Y’all are in for a treat — this week I interviewed
for the podcast edition of Untangled. Elise is a journalist, podcaster, and entrepreneur. She is the host of TED Talks Daily, a host-at-large for NPR, co-founder of the podcast production company Reasonable Volume, and she reports for VICE News. Her book, Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital is fantastic, and it inspired my recent essay “The Artificial Gaze.”Guess what? For the first three people to sign up for an annual paid subscription to Untangled, Elise is offering a free, signed copy of her book. So, sign up for the annual paid subscription, and if you’re one of the first three, I’ll ping you for your address, and Elise will generously send you a signed copy. Huzzah!
Now, on to the show!
In the episode, Elise and I talk about a lot of things:
The idea of “pretty privilege” and the ways in which beauty culture is entangled with social norms, power, and technology;
How Korean beauty culture is one of the most extreme in the world and how its hypermodernity offers the rest of us a glimpse into our future;
How Elise’s book might have been different if she started writing it now, amidst all the craze over AI;
Beauty filters and how they remind us of the internet of the early 1990s that felt weirder and more exploratory — like play!
Listen to the end to hear Elise and I talk about our shared love of Brene Brown and how worthiness, embodiment, and mutuality can help us collectively create an alternative future.
I’m grateful to
for joining me on Untangled. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to her newsletter, — it is a fun jaunt through current events and pop culture, and I just added it to my recommendations list!In the show, Elise and I mentioned a few great pieces. You can find them here:
If you like the podcast, subscribe to it on Apple or Spotify, review it, rate it, and share it. It really does make a difference.
As always, if you have ideas about how to make the newsletter or podcast better, tell me. If you're curious about how it's all going, let's talk. If you think one of the posts misses the mark, let me know.*
Until next time,
Charley
Also, definitely tell me if you like it 😍.
Elise Hu on pretty privilege, appearance labor, and worthiness.