The List - March
If you read my last post you will know that I am trying to get myself back from an exhausting cycle of life. It's why I stepped back onto my blog after such a long break and why you may have noticed I am changing up my approach to social media and getting more creative again. Well this past month I have enjoyed a lot of different things that are helping me get back some hobbies and interests that are slowly reenergising me. It's something I plan to continue and with that I would love to share what I have found. So I am hoping that I will do one of these lists every month (but again no promises, I'm still taking it slower) rounding up what I have tried out this month that I have really enjoyed.
Podcast | Shameless
Described as a podcast for smart women who love dumb stuff, Shameless strikes the perfect balance between light, fluffy gossip and smart analysis of it and popular culture. Shameless is entirely produced by its stars Michelle Andrews and Zara McDonald, two Melbourne journalists who have worked for publications like Mamma Mia.
They have interviewed major influencers, analysed the makings of a reality TV villain, covered events from a variety of industries in pop culture and even discussed society's obsessions with AfterPay and food ordering apps. They also share their recommendations for other podcasts, movies, TV shows and books so my list of content to consume has been growing healthily since I began listening. Here are some of my favourite episodes:
Kate Spade and clickbait culture
Kate Spade's suicide in June 2018 rocked the fashion industry in ways that are hard to understand if you didn't follow the brand much. Kate Spade the brand was a bright, sparkly and incredibly happy feeling brand but as this event uncovered Kate Spade herself was a much more complicated person. They covered this beautifully and took a really hard look at how the media handled this event, particularly expressing disappointment to how the media handles mental illness and how they centred coverage around Spade's 13 year old daughter in the wake of her mother's death. This episode also covers Miss America removing the swimsuit section of the competition and if that makes it more feminist, and the weird world of influencers and PED culture.
The psychology of hate-following
The girls look at J-Lo and that green cape-dress, lament over Charlie Sheen and his horrible history with violence against women and then have a look into the phenomenon of hate-following. This episode actually inspired one of my most recent Instagram clear outs where I unfollowed everyone I decided I did not care about enough to follow and those who I realised after listening, I was engaging a little hate-follow with.
Honestly, a large part of why I love this episode is the title. That whole Kardashian mess has been inescapable on social media and listening to the girls talk about it is endlessly entertaining - even if you hate the Kardashians. But that is not the only reason I love this episode. This one also covers Karl Lagerfeld's death and discussing how to handle the death of someone with an amazing legacy but a lot of controversy that does not sit well with our current social beliefs. It was a debate I saw a lot of online immediately following his death and Shameless looked over every angle, discussing each view's merits and downfalls. And of course any talk about the Oscars is really great fun.
Book | You Do You - Sarah Knight
I read Sarah Knight's other book, The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck, late last year and absolutely loved it. It is filled with sarcasm, comedic moments and genius takes on how to go through life saving energy by good budgeting of the fucks you have to give. Well I skipped over the book that lands in the middle of these two (because it was out of stock and I could not be fucked to track it down another time) but You Do You lived up to my expectations in all the best ways. Her no bullshit take on life and how she thinks we can all best live it was just as funny as the first time and she actually gave some great pieces of advice out that were surprisingly relevant to my first few months of 2019.
Podcast | The Glow Journal
Hosted by another Melbourne based journalist, Gemma Watts, The Glow Journal is all about interviewing beauty industry founders and brand owners to find out how they started, what the journey has been like for them and their brands, and what is still to come. I have discovered brands I have never heard of through this podcast and learned a lot about brands I have. Here are some of my favourite episodes:
Episode 7 - Christophe Robin: Founder of Christophe Robin Paris
A celebrity hair colourist with his own namesake hair care brand, Christophe Robin not only had an entrancing accent but plenty of information about caring for coloured hair to give out in this interview. He talks about his experiences being the first person to start dyeing the hair of the early 90s supermodels, collaborating with major fashion houses on fashion weeks and what he thinks of the fashion industry now
Episode 14 - Melanie Gleeson: Founder and CEO of Endota Spa
Melanie Gleeson started Endota Spa back in 2000 and apparently there were so few around the local government thought she was opening a brothel. This was an amazing interview as you can really see the holistic approach that Edota takes in their company and how core it is to both the brand and Melanie. She speaks a lot about taking time for your own wellness, both physical and mental, and even discusses how they are currently looking into the effects of dealing with long term stress on the body and its systems.
If you have read or listened to any of these items on my list for March please let me know! I love, love, love discussing content I have consumed with people and finding out what others think about it. And if you feel like there I am missing some fantastic shows, podcasts or books in my life please let me know in the comments or slide into my DMs with your recommendations.