Pop Culture Persephone
by Theresa Pedone
As the self described “goddess of all things pop,” Theresa M Pedone is your go-to guru when your itching to find out who starred in a 1970’s exploitation film, the love timeline of your favorite diva, the intersecting worlds of true crime and pop culture, reality tv truths and more. Like the goddess Persephone, a symbol of rebirth who resides part time in the murky underground, Theresa promises to mine the furthest depths of the pop culture underworld to bring her listeners the pointless data dump they need! Guests will include other “popsters” from the Cleveland community and beyond!
Episodes
-
Paranoid Android: M3GAN Has Arrived!
Persephone could think of no better way to usher in 2023 then to invite best friend and collaborator Roger Conners to join her to discuss the much anticipated “robot companion goes wrong” thriller M3GAN. In this week’s episode we discuss technology as a nurturing tool, our fixation with tech and...
-
These Gays Are Trying To Murder Me!
Appointment television might seem like an antiquated concept of the past given the onslaught of streaming services enabling us to binge an entire series in one evening, but there are exceptions. In this case, the much anticipated season 2 of HBO’s The White Lotus had most people glued to their…
more -
Casey Anthony is Ready for Her Close Up
Breaking her eleven year silence, controversial “person of interest” Casey Anthony, who was acquitted of murdering her two-year-old child Caylee in 2011, has re-emerged on the Peacock Network in a 3-part “documentary” series where she gives her side of the story. In this week’s PCP, we discuss…
more -
More Dragons, More Problems
The long awaited first season of HBO’s House of the Dragon just wrapped and similar to it’s predecessor Game of Thrones, we are on now on the precipice of war at the end of first season! This week on the PCP, Persephone is joined by first time guest and super-fan Paula Kampf as we discuss the...
-
Doing Marilyn Dirty: The Problem with Blonde
On this week’s PCP, Persephone discusses the long anticipated movie Blonde and the character assassination of an American icon. This podcast is filled with spoilers, so please watch the movie on Netflix before tuning into the pod!
-
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and the Journey to Pleasure
When do we stop seeking pleasure and sexual fulfillment? We discuss this and much more in this week’s PCP while Persephone is joined by friend and clinical expert in sexuality and relationships Rachel Drotar as we discuss the delightful Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.
-
Parallel Pop: Marlon Brando and Jared Leto
This week Persephone brings you Parallel Pop, a bonus special episode focusing on the similarities between two wildly controversial actors: Marlon Brando and Jared Leto. Persephone discusses their use of method acting and how their personal lives have directly impacted - for both good and bad -...
-
The Kardashians: The Purveyors of Reality Prestige TV
While the juggernaut of reality TV, Keeping Up With the Kardashians officially ended in June 2021, ending a 14 year relationship with the E! Network as their flagship program, “the family” would not go quietly into the night, often appearing on social media and the tabloids multiple times in one...
-
Falling Down The Staircase
On December 9th 2001, Kathleen Peterson, a 48-year old executive, wife and mother, was found dead at the bottom of a stairwell at her lavish home in Durham, North Carolina. This incident would set the southern town on fire once it was revealed that local law enforcement suspected her husband ,...
-
Amber and Johnny: When Twin Flames Consume Each Other
In this week's PCP, special first time guest George Winstone joins Persephone to discuss the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard defamation trial and what it means outside of the realm of "celebrity." George provides an astrological blueprint of Johnny and Amber, providing insight on how these forces could...
-
That Oscar Slap and Doom Watching Start-Up Culture
We may never know really went down at the 94th Annual Academy Awards between Will Smith and Chris Rock, but that won’t keep Persephone from ruminating and theorizing about it on this week’s episode! Persephone unpacks the slapping scandal and what might have led up to it, plus briefly discussing...
-
The Thrill is Gone: Reviewing "Deep Water" and a Kanye Wellness Check
This week on the PCP, Persephone and return guest Anna Rose split a bottle of red wine while suffering through the much anticipated Ben Affleck/Ana de Armas erotic thriller Deep Water. Suffice it to say, one bottle of wine was not enough to help us make it through this shallow attempt at...
