Pop Syllabus

Botox, filler, beauty trends, and the pressure to keep up with it all. This week, Christiana sits down with NYT columnist and UNC Chapel Hill professor Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom to explore how beauty culture is changing around the world, why our appearances carry so much power, and what happens when the rules of beauty keep changing.

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01:37 Meet Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom

03:45 Sculpt and how beauty norms became what they are right now

06:12 The democratization of plastic surgery and injectibles

09:06 Beauty and ugliness as structural concepts

13:14 The end of body positivity a return to whiteness

15:13 How technology has changed time, our attention, and beauty norms

16:55 Peptides

19:45 How what is seen as beautiful has changed

21:00 Thinking of ourselves as scientific compositions

22:05 Grappling for community

22:39 Discourse around “the Black community”

24:15 Ethnic rhinoplasty

25:51 The death of the natural hair movement

26:30 What is Black beauty now?

27:10 The homogeneity of beauty

30:14 How the formula we were taught for a good life isn’t working and cruel optimism

35:26 Observing neutrally and knowing our choices aren’t neutral

39:10 The cost of resistance and choosing our defeats

42:49 Bracing for impact

45:00 Black women being punished

45:40 Conservative movements among white women and where white women go next

49:55 “One Household, One Vote” and women retreating from the workplace

52:30 Late-stage capitalism and AI will come for everyone, including men

54:00 Men committing Interpersonal violence

55:30 Going analog

56:38 How Tressie approaches reading and engaging with ideas

01:01:22 What Tressie is turning to for nourishment and delight

01:06:25 What Tressie is working on now
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Divas! We all love them, and we all have very strong opinions about who deserves a spot in our personal top 3. So this week, Christiana sits down with journalist, culture critic, and the NFL’s first LGBTQ+ brand ambassador Ryan Mitchell to bring back our signature pop culture rubric and rank the biggest divas of the 2020s. But who will take the crown? Listen in to find out.

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00:00 Intro

00:13 Meet Ryan

05:00 Showing up as a Black queer fat person

07:20 Growing up in the South

08:22 Ryan’s role as the NFL’s first queer ambassador

12:12 Navigating the current conservative backlash

15:02 How to show up for queer folks right now

19:02 How pop culture brings people together

22:20 The definition of a “Diva”

27:20 How Christiana made this 2020s diva list

29:17 The “general population” category for 2020s divas

30:10 The “technicalities” category for 2020s divas

30:48 The “sleeper divas” category for 2020s divas

32:50 Attitude as part of the criteria

36:00 Ariana Grande

47:27 Billie Eilish

55:14 Chappell Roan

59:00 Celebrities are still humans

01:00:35 Olivia Rodrigo

01:02:50 Sabrina Carpenter

01:04:43 Olivia Rodrigo

01:05:55 Beyoncé

01:12:26 Charli xcx

01:19:29 Cleo Sol and Syd

01:19:37 Yebba

01:20:40 PinkPantheress

01:20:54 SZA

01:20:59 Doechii

01:21:03 Where you can find Ryan Mitchell
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Only a small percentage of women are naturally blonde, yet blonde hair has become one of the most powerful symbols of beauty and privilege in American culture.

This week, Christiana sits down with Sarah Mesle, USC professor and author of Tangled: Seven Iconic Moments in White Women's Hair and What They Tell Us About Power, Pleasure, and Complicity, to examine the cultural politics of white women’s hair. Through stories of blonde privilege, Britney Spears, and Princess Diana, Sarah explains how hair reveals the complicated relationship between beauty, identity, and power.

Sarah’s website: https://sarahmesle.com/

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1:26 Meet Sarah

1:47 Hair and white feminine power

3:50 Sarah’s interest in hair

5:08 White visual performances and whiteness as a currency

8:50 January 6th uprising

10:40 Partisan aesthetics

13:50 Princess Diana and women with short hair

18:43 Blonde hair

20:58 JoJo Siwa

21:33 Maternal love and white resource hoarding

22:40 White mothers giving their daughters elaborate hair styles

25:00 Blonde privilege and the value of the currency of whiteness

27:47 How Black women are treated depending on their hair styles

29:30 Class and white women’s fear of “trashiness”

32:40 Relationship between white women’s hair and thighs

33:30 Thin hair

35:17 Long hair and the women surrounding Trump

36:06 Picking white women to focus on in “Tangled”

40:32 Britney Spears

45:50 Complicating the idea that there are victims and villains

47:00 Cruel optimism

48:10 Gwyneth Paltrow

51:00 Opting out and diverging from the norm

54:30 The game is rigged

55:20 What’s next?
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This week, writer and YouTuber Blue Telusma joins Pop Syllabus for a wide-ranging conversation on modern relationships, gender dynamics, and what Love Island reveals about our culture. Best known for her sharp commentary on the hit reality series, Blue and Christiana explore everything from dating and accountability to race and media. Then, the two debut our new Pioneers, Builders & Innovators game, weighing in on cultural figures from Joe Rogan and Tyra Banks to Jay-Z, Madonna, Kim Kardashian, and Kris Jenner.

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1:18 Meet Blue Telusma

5:28 The Diaspora Wars Explained

6:10 Dating Nigerian Men and Blue's Dating Experience

10:16 "Good Women Aren't Having Babies Anymore"

15:45 Partnership vs. Companionship

22:05 Dating as an Unambiguous Woman

27:37 What Love Island Gets Wrong About Race

36:20 Calling Out Women vs. Challenging the System

38:55 The Ego Tantrums Taking Over Love Island

40:38 Has Reality TV Normalized Dysfunction?

45:45 Pioneers, Builders & Innovators Game

52:12 Joe Rogan: Pioneer, Builder, or Innovator?

57:18 Tyra Banks: Pioneer, Builder, or Innovator?

1:07:13 Jay Z: Pioneer, Builder, or Innovator?

1:11:45 Madonna: Pioneer, Builder, or Innovator?

1:15:58 Kim Kardashian & Kris Jenner: Pioneers, Builders, or Innovators?
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The royal family has mastered the art of staying in the spotlight. For generations, they’ve been a source of fascination, controversy, and endless conversation. But why do we keep coming back to the Crown?

In this episode, Christiana sits down with NY Times bestselling author of Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival, TV writer, producer, and royal commentator Omid Scobie to break down the monarchy as the ultimate pop culture phenomenon.

After 13 years covering the royal beat, Omid shares what he’s learned about the institution, the media machine behind it, the scandals that shaped public opinion, and why the world remains obsessed with the royals.

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Explore Omid Scobie’s Books on the Royal Family

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1:14 Meet Omid Scobie

3:40 Inside the Royal Beat

5:54 Why Britain Created WAG Culture

6:50 Meghan, Harry & the Palace

13:28 How the Press Built Meghan's Narrative

17:46 Why Americans See the Royals Differently

19:46 What Makes Someone a Royalist?

21:21 Kate's Cancer Announcement

23:28 Why Royal Women Face More Scrutiny

26:31 Why Meghan & Harry Became Easy Targets

30:08 Writing Endgame

36:17 Inside the Royal Feuds

39:32 America's "Royal Families"

43:49 Can the Monarchy Ever Change?

46:13 Prince Andrew & the Epstein Scandal

52:14 King Charles, Trump & Politics

55:27 Harry vs. William

58:17 Behind Palace Dynamics

1:04:51 The Monarchy's Diversity Problem

1:09:24 The Royals in 2027: What's Next?
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