Podcast
Stop Everything!
Hosted by ABC Australia · EN
Do you have complicated feelings about pop culture? Beverley Wang and Hannah Reich are here to help.
Each episode Beverley and Hannah sort through the latest hot takes and Internet discourse to help you understand how pop culture reflects your world.
Want to know which new releases to watch or skip, which long reads to share with your group chat and which podcasts to follow? Stop Everything's got you.
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Love you, bye
Oct 1500:38:56Tap to summarizeStop Everything! We're stopping … everything. After nearly eight years of unapologetically overthinking pop culture, it's time to say goodbye.Bev shares the Stop Everything! origin story, Hannah has a chuffed to end all chuffeds, and we're sharing messages you've sent in from Stop Everything world.
Transcribe →Stop Everything! We have an announcement
Oct 900:03:35Tap to summarizeBeverley's back from her trip and joins Hannah to share some news about the future of Stop Everything!Send us your thoughts about Stop Everything! Or what has you chuffed. Write or leave us a voice mail at stopeverything@abc.net.au
Transcribe →Where can we see “real mums” online?
Oct 800:33:36Tap to summarizeIs it possible to authentically share the reality of being a mum, online?Hannah is joined by comedian and mum of two, Rhiannon Down, to compare algorithms and their fraught relationships with mumfluencer content.Whether it's mums in spotless kitchens showing off their meticulously organised nappy bags or chaotic scenes interspersed with skincare routines and over the top parties, finding accurate and relatable depictions of motherhood online can be a challenge.Hannah and Rhi also delve into their favourite fictional depictions of motherhood that have captured something true about the postpartum experience.Share your thoughts write or leave us a voice mail at stopeverything@abc.net.auShow notes:A review of season one of The Letdown: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-30/the-letdown-on-abc-is-painfully-real-and-painfully-funny/11156346Kathryn VanArendonk's review of Jane the Virgin: https://www.vulture.com/2015/11/jane-the-virgin-recap-season-2-episode-6.htmlRhiannon Down's instagram: rhi down (@rhidown) • Instagram photos and videos
Transcribe →CHUFFED: Sinners and Elementary
Oct 200:10:27Tap to summarizeHannah's chuffed by a southern gothic vampire horror film now available to stream, while Bec's binging police procedurals.Set in the 1930s and written and directed by Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), Sinners stars Coogler's long-time collaborator Michael B Jordan l. Jordan plays identical twins with dreams of setting up a juke joint, who instead face down the supernatural.And comedy writer Bec Shaw has delved into the archives to watch some cosy crime shows, rotating between Bones, Castle and Elementary. Her top pick is Elementary starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu in a modern reimagining of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.Get in touch: write or send a voice memo to stopeverything@abc.net.au
Transcribe →The world is on fire but we still have gags
Oct 100:31:44Tap to summarizeHannah and comedy writer Bec Shaw talk about how hard it is for comedians to break through now that the site formerly known as Twitter is objectively wretched.Yet life (comedy) finds a way, so Bec shares her somewhat definitive list of the emerging comedians to watch, and how their work — from the silly to the political — can be a balm in these dark times.And we sidebar on the break-up of Australia's royal couple Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban.Get in touch: write or send a voice memo to stopeverything@abc.net.auShow notes:Bec Shaw's viral article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/16/i-knew-one-day-id-have-to-watch-powerful-men-burn-the-world-down-i-just-didnt-expect-them-to-be-such-losersPaloma Paris's single Good Boy: Paris Paloma — Good Boy [Official Music Video]The New Yorker profile on Jacqueline Novak: The Anxious Precision of Jacqueline Novak's Comedy | The New Yorker
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Eat Pray Love … Enable?
