Back Row with Amy Odell

Latest Episodes:

How Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Built Two Billion-Dollar Empires (Part 1) May 18, 2026

Show notes

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were on television before they could talk and millionaires before they could read. Former Us Weekly editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford, author of the new Celebrity Intelligence newsletter, joins Back Row to break down the Full House casting story, the Dual Star empire, the billion-dollar licensing machine, and the NYU years that changed everything.

Part Two — revealing the secrets behind The Row — is available to Premium subscribers. Sign up at Back Row to get newsletter access included with your subscription, or in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Find Part Two in Apple Podcasts here

Find Part Two in Spotify here

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:40 Dan Wakeford and Celebrity Intelligence

02:47 Why the Olsens are a unique case study

07:50 The Full House casting story

10:07 The reality of child stardom

16:22 How their personalities diverged early

19:49 From pennies to $80,000 an episode

26:27 The home video empire begins

33:28 The billion dollar licensing machine

48:00 Turning 18 and taking control

53:41 NYU and the paparazzi years

57:47 How everything changed

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How Kim Kardashian Broke the Met Gala May 11, 2026

Show notes

SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter and go Premium to access all paywalled podcast episodes and newsletters: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe

Kim Kardashian spent 10 years being the most reviled woman at the Met Gala. Then she became the blueprint.

Cultural critic and psychoanalytic psychotherapist MJ Corey, author of Dekonstructing the Kardashians, joins Back Row to explain how Kim paved the way for the Tech Gala (04:42), why the hatred only makes her bigger (17:39), what the Paris robbery really did for her career (28:15), and why she's acting now (30:35).

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Why 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' Is More Accurate Than You Think, with Rachel Tashjian [TEASER] May 07, 2026

Show notes

The full episode is for paid Back Row subscribers: backrow.net/subscribe

A note to listeners: On May 15, prices will increase to $8/month and $72/year. Upgrade to annual to lock in the lower rate. Or sign up at backrow.net/subscribe to get newsletter access included with your subscription and don't miss a single juicy story.

This episode contains spoilers.

We've waited 20 years for The Devil Wears Prada 2 — and it's better than expected. Rachel Tashjian of CNN joins me to break down what the sequel gets shockingly right about Anna Wintour, Vogue, and journalism's decline. We also cover Emily Blunt stealing the movie, whether the filmmakers got too close to Anna, and the billionaire character hiding in plain sight.

Chapters:

00:00 Spoiler warning & intro

05:56 How accurately does the film depict journalism?

17:34 Did the filmmakers get too close to Anna Wintour?

29:07 The billionaire characters: who is Benji really?

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Met Gala 2026 Recap: Beyoncé, the Bezos Backlash, Kim Kardashian, and Vogue's Silence May 06, 2026

Show notes

This episode is sponsored by Margaux. First time shoppers get 10 percent off with the code BACKROW. A few of my favorite styles:

The 2026 Met Gala was the most controversial in memory — and Back Row is telling you what the fashion press won't. Amy Odell and Heather Cocks of Go Fug Yourself and Drinks With Broads break down the biggest narratives from the night: the Bezos backlash, the protests outside, why Vogue's silence was deafening, and what it actually means that tech billionaires have taken over fashion's biggest night.

Plus: Beyoncé's return after 10 years, Blue Ivy's debut, the Kardashians and their nipples, Lauren Sanchez's Madame X look, why Jeff Bezos snuck in the back door, John Galliano and fashion's cancellation problem, and whether any of this controversy will actually stick.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

00:49 The Bezos Backlash and the protests

04:14 The Ball Without Billionaires

07:15 Vogue's silence on the controversy

10:31 Why tech billionaires are really at the Met

18:26 Lauren Sanchez's Madame X look

43:39 The Kardashians, Beyoncé, and the best and worst looks

49:15 Galliano, Anna Wintour, and fashion's cancellation problem

54:05 Will the controversy actually matter?

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Follow Heather Cox at Drinks With Broads and Go Fug Yourself.

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'The Devil Wears Prada 2' Filmmakers on How They Nailed the Fall of Fashion Magazines May 04, 2026

Show notes

WARNING: This episode contains SPOILERS for 'The Devil Wears Prada 2.'

This is my full interview with 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna. After talking to them both when I was writing 'Anna: The Biography,' I couldn't wait to hear about how they put this movie together after TWENTY YEARS. Who and what were they skewering? Did the film get too close to its source material, Anna Wintour? How did Lady Gaga enter the picture? And... will there be a THIRD movie?!

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro 2:43 How the sequel finally got made 5:17 Miranda's backlash: the fast fashion puff piece explained 8:14 How Miranda Priestly changed in 20 years 9:36 The new assistants and the new workplace 12:20 Every cameo, explained 31:43 Emily Blunt and the evolution of Emily Charlton 39:52 Will there be a third film?

LINKS & RESOURCES: ▸ Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe ▸ Read my book, Anna: The Biography: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Anna/Amy-Odell/9781982122638 ▸ Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instamyodell

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There Is No More Cerulean May 01, 2026

Show notes

I went on Sam Sanders's show on KCRW to talk all things Met Gala 2026!

We get into the Bezos Met Gala sponsorship, fashion's new Gilded Age, and The Devil Wears Prada 2. We also talked about why tech money is taking over fashion, what happened to the aspirational consumer, and whether the Cerulean monologue could even exist in 2026. Sam is one of the best interviewers around — this was a really fun conversation. Thanks to the KCRW team for allowing us to share it here. Follow Sam's show here.

CHAPTERS:

01:30 – Has the Met Gala Become the Tech Gala?

