March Podcast Club Discussion: Reality TV

For March, we’re diving into the world of reality TV. Looking forward to discussing this one with you all!

How It Works:

• We often follow the Podcast Brunch Club listening lists covering a different topic each month. Members can also make suggestions for future topics. Be sure to check the monthly Meetup event to see what we're listening to!
• Listening lists are composed of episode selections related to the month's theme and are pulled from a variety of shows. And we love to include some recommendations too!
• Finishing the recommended listening list is not a requirement to attend. Listen to as many or few of the suggested episodes as you would like.
• We will have an unstructured, informal discussion of the selections and the month's theme.

This Month's Topic:
Reality TV sells itself as unscripted, but it’s one of the most carefully engineered forms of media we have. This playlist digs into how reality TV shapes identity, politics, class, and fame—revealing what these shows say about us, not just the people on screen.

Here's a link to the Spotify playlist:
https://bit.ly/spotify-realitytv

The Playlist - Suggested Episodes:

• This Is Uncomfortable: “Reality (TV) bites” (June 2023, 42 min)
  A look at the economic machinery behind reality TV, from unpaid labor to the ways producers build and keep audiences. Looks at the impact on participants when producers inaccurately portray events to stir up drama and perpetuate stereotypes to drive ratings.
• Get Queer: “Casually Queer” (May 2025, 35 min)
  This episode looks at the history of how reality tv has portrayed queer and trans people and their stories and experiences. It discusses the importance of queer representation, particularly casual queerness, and also the impact of being queer and participating on reality tv.
• The Waves: Gender, Relationships, Feminism: “What Reality TV Says About Us” (May 2022, 27 min)
  A cultural analysis of why reality TV endures, even as audiences claim to hate it. The discussion frames the genre as a mirror for social values around wealth, gender, and power.
• Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV: “2. The Talent Show Boom: Pop Idol and The X Factor” (May 2022, 50 min)
  An exploration of how talent competitions rose in popularity and became huge money-makers for networks. The episode traces how emotional backstories became just as important as talent and what happens to contestants after they’ve been on a talent show,
• Outside/In: “The reality of History’s “Alone”” (November 2022, 33 min)
  In this episode, two critics explore the subtext of History’s Alone, and the messages it might be sending about class, gender, entertainment, and human relationships with the natural world.

Bonus Episodes:

• Spectacle: True Crime: “Reality TV | 1. An American Family” (February 2021, 43 min)
  A deep dive into the 1970s series often cited as the first reality TV show. It reveals how surveillance, performance, and family dysfunction were baked into the genre from the start.
• Split Screen: Bachelor of Buckingham Palace: “Split Screen: Kid Nation, Episode 1: Dropped in the Desert” (April 2024, 36 min)
  A critical revisit of one of reality TV’s most ethically questionable experiments. The hosts unpack how the show exploited children under the guise of social science and entertainment.
• Get Queer: “The G.O.A.T.” (May 2025, 29 min)
  Revisits Season 8 of “Are You the One” – the first season with an all-queer cast. Looks at why people loved the show, how it challenged traditional dating show norms, and its importance for representation