Today, Explained — "The reality TV that made us"

Episode Date: February 27, 2026
Host: Noel King
Guests: Sachi Cole (Senior Writer for Slate), Brian Moylan (President & Founder of Vulture’s Real Housewives Institute)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the complex legacy of early 2000s reality TV, focusing on "America’s Next Top Model" (ANTM) and the pervasive influence of the genre on American culture and personal identity. Hosts Noel King and guest Sachi Cole discuss the lasting impact of ANTM, prompted by a new documentary reevaluating the show’s cultural footprint and its more troubling moments. Later, reality TV historian Brian Moylan provides perspective on the genre’s evolution and why its influence endures—and sometimes sours.

Section 1: The Influence and Absurdity of "America’s Next Top Model"

Personal Impact of ANTM

• Opening Sentiment: Noel King and Sachi Cole reflect on growing up with ANTM and how it shaped their perceptions of body image, sexuality, and womanhood.
  • "Every conscious thought I’ve had about my body and sexuality and being a girl and how to eat has been guided by this show." (Noel King, 00:04)
  • "You went from an impressionable age to young adult to fully an adult. And Tyra and the show were there every step of the way." (Sachi Cole, 00:19)
• Tyra Banks as a Cultural Figure:
  • "Tyra was with me through puberty and my divorce. And you can’t say that about a lot of people." (Noel King, 00:27)

The Show’s Format and Legacy

• ANTM combined dreams of stardom, harsh industry lessons, and a quirky lexicon ("smize").
• The setup: young women—often very young—competing in photo shoots, fashion challenges, and living under unique pressures.
  • "It was such a strange fever dream of a show. It is exactly like a lot of reality competitions still." (Noel King, 04:39)
• Tyra Banks’ unpredictable on-camera persona and the outlandish show moments:
  • "Tyra was cuckoo bananas. And that’s why we loved her. She was amazing TV." (Noel King, 04:58)
  • Memorable moment: Tyra pretending to faint to teach contestants about acting (05:20).

Section 2: The Documentary Reckoning—Toxicity, Trauma, & Accountability

Revisiting Controversies

• Shandy’s Story (06:27–08:07)
  • Shandy, a standout contestant, is featured with new context: what appeared as a drunken hookup on the show is now reconsidered through a lens of consent and exploitation.
    • "Now, really, in her adulthood, she’s able to look at this and be like, yeah, that wasn’t a place where I could consent." (Noel King, 07:47)
    • "They should have fucking, like, been like, all right, this has gone too far... We gotta pull her out of this." (Sachi Cole, 07:47)
• Industry Standards Enforced on Contestants (Gap-toothed Dani) (08:35–10:15)
  • Dani, whose gap in her teeth was part of her charm, was told to get it closed for commercial “marketability.”
    • "Do you really think you can have a CoverGirl contract with a gap in your mouth?" (Noel King, quoting the show, 09:04)
    • "Tell me about how the documentary deals with young women being told something distinct about you is not right. It’s not good enough." (Sachi Cole, 09:12)

On Tyra Banks and Systemic Responsibility

• The documentary highlights the shared culpability among producers, not just Tyra as the figurehead:
  • "These shows are constellations of people... There’s a lot of people who have responsibility for it." (Noel King, 08:07)

Larger Social Reflection

• The struggle between coaching young women for industry success and perpetuating toxic norms:
  • "She’s trying to tell these women, this is how the industry works... At the same time, she is propagating those same things." (Noel King, 09:22)
• Attempts at accountability in the present are complicated by the shifting Overton window of social acceptability.
  • "I think those retrospectives are worthwhile because they help us see how the Overton window has moved..." (Noel King, 12:43)

Section 3: The Evolution of Reality TV (w/ Brian Moylan)

[17:46–28:14]

Where Reality TV Started (18:07–20:27)

• Early milestones included "An American Family" (PBS, 1970s) and "The Real World" (MTV, 1991), which introduced confessional interviews.
• "What they invented that changed the genre was the confessional..." (Brian Moylan, 19:00)
• The explosion began with "Survivor" in 2000, sparking a gold rush among networks.

