Ultra Pop Culture

Prince famously wanted to party like it's 1999, but did the year really live up to the hype? Today we go back in time to the last year of the 20th century, reviewing the chart music of the day, as performed on Top of the Pops at the time (re-runs of these old shows are broadcast every Friday evening on BBC4 and can be found on the iPlayer). In this episode, we'll be talking boy bands (Boyzone, Wes...

Join us for a special World Cup-themed episode as we discuss 'Three Lions' by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds, released 30 years ago for Euro 1996. As we contemplate sixty years of hurt, we discuss the song's iconic 'it's coming home' hook, Britpop vibes and 60s-tinged sound. Is it the song's nostalgic sense of sentimentality that makes it so enduring? And why do so many peopl...

Is Lena Dunham the voice of our generation? That's our question for today, as we trace her extraordinary career from her origins as the precocious young writer and director of indie film Tiny Furniture to her award-winning, era-defining HBO show Girls , which brought her instant stardom that quickly turned to notoriety, controversy and a retreat from fame for several years due to chronic illness a...

Last Saturday was the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. All around the world, Eurovision fans tuned in to enjoy glitzy party pop, fiery ballads and theatrical staging. This year we enjoyed an Italian disco wedding (Sal Da Vinci), a Greek man dressed as a cat (Akylas), a somewhat underwhelming silver man from Lithuania (Lion Ceccah) and some very patriotic Moldovans (Satoshi). As is...

Today we're talking about Stranger Things Season 3, released in 2019. We discuss the show's pivot from paranoid retro conspiracy thriller to colourful all-American blockbuster, packed with zombie newspaper men, possessed rats and comic Russians. Join us as we talk (amongst many other things) about Steve's sailor suit, shameless product placement and Dacre Montgomery's magnetic performance as the s...

In 2024 the world was promised a rat boy summer by the media. This was supposed to be a glorious season of celebration for everyone's favourite rat boys, or 'hot rodent boyfriends': young attractive male celebrities with sharp features and bags of personality. Celebs like Jeremy Allen White and Josh O'Connor were (and still are) box-office gold, and high-profile rat boy films like Challengers were...

After watching the finale, we decided to go back and rewatch Stranger Things Season 2, which came out in 2017. Here, we talk about our verdict on the season. We also discuss the 'paranoid style' in American film and TV, and where Stranger Things fits within a history of US conspiracy thrillers, from The Conversation in the 70s to The X-Files in the 90s. We also chat about whether Stranger Things i...

In 2028 the world will be treated to the Beatles films (directed by Sam Mendes): a 'four-film cinematic event' telling the story of each of the four Beatles. In this episode, we share our takes on the casting for the films, which will feature Harris Dickinson as John, Paul Mescal as Paul, Joseph Quinn as George, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo. We talk about Harris Dickinson's turn as a sexy intern in...

Lily Allen's explosive album West End Girl hit the headlines last autumn. Join us in the dojo, where we share our carefully considered opinions on the scandal, the sensation and the banging, banging tunes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our inaugural episode, we talk about the (somewhat controversial) final season of Stranger Things. Did the show retain its original magic until the end? Or did it limp on and die a slow and painful death? Join us to find out what we think. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.