Poptarts

Latest Episodes:

Poptarts Episode 90: JD Samson! Aug 29, 2020

Show notes

Feminist electropunk artist JD Samson has been a favorite of ours here at BUST Magazine since she first appeared on our cover with her band Le Tigre in 2002. Since then, she has traveled the world both with that band and with her other band MEN, creating socially conscious anthems we can all dance to and proving to fans and skeptics alike that feminism can actually be fun. Her new band, Crickets—which she formed with her pals Michael O'Neill (MEN, Princess) and Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen/Nastie Band)—has released a series of singles and a multimedia collaborative art project leading up to the release of their self-titled debut full length which came out July 17 on Muddguts Records. It is weird and stripped down and moody and bouncy and perfect for your next socially distant dance party. In this episode of BUST’s Poptarts Podcast, JD reveals how becoming a queer sex symbol made her grapple with her own “toxic masculinity,” she gets real about money, and we parse the power of her iconic stache.

Poptarts Episode 89: Bob the Drag Queen! Aug 07, 2020

Show notes

Bob the Drag Queen first rose to prominence as the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 and since that time, he has been using his huge platform to not only become a major name in standup comedy but also to become a powerful voice for LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement. His HBO series We’re Here features Bob alongside fellow Drag Race alums Shangela and Eureka traveling to small towns across America to help create support systems and communities for isolated queer folks by putting on drag shows. And during pride month, Bob organized a massive online event called the Black Queer Town Hall and made headlines by encouraging other members of the drag community to stand up as allies for the protest movement that emerged in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Bob’s HBO show and new comedy special Bob the Drag Queen: Live at Caroline’s, have been so uplifting to so many during quarantine and in this inspiring episode of BUST’s Poptarts Podcast, he talks about his rise to fame, fills us in on his activism, and advises us on how to relate to our Republican elders.

Poptarts Episode 88: Comedian Judy Gold! Jul 24, 2020

Show notes

A legendary stand-up comedian, Judy Gold was one of the first out lesbians in the business and she has been making people laugh on stage, on TV, and as an author for almost 40 years. She won two Daytime Emmys for her work as a writer and producer on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, she’s had stand-up specials on HBO, Comedy Central, and LOGO, and she’s had two hit Off-Broadway shows. Now, Gold is hosting the podcast Kill Me Now and her new book, YES, I CAN SAY THAT: When They Come for the Comedians We Are All In Trouble comes out July 28, 2020. In this hilarious episode of BUST’s Poptarts Podcast, she takes on cancel culture, gets real about sexism in comedy, and we compare our Jewish mothers.

Poptarts Episode 87: En Vogue's Terry Ellis! Jul 13, 2020

Show notes

As a founding member of the chart-topping ‘90s R&B girl group En Vogue, Terry Ellis and her three bandmates are recognized as being among the highest grossing American girl groups in history, selling over 20 million albums and racking up over 30 million streams. Their hits, “Hold On,” “Free Your Mind,” “Never Gonna Get It,” “Giving Him Something He Can Feel,” “Don’t Let Go,” and “Whatta Man featuring Salt-N-Pepa” are instant portals to whatever lives we were living in the 1990s and have all become karaoke classics. More recently, Ellis made headlines this past Juneteenth when she released a solo single, “Angry Black Woman,” a powerful protest anthem that articulates the pain and rage Americans feel after decades of seeing Black citizens being victimized by racist police officers. In this episode of BUST’s Poptarts podcast, Ellis talks about her new song “Angry Black Woman,” reveals why Luther Vandross spent months torturing En Vogue in 1993, shares her passion for paper crafts, and more!

Poptarts Episode 86: The Go-Go's Kathy Valentine! Jun 26, 2020

Show notes

As bassist for iconic band The Go-Go’s, Kathy Valentine and her girl gang became the first multi-platinum-selling, all-female band to play their own instruments, write their own songs, and have a number one album. Their 1981 debut Beauty and the Beat, spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard charts and featured the hit songs “We Got the Beat,” and “ Our Lips are Sealed,” and Valentine wrote the band’s subsequent hits “Vacation” and “Head Over Heels.” This past April, she debuted All I Ever Wanted: A Rock and Roll Memoir as well as a supercool original soundtrack based on the book. The book is bursting with raucous girl-powered sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but is also heroically honest, with chapters detailing childhood trauma, sexual assault, and struggles with addiction. In this episode of BUST’s Poptarts podcast she describes the rise and fall of her boundary-breaking band in riveting detail, answers all our probing questions about groupies, and shares her memory from touring that remains her “biggest regret.”

