Lena and Alissa welcome the new year with an iconic early 20th-century party girl: La Marchesa Luisa Casati. They delve into Luisa’s obsession with the occult, her high-profile artistic and romantic relationships, and her singular desire to become a “living work of art,” all the while investigating the double-edged sword of our society’s fascination with eccentric women.

This episode was first published on 01/14/2021.

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​In Part 2, Lena and Alissa resume their discussion on Brittany Murphy. By the late 2000s, Brittany’s career was stagnant and rumors about her erratic behavior and her sketchy new marriage were widespread. Tragically, her life was cut short in December 2009. In this episode, Lena and Alissa discuss the harmful effect of gossip blind items, celebrity paranoia, and the public’s fixation on conspiracies surrounding Brittany’s death. 

This episode was first published on 12/17/2020.

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The Brittany Murphy of the 90s won our affection with her talent, iconic laugh, and breakout role as goofy but lovable Tai in ​Clueless​. But the Brittany Murphy of the 2000s weathered tabloid speculation about her appearance and high-profile relationships, a dwindling supply of roles, and an addiction to prescription pills. In part 1, we grapple with the first half of Brittany’s life. Lena and Alissa discuss Brittany’s childhood, the promising start to her career, and the obstacles that would lead to her death in 2009. 

This episode was first published on 12/12/2020.

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Lena and Alissa discuss a different kind of c-word subject: Yolanda Saldívar. She became known for robbing the world of beloved Tejano music star Selena. In this episode, Lena and Alissa discuss Saldívar's criminal history, how obsessive fandom is related to public interest, and whether the term “c-word” is applicable in Yolanda’s case. 

This episode was first published on 11/19/2020.

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In part 2, Lena and Alissa discuss the latter half of Anna Nicole’s life. By 2002, she had become one of the first E! reality television celebrities with ​The Anna Nicole Show​. Early gossip websites like TMZ and Perez Hilton covered her weight gain, messy public appearances, and a debacle over the paternity of her second child. In this episode, we discuss Anna Nicole’s addiction, her eccentric entourage, the public’s thirst for her downfall, and the tragic events that led to her death at age 39. 

This episode was first published on 11/05/2020.

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Model and reality TV superstar Anna Nicole Smith assumed several roles in America’s public consciousness. In the 90s she was branded as as a sex symbol and “the next Marilyn Monroe” and in the 2000s we turned her into a punch line. We loved and then ridiculed her platinum blonde hair, massive boobs, Texas accent, and “loopy” manner. In this episode, Lena and Alissa discuss Anna Nicole Smith’s origin story, her rise as 1993’s Playboy Playmate of the Year, and her relationship with an octogenarian billionaire which would later take her to the Supreme Court and launch her reputation as an iconic gold digger. 

This episode was first published on 10/22/2020.

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Wendi Deng was the third wife of media magnate and billionaire, Rupert Murdoch. The public was quick to call her a gold digger, latching onto the 38-year age difference in their marriage, Wendi’s humble upbringing in China, and her controversial involvement in the Murdoch family business. But despite criticism and rumors about her personal life, Wendi leveraged Rupert’s connections to build a name for herself as a businesswoman, film producer, and advisor in the tech world. Lena and Alissa discuss ambition, Wendy’s celebrity dinner parties & annual pre-Met Gala gathering, and the hypocrisy of the term “gold digger.” 

This episode was first published on 10/08/2020.

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Lena and Alissa pick up where they last left Whitney Houston in Part 1. In the second half of Whitney’s career, her reputation as America’s pop sweetheart was hindered by tabloid speculation about drug use and criticism of her live performances. In this episode Lena and Alissa discuss the phenomenon of the Diane Sawyer interview, Whitney’s stint on reality television, her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, and why the public still overlooks Whitney’s talent and legacy after her death. 

This episode was first published on 09/24/2020.

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Whitney Houston: “The Voice,” the myth, the legend. She sang her way into the hearts of America, moving a nation and bearing the weight of its attention on her psyche. As her star grew, Whitney faced backlash, questions about her identity, and intense intrusion into her personal life. In the first of two parts, Lena and Alissa chart the young Whitney’s rise to fame, her essential early relationships with Robyn Crawford and Bobby Brown, and the start of struggles that would eventually lead to her untimely end. 

This episode was first published on 09/10/2020.

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Yoko Ono: The woman whose name for decades was a codeword for "Somebody who ruins things." Beatles fans called her a villain, obscuring who she really was: a multidisciplinary artist, pioneering social activist, and visionary.

In this episode, Lena and Alissa trace Yoko’s unlikely journey, from her childhood as a musical prodigy to her years as a fixture of the New York art scene to her legendary love affair with one of the most famous rock stars of all time. As Lena and Alissa untangle Yoko’s story, they assess the cultural anxieties about gender and race that made Yoko a target and ask how we can truly honor the contributions of trailblazing women artists. 

This episode was first published on 08/06/2020.

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Mary Shelley is known as the mother of the science fiction genre for her groundbreaking novel, ​Frankenstein​. But beyond the page, she faced a life of personal tragedy and a society unprepared to grapple with her public persona. As the daughter of legendary proto-feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley was born into controversy. In her adult life, her entanglements with celebrity Romantic poets kept her at the center of high society gossip. In this episode, Lena and Alissa weave together the various elements of this complex life (featuring a graveyard tryst!), and discuss what it meant to be a woman ahead of her time. 

This episode was first published on 07/23/2020.

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