Low Culture Boil

Team LCB takes you on a candy corn journey including its production, the history of trick or treating, candy's role in stranger danger, candy corn innovations (including pizza), and giving Amber lots of shit for genuinely liking this stuff. Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

It's time for another dive into the trash treasures that the LCB gals have been enjoying. Rax and Amber talk haunted hay rides, marsupial tattoos, shitty-but-not-shitty coffee, and, of course, a reading from "Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask". Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

Rax and Amber welcome comedian and podcaster Dana Donnelly to talk the selfie, a phenomenon dating back to at least the 1840s. Since the advent of the smart phone, social media users have been practicing this much-maligned form of art. But is that just it— are selfies a return to the self-portrait, a new artistic medium in their own right, or are they a gateway drug to a world of body dysmorphia a...

Special guest Producer Jake joins Courtney and Amber to muse on the brief moment in the early 70s where a bunch of Brits (and a few Americans) lost their minds and donned a bunch of glitter, boas, and, occasionally, swastikas. That's right, we're talking Glam Rock today, and though it's largely a genre defined by what it was NOT, there's plenty of trash gold to mine in this sprawling conversation....

Charles Entertainment Cheese was a legendary figure in the Bay Area animatronic music scene of the late 70s, but children of the 90s worldwide know him best as a purveyor of arcade games, giant playgrounds, and supremely mediocre pizza. Amber and Courtney do a deep (dish) dive into the Pong-based history of Chuck E Cheese, including the controversial reboot wherein his origin story has him change...

Multi-level marketing company or pyramid scheme? When your product is moldy and crumbling at the touch, that might be a dead giveaway. LuLaRoe's dog shit leggings have taken over many an Instagram feed, but Rax and Courtney did serious research (read: watched a documentary) and break down what exactly is so alluring about such lifestyle brands. Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultu...

Who would've thought turning a depressing croon about drowning your sorrows in margaritas into a resort was a good idea? Jimmy Buffett, that's who. Jaya Saxena took on the mission of a night in Times Square's Margaritaville resort and Rax and Amber are on the low culture mission to dissect the details. Along the way, the gals muse on how Americans engage with leisure time, who exactly this resort...

At various points, camp icon Elvira found herself in Vegas with Elvis, Rome with Fellini, LA with the Groundlings, and finally her own TV show. Team LCB talks her persona, the long and winding road to B movie presenter, the trauma she had to overcome, and how she fits into the greater trash universe. Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

Wherever you stand on revealing attire, all bets are off on Hallows Eve. The slutty costume is a staple for many an upstanding citizen, but for many years it was an unnamed phenomenon. When and how did costumer become openly self-aware? Was it Halloween parades, ABC parties, the movie Mean Girls? Or maybe the large-scale commodification of the holiday helped usher in the trend? The three Low Cultu...

It's time again for another patented LCB Dumpster Dive, this time hosted by Courtney and Amber. We're talkin' Courtney's Low Rent Chicken Parm for the People, Mr. L. Ron Hubbard, the white women's flavor of the season (pumpkin, in spice and wax form), Ray Romano-esque partners, and more! Check out the video for the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-5NSbYzIcg&t=1s

Though not actually in reference to one particular breed, the pit bull is easily the most maligned dog in America. Friend of the pod and new pit bull parent Amber A'Lee Frost joins Amber and Courtney to discuss our burly, barking buddies, including their rural origins, period as a national mascot, working class identity, and some overdue myth-busting

Who would've thought turning a depressing croon about drowning your sorrows in margaritas into a resort was a good idea? Jimmy Buffett, that's who. Jaya Saxena took on the mission of a night in Times Square's Margaritaville resort and Rax and Amber are on the low culture mission to dissect the details. Check out Jaya's article here: https://bit.ly/3B34USV Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.c...

The food court isn't quite a regal affair, but you sure can eat like royalty. The three trash queens talk the greatest and worst places to grab a bite between trips to Spencer's and Hot Topic—Auntie Anne's, Mrs. Field's, even Orange Julius. (What the hell is an Orange Julius?) What would Mall Daddy™ Victor Gruen say gazing upon these mastication stations? Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.c...

