Dr Lucy H and PhD Researcher Jay use their research and academic training to critically think about our everyday interaction with popular culture and what it means for us as we live our daily lives. They feature stories about key current events in the worlds of television, film, music, books, advertisements, and news outlets and discuss how they effect us on deeply personal and social levels.
Dr Lucy and PhD researcher Jay beign their discussion by talking about the history of popular culture and Dinosaurs in the late 19th Century. They then briefly explore different representations of dinosaurs in popular culture throughout the long 20th Century and into the 21st. From the Bone Wars to Jurassic Park join us for a chitchat about Dinomania then and now.
Follow the podcast's social media for more information, follow up blog posts, our diversify your entertainment recommendations list and some interesting resources on how to critically analyse the world around you! Find all their sites listed on their link tree here
16 Mar 2026
Ethical Non-Monogamy in Popular Culture | A Beginner's Guide
Dr Lucy and PhD researcher Jay beign their discussion by analysing Lilly Allen's newest album West End Girl. They then explore different representations of ethical non-monogamy in popular culture deconstructing the good and bad aspects of these refering to work by established academics and practitioners to inform their analysis.
Follow the podcast's social media for more information, follow up blog posts, our diversify your entertainment recommendations list and some interesting resources on how to critically analyse the world around you! Find all their sites listed on their link tree here
2 Mar 2026
Wuthering Heights in Popular Culture | A Beginner's Guide
Dr Lucy and PhD researcher Jay discuss the status Wuthering Heights has in popular culture. They ask why do people keep coming back to a Victorian publication? They also think about the problems that follow this trend of resuscitating it. Using the recent Emerald Fennell adaptation starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as a springboard, they dive into the attraction we have to Emily Brontë's tale of love in the Yorkshire moors.
Follow the podcast's social media for more information, follow up blog posts, our diversify your entertainment recommendations list and some interesting resources on how to critically analyse the world around you! Find all their sites listed on their link tree here
17 Feb 2026
The History of Pride in Popular Culture | A Beginner's Guide
Dr Lucy and PhD researcher Jay discuss the history of Pride in popular culture. They briefly address what is currently happening during LGBTQIA+ History Month in the UK and quickly recap the history of LGBTQIA+ History Month before diving into the history of Pride in the UK and its connection to Pride elsewhere
Follow the podcast's social media for more information, follow up blog posts, our diversify your entertainment recommendations list and some interesting resources on how to critically analyse the world around you! Find all their sites listed on their link tree here (https://linktr.ee/yourthoughtfulbesties)
2 Feb 2026
Dungeons and Dragons in Popular Culture | A Beginner's Guide
Dr Lucy and PhD researcher Jay discuss the position that Dungeons and Dragons holds in popular culture. They briefly address the table top role playing game's history before diving into conversations about its current place in popular media and the fandom that surrounds it.
Follow the podcast's social media for more information, follow up blog posts, our diversify your entertainment recommendations list and some interesting resources on how to critically analyse the world around you! Find all their sites listed on their link tree here (https://linktr.ee/yourthoughtfulbesties)
19 Jan 2026
Fandoms in Popular Culture | A Beginner's Guide
Upon realising they hadn't yet discussed the core topic of fandom yet, Dr Lucy H and PhD researcher Jay M discuss how fandoms operate within and contribute to popular media.
Follow the podcast's social media for; more information, follow up blog posts, our diversify your entertainment recommendations list and some interesting resources on how to critically analyse the world around you! Find all their sites listed on their link tree here (https://linktr.ee/yourthoughtfulbesties)
5 Jan 2026
Queer Bodies in Popular Culture | A Beginner's Guide
Using last week's episode on Heated Rivalry as a jumping off point, Dr Lucy H and PhD researcher Jay M discuss how queer bodies are represented and received in popular media.
Follow the podcast's social media for; more information, follow up blog posts, our diversify your entertainment recommendations list and some interesting resources on how to critically analyse the world around you! Find all their sites listed on their link tree here (https://linktr.ee/yourthoughtfulbesties)
22 Dec 2025
Sexual Fluidity in Popular Culture | A Beginner's Guide
Using the controversy around Betty Who's appearance on the Made It Out (https://open.spotify.com/show/3AyNPaEfV6hUL60OlXRjTA) podcast, Dr Lucy H and PhD researcher Jay M discuss the status of sexual fluidity and what it means to be in the queer community .
Follow the podcast social media for more information, follow up blog posts, and some interesting resources on how to critically analyse the world around you! Find all their sites listed on their link tree here (https://linktr.ee/yourthoughtfulbesties)
22 Dec 2025
Queer Romance in Popular Culture | A Beginner's Guide
Using the release of Crave's adaptation of Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry, Dr Lucy H and PhD researcher Jay M discuss queer romance in popular culture.
Follow the podcast social media for more information, follow up blog posts, and some interesting resources on how to critically analyse the world around you! Find all their sites listed on their link tree here (https://linktr.ee/yourthoughtfulbesties)
18 Dec 2025
Beauty Standards in Popular Culture | A Beginner's Guide
Using the American Eagle Controversy around their 'Good Jeans/Genes' advertising campaign, Dr Lucy and PhD researcher Jay discuss beauty standards and the legacy of eugenics influencing this in popular culture and what it means for all of us living our everyday lives.
Follow the podcast social media for more information, follow up blog posts, and some interesting resources on how to critically analyse the world around you! Find all their sites listed on their link tree here (https://linktr.ee/yourthoughtfulbesties)
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