Midwest Besties
The pop culture podcast for the rest of us. TV, Books, Reality, Movies, Celeb Gossip, and More.
Episodes
In this week’s pop culture potluck, the besties have a lot to discuss. First up: the explosive Vanity Fair article on Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network (spoiler alert: it’s not going well). Then, they dive into Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, and explain why they think it’s an absolute masterpiece. The conversation continues with the latest Beckham fami...
It’s finally here: the end of the road for Summer House Season 10 (we mean it this time). The besties unpack The Aftermath sit-downs, including Lindsay giving Amanda every possible reason to run far, far away from West—only for Amanda to go to Italy with him anyway. We also cover Kyle and West’s conversation, which somehow lasted several minutes while providing exactly zero new information, and Cia...
We got our first heat wave of the season, besties—not just from these Midwestern temps, but from all the pop culture news, too.
On today’s episode, we share our concerns about how World Cup international teams will handle America’s humidity (it’s what’ll get ya), discuss how horror movies are bringing audiences back to theaters, and follow Lauren’s ascension into the Love Island fa...
I’m tired of this reunion, Grandpa! Emily and Lauren are back to discuss the Summer House Season 10 Reunion Part 3. And wow! We hope you weren’t hungry because West and Amanda gave us nothing. And much like when your idiot coworkers don’t come to the meeting prepared, we now have to reschedule the drama for a later date, with Summer House: The Aftermath premiering next week. Bravo literally said, &...
In this week’s pop culture potluck, the besties talk about what is possibly the darkest of your for you page: Boy Moms™. Jenny Mollen’s weird Instagram post with her son and bizarre Substack essay left us with questions and concerns. We also chat about Taylor Swift’s original song for Toy Story and whether this will finally get her that coveted Oscar. We switch to TV to give our thoughts on the Hac...
In this fly over deep dive, your favorite besties get into the Summer House season 10 reunion (part two). The girlies discuss Amanda’s walk-off, West and Amanda giving us absolutely nothing, and Kyle trying to justify his bad behavior. They discuss Dara’s articulate read on West, a sweet moment between Carl and Lindsay, and so much more!
The Summer House Season 10 Reunion Part 1 is officially here, and after weeks of us being absolutely rabid waiting for it, it did not disappoint. Who else is ready for the “She’s Your Wife. She’s Not My Wife” merch? WE ARE! Emily and Lauren dissect the intense episode from start to finish: Amanda’s cocktail of zoned out and coming in hot, Kyle barely keeping it together, Bailey giving u...
The besties are back with a jam-packed episode. Emily and Lauren recap the Summer House season finale that lowkey felt like a series finale(yes, Lauren cried) and unpack the explosive reunion trailer. Lauren shares her newest TV obsession, Off Campus, while Emily gets into Widow’s Bay—romance and horror are SO BACK BABY. We also discuss why we know longer ride for Mary Beth Barone, the latest male loser ...
In this Flyover Deep Dive, the besties unpack Famesick by Lena Dunham. In her memoir, Lena gets into it all: skyrocketing to fame with Girls, her deeply dysfunctional friendship with Jenni Konner, Adam Driver (spoiler: apparently he really is just Adam IRL), and her six-year relationship with Jack Antonoff. Lena’s story is always set against the backdrop of her chronic illness–suffering from near-constan...
Pop culture Potluck is BACK, and we have a smorgasbord! In this episode, we discuss our complicated feelings about the Met Gala and share our favorite and least favorite looks. Just because 90% of our closet is Old Navy doesn’t mean we don’t know fashion, hunty.
We also give the lowdown on the dark energy of Hulu’s new reality show lineups, including Vulture’s new Reality Masterclass, which fe...
Besties, it’s Book Club Time! This week, Emily and Lauren take a break from discussing TV the internet can’t stop talking about to discuss the BOOK the internet can’t stop talking about. Yesteryear, by political and pop culture podcaster Caro Claire Burke, takes us inside the mind of the fictional tradwife social media influencer Natalie Heller Mills. The story is about what happens when Natalie wa...
In this week’s pop culture potluck, we start off strong with the latest Summer House gossip. We chat about West and Amanda’s at the Yankees game, Ciara’s Glamour Cover, Mia’s WWHL interview, and recap S10 E12. We give our final thoughts on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as the season finally wraps up, and get into Coachella Weekend Two. We chat Sabrina’s set, Olivia Rodrigo’s ne...
What is up, Daddy Gang?! It’s us, your besties! And this week in our Pop Culture Potluck, we have quite the spread! First, we discuss the trailer for the new Summer House spin-off, In The City. Lauren talks about how Danielle has personally victimized her. We follow up on the Summer House Scamanda scandal and how we are low-key loving Amanda and West owning their pieces of SH*T era. We break down Sabrina Carpe...
Carl’s a mess, and so are we! In this week’s pop culture Pot Luck, the besties discuss the aftermath of the Summer House Scamanda (™). Emily explains the latest Lindy West memoir, Adult Braces, and the besties break down Belle Burden’s recently released book, Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage. In table scraps, we touch on Ina Garten and how Meghan Markle straight up copies her, the latest Sussex miss...
Have you checked on your Bravo fans lately, Besties? You should. They are not okay. In this very special episode, Lauren and Emily go FULL detective mode and take you through the Summer House scandal that has ROCKED the internet. If you've been in a coma for the past week, newly separated Amanda and newly redeemed f*** boy West are an ITEM. One small problem – West is the on-again, off-again love of Amanda&rsq...
Despite allergy season woes, your besties are locked in this week! In this pop culture potluck, we dig into Chappell Roan’s latest security drama, and do our best to delicately discuss Taylor Frankie Paul, The Bachelorette cancellation, and Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (trigger warning: domestic violence). We move into lighter territory to recap the latest Summer House episode, where we are yelling justice for...
These are your captains speaking! We have a new Flyover Deepdive, which is what we call our special TV episode recap episodes! (Aren’t we cute?). In this Deepdive, we break down Summer House Season 10, Episode 5: “Summer Knights” and Season 10, Episode 6: "The Joke's on You." We discuss Jesse’s apology to Ciara for once again treating her like an object, Kyle’s advisory board posi...
And we’re back! After some technical difficulties, we have a potluck episode coming for you tomorrow! On this week’s episode, we talk about Kacey and Harry’s new music, Timothée Chalamet being an artist who shits on other artists, being Michael B. Jordan stans, Love Story, and so much more!
If you are looking for a Summer House recap, stay tuned! We have our “Flyover Deep Dive&rd...
In this week's Pop Culture Potluck on Midwest Besties, we break down The Traitors finale and reunion, recap the latest Summer House drama, including the apology dune and Jesse Solomon being CRINGE. We dive into the back half of Bridgerton S4 (spoiler alert: we LOVE Benephie). In Table Scraps, we discuss Craig Conover giving sweaty loser energy, Lisa Rinna’s new memoir, and a very specific love story where Caro...
Happy Three-Month Anniversary, Besties! Our podcast has officially lasted a Sales Quarter! On this week’s episode Lauren and Emily give their heavily researched review of Wuthering Heights. Just kidding — we didn’t watch the movie or read the book, but we do have a lot of opinions (hint: the skin room is gross).
Meanwhile, we recap the second episode of Summer House Season 10. Summer is NOT looking ...
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