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How to win (or lose) a break up on social media Jun 09, 2025

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A lot of us have seen how explosive breakup stories have been on social media. From Reesa Teesa's "Who TF did I marry..." to Spritely's breakup song, these posts have been drawing gasps and gaining traction. But is it harmless fun, or an invasion of privacy? When do your personal stories belong on social media and when do they not?
To find out, Brittany is joined by Molly McPherson, crisis PR expert, and Rebecca Jennings, senior correspondent at Vox. They get into what people actually get out of breakup posting - and discuss their theories of poster's etiquette.
This episode originally published December 3rd, 2024.
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The Pride month vibes are off, but there's still hope. Jun 06, 2025

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Is it just us, or are the Pride month vibes a little off this year?
Between targeted censorship, legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ health care, and a financial pullout from many corporations, queer people and their allies are celebrating with heavier hearts this year. But perhaps it's a moment to reconsider what "pride" is really for?
This week, Brittany is joined by culture journalist Tre'vell Anderson, and author and organizer Raquel Willis to parse through the contradictions of Pride 2025.
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"White genocide" isn't a thing. Trump disagrees. Jun 04, 2025

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You may have heard that the U.S. gained 59 new residents last month from South Africa - and that more came this past weekend. They're all white Afrikaners: a white minority group descended from European colonists. Trump has given some of these white Afrikaners refugee status because he claims a "white genocide" is happening against them in South Africa. This claim is untrue. So where is it coming from?
And why might this claim be politically expedient for the Trump administration? And what parallels can we see between some of the white Afrikaners and the American right? Brittany sits down with South African journalist Kate Bartlett and Sean Jacobs, professor of international affairs at the New School to get into it.
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Canada hates us, but it's not all Trump's fault. Jun 02, 2025

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The stereotype is that Canadians are kind, but they by and large do not take kindly to President Trump's idea of making Canada our 51st state. As of April, two-thirds of Canadians considered the U.S. to be "unfriendly" or an "enemy," and 61% say they have started boycotting American companies. However, Canadian dislike and distrust of the U.S. is not new. Canadian views of the U.S. have trended down for decades, from a high of 81% of Canadians holding favorable views of the U.S. under Clinton in the '90's, to hovering in the 50-60% range in the aughts, to only 24% favorable as of March. Meanwhile, 87% of Americans view Canada favorably. There's a huge mismatch there. So what's behind these decades of resentment? How does culture play into it? And what does it mean for our politics that our nations have fundamentally different ideas about our relationship to one another? Brittany discusses with Scaachi Koul, senior writer at Slate, and Jon Parmenter, associate professor of history at Cornell.
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Age gaps & wage gaps: unpacking our Belichick-Hudson obsession May 30, 2025

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After 8 trips to the Super Bowl, 73 year-old former NFL coach Bill Belichick is ready to start a new phase in his career: mentor, college football coach, and now doting boyfriend to 24-year-old Jordon Hudson. But as Hudson also takes an increasingly important role in Belichick's professional life, people are speculating about the motivations behind their union. Why do we care?
Brittany is joined by arts and entertainment reporter Shar Jossell and Vox senior correspondent Alex Abad-Santos to explore the public's reaction to this very public relationship, as well as the question of whether it's okay to marry or partner for reasons other than love.
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Can doctors test embryos for autism? And should they? May 28, 2025

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A newly available kind of genetic testing, called polygenic embryo screening, promises to screen for conditions that can include cancer, obesity, autism, bipolar disorder, even celiac disease. These conditions are informed by many genetic variants and environmental factors - so companies like Orchid and Heliospect assign risk scores to each embryo for a given condition. These tests are expensive, only available through IVF, and some researchers question how these risk scores are calculated. But what would it mean culturally if more people tried to screen out some of these conditions? And how does this connect to societal ideas about whose lives are meaningful?
Brittany gets into it with Vardit Ravitsky, senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School and president of the Hastings Center, a non-partisan bioethics research center, and Katie Hasson, associate director of the Center for Genetics and Society, a nonprofit public affairs organization that advocates for responsible use of genetic technology.
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Brittany needs a couch. Should she buy now, pay later? May 26, 2025

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Brittany keeps looking at a new couch online, and every time she goes to buy it she sees an option to "Buy Now, Pay Later," which made her wonder...should she? Here's what she found:
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans have become one of the go-to ways to get access to credit fast. Companies like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay make buying big purchases relatively easy by allowing people to pay in installments over time. But some Americans have taken to using this method for everyday items like groceries, and when BNPL service providers like Klarna partners with DoorDash so customers can "eat now, pay later"... it feels like a debt trap waiting to happen. And that's just scratching the surface.
This... is Money Troubles.

And for the past few weeks we've been looking into the ways everyday people are trying to make ends meet... and what it says about how our culture views labor, basic needs, or even our favorite pastimes.
In this final episode, NPR Life Kit's Andee Tagle and author Malcolm Harris join Brittany to get into why Buy Now, Pay Later has become so popular and how 'cheap credit' may be another lifestyle subsidy for a new generation.
You can hear more of Andee's and Life Kit's reporting on Buy Now, Pay Later here.
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Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying? May 23, 2025

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Children's educator and YouTube star Ms. Rachel has used her social media to advocate for the safety of children all over the world - but when she used her platform to call attention to the plight of children in Gaza, she was accused of being paid by Hamas.
This week, Brittany is joined by Defector managing editor Samer Kalaf and The Guardian's data editor Mona Chalabi to unpack why it's suddenly so controversial to advocate for kids.
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Pop culture has a "bean soup problem." May 21, 2025

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Online discourse has become a fun part of enjoying and dissecting big pop culture events. But after seeing all the commentary around Ryan Coogler's Sinners - one of the biggest cultural juggernauts of the year - Brittany has one question: are we in a media literacy crisis?
Difference of opinion is one thing, but it feels like some viewers are missing important clues or misreading the film entirely - and it doesn't stop with Sinners.
To help work through this, Pop Culture Happy Hour's Aisha Harris and Code Switch's B.A. Parker join the show to figure out what this could mean for the way we engage with the world at large.
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Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game May 19, 2025

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It's been seven years since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting outside of Nevada. For some, it's a hobby that spices up a game, but for others it's become a side hustle or investing strategy. And in a time where 60% of U.S. households don't earn enough to afford basic costs of living... that can be a problem.
This... is Money Troubles. And for the next few weeks, we're looking into the ways everyday people are trying to make ends meet... and what it says about how our culture views labor, basic needs, or even our favorite pastimes.
Today on the show, writer Manny Fidel and journalist Danny Funt join Brittany to get into how sports betting is changing the way we watch sports, and what that means for the love of the game.
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