In 1984, a relatively unknown 26-year old Madonna appeared at the first MTV Video Music Awards. Dressed like a rock and roll bride, Madonna sang “Like a Virgin.” The performance was considered so risque, so scandalous that many – including her own manager – predicted it would end her career. But far from stopping her, that moment changed Madonna’s life, transforming her from rising star to pop idol. In this week’s episode, Susie and Jess talk about that iconic performance, the rise of MTV and how together MTV and Madonna were a force that defined 80s pop culture.

FOR MORE:

• 60 Times Madonna Changed Our Culture - The New York Times
• Inside Madonna's Legendary Performance at the First VMAs
• Buy Mary Gabriel’s book Madonna: A Rebel Life

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Girl dinner. Hot girl walks. Weird girls. Clean girls. Rat girls. Snail girls. Everywhere we look, it seems, a certain kind of girliness is being celebrated – from Beyonce to Barbie to Taylor Swift to TikTok. But what really is girl culture? Jess and Susie revisit a seminal photography book from the early 2000s, Lauren Greenfield’s “Girl Culture,” to ask: What does it mean when girlhood is being glorified but individual girls are more miserable than ever?

FOR MORE:

• The joy of communal girlhood; the agony of teen girls (by Jessica Bennett, NYT, 2024)
• Being 13 (By Jessica Bennett, NYT, 2023)
• This Is 18 (By Jessica Bennett, NYT, 2018)
• Girl Culture, by Lauren Greenfield (TIME, 2002)

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Lyle and Erik Menendez, two Beverly Hills brothers, were convicted of murdering their parents in a tabloid case that captivated the nation in the 1990s. But in recent years, they have captured the attention of a new generation, becoming unlikely social media stars despite being in prison for the last 34 years. In this episode, Susie and Jess look at the dedicated fan accounts advocating for a new trial and the new evidence that might actually free them.

FOR MORE:

• The New Menendez Defenders (The New York Times)
• Ex-Member of Menudo Says He Was Raped by Father of the Menendez Brothers (The New York Times)
• New evidence may back Menendez brothers’ sexual abuse claims. But can it free them? (The Los Angeles Time)

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