Early Tactics: Exploitation & Experimentation (20:27–22:58)

• Early reality TV was "anything goes," with little care for contestant wellbeing.
  • "It was very wild, wild west... a little bit more exploitation, a little bit more looking for the craziest possible angle, the craziest possible stunts." (Brian Moylan, 21:00)
• Contestants often faced unsafe conditions and little preparation for instant fame.

How Viewers & Producers Grew Savvy (22:58–25:13)

• Over time, audiences learned production tricks—and contestants became more media-savvy.
• Social media changed stakes: many now see reality TV as a career launcher, targeting influencer fame.
  • "Most of the women who are going on The Bachelor...are going to develop a social media following so they can become an influencer of some sort rather than finding love." (Brian Moylan, 23:10)
• Some progress has been made in safety and professionalism, but basic exploitation persists.

The Genre as Cultural Mirror (24:22–26:01)

• Reality TV reflects and amplifies social norms and changing attitudes:
  • "Reality television is always a reflection of us. And I do think that tastes have changed and the things that we deem are acceptable have changed." (Brian Moylan, 24:22)
• Past shows engaged in overtly problematic stunts now considered unacceptable.

Lingering Accountability Problems (25:13–25:44)

• Contestants often still sign bad contracts and don’t profit from the IP or merchandising their stories generate.
  • "They're creating catchphrases and making intellectual property... they're not getting any residuals when they rerun these shows." (Brian Moylan, 25:20)

Does Reality TV Threaten Society? (26:01–26:53)

• Ted Koppel once said reality TV marked “the end of civilization.”
  • "If it wasn't reality television, before that it was rap music. Before that it was Elvis Presley shaking his hips... They've always touted the end of civilization and yet here we are." (Brian Moylan, 26:01)
• Stigma around “low culture” lets abuses go unchecked and stars aren’t taken seriously.

The Future: Tech, Stakes, and Social Experiment (27:03–28:08)

• Future innovations will likely follow technological breakthroughs.
• The next wave: shows like "Beast Games" or "Squid Game" increase stakes and moral dilemmas, moving from pure voyeurism to “real-world” social experiments.
  • "More what they would like to call social experiments than just watching people living their real lives or playing these kinds of big format game shows." (Brian Moylan, 27:47)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "They should give us the Purple Heart for surviving it. Cause, like, it’s crazy that we’re alive."
  — Sachi Cole (03:25)
• "The show created, like, a whole lexicon for us that we didn’t have before. We know the word smize, which is the dumbest word."
  — Noel King (04:39)
• "Tyra was cuckoo bananas. And that’s why we loved her."
  — Noel King (04:58)
• "She was primed to win... I mean, she was on the second season of the show."
  — Noel King on Shandy (06:41)
• "The point of the show was the tension between who you were and who you are supposed to become."
  — Noel King (10:12)
• "Intent and result is always different... She comes off looking kind of like what we knew her to be, which is like pretty craven."
  — Noel King (10:30)
• "Reality television is always a reflection of us... And most of it has been for the better." — Brian Moylan (24:22)
• "[Stigma] is part of what allows reality television to be as bad as it was... you're all terrible, what did you expect?" — Brian Moylan (26:01)
• "We’re now all a reality show. We’re all living our lives on camera, we’re all performing for likes and attention and, you know, making content." — Brian Moylan (27:03)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–00:52: Personal reflections on ANTM and Tyra Banks
• 02:32–03:34: Framing the nostalgia and cultural moment of ANTM
• 06:27–08:07: Shandy’s story and the ethics of production
• 08:35–10:15: Dani’s teeth and enforced beauty standards
• 17:46–28:14: Brian Moylan on the history and legacy of reality TV
• 24:22–26:01: Reality TV as a societal mirror and evolving tastes
• 27:03–28:08: The future of reality TV and our “performative lives” online

Tone and Takeaway

The episode mixes affectionate nostalgia with critical self-examination and media critique. Both guests and hosts acknowledge the entertainment, absurdity, and harm perpetuated by early 2000s reality TV. They agree that, while the genre is often dismissed, its influence is profound—and its legacy is still being written, as both TV and society continually renegotiate the boundaries of taste, safety, and accountability.