The Take

You may have noticed a look being celebrated among many female characters and actors in movies and TV––the “wide-eyed girl” look. And it’s not just you; people have been doting on the look for ages. I Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Looking back on The Wire now, we can see how Marlo Stanfield’s ability to make a very bad state of affairs even worse conveys an important, timeless message: just because things feel like they can’t get worse, doesn’t mean that’s true. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anna Nicole Smith is getting the Marilyn and Pamela treatment – the once-vilified voluptuous blonde is now getting reframed to embody the 'glamorous yet tragic' arc. But, why do we keep repeating this tragic revolution, and is there any lesson in Anna Nicole's story about how to stop the deja vu? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Netflix’s Bridgerton and spin-off Queen Charlotte blend of fact and fiction to tell an engaging story about then and now... So what’s the real history behind the fascinating Queen Charlotte and how does it line up with the series? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Succession's final showdown is coming into sight: it’s Kendall versus Shiv for the crown, while Roman completes his spectacular self-destructive fall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many differences have you caught between the 1989 Disney animated The Little Mermaid and the modern live action remake? Today we're taking a closer look at the details to see what’s different between these two stories of Ariel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No, it’s not just you. TV and movies are getting darker. So…why? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nepotism doesn’t always flow from parent to child – there are nepo parents, nepo partners, even nepo friends. While we’re quick to point out nepotism, are we forgetting about the importance of collaboration, & the inspiration that creators derive from their close ones? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At first, Unforgiven might just look like another old-school Western, but it also challenges the genre of the Western and the black-and-white idea of a Western hero. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you’ve probably seen modern neo-Westerns that stand on the shoulders of the revival this movie kicked off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fashion today is veering in one of two directions: on one end of the spectrum is "hobocore," and on the other is the "old money" aesthetic. Here’s why these class-crossing fashion trends are so in right now, what their histories are, and their biggest problems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scandoval: It’s got fan theories. It’s got lawsuits. It’s got brawls. And it’s got everyone’s attention. What makes this Vanderpump Rules scandal different from the endless reality tv gossip flooding social media? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our post-truth age, have conspiracy theories got more power than ever? Here’s our take on the current climate of conspiracy theories, how the lines between fact and fiction have become more blurred than ever, and the danger of living in a culture where trust is hard to come by. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel Radcliffe has pretty much defied all expectations people had for him as a child star. He's grown into a mature dad and respected actor by embracing his weird side. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the aftermath of the Coronation, do Harry and Meghan need to repair their relationship with the Royals, go full Hollywood, or take an Entrepreneur route? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For nearly two decades the seemingly invincible MCU has dominated the cinematic release schedule, but some cracks are showing in their audience response... So what's really going on? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are our standards for celebrity-privacy that low, that we’re shocked if a celebrity has *anything* in their life they're not broadcasting to the paparazzi? Today we’re so primed to expect famous people to share everything, we get blindsided when they still have secrets. But a striking celebrity “trend” today is the subtle clawing back of privacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...

Has splitting Dune into two parts potentially confused the message of the sci-fi epic? Paul Atreides checks many of the boxes of the noble protagonist chosen to lead. But some of Paul’s prescient visions of the future hint at future disaster. So what’s the effect of director Denis Villeneuve dividing this narrative in two, and what hints do we get about what’s to come from the trailer? Learn more...

The final season of Succession is the ultimate test for Kendall Roy: now that his father is finally out of the picture, can he become the killer his father doubted he could be? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Was Twilight really the fairytale many took it for? And what views on love and relationship did Twilight actually teach its fans? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our take on Emily Ratajkowski, how she evolved from being "the Blurred Lines girl" into an inspirational icon, reminding us that only we should get to define ourselves, and that there’s power in examining the countless assumptions we take for granted about our bodies and how we exist in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Food-focused celeb interviews show a different side to celebrities than the more formal press junkets of years past. Today we're looking at how this niche content has blown up online, & what it's shown us about our favorite celebs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s something about WAGs that just gets people annoyed. But is this all a way of demanding that women in the public eye be a little… quieter, and not get too dominant in sports? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

These days Kate Middleton seems to be constantly plagued by rumors and scandalous news stories - so who’s really behind it all? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion was ahead of it's time - it managed to anticipate many of the anxieties about status& self-image that drive people in the age of social media (despite being released at a time when most people were still going on the internet through AOL) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our culture spends a lot of time fearing aging, trying to hide all signs of it, even attempting to eliminate it all together – but what if we stopped assuming it's all bad? If we face our fears, then the joys of getting older can come to the surface. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices