We’re excited to drop in your feed today to tell you about a new series from Lemonada Media and the BBC: Pop Culture Debate Club with Aminatou Sow. Being a pop culture fan naturally comes with a lot of opinions. You’ve got your favorites and you’re ready to defend your picks at a moment’s notice. That’s what Pop Culture Debate Club is all about. Each week, two notable mega-fans square off, ready to convince host Aminatou Sow that their opinion on TV, movies, and music is the only one that matters. And then Aminatou picks a winner. But we’re all friends, so even though someone wins, no one loses.

You’re about to hear the first episode of Pop Culture Debate Club, where Aminatou Sow must pick between actor Carl Tart’s choice of the original Space Jam and TV writer Lamar Woods’s selection of D2: The Mighty Ducks for the best sports film of all time.

To hear more of Pop Culture Debate Club, head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/7JiEmtfd

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If comedian Tig Notaro hadn’t had cancer, her life might’ve actually been worse. In those sobering moments post-diagnosis, she got up on stage and told a room of people all about it. “The crowd went wild” is an understatement and was only a taste of what was to come. Years after a recording of that standup set went viral and launched her into the cultural mainstream, Tig sits down with Stephanie to talk about living in a world of unknowns. Because as hard as her life was back then, Tig could have never imagined how good it was about to get.

Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

Have a story you want to share? Head to bit.ly/lastdaystories to fill out our confidential Google form.

Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/

For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.

To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re excited to drop in your feed today to tell you about a new Lemonada Media series called The Pink House with Sam Smith. Hosted by five-time Grammy winner Sam Smith, The Pink House is about the people and places that make us who we are. One of those places was Sam’s childhood home in the English village of Great Chishill, literally called The Pink House. It was a space of total warmth and love where Sam felt safe enough to find their voice. Each week, join Sam in conversation with icons and friends like Trixie Mattel, Gloria Estefan, Elliot Page, Joel Kim Booster, Ben Platt, Rebecca Sugar and Michelle Visage as they explore their own “Pink Houses” and how they navigated early struggles and ultimately found their place in the world.

You’re about to hear the first episode of The Pink House, where Sam chats with Elliot Page about his upbringing in Canada, his breakout role in the film Juno, and how seeking time away from it all has helped him embrace a whole new, exhilarating life.

To hear more of The Pink House head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/thepinkhousefd

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vinnie grew up in a strict, insular environment that instilled a simple message in him from a young age: who you are is fundamentally wrong. After spending years praying to God to fix him, he finally hit his breaking point. Vinnie talks to Steph about the joys and struggles of coming out in his mid 30s and extricating himself from the Evangelical church.

To support Vinnie’s work, check out his website and the essay collection Fashionably Late: Gay, Bi, and Trans Men Who Came Out Later in Life.

Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

Have a story you want to share? Head to bit.ly/lastdaystories to fill out our confidential Google form.

Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/

For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.

To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Geena Rocero has yet to meet a stage she doesn’t like. As the reigning trans beauty queen in the Philippines, she was adored and envied with equal passion – all while being out and proud. But when she moved to America and became a model, she went back in the closet to protect her livelihood, at least until the secrecy began to do more harm than it was worth. Geena tells Stephanie how she was finally able to live without compromising what was most important to her, starting with the moment she reclaimed her identity, all while standing on one of the biggest and most pivotal stages in the world.

Lemonada has teamed up with Apple Books to bring you the Lemonada Book Club. “Horse Barbie” by Geena Rocero is our May 2024 audiobook of the month! For more details, visit http://apple.co/lemonadabookclub.

Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

Have a story you want to share? Head to bit.ly/lastdaystories to fill out our confidential Google form.

Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/

For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.

To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After getting engaged, Nikki Vargas was staring down a lifetime of white picket fences, suburbs, and 2.5 kids. And deep down she knew she couldn’t do it. So years into a confining relationship, and even deeper into a love affair with travel and journalism that compromised the future her fiancé imagined, Nikki had to make a life-changing choice. She talks with Stephanie about how, ultimately, that choice might just be the best one she’s ever made.

This series is presented by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. MCF supports leaders who work to shift the balance of power in their communities toward working people and families, and who have the vision and capacity for building a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org or visit on social media @caseygrants.

Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

Have a story you want to share? Head to bit.ly/lastdaystories to fill out our confidential Google form.

Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/

For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.

To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kat grew up internalizing that it was her “responsibility” to be careful around men. But when a male friend sexually assaulted her after a frat party, Kat knew the burden wasn’t hers alone to bear. She needed to seek justice. In a deeply vulnerable and reflective conversation with Stephanie, Kat provides a glimpse into what happened after she filed a report against her assailant. She found herself in a struggle that consumed her entire college career — and that compromised who she’s able to be now.

This series is presented by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. MCF supports leaders who work to shift the balance of power in their communities toward working people and families, and who have the vision and capacity for building a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org or visit on social media @caseygrants.

Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @wittelstephanie. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

Have a story you want to share? Head to bit.ly/lastdaystories to fill out our confidential Google form.

Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/

For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.

To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last Day listeners, today we're sharing with you Stephanie's conversation with Kate Bowler on her show Everything Happens. Kate is a professor at Duke University and someone who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in 2015 that had already metastasized. She is now in remission, and spends lots of time talking to other people about the fact that everything just, well, happens! To hear more of Everything Happens, head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/everythinghappens

Today, we’re talking about tragicomedy. And isn’t that all of life? The absurdity. The horror. The laughter that somehow cuts through the most difficult of moments. Our guest today, Stephanie Wittles Wachs wrote a beautiful memoir called Everything is Horrible and Wonderful about the death of her brother to an accidental heroin overdose when he was 30 years old.

In this conversation, Kate and Stephanie discuss:

• Loving someone with addiction
• Grieving a person in public
• Why it’s okay (and maybe necessary) to laugh in the midst of the worst moments
• The 6th stage of grief—the manic-investigative stage

CW: mention of suicide, drug overdose, death of a sibling

Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here.

Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.