POP CULTURE MONDAYS...ON THURSDAYS

Episode 99: The Power of Photos (real or not)

This week, Brooke breaks her no Trump rule, but for good reason, as the former President’s conviction led to a hilarious explosion of memes. Focusing on one in particular, Brooke gets into the backstory. She also discusses the power of an AI generated photo that went viral, for better or worse. Why, and how, and what’s to come? We then have this week’s hot topic, which is the news that Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria are launching their own reality show. WTF? And there’s Pete Davidson and Eminem and Natalie Portman and Paul Mescal… Enjoy!
 
https://medium.com/popculturemondays/pop-culture-mondays-6-3-24-752e9c60e293
 
Eminem Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=22tVWwmTie8
 
 
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Episode 98: BottleRock Rocks

This week, Brooke discloses she works with Live Nation and gives a brief summary of why they are in the news. But most of the episode is devoted to her experience attending the BottleRock music festival that took place last weekend in Napa Valley. We have Stevie Nicks. Pearl Jam. The Offspring. Stephen Sanchez. And Ed Sheeran. Oh, and Brooke met BABA BOOEY! Also a few more pop culture updates. Check it out! 
 
North West in Lion King
https://www.tiktok.com/@dailymail/video/7373595686488558891
 
Pop Culture Mondays 5/28/24
https://medium.com/popculturemondays/pop-culture-mondays-5-28-24-fbea5353ad67
 
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Episode 97: SkyGate is Here!

This week, Brooke digs into the story of the moment straddling tech (her real job) and pop culture: Scarlett Johansson’s accusation that OpenAI, whose CEO Sam Altman is obsessed with the movie “Her,” copied her voice for its new AI assistant named Chat GPT Sky, after she had already told him NO, she would not do the voice — hence, “SkyGate.” Scar Jo’s statement on the issue is so powerful, Brooke reads it in full. She then discusses loser of the moment, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, and his highly problematic, misogynistic commencement speech at Benedictine College that HAD NO MENTION of his incredibly well-respected PHYSICIST MOTHER. We also have the Four Seasons Orlando baby and - speaking of Orlando - JoJo Siwa’s cringy drunken 21st birthday bash at Disney. Buckle up! 
 
Scar Jo’s full statement:
 https://x.com/BobbyAllyn/status/1792679435701014908
 
Pop Culture Mondays Newsletter: https://medium.com/popculturemondays 
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Episode 96: A Wild Roundup

Brooke is back and bringing you up to speed on the pop culture news you may have missed while she was away. She begins with a summary of her wild travels, from D.C. to Jamaica to Germany to France, including more about Jelly Roll and a lot about Kim Kardashian. 
 
Brooke then gets into the Tom Brady Neflix Roast, how Kim K has been bullied and abused for her part, and how the roast, in general, was in pretty poor taste. She also talks about the Met Gala, and yet more drama around Kim and also AI Rihanna. We have the Drake x Kendrick Lamar feud, the “controversial” Apple iPad ad, and finally, the latest TikTok trends: The Black Wife Effect, the Barbara Dance, and Men in Finance. Enjoy! 
 
Dancing Voicemails From Crazy Ex
https://www.tiktok.com/@therealghostgirl/video/7365319857887317291
 
The Black Wife Effect
https://www.tiktok.com/@roxleeofficial/video/7366001710881410346
 
Pop Culture Mondays Newsletter: https://medium.com/popculturemondays 
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Potato’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/potato/ 

Episode 95: From the archives: Jason Hirschhorn

This week, Brooke is on the road at a big tech conference in Germany, so we’re bringing back a fan favorite from the archives: her conversation with Jason Hirschhorn, the legendary media and tech entrepreneur and CEO & Chief Curator of digital content company REDEF. It’s a fun one, filled with juicy stories and pop culture banter.
 
