Informed Attraction

This week, Mackenna and Aubrey were both busy researching our next two big series, so we decided to do a chiller episode about the summer reality TV shows they've been watching. Mackenna takes us Below Deck to figure out what the hell a "chief stew" is and Aubrey is getting her GTL on at the Jersey Shore.  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she/her; @hof...

Today, Mackenna and Aubrey begin a yearly tradition of making a bracket (with input from you! the audience!) to decide what the hottest [blank] is. This year, they're talking on the leaders of the "free world:" the Presidents of the United States of America (the politicians, not the band!) There are... more musical theatre references than you might think and none of them are Hamilton. We talk a lo...

This week, we are joined by Mackenna's friend Erin Donnelly to talk about what the heck a fujoshi is. We talk through the history of BL manga and anime and cover some hits of the genre like Banana Fish, Given, Yuri on Ice, and more. Plus, Aubrey and Erin get to fujo out about Ouran High School Host Club.  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she/her; @hoff...

This week, Mackenna and Aubrey begin their discussion of slash fiction, starting with two examples of real boys who fans really wanted to see kiss: Ryan Ross and Brendon Urie (aka Ryden) and Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles (aka Larry Stylinson.) Also, Mackenna derails the whole thing by talking about Dan and Phil.  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she...

This week, Mackenna and Aubrey talk about one blonde British vampire: Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They talk about his successful redemption arc, followed up by one of the most bizarre character decisions of all time by one Mr. Joss Whedon.  TW: discussions of sexual violence (43:50-1:15:15) Also, we get spoiler-y about How I Met Your Mother and Game of Thrones towards the end! (And obviou...

This week, Mackenna and Aubrey talk redemption arcs and continue delving into why people find themselves drawn to male villains. But more than all of that, Aubrey absolutely baffles Mackenna with a look into the Church of Snapeism aka women online who worship Severus Snape as a god?????? Hello??? Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she/her; @hoff.phd) Log...

If you couldn't tell by the title, we're reading fanfiction this one! This week, we dive into the question of "why do a lot of women on the Internet get sexually obsessed with evil characters in media?" And we're popping off with Rumplestiltskin from ABC's Once Upon a Time.  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she/her; @hoff.phd) Logo design: Freya Sierra...

It's done. Mackenna is finally free. This week, she presents Aubrey with a buffet of Tucci content and they talk about an absolute smorgasboard of film and TV, including The Devil Wears Prada, The Lovely Bones, The Hunger Games, and whatever the hell Space Chimps is. Also, they watch the famous negroni video together.  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (...

WE FINALLY GOT A BALD TUCCI. This week, we talk about a loooooooot of rom-coms that are fine and one movie that is very good! We also have a discussion about what attractiveness research has to say about bald and balding men. Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she/her; @hoff.phd) Logo design: Freya Sierra Theme Music: Josh Capati Send us an email at info...

We're back and going deeper INTO THE TUCCIVERSE to talk about Stanley Tucci's indie movie phase. In the 90s, he was doing all kinds of wacky stuff before becoming the hot dad / horrific jester we know and love today. So join us to talk about some epic highs (namely, The Daytrippers) and some epic lows (namely, Mackenna finally had to watch a Woody Allen movie).  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/t...

Mackenna and Aubrey are going INTO THE TUCCIVERSE as Mackenna watches through Stanley Tucci's filmography. We want to investigate how Stanley Tucci established his gigantic career and his status as a sexy, sexy man. However, this week, Mackenna mostly watched a lot of bad TV from the 80s and 90s.  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she/her; @hoff.phd) Lo...

It's the Super Bowl, baby! We have a serious episode about the complications of being a femme fan of the NFL and a DEEPLY SERIOUS episode where Aubrey chooses the football team she will root for for the rest of her life in the most scientific way possible: by deciding which quarterback is the hottest. And, you all finally get to meet Bryce! Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr...

This week, we got a one-off episode about Randy Marsh! Randy is a character from the adult animated sitcom South Park. He is the most prominent parent on the show and Stan's father. And, as Aubrey would say, there's an allure... This episode also features a discussion of how the heck is attraction is formed in the first place as well as the power of the dad bod.   Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she...

This week, Mackenna and Aubrey are joined by their friend, India Rose Chudnow, who works in the design space and is also just a delight. Aubrey and India watched two episodes of What Not To Wear for this week's episode: Nancy, an Irish step dancing teacher with the best attitude and no sense of style, and Denise, a Super Cute and Blonde flight attendant who loooooves a themed outifit and a poof. T...

This week, Mackenna and Aubrey talk about one of Mackenna's favorite shows from childhood: What Not To Wear. Mackenna explains the structure of the show and how it enforced an extremely specific aesthetic. Also, they reminisce about Stitch Fix and Charming Charlie.  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she/her; @hoff.phd) Logo design: Freya Sierra Theme Mu...

This week, Mackenna and Aubrey conclude their discussion of Rosie O'Donnell by discussing her heated debate about the Iraq War with Elisabeth Hasselbeck on The View and... her longstanding "feud" with Donald Trump. All in all, this episode is really about one question: is it okay to publicly bully someone for their appearance over the course of 20 years because you don't like them?  Hosted by: Mac...

Happy New Year! This week, Aubrey clarifies for Mackenna that Rosie O'Donnell is not Roseanne Barr. However, that doesn't mean she's perfect! Aubrey details the first half of Roseanne's career and our two little guys discuss whether Rosie's crimes are worth the vitriol she received from all corners of the media, including from ye olde Donald Trump himself.  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they;...

In this more relaxed episode (which I'm calling a Bottle Episode, welcome, new episode format just dropped), Mackenna and Aubrey talk about some of their favorite 2025 movie releases, as well what might scoop up some Oscars this year. PLEASE BE WARNED: there aren't spoilers for most of the movies we describe in the episode, but we do spoil aspects of Eenie Meanie (spoilers from 6:27-7:00), Ready o...

Mackenna and Aubrey cover the rest of The Santa Clause films and the more recent TV series. Let's learn about the history of Mrs. Clause and listen to Mackenna struggle to remember plot points of a TV show she found boring! (And yes, we do eventually realize that it is The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause and not... The Santa Clause 2: The Escape Clause but... give us about 35 minutes.)  Hosted b...

This week, Mackenna and Aubrey are joined by A.J. Ditty of The Worst of All Possible Worlds to discuss the 1994 film The Santa Clause. In this episode they dare to posit: is The Santa Clause a body horror?  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she/her; @hoff.phd) Guest: A.J. Ditty (he/him; @thefuzzymaskedman) Check out A.J.’s podcast here ! Logo design: Fr...

This week, Mackenna and Aubrey conclude their discussion of Joe Rogan and his influence on the young male mind. They also pop off about other men in this podcasting space and investigate why so many dudes think women are lying about not prefering the "alpha male" body. UPDATE: This episode had some audio issues at the beginning, but they have been resolved! Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they;...

This week, Mackenna and Aubrey start a two-part discussion on how the hell did Joe Rogan go from a slacker stoner stand-up comedian to a man who has sway over who wins presidential elections? We will relate this to the alpha male manosphere aesthetic and how it really is all for the boys.  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she/her; @hoff.phd) Logo desig...

Mackenna might be taking things too seriously again! This week, she galaxy brains out about how current trends in plastic surgery - amongst both Hollywood elite and alt-right politicans - reflect the rise of fascism in the United States. But first, a walkthrough of the history of plastic surgery trends in the US and Aubrey dunks on her brother for bullying children at pickleball.  P.S. There was i...

This week, Mackenna and Aubrey discuss the growing prevalence of "tweakments," i.e. minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, like fillers or Botox, and how they are impacting acting. In addition, they both fangirl heavy about The Substance.  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she/her; @hoff.phd) Logo design: Freya Sierra Theme Music: Josh Capati Send us a...

Aubrey discusses the epic highs and lows of insurance mascots i.e. all the mascots are cool, but insurance is irreparably evil. And Mackenna takes us on a tangent about drinking culture.  Hosted by: Mackenna Goodrich (she/they; @mack3nna) and Dr. Aubrey Hoffer, PHd (she/her; @hoff.phd) Logo design: Freya Sierra Theme Music: Josh Capati Send us an email at informedattraction@gmail.com