Ultra Pop Culture

About Ultra Pop Culture

Two culture buffs muse on their favourite pop cultural obsessions. Bringing you hot takes and nerdy theories about film, TV, music, fashion, celebrity culture and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Bridget Coulter

Category

music · tv & film · tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Jan 2026

Latest episode

30 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

10 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Jul 2026

   #10 Top of the Pops 1999: The year's best (and worst) songs

   Prince famously wanted to party like it's 1999, but did the year really live up to the hype? Today we go back in time to the last year of the 20th century, reviewing the chart music of the day, as performed on Top of the Pops at the time (re-runs of these old shows are broadcast every Friday evening on BBC4 and can be found on the iPlayer). In this episode, we'll be talking boy bands (Boyzone, Westlife, Five...) and pop divas Britney and Madonna, as well as pop groups like Steps, Atomic Kitten, S Club 7, the Vengaboys and B*Witched. We also talk about some of the year's most iconic film soundtracks, like Austin Powers and Notting Hill, and dance music from the likes of the Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim and Alice Deejay. We chat about the Spice Girls' flourishing solo careers, Eminem's outrageous debut performance of 'My Name Is', Macy Gray's chart dominance with ballad 'I Try', and Tom Jones's emerging persona as the tongue-in-cheek, swaggering elder statesman of pop. And to finish the episode, we reveal our top five favourite songs of the year 1999, and our least favourite song (shockingly described by James as almost as bad as Brexit). Who will the winners be? Join us to find out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   26 Jun 2026

   #9 Is 'Three Lions' the best football song?

   Join us for a special World Cup-themed episode as we discuss 'Three Lions' by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds, released 30 years ago for Euro 1996. As we contemplate sixty years of hurt, we discuss the song's iconic 'it's coming home' hook, Britpop vibes and 60s-tinged sound. Is it the song's nostalgic sense of sentimentality that makes it so enduring? And why do so many people now interpret 'Three Lions' - a self-deprecating song about losing and disappointment - with jingoism, gloating and and triumphalism? We also talk about football culture, sentimentality, masculinity and football hipsterism, and we discuss other football songs, including 'World in Motion' by New Order, 'You'll Never Walk Alone', 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles' and 'Going Home' (the theme from Local Hero) by Mark Knopfler. Also featuring an exclusive performance of 'The Greasy Chip Butty Song' (the Sheffield United anthem) by James. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   8 Jun 2026

   #8 The Lena Dunham Episode: From Girls to Famesick

   Is Lena Dunham the voice of our generation? That's our question for today, as we trace her extraordinary career from her origins as the precocious young writer and director of indie film Tiny Furniture to her award-winning, era-defining HBO show Girls, which brought her instant stardom that quickly turned to notoriety, controversy and a retreat from fame for several years due to chronic illness and addiction issues, as detailed in her explosive new memoir Famesick. In the episode, we talk about the memoir and Dunham's relationships with stars like songwriter Jack Antonoff and her co-star Adam Driver. We also look back at her work, including her previous memoir Not That Kind of Girl and her recent transatlantic romcom Too Much, which starred Megan Stalter and Will Sharpe. Most of all, though, we talk about Girls (2012-2017), the Millennial coming-of-age comedy of manners which brought us iconic characters like Hannah Horvath (played by Dunham), Marnie Michaels (Allison Williams) and Adam Sackler (Adam Driver). We talk about what made the show so relatable for millennials - the grimy, crumbling apartments, soul-sucking jobs, unpaid internships, pretentious hipsters and dead-end relationships. We also discuss what we think made Girls so triggering for a subset of media commentators. Was it the autofiction element, which blurred the boundaries between the show's creator and the self-involved main character Hannah Horvath? Or was the satire, which focused on privileged and pretentious young people, simply too biting for the 2010s, a time when clickbait rage content was just beginning to dominate the discourse. The episode also includes some discussion of Phoebe Maltz Bovy's new book on heterosexual women in pop culture, The Last Straight Woman - in particular, the 'frumpy-but-horny' female stereotype and how this pertains to Dunham's work (and also, surprisingly, The Vicar of Dibley!). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

4. 

   19 May 2026

   #7 Why is the UK so bad at Eurovision?

