Straight Up Straight Up
-
- Society & Culture
The pop culture podcast with no filter, brought to you by besties and journalists Kathleen and Ellie.
-
Piers Morgan’s Baby Reindeer interview, Kate Moss and celebrating singledom
Fiona Harvey, the woman unearthed as 'the real-life Martha' by internet sleuths following the wild success of Baby Reindeer, gave a highly controversial interview to Piers Morgan on his YouTube channel last week, so of course we had to debrief. Was she lying? Was Piers wrong to interview her? What are the ethics of all this? Plus, since we love an age gap, we discuss Kate Moss holding hands with a 27-year-old Skip Marley, while Ellie has read a brilliant memoir on living a single life and has many wise nuggets to share with us all.
DM us your thoughts on Instagram @straightuppod, and let us know what you’d like us to cover next week! And as ever please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, lysm!
Thanks so much to our amazing partner:
London Nootropics, our fave adaptogenic coffee that naturally actually boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. We are obsessed and you will be too! Get 20% OFF YOUR BOX with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at londonnootropics.com
Reccs this week:
This Is Not A Pity Memoir by Abi Morgan
The Split, BBC
Dark Matter, Apple TV
Arrangements in Blue by Amy Key
Sex and the City Season 6, Episode 9: A Woman's Right to Shoes
Dear Dolly: ‘My boyfriend of 12 years doesn’t want to get married’, The Times
One Pot, One Portion by @good_food_mood__ on TikTok
Piers Morgan Uncensored interview with Fiona Harvey
New Moth cocktails – Paloma and Cosmopolitan, www.mothdrinks.com -
The Idea Of You, Dua Lipa and Pandora Sykes’ podcast
Dua Lipa’s third album came out last week, huns, and we had such high hopes. So why has Radical Optimism fallen a little flat for us? This got us discussing the general ‘mood’ around the superstar: is she reaching her potential? And how authentic is her media empire, Service95, At Your Service podcast and her new production company Radical22? Plus, we’ve both watched the much-hyped new Anne Hathaway rom-com, The Idea of You, which explores the relationship between a 40-year-old divorcee and the 24-year-old frontman of a superstar boyband (Nicholas Galitzine), based on the hit 2017 novel of the same name. And finally, Kathers gives us the lowdown on the new season of Pandora Sykes’s new podcast, How Do We Know If We’re Doing it Right.
Thanks so much to our amazing partners:
London Nootropics, our fave adaptogenic coffee that naturally actually boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. We are obsessed and you will be too! Get 20% OFF YOUR BOX with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at londonnootropics.com
AMBL, the London reservations app that finds you incredible restaurants and bars in real time, tailored to you, from vibe to cuisine to cocktails and live music! Search Ambl in the App store; ambl.co
Recs discussed
Dua Lipa, Radical Optimism (album)
Dua Lipa, Service95 (newsletter)
Dua Lipa, At Your Service (podcast)
Dua Lipa Manifested All of This, Time magazine
Dua Lipa on pop, psychedelics and proving her haters wrong, The Guardian
The Idea of You by Robinne Lee (book)
The Idea of You, Amazon Prime
Anne Hathaway Is Too Hot for 'The Idea of You', The Cut
The Mother (2003), Amazon Prime
Anne Hathaway on Tuning Out the Haters and Embracing Her True Self, Vanity Fair
How Do We Know If We’re Doing it Right podcast, Pandora Sykes
Decolonising My Body, Afua Hirsch
Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, Afua Hirsch
Omnilux contour face mask -
Billie Eilish’s erotic advice, Zendaya and Bridget Jones 4
Bridge will soon be back on our screens with a new love interest we are VERY excited to see: young Leo Woodall. Do we like this 28 year age gap for our fave clumsy hun? We discuss! Plus, why everyone is talking about the steamy new psychosexual film Challengers, and why its star Zendaya is becoming one of the most powerful people in Hollywood. Also: our thoughts on Billie Eilish’s highly candid Rolling Stone interview, why J Lo’s is having some personal PR problems, and a debrief on Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper’s wedding.
Thanks so much to our incredible partners:
Innermost Nutrition, our favourite new plant protein that's actually really good for you, full of immune-boosting ingredients, a whopping 31g of plant protein and no nasty additives. It's stocked in Ocado, John Lewis, and Soho House, or visit LiveInnermost.com
London Nootropics, our fave adaptogenic coffee that naturally actually boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. We are obsessed and you will be too! Get 20% OFF YOUR BOX with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at londonnootropics.com
AMBL, the London reservations app that finds you incredible restaurants and bars in real time, tailored to you, from vibe to cuisine to cocktails and live music! Search Ambl in the App store; ambl.co
Reccs discussed
Bridget Jones Diary 4: Spoilers, cast, trailer and plot, elle.com
Zendaya talks Challengers, talks to Serena Williams and considers her future, Vogue
Jimmy Carr: "There's A Crisis Going On With Men!", Diary of a CEO
Challengers, in cinemas now
Dune: Part Two, Netflix
'Challengers' Star Josh O'Connor Is Filthy in Every Movie, Vulture
3 Body Problem, Netflix The Last of Us, HBO
Blue Lights, BBC
Billie Eilish Would Like to Reintroduce Herself, Rolling Stone
Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut, Netflix
Meet Emily English, the nutritionist everyone’s talking about, The Times
The Truth About Nutrition With Em The Nutritionist, Working Hard, Hardly Working podcast
Yuka app
The Call Her Daddy breakup, Shameless podcast
Inside Alex Cooper And Matt Kaplan’s Intimate Beachside Wedding In Riviera Maya, Vogue -
Baby Reindeer, Nicola Peltz Beckham’s mortifying movie and The Tortured Poets Department
Baby Reindeer is of course our main talking point this week, huns, as we debate the deeply ironic investigation undertaken by internet sleuths trying to uncover Martha and Darrien’s real identities. Sure, to uncover the ‘truth’ behind the chilling story of stalking is tempting, but is it fair to speculate when Richard Gadd has asked us not to? Ellie has also watched Nicola Peltz Beckham’s toe-curlingly vain attempt at filmmaking, Lola, and we mull over whether it could ever be OK for a billionaire’s daughter to write a screenplay from the perspective of a working class stripper. And of course we had to give our verdict on Taylor Swift’s new record, including an inside look at the power moves of her longtime publicist Tree Paine.
Please do send us a DM @straightuppod or email hello@straightuppod.co.uk. We absolutely LOVE hearing from you and so appreciate it. LYSM!
Thanks so much to our amazing podcast partners:
Innermost Nutrition, our favourite new plant protein that's actually really good for you, full of immune-boosting ingredients, a whopping 31g of plant protein and no nasty additives. It's stocked in Ocado, John Lewis, and Soho House, or visit LiveInnermost.com
London Nootropics, our fave adaptogenic coffee that naturally actually boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. We are obsessed and you will be too! Get 20% OFF YOUR BOX with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at londonnootropics.com
Reccos discussed this week:
Baby Reindeer, Netflix
‘I was severely stalked and severely abused’: Richard Gadd on the true story behind Baby Reindeer, the Guardian
Baby Reindeer review – Richard Gadd's solo theatre debut is a haunting hour, the Guardian
Richard Gadd: how I turned my stalking nightmare into a Netflix drama, The Times
Nicola Peltz Beckham, a billionaire’s daughter, made a movie about abject poverty. It’s as bad as you think, the Guardian
Memmo Alfama terrace bar, Lisbon
Magnolia restaurant, Lisbon
Mama Shelter rooftop, Lisbon
Praia da Adraga beach (one hour from Lisbon)
Nat's nourishments harissa potatoes
There Are Plenty of Power Publicists. But Only One Works for Taylor Swift, Wall Street Journal -
Amy Winehouse, celeb booking and Prince Andrew’s teddies in Scoop
The new Amy Winehouse biopic is finally out, but Back to Black has bitterly divided critics and fans. Some are disgusted by the ‘sanitisation’ of key figures such as her dad Mitch Winehouse and former husband Blake Fielder-Civil, while others are delighted to see a film that doesn’t revel in the sordid details of her drug addiction. We get into the thorny debate around the Sam Taylor-Johnson directed ‘love story’, starring Marisa Abela and Jack O’Connell, as well as the wild recent reporting on how Mitch is currently suing two of Amy’s best friends for auctioning off items she gave them. First, though, we give our verdicts on Netflix’s Scoop, the thrilling dramatisation of Prince Andrew’s car-crash Newsnight interview from 2019, told from the perspective of BBC celebrity booker Sam McAllister, played by an excellent Billie Piper. How accurate is the show when spotlighting the inner workings of celebrity booking?