-
Love is Blind and Messy
It’s the enthusiastic return of Netflix’s dating show Love is Blind and it’s exactly what we expected: cringeworthy/shocking/predictable and completely unpredictable! Persephone is joined this week by Cleveland-based theatre artist Amiee Collier to unpack the series and ask the big questions...
-
“Inventing Anna” with Anna
On this week's much anticipated episode, New York artist Anna Meyer joins Persephone as we discuss America's chicest and most unpleasant con-woman, Anna Delvey and the Netflix series, "Inventing Anna." Join us as we parse out fact vs. fiction, the Shonda Rhimes hyperbole problem, and trying to...
-
94th Annual Academy Awards Nominations- Best Movie and More! (Part 3)
Time to listen in to Part 3 of the annual Academy Award Nomination special where Persephone and special first time guest and Oscar expert Stuart Hoffman dive deep into the best movie nominees (there are MANY!) of the year! We also discuss the best documentary category and the perplexing best song...
-
94th Annual Academy Awards Nominations- Best Supporting Players! (Part 2)
Time to listen in to Part 2 of the annual Academy Award Nomination special where Persephone and special first time guest and Oscar expert Stuart Hoffman dive deep into the best supporting actor and actress nominee pool. Who do we think will go home with the little gold man compared to who we…
more -
94th Annual Academy Awards Nominations- Best Actor and Best Actress (Part 1)
Somehow its Oscars Awards season again so your trusty Persephone is back and dropping three episodes devoted to the 94th Annual Academy Award nominations! With the ceremony returning to their traditional home at LA's epic Dolby Theatre and a return to a host format, will the March 27th event feel...
-
Getting Naked with Pam and Tommy
Before the Kim Kardashian of it all, the only viral celebrity sex tape that mattered was the one linked to those kooky newlyweds Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee in 1995. This week on the PCP, Persephone is joined by reality tv superfan Peter Clark as we dive into Hulu’s miniseries Pam and Tommy - a...
-
Teenage Wasteland: HBO’s Euphoria
Our focus on the horrors of being a teen continue as we examine the beauty and nightmarish hellscape that is HBO’s Euphoria as it rockets into its second season. Created by Sam Levinson and featuring Emmy-award winner Zendaya in a career defining performance as Rue, this series dives headlong…
more -
Girls Gone Wild: Showtime’s Yellowjackets!
Showtime pulled a bloody rabbit out of it's hat when dropping the 90's-era teen survival drama Yellowjackets in late November, brilliantly situated alongside the reboot of Dexter: New Blood on their Sunday lineup. A tautly wrapped drama focusing on a girls varsity soccer team who inexplicably...
-
The Best (and Worst) of 2021
While our feet are now firmly planted in 2022, this week we look back on 2021 and discuss the very best (and very worst) in what pop culture had to offer in the last year. Whether it was delighting in watching the top 3% suffer under the weight of their own misery in shows like The White Lotus…
more -
The JonBenet Ramsey Cold Case 25 Years Later
On December 26, 1996, six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was found murdered in her affluent family's mansion in Boulder, Colorado. An incompetent police force, a bungled crime scene, uncooperative family members and an overwhelming amount of peculiar inconsistencies have all led to this...
-
And Just Like That…SATC Returns
Did we really need to dust off Sex and the City in 2021 and reboot it? Were fans clamoring to return to a fancy and privileged AF NYC in a post-COVID, post-Trump world? Regardless of how you feel about the SATC machine, HBO Max just dropped the first two episodes of And Just Like That…, picking…
more -
Revisiting “Nipplegate” and the Janet Jackson Superbowl Scandal
As we move into the new year, it seems abundantly clear that the media is obsessed with looking back to the early ‘aughts and reflecting on how we treated our pop stars - especially the female ones - when they sauntered into controversial territory. On this episode of the PCP, Persephone reflects...
-
November PCP Purge
The November Purge is upon us, so it’s time to sit back, relax and listen to Persephone and guests dish about some hot gossip and pressing pop culture topics impacting them on all fronts. Topics during this wild ride include our true feelings about the long awaited House of Gucci, JoJo Siwa as a...
-
Big Hair, Skinny Bodies and a Religious Diet Cult
On this week’s PCP we discuss larger than life evangelical Gwen Shamblin Lara, her rise to fame and power in the Remnant Church, and her terrifying and abusive weight loss philosophy that bolstered her fortune and destroyed many in it’s path. With the help of HBO Max’s multi-part documentary The...
