Straight Up

Hello angels, today we are bringing you an episode full of festive cheer and (slightly tipsy) merriment! Over a bottle of Straight Up’s fave winter drink Oatnog, we reminisce about our best and worst Christmas rituals and presents, the highs and lows of seasonal cinema, and Ellie even whipped up a truly scintillating Christmas quiz for us all to enjoy, of which the first question is: ‘What is Ellie’s favourite ingredient on the Christmas Day lunch plate?’ (Kindly note Kathleen’s eye roll).Also, we share our top celebrity moments of 2022, and why Billie Piper’s I Hate Suzie is THE show you all need to watch over the holidays. Plus we couldn’t resist debriefing the White Lotus finale too, obv.We’re taking a little two week break now, so see you next year on the 12 January for an incredibly exciting guest interview. We really do have some absolute corkers for you lined up in 2023, so get ready for even bigger and better juicy celebrity stories, fascinating analysis around what it means to be famous in this day and age, plus your usual cultural recommendations to keep you entertained and in the know. Happy Christmas and see you on the other side! Hunnies if you want the PERFECT Christmas/New Year's gift for your loved ones, or simply as a well-deserved treat for yourself, then look no further than amazing bottled cocktail company black-lines, which has launched quite literally the most delicious winter cocktail you will ever try: Oatnog. A dairy-free take on the Eggnog, it’s made with Minor Figures oat milk, buttery East Rarer rum, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, and you can serve it hot or cold. We are obsessed! Try it for yourself by using the code STRAIGHTUP15 at checkout for 15% off. Check them out here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hiiii huns, this week we have one of our fave bands on the show: First Aid Kit! The Swedish, Brit-nominated sisters Klara and Johanna are adored around the world for making the most beautiful country music, which had Ellie swooning into her wine last Friday at the Eventim Apollo. This episode is a cracker, with such fun, hilarious sisterly energy as Klara and Johanna recall their drunkest moments, touring together as children (with their dad in tow) and the most outrageous thing a journalist has ever said in an interview.Plus, they share a very moving and spiritual story behind their amazing new album Palomino, and get candid about everything from the pressures of performing to pleasing fans.Shoutout to the gorgeous pop-up bar we reviewed in the intro too, which is just ideal for snug winter cocktails on a beautiful alpine rooftop! Book your table at Laurels on the Roof here!A huge thank you also to our incredible partners for this episode:Amazing bottled cocktail company black-lines has just launched quite literally the most delicious Christmas cocktail you will ever try: Oatnog. A dairy-free take on the Eggnog, it’s made with Minor Figures oat milk, buttery rum, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, and you can serve it hot or cold. We are obsessed! Try it for yourself by using the code STRAIGHTUP15 at checkout for 15% off. Check them out hereEver feel totally bamboozled by everything from investing to crypto and your pension? Juno is an amazing educational platform and app that is helping to close the financial literacy gap that affects women and non binary people. Use the code STRAIGHTUP to get 30% of a premium subscription, which brings the cost down from £4.15 to £2.91 per month – less than a cup of coffee! Search Your Juno in the App Store or visit www.yourjuno.coQ Acoustics is the best in the business when it comes to quality, affordable audio. Q Acoustics’ new product, the M20 HD wireless music system, is the most powerful, immersive and convenient way to enjoy music, movies and gaming sound anywhere at home. We love ours and know you’ll love it too. Snap it up at www.qacoustics.co.ukAs ever, please do let us know what you think by shooting us a DM at our newly launched Straight Up IG @straightuppodBrands with collab enquiries, please feel free to email us at hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk.Straight Up’s music and editing is by Marlon Percy. Find him on Instagram @marlonpercyKathleen’s IG: @kathleen.m.johnstonEllie’s IG: @elliehalls1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get ready for some rip-roaring recommendations this week angels, because we're debriefing on everything from infamous celebrity gossip IG account DeuxMoi's thinly-veiled new autofiction, Anon Please, to the second season of the bonkers, totally brilliant HBO series The White Lotus, set in a luxury hotel in Sicily. We get stuck into debates on privilege, power, hypocrisy, stalking and celeb privacy, plus lots of laughs on A-list lookalikes, astrology (and the legitness of it) and the