Episodes
Ep. 78: Squid Game and Playing for Survival
Oct. 11, 2021
SPOILER ALERT: Details from the several episodes of Squid Game are discussed in the main segment. Wynter and Karen join the rest of the world in obsessing over Squid Game, the S. Korean Netflix series about contestants play…
Ep. 77: ACS Impeachment
Sept. 27, 2021
Who is the “mother SCOBY” of all Karens? Find out on this week’s episode, which dives deep into Impeachment, the latest installment of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story anthology. How does the series ratchet up its scenes o…
Ep. 76: You’re Not the Main Character!
Sept. 13, 2021
Inspired by Vulture article about white men in crisis on TV, Wynter and Karen explore the many layers of white male aggrievement in TV, pop culture, and real-life (fr. Rutherford Falls, to White Lotus and Ted Lasso w/ a spe…
Ep. 75: Geriatric Xers and End-of-Summer Top 10
Aug. 30, 2021
Film critics and husbands Dave White and Alonso Duralde of the are GUEST HOSTING W2X this week! While Wynter and Karen are running around taking care of business (at a safe distance and masked, of course) Dave and Alonso h…
Ep. 74: BioDocs from Bourdain to Val
Aug. 16, 2021
Karen and Wynter explore two high-profile and controversial documentaries about beloved figures Anthony Bourdain (Roadrunner), and Val Kilmer (Val). What do we get from conjuring their lost voices? And what do we miss in the…
Ep. 73: Woodstock 99 & Music Festivals with Ann Powers
Aug. 2, 2021
One of our generation’s greatest pop music critics, Ann Powers (NPR Music), sits down with Karen and Wynter to process the new Woodstock 99 doc, and music festivals in general, while exploring the cultural conditions that st…
Ep. 72: Ridin’ Down Fear Street: 1994 and 1978
July 19, 2021
Wynter tells Karen to suck it up for a ride down R.L. Stine’s Fear Street, especially with the release of the trilogy on Netflix and its deep GenX flex (from 1994 to 1978). SPOILERS ABOUND! Before we get to the scary parts, …
Ep. 71: Soft, Yacht, and Spago Rock with Mike Pace and Molly Lambert
July 5, 2021
We go long this week to pore over all the shout horns, crotchy synth chords and late-80s affluence of what Mike Pace famously describes as Spago rock. Molly Lambert explains the Spago-adjacent music she and her brother have …
Ep. 70: Gamechangers: Film & TV Edition
June 21, 2021
Wynter asks us all to think about the films and TV shows that changed the game, from those that captured the style and essence of their era (Clueless), to those that transformed the cultural conversation (Boyz N The Hood, an…
Ep. 69: The One With the Friends Reunion
June 7, 2021
Wynter and Karen hit all the angles of the HBO Max Friends reunion, from the true MVPs of the cast, to Irish uncle Joey, to its efforts to compensate for the show’s lack of diversity by highlighting its global legacy. The tw…
Ep. 68: Girls 5 Eva, 3gether with Guy Branum
May 24, 2021
Their former girl group sister, Guy Branum told Karen and Wynter to watch the new Peacock series Girls 5Eva so they could all process it 3gether, which they do on this week’s ep. Karen is too busy cavorting in the gay woods …
Ep. 67: Our AIM is True - Social Media Through the Ages
May 10, 2021
Dust off your dial-up, and join Wynter and Karen for a glimpse at social media through the ages, from the classic AOL Instant Messenger, to all the apps we rushed to download during the pandemmy like Marco Polo, HouseParty, …
Ep. 66 At the Movies (Again!)
April 26, 2021
What upcoming movie releases will inspire Karen and Wynter to leave the comfort and safety of their pandemic bunkers to go to an actual theater?!? This is an especially tall order since news broke of the Arclight & Cineramad…
Ep. 65 Better Be Good to TINA, with Nick Murphy
April 12, 2021
Wynter and Karen welcome longtime listener Nick Murphy, a fierce advocate and fan of the great Tina Turner, to chat about the new HBO doc revisiting her legacy. The three focus on what it means to truly pursue your dreams in…
Ep. 64 It’s An Honor Just to Be Asian... #StopWhiteSupremacy
March 29, 2021
Karen and Wynter confront the surge in anti-AAPI hate and violence during Covid, while exploring how its longer histories are intertwined with pop culture. Karen shouts out some writers doing the hard work of responding to t…
Ep. 63 - Coming Home to The Real World
March 15, 2021
Wynter and Karen reveal the different reasons each of them cried when they watched The Real World: Homecoming, which reunites the cast of MTV’s first season of The Real World: New York (1992). Whose fashion and “smooth conca…
Ep. 62: The World of WandaVision
March 1, 2021
Wynter and Karen immerse themselves into WandaVision, as they explore how we use TV to work through our grief in myriad ways. Ever the completist, Karen re-watched all 23 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in timeline or…
Ep. 61: #FreeBritney + Bling Empire w/ Jenny Yang
Feb. 15, 2021
Writer, comedian, and Asian American cultural icon Jenny Yang joins us to process WTF Bling Empire is all about. Karen and Wynter call an audible, and devote their ‘sup segment to Framing Britney Spears, because it truly is …
Ep. 60: FOREVER 21
Feb. 1, 2021
Karen and Wynter kick off season 4 and 2021--the year this millennium is finally old enough to drink--with reflections on when they each turned 21. For Wynter, it was 2001, and she recalls her days tearing up the San Francis…
Bonus Trailer: Dance Hubs
Dec. 28, 2020
While the show is on a holiday hiatus, we wanted to share a podcast project Karen has been working on at USC that you might be into! The Consortium for Gender, Sexuality, Race and Popular Culture is a start-up podcast netwo…
Ep. 59: Gifts that Keep on Giving from our Family to Yours
Dec. 18, 2020
It’s a family affair for our season 3 finale, as both Wynter and Karen’s parents pop into our Zoom room to chat about their favorite pop cultural memories--the gifts that keep on giving--from then and now. Each of our hosts …
Ep. 58: The Happiest Season...OR IS IT?!
Dec. 4, 2020
Karen could barely wait through the holiday weekend to hear what Wynter, her self-described “cis-het” gal pal thought of The Happiest Season, the new holiday romcom with sapphist leads. Find out what a “Madewell femme” is in…
Ep. 57: Thank You, Thank You: Listener Dedications + An Amazing Race detour w/ Nicole J. Georges
Nov. 26, 2020
We are so grateful to our extended W2X family, and some very special guests, who sent us their dedications and messages of gratitude for the Thanksgiving holiday, while also reminding us about this vexed occasion’s origins. …
Ep. 56: Crownin’ Around with Diana: The Crown S4
Nov. 20, 2020
Karen & Wynter binged all of Netflix’s The Crown in a single day, as season 4 of the prestige series swerves into the GenX sweet spot of 1977-1990. The two get into the Charles & Diana of it all, and the cognitive dissonance…