And we are back! Surprise!
A few weeks ago, the internet boiled over with news of Kenny and JaNa's sudden split. Amid the flurry of facts and theories, it's hard to find all the relevant information in one place. Kirby's collected that for you here, where you'll also find our review of Ben Platt's Diet Pepsi, a late-breaking song of the summer.
Kirby & Hart off-line! This our last episode (for now). Like Dav and Bethy, we have left the group chat but we wanted to give ourselves a proper send-off with internet updates, a look back at our favorite episodes, and recommendations to get you through those lonely hours without us.
Updates include
Past favorite episodes
Kirby & Hart are perplexed. Here's the situation: celebrity stories are everywhere. Baring a monastic existence, they are impossible to avoid and it's even harder to know which stories are true.
While we don't always want to think about this stuff, we end up feeling about it anyways, so we've come up with strategies to shepherd our media-infused minds. Using the Blake Lively story as a (very brief) jumping off point, we explore the problem from psychological, spiritual, and pop culture media literacy angles, then we test this all by reflecting on the discursive, truth resistant dog pile that is the Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt divorce.
Our special guest, the estimable Meagan O’Keefe gives us an overview of the k-pop landscape: major players, recent melt-downs, and so much corporate intrigue. From hostile takeovers to rebuffed hellos, ball-cap sell outs and unhinged tell all press conferences, join us as we learn to root for team New Jeans.
Hey friends. Here is our latest episode. We made this before the election and it is the most usual of our usual schtick—niche celebrity internet drama—-except we also had our friend Meagan with us, which was extra fun. This may not be the tone you seek right now and, if so, we get it and we hope you’ll check back in later. But in case our schtick is a helpful balm/distraction, it is here for your ears. Topics include: Ben Platt and Molly Gordon’s friendship break-up, Phoebe Bridgers’ rumored dating history, and speculation into what’s gone unsaid between the former ladies of One Tree Hill.
Femininity is not a competition...til it is. Kirby breaks down the phenomenon of these sorority sisters-cum-content creators at the University of Alabama and the internet that tunes in to watch.
Join us as we resolve to think hard about this exactly one time and then banish Greek Life from our thoughts forever. Bonus content includes a demure highlight and reflections on our brief and/or failed attempts at #sisterhood.
What are the implications of dronegate? Can you put neosporin on a cat? Who is the nice Micaela? How fast can you order a Stand-To-Pee device while waiting in line for a stall at the airport?
For two weeks, Kirby and Hart kept internet diaries to discover how and why they use the internet in their daily lives. Join us for a montage of Kirby fact checking the Olympics and Hart researching ailments he's afraid he has. Plus, Kirby accidentally finds the one question the internet can't answer: how tall is Rob Raush from Love Island USA?
Link to the weaving workshop discussed: https://ponnopozz.com/products/intro-to-weaving-workshop
Going on three decades now, we have not stopped talking about J.Lo. But when we talk about J.Lo, she's often a cover for covert cultural conversations about identity, authenticity, the body, and worthiness.
This episode is a dive into all the ways we use J.Lo as the table we gather around to think through various cultural moments. It's a stand alone episode, but, if you need more Lo, scroll two episodes back for our take on J.Lo's recent output and the renewed furor surrounding the Bennifer saga.
In 2018, the absolute workhorse of the Mircosoft office suite had a viral moment when a powerpoint about an alleged affair between Lorde and Jack Antonoff made the rounds on social media.
On the way to discussing this newly vintage moment in online history, Kirby and Hart check in about Love Island USA (Kirby, franchise expert, endorses this season), Hart pitches a million dollar idea for a reality show about labor organizing, and we get into the cheez-its vs. goldfish marketing drama, sparked by the influencers on the reality show Summer House.
It's been a rough year so far for the Lopez-Aflecks in the tabloids and in that den of tiktoking of vipers.
In this edition of the pod, Hart takes Kirby on a tour of the four interlocking pieces of media that make up J-lo's recent contributions to the culture, a story entwined with the stories we are telling ourselves and each other about Lopez & Afleck, stories which (spoiler) tell us not that much about them but lots about the public gaze.
BONUS CONTENT: a ratio-ed tweet about who is allowed at pride.