-
It’s Sexy Stalker Season - The Return of Netflix’s You
It only seems fitting to binge watch all of season 3 of Netflix’s surprise “good guy or stalker” series You featuring skinny, pensive heartthrob stalker Joe Goldberg (played brilliantly by Penn Badgley) during Scorpio season. And that’s just what Persephone did! This week, Persephone is joined by...
-
The Reckoning of Monica Lewinsky
So, what’s the stupidest thing you did when you were 22? On this week’s PCP, Persephone is joined by 90’s-nostalgia expert and friend Anna Rose as we dive into Ryan Murphy’s latest reflection on 90’s era politics with American Crime Story: Impeachment. Obviously, this mini-series promises to…
more -
FBoy Island’s Israel Dimri on Sexuality, Religion and Reality TV
On this very special episode of the PCP (and a follow up to the previous Fboy Island episode), Persephone sits down with Fboy Island cast member Israel Dimri to spill some tea and separate fact from fiction! We discuss Israel’s philosophy on the Fboy concept, his thoughts on sexuality, religion,...
-
Welcome to FBoy Island!
In July of this year, HBO Max continued to exceed expectations with a “dating” reality show that spoke to Persephone’s heart. FBoy Island! This week, Persephone is joined by special repeat guest Sarah Hess who also consumed every delicious episode and they are here to unpack the elements of this...
-
The Saga of Amanda Knox
In 2007, American exchange student Amanda Knox found herself - along with Rafaelle Sollecito, her Italian boyfriend of one week - embroiled in the grisly murder case of her roommate, English exchange student Meredith Kercher. After two trials, Knox and Sollecito were fully exonerated in 2015 on...
-
Schmigadoon!
On this very musical episode of the PCP, Persephone is joined by return guest Kate Atherton as we unpack Apple TV’s hilarious send-up to classic musical theatre in Schmigadoon! Yes, we are about to spoil this whole series for you so be forewarned!
-
Was Ross Ulbricht a Dangerous Drug Kingpin or a Free Market Cyber Hero?
It’s a solo PCP this week as Persephone dives (sorta) deep into the Dark Web and the tale of Ross Ulbricht, the young mastermind behind Silk Road, an online illegal drug marketplace where users could anonymously purchase everything from mesculin to heroin using bitcoin as their non-traceable...
-
Wealthy, Woke, Queer and Vicious: Gossip Girl Returns
We never knew how hungry we were to revisit the troubles of wealthy upper east side teens until HBO Max decided to relaunch Gossip Girl this July! This time around, the literal white-washed world of Serena, Blair and Dan are replaced with the more diverse Generation Z counterparts of Julien…
more -
Failure to Launch - The Millennial Fantasy of WeWork
Who is Adam and Rebekah Neumann and how did their collective egos and new-age capitalism drive a thriving business into near bankruptcy in 11 years? We dig into the story of WeWork, an office sharing company that really wanted to be a tech disruptor while redefining the way people work and...
-
Britney Speaks and the World is Listening
It’s been one hell of a week for Britney Jean Spears, the Free Britney movement, the state of her conservatorship and more! After the “leaked” audio of Britney’s day in court hit the internet last week, it became abundantly clear that her 13 year conservatorship has been far more restrictive than...
-
June PCP Purge - Unauthorized Celine, In the Heights, Rapey Scientologists and More!
Persephone is joined by guest favorite Roger Conners as we have a very unfocused discussion on all things pop culture during our June PCP Purge! This is a wild ride this week and there is really a little bit of something for everyone including discussions on Meg Ryan’s face, Taryn Manning’s next...
-
Ball Pits, Dirty RVs, Men Dressed as Cats and Why The Bachelorette Persists
After a tumultuous year for the Bachelor franchise culminating in the recent departure of perennial host and average white dude Chris Harrison, Season 17 of The Bachelorette has arrived and its business as usual. On this episode of the PCP, Persephone is joined by guest host - and romance expert…
more -
Reflecting on the Kardashian Reality Empire
In it’s 20th season and 14th year, the juggernaut Keeping Up With The Kardashians is coming to an end. What started out as a fascinating peek into the Calabasas, CA lifestyle of a blended family with very familiar last names, would quickly morph into a launching pad to mega-fame (not to mention...
