Heated Rivalry - the hit HBO Max series - has it all: scintillating romance, hot guys, sports (kind of), and, most importantly, portrayals of gay love and sex that don’t hold back.

Steamy, sensual TV shows aren’t new, but the Canadian series has captured the public's attention in a way that a show hasn’t in a while. So, what’s behind its cultural resonance? What does it mean that this gay romance was written by a woman? And why are straight women and gay men equally into the sex scenes?

Michel Ghanem, TV critic and columnist of “Appointment Viewing” for The Cut, and Glen Weldon, co-host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, join the show to get into why we’re all waiting for every new episode with bated breath.

(0:00) What is Heated Rivalry really about?
(2:40) How successful is the gay TV show?
(6:05) Why are straight women into gay romance?
(9:25) Why all audiences see something new in the sex scenes
(12:12) Can straight actors play queer characters?
(18:30) "Wait, What?!" A Pop Culture Trivia Game

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Are we spending too much on other people’s weddings?

Going to a friend's weddings can be so fun and meaningful… but it can also really hurt your wallet. A survey by LendingTree found that 31% of people who had been to a wedding in the past five years had accrued debt to attend. So what’s driving up the cost of weddings for guests? And what makes it so hard to say no to these expenses?

Brittany breaks it down with Allyson Rees, senior analyst at trend forecasting firm WGSN, and Annie Joy Williams, assistant editor at The Atlantic.

(0:00) For hosts AND guests, weddings are getting really expensive
(2:22) How much it costs to attend someone's wedding
(4:58) Men are spending just as much as women
(7:30) Weddings, social media, and "main character" energy
(11:32) Is this the one night we get to pretend we're ultra rich?
(13:42) How to say no to a friend's wedding
(17:00) Do weddings prove who your friends really are?

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More women than ever are choosing to raise their children by their self. Is it time to hit reset on what we mean by "family" in America?

America has some deeply held prejudices toward single moms, but some studies show that 40% of babies in the U.S. are born to unmarried women. In this episode Brittany looks into the joy and challenges these women face - from freedom and agency to affordability and loneliness.

Brittany is joined by Pallavi Gogoi, NPR's Chief Business Editor, and Danielle Elliot, writer and a single mother. You can read Pallavi's reporting here.

(0:00) Hitting reset on the definition of "family" and "single mom"
(5:42) The power & agency of being a single mom
(7:30) Does your child need a present father?
(15:11) The struggles of being a single parent
(18:29) Tips for raising a kid by yourself

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Some say we're entering the Woke 2.0 era. Is that real or imagined?

From declining Target sales to Mamdani's election, some folks online are feeling a vibe shift. Is that feeling...woke? And if so, does that mean woke is back in style?

To answer those questions - and to dissect whether or not woke ever left - Brittany is joined by Constance Grady, senior correspondent at Vox, and Tyler Austin Harper, staff writer at The Atlantic and co-host of the podcast, Time to Say Goodbye.

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(0:00) When did Woke end?
(4:22) Why Woke doesn't work when racism is still on the rise
(8:50) Target, Sydney Sweeney, and America's appetite for racism
(12:08) The rise of "Dark Woke" & will it work?
(13:51) Is Zohran Mamdani a sign of a new kind of Woke?
(15:40) How MAGA made the blueprint for Woke 2.0

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Is location tracking building relationships? Or ruining them?

Four in ten U.S. adults share their locations with at least one person. But while it’s convenient – is it a violation of privacy? And who really needs to know where you are? We're getting into how location sharing became a norm, the pros and cons, and how to turn it off without making things weird.

Brittany breaks it all down with Gina Cherelus, New York Times styles reporter and writer of their Third Wheel dating column, and Tatum Hunter, internet culture reporter at The Washington Post.

(0:00) Who shares their location and why?
(3:21) Sharing with your friends vs. your boyfriend
(5:27) How location sharing became a social norm
(9:30) What are the benefits of sharing your location?
(14:21) What do companies get from knowing your location?
(15:40) Why it can be damaging to share location with people
(17:20) The awkwardness of stopping sharing location
(19:29) How location sharing is redefining "privacy"

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What does it mean to be an independent adult?

More young adults live with their parents than in the past, and are also delaying the traditional markers of independent adulthood like marriage and childbirth. Roughly nine-in-ten parents say it’s extremely or very important to them that their children be financially independent when they are adults, but are our cultural notions of financial independence changing? And are today’s young adults prepared to handle the emotional challenges of adult life?

To find out, Brittany is joined by Nancy Hill, Professor of Education and Developmental Psychologist at Harvard University, and Kathryn Jezer-Morton, writer for New York Magazine and The Cut.

(0:00) What does it mean to be an adult?
(4:46) Is Gen-Z "failing to launch" into adulthood?
(10:32) The myths of unpaid dues

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It's an incredibly painful thing to do, so why are some kids cutting their parents out of their lives?

27% of Americans are estranged from at least one family member, and the term "no contact" is increasingly being used to describe estrangement between adult children and their parents. But is estrangement happening more often, or are we just more open to talking about it? And is our culture around family shifting?

Brittany sits down with journalist Kui Mwai and Whitney Goodman, licensed marriage and family therapist and the host of the Calling Home podcast, to find out.

This episode originally aired on December 17, 2024.

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Fighting with your family doesn’t have to be a holiday tradition.

The majority of Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow. And while it’s meant to be a time of family togetherness… sometimes, this holiday can make you never want to see your family again. To go or not to go? To fight or not to fight? Well, our friends at NPR’s Life Kit have tips for how to answer these questions. Marielle Segarra, host of Life Kit, speaks with experts and identifies 12 strategies to keep your family dinner peaceful this year.

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Can you afford to pay two rents?

Families across the country are asking that same question when it comes to childcare, as the yearly costs for daycare are becoming comparable to a year's rent in many places. How did childcare become so expensive, and how might everyone benefit if the government provided more support to parents? Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Jessica Calarco, and Senior Fellow at the Think Tank Capita Elliot Haspel are here to help Brittany find out. 

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When the dream of buying a home seems unattainable, is it time to find a new dream? Or is there another option on the table?

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or the FHFA, said the administration is “working on” a plan to introduce 50 year mortgage terms for homebuyers. But some Americans have already been working on their own plans towards homeownership… and it’s not the ‘nuclear family’ route.

Brittany is joined by NPR chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley and NPR producer & author of The Other Significant Others: Reimaging Life with Friendship at the Center, Rhaina Cohen to get into the cult of homeownership in America. Together they search for a new outlook of what ‘adulthood’ looks like.

(0:00) Will Millennials and Gen-Zers be able to buy homes?
(7:56) Why Trump's mortgage policy probably won't work
(10:53) The fundamental reasons housing is so expensive
(12:37) Want to buy a home? Consider these options.
(20:13) Responding to your comments

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What’s the difference between feeling unsafe and being unsafe?

According to Gallup, about half of Americans see crime as being extremely or very serious. And there are a lot of very real threats out there to people’s safety, but there’s also a lot of fearful rhetoric that’s more unfounded. While immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens, and trans people are unlikely to commit mass shootings, fear of these groups is being weaponized against them. So how can we disentangle being unsafe and feeling unsafe – and better protect ourselves and each other?

Brittany gets into it with Nicole Lewis, engagement editor at The Marshall Project, and Lex McMenamin, writer and editor.

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