John Waters: The Pope of Trash | 280

Even the Rich

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.3 • 11.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Richies, for Pride Month we bring you a true hero to - and champion of - the queer community. A filmmaker who brings an oddball sensibility and counter-culture vibe to the mainstream. Director John Waters has been marching to the beat of his own drum since he was little boy, doing twisted puppet shows at birthday parties and drawing with black crayons. Born and raised in a Baltimore suburb, John knows early on that he’s different. And he embraces it. His early films like “Pink Flamingos” are so deliberately gross and funny that they earn him the nickname “The Pope of Trash.” But behind the shock value is a real artist. He eases his way into the mainstream flicks like “Polyester” and then “Hairspray.” John Waters’ lasting film legacy is to embrace and celebrate society’s weirdos.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wondery Plus subscribers can binge the newest season of Even the Rich before anyone else.
0:04.4	Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:12.9	All right, Eresia, I know you're never afraid to speak your mind.
0:17.1	But is there a topic that could come up where you'd be worried about offending people?
0:23.2	No.
0:24.6	Interesting.
0:25.2	I don't think so.
0:27.2	Well, here's your chance to get canceled.
0:29.4	Well, it's funny because you said I'm not afraid of speak my mind.
0:32.7	And I was just at the dentist yesterday.
0:35.3	And I swear to God, they always try to, like, charge me,
0:38.3	like, oh, you need this or you need that. And I was telling my mom, I'm like, every time I go there,
0:41.9	she's like, you should tell him not to ever try to upsell you. And it's like, I would rather just
0:45.4	never talk to them again. I know. Confrontation in public? No thing. I love confrontation on cruise ships, but of course, yeah. It's, see, the rules are different.
0:55.6	Yeah. So, no, I don't think there is. Is there anything you would be scared to speak your mind about?
0:59.9	I mean, yeah, I'm constantly worried that I'm going to offend somebody about something, but there are
1:04.4	certain things where I'm like, if you're offended, good, because you're in the wrong.
1:07.5	I think that's where I come from, where it's like, I'm pretty confident in my beliefs. So I got to the age where I'm like, I don't really care because if you have a
1:15.5	problem with it, then I probably have a problem with you. That's fair. Well, today's subject
1:20.8	definitely does not worry about offending people. In fact, he thrives on it and has made a career
1:25.7	out of pushing boundaries. Early on, he finds joy
1:28.6	and rebellion, befriending those he calls freaks, and fantasizing about the grotesque. Eventually,
	...

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