TV & Film

Lady Problems

Lady Problems navigates being a feminist pop-culture junkie. Join hosts Rachel Handler, Teo Bugbee, Hazel Cills and a rotating cast of female geniuses like Mara Wilson, Phoebe Robinson, and Stacy London as they dissect how pop culture treats women each week. (Spoiler alert: It is almost always “terribly.”) We’ll be here unpacking our favorite Fucked Up Films (In A Good Way) About Women, wondering whether we can guiltlessly watch “Louie,” solving our listener’s own Lady Problems, or sharing personal anecdotes about pouring beer straight into the Ugg slippers of the patriarchy. Lady Problems is a proud member of the MTV Podcast Network. You can check out other great shows including Speed Dial, North Mollywood, The Stakes, and Happy Sad Confused at podcasts.mtv.com

Latest Episodes:

A Very Special Sex-isode: OMGYes and The Hollywood Problem Jan 19, 2017

Show notes

This week on “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, Hazel Cills and Rachel Handler co-host a Very Special Sex-isode with Sybil Lockhart. Sybil is the lead researcher at OMGYes, a new site that works to demystify female sexuality through new research and in-depth interviews with real women. We ask Sybil how the site got started, how its founders hope to change the way women talk about and experience sexual pleasure, and how they located so many brave, real women willing to talk about and — quite literally — expose themselves and the details of their sexuality on camera. Later, we'll talk about The Hollywood Problem: the way women's sexuality is depicted (or not) in Hollywood, and why that's a problem for ladies trying to learn about how to have an actual orgasm in real life.

From Golden Globes To Goldie Hawn, And All The Dirty Beers In Between Jan 12, 2017

Show notes

This week on “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, Teo Bugbee, Hazel Cills and Rachel Handler talk about the madness that was this week's Golden Globes, airing our grievances with Hollywood's drunkest, most uncomfortable evening (dirty beers in South Sudan, anyone?). Later, we talk about our dream awards season, in a world where the entertainment industry appropriately recognizes projects by and about women and people of color and letting Casey Affleck suffocate inside his own beard. Finally, we answer a Lady Problem from Carly, a woman seeking a feminist club that isn't expensive or pretentious.

Good Girls Revolt’s Erin Darke Jan 05, 2017

Show notes

This week on “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, Teo Bugbee and Rachel Handler interview Erin Darke, star of the recently and inexplicably canceled Amazon series Good Girls Revolt. Teo and Rachel talk to Erin about the rare experience of working on a woman-centric show, why she thinks Good Girls Revolt was axed so suddenly despite its buzzy first season (hint: It has to do with a roomful of dudes), and the chances of the series being picked up by another network. Later, the three recall their favorite Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds performances, and answer a Lady Problem for a woman whose boyfriend has picked up a bizarre catchphrase.

The OA's Brit Marling Dec 22, 2016

Show notes

This week on “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, Hazel Cills and Rachel interview Brit Marling, the genius behind and star of Netflix's The OA. We talk to Brit about the innumerable interpretations of the show, her research on near-death experiences, her adoration for Maggie Nelson, choreographing The OA's "movements" with Ryan Heffington, and walking that fine line between vulnerability and schlock. Later, Teo Bugbee and Doreen St. Felix join Rachel and Hazel to very seriously discuss the most important question of the holiday season: Is Christmas Feminist???????

Variety's Mo Ryan Dec 15, 2016

Show notes

This week on “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, Hazel Cills and Rachel co-host alongside Variety's Chief TV Critic Mo Ryan. First, Mo chats about her recent, thought-provoking piece on the progress and pitfalls of TV's depiction of rape, including her thoughts on Game of Thrones's deluge of rape scenes and Jessica Jones's perspective-shifting treatment of trauma. We also discuss the internet's irritating reaction to Teen Vogue's scathing political op-ed. Later, we answer a Lady Problem for our coworker Holly, who cannot get over this THR article in which seven white dudes discuss race and gender.