inherent sexism in "icks". We also have a good old debrief on the alleged Maya Jama and Stormzy reunion (including our take on the incredible new album This Is What I Mean and the thorny question of whether you should ever take an ex back), the ethics of paparazzi and the tabloid story exchange game, plus why clickbait headlines simply reflect our own worst instincts.Recommendations discussed: The White Lotus Anon Please by DeuxMoi Stormzy This Is what I Mean Explained on Netflix (astrology episode is S1 E14) Debbie - Is This Real Love?Thank you so much to our fantastic new partner Juno for supporting this episode. Ever feel totally bamboozled by everything from investing to crypto and your pension? Juno is an amazing educational platform and app that is helping to close the financial literacy gap that affects women and non binary people. Use the code STRAIGHTUP to get 30% of a premium subscription, which brings the cost down from £4.15 to £2.91 per month - less than a cup of coffee! Search Your Juno in the App Store or visit www.yourjuno.coAs ever, please do let us know what you think by shooting us a DM at our newly launched Straight Up IG @straightuppodBrands with collab enquiries, please feel free to email us at hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk.Straight Up’s music and editing is by Marlon Percy. Find him on Instagram @marlonpercyKathleen’s IG: @kathleen.m.johnstonEllie’s IG: @elliehalls1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi darlings, if, like us, you love peeling back the glossy layer of the celebrity machine and digging beneath the sparkle of the music industry, then you are going to absolutely adore this episode with Dublin megastar Dermot Kennedy. He’s sold out the O2, counts Taylor Swift among his fans and in 2019 released Ireland’s best-selling debut album of this millennium. Now he's just released an amazing new album, Sonder.But, as Dermot told us in this very moving and honest chat over some gorgeous Oatnog from our new partner black-lines, he hates celebrity, and does everything he can to protect himself from the trappings of fame, from not checking what’s in his bank balance to keeping his dad on his payroll. Refreshingly down-to-earth, he offers some serious debunking when it comes to the music business, revealing how little money he makes when he’s on tour.And of course it wouldn’t be Straight Up without some eye-popping anecdotes, from Dermot pranking his friends in front of Muse’s Matt Bellamy and being dared to drink his own piss (yes, really), to a quite frankly terrifying fan experience.Thank you to our amazing new partner, bottled cocktail company black-lines, which has just launched quite literally the most delicious Christmas cocktail you will ever try. A dairy-free take on the Eggnog, it’s made with Minor Figures oat milk, buttery rum, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, and you can serve it hot or cold. We are obsessed! Try it for yourself by using the code STRAIGHTUP15 at checkout for 15% off. Check them out hereStraight Up’s music and editing is by Marlon Percy. Find him on Instagram @marlonpercyKathleen’s IG: @kathleen.m.johnstonEllie’s IG: @elliehalls1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got a full free-wheeling festival of recommendations for you this week angels, from our thoughts on Em Rata’s new podcast HighLow – which prompted a big old debate on tweakments, the intersection of cosmetic surgery and feminism, body image and Julia Fox’s belief that aging is hot – to Amazon’s latest big hitter, Mammals, a dark comedy all about cheating and monogamy, starring James Corden. We also get stuck into the problem with the term ‘punching’, our personal insecurities and the radical weight-loss injections that all the A-listers are suddenly using. Plus, our review of the most festive bar in London, at the gorgeous Henrietta Hotel in Covent Garden, a deep-dive into the six forces of friendship, and, the best theatre production of 2022.As ever, please do let us know what you think by shooting us a DM at our newly launched Straight Up IG @straightuppodThank you so much to our fantastic new partner Juno for supporting this episode. Ever feel totally bamboozled by everything from investing to crypto and your pension? Juno is an amazing educational platform and app that is helping to close the financial literacy gap that affects women and non binary people. Use the code STRAIGHTUP to get 30% of a premium subscription (usually £4.15 per month if bought annually), which offers super fun and bitesize courses on how to be smart with your money, as well as access to the app’s incredible community section, where you can ask other Juno users questions and share your own experiences around money. Search Your Juno in the App Store and remember to use our discount code STRAIGHTUP. www.yourjuno.coRecommendations