Are we the only ones not head over heels for Nobody Wants This? Critics are unanimously (and unusually) full of five-star praise for the Netflix Rom-com which has left us a little puzzled — we discuss! In other news, Naomi Campbell has fallen foul of the Charity Commission for allegedly spending money from her charity on lavish hotel rooms and cigarettes, so we put this in the context of her many controversies and ask whether the ‘diva’ label has insulated her from serious scrutiny. Finally, of course we’re debriefing on Sally Rooney, having read her latest bestseller Intermezzo over the weekend. We get into her couple dynamics, how she writes men vs women, marketing hype and why some readers have called out a thematic ‘glorification of thinness’.

Huge thanks to our sponsor Yonder, the incredible lifestyle credit card packed with rewards you’ll actually *want* to use, from points to use towards your bill at the trendiest restaurants and bars in the UK, to theatre and online shopping. Find out more at yonder.com/straightup

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We’re also absolutely over the moon to be partnered with the British Film Institute to tell you about our favourite films dropping on their incredible BFI Player every week. At the moment we’re loving Evil Does Not Exist, Rare Beasts, Scrapper and The Assistant. BFI Player offers a 14-day free trial for new users PLUS our hunnies get an extra month free with the code STRAIGHTUP. Head to player.bfi.org.uk to stream now!

And we’re partnered with brand new quarterly newspaper The Pass, the only publication bold enough to ignore food influencer hype and give us properly honest London restaurant reviews. ⁠Subscribe here⁠ to receive the new issue and find out what to cross off, and put on, your list.

DM us your thoughts on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or email us at ⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk⁠ and as ever please, please, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and a rating on Spotify, lysm!

Reccs/ culture discussed

• Nine Lives, Bermondsey Street London
• The Barbary, Notting Hill
• Nobody Wants This, Netflix
• The Impeccable Smoothness of Nobody Wants This, Vulture
• Netflix’s Nobody Wants This and the Persistent Jewish Stereotype, Glamour
• Nobody Wants This Mean-Spirited Depiction of Jewish Women in Nobody Wants This, Time
• Drama GCSE, Mathilde Barker, TikTok
• Baby Reindeer was wrongly billed by Netflix as a ‘true story’, judge finds, Guardian
• Tyra Banks recalls ‘evil and awful’ conflict with Naomi Campbell in early career, Independent
• Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
• 'The Interview': Sally Rooney, The Daily Podcast
• Glimpses of Utopia: Sally Rooney's Couples by Joanna Biggs, London Review of Books
• Sally Rooney in her own words: ‘I’m fighting a cultural battle’, The Times
• Why Are All the Characters in Sally Rooney’s Novels So Thin?, Vogue
• Are you cool enough to have the next Sally Rooney book? Esquire

The Substance starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley has fast become the most talked-about horror of the year, with audiences divided on whether it’s a feminist masterpiece, or a ‘vile and disgusting’ exemplar of the male gaze. We get into how the film taps into our own fears around ageing and how Demi’s role was influenced by career-long toxic media scrutiny. Also this week, we deep-dive into the horrific allegations and rumours that have come to light since Diddy’s arrest, from his ‘freak offs’ and disturbing relationship with a young Justin Bieber, to the music mogul’s careful curation of a ‘legit’ celebrity persona. Is all of Hollywood as dark and sinister a place as it seems? As part of our conversation about male sexual assault, we also discuss the No1 show on Netflix right now, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

Huge thanks to our sponsor Yonder, the incredible lifestyle credit card packed with rewards you’ll actually *want* to use, from points to use towards your bill at the trendiest restaurants and bars in the UK, to world-wide travel insurance and no FX fees for your hols. Find out more at yonder.com/straightup

Yonder membership is subject to eligibility and you’ll need to be over 18 and a UK resident to apply. If you sign up, only borrow what you can afford to pay back. The representative rate is 66.7% APR variable. Membership fees and other T&Cs may apply.

We're also thrilled to be partnered with brand new quarterly newspaper The Pass, the only publication bold enough to ignore food influencer hype and give us properly honest London restaurant reviews. ⁠Subscribe here⁠ to receive the new issue and find out what to cross off, and put on, your list.

DM us your thoughts on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or email us at ⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk⁠ and as ever please, please, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and a rating on Spotify, lysm!

Reccs/ Culture discussed

• The Substance (in cinemas)

• I’m a 50-something woman and nothing about Demi Moore’s anti-ageing body horror rings true, Telegraph

• ‘We can be violent to ourselves. Brutal’: Demi Moore on body image, reinvention and her most shocking role yet, Guardian

• Real Ageing is scarier than what’s going on in The Substance, The Cut

• Helter Skelter by Ninagawa Mika (2012)

• Once More From The Top by Emily Layden

• Blink Twice (2024), Apple TV

• I Survived Diddy’s White Party, YouTube

• Yummy, Justin Bieber (YouTube)

• The staggering fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs – from music mogul to criminal charges, Guardian

• The Powerful Celebs Who Acted as Diddy’s Human Shield, Daily Beast

• Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Netflix

• The Wild, True Tale Behind Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Vanity Fair

• Behind every Al-Fayed and Diddy there is a small army of enablers, Guardian

Jacqueline Wilson's GIRLS books were a defining part of our childhoods, so how does the author's 20-years-on sequel (for adults!) match up? We discuss whether the books were a good influence and how her real life inspired her writing. Also this week, we dissect all the juiciest bits from Anna Wintour's Vogue doc, and question how 'guilty' Matthew Perry's long-time assistant was in his death. Plus, a round-up of our fave TV shows, and whether star ratings matter.

Huge thanks to our sponsor Yonder, the incredible lifestyle credit card packed with rewards you’ll actually *want* to use, from points to use towards your bill at the trendiest restaurants and bars in the UK, to experiences from the theatre to flights. Find out more at yonder.com/straightup

Subject to eligibility. 18+ and UK Residents Only. T&C's apply.

We're also thrilled to be partnered with brand new quarterly newspaper The Pass, the only publication bold enough to ignore food influencer hype and give us properly honest London restaurant reviews. Subscribe here to receive the new issue and find out what to cross off, and put on, your list.

DM us your thoughts on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or email us at ⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk⁠ and as ever please, please, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and a rating on Spotify, lysm!

There are still virtual tickets to our event next Thurs (26th) with the Trouble Club! Use our code STRAIGHTUP50 for 50% off!

Reccs/ culture discussed:

• Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson (the ‘Girls’ series follow up)
• Jacqueline Wilson: the children’s author who’s now writing graphic sex for adults, The Times
• Jacqueline Wilson’s girls seem depressingly unable to grow up, The Telegraph
• In Vogue: The 90s, Disney+
• In Vogue: The 90s review – Anna Wintour and pals offer up hour after hour of fabulous nothingness, Guardian
• In Vogue: The 90s review — proof of Anna Wintour’s pulling power, The Times
• Anna Wintour: The Biography, by Amy Odell
• Confessions of former Vogue assistants, Amy Odell’s Back Row (Substack)
• Did Matthew Perry’s Assistant Have a Choice? Hollywood Veterans Aren’t So Sure, Vanity Fair
• Why being a celebrity assistant is truly the worst job in Hollywood, Telegraph
• The Assistant, BFI Player
• Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Disney +
• How To Die Alone, Disney +
• We Might Regret This, BBC
• Nightsleeper, BBC
• Colin from Accounts, BBC
• Slow Horses, Apple TV
• English Teacher, Disney+
• Cooking for People, Mike Davies
• Cook As You Are, Ruby Tandoh