The Culture Schwartz Media

Britney Spears is one of the biggest music stories in the world right now, but it’s not because of her music.


It's to do with the saga of her controversial 13 year long conservatorship.


In 2019 the Free Britney hashtag and movement went viral. More recently we’ve seen a series of documentaries covering the issue, and the story has grown and grown.


Then, a few weeks ago, after years of silence, we saw Britney finally speak out publicly. 


She confirmed years worth of speculation regarding her conservatorship, and perhaps most importantly, the role her father Jamie Spears has played in all of it.


So could the 13 year battle to free Britney finally be coming to an end?




Guest: Editor of Music Junkee, Jules LeFevre
 
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In 2017 Melbourne musicians Ed Service and Jack Madin recorded a song in their Brunswick studio. It was recorded with, and for, their friends.


The track got some love at local gigs and warehouse parties, but disappeared pretty quickly. Ed and Jack soon moved on with their lives and got day jobs.


But four years later that song they wrote has gone international. It’s playing at festivals and stadiums all over the world. It’s even been remixed by David Guetta. 


The track has been streamed millions of times and is rocketing up the charts.


So what happened? Today on The Culture we look at how two Melbourne musicians took the world by storm.


Guest: Ed Service and Jack Madin from Shouse.
 
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In basements and bars across the country crowds gather to cheer on people wearing tight, spandex outfits as they toss and pummel each other all over a ring.


In today’s episode we visit Deathmatch Downunder: one of the most spectacular, violent and progressive professional wrestling events in the country.


It’s popular, it’s growing and it’s the perfect combination of sports and entertainment. But where did it come from and what makes it so compelling?
 
Guest: Contributor to The Monthly and author of ‘Everything Harder Than Everyone Else’, Jenny Valentish
 
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After 14 years and 20 seasons one of the biggest TV shows in the world, ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’, is over.


But despite it’s huge popularity, the show, and family, in particular Kim Kardashian, are pretty polarising. They have their fair share of detractors, plenty of people talk proudly about how they’ve never seen an episode, and even a decent chunk of the viewing audience are people who happily admit to hate watching it.


But wherever you sit, the influence of the Kardashians and their show is hard to deny. So what does it mean now that it’s finishing up? Critic and writer, Brodie Lancaster, Australia’s foremost expert on the Kardashian clan, joins The Culture this week to help us understand where we all go from here. 


Guest: Writer and critic Brodie Lancaster.
 
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‘The Fast and the Furious’ is one of the biggest franchises in movie history, grossing nearly $6 billion at the box office and spanning nine films over 20 years. 


The latest instalment in the series, F9, was released in cinemas last week.


This week on The Culture we discuss what makes ‘The Fast and the Furious’ so compelling, and why it deserves to be recognised as this generation’s James Bond.
 
Guest: Culture writer and author Sinead Stubbins


Thanks to Insider for the Fast and Furious "family" supercut
 
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The Underground Railroad, a new series on Amazon Prime, is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead. 


It's directed by Barry Jenkins, who also directed the 2016 Best Picture winner Moonlight and the follow up, If Beale Street Could Talk. 


The show is one of the most gripping, powerful and visceral series out this year, and it’s an opportunity to explore what prestige television looks like in 2021, and how it can help us confront our history and grapple with the present.


Guest: Award-winning writer, filmmaker and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Santilla Chingaipe
 
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