Miracle bar pop up at the Henrietta Hotel HighLow with Em Rata:  the Julia Fox interview episode and 'Can you be a feminist and get plastic surgery? EmRata asks' The Doctor at Duke of York’s Theatre, London The IG account @beauty.false Mammals on Amazon Prime Handmaid’s Tale on 4 Fall (2022 film) One Man, Two Guvnors The Six Forces That Fuel FriendshipStraight Up’s music and editing is by Marlon Percy. Find him on Instagram @marlonpercyKathleen’s IG: @kathleen.m.johnstonEllie’s IG: @elliehalls1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello darlings, this week's fabulous Straight Up guest is the radio presenter and DJ Roman Kemp, who has just released a memoir, Are You Really Ok?, and who opened up to us about everything from his lifelong struggle with mental health and losing his best friend to suicide, to his surreal celebrity upbringing as son to Martin Kemp (Spandeau Ballet) and Shirlie Kemp (Wham!).It's a very inspiring chat that also peels back the layers of one of the UK's most famous faces, with Roman admitting that he actually hates attention so much he can't even stand friends singing him Happy Birthday. Plus, Roman talks about his difficult years spent in the fashion industry, and reveals what it's really like to work in radio, from disaster interviews to dealing with trolling.Oh, and his extraordinary Harry Styles impression is NOT to be missed!Enjoy!Get Roman's book Are You Really Ok? here and follow him on IG at @romankempA huge thank you also to our partners for this episode:Q Acoustics for supporting Straight Up for another season and for being the best in the business when it comes to quality, affordable audio. Q Acoustics’ new product, the M20 HD wireless music system, is the most powerful, immersive and convenient way to enjoy music, movies and gaming sound anywhere at home. We love ours and know you’ll love it too. Snap it up at www.qacoustics.co.ukBlack Cow, the world's first sustainably made pure milk vodka that is made by a dairy farmer in West Dorset, which we enjoyed in our extraordinarily delish cocktails with Roman. While chatting, we drank the ready to drink Negroni, a smooth, delicious, absolutely pitch-perfect take on the classic. Get your negronis (and some seriously excellent strawberry vodka) at blackcow.co.uk.Straight Up’s music and editing is by Marlon Percy. Find him on Instagram @marlonpercyKathleen’s IG: @kathleen.m.johnstonEllie’s IG: @elliehalls1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi lovely listeners, this week’s episode is absolutely brimming with recommendations spanning everything from romantic autumn minibreaks to the memoir everyone’s been talking about – did you know that Matthew Perry (Chandler from Friends) almost died from drug addiction and once dumped Julia Roberts? We also deep dive into the sordid affairs of Britney Spears’s late grandfather, who, according to an incredibly juicy new New York Magazine article, is horribly relevant when it comes to questioning why Britney’s dad put his daughter in a conservatorship. Speaking of sordid things, there's a new serial killer film on Netflix starring Eddie Redmayne that's based on a true story – Ellie gives her verdict.Plus, we debate our fave Julia Roberts film after Kathleen reviews her new romcom Ticket to Paradise and we assess the controversy around Billie Eilish’s boyfriend. Dig in and let us know what you think!Recommendations Il Palazzo Experimental, Venice Osteria alle Testiere, Venice Al Covo, Venice House of Spears article in NY Mag Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry The Good Nurse, Netflix The Peripheral, Amazon Prime Louis Theroux interviews Judi Dench, BBC Popbitch newsletter The Playlist, Netflix Ready Player One, Amazon Prime Vanity Fair, Apple TVStraight Up’s music and editing is by Marlon Percy. Find him on Instagram @marlonpercyKathleen’s IG: @kathleen.m.johnstonEllie’s IG: @elliehalls1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gorgeous ones, are you ready for one saucy lil episode from none other than the extraordinary, Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling star Tove Lo? And we really do mean saucy: Tove might just be one of the most sexually liberated women in pop, with a vagina tattoo on her arm, a history of flashing her lucky fans at gigs, and lyrics to make a grown man blush.Not only did the Swedish pop queen open up about her marriage, being queer, living communally in LA with her husband and friends, freedom and female pleasure, she even shares a cheeky sex tip. Plus, expanding on some of the themes in her amazing new album Dirt Femme, we dig right into the pressures and contradictions around motherhood, womanhood, and romantic love, from ambivalence around having children, to being a "floating free spirit" by nature.Tove was also very inspiring about her experiences navigating the music industry as a