State of the Union (of Monoculture)
The Grammys, the Super Bowl, and 'Yellowstone' walk into a bar, with Katie Bain and Drew Millard
Hello friends. Welcome to The Culture Journalist’s first bonus episode for paid subscribers. To celebrate, we’re making yearly subscriptions 50% off between now and February 23. You can think of it as a recession special: You pay $25 a year instead of the usual $50 and get an extra monthly episode featuring topical, off-the-cuff banter with Emilie and Andrea, plus full access to culture recommendations and essays. We get paid for the hours of work we put into this project every week. It’s a win-win.
The Grammys. The Super Bowl. The State of the Union. It’s a flagship week for American monoculture, which means that it’s a great time to pause and reflect on what monoculture actually is, and whether that concept even holds any water in the platform age.
In our first episode for paid subscribers, we’re joined by two friends of the pod: Katie Bain, director of dance music at Billboard (and proud Green Bay Packers shareholder) and Drew Millard, resident boyfriend and author of a recent blog on Kevin Costner cowboy drama Yellowstone, which is a pretty illustrative example of what monoculture looks like in 2023. (Hint: It’s the most popular show on television right now, but most of us effete Coastal Dems haven’t even heard of it).
We gather ‘round the proverbial podcast campfire to discuss the politics of Beyoncé’s history-making Dance/Electronic Grammy win, the similarities between the Philadelphia Eagles fandom and Juggalo culture (a theory), and what all of this has to do with Yellowstone.
Follow Katie on Twitter, and read her work on Billboard.
Follow Drew on Twitter; subscribe to his Substack, Like a Baby Bird; and pre-order his book! It’s about golf.
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