At the age of 18, actress Molly O’Day’s career showed great promise — the only thing holding her back was a bit of pubescent pudge. When diets failed, she became the guinea pig of Hollywood's first highly-publicized weight loss surgery. This was in 1929, and the procedure was, as one fan magazine described it "dangerous... and all in vain." What lead Molly t ... Show More
Jan 2020
153: Hollywood’s First Weight Loss Guru: Madame Sylvia (Make Me Over, Episode 2)
Glamorous and shrewd, Sylvia of Hollywood became the movie industry’s first weight-loss guru during the end of the silent era. An immigrant of mysterious origin, she would cannily market herself to clients like Gloria Swanson, who she promised to ‘slenderize, refine, reduce and s ... Show More
43m 12s
Feb 2020
154: Marie Dressler, the First Female Star to Conquer Hollywood’s Ageism (Make Me Over, Episode 3)
In 1933, the biggest female star in American movies wasn’t a sex symbol like Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow or Marlene Dietrich. It was Marie Dressler — homely, overweight and over 60 years old. The public loved nothing better than to see their Marie play a drunk or a dowager and steal ... Show More
47m 37s
Feb 2020
155: Passing for White: Merle Oberon (Make Me Over, Episode 4)
In 1935, Merle Oberon became the first biracial actress to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, an incredible achievement in then-segregated Hollywood -- except that nobody in Hollywood knew Oberon was biracial. Born in Bombay into abject poverty in 1911, Oberon's fate seemed s ... Show More
49m 21s
Sep 2024
Do you have a critical inner voice? Ben and Nemone explain why. Also, forgotten actors who are enjoying a renaissance and your questions answered - SHRINK THE INBOX
For the last episode of this season, team STB gets real with those pesky inner monologues (as promised in the Carrie: Sex and the City episode). Plus, what's the connection between 80s comedy-thriller Lovejoy and The Matrix? We explore actors who have come back from obscurity wit ... Show More
49m 18s
Mar 2025
ADOLESCENCE: Creating the new Netflix One-Take hit series with actors Stephen Graham & Erin Doherty, director Philip Barantini & writer Jack Thorne
On today’s episode, our primo host Dom Lenoir sits down with the team behind Netflix’s latest hit, Adolescence – a groundbreaking mini-series where every episode is shot in a single take. It’s an incredible achievement from the entire cast and crew, and we couldn’t wait to find o ... Show More
1h 18m
Sep 2025
Robert Redford remembered + Paul Greengrass on THE LOST BUS
Vanguardistas have more fun—so if you don’t already subscribe to the podcast, join the Vanguard today via Apple Podcasts or extratakes.com for non-fruit-related devices. In return you’ll get a whole extra Take 2 alongside Take 1 every week, with bonus reviews, more viewing recomm ... Show More
1h 15m
Sep 2024
CARRIE BRADSHAW – How to fight the patriarchy and stop obsessing over relationships – SHRINK THE BOX
In our final character episode of this season, we put Carrie from Sex and the City on the couch. Nemone looks at why Sex and the City hasn’t aged well, and Ben talks about diversity in the privileged, white world of the show. We get into Carrie’s shopping habit, low self-esteem, ... Show More
49m 57s
Mar 2025
'Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas (Season 2, Episode 11)
CHEESECAKES! Come see Patrick on tour! CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS! WELCOME THE GOLDEN GIRLS DEEP DIVE PODCAST! Starting from the beginning of the show, each week we recap an episode of The Golden Girls. Along the way, we sprinkle in researched deep dives into something from the episo ... Show More
55m 11s