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A pop culture, beauty, Film and TV podcast for people who are passionate about all the things you and your besties are discussing in the group chat!
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Pretty Passionate podcast. I'm your host, doctor Ruth, busy mom, Thanksgiving hostess, and plastic surgeon extraordinaire. We can just leave it at that for the titles. So happy to be back chatting with you after a very, very busy and fun and awesome Thanksgiving holiday. I hope you guys had a wonderful holiday.
Dr. Ruth:I may have mentioned this a time or two that Thanksgiving really is my favorite holiday of the year, like, of all of them because it's about food. It's about family. It's about fun. It's about getting together. I don't live near my family.
Dr. Ruth:So that's always really important to me. And I just, also love that it doesn't involve the stress of having a Christmas shop and a present for everyone and make sure you check your list and all those things that can make Christmas while lovely and very enjoyable a little bit, a teensy bit, a baby bit stressful. You know what I mean? So we have a lot to catch up on. I told you guys I was hosting Thanksgiving.
Dr. Ruth:This is the first time I was hosting in, I wanna say, five years. We hadn't hosted since we moved to our current home, and it was so fun. I get a lot of host anxiety, which is strange because this is my family. Like, they're not coming with judgments or demands or anything like that. My family, you know, we are Haitian people.
Dr. Ruth:We could all get together in a tent if that's what the togetherness required. So it's not that. I'm I guess I'm a finicky guest to some extent. I have a touch of anxiety about being uncomfortable when I travel. So I think I project that onto other people and always worry that maybe they're not gonna have a good time or they're not gonna be comfortable or they don't have enough, I don't know, towels, washcloth, whatever.
Dr. Ruth:So I always go a little overboard with the hosting, even with my own family, and just trying to make sure everyone's comfortable, everyone has every possible snack and drink and whatever they want, and that their accommodations are comfortable and that there's enough of everything. And it can be a little bit stressful in the lead up. And then once everyone's here, I totally mellow out and enjoy myself and have a great time. My favorite part of any time we get together is all the kids running around, especially, you know, that our family is, like, in two groups. I call them the bigs and the smalls.
Dr. Ruth:So the bigs, it's three boys, and they're around the same age. They get together. It's video games galore. And the smalls are around the same age and they get together and it's imaginative play and drawing and running around the house in whatever device on mini scooter, one of those, like, Fisher Price or PlaySchool cars. It's mayhem, but it's beautiful mayhem.
Dr. Ruth:Exactly the kind of mayhem that fills my heart and is fuel to just keep going in life, you know? Because what are we doing this all for? So that we can comfortably get together and enjoy our time off from work and during the holiday. So fabulous Thanksgiving, very refreshing. But overall, the season, as fall tends to be, is so busy.
Dr. Ruth:Fall's over. Are we officially in winter? I think so. And I've been working really hard on a few projects and kind of burning the candle from both ends. So I just had to seize a moment and get this podcast recorded because just this week is just as hectic as last week, except I'm going out of town.
Dr. Ruth:And if I didn't do it right now, it'd be never. And I hate doing that. So I was like, bare face glam, here we go. Because today, I didn't wanna get all gussied up to chat with you guys because I am getting gussied up later and I'm resting my skin until tonight. I happen to be attending the premier party here in Atlanta for Bravo's twelfth season of Married to Medicine.
Dr. Ruth:I'm so excited. It's gonna be so fun. Okay. First of all, any reason to get dressed up, you know, anytime a mama gets a chance to get all fancy and fussy, that's gonna be good times. And, of course, I'll be sharing my outfit on Instagram and TikTok under the handle Pretty Prescription, if you don't know, if you don't already follow, if you're interested to see what I put together for for my first holiday party season look.
Dr. Ruth:K? Shout out to my new bestie and personal shopper at Neiman Marcus, Michael upstairs. He is in the women's evening wear area, and let me tell you ladies, right by Oscar De Laurenti. What a lovely human, you know? He came through and really just knocked it out of the park, and we agreed on so many things.
Dr. Ruth:You know when you're just talking to a sales representative and you're just chatting about life? Like, lovely human being. In general, that is one of the nicer Neiman Marcus's that I've ever been to, and not so much the physical plant, although it is really new and they keep it really renovated and beautiful, and they've got the bar and the cafe. What I really love about it is that, honestly, every time I set foot in there, the staff is so above and beyond friendly and helpful. I say this in contrast to Saks Fifth Avenue, where it's hit or miss.
Dr. Ruth:You walk in, you might get a hello, welcome in, can I help you? Or you might get the up and down, and I I don't go for that. So but Neiman Marcus, Atlanta. Great salespeople, fantastic merchandise, wonderful programs, you know, that whole spend more, save more, or that spend more and we'll give you a gift card so you can spend more later thing. That kind of traps you into a vicious cycle of girl math.
Dr. Ruth:But when you need something to wear, you need something to wear. You're gonna spend the money anyway. If I get a gift card for doing so, were there any victims? Okay. Anyway, Married to Medicine, if you don't know, it is based in Atlanta.
Dr. Ruth:And if you're not watching, I think you're missing out on literally one of Bravo's best shows for a few reasons. For one, this is an advantage that Housewives of Atlanta also has over the other franchises. Like, the real estate in Atlanta is really only rivaled by, I guess, Beverly Hills, in terms of just the beautiful, modern, opulent, well decorated homes. And these ladies have been on the show for multiple, multiple seasons. I also like that.
Dr. Ruth:It's like one of the probably one of the longest running casts that hasn't lost a ton of people over the years. And so we've gotten to see an evolution for these women that's been really fun, or it is part of what I find fun about reality TV, is actually seeing people's lives evolve, seeing them buy properties, renovate, move in, make design choices, kind of like the stuff I live for. And when it comes to all the Bravo stuff, besides the fashion, hair, and makeup, it's like the homes, the decorating, the beauty of it all. And I love it because Atlanta has the beautiful opulent houses that you're looking for. Unlike a lot of areas that the real estate might be more expensive, so don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about price here, the real estate might be more expensive, for example, in New Jersey, New York, Florida, and all those, they're they're not giving what the Atlanta homes are giving when you're talking about a beautiful opulent home.
Dr. Ruth:Think about Shamia Morton's house. Okay? They don't just throw those up all over the place. Also, what I really like is that the relationships between the ladies on the show are they pre predated the show for many of them, and they also exist off camera. Unlike some of the other Broadway shows where these ladies rap at the reunion and then never see or hear from each other all season long.
Dr. Ruth:I feel like a lot of these women are very, like, strongly connected by real bonds. And I think that ratchets up some of the personal aspects of the drama when it does happen because real relationships are at stake. Interesting. It makes it a richer show for me. So much of the Bravo these days is cast members arguing about who leaked what to what blogger.
Dr. Ruth:I always use air quotes when I say that, but that's the word they use. Think like OC and even Salt Lake City. They talk a lot about TikTok posts and stuff that come from outside of their sphere of cast members. And I find that really annoying. Like, I don't mind them arguing about things they've said or done on social media, like, to each other, like, when they're reacting to the show or posting crap like that.
Dr. Ruth:I think that is a part of what they are supposed to be doing. But when they involve the the social media personalities that are not on the show, it takes me out. It takes you out of the moment of what's really going on. Anyways, check it out if you haven't. It's very interesting, very fun.
Dr. Ruth:It's black professionals letting their hair down for real, for real. And what's not to like about that? So I'll be attending that and then getting in pretty late, I imagine, because I don't live in the city. But no rest for the weary, because I have a first thing in the morning flight to New Orleans to then see the Brandy and Monica concert with my sister. Sister trip is finally here.