Pop Culture Mondays Newsletter: https://medium.com/popculturemondays 
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Potato’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/potato/ 

Episode 94: Birthday Edition

Brooke is coming to you this week from her happy place, the magical GoldenEye, Jamaica, where she’s hosting her 50th birthday extravaganza! She kicks off with Barbra Streisand’s not-so-private IG note to Melissa McCarthy; we then get into a bit of Fairy Porn, the latest lit phenomena, and Governor Kristi Noem’s memoir, outing her as an animal murderer. Brooke ends with all the memes of the moment. It’s a mixed bag for this week’s bday edition of PCMoT. Grab some bubbles for the birthday girl! 
 
https://medium.com/popculturemondays/pop-culture-mondays-4-29-24-eea6158f4f17
 
https://kalejunkie.com/viral-chicken-crust-caesar-salad-pizza/
 
Pop Culture Mondays Newsletter: https://medium.com/popculturemondays 
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Brooke’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/brooke  
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Potato’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/potato/ 

Episode 93: Everyone is a Poet

This week, Brooke explains the hoopla around the new Taylor Swift album, The Tortured Poets Department. The surprise double album. The genre. The criticism. The emotion. The pettiness. The brilliance. And everything in between. She also talks about Baby Reindeer on Netflix and Mark Zuckerberg’s new swagger even if it is AI generated. And is M. Night Shyamalan making a comeback thanks to Josh Hartnett?  Grab some candy!
Pop Culture Mondays
Newsletter: https://medium.com/popculturemondays 
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Potato’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/potato/ 

Episode 92: Game, Set, Match

This week, Brooke shares her experiences at both the premiere of Zendaya’s masterful new movie, “Challengers,” as well as Kara Swisher's interview extraordinaire of the cast and creators of "The Morning Show,” kicking off PaleyFest. She then brings people up to speed on the latest pop culture news, from Keith McNally’s misogynistic meltdown over Lauren Sanchez, to Nike’s Olympic track & field uniforms for Team USA, to the extreme storm in Dubai. There’s also a little bit of Coachella and a little bit of O. J. (sorry, sorry, but it had to be done). Grab your tennis whites and enjoy! 
 
https://medium.com/popculturemondays/pop-culture-mondays-4-15-24-68d1348b8039
 
 
https://www.tiktok.com/@dailymail/video/7358739000095558954?_r=1&_t=8lc8leesrRO 
 
https://www.tiktok.com/@abcnews/video/7358793557802569006?_r=1&_t=8lc8mxGyUNx
 
Pop Culture Mondays Newsletter: https://medium.com/popculturemondays 
Brooke’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brooke/ 
Brooke’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/brooke  
Brooke’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brookehammerling  
Potato’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/potato/ 

Episode 91: The Rapture

This week, Brooke dives into the natural phenomena "double feature” we got in the U.S.: the solar eclipse and the New York earthquake. On Monday, it seemed like the entire nation was out with their glasses on, cocktails in hand, going nuts over coronas and totality. And last week, out of nowhere, New Yorkers experienced the ground shaking, things falling from bookshelves, lights swaying. People were perplexed. And out of these two earthly episodes came a deluge of incredible memes, and, for a moment, Twitter became fun again. Brooke also talks about some content she’s loving at the moment and some content she - and the whole internet - are not loving: namely, JoJo Siwa’s latest single, “Karma,” and her “re-brand” in general. It’s a fun one! 
 
Pop Culture Mondays Newsletter: https://medium.com/popculturemondays 
Brooke’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brooke/ 
Brooke’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/brooke  
Brooke’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brookehammerling  
Potato’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/potato/ 

Episode 90: Starting April With a Bang

This week, Brooke decided to go deep on a topic she skipped in the newsletter. Baltimore. And specifically, the reaction online to Baltimore’s mayor. Specifically on X, let’s be honest. She also tells us about her experience walking across the border from Juarez to El Paso, which was not at all like it's been shown to us on the news. Then, of course, she gets to Beyoncé and the cultural chokehold Cowboy Carter had on the nation. Finally, Brooke looks at the wildly viral recent stories from New York Magazine. Happy Thursday! https://medium.com/popculturemondays/pop-culture-mondays-4-1-24-921aa4469387
Pop Culture Mondays/4.1.24
The COWBOY Edition
medium.com
 
Brooke’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brooke/ 
Brooke’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/brooke  
Brooke’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brookehammerling  
Potato’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/potato/