[PREVIEW] A Blue Wave, 'West End Girl,' And The 'Selling Sunset' Reunion

For this week’s episode, we’re trying something a little different: a grab bag! We had three topics we wanted to cover — our reactions to this week’s elections, Lily Allen’s buzzy divorce album, and the deeply unpleasant “Selling Sunset” S9 reunion — so we chatted about all three. First: We all needed a shot in the arm, and the off-year election gave it to us good and hard. Tuesday’s elections were a Democratic rout, with candidates from 34-year-old Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani to bland liberal Mikie Sherrill romping to victory with eye-popping margins. Abigail Spanberger won easily in the VA gubernatorial race, as did the rest of the Democratic ticket. But Dems also notched massive wins in state legislature races and in ballot measures, notably California’s Prop 50 (which backs Gavin Newsom’s retaliatory redistricting plan). They flipped two state utility board seats in Georgia and won a campaign to retain three Democratic state Supreme Court justices in Pennsylvania. Moms for Liberty candidates lost almost every contested school board race. We discuss the unfamiliar feeling of hope and the importance of channeling it into the fight ahead, as well as our (cautious) takeaways from how this election cycle played out.Second: Lily Allen’s “West End Girl” has dominated the cultural conversation since it hit the airwaves — and we, too, have been enjoying our sonic trip from the West End to the “Pussy Palace.” The raw and diaristic album tells the story, inspired by the breakdown of Allen’s marriage to David Harbour, of a woman whose husband asks for an open marriage while she’s across the ocean, performing in a play in London. While she’s wracked with jealousy and anxiety about their new arrangement, he bends and breaks their rules; the infidelity destroys her, though she tries to get her own back by also taking advantage of the open relationship. Ultimately, the marriage falls apart.The gruesome details, which Allen has coyly hinted may or may not be entirely factual, are delivered in candy-sweet melodies that only make her rage more pointed. We discuss our reactions to the music, the dark story it tells, Lily Allen as a public figure with a troubled history of her own, and the popularity of confessional pop music.Third: The “Selling Sunset” reunion made a dark season even darker. Nicole refused to properly apologize for bringing up Chrishell’s late parents. Chrishell revealed more about the offensive language she’d witnessed and experienced from Emma’s on-and-off manchild boyfriend Blake, but was dogpiled by the rest of the cast for failing to be sufficiently supportive of Emma. Mary offered a limited apology to Chelsea for overreacting to the flower arrangement Chelsea sent her, but the depth of the racist subtext to the interaction was never addressed. And with Chrishell and Chelsea seemingly isolated from the rest of the group, it’s impossible to ignore how undercurrents of bigotry have shaped the social dynamic of the office. Will this season be the last we watch? We discuss this, along with the ins and outs of the reunion.Hope you enjoy! xoShare Rich TextIf you liked reading this, click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Patreon!Give us feedback or suggest a topic for the pod • Subscribe • Request a free subscription