Dr. Ruth:They arrived earlier. They are actually there right now because, of course, I had the party to attend. And so I'm just really jealous because they're probably eating beignets as we speak. And besides Brandy and Monica, one of the things I'm looking forward to in New Orleans is the food. Seafood in particular.
Dr. Ruth:So I'm sure they're enjoying a meal without me. Hope they pour one out for the homie who is yet to come. Rain is predicted all weekend in New Orleans, but I'm hoping that it's not heavy enough to affect air travel, you know. I know the city can, you know, possibly experience a lot of flooding and maybe traffic and rain, so we were careful to pick a place near the venue. But listen, I've been looking forward to this concert, to this trip with my number one and two homies for so long.
Dr. Ruth:Nothing's gonna make me miss this trip. If I get so much as like two flight delay announcements, I'm bailing, canceling the flight, telling Delta thanks, but no thanks. I am hopping in my car and driving because it's only really about five hours from here, less if you drive like I drive. And so I will be getting to that city literally no matter what. Maya, one of my favorite singers from the same era as Brandy and Monica, just killing it in the nineties, she's now opening for them officially because Mooney Long had to step away from the tour due to health reasons.
Dr. Ruth:And while I'm sad to hear about Mooney experiencing any kind of health issues, doctor's orders, apparently, she had to step away from the tour. I can't help but be really excited about Maya. I'm so stoked. It just, like, it took what was, I know, going to be a night of me going completely hoarse, singing all of the lyrics obnoxiously with drink in hand to I don't even know. I'm gonna need to go on no speaking for, like, three days after this tour, adding Maya to the mix because that's my girl.
Dr. Ruth:And the whole thing is just gonna be, like, reliving my high school years with my forever besties. Yeah. Just looking forward to it. And now that this trip is finally here, does anyone ever feel like the holidays are just running over them like a lawn mower? Like, I feel like Thanksgiving was actually yesterday and not last week, and I still haven't done all of my Christmas shopping, most of my Christmas shopping.
Dr. Ruth:I've compiled some lists. And I have definitely thoughtfully planned out my shopping, joined in solidarity with those who believe that the state of things in our country are so ridiculous and so bad for people who work for a living, that we really need to taper back our support of some of these larger corporations and entities that are not really doing much for us, you know, as Janet Jackson would say, what have you done for me lately? So I'm deliberately trying to start earlier than normal because normally I'm running around stores on December 23, no lie, and I wanna leave time and space to shop small. So as a small business owner myself, I know that this current economic climate is interesting. I'm sure there's some winners somewhere, but I have yet to find them.
Dr. Ruth:You know? Like, during COVID, there were some people that were absolutely suffering and losing their shirts, and was terrible and sad to see. And then there were a lot of people who were benefiting in some way, not like profiteering in a negative way, but I mean, they'd managed to flip the situation or start a business in some way that benefit them. This go round in this economic climate, I don't know if it's tariffs, inflation, people just feeling economically that their future is uncertain, there's been tons of layoffs. I just feel like this is an environment where we want to make deliberate choices with where we spend our money, and so there are a couple of smaller toy stores in Atlanta, one of them black owned.
Dr. Ruth:I'm gonna put a link in my show notes in case you're in the Atlanta area and you've got kids you wanna shop for. I'm not going to inflict suffering on my kids this Christmas and not get them stuff. But and I'm I'm I'm being literally facetious when I say suffering. I know my kids are not suffering. Thank God.
Dr. Ruth:We're very blessed. But I do want to buy less stuff and buy small. That's my that's my sentiment on that, that if you are feeling the heat economically like most of America and pinching your pennies more closely due to all the uncertainty and everything going on. If you are going to be doing any shopping, I think it's just smart to plan to shop small. I think you'll be helping your neighbor and not supporting predatory corporations, and everybody wins in that scenario.
Dr. Ruth:Okay. I know I was literally just talking about Neiman Marcus, but obviously, that was for an event and a bit of an emergency. And emergencies aside, real talk. Groceries are out of control. The price of everything is high.