Hubba Hubba, A Chat About Sex-Centric Movies Dec 08, 2016

Show notes

This week on “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, the OG trio — Rachel Handler, Hazel Cills, and Teo Bugbee — returns to co-host. We kick things off by unpacking the strange cultural response to two sex-centric movies in theaters now, Elle and The Handmaiden — specifically, the idea that all on-screen sex should be “realistic,” or representative of all sex, and the notion that female performers have zero agency when it comes to filming their own sex scenes. We also delve into this week’s controversial story about Bernardo Bertolucci and Maria Schneider and the rape scene in Last Tango in Paris. Later, Hazel shares how we can fuck with the Trump administration this week, and we all answer a Lady Problem for Jackie, who’s horrified by her co-workers’ politics.

Sophia Takal Talks Female Directors In Hollywood Dec 01, 2016

Show notes

This week on “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, Rachel Handler and Teo Bugbee interview filmmaker and actress Sophia Takal. We kick things off by interviewing Takal about her new movie, Always Shine, a psychological thriller that hits theaters this weekend and stars Mackenzie Davis and Caitlin FitzGerald as friends whose mutual jealousies and resentments bubble up during a weekend getaway to Big Sur. We also dig into this week’s Lady Problem — Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy’s assertion that there are no female directors ready to helm a Star Wars film — and talk to Takal about whether she’s ever experienced similar discrimination. Later, we introduce a new segment called “How to Fuck with the Trump Administration This Week,” then solve a Lady Problem for Nicole, who caught her aunt shit-talking about her over DM (!).

The New Trumpian Reality Nov 17, 2016

Show notes

This week on “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, Hazel Cills, Rachel Handler, Teo Bugbee, and MTV News's TV critic Inkoo Kang process the new Trumpian reality. We talking about how we're all feeling (...like shit), what we can do (volunteer, donate to orgs like Border Angels and the Brennan Center for Justice and Planned Parenthood), if and how we can engage or should engage the people in our lives who voted Trump, and what the role of art is in the coming revolution. Later, we solve a Lady Problem for our friend Elizabeth, an Asian-American woman who's grappling with how to engage with white women (a majority of whom voted for Trump) post-election.

Find Rachel, Hazel, and Teo on Twitter and say hi, and call us up with your Lady Problems at 205-677-5239 — yes, that is 205-677-LADY, and if you think we’re not going to remind people of that every single week, then you must not know Lady Problems.

Filmmaker Anna Biller Nov 10, 2016

Show notes

Rachel Handler and Leah Beckmann recorded this week's episode of “Lady Problems” before the election, in a simpler time when a violent, white supremacist, misogynist, xenophobic, KKK-backed, sexually predatory, unstable, dangerously unqualified demagogue was not yet our president. So while they don't spend the episode taking down Trump, rest assured that they'll verbally destroy him very soon. In the meantime, please enjoy their interview with Anna Biller, the director of a movie called The Love Witch, which, appropriately, is about a woman taking down the men who've mistreated her. Leah, Rachel, and Anna also talk about the relationship between art and politics, then solve a Lady Problem about boning and telling for a caller named Jessica.

Writer Soraya Roberts On Jordan Catalano And Tippi Hedren Nov 03, 2016

Show notes

This week on “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, Hazel Cills and Rachel Handler co-host the show with Soraya Roberts, longform culture writer and author of In My Humble Opinion: My So-Called Life, a book about the best show that has ever existed on this doomed planet. We spend a not-inconsequential amount of time debating whether or not Jordan Catalano is the ideal human mate, then talk about Tippi Hedren's new accusations against Alfred Hitchcock and how they illuminate what it means to be a powerful man's "muse." Later, we solve a Lady Problem for Kelsey, whose boss wants her to smile more.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Lady Problems

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Lady Problems

Related Podcasts

1

2

3

4

5

6