Oh. And here's a j-lo playlist if you need it: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0zsB8BUrGbI1F0jSqUQCrU?si=556f914004fe4bec
"I love all petty drama." Kirby curates her top five high intensity online moments betwixt Rugirls, the illustrious alumnae of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Major players include:
Bonus Content: We experiment with the cold open via a phone call to our friend Meagan
Did your parents film you from breakfast to bedtime then parlay that tape into content which will exist forever as an online public archive of every triumph and failure of your childhood? If so, trigger warning. If not, get ready as Kirby schools us on the family vlog.
Subtopics include: Shaytards, The Norris Nuts, The LeBrant Fam, and adoption controversies. Plus, a highlight about Plane Jane and her recent contribution to meme culture, Mama, kudos for saying that. For spilling.
Good advice is hard to come and life is full of questions. Like everybody else, when we need help, we go to reddit. Very special guest and pigeon enthusiast Krystal Ortiz joins Kirby and Hart to discuss the intersection of pigeons and the internet, with a special focus on r/pigeon, a subreddit at the helm of pigeon/person relations.
Hart went to r/pigeon in a moment of domestic desperation: there were pigeons pooping so much on his porch. The online community solved the problem and taught Hart what it means to be a good neighbor.
Our conversation also includes Krystal's story of an incredible pigeon rescue and the tale of Hercules, a plucky squirrel Kirby's family saved, then endangered, then saved again, plus mostly off-line internet highlight with a pigeon-like plot twist.
Kirby and Hart are industry plants. Just. Kidding. Up for discussion: Avril Lavigne, Justin Bieber, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Lorde, King Princess, The Dinner Party, Bobbi Althoff, and Anya Taylor-Joy.
Did you need...a little bit more lesbian internet drama? We did.
Here we discuss Lunden (yep, that's spelled right) and Olivia, the straightest gay couple on the internet. Also, Reneé Rapp, who has gone from being from the internet's least favorite college girl to its chaotic darling. Kirby takes us on that journey with detours that include Rapp's hot on-tour romance plus her alleged feud with the other Chalamet.
If you want to start with part one, it's in your feed or on iTunes or Spotify.
This is a big one, friends. There was so much brain-tingling gossip from the lesbians of youtube, tik tok, and the platform formerly known as twitter that we had to break our conversation into two parts.
In our first story, Anjali and Sufi break up with twin, simultaneous instragram posts that call out Sufi's infidelity. Eesh.
Next, pop star Fletcher started a multi-platform conflict with her ex Shannon when she released a hit single about a vintage t-shirt and her desire to bone down with Shannon's then-partner. Years later, Fletcher and Shannon meet again to heal the rift. This discussion includes a digression into Fletcher's tryst with an alien communication cult.
Last but not least: JoJo Siwa is going around made-up like the fifth member of Kiss. We want to be supportive but we do have questions.
BONUS CONTENT: a playlist inspired by our conversation.
Want to have fun, go out, gain followers, earn cash, and get an occasional free car? Hop in a time machine and scooch back just far enough to fall in with David Dobrik, charismatic leader of the Vlog Squad, an LA-based content crew who were living the dream til it became a nightmare.
Big thanks to special guest AJ Wessel who helps guide us through the morass.
There's a brief discussion of sexual assault from 47:35-50:05 if you prefer to skip. This episode comes with a general content warning for human failure.
Kirby clues Hart in to the landscape of Christian fundamentalist influencers. There's the Duggars, the non-Duggars, Girl Defined, Paul & Morgan, and the ex-fundies who snark (and sometimes cheer) on the faithful. The episode concludes with an update about some of our major players, Bethany and Dav.
Oh friends. We've burned the midnight oil twice trying to get you breaking news on what (lots of people on the internet believe) is going on with Kate Middleton. The theories are irresistible, irrepressible, unfounded, and addicting. We do really hope she's ok.
Also! Kirby's fave does her country proud by insulting a police officer.
Also! We discuss the royal in-law everyone is finally not talking about.
Also! Another (and we pray lord this is our last) comment on the Amber Heard discourse.
Kirby & Hart return with an episode on Deux Moi, an insta account about celebrity gossip, and Faux Moi, a subreddit that became its own thing.
As we learn about these digital ecosystems, we get snippets of hot goss from both environs and ask all the important questions like, what does Leo DiCaprio listen to in the boudoir and is it ever reasonable to send your assistant on a crack run?