This week we’re diving into Jia Tolentino’s viral essay on the new age of cosmetic enhancement, from how algorithms are changing our faces to whether Botox really helps women get ahead at work – and why our own feelings on tweakments have recently radically changed. Also on the show: Olivia Wilde’s brilliant new film The Invite, where she and Seth Rogen play a miserable middle-class married couple, Apple’s sci-fi dystopia Silo, dispatches from the newborn trenches, and the latest doc exploring the ethics of reality TV, The Love Island Curse. Enjoy huns!

Tickets for our book club on Wed 2 September are on sale now! Get yours at via Ticket Tailor and preorder your copy of Where Are the Kings here

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Recs/ reviews:

• On whether having a baby ruins your life or not, Sam Parker, Substack
• Silo, AppleTV
• The Invite, in cinemas
• The Drama, available to rent
• Half Man, iPlayer
• The Curse of Love Island, Prime Video
• Our incredible September book club pick Where Are the Kings, by Donal Ryan – pre-order your copy here
• Our Plastic Surgery Nightmare, The New Yorker
• How 'The Botox Psyop' Broke Our Brains in the Name of Beauty, Diabolical Lies

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We are so excited to be reunited and resuming normal service this week with a very overdue pop culture catch up! First up: reviews of Christopher Nolan's much talked-about Hollywood epic The Odyssey and "perimenopausal" crime caper Ride or Die starring Hannah Waddingham, before we dive into the fascinating new Katie Price docu-series. Plus: the new data showing that nine out of 10 of Britain's best-selling novels feature a murdered woman, and the Chris Martin-curated World Cup halftime show, from its bizarre performances to Madonna and Justin Bieber's reported feud. Enjoy huns and don’t forget to put Wednesday 2nd September in your diaries for our next book club at The Hoxton Holborn!

Join us on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes plus early access and ad-free listening at patreon.com/straightuppodcast

Try the adaptogenic coffee that changed our lives with 20% off using code straightup at londonnootropics.com

Follow us on IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and TikTok @straightuppod

Find us on YouTube @straightupmediapod

Email at ⁠⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk

Recs/ reviews:

• The Odyssey, in cinemas
• Sex, beds and grisly executions: what Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey changed, invented – and left out, Guardian
• Chastity, nodding and enormous pores: will women also love Nolan’s Odyssey?, Guardian
• Obsession, in cinemas
• Ride or Die, Amazon Prime
• ‘An overnight success after 25 years? Delicious’: Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham on sexism, stunts and stardom at 51, Guardian
• Lucky, Prime Video
• Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, NOWTV/ Sky
• Nine out of 10 bestselling novels in UK have one thing in common: a woman is murdered, Guardian
• 9 of Britain's 10 Bestselling Novels Begin With a Dead Woman. I Asked Authors, Literary Experts and a Criminal Behavioural Analyst Why, Marie Claire
• Hawk, Netflix

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This week we’re sharing our favourite reads of the year so far, from the novels we couldn’t put down and 2026’s most-talked about titles to the memoirs that kept us up at night. Consider this your summer reading inspo: including the ultra-hyped Strangers by Belle Burden, Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash and Devil Wears Prada-style thriller Workhorse. As promised, we’re also reviewing the trad-wife thriller Yesteryear again, as well as the addictive true story of how actor Hannah Murray found herself sucked into a creepy wellness cult. Enjoy huns and please do share your book recs in the comments!

Our next book club will be announced in the next couple of weeks – watch this space hunnies! You can also find our 10 best books of all time over on Patreon, where we drop bonus eps every month and offer our main eps completely ad-free.

Get 10% off our fave (flat pack!) furniture brand Swyft Home with our code straightup10 at swyfthome.com

Try the adaptogenic coffee that changed our lives with 20% off using code straightup at londonnootropics.com

Follow us on IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and TikTok @straightuppod

Find us on YouTube @straightupmediapod

Email at ⁠⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk

Recs/ reviews:

• Strangers, Belle Burden
• Belle Burden on the Collapse of Her 20 Year Marriage & Her Bestselling Memoir, The Oprah Podcast
• Why I Don't Feel Sorry for Belle Burden, Kathleen Harmer on Substack
• Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke
• I’m obsessed by the trad wife world — this was the best way to expose it, The Times
• The Caro Episode, Diabolical Lies
• Lost Lambs, Madeline Cash
• “I Always Felt Ripe for a Cult”: Meet Madeline Cash, Author of the Year’s Buzziest Debut, Interview Magazine
• The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness, Hannah Murray
• Workhorse, Caroline Palmer
• Hooked, Asako Yuzuki

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