All Episodes
Made from Humans: How Reality Becomes TV — 74 episodes
Traitors: New Blood’s biggest problem
EBake-Off blamed viewers for producers’ problems
EBelow Deck Med’s magnificent mess—and malevolent outcome
EHow the Amazing Race turned ‘a bloody nightmare’ into TV history
ESurvivor 51’s surprise start
EA fun recommendation and quick update
EBonus: From dinos to photos, our Emily Post wedding story
Big Brother’s producers on its format, 12 years ago
EThe two words that make or break a reality star
ELet’s drag Project Runway 22 episode 2
EThe Real World Hawaii episode that started it all
EHow Love Island and Big Brother find their casts
EQueering Love Island USA—or queerbaiting?
EBelow Deck Med’s male-centered mayhem
EIs Top Chef still top after Top Chef Carolinas?
EWhen I was voted out—on live TV
EHow a reality TV show keeps the reality TV show hidden from its cast
ESurvivor is my sports team
ECreating a cooking competition from scratch
EMore looks behind the reality TV curtain, please!
EBlame Taylor, but not for The Bachelorette
EWhy Survivor 50 is so great (so far!)
7 behind-the-scenes stories from Amazing Race’s first season
ELove is blind judging
EA wonderfully ludicrous week of reality TV
EWhat one thing would you change about Survivor?
ESecret reality TV documents: a bonkers reading
EProduced, not scripted: How Below Deck works
ETwo Survivors, two stories
ETrolling Traitors table manners
EThe Traitors’ Secret Traitor problem
EWhy faked scenes make The Traitors and Survivor better
Is Amazing Race an amazing way to travel?
Reality TV recaps: a recap!
EWhat makes The Great British Bake Off work so well
EHow one person kept fans connected after Disney cancelled a reality TV show
EWhat TV show would you revive for one season?
Survivor criticism, criticized
EMy happy blogging accident
EA fresh start can work for writers and reality TV shows
EWhy Survivor players wear costumes
EWhy Below Deck season 12 was a disaster
ERiding the waves of indie media
ESurvivor’s best season in years
EA vacation that still haunts me
Love Island USA, Big Brother, and losing momentum with TV—and in writing
I trust you with my mistakes
EHow I’ve spent 25 years creating the same thing
EWhy is Below Deck’s editing so weird—and what is reality TV editing?
Survivor’s first Black queer couple and the power of visibility
Life Below Zero’s end + writing in community
Why American Ninja Warrior changed
EHow Couples Therapy’s set works
Survivor premiered 25 years ago. Where were you?
EAmazing Race 37 and the joy of rooting for joy
EMister Rogers’ crayon episode has great advice for writers and artists
EWhen shows and articles are deleted
EA good surprise and a bad surprise
EThree recommendations, a two-week break
Why I’ll miss being in a hotel for weeks this summer
EThe history of April Fool’s Day on reality blurred
EWhat’s the Deal or No Deal Island with spoilers?
EFollowing The Amazing Race 38 in real time
EFilthy Temptation interview burnout
ESecrets of Food Network’s Tournament of Champions
EHow court shows pay, and how I found journalism in high school
Improv lessons from Snatch Game, and life lessons from improv
Why do you want me to delete that?
A chat with Coach D and Captain J’s advice
ESurvivor’s camera camps: behind the scenes of a crew area
Failed interviews, and finding joy despite the flurry of fiascos
EFires, freelancers, and the fight against writer’s block
ENew year, new podcast
Introducing Andy’s Reality Blurred, the return of my (renamed) podcast