Dr. Ruth:I was ordering something was it hair? I was ordering something online and there was a line for tariffs. I was, like, shady. But the tariffs tacked on, like, 15 extra dollars to the purchase, something like $15.20 dollars to the purchase. And maybe that's not a lot to some, but again, I'm an employed person, like I work for my money.
Dr. Ruth:I'm not independently wealthy. So just throwing $20 onto the cost of merchandise, changing fundamentally how much things cost me and how much money leaves my account to obtain things that I purchased a year or two ago and did not have to pay an extra $20.30, whatever dollars for, it pinches. And I can imagine it pinches more for some than others. You know, I'm very blessed in that most of my adult life, I have not had to pre add up the cost of grocery trying to provide food for my family before I get to the register. But generally, I do, because I used to work at a grocery store, pay attention to the price of things as a habit.
Dr. Ruth:And I noticed at Publix, this this butter that I usually get, silly example, but it stuck out to me, is a full almost $2 more for the same amount of butter now than it was last year. I remember even back then, when I was telling my sisters, oh, I love this butter. I actually have fully converted a year or two ago and this is just what I use. And now everyone in my family uses it, by the way. They made fun of me and called it my bougie butter.
Dr. Ruth:I am very bougie about my butter. You know, prior to tariff nonsense, I was definitely ordering my butter from overseas because butter in The United States is kind of garbage. But anyway, this butter I really enjoy. It's Kerrygold, good for what you can get at your local grocery store, has gone up a full two door tub at Publix. I don't know if this is every grocery store.
Dr. Ruth:In fact, it might not be because but I just wanted to use my experience, point out a small example. I try not to immerse myself in the news and stuff, but I feel like there is just a general kind of, I don't know if we're calling it cognitive dissonance or if we're just straight up being gaslighted with people telling us that the economy is doing great, that everybody's doing great. And at least on the user end, it doesn't look or feel that way. People are not behaving that way. And certainly the cost of butter is, if that's any indicator, not that way.
Dr. Ruth:I mean, if we think about the cost of cereal, of milk, of bread, everything when I started once I saw that price on the butter, and I was like, oh, shoot, that's not insignificant. Started paying a little bit closer attention to other items and saw, yeah, everything is definitely up at least a dollar from where it was last year. And if you were in a family that was really counting their pennies, and let's be real, the wages probably didn't go up in conjunction with that, unless you changed jobs and had a major salary boost, then yeah, it's gonna kick you in the pants. So hang in there, people, is all is all one can say. Again, I think everyone is feeling it a little in their own way.
Dr. Ruth:Business owners, obviously, small business owners, if everybody's feeling financially tight, well, business owners are not exactly raking it in. Right? And you can see it with all the sales going on, extended Cyber Week, and Black Friday starting in the freaking summer. Companies are also feeling it. I don't pay a lot of attention to earnings meetings and and the results of things like that.
Dr. Ruth:And because of the shutdown in September, we didn't really get a jobs report that we were supposed to get. So I think a lot of the numbers are still yet to be determined, but the general consensus, the general feel is that folks are struggling to put food on the table, and it shouldn't be ignored. And this is not just because of the food stamp debacle we had a few weeks ago. This is because the economy sucks. Inflation is high.
Dr. Ruth:Everything costs more than it did. Wages are not up. People are being laid off even though nobody really talks about it. I remember in 2008, they used to talk about layoff every night. And maybe this is because I was in the New York area where this was really starting, kind of the epicenter of that financial collapse in o eight.
Dr. Ruth:And so every night, you know, you're watching the news and there's like a new bank or investment firm that is imploding and it was kind of nightmarish. And sometimes I get those vibes, and not to be a harbinger of doom, but sometimes I do get those vibes based on some of the patterns that I'm seeing lately, and I really hope that is not the case. I want to hold out for optimism, but I also want to be honest about how I'm feeling in this time. Like, this is the time of year I feel like most people spend the most discretionary income, and I have not since February heard people so openly just complaining about feeling tight, you know. So, for what it's worth, I hear you.
