Straight Up Straight Up

Taylor Swift’s tour has hit the UK and so of course we’re kicking things off with a debate on the queen of pop herself, most notably the recent suggestions that she is employing a calculated release strategy that keeps other artists like Billie Eilish and Charli XCX off the top spot. Is her Ed Sheeran-style obsession with having the best numbers admirable, or annoying? Next, we drill into Miley Cyrus’ interview with David Letterman last week, covering everything from her only celeb friendship (with Beyoncé no less) and her mum Tish Cyrus’ potent weed, to how she’s navigated fame since the age of 13. Plus, Kristen Stewart’s incredible new film Love Lies Bleeding, with a look back at her 2012 ‘affair’ scandal and public apology to Robert Pattinson, as well as her hilarious recent interviews and quite frankly iconic quotes. Finally, a recap of Kevin Spacey’s car crash interview with Piers Morgan, where the actor, despite having been found not guilty of sexual assault, seemed to incriminate himself, turning his previous supporters against him. 

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 boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. Get 20% OFF with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠londonnootropics.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Reccos discussed:


Miley Cyrus on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman
Miley Cyrus Finally Gets Her “Flowers”, W Magazine
Love Lies Bleeding (film)
Kristen Stewart, Rolling Stone (May)
Personal Shopper (film)
Kevin Spacey on Piers Morgan’s Uncensored 

Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter’s relationship is top of our hit-list today hunnies, since the singer released a music video all about an embarrassing boyfriend with a cameo from none other than… her 'embarrassing' boyfriend, Barry. Is he a secret scumbag, or is this all a PR ploy? Next, we revisit Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver’s podcast, Miss Me?, specifically the episode on sabotage and the Billie Eilish interview, followed by a review of the eagerly-anticipated TV adaptation of Candice Carty Williams’ book Queenie, which has divided critics and audiences. Plus, an ode to Clarkson’s Farm, which has returned to Amazon for a third season. How does a man with an unsavoury reputation as Jeremy Clarkson manage to make such charming, hilarious TV? And finally, a fascinating interview with the founders of London Nootropics, longtime partner of the pod and makers of the best adaptogenic coffee on the market. With Shez and Zain, we cover everything from medicinal mushrooms and coffee to biohacking trends like barefoot shoes and life-extending supplements. 

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 boosts mental clarity and physical energy, while also easing anxiety, all without any of coffee's usual jitters. Get 20% OFF with the DISCOUNT CODE straightup at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠londonnootropics.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Reccos discussed: 


Sabrina Carpenter, Please Please Please 
Dua Lipa Has No Lore, LA Times 
Miss Me? Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver’s podcast
Hit Man, Netflix 
Hit Man by Skip Hollingsworth, Texas Monthly
Kiss The Ground, Netflix
Queenie, Channel 4
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams (novel)
Rye Lane, Disney +
Queenie review – so half-baked it could have been made by AI, Guardian
Queenie Reminds Us That Black Women Have A “Right To Exist Messily”, Refinery 29
Clarkson’s Farm, Amazon Prime Video (season 3) 
Vivobarefoot shoes 

Ethical non-monogamy, platonic friendships and TikTok dating coaches: we get into all manner of divisive topics this week, huns, before a big old debate on North West, who has recently reignited the nepo-baby conversation with her controversial performance as Simba in the Lion King. Should adults be critiquing a child on the internet? And how does Kim and Kanye’s parenting approach figure? Speaking of, the Kardashians have returned to Disney for a new season and the elephant in the room is Ozempic. From Kylie and Kims’ shrinking frames, to scenes blatantly showing Wegovy in Scott Dissick’s fridge – are they now knowingly positioning themselves as the poster family for weight loss drugs? And how do we as a society navigate the glamorisation of Ozempic; can the benefits really outweigh the side effects? Next is a look at Will Smith’s upcoming comeback, why Brad Pitt’s daughter is dropping his surname and, finally, a review of the new Netflix series everyone’s talking about, Eric, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Vincent, a puppeteer in 1980s New York whose nine-year-old son goes missing. Is Eric the most divisive show of 2024? 

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

Reccos discussed:


Sentimental Garbage, Caroline O’Donoghue 
Aubrey Marcus on the dark side of open relationships, Diary of a CEO 
Where Have All My Guy Friends Gone? The Cut
Gone Girl (the ‘cool girl’ monologue)
The Case for Marrying an Older Man by Grazie Sophia Christie, The Cut
The Cult of the Provider Man, The Cut 
The Kardashians Season Five on Disney +
Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs by Johann Hari
Our review of Jada Pinkett’s memoir (19 Oct 2023 episode)
Eric, Netflix
Eric review – Benedict Cumberbatch will win awards for this wildly ambitious drama, The Guardian
Eric review: Benedict Cumberbatch excels as a weirdo in dark, misanthropic missing-child drama, The Independent
Eric Shows Everything That’s Wrong With Mid TV, The Atlantic 
Dark Days (2000 documentary film) 
Machinal at The Old Vic

Jennifer Lopez’s latest film has arrived on Netflix and, phew, do we have thoughts! From its botched messaging around AI, to J.Lo’s absurd (if admirable) commitment to her role as a serious scientist, we review Atlas in all its ridiculousness before debriefing on the latest Bennifer drama. Are the reports suggesting that Jen and Ben are separating after less than a year of marriage really true? And can Ben Affleck possibly be claiming temporary insanity as grounds for divorce? Also this week, we recommend The Fall Guy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, a charming rom-com meets action thriller about a stuntman that promises good vibes and classic Gosling unlikely leading man energy. And finally, an update on Sarah Jessica Parker, whose recent podcast appearances show an intriguingly different side to the ‘cruel’ one we’ve read about amid all the SATC drama.  

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

Things discussed: 


MOTH Drinks and Vinca Wine
The Mother, Netflix
Atlas, Netflix
The Fall Guy
Babylon starring Margot Robbie 
A Quiet Place
Glad We Had this Chat, with Caroline Hirons 
Ruthie’s Table with Sarah Jessica Parker
This Is Not A Pity Memoir, Abi Morgan
Eric (Netflix)

Sophie Turner has given a tell-all interview to Vogue all about her explosive divorce from Joe Jonas, her experience of mum-shaming, her mental health, and becoming friends with Taylor Swift. We have MANY thoughts (and a few hot takes), which prompted a look at how so much mum-shaming online in the UK is linked to classism and slut-shaming. Plus, Ellie has seen Challengers and reveals whether it's up to the hype.

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 discussed 


Sophie Turner Talks Mum-Shaming, Misogyny And Why The Best Is Yet To Come, British Vogue
Joan (coming to ITV in Autumn) 
"My abortion story went viral - because even though I wanted it, the process was still painful", Cosmopolitan 
Nelly London’s reel
‘I joined the childfree movement - and discovered its dark side’, Beth Ashley for Inews 
Sluts: The truth about slutshaming and what we can do to fight it, Beth Ashley 
Nicholas Galitzine interview, GQ
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal, Netflix 
All anyone wants is a hot rodent boyfriend, Dazed 
Eudelo inaugural facial, Eudelo Sloane Avenue London
Mr Bao and Daddy Bao, Peckham and Tooting 

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