Sentimental Garbage

If I should stay, I would only get in your way. Caroline and Irenosen Okojie get extremely giddy about The Bodyguard, arguably the best date movie of all time. We talk about the tragic history of Whitney, the power of sister relationships in art, and the psychological weight of assassinations within contemporary culture. Irenosen is the author of several books, including the most recent Nudibranch...

How did ANTM become one of the most influential reality shows of all time? Caroline and Juno bond over their shared love of this pioneering reality series, its absurd lens on the modelling industry, and the competitors who have stuck in our brains for well over a decade at this stage. We also find out what, exactly, makes fashion photographer Nigel Barker so *noted* Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...

It's 1997 and Bridget Jones is navigating New Labour, the sudden death of Princess Diana, and her on-again off-again relationship with the elusive Mark Darcy. Caroline and novelist Ayisha Malik discuss why Helen Fielding remains one of the greatest comic novelists of the 20th century (and yours, Mrs Townsend, are quite good too),as well as the everlasting and occasionally frustrating thick behavio...

Super Trouper Zoe Terakes has brought Mamma Mia to the garbage dump and is ready to celebrate it for the mad camp wonderland it truly is. We talk about how Mamma Mia rejects patriarchal frameworks, whether or not Sophie is in the middle of twelve steps, our love of Pierce Brosnan, and the high lesbian energy coming off Does Your Mother Know. This episode is sponsored by Nine Perfect Strangers, ava...

Rebecca Taylor of Self Esteem (formerly Slow Club) talks about how Drag Race literally dragged her out of a dark post-break up depression and helped redefine her musical persona. We gush unabashedly about how this show changed our lives, admit to reading the Reddit and confess to drag queen sex dreams. There's also a preview of her new single, HOW CAN I HELP YOU, at the very end, so stay tune...

We're back with season 8 and TV presenter Muireann O'Connell is making the case for award season red carpets being a competitive sport in their own right. We talk about Joan Rivers and Fashion Police, the questionable feminism of judging professionals on how they look in formal wear, the risks and rewards of the red carpet, and Muireann's very own revenge dress. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

There's a whole new season of Sentimental Garbage on the way! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was edited by Caroline O'Donoghue, mixed by Hannah Varrall, with music by Harry Harris and artwork by Gavin Day. Dolly Alderton is the author of two books, Everything I Know About Love and Ghosts. Caroline O'Donoghue is the author of Promising Young Women and Scenes of a Graphic Nature. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the movie!!! And it's... not as good as we remember! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the winter of this content, and we're debating Aleksandr Petrovsky (call me Bob) so hard that it risks ending our friendship entirely. We discuss the Paris episodes, the infamous demise of Lexi Featherstone, the Wizard of Oz journey each of the girls go on, and the astounding fashion of the final few episodes. We're back for the movies and a Q&A soon, if you want to join in, email us on s...

What does Charlotte do all day? We finally have the answer and it's Judaism. We go hell for leather on Jack Berger, fall in love with Smith the baby chick and discuss the Post-It heard around the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the FIRST class sleeper? Put on your visor and trapeze dress, it's time for the big bag of fun that is season five. We talk about Atlantic City, big wing woman energy, how everyone must open for a dog eventually, the continued comedic genius of Chris Noth, the FINAL act of the MacDougalls Are Coming For Supper, the dangers of falling for Jack Berger and the inspiring self-love of Harry Gol...

Don't you bring that cardboard baby in here! This week we're coming into Season 4 with tears, and the firm knowledge that CABS ARE BULLLSSSSH*T. We discuss the comic chops of Chris Noth, the confusing friendship of Aidan and Steve, the great When Harry Met Sally drama that never was, and we go very deep on the financial awkwardness of friendship. We praise the hugely under-sung Walker Lewis and wo...

Take your seats, turn off your phones, it's time to settle in for the National Theatre's presentation of THE MCDOUGALLS ARE COMING FOR SUPPER and there will be no intermission. This week we discuss everyone's favourite members of the Scottish-American aristocracy, Aidan and the affair, and the general neglect of dogs in this season. We also discuss how and why this is Sex and the City's most probl...

It's season two and the hair is great, the clothes are even better, and Mr Big is fundamentally depressing. We argue that season two of Sex and the City is Miranda's Season as twenty episodes of sexual humiliation threatens to break her, until she's given the greatest meet-cute in the show's history. We profess our love for Steve Brady, investigate class in Britain as well as in the show, and diss...

This week, we're kicking off our Sex and the City mini-series with our discussion of the character arcs and themes (take a drink) of season one. After a round dismissal of the pilot episode (abso-f*cking-who-cares?) we get right into the meat of The Valley of 20-Something Guys, where we re-enact the infamous taxi scene that landed the tone of the whole series, dissect the cultural practice of Carr...

It's the first ever Sentimental Garbage mini-series: a big basket of episodes about Sex and the City! In this mini-series, author Dolly Alderton joins me as we spend each episode discussing every season of the TV show Sex and the City for the great American novel it truly is. This is not an episode by episode analysis but a look at each season as an individual piece of work, where we discuss the t...

Sophfronia Scott re-imagination of Dangerous Liaisons set in the Harlem Renaissance is sexy, surprising and so entertaining that we're willing to forgive the baseball references. Author of IF I DON'T HAVE YOU Sareeta Domingo talks us through her love for a book that, despite only coming out in 2017, has already earned a cult classic status. Be prepared for moustache-twirling, hand-rubbing, god-fea...

Ciao bella! It's our second Maeve Binchy-cast of the season, with returning guest Sarah Maria Griffin. It’s the dawn of the Celtic Tiger in early nineties Ireland, and Nora O’Donoghue, or Signora, is returning home after over 20 years away. Having spent her youth in Sicily, in love with a married man, she has returned with no money, no friends and no prospects. She begins teaching italian at Mount...

Get your Kelly bag and your load-bearing beams ready, this week we're talking about Diane Johnson's Le Divorce with real-life American Girl in Paris, Fiona Zublin! Isabel Walker is a young, bored film school graduate who has decamped to Paris to help her older sister Roxy, with her second pregnancy. Upon her arrival she discovers that Roxy has just been left by her French husband, Charles-Henri fo...

Merry Christmas everyone! Usually this time of year, you’d be in your childhood bedroom, re-reading the books that got you through primary school. This year, a lot of us can’t go home this Christmas, but there’s still every reason to revisit the books that made life better when you were nine. It might even make life better now? Caroline and occasional co-host Ella Risbridger talk about childhood r...

Best-selling romance novelist and Yorkshire lass Milly Johnson talks to us about her biggest writing inspiration, Catherine Cookson. If you haven't read Cookson's books, you've almost certainly seen one of her many, maaaaaaany costume dramas that have been adapted for TV, probably while sick with chicken box circa 1998. We discuss Cookson's first novel, The Fifteen Streets, which tells the story o...

It's the best-selling fictional oral history about your favourite 70s rock band that never existed! This week, Caroline and writer/musician Tom McInnes deconstruct last year's big sun lounger surprise hit, Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. We talk about the advantages and shortcomings of the unusual format, the competing narratives of the book, the difference between literary twists...

Don't even act like you don't know her. This week we talk about the diva of all divas, Mariah Carey with author of The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney, Okechukwu Nzelu. Stay tuned for Tommy Mottola, that TRL appearance, and Mariah's surprisingly incisive takes on mental illness and cycles of abuse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back after a long break with our first Jackie Collins episode, with the one and only Jessie Burton! Jessie's debut novel The Miniaturist became a global bestseller and has since been followed up with the highly feted The Muse and The Confession, along with The Restless Girls, a novel for children. Here she talks about Jackie Collins as the patron saint of Authors Who Like Nice Things, and we...