05:20 – Has Fashion Entered a New Gilded Age?

10:20 – The Widening Gap Between the Classes of Fashion

14:20 – What it’s Like to be a Fashion VIC

18:00 – What’s Changed in Fashion Since The (1st) Devil Wears Prada?

20:00 – Does the Cerulean Monologue Hold Up in 2026?

25:10 – Fixing the Met Gala

27:40 – Amy’s Sources of Fashion Inspo

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The Fraught History of Naming Celebrities 'World's Most Beautiful' Apr 30, 2026

Show notes

People magazine's "World's Most Beautiful" editor Andrea Lavinthal joins Back Row to go behind the scenes of the most coveted — and complicated — cover in celebrity journalism. Anne Hathaway talked to People about The Devil Wears Prada 2, her husband, and her haters. But handing out this prize isn't as easy as it might seem.

Andrea breaks down how the "World's Most Beautiful" franchise has evolved since Michelle Pfeiffer in 1990 (3:28), why "most beautiful" is more fraught for women than "Sexiest Man Alive" is for men (1:51), and how much creative control a star like Anne Hathaway has over the shoot (9:33). Plus: why Gwyneth Paltrow's "Most Beautiful" cover made an editor think it would get her fired (25:54).

Links & Resources

📰 SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row Newsletter for exclusive scoops and bonus podcast episodes: https://www.backrow.net/

📸 Amy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instamyodell/

Mentioned in this episode:

↳ People's Anne Hathaway cover story, photographed by Jonny Marlow

↳ JFK Jr.'s "Sexiest Man Alive" cover story

This episode was edited by Chrissi Harris.

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Met Gala 2026: The Bezos Backlash, Devil Wears Prada 2, and What It All Means for Anna Wintour Apr 20, 2026

Show notes

The 2026 Met Gala has three storylines running at once: Jeff and Lauren Bezos as lead sponsors, The Devil Wears Prada 2 opening the Friday before, and Anna Wintour doing more press than she has in years. Amy sits down with Chantal Fernandez of The Cut to break down all of it — plus predictions for the night.

0:00 Intro — Why This Met Gala Is Different

1:14 - Meet Chantal Fernandez

5:42 The Theme: "Costume Art" & What It Actually Means

8:01 - The Real Story Nobody's Covering: The New Costume Institute Galleries

10:17 - How Met Gala Exhibitions Became Museum Blockbusters

12:35 - How Themes Actually Get Chosen (and Who Funds Them)

14:02 - Anna's Role: Making Exhibitions Commercial

19:00 - Why the Met Gala Gets More Criticism Than the Oscars

21:14 - What Brands Actually Get Out of Spending $350K on a Table

24:26 - Can You Even Boycott the Met Gala?

28:06 - Lauren Sanchez, Schiaparelli & the New Ultra-Rich Aesthetic

30:16 - Breaking Down the NYT Lauren Sanchez Profile

32:56 - Graydon Carter's Perfect Quote

40:14 - Fashion Is Losing Power — and the Bezoses Are a Symptom

44:01 - Anna's Devil Wears Prada 2 Marketing Blitz: Smart or a Mistake?

49:19 - Predictions for Met Gala Night

52:49 - Will Devil Wears Prada 2 Be Any Good?

54:10 - Outro

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Links & Resources

📰 Back Row Newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/

📸 Amy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instamyodell/

Mentioned in this episode:

↳ Chantal's VIC story

↳ Amy’s recent Met Gala reporting

↳ NYT profile of Lauren Sanchez by Amy Chozick

↳ Chantal’s 2024 Met Gala story

↳ Charlotte Cowles’s story asking Anna if she’s retiring

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12 Ultra-Rich People Opened Up About What Money Did to Them Apr 13, 2026

Show notes

What does extreme wealth actually do to a person? Their psychology, their relationships, their behavior?

New York Magazine features writer Lane Brown set out to answer that question by interviewing a dozen ultra-high net worth individuals, people worth $30 million or more. (Read his full story here.) Almost no one wanted to talk. The ones who did had never spoken about this before.

Lane and Amy discuss what he found: why sudden wealth immediately isolates you, how self-made billionaires think versus inheritors, why the goalpost never stops moving no matter how much you have, and the eight-step psychological descent — mapped out by a therapist who treats the ultra-wealthy — that can turn an ordinary rich person into someone completely detached from reality.

Part 2 is available to Back Row premium subscribers at backrow.net/subscribe, which includes full newsletter access. You can also subscribe through Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction

01:19 — Meet Lane Brown

02:12 — What Extreme Wealth Does to a Person

03:21 — The First Thing Money Does: Isolation

06:36 — Who Counts as Ultra-Wealthy?

07:28 — How Lane Got Mark Cuban to Talk

09:31 — Why the Rich Refused to Participate

11:22 — Self-Made vs. Inherited Wealth

13:18 — Is It All Just Luck?

14:16 — The Goalpost That Never Stops Moving

17:41 — The 8-Step Descent Into Corruption

20:23 — Do Billionaires Know People Hate Them?

23:24 — When Luxury Purchases Lose Their Thrill

27:03 — Are Billionaires Actually Cheap?

29:02 — The Tax Strategy Behind the Spending

This episode was produced by Amy Odell and edited by Joyce Ciesil and Jonathan Voytko.

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Why Anna Wintour Did the 'Vogue' Cover Apr 10, 2026

Show notes

This is the audio version of the Back Row newsletter published April 7, 2022.

What on earth is Anna Wintour doing on the cover of Vogue?! A theory as to why she's leaning so hard into The Devil Wears Prada 2 promo — and what it all says about her legacy.

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