Dr. Ruth:We're all feeling the pinch. I know we'll get through it. I don't want to act like it's not happening and that we're all not experiencing it on some level, you know? Keep calm and carry on, I guess, as the British would say. But here's hoping in this holiday season that 2026 holds a lot more optimism, economic promise, and relief for everyone.
Dr. Ruth:Okay. Switching gears a little bit onto entertainment news and what I have been watching lately. I told you guys my husband and I would be watching Stranger Things over the Thanksgiving break, and we sure did. Netflix's Stranger Things debuted season five, which is the final season, and that makes me really sad. But what makes me really happy is how good it is.
Dr. Ruth:Okay. We were meant to film a recap reaction episode this week and actually discuss it because all four episodes dropped over the break, and we didn't fully binge them, but we got as close to binging as two people with two kids and busy careers can get. But somehow, this guy went and caught some viral ick from all the cootie bearers running around our house this this past week, and he's really been struggling. Like, he usually bounces back pretty quickly when he gets sick, but he's really been struggling. And more importantly, he's been really hoarse and had a sore throat kinda all week.
Dr. Ruth:So it's not COVID. Thank the Lord. Otherwise, I would be probably down myself. His voice is completely out, so he can't pod with me. So we'll give him a little break.
Dr. Ruth:And although it might be slightly late, our reaction episode will definitely come before they drop the next batch of episodes, which I think is coming around Christmas or maybe Christmas day. And we'll discuss all of that before those episodes drop. A note, if you are not watching Stranger Things, if you're a millennial especially, come close, come close. I'm gonna tell you, if you enjoy sci fi, what are you doing? Open Netflix immediately and start watching.
Dr. Ruth:Immediately begin watching. You have plenty of time to catch up before the next batch of season five episodes drops, and then there's another batch after that coming. So it's just a a really loaded season. Each episode, the runtime is at least an hour, I think. The shortest runtime, I think, was fifty seven minutes I clocked for one of the four episodes.
Dr. Ruth:I want you to watch it, come back, drop some thoughts, some commentary, and predictions for us to discuss. You know? I'm not trying to leave out my Gen Z people here at all. It's just that the eighties nostalgia in this show from start to finish, from season one through now, is just so amazing because the show takes place like, the events of the show takes place in the early eighties. And some of the references, I think they might go over Gen Z's head or they'll have to look up later to fully understand.
Dr. Ruth:And it just feels like a love letter from the Duffer Brothers to the eighties and the people that actually lived in it, the people who experienced childhood during the eighties, you know? And I guess for grown ups too because there's a lot of cool I mean, grown ups. Girl, you're one of them. I guess for people who were closer to adulthood in the eighties, there is a lot of meat on the bone for them too. But I really do think the the bulk of the nostalgia you see is is really for people who experienced childhood and early adolescence in the eighties.
Dr. Ruth:So that is my plug for Stranger Things, and I will be back soon as soon as Quentin's voice heals up. We are going to record that recap episode because we were both so excited. We, like, paused so many times to just discuss it and everything. Have you guys had a chance to watch the Sean Combs Reckoning? Speaking of Netflix drops, also something that I had on my list.
Dr. Ruth:This is that Diddy documentary that 50 Cent was promising. Not gonna lie. I was captured by the trailer. It looked pretty darn good. Like, it looked like it was well made.
Dr. Ruth:It looked like it was gonna contain some hard hitting interviews, and he did promise some never before seen footage that I was like, where did he get this footage? Turns out around the time of his arrest, Diddy had hired a videographer to follow him around New York City. And so what we get to see through this videographer's lens is kind of the last few days of his freedom and him grappling with the charges and all the allegations and the lawsuits in those earlier days because the trouble kinda started, