Pandora's been moving house and Dolly's been hosting Pretendmas (don't ask; she'll tell you all about it anyway) but there are still plenty of water cooler topics to discuss this week.
From some brilliant pieces of journalism (including a heart-breaking piece by Empire Editor Terri White on the vital role a woman's refuge played in both her own childhood and in British society as a whole) to plenty of podcast recommendations from the ultimate podcat, Dolly, this week we discuss 'Cat Person', the New Yorker short story that went viral - and what this piece of fiction tells us about modern relationships; toxic masculinity; bad sex and female pleasure.
We also play you an excerpt of the shocking and riveting speech given by former Facebook VP Chamath Palihapitiya at Stanford University, on how Facebook is ripping society apart. In light of this and plenty of other disclaimers from both former and present tech execs, we discuss the dangers of social media in both a personal and a social context. From the richest (first world FOMO caused by your Instagram feed) to the poorest (Whatsapp hoax that caused violence in a rural Indian village), we are all affected by social media in its myriad forms.
What we are reading, watching and listening to:
A Woman's Refuge Saved My Family, by Terri White for The Pool https://www.the-pool.com/life/life-honestly/2017/49/Terri-White-on-the-funding-crisis-hitting-women-s-refuges
I Made My Shed The Top Rated Restaurant on Trip Advisor, by Oobah Butler for VICE https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/434gqw/i-made-my-shed-the-top-rated-restaurant-on-tripadvisor
The People vs O.J.Simpson: American Crime Story, on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80083977
'Cat Person' - a short story, by Kristen Roupenian for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/cat-person
Fallout, by Sadie Jones https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fallout-Sadie-Jones/dp/0701188502
Ladybird directed by Greta Gerwig:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNi_HC839Wo
Cariad Lloyd's Griefcast with Adam Buxton:
https://www.acast.com/griefcast/episode-1---adam-buxton
James Franco on WTF:
http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-870-james-franco
Cariad Lloyd's Made of Human with Jo Brand:
http://mohpod.libsyn.com/31-jo-brand-i-was-surprised-the-heroin-addict-was-unfaithful
Felicity Morse on Cat Person for The Debrief:
https://thedebrief.co.uk/news/real-life/cat-person-short-story-new-yorker-consent/
Amy Jones on Cat Person for The Pool:
The Duchess of Cambridge’s Problematic Post-Partum Money Shot; & Is Millie Bobby Brown Too Young for Time’s 100 list?
Crediting your sources in the internet age & why we all love to hate Coachella
Loneliness in the young & why we should all be a bit more like Neville Southall
The Farcical Arc of The Weightloss Reality Star; And The Travesty That is the Ulster Rugby Rape Case
Feminism, #MeToo and Clapham's Sticky Carpets: The High Low Meets Oscar-Nominated Margot Robbie
Quincy Jones; SATC Feuds; & Author Laura Freeman on how reading cured her anorexia
Food snobbery; the Suffragettes & Kylie Jenner’s secret pregnancy
Women’s unconscious bias towards other women; and Kim Kardashian’s cultural appropriation
The UK’s New Minister for Loneliness; And Are We Children Until The Age of 25?
An Author Special With ‘Lullaby’ Novelist, Leila Slimani (& Some Thoughts On The Babe.Net Piece Gone Viral)
#TimesUp - Can The Red Carpet Be A Harbinger Of Social Change? And Toadmeister’s Titty-Tweets
Dry January & 'New Year, New Me'; And The Pregnancy Glow Myth
The Highs & Lows of 2017 - with Journalist & Author, Stu Heritage
The High Low Christmas Special
On 'Women Spreading'; And The Start of Silly Season
Corporate Egg-Freezing - And Whether Taylor Swift Is A Billboard for Trumpian Values
A Special Episode with Iconic Editor Tina Brown - Creator of High Low Journalism & Our Podcast Patron Saint
The App That ‘Strips’ Women of Their Make-up; and Boris Johnson’s Comments on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Arranged vs Forced Marriages & Kevin Spacey’s Netflix Exit
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