Podcast
Characters
Hosted by Cloud10 · EN
Diving deeper on the characters we love to consume! Laura Diez hosts guest conversations and shares stories exploring the portrayals of real people on reality tv, fictionalized women that stay in our memories, and pop culture legends. New episodes Tuesdays and Fridays.
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
How "Real" Must Reality TV Be?
1w ago00:11:01Tap to summarizeWe're examining the spectrum of how reality television shows today handle the "performance of reality." From casts opening acknowledging that they're filming a show, like Real Housewives of Atlanta and Potomac ... to shows that grow alongside their casts' rising fame, like Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. We'll touch on Hulu's new show, Million Dollar Nannies, as a case study in performative reality: are these nannies truly paying rent, competing for jobs, etc? We'll also touch on the shift from aspirational, Kardashian-style wealth to these more relatable, conflict-drive casts, like Real Housewives of Rhode Island and Love Island USA. How much longer are we going to pretend that being on reality tv is not a career in itself? Find me everywhere: linktr.ee/literallylaurad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Love Island USA Week 2 with Jaz Henley-Brown
2w ago00:33:01Tap to summarizeSol's elimination, the couples we think are totally mismatched, and what we need to see from Casa Amor ..... we are recaping Week 2 of Love Island USA S8, through episode 14, with Jaz Henley-Brown (@jhenleybrown)! Find me everywhere: linktr.ee/literallylaurad Time stamps: 00:00 Intro 01:07 Jaz Henley-Brown 02:43 Season 7 vs Season 8 04:28 Sol's Dumping 09:00 Couples that should explore 10:03 Aniya and KC 13:18 Trinity and Bryce 16:12 Kayda and Zach 17:43 Female Friendships 22:56 Winning 24:24 Predictions for Week 3, Casa Amor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Rulla's Redemption - RHORI Finale
2w ago00:14:08Tap to summarizeDiscussing the finale episode of the Real Housewives of Rhode Island's first season! The major storyline was Rulla's husband's alleged affair, which it seems like we finally see her acknowledging with the group on the closeout trip to Block Island. Plus, Rulla and Jo-Ellen's resolution. We see Alicia being re-proposed to - I'm sharing my thoughts on how we've seen her relationship grow over the course of the first season. Plus, the resolution of Kelsey and Rosie. Such a great first season - and I can't wait to see them pick right back up after that final scene of Rulla separated from her husband after he was found guilty of tracking her. Find me everywhere: linktr.ee/literallylaurad Time stamps: 00:00 Intro 00:43 Rulla, Brian, + the video 02:37 Rulla and Jo-Ellen 04:47 Rulla's husband's DV charge 06:52 Alicia and Billy 09:43 Rosie and Kelsey 10:10 Block Island Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Love Island USA Week 2 with Jackson Strike
3w ago00:22:46Tap to summarizeWe're reflecting on the first seven episodes of Love Island USA with my friend and fellow creator, Jackson Strike (@jacksonstrike)! We talk about who we'd like to see the newest bombshells couple up with, our favorite couples, individual Islanders that are really standing out so far, and our predictions for the next elimination from the villa. Find me everywhere: linktr.ee/literallylaurad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Marilyn and Ella Fitzgerald
3w ago00:10:00Tap to summarizeThe unlikely friendship of Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald, and the phone call that helped quietly boost one of the greatest careers in music history! We're covering one of my favorite Marilyn stories after last week's episode - the story of her calling up Hollywood's Mocambo night club to lobby on behalf of Ella Fitzgerald's residency, and how Ella Fitzgerald credits Marilyn to her "never playing a small club again." Find me everywhere: linktr.ee/literallylaurad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Love Island USA Premiere Recap!
4w ago00:11:03Tap to summarizeLet's talk about the first episode of Love Island USA! We're overviewing the intro package themes - a lot of mentions of marriage, babies, and the narratives of being "lovers." Plus, the maturity and weight that is implied by people coming in with regular jobs. Plus, the disconnected initial couples - where two of the five already not interested in continuing to "date" because of a trait they would not pursue in the real world. I loved the fun of leaning into "Love Island norms," like making breakfast and comments as the cast explores the villa. Lastly: are people just here for fame? And if so - who cares? Find me everywhere: Linktr.ee/literallylaurad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Marilyn Monroe and Playboy: the magazine she did not consent to launching
Jun 200:25:00Tap to summarizeOn the week marking what would be Marilyn Monroe's 100th birthday, we are revisiting (and reframing) one of the most famous brand relationships she was understood to be a part of: Playboy Magazine, serving as their first ever cover model. We'll overview the story of why Marilyn posed nude in the first place, how Hugh Hefner got his hands on the rights to those images, and her own reflection on how she was used to generate millions (with not even a thank-you note). Plus, the follow-up invitation to pose for the magazine, after she posed unclothed in a swimming pool on the set of Something's Got To Give - photos that ended up in Life Magazine, successfully generating buzz for her career again while Fox poured money and attention into Elizabeth Taylor. The Playboy "invitation" came on her last day alive. Finally, we'll overview another Playboy model's celebrated "kinship" to Marilyn, Anna Nicole Smith, and our understanding of how Marilyn was used as a template for the magazine's next 60+ years. Find me everywhere!! Linktr.ee/LiterallyLauraD Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Love Island USA S8: Cast, Predictions, + More!
May 2900:18:31Tap to summarizeWe got our first glimpse of the new cast of the world's biggest reality show, Love Island USA! We'll overview today what we know so far about the twelve OG Islanders entering the Villa. Plus, I'll share some of my predictions for this upcoming season and what I *do not* want to see! For the Love Island USA season, I think Friday episode of Characters will be focused on overviewing the happenings and ongoing discussions of the previous week on the show (so we can continue the real-time conversations we'll be having on social media!). Find me everywhere: linktr.ee/literallylaurad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →VS Angels Across America: A Fashion Show for the Masses
May 2600:24:44Tap to summarizeThe Victoria's Secret Fashion Show has been one of the highest viewed fashion moments since its television debut in 2001. We're overviewing the history of the fashion show: from the modest first show in NYC in 1995, to the sensational show in Cannes in 2000, and the history-making first broadcasted show in 2001. We're zooming in on one of my favorite pop culture moments: the 2004 Angels Across America Tour, when in lieu of the cancelled show, the brand sent Heidi, Gisele, Tyra, Alessandra, and Adriana to four cities in five days. The 2004 tour changed so much about how the brand was recognized and related to by the everyday consumer - VS became the most aspirational mall brand. We'll talk about the fashion of this tour, its impact, and what people mean when they say "they want the OGs back." Find me everywhere: linktr.ee/literallylaurad Time stamps: 00:00 Intro, Casting Calls in 2026 02:22 Early VS Fashion Shows (1999-2000); First Angels 05:37 2001 First Televised Fashion Show 06:23 Who are the Angels? 08:18 2004 Cancellation 09:15 Angels Across America Tour 14:49 2005 Show + Beyond 15:52 Impact of Angels Across America 17:42 Open Casting Calls Today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Kelsey vs. Rosie, RHORI
May 2200:12:33Tap to summarizeWas the fight between Kelsey and Rosie *really* about the square footage of Rosie's home? Let's unpack that altercation... that I feel will be a foundational conflict in this franchise's next few seasons. After Kelsey arrives at Rosie's home, with sirens, announcing "house police" (allegedly a joke) .. the scene almost instantly becomes an altercation attacking insecurities around notoriety, sense of accomplishment, and local celebrity status. What do 30-something women want from being on a Real Housewives? Find me everywhere: linktr.ee/literallylaurad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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