Season 1
Nov. 29, 2019
Ep. 20: Gratitude & Holiday Hopes: ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ vs. ‘We Are The World’
Grounded in the hopeful spirit of songs by Band Aid and U.S.A For Africa, Karen and Wynter chat about what they’re grateful for in 2019 – and look forward to renewed focus and positive productivity in the coming year. While …
Nov. 22, 2019
Ep. 19: The Head That Wears The Crown: Early Elizabeth II vs. Silver Jubilee Elizabeth II
Karen and Wynter couldn’t resist diving into season 3 of Netflix’s most opulent and expensive series, The Crown as soon as it was released. How do the two feel about the new cast, lead by Oscar-winner Olivia Colman & Helena …
Nov. 15, 2019
Ep. 18: Postmillennial Femme-inisms LIVE at USC: Sex & the City vs. The L-Word
W2X goes back to school w/ Professor Tongson’s class on U.S. Pop Culture LIVE at USC! Wynter is off on assignment, so Tre’vell Anderson from OUT magazine and Sarah Kessler, the TV editor for Public Books (and Karen’s better …
Nov. 8, 2019
Ep. 17: Black Middle Class - 227 vs. Black-ish
All hail Regina King! Her turn on HBO’s The Watchmen alerted most of white America to the existence of a “Black Wall Street” in its opening depiction of the 1921 “Tulsa massacre.” This episode explores the shifting TV repres…
Nov. 1, 2019
Ep. 16: “The Nice Guys”: Paul Rudd vs. John Cusack
With the recent release of Paul Rudd's Netflix series, Living with Yourself, we began to ask ourselves which everyman, GenX heartthrob might be the "better" version of another? This week we stage a showdown between everybody…
Oct. 25, 2019
Ep.15: “Intimate Horror” & Female Anti-Heroes: Midsommar vs. Hereditary
***SPOILER ALERT - MIDSOMMAR AND HEREDITARY PLOT DETAILS ARE DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE*** It’s Halloween-time and modern-day horror ensnares Wynter who finally convinces Karen to watch Midsommar and Hereditary. Which movie c…
Oct. 18, 2019
Ep. 14: The Gay 90s with Heather Matarazzo: Indie vs. Mainstream
***SPOILER ALERT: MAJOR PLOT POINTS FROM THE JOKER ARE REVEALED IN THIS EPISODE*** Amazing guests keep rolling into W2X, and this week Wynter and Karen are joined by the one and only Heather Matarazzo, an actor, writer, dire…
Oct. 11, 2019
Ep. 13: All Hail the Queen (Latifah, not that other lady): Cleo vs. Khadijah
Wynter & Karen welcome Madin Lopez, a stylist and the founder of ProjectQ: a non-profit organization benefiting LGBTQ+ homeless youth by providing free gender-affirming haircuts, and safe-spaces, as well as life-skills works…
Oct. 4, 2019
Ep. 12: Ryan Murphy’s Nostalgia Game - AHS vs. ACS
With the recent debut of Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story: 1984, Wynter and Karen take the occasion to explore his deeply nostalgic oeuvre to consider whether or not his dominion is 80s camp or 90s magic realism, i.e. hor…
Sept. 27, 2019
Ep. 11: The (Inappropriate) Objects of Our Affections: School Daze vs. Dear White People (TV series)
Karen and Wynter travel all the way to the University of Mississippi in Oxford for their first live show, with special guests Kiese Laymon and Alysia Steele. The four of them get into our inappropriate objects of pop-cultura…
Sept. 13, 2019
Ep. 10: On Becoming Kirsten Dunst: 1990s KD vs. 2000s KD
All hail the goddess, Kirsten Dunst, who just received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is turning heads with her spectacular turn as Krystal Stubbs on the new Showtime series, On Becoming a God in Central Florida. …
Sept. 6, 2019
Ep. 9: X’ed out of D23 - The Cat from Outer Space vs. Flight of the Navigator
Disney rolls out the reboots at its annual D23 convention and--surprise, surprise--there's little to tickle the fancies of Generation X, with all the devotion to Lizzie McGuire & HSM. Wynter & Karen remedy that by telling yo…
Aug. 30, 2019
Ep. 8: Give us the Keys, Brandon: BH 90210-Brenda vs. Kelly
Both Wynter and Karen try not to cry every time they talk about the dearly departed Luke Perry, aka Dylan McKay. The two dive headfirst into a long simmering debate from the last 30 years--Brenda vs. Kelly--as the Fox reboot…
Aug. 23, 2019
Ep. 7: Impeachment & Political Sex Scandals: 1998 vs. 2019
Wynter and Karen are abuzz with news of the casting for Ryan Murphy's next season of American Crime Story on the Clinton impeachment, with Monica Lewinsky on board as a producer, and Beanie Feldstein playing Monica. Each ref…
Aug. 16, 2019
Ep. 6: What the Wild Things Teach Us: Cocaine Bear vs. Meth Gator
W2X goes wild as we conjure a raucous showdown between urban legends, Cocaine Bear vs. Meth Gator! Who are they? What are they? And what do they tell us about person-kind's relationship to nature as it's evolved since nature…
Aug. 9, 2019
Ep. 5: From Pin-Ups to Big Papas: Brad Pitt vs. Leonardo DiCaprio
It's a battle of GenX matinee idols, Brad Pitt vs. Leonardo DiCaprio. Wynter and Karen reflect on the arc of Brad & Leo's careers in light of their latest joint venture, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The two also reveal the…
Aug. 2, 2019
Ep 4: YouTubin' with Generation X: Mentos vs. Diet Pepsi
Pop open a Bartles & Jaymes, and pull your rocking chair up to your laptop, Wynter and Karen get into how Generation X uses YouTube, from nostalgic forays into old commercials and landmark pop culture moments, to how-to vide…
July 26, 2019
Ep. 3 - Summer Shenanigans: Summer School vs. Dazed & Confused
'Tis the season for dogs wearing sunglasses, horndog teens and poolside rumpshakin'. Karen and Wynter get deep into summer shenanigans, both their own, and everything we've seen on screen since the 1980s. Karen is surrenderi…
July 19, 2019
Ep. 2: Goonies vs. Stand By Me, and the Stranger Things of It All
Wynter catches up with Karen after she returns from her month-long book tour abroad, and the two get into some of the things KT missed back in the U.S. of A. , including HBO MAX, and the new series Euphoria. Karen (who saw a…
July 10, 2019
Ep. 1: Pilot
It's the debut episode of Waiting to X-hale, a Gen X-themed show with podcast veterans Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh and Karen Tongson. W2X revisits the pop culture & social issues that defined Generation X from a (queer) woman-…