Sep 2300:35:10Tap to summarizeElizabeth Gilbert's 2006 self-help memoir Eat Pray Love turned the writer into a pop culture phenomenon, championed by Oprah. She became an emblem of white woman spiritual fulfilment/enlightenment/liberation.Almost two decades later, Gilbert is back with a new memoir titled All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation. But as she herself admits, the Gilbert we come to know in this latest book is far from the "nice lady who wrote Eat Pray Love". It focuses on 18 turbulent months in Gilbert's life, after she gets together with her best friend Rayya who has a terminal cancer diagnosis. Both women are addicts and Gilbert goes into detail about the love and dysfunction that unfolds between them. Hannah and guest host Jen Wong ask: Where does the book's brutal revelations leave the acolytes living Gilbert's Eat Pray Love lifestyle? Do we now know too much about Elizabeth Gilbert? And why did she publish those poems?Get in touch: write or send a voice memo to stopeverything@abc.net.auShow notes:The Conversation All the Way to the River review: Wealthy, whiny and wildly tone deaf: Elizabeth Gilbert's new memoir exemplifies 'priv-lit'Jennifer Wong's upcoming events: Events — Jennifer Wong
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CHUFFED: Top end Bub and Who? Weekly -the podcast
Sep 1800:08:43Tap to summarizeWe're chuffed about a new Australian sequel and a pop culture podcast that delves into the lives of c-grade celebrities.Hannah's sharing a long time listen; Who? Weekly, a pop culture podcast that delves into the celebrities you probably haven't heard of, reality contestants, YouTube stars, the "who?'s" of the world. And writer and film critic Jared Richards is chuffed by Top End Bub, a series sequel to the 2019 rom-com Top End Wedding, starring Miranda Tapsell and Gwilym Lee.Show notes:Who? Weekly podcast: https://www.whoweekly.us/
Transcribe →Why do we choose to watch ‘bad’ things?
Sep 1700:37:20Tap to summarizeFrom Twilight to the new War of the Worlds offering from Amazon and every bit of slop (AI or human) served up on social media, we're devouring it — but why?Hannah's joined by writer and film critic Jared Richards to try to understand why we can't look away from the unsavoury content being delivered up by our algorithms. Are we seeking it out for the feeling of superiority, the draw of the grotesque or simply the communal bonding experience of viewing and commenting on the obscure?Also, we sidebar on the Emmy Awards winners, snubs and highlights this year.Get in touch: write or send a voice memo to stopeverything@abc.net.auShow notes:Kirbpiemayo mixes chicken with ice cream: https://www.tiktok.com/@kirbpiemayo/video/7463141724605451526?_r=1&_t=ZS-8zd4IG2Z61gThe Princess Ayesha instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DM_WO0cz1Q7/
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CHUFFED: Sirens: Survive the Island and In the Know
Sep 1100:11:58Tap to summarizeWe're chuffed by two shows that have gone a bit under the radar on the streaming platforms.Hannah can't look away from the Netflix series Sirens: Survive the Island, the Korean reality series that drops teams of women onto a deserted island featuring fortified bases and rugged terrain as they battle to capture their opponent's flag.Guest critic Clare Rawlinson LOL'd nonstop watching In the Know, a stop motion comedy series, set in an American public radio station that feels a little too real.And Hannah and Clare share a couple of their picks for the Radio National top 100 favourite books. Don't miss out on having your say in Australia's favourite books from the 21st Century.Tell us what's got you chuffed. Write to stopeverything@abc.net.auShow notes:Radio National 100 favourite books: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/radionational/countdown/top100books
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The Paper sets high expectations for The Office spin off
Sep 1000:28:50Tap to summarizeThe creators of The Office (US) have returned with The Paper: a new series set in a struggling local newspaper. We put it to the test to see if it can match the magic of the original.Hannah and guest critic Clare Rawlinson also share their experiences in a contracting media landscape and local newspapers, and how The Paper taps into the erosion of news coverage occurring worldwide.Plus, we sidebar on the best moments from the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, arguably the least serious yet most fun of all the awards nights.Get in touch: write or send a voice memo to stopeverything@abc.net.auShow notes:Vote in Radio National's 100 favourite books: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/radionational/countdown/top100books
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