When With Love, Meghan — the Netflix lifestyle show starring Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex — first came out, I knew the only way I wanted to even touch that discourse was by talking about the show, as a show. How does it conform to or reject our understanding of what a lifestyle program should look it? What’s Meghan’s twist? And what’s going on with the (predictably) weird way I knew people would respond to it?
Luckily, Lilah Raptopolous — cohost of one of our most popular episodes ever, on figuring out what to make in the world of infinite recipes — wanted to talk about all the same stuff. Namely: is this an aspirational show? A relatable one? Does it have to be one or other other? Why did Netflix make such weird editing choices? How do we balance a protective impulse of Meghan, given all the very real sh*t she’s endured, with an understanding that some of the decisions on this show are just odd?
Lilah, Melody, and I tried to be really thoughtful in the way that we approached this discussion — and I think you’ll hear that in episode. (In many ways, a podcast is the perfect place to have this sort of complicated, dynamic discussion). With that said: if you’re not in the mood to hear analysis of some of the show’s shortcomings, this might not be the episode for you. But if you want to sort through your own feelings (or just want to hear us sort ours!), I think this episode’s pretty great — in large part because your questions were so layered and good.
Today’s episode is sponsored by Ollie. Dogs deserve the best, and that means fresh, healthy food. Head to Ollie.com/CULTURE, tell them all about your dog, and use code CULTURE to get 60% off your Welcome Kit when you subscribe today! Plus, they offer a Clean Bowl Guarantee on the first box, so if you’re not completely satisfied, you’ll get your money back.
Listen to our previous episode with Lilah
Hunter Harris and Allie Jones: ‘With Love, Meghan is a Show About Vessels’
If you really want to read about glamour and post-war stardom, here’s my very academic essay on Gloria Swanson and television
A more accessible option is Chris Becker’s fantastic book on post-war television stars, It’s The Pictures That Got Small
The article to read on the Netflix aesthetic: Will Tavlin, “Casual Viewing: Why Netflix Looks Like That”
WTF is going on with contemporary/everyday men’s fashion (will Dockers make a comeback? How should we think about the business casual fleece/puffer vest? What’s going on with swimwear? HATS? I’m so excited for this one, with the great Jason Diamond)
Backyard chickens/farming
Dark Academia (as in, the literary genre)
Van/Skoolie/RV Life
Plastic Surgery and Body Modification (with Arabelle Sicardi)
SoCal Culture (broad, I know, but whew there’s so much)
PERIODS (and specifically, period pain) with Kate Helen Downey, host of Cramped
Anything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything, it’s literally the name of the segment!
As always, you can submit them (and ideas for future eps) here