This category contains posts about the Pop Culture Junkie Podcast.

Pop Conspiracy Junkies

It’s official: pop culture is dead. R.I.P. Over a year of Covid-related cancellations, postponements and Zoom call-themed episodes have put the kibosh on entertainment in 2021. So this week, the Junkies are turning to a subject of endless fascination: conspiracy theories. Where is Naked Celebrity Island, and which Elvis (hot movie star Elvis or chubby Vegas edition) greets every new resident? Why is the government dispatching so many of our beloved celebs, from Marilyn Monroe to the Notorious B.I.G.? How did a fake Avril Lavigne fool the world for so long? And how did we not all figure out that Nicolas Cage is totally a vampire? Discover all this and so much more on the all-new Pop Conspiracy Junkie Podcast.

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Threatening John Mayer

It’s our second season premiere, and this episode is bigger and badder than ever, and we mean bad as in good. First we meet our two brand spanking new Junkies, Hayley the Brave and Alexander Castillo-Nuñez. Hayley was a guest Junkie on our Cobra Kai episode, and Alex is making his ‘kind of surreal’ debut on the show. The Junkies celebrate Women’s History Month by giving snaps to important women in pop culture and IRL, recognizing everyone from Jennifer Garner to Buffy to Billie Eilish, Oprah and Meghan Markle, but especially moms. Then Nicole goes over the 2021 Grammy performers – the good ones, anyway, and Shauna definitely does not threaten John Mayer. Alex introduces a new feature to the show, the Pop It or Drop It reviews, so you can find out what new movies and shows are worth watching (and what aren’t.) Then the Junkies get together to process the WandaVision finale, breaking out what’s canon, what’s an Easter egg and what was just a boner joke.

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“Oops, She Did It Again”

Nicole and Shauna welcome guest Junkie and fellow Sun Devil Karla Hernandez from Live 101.5’s Morning Mess in Phoenix, to talk about villains like Ashlee Simpson, Cruella, Rachael from The Bachelor and Justin Timberlake. Nicole confesses to becoming a Belieber, and Shauna and Karla discuss calling out your exes on the air without regrets. The Junkies make juice out of Bachelor rumors and throw down for a misunderstood pop princess (#FreeBritney). Karla talks about being Miss Arizona Latina 2020 (and 2021…thanks, Covid!) and we learn that Shauna was a runner up for Miss Teen Arizona, and Nicole wishes she was on Toddlers and Tiaras. Also The Bachelor. Then they all struggle to figure out the redemption arc for someone who makes coats out of puppies, but if anyone can pull that off, it’s Disney!

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Little Sweet, Little Salty

Shauna and Nicole welcome actor Sam Primack, a Broadway and touring company actor, who has appeared in Dear Evan Hansen and The Addams Family to talk singing, dancing, and barbecue. After settling the crucial issue of whether pineapple belongs on pizza (to be eaten only under duress, apparently,) the Junkies move on to who was canceled this week and how much they deserved it. Shauna approves of Aaron Rodgers’ mustache getting engaged and Nicole enjoys having a fan of The Bachelor to dish with. Sam talks about growing up on the road, moving to New York, and how he is ready to betray anyone with a kiss, if the role of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar is casting.

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