-
Bennifer 3.0 and Why History Might Be Repeating Itself
On this week’s PCP, Persephone was forced to look straight into the incoming hurricane that is Bennifer 3.0. Is this a hoax? Is Jennifer Lopez just trying to piss off ex-fiancee Alex Rodriguez in the midst of a broken engagement and a cheating rumor? Is Ben Affleck better the second time around?...
-
Murder in Clubland - The Rise and Fall of Michael Alig
Once upon a time in a land called New York City, a gay kid from Indiana landed in Manhattan and set nightlife ablaze as one of the most creative, influential and wild party promoters the city has ever encountered. As the self-proclaimed “King of the Club Kids,” Michael Alig made it exciting to...
-
May the 4th Be With You - Ladies Edition!
On this week’s PCP, Persephone is joined by some amazing Star Wars superfans - return guests Hannah Storch, Kate Atherton and Susan Sandberg - to honor the women of the Star Wars franchise on Star Wars Day! Not only do we look back at the impact of Carrie Fisher’s General Leia Organa, but we...
-
First Annual Oscar Deep Dive Part 3!
On part three of this multi-episode, special guest Tim Collingwood joins Persephone to discuss the upcoming 93rd Annual Academy Awards and specifically the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress category! Will Glenn Close FINALLY win an Academy Award or will the Academy just award…
more -
First Annual Oscar Deep Dive Part 2!
On part two (of three) of this episode, special guest Tim Collingwood joins Persephone to discuss the upcoming 93rd Annual Academy Awards and specifically the beloved Best Actress category! Is it Viola's year to finally win the coveted award as the titular Ma Rainey, will Andra Day provide the...
-
First Annual Oscar Nomination Deep Dive! Part 1
On this week's PCP, special first-time guest Tim Collingwood joins Persephone to discuss the upcoming 93rd Annual Academy Awards! It’s a PCP first! We discuss the difference between who we think should win compared to who we think will win. This Oscar episode will be released in three parts…
more -
Bikram and the Cult of Personality
On this week's PCP, special first-time guest Christina Turner joins Persephone to discuss the Netflix documentary Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator and the dangerous dynamic between student/teacher relationships in the cult-like world of Bikram yoga. Who is the enigmatic Bikram Choudhurey and how did…
more -
Whose Career is Taking a Tumble?
As the old saying goes, “what comes us, must go down” and in the case of celebrities, 2021 has already provided us with more falls from grace than can be contained in a simple podcast, but we are going to try! Persephone is joined again by PCP favorite Roger Conners as we discuss actors and other...
-
Whose Career is “Glowing Up?”
Persephone is joined by PCP favorite Roger Conners this week as we discuss actors and other celebrities experiencing a “glow up” in their careers - an impressive feat given a challenging entertainment landscape. We also do a quick preview of next week’s episode (the “glow-down”) go on a few...
-
Queen Oprah, Megxit and Other Things You Should Be Watching
On this week’s PCP, Persephone "goes solo" giving you a hodgepodge of of “must-see” programs viewing suggestions including the captivating Oprah Winfrey and Duchess Meghan/Prince Harry interview, the Snowpierecer series and why it might be better than the movie, a return to the original NYC Real...
-
Woody Allen Probably Hates Women
After a lengthy hiatus, Persephone is back and thrilled to be joined by first time guest and NYC-based artist extraordinaire Anna Meyer to discuss the mythos of Woody Allen and specifically the 4-part HBO Max documentary Allen V. Farrow. On this episode, we talk specifically about the documentary…
more
About this show
As the self described “goddess of all things pop,” Theresa M Pedone is your go-to guru when your itching to find out who starred in a 1970’s exploitation film, the love timeline of your favorite diva, the intersecting worlds of true crime and pop culture, reality tv truths and more. Like the goddess Persephone, a symbol of rebirth who resides part time in the murky underground, Theresa promises to mine the furthest depths of the pop culture underworld to bring her listeners the pointless data dump they need! Guests will include other “popsters” from the Cleveland community and beyond!
Hosted by
Theresa Pedone