DM us your thoughts on Instagram @straightuppod, and let us know what you’d like us to cover next week! And as ever please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, lysm!
Reccos discussed:
Scoop, Netflix
Prince Andrew would 'scream and shout' if his 72 teddies were not put back properly, Express
Wendy Ide on Scoop for The Guardian
Clarisse Loughgrey on Scoop for The Independent
Peter Bradshaw on Scoop for The Observer
Off the Fence newsletter on Scoop, Substack (9 April edition)
Sam McAlister, Emily Maitlis and the drama behind Netflix’s Scoop, Telegraph
Civil War (in cinemas now)
My Amy by Tyler James
A Private War (film and book)
Back To Black (in cinemas now)
Sam Taylor-Johnson on art, age gaps and Amy Winehouse, The Guardian
It’s a grotesque insult for Back to Black to suggest Amy Winehouse died of heartache over her childlessness, Laura Snapes for The Guardian
The Amy Winehouse I knew — by our critic, Will Hodkingson for The Times
The row raging between Amy Winehouse’s father and her best friends, The Times
Emily The Criminal, Netflix
Thanks so much to our amazing podcast partners:
Innermost Nutrition, our favourite new plant protein that's actually really good for you, full of immune-boosting ingredients, a whopping 31g of plant protein and no nasty additives. It's stocked in Ocado, John Lewis, and Soho House, or visit LiveInnermost.com
London Nootropics, our fave adaptogenic coffee that naturally actually boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. We are obsessed and you will be too! Get 20% OFF YOUR BOX with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at londonnootropics.com -
Mind games, Sacha Baron Cohen and gold digging intellectualised
There’s yet another headline-grabbing ‘feminist’ debate raging on the internet, angels, so we give you the lowdown on The Cut’s viral piece The Case for Marrying an Older Man, from the intellectualization of gold digging (lol) to the persistent cultural misinterpretations of Lolita. Next, we debrief on the exposé on Andrew Huberman, the world’s biggest pop scientist and host of the third biggest podcast globally. How did the self-styled Mr Perfect manipulate six different women into believing they were his only partner? And should his questionable personal choices have bearing on his work? Very fittingly, we also cover the allegations detailed in Rebel Wilson’s book against Sacha Baron Cohen, including a look back at his highly questionable output, and he and Isla Fisher’s announcement last week that they are going through divorce. Finally, we recommend Lily Allen’s new podcast Miss Me, and chat all things Cowboy Carter and virginity.
Please do leave a review on Apple, and send us love, feedback and gossip on Instagram @straightuppod, our DMS are always open and we love chatting with you!
Thanks so much to our partners:
Innermost Nutrition, our favourite new plant protein that's actually really good for you, full of immune-boosting ingredients, a whopping 31g of plant protein and no nasty additives. It's stocked in Ocado, John Lewis, and Soho House, or visit LiveInnermost.com
London Nootropics, our fave adaptogenic coffee that naturally actually boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. We are obsessed and you will be too! Get 20% OFF YOUR BOX with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at londonnootropics.com
Reccs discussed:
The Case for Marrying an Older Man by Grazie Sophia Christie, The Cut
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Andrew Huberman’s Mechanisms of Control, The Cut
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Exes Who Froze Embryos and Regret It, The Cut
Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke
The Molecule of More by Dr Daniel Z Lieberman
Uncovering the Higher Truth about Jay Shetty, Guardian
Miss Me with Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver (podcast)
The Hunks Du Jour Need to Start Having Fun on Instagram Again, Vulture
All of You (film)
Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé