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
  

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 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 [email protected]. 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

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

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

Why do the tabloids write about Katie Price nearly every day? The former glamour model better known as Jordan has said in a recent interview that her relationship with the media has changed from a ‘game’ to ‘mental health abuse’, so we get into what has prompted such a media frenzy. And, is it hypocritical of Price to say women in their 20s shouldn’t get cosmetic surgery? We also give our brutally honest thoughts on Channel 4’s much hyped new millennial comedy about mental illness, Big Mood, while Kathleen’s review of The Gentlemen, starring Kaya Scodelario (aka Effy from Skins) prompts a trip down memory lane…

Vote in our Spotify poll, 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

In light of Kate Middleton’s recent announcement (and the prior ‘where’s Kate’ internet circus), this week we debate the fraught but symbiotic relationship between media and monarchy, from what ‘right’ we as the public have to access to the royal family, to previous privacy breaches like tampongate, Kate’s topless holiday pics and the hounding of Harry and Meghan. Next up is Ellie’s favourite new podcast discovery, Sounds Like A Cult, about the modern day cults we all follow. A tale of Lululemon leggings and murder ensues, followed very fittingly by Kathleen’s review of Netflix’s new true crime drama The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping. A shocking look at ‘disciplinary schools’, we found this especially fascinating considering our recent dive into Paris Hilton’s mission to have the industry shut down. 

Enjoy huns and please do rate review and subscribe as well as shooting us a DM on Insta ⁠⁠@straightuppod

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

Flare, which makes the best earplugs for light sleepers: tiny, unobtrusive, with memory foam balls that perfectly moulds to your ear, and they don't fall out! Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.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 Princess Of Wales’s Decision To Share Her Cancer Diagnosis Represents A Powerful Break From Royal Tradition, British Vogue
• Sounds like a Cult podcast
• The Program on Netflix
• The Disney Adult Industrial Complex, New Statesman
• The Pulling, by Adele Dumont

Male infertility accounts for half of all IVF cases, so why does society so often consider it a ‘women’s issue’? We get into the taboo around fertility and masculinity, as well as the thorny topics of egg freezing, the 'queer tax' and the commodification of reproduction in this second part of our exploration of why more and more people are putting off having children. We also dive into plenty of other unspeakable truths, from 'unnatural' parents, the fantasy mother vs monster mother tropes in Hollywood, and loss of identity. Plus, we discuss some of the most joyous things about being a parent, how social media is shaping parenthood norms, and much more.

Reccos discussed

• Stand Up to Infertility,  BBC
• 'Elizabeth Day: At 45 I will never be a mother. I’ve made peace with it', The Times
• Magpie by Elizabeth Day
• The Birth of My Daughter, The Death of My Marriage by Leslie Jamison, New Yorker
• Laura Jackson on Grace Beverley's podcast
• Why Must We Pay Queer Tax? the Guardian
• 'I’m a sexual and single but wanted to become a mum’, Stylist
• Straight Up with Tove Lo, and Straight Up with BabyQueen
• Diary of a CEO: No.1 Neuroscientist: "Kids will make you unhappier"
• I chose my marriage over having kids by Ruby Warrington, The Times
• The School for Bad Mothers, Jessamine Chan
• Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel
• The false escapism of soft girls and trad wives, Time 
• How Long Can You Wait To Have A Baby? The Atlantic

Thanks so much to our partners:

@flareaudio makes the best earplugs for light sleepers: tiny, unobtrusive, with memory foam balls that perfectly moulds to your ear, and they don't fall out! Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.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 incredible app that's like a personal pocket concierge. Perfect for our spontaneous huns who need a last minute dinner reservation in London, Ambl matches you with the restaurants with real-time availability, all the while letting you fine-tune your choice with filters from vibe to price range.⁠⁠ Search Ambl in the app store, or visit https://www.ambl.co

The startling new data revealing the sharply declining fertility rate in the UK taps into the fraught and personal conversations that we’ve been having since turning 30: are we ready to have kids, financially and emotionally? How has everything from increased gender equality and the thriving child free movement to social media and the pandemic skip affected our reasoning? We try to answer all these questions and more in this two-part series on the societal and cultural issues shaping how we think about parenthood in modern Britain. 

Next week we will discuss: male infertility, IVF & egg freezing, the child free movement, the taboo of the ‘unnatural’ mother, how pop culture has influenced our idea of parenthood, plus loads more listener DMs. If you don’t feel like your experience has been represented in, shoot us a DM or email us at [email protected] as this is very much just a conversation starter! We’d love to keep the conversation going.

Also don’t forget to vote in our poll, leave us a review, and share this ep with a friend :)

Thanks so much to our partners:

@flareaudio makes the best earplugs for light sleepers: tiny, unobtrusive, with memory foam balls that perfectly moulds to your ear, and they don't fall out! Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.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 incredible app that's like a personal pocket concierge. Perfect for our spontaneous huns who need a last minute dinner reservation in London, Ambl matches you with the restaurants with real-time availability, all the while letting you fine-tune your choice with filters from vibe to price range.⁠ Search Ambl in the app store, or visit https://www.ambl.co

Have there ever been so many women divided by a film as Poor Things? We get into the controversy ahead of the Oscars, and report on all the BTS gossip from our gals night at the Brit Awards (which is why we went live a little early this week! ). Plus, we dissect some seriously juicy gossip surrounding Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Mescal, and, following last week’s chat, get into the fascinating real life ‘Shitty Media Men’ list that inspired Yomi Adegoke’s book.

Enjoy huns and please do rate review and subscribe as well as shooting us a DM on Insta ⁠@straightuppod

Reccos discussed:

• I Want to Live Like Normal People, The Fence

• Extraordinary, Disney Plus

• Poor Things, Disney Plus

• I Started the Media Men List, The Cut

Thanks so much to our partners:

@flareaudio makes the best earplugs for light sleepers: tiny, unobtrusive, with memory foam balls that perfectly moulds to your ear, and they don't fall out! Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.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 incredible app that's like a personal pocket concierge. Perfect for our spontaneous huns who need a last minute dinner reservation in London, Ambl matches you with the restaurants with real-time availability, all the while letting you fine-tune your choice with filters from vibe to price range. Search Ambl in the app store, or visit https://www.ambl.co

After months of her dominating the news cycle, we’re finally getting down to it and talking about Taylor Swift. From her embodiment of girlhood to the problematic PR moments she’s generated over the years, we dissect Swiftie mania and interrogate our own feelings towards pop’s brightest star. Next up is a review of debut novel The List by Yomi Adekoke, a gripping exploration of online shaming, cancel culture and carefully crafted celebrity in the wake of movements like #metoo. Then, Netflix’s latest true crime offering and the first from Louis Theroux’s production house, Can  I Tell You A Secret, continues the theme of cyber-stalking, while Sandra Bullock’s Lost City Of D, a fun adventure satire about a depressed erotic novelist starring Channing Tatum, Brad Pitt and Daniel Radcliffe, offers some light relief at the end!

Enjoy huns and please do rate review and subscribe as well as shooting us a DM on Insta @straightuppod

Reccs covered:

• Taylor Swift and the Good Girl Trap by Anne Helen Peterson, Substack 
• The List by Yomi Adekoke, available via all booksellers 
• Can I Tell You A Secret, Netflix
• The Lost City of D, Netflix

Thanks so much to our partner @flareaudio for this ep, the cutting edge company behind the Calmer earbuds, which soften horrible sounds like chewing, tapping and loud breathing for sensitive souls like us (misophonia!). If you’re someone who gets distracted easily then you absolutely NEED these in your life. Grab a pair at ⁠⁠⁠⁠flareaudio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.