The Queen's G…
Oct. 30, 2020
Ep. 53: Written in the Stars w/ Amanda Yates Garcia, the Oracle of L.A.
Wynter and Karen welcome a witch, healer and the Oracle of Los Angeles, Amanda Yates Garcia (author of Initiated: Memoir of a Witch), to offer some perspective and guidance about the astrological plane and what we might be f…
Oct. 23, 2020
Ep. 52: Defend Your Sequel w/ Kill by Kill’s Patrick & Gena
Wynter brings an all-horror loving posse over to our Zoom room to get hyped for Halloween. Patrick Hamilton and Gena Radcliffe of the Kill by Kill podcast come to defend their favorite horror sequels. Wynter advocates for…
Oct. 16, 2020
Ep. 51: A Mental Health Break w/ Dr. Megan Auster-Rosen
Karen and Wynter are joined by Dr. Megan Auster-Rosen, the co-director of the mental health program at Cedars Sinai, to talk about how to ride out the next several weeks. How do we break free from doomscrolling? What binges …
Oct. 9, 2020
Ep. 50: Debating SNL
Wynter and Karen take a look back at SNL’s political coverage, especially its parodies of presidential debates past and present, as the show resumes production with a live studio audience. Is satire even possible in the poli…
Oct. 2, 2020
Ep. 49: Getting Pen15
Karen and Wynter do their best to catch you up with season 2 of Hulu’s cringe comedy Pen15, while reminiscing about their own deeply awkward middle school years. ***Warning: Pen15 Spoilers and Middle-School Callouts in this …