The Substance or: How I Learned to Love Myself First episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 17, 2026 · 1H 58M

The Substance or: How I Learned to Love Myself First

from Kicking & Streaming · host Carie & Ross

BIIIIIG trigger check on today's episode, lil onions. Lots of themes of body dysmorphia, depression, and self-hatred. The siblings are unpacking one of 2024's most jaw-dropping films, The Substance. Featuring Demi Moore in all her former and current glory alongside a stunning performance by Margaret Qualley as her other self (and Dennis Quaid is here doing his best Vince McMahon impression.) We follow one fading actress' desperate attempt to stay relevant when she buys a black market drug guaranteed to create a better version of the self. Carie is obviously very fascinated and disgusted by the body horror elements while Ross slows down on the body dysmorphia, and both siblings ruminate on the film's visual display of self-hatred, and the violence people do to their bodies to feel better about themselves without grappling with their own perspectives on that self.  SUPPORT US ON PATREON!!! 

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 17, 2026

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The Substance or: How I Learned to Love Myself First

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