woman who won’t take any shit, from body image struggles to lewd music execs and disbelievers who told her she was too ‘intelligent’ to make it as a musician.And of course, it wouldn’t be Straight Up without some highly nosy questions about fame, and what she gets up to when she isn’t being famous, from her favourite cocktail to her must-watch TV.A huge thank you also to our partners for this episode:Q Acoustics for supporting Straight Up for another season and for being the best in the business when it comes to quality, affordable audio. Q Acoustics’ new product, the M20 HD wireless music system, is the most powerful, immersive and convenient way to enjoy music, movies and gaming sound anywhere at home. We love ours and know you’ll love it too. Snap it up at www.qacoustics.co.ukDame, the world’s first climate positive period brand, making products that are both healthier for you and the planet and which has already saved hundreds of millions of pieces of plastic from going into landfill. This female founded green brand is changing the game with its amazing products including the reusable tampon applicator, tampons and reusable pads – and we are never going back. Enjoy 25 per cent off Dame products with the exclusive code UP25 at wearedame.coStraight Up’s music and editing is by Marlon Percy. Find him on Instagram @marlonpercyKathleen’s IG: @kathleen.m.johnstonEllie’s IG: @elliehalls1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi angels! This episode is an absolute cultural smorgasbord (yes that is the first time we’ve used that word), covering everything from what real life luxury hotel concierge think of hilarious super rich satire The White Lotus and crew members revealing the 1%’s wildest demands in light of superyacht comedy Triangle of Sadness, to the tea from Stormzy’s Louis Theroux interview and Piers Morgan’s car crash Kanye interrogation. Plus! Why you need to watch Netflix’s creepiest drama The Watcher (inspired by real events) and why House of Dragon is so deliciously feminist. And finally, all the juiciest behind-the-scenes intel from the memoir of Tom Felton (aka Draco Malfoy) about what it was like to grow up as one of Hollywood’s most hated characters.Come to chat to us in our DMs on @straightuppod, and see you next week! <3 Recommendations Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman White Lotus S2 Triangle of Sadness Below Deck Louis Theroux interviews Stormzy The Watcher Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast with John Legend House of the DragonKathleen’s IG: @kathleen.m.johnstonEllie’s IG: @elliehalls1Straight Up’s music and editing is by Marlon Percy. Find him on Instagram @marlonpercy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello gorgeous ones, this week’s guest is the wonderful podcaster, musician and author Caggie Dunlop, whose dulcet tones some of you might already have heard on her own podcast Saturn Returns, which makes sense of our chaotic lives using astrology and amazing interviews with experts across everything from dream therapy to tarot.Caggie tells us all about how she became sober-curious after realising she had an addictive personality and was using alcohol as a way of masking vulnerability, and dives deep into what she calls her “cosmic coming of age” after her life fell apart in unpredictable ways. She also reveals how her stint in reality show Made in Chelsea contributed to self-destructive behaviour, with producers “puppeteering” her life.But, she tells us she fought against a “victim mentality” and has now reshaped her life around authenticity, spirituality and self-kindness. And excitingly, not only has she just launched the sixth season of her very successful podcast, next year she will release a new book, Saturn Returns, and release an EP. You can pre-order the book here. She was full of the most brilliant insight and life advice –  we hope you come away from this chat as energised and inspired as we did.Enjoy huns! And please leave us a review, and send this episode to a friend. Please do hop into our DMs @straightuppod to let us know what you think!Thank you SO much to our two amazing partners for this episode.First, Q Acoustics, where you can get the best quality, affordable speakers that will transform the way you listen to music AND watch films on your TV. Try the super sexy M20s.Second, Grubby, the UK’s first 100% plant-based, vegan recipe boxes, which not only taste banging, but have six portions of veg in every box and take just 30 mins to whip up after work for a super healthy meal. Use the exclusive and mouth-watering discount code STRAIGHTUP for a 50% off on your first box, and 20%  on your next three!Kathleen’s IG: @kathleen.m.johnstonEllie’s IG: @elliehalls1Straight Up’s music and editing is by Marlon Percy. Find him on Instagram @marlonpercy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.