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Culture Study Podcast

One Gwyneth Episode to Rule Them All

Culture Study Podcast

Culture Study Podcast

Arts, Society & Culture

4.5789 Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2025

⏱️ 74 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

There aren’t many contemporary celebrities with images layered enough that I could talk about them all day. But Gwyneth? She’s one of them. She’s it. She’s never pretended to be “just like us,” which is part of what makes her beguiling — and infuriating. She knows exactly what she’s doing, and sometimes what she’s doing is trying to get a bunch of people to talk about jade eggs you put in your vagina. She’s a master marketer of self, a promoter of charlatans, and impossible to ignore. And I’m so thrilled to have Amy Odell, author of the new, impeccably reported Gwyneth biography, here to discuss all your excellent questions.Thanks to the sponsors of today’s episode!Go to zbiotics.com/CULTURESTUDY and use CULTURESTUDY at checkout for 15% off any first time orders of ZBiotics probioticsSave 20% Off Honeylove by going to honeylove.com/CULTURETry Remi risk-free at shopremi.com/CULTURE and use code CULTURE to get up to 50% off your nightguard at checkoutHead to Ollie.com/CULTURE, tell them all about your dog, and use code CULTURE to get 60% off your Welcome Kit when you subscribe todayShow Notes:Follow Amy Odell on Instagram hereSubscribe to Amy’s Substack, BACK ROWBuy Gwyneth hereThe glorious backside of the book, covered in interview excerpts:You can read excerpts of the book in PeopleTHE Great Expectations outfit:The big piece I wrote on Ben Affleck (that includes some parts about class anxiety / Gwyneth)Sara Petersen’s excellent piece on the bookGwyneth’s commercial for Astronomer after the CEO/Coldplay Concert Love Affair ScandalWe’re currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:Running a Small Business — and How to Make It Sustainable & Survivable (with Jen Hewett!)All things Love is Blind with Audie CornishDifferent Modalities of Hanging Out (aka, best ways to hang out with different people) with Mary HK ChoiBaseball Culture (with Ali Liebegott and Melody as additional co-host!!!)The history/utility/culture of OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE GEAR with Avery Trufelman (of Articles of Interest)What an actually family-friendly society would look like (with Elliot Haspel)An ADULT HOBBIES crossover episode with Forever35!Anything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything, it’s literally the name of the segment!As always, you can submit them (and ideas for future eps) hereFor this week’s discussion: Tell me all your ADDITIONAL Gwyneth thoughts!

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey, it's Anne. Once a month, we pick an episode to make free for everyone. So even if you're not a paid

0:05.7

subscriber, you'll get the bonus to Ask Ann Anything segment at the end of today's show. And if you like

0:11.0

what you hear and you want to support the show, paid subscribers get other perks like discussion threads

0:15.7

for each episode and an ad-free experience. You can join us for just $5 a month at culturestudepod.

0:23.1

com, and if you're already a paid subscriber to the newsletter, you get a huge deal. I think it's

0:28.9

like 35% off. If you can't figure that out, it's in the show notes, or send me an email,

0:34.1

and I'll show you how. Okay, thanks, everyone. Enjoy the show.

0:39.1

You know, it's funny when I was telling people I'm writing about Gwyneth Paltrow,

0:42.8

at least one person was like, oh, yeah, I remember her wearing green in great expectations,

0:48.5

green Donna Karen.

0:49.3

Like, it's just remarkable the moments that we remember about her.

0:53.5

And then that came back when she finished the ski trial.

0:57.9

Yes.

0:58.4

And emerged victorious.

0:59.9

That was one of the first things I saw online was that image of her in the green Donna Karen with guinnocent across it.

1:08.4

That's so interesting.

1:10.0

I mean, I think for, at least for me, I'm slightly older. So that movie was like very formative in terms of like what I thought of as like sophisticated beauty. Yeah. There was like Britney Spears beauty. And then there was Gwyneth Paltrow beauty. And obviously both of them are are blonde both of them are ideals in different ways

1:27.5

and this I think also was very formative in my understanding of what a movie star was a contemporary

1:32.6

movie star and really feeding into that idea that like this isn't Reese Witherspoon like Reese Witherspoon

1:38.0

like Rees Witherspoon is quote unquote like us. Gwyneth Paltrow is not like us and And sometimes I think people are like, well, she's not very

1:47.5

relatable. And I'm like, that's the point. That is a fucking point. Exactly. And I think to miss

1:55.2

that is to miss the allure of her.

...

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