   Last Saturday was the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. All around the world, Eurovision fans tuned in to enjoy glitzy party pop, fiery ballads and theatrical staging. This year we enjoyed an Italian disco wedding (Sal Da Vinci), a Greek man dressed as a cat (Akylas), a somewhat underwhelming silver man from Lithuania (Lion Ceccah) and some very patriotic Moldovans (Satoshi). As is customary, the UK marked the occasion by coming last, receiving just one point for our entry Look Mum No Computer with 'Eins Zwei Drei'. In today's episode we discuss why we think the UK does so badly at Eurovision, addressing some of the established theories (political voting, Britain's perceived unpopularity in Europe, etc.). Most importantly, though, we talk about the music. Why does the UK always seem to hit the wrong notes - both literally and figuratively? Does our famous 'stiff upper lip' make it more difficult for us to channel the over-the-top, camp aesthetic of Eurovision? And should we take the competition more seriously? The episode also includes our definitive 2026 Eurovision debrief. We talk about our favourite entries, low points and our verdict on the winner: 'Bangaranga' by Dara for Bulgaria. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

5. 

   7 May 2026

   #6 Stranger Things - Season 3 (Review)

   Today we're talking about Stranger Things Season 3, released in 2019. We discuss the show's pivot from paranoid retro conspiracy thriller to colourful all-American blockbuster, packed with zombie newspaper men, possessed rats and comic Russians. Join us as we talk (amongst many other things) about Steve's sailor suit, shameless product placement and Dacre Montgomery's magnetic performance as the sociopathic - yet strangely captivating - bad boy Billy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

6. 

   15 Apr 2026

   #5 Whatever happened to rat boy summer?

   In 2024 the world was promised a rat boy summer by the media. This was supposed to be a glorious season of celebration for everyone's favourite rat boys, or 'hot rodent boyfriends': young attractive male celebrities with sharp features and bags of personality. Celebs like Jeremy Allen White and Josh O'Connor were (and still are) box-office gold, and high-profile rat boy films like Challengers were controlling the discourse. Alas, rat boy summer was soon forgotten by our fickle culture. In this episode, we mourn this sad missed opportunity, exploring exactly what makes someone a 'rat boy', and how this fits into ideas of masculinity today. Most importantly, we talk about everyone's favourite rat boy Timothée Chalamet, charting his trajectory from sensitive indie darling to mainstream man of the moment. We also talk about our favourite historical rat boys and the origins of the rat boy phenomenon, from the Romantic poets, to the rock 'n' roll heroes of the 1960s, and the indie lads of the 00s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

7. 

   23 Mar 2026

   #4 Review: Stranger Things - Season 2

   After watching the finale, we decided to go back and rewatch Stranger Things Season 2, which came out in 2017. Here, we talk about our verdict on the season. We also discuss the 'paranoid style' in American film and TV, and where Stranger Things fits within a history of US conspiracy thrillers, from The Conversation in the 70s to The X-Files in the 90s. We also chat about whether Stranger Things is a show for nostalgic adults or for today's kids, who wish they could've grown up in the 80s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

8. 

   5 Mar 2026

   #3 Four films, Sam? That's insane (reviewing the cast photos for the Beatles films)

   In 2028 the world will be treated to the Beatles films (directed by Sam Mendes): a 'four-film cinematic event' telling the story of each of the four Beatles. In this episode, we share our takes on the casting for the films, which will feature Harris Dickinson as John, Paul Mescal as Paul, Joseph Quinn as George, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo. We talk about Harris Dickinson's turn as a sexy intern in Baby Girl, Barry Keoghan's antics in Saltburn, Paul Mescal in Gladiator, and Joseph Quinn's career-defining performance as (of course) Eddie in Stranger Things. We also talk about the recently released (and very uncanny valley) cast photos, biopic prosthetics and about whether we think the lads will be able to truly embody the aura of the four Beatles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

9. 

   23 Feb 2026

   #2 Review: West End Girl (Lily Allen)

   Lily Allen's explosive album West End Girl hit the headlines last autumn. Join us in the dojo, where we share our carefully considered opinions on the scandal, the sensation and the banging, banging tunes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

10. 

    8 Jan 2026

    #1 And Truly It Was a Stranger Thing (Stranger Things Season 5 Review)

    In our inaugural episode, we talk about the (somewhat controversial) final season of Stranger Things. Did the show retain its original magic until the end? Or did it limp on and die a slow and painful death? Join us to find out what we think. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings