Episodes

  • Star Trek’s George Takei and the Courage to Come Out
    Jun 15 2026

    Before the fame, there was incarceration. George Takei has lived an extraordinary life: from a childhood in Japanese American internment camps to a groundbreaking role on Star Trek, to a decades-long struggle with identity. This Pride Month, George Takei’s journey reminds us that coming out is not just a moment. It’s a lifetime of courage.

    Additional archive: Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror, 1967, Paramount

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    58 mins
  • Kylie Minogue and the Power of Pop Without Apology
    Jun 8 2026

    Pop princess, gay icon, global enigma. We unpack how Kyle Minogue, soap star with “manufactured” hits, became the ultimate symbol of joy for generations of fans. For Pride Month, celebrate the singer embraced by queer communities long before the mainstream caught up. From chart bangers to queer club anthems, Kylie turned criticism into cultural staying power.

    Additional archive: Can’t Get You Out of My Head, Parlaphone, 2001

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    48 mins
  • David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust: Performance, Persona, Revolution
    Jun 1 2026

    Ziggy Stardust didn’t just land - he detonated. We rewind to David Bowie’s 1972 Top of the Pops breakthrough and unpack the paradox at its core: a “meaningless” persona that transformed culture. Was Ziggy a liberation engine, a postmodern performance, or just a bored kid’s rebellion dressed in glitter? This Pride Month, we revisit the gender-bending, rule-breaking persona that helped a generation imagine new ways to be.

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    52 mins
  • Meg Ryan and the Golden Age of Rom‑Coms
    May 25 2026

    What happened to the golden age of Rom-Coms? Emmanuel and Kai tell the story of the Rom-Com boom via the career of its biggest star, Meg Ryan. From When Harry Met Sally, to one of the more infamous talk show appearances of all time, we unpack Meg Ryan’s appeal, and what we actually want from love in the movies.

    Additional archive: When Harry Met Sally, Castle Rock Entertainment, 1989; Burger King commercial, Burger King Company LLC, 1982

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    59 mins
  • Little Richard: The Architect of Rock and Roll
    May 18 2026

    He screamed, shimmered and rewrote popular music and then disappeared from the throne he built. This episode reveals Little Richard’s unstoppable rise, painful erasure, and lifelong battle between the divine and the profane. A vivid, funny and heartbreaking meditation on race, queerness, faith and why rock and roll history still gets its origin story wrong.

    Additional archive: Tutti Frutti by Little Richard, Speciality, 1957

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    57 mins
  • Muhammad Ali: Boxing, Fame and The Trap
    May 11 2026

    What happens when a black icon refuses to make white audiences comfortable? This episode traces Muhammad Ali’s BBC interviews—full of swagger and wit, fury and fallout—to reveal how he reshaped media, protest and public speech. Along the way: Vietnam, the Nation of Islam, Joe Frazier, and a blueprint every outspoken Black celebrity still wrestles with today.

    Additional archive: When We Were Kings, PolyGram Film Productions, 1996

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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Liza Minnelli: Surviving the Spotlight
    May 4 2026

    Born into a spotlight she never asked for, Liza Minnelli didn’t only survive her inheritance—she made it into her own art. Using BBC archive, iconic performances, and her complicated bond with her mother Judy Garland, we reveal why her vulnerability is her superpower. From Broadway to Hollywood, nepo baby discourse to Cabaret breakout, we explore her raw emotional magnetism, impossible childhood, legendary resilience, and that indefinable spark you can’t look away from.

    Additional archive:

    New York, New York (Original Motion Picture Score), United Artists Records, 1977

    Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, Live At The London Palladium, Capitol Records, 1965

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    52 mins
  • Sir David Attenborough: The Voice of the Natural World Turns 100
    Apr 27 2026

    Sir David Attenborough turns 100 this year—and no one has done more to shape how humanity sees our planet. But for years, there was one issue he didn’t talk about. Emmanuel & Kai chart the story of how one nerdy rock-collecting kid became one of TV’s biggest stars, and took on the most important mission of his life.

    Additional archive: Our Planet II, Netflix 2023

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    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hr and 2 mins