Poptarts Episode 85: Arrested Development's Judy Greer! Jun 12, 2020

Show notes

A seasoned character actor with impeccable comic timing, Judy Greer is probably best known for her role as Kitty Sanchez on "Arrested Development." (“Say goodbye to these!”) She’s also appeared in plenty of girl-culture classics, including "13 Going on 30," "27 Dresses," and the very feminist 2018 reboot of "Halloween." Her latest project—which she both executive produced and stars in—is an episode of "Into The Dark," a Blumhouse produced horror anthology series that premieres a feature-film-length episode every month tied to a holiday. The show is now in its second season, and Greer anchors a film called "Good Boy" tied to Pet Appreciation Week that airs June 12 on Hulu. On this episode of BUST’s "Poptarts" podcast, Greer discusses her extensive history of being flashed, shares our love of woman-centric horror, and shares how hard it currently is to get a copy of "White Fragility" in L.A.

Poptarts Episode 84: Talking About Race Jun 07, 2020

Show notes

In solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and in the effort to #AmplifyMelanatedVoices , this special episode of the Poptarts podcast is a deep dive led by Black BUST staffers into the recent activist uprising taking place around the country in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. BUST’s Digital Editorial Director Bry’onna Mention (@radsadblackbry) and Poptarts Producer Logan del Fuego (@lusciouslogan13) shape the discussion while addressing sources for reliable news, explaining the realities of being Black in America, and debating their hopes and fears for what will come about as a result of this watershed moment. The theme music for this episode is a remix by Logan del Fuego of a song posted online by 12-year-old @KeedronBryant.

Poptarts Episode 83: Insecure's Yvonne Orji May 29, 2020

Show notes

Comedian and actor Yvonne Orji is best known for her role as Molly on HBO’s “Insecure” and her film credits include “Night School” and the upcoming “Vacation Friends.” She co-hosts the critically acclaimed podcast “Jesus and Jollof,” with her pal Luvvie Ajayi, and her upcoming book “Bamboozled by Jesus: How God Tricked Me Into the Life of My Dreams” will hit shelves next year. Her first hour-long HBO comedy special, “MOMMA, I MADE IT,” comes out June 6 and it is super funny and touching and women in particular will love it. In this episode of BUST’s “Poptarts” podcast, she gets real about her immigrant identity, her decision to save sex for marriage, and that BIG fight between Molly and Issa on “Insecure.”

Poptarts Episode 82: The Runaways' Cherie Currie! May 15, 2020

Show notes

As the legendary front-woman of the Runaways, Cherie Currie and her teen bandmates Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Sandy West, and Jackie Fox exploded out of L.A. in 1975 and became the first American, all-girl rock band to make it big. She put out two studio albums and one live album with the Runaways and created an absolute frenzy in Japan before calling it quits in 1977. Since then, Currie has never stopped creating, putting out seven more studio albums as a solo artist, with her twin sister Marie, and more recently with Brie Darling from Fanny. And now, her new album, Blvds of Splendor—a tour de force featuring collabs with Billy Corgan, Slash, Matt Sorum, Duff McKagan, Juliette Lewis, Brody Dalle, and the Veronicas— is being unleashed on a world that desperately needs to rock and it’s a total winner. On this episode of BUST’s Poptarts podcast, she opens up about celibacy, chainsaws, communicating with ghosts, and more!

Poptarts Episode 81: Yoga Superstar Jessamyn Stanley! May 01, 2020

Show notes

Jessamyn Stanley is an award-winning yoga instructor, intersectional activist, and founder of The Underbelly virtual yoga studio app who first rose to fame in 2012 through her Instagram posts showing her doing high-level yoga as a plus-size woman of color. Self-identifiying online as a "queer fat femme," she’s helped coax legions of women who previously felt alienated by the privileged, skinny, white world of yoga into the practice along with her. And now she’s one of the most influential yoga personalities working today. We featured Jessamyn in BUST in 2017 when her book Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear, Get On the Mat, Love Your Body came out, and now we’re thrilled to have her on BUST’s Poptarts podcast, where she talks about overcoming crass commercialization, bias, and fitness industry fuckery to become the star she is today.

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