The biopic is supposed to be a reliable cinematic affair, with a smooth narrative arc showing our subject prevailing through various trials and tribulations. Sure, it has a puritan morality, but that's ol' Hollywood! Rax and Sean KB happened to watch some of the biggest biopics out there— including the disastrous Jobs and enjoyable, but problematic Bohemian Rhapsody— and go in on the formula perha...

We've all been there— Vats of mayo, jugs of wine, giant trampolines, caskets. That's right, Courtney and Amber take you into the heart of the wholesale behemoth itself: Costco. Learn about the family Price (no, really), Kirkland's TP lab, supposed pro-worker bona fides, and a breakdown of the glorious food court. Check out the episode vid! https://youtu.be/o07N23Gvy8o Become a trash patron today!...

Our first live show in Brooklyn finds the gang asking the big question: Are hot dogs a sandwich? Things get rowdy when the gals are joined by Matt Christman and Josh Gondelman to muse on these treats' classification, their respective histories, and their status regarding Jewish law.    Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil 

Videographer and podcaster Molly Mary O'Brien ( @missmollymary ) joins a lone Amber to talk up the mean girl of bottled water: Evian. Plastic might be destroying the planet, but we're talking vibes, and you don't need a boutique bottle with a crystal in it to feel em. Take a sip of this ambrosia from the south shores of Lake Geneva and hydrate like French nobility.  Check out Molly's music crit po...

"Comrade Pamela" might be a newer phenomenon, but that's just us catching up. LCB goes into the background of Pam Anderson, from her humble beginnings, to Baywatch glory, to PETA activism and Wikileaks advocacy. And can we forgive her for her anti-porn essay? Become a trash patron today! www.patreon.com/lowcultureboil

At one time it was offering a lock of hair to the goddess Artemis..Now it's penis pasta. That's right, the woman's rite of passage to married life—manifesting these days as the Bachelorette Party— has taken on many forms through the years. But how did we get to phallic hats, pedaling a mobile bar through the streets of Nashville? Team LCB is on the case of the proliferating penisphernalia plaguing...

The gals go into their trash picks of the month, both good and bad. We're talking Real Housewives embezzlement, elusive rice cookers, Mickey Spillane's sex-on-the-page, and of course more sage hygienic advice from Dr. Rubin.   Don't forget to get tix ASAP to our first live show August 27th! http://bit.ly/lcb827   Become a trash patron today! patreon.com/lowcultureboil

Comedian/podcaster Remy Kassimir joins the crew to talk one of the most powerful reality shows: Love Island. With a firm allegiance to the original UK version, Remy takes us through the trials and tribulations of various LI characters, her failed venture into internet domain trolling, and why she considers it one of the most interesting anthropological and heteronormative experiments  seen on live...

In our first video-cum-podcast episode, Courtney and Amber take a leap of faith for our coiled comrade: the trampoline. From the mind of an Iowan teen, to military training facilities, and finally to the Olympic games, this bouncy behemoth is a trash game for millions while destroying the collar bones of millions more.   Check out the episode video: https://youtu.be/6psrTgugg2o   Become a trash pa...

Though it's become "horny Colonial Williamsburg" in modern times, the Moulin Rouge cabaret is classic late 19th century trash culture. Home to the the absinthe-soaked panels of Toulouse Lautrec, cancan dancers donning crotchless panties, and the eponymous red windmill, this was THE spot for the rich to slum it during La Belle Époque.   Don't forget to grab your tickets for the first LIVE LCB show...

Author Calvin Kasulke temporarily loses his mind beholding the spectacle Moulin Rouge (2001) with Team LCB. The crew struggles to determine whether this qualifies as genuine "camp", muses on Nicole Kidman's comedic chops, seeks justice for John Leguizamo, and almost has a seizure counting the number of cuts in this manic pastiche.  Follow Calvin on Twitter @cjkasulke and pre-order his novel "Sever...

Bask in the glory of a baroque buffet with Team LCB and writer/podcaster Sarah York, who helps the crew reminisce on the 90s spreads found at Golden Corral. From its inception as a rejected North Carolina steakhouse situated in a former library, this chain has been dedicated to helping every American eat like a king. Become a trash patron now! patreon.com/lowcultureboil