Culture Catch-Up: The Emmys, The Sydney Sweeney Ad, and We Are the Assholes
Prose Society with Eli Rallo
Eli Rallo hosts a lively Culture Catch-Up episode covering the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the backlash over Sydney Sweeney's sports betting a
Key takeaways
- The 9/11 anniversary sparks generational reflection based on where people grew up.
- Sydney Sweeney's ad ignited debate over 'choice feminism' and the commodification of female agency.
Main topics
- 9/11 25th Anniversary Reflections
- Sydney Sweeney Sports Betting Ad Controversy
Notable quotes
"I'm obsessed with California... but I can't imagine living there."
Conclusion
Eli Rallo wraps the episode with a reflective yet energetic tone, unde
Transcript preview
Speaker 2 (0:00) Hi, this is Kylie Brakeman, Angela Geratana, Speaker 4 (0:02) Jeremy Colhane, Patrick McDonald, and Speaker 2 (0:04) we're the hosts of the Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists podcast, the Speaker 4 (0:08) improvised character comedy podcast, where each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft. Speaker 8 (0:13) Join Speaker 4 (0:13) us for a Speaker 8 (0:14) panel of Eurovision participants. And Speaker 2 (0:17) we do a little Halloween sometimes. Does the Pope dress up? He winks on Halloween. Speaker 4 (0:22) He gets right up next to the microphone. Speaker 2 (0:24) I hear you can almost hear the eyelashes hit each other. Speaker 4 (0:27) You've never seen Italy so quiet as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween. Speaker 2 (0:32) Listen to Artists on Artists on Artists on Artists every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 5 (0:40) I survived nine months in captivity, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are The Survivor Files. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 8 (1:12) Whether you're a seasoned NFL fan or new to the game, there's one place to keep up with all of it. The league's newest podcast, The NFL Report, hosted by me, Andrew Siciliano. It is your home for everything football, breaking news, expert analysis, game picks, and hear from your favorite players too. Join me and an all-star cast of experts for everything you need to know from around the league. Get new episodes of the NFL Report Monday through Friday, all season long. Listen to the NFL Report podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Speaker 7 (1:43) World Cup is over, but if you caught the soccer bug and aren't sure what to do now, check out our podcast, Big Kick Energy. I'm Cameron Dicker, the kicker from the Los Angeles Chargers, and I'm here with Timmy Tillman, current LAFC star player. So, we know a little something about kicking balls. Each week we'll tackle things like who's winning the premier league this year. What do you think is harder scoring a penalty kick or scoring a field goal? Join us each week for a quick chat with your soccer loving bros about the best sport in the world. Soccer. Just don't tell my coaches. I said that listen to big kick energy on the I heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Speaker 1 (2:19) Hey, this is Robert lamb. And this is Joe McCormick, and we're the hosts of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. This week on the show, it's Star Trek. So we're going to be talking about the Borg all week long. Are you ready to get some probes put in your flesh? That's right. Tune in. Resistance is futile. We're going to talk science, the culture of the Borg, various interpretations, and we're going to talk about Star Trek First Contact on Weird House Cinema on Friday. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You're Speaker 4 (2:48) not incurable. You're not broken. You're having a normal human experience, and we have a solution for that. Speaker 1 (2:53) And that solution is our podcast, Free Therapy. I'm Ben. And I'm Kevin. And every week, we talk to leading therapists in the country about relationships, work, family dynamics, and all of life's headaches. Speaker 5 (3:03) If you're trying to get rid of anxiety, you're actually fueling more anxiety. Speaker 1 (3:09) So listen to Free Therapy, because therapy is expensive. But our podcast is free. Speaker 5 (3:13) free Speaker 4 (3:13) listen Speaker 1 (3:13) to free therapy with ben and kevin on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts what Speaker 4 (3:19) up y'all this your main man memphis bleak right here host of that rock solid podcast and each week we bringing you exclusive looks inside music everything happening inside the culture some of the best conversations with the biggest names in the game you Speaker 7 (3:33) had a little bit more pressure to be good and they didn't care if you was a girl like you wasn't getting a points. If you're not trash, you better be not just good, you better be great. Speaker 4 (3:43) Listen to Rock Solid on Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. Speaker 6 (3:58) Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Pro Society. We're back in New York City. We're in the Red Room. We're recording at the iHeart Studios. We freaking love it here. Even though my home studio is now up and running, I've just caught wind that the next month of my life is going to be insane. So you'll probably be seeing this backdrop a lot, and I hope that's okay. I love recording here. They make it so easy for me. We are officially over a month into this podcast, and I just wanted to take a moment to thank you guys for listening. I truly cherish every message, every DM, every sweet, kind thing that you have to say in regard to this podcast and the book club, all of your messages about being inspired by different books and that bringing you back into reading. It just makes me feel like... We're just part of this really wonderful community of readers and thinkers. And I am so grateful that you guys have been enjoying. I hope you liked our last episode, the guest episode with Josh Laura. It was such a wonderful conversation to have and record. And I've just been having so much fun putting together these episodes. And I just wanted to say thank you. So now that that's out of the way, we can get into the culture catch up. I'm going to do a little recap first. The last we chatted was the last culture catch up. So we had Labor Day weekend, which to me is really the end of summer. Like I see that as the end of summer. And now I feel like I'm ready for fall, especially being back in New York. I don't know where y'all are, but there is a chill in the air. It was like 58 degrees this morning and so crispy and just like the perfect weather. But for me, like perfect weather is going to be like 60 to 70 degrees and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. The minute we go higher or lower, that's where I start to be like, oh, I don't know about this. And that's why I understand when people move to L.A. You're never going to catch me moving to L.A. full time because. Before I went to college, I know before I started doing this for a job, I'd never been to California. You guys might know this, but my mom has like a chronic illness that was really flared up when I was in high school and when I was in college. So like, I feel like that's the time that you might travel around the country. Maybe. I don't know. Like I didn't go to that many states. I had never been to Chicago. I had never been to California. I had never been to Texas, like big states, Georgia, like Nashville, like states that you think of when you think of states I had never been to. I had been to like. Vermont and Connecticut and like East Coast vibe states. But I had never been to like a whole ton of states. And then I went to California for the first time in like 2022. And I was like, oh, my fucking God, I'm obsessed with California and I'm obsessed with L.A. But like, I don't have any family there. I have I have friends there now who like live there that are like friends from like work and like life since I started going out there. But I don't have friends from like childhood that live out there like. LA is kind of like a whole different world for me. Like it feels like being at like a completely entirely different place. So I can't imagine myself living there, but I'm obsessed with it and I'm obsessed with the weather. Like I know when I said 60 to 70 degrees is like my sweet spot. You guys probably triggered LA. But anyways, I'm really ready for fall now. Like Labor Day was enough. Rallapalooza was enough. My parents threw a crazy party. It was a crazy drunk fest. It was insane. And I got to a point where like I... was like I've seen enough from summer. And I think that's saying a lot because I'm a summer girl, but it was a big summer for your girl. And I'm just, I'm ready for fall now. It does feel like back to school energy. And that is just like the best feeling for me. Like I love a back to school moment. My manager the other day was like, Eli, you probably loved back to school. I fucking ate that shit up first day of school. I was never the type of kid that like didn't want to go to school. And I wasn't even that good in school. Like I was always smart and bright, but I wasn't like... top 10 kids in my class or, like, anything like that. Like, I was... a good student. I was okay. Like I liked to learn though. And I loved like the structure of school. So I love a little back to school. I'm now in New York for a few things this week. And we're actually recording this like just one day before it airs, which is super nice because it's like very, very like up to date. My best friend is also here at the same time. My long distance best friend. She has a work training thing. And it's just like so serendipitous that we get to be here at the same time because I feel like we never get to see each other because of our schedules. Like we will compare weekends and I'll be like, okay, what about this weekend? And she's like, well, like my brother's wedding. And then I'm like, okay, what about this weekend? And she's like, well, we're going on a family ski trip. And then she's like, what about this weekend? And I'm like, well, that weekend is this holiday. And like, we just can never find a weekend that works. That's why my wedding was so nice because I feel like we had all of these weekends that like we had to see each other. Now she's getting married. So it'll be the same thing, which is so nice. But I'm like, what serendipity that my best friend happens to be in New York when she Work never brings her to New York the same week that I'm going to be here. So it's nice that I get to see her. Something that I've been thinking about a lot, it's like mid-September, is the 25th anniversary of 9-11 was just a few days ago. And I didn't make a video about this note specifically, like what I'm about to say, because I didn't think it was like my day to center my experience because I have a personal connection to it, as I think most people who grew up on the East Coast did. But I don't have like... that personal of a connection that like I wanted, you know, the stories that need to be shared on that day were what I wanted to like uplift and interact with. But I think it's just so interesting, like the regional differences of how people feel about 9-11, like growing up in New Jersey and in the tri-state area, like the weight of that day was something that like it was very noticeable, like in the air, the energy. So many people. from my hometown, like, commute into New York City for work because it's, like, close enough that you can take a train and a boat. You could even drive. And so many people's lives were personally touched in the community that I grew up in. You know it's that day and, like, you feel it. And, like, everybody really does, like, pay their respects and has just a lot of, like, emotion around that day. Once I like relocated to Texas and started spending time there, it's not that they don't care because absolutely everybody cares. And I think everybody remembers. It's just that like it's not as personal. It's not as close for as many people. So it feels so different. Like regionally, it feels so different. And I don't know like how to describe that. But like when you grew up on. on the East Coast in New York City was like a part of your life because it was so close to where you grew up or you grew up here. I can't even imagine. It's just a really, really heavy feeling. And for me on that day, I like to make a donation and I want to recommend where I donate, which is Tunnels to Towers. They've given over $1 billion to first responders and their families since 9-11. They were born out of a lot of the firefighters who got stuck in the tunnel coming over from Brooklyn, I believe. And then put on all of their gear and ran through the tunnel and ran basically into the towers to save people's lives. And many of them lost their own in being like incredibly heroic. I think every year they have a run or some years they've done a run like that is the exact route that they take. And for me, when I feel like genuinely hopeless and I feel grief and heaviness, like it helps me to like. do something actionable, whether that's donating my time or donating my money. So that's a recommendation of where I've donated almost every year. I mean, since I had money, I started donating. And yeah, there are so few words, but like being back in New York and I, my apartment here is in Fidei, you really, really do feel it. And I didn't want to center my voice with a video on the day because I don't have a truly deeply personal story. So I... chose to uplift other stories instead. But with a little bit more space here, I did just want to say like it is very interesting to me regionally how people show up on that day. And like being in Texas, like I woke up and of course, like immediately was like crushed by that grief. And I feel like people don't hold it in the same way because they weren't as close to it physically. But yeah, obviously we never forget. And if you guys want to make a donation, Tunnels to Towers is where I donated. There's never any good segues on this pod. Like my main goal in podcasting is going to be to figure out segues. But what makes New York really special to me, though, is like the resilience and the hustle. And like there's so many beautiful things going on at any given moment and like so many truths happening all around you. And we found out today that Annie. is coming back to Broadway. And guys, I'm so excited. Like, I don't know. Like, Annie is like, for some reason, it really hits for me. I think it was just like, when you were a kid, if you loved theater, you did Annie. And it's the 50th anniversary, directed by Sam Pinkleton. He worked on Natasha Pierre, O'Mary, Rocky Horror. He's beyond. I'm so excited. Like, who are we getting in these fucking roles? Jessica Voska's Miss Hannigan? Like, Jessica Voska's Miss Hannigan. I know we're going to get like a... I know we're going to get a fucking killer Miss Hannigan. I know Star to Be is going to be like insane. Like should Joy Woods be Star to Be? Like there's so many fucking options here. Like who's going to play Grace? Who's going to play Lily St. Regis? And if they want me, I'm available. Like if I was a child right now, a child actor, I would be like mom and dad, I'm dropping out of school to pursue Annie. Like at this like if I was 10 years old, I. Like, I can't believe I'm not 10 years old right now. I, like, stay in school, everybody. But I'm just so fucking excited for Annie, the 50th anniversary. Not to mention, I mean, another segue, but I guess this is kind of related. They canceled the Sunday in the Park with George revival that was opening on the West End. It was supposed to open with Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey. And they decided to cancel it. And because Ariana pulled out and due to, like, her, you know, stepping out of the spotlight after her tour. And then Jonathan Bailey left. And like, I don't think that like everybody just wanted to do Sunday in the Park with George. I think everybody wanted to do a production of Sunday in the Park with George with Ariana and Jonathan Bailey. So when they could no longer do it, I feel like they were like, OK, we're not going to do this anymore. Like, I just also like, what were they going to like? Anybody else that they were going to put into that was going to be an obvious second choice. Like they had built this world around the two of them doing it. I just don't. I do think we should do a revival of Sunday in the Park with George, but, like, I totally understand them canceling it because I don't think, like, it wasn't like they announced, like, like today, announced a revival of Annie and then like their original casting like couldn't do it. Like they wouldn't cancel it because they haven't announced. They're not going to announce the cast until the cast is like concrete. And if they announced the cast and people had to pull out, they would just swap them out. But this was announced as like Sunday in the Park with George starring Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey. So I do understand why they canceled it. Obviously, I'm upset. But what are you going to do? We're kind of at this place where like, I don't know, like I don't want to see like a lackadaisical, low effort, random hodgepodge production of some of a show I really like just because the original like wasn't going to work out. Like I would rather than like take a beat, take a minute, take it in and then figure out where to go from there. So I don't know. That's my take on that. Like I'm not feeling any type of way negatively. Well, speaking of things I'm feeling negative about, that was a pretty good one. We could all agree. That's Sydney Sweeney ad. Let's talk about it. Damn, guys. You know, I actually think I have like a bit of a nuanced take where I feel like. The goal of the ad was to outrage women, and that's what's disgusting about it. Like, to me, men love when women get outraged. They like this ad because it pisses off women and liberal women more than they like it because it's so overtly sexual. They like it because they've gotten to a place where they can say it's not that deep to a bunch of people and can kind of like neg and snark and troll on them because people are now outraged by it. And... They can make it this thing about choice feminism now, which they love to do, like conservative women, conservative men, just men in general. They love to be like, people love to levy this at me all the time. Like, aren't you so big on like people having a right to choose? And I'm like, yeah, but it's so annoying when people back you into that kind of corner because I'm like, yes, I believe that people have a right to choose about. certain things like their own bodies. I believe people have a right to choose how they want to live their lives. That being said, I don't believe feminism is about having the right to choose. Feminism is a political movement. It's not a lifestyle tool. You're using it as a lifestyle tool to try to justify whatever behavior that you want to justify. I see it as a political movement that is working toward equality of the sexes, both all sexes, all gender identities, all people, equality. That's feminism. Feminism is an intersectional political movement. It's not a lifestyle tool. When you use choice feminism to justify like specifically the bad behavior of white women, then you're just like centering white women's choice. So you can see how that's a problem. Well, they definitely can't, but it is. So then they're going to levy that, too. They're going to say, well, it's her right to choose how she wants to do whatever she wants to do with her body. And I agree it's her right to choose whatever she wants to do with her body. But, like, we're speaking in bad faith here. You know, like, that's not why people are outraged. I do think it is that deep. Like, the problem is my brain didn't automatically go to women in sports. However, I'm not a woman in sports. And, frankly, I don't know enough about women in sports. I should know far more. What I do know is that. Women in sports and female athletes have had to fight so fucking hard to get taken seriously in like a male dominated field when it doesn't make any sense because they're doing the same exact thing. And honestly, probably at like a greater level, they've had to fight so hard to get funding to be taken seriously. The fact that like when anyone thinks of sports, they automatically think of men. They even have to put female in front of athletes like all that bullshit. So the problem for me, the tagline being it's just it's just sports is the problem because like female athletes have fought so fucking hard to be taken seriously. Now, here you are. nude, saying it's just sports, sexualizing yourself, saying it's just sports. However, like my other caveat, and that's why I feel kind of like confused about how I feel, is that Sidney Sweeney and this brand, Novig, whatever the fuck, they know exactly what they were doing. Like the CEO is literally quoted saying, I read an article, we're in the national discourse now. That's what they wanted. They wanted to piss off people and now they're getting what they wanted. And so, like, I don't think that we should necessarily stop talking about it because we need to make points about this and we need to talk about we need to shed light on, like, the fucking mistreatment of women in sports and how this type of thing can be conflated with women in sports and how women in sports, like, have had to fight so hard again to be taken seriously at all. And so we shouldn't stop talking about the way that this is harmful. But by talking about it, we're doing exactly what they wanted us to do. And now everybody knows about this stupid fucking sports betting app and this stupid fucking ad. Like the ad is a net negative, right? Like I'm not going to find positives in it. But I feel not like controversial about it. But I'm just like, damn, like I've seen a lot of takes on the internet. And like I do agree