I'm Audie Cornish and this is the assignment.

And my reality show Guilty Pleasure might come as a surprise, but it's love is blind.

Like not so much that I can actually learn anybody's name.

But as with so many things pop culture, it has a lot to say about this moment in history, about politics and about love and modern dating.

Not to dive into things too quickly or too deep, but are there any hot button topics that we should touch on?

Okay, so are you very religious?

I am not.

Yeah.

It's so refreshing to hear that.

Yeah.

I'm not either at all. Okay. And you don't sound like

you're homophobic or racist. No, no. Gosh now. I'm going to put a smiling face by your name.

So I actually got to sit on the other side of the mic and talk with my friend Anne Helen Peterson about

it on her podcast. It's called Culture Study. That's also the name of her newsletter.

And by the way, if you're looking for a smart read on the impact of pop culture, this is the one, 100%. There's a link in the show notes.

Anyway, so we had a great time dissecting kind of what works and what doesn't about reality dating shows in general, how they've changed over the years,

and how we treat the people who go on them, what it says about us as viewers.

So I'm sharing that conversation with you today as a treat. Stay with us.

Stay with us. This is the Culture Study podcast, and I'm Anne Helen Peterson.

And I'm Audie Cornish.

I am a journalist at CNN on their morning show and also an anchor for one of their podcasts,

but also all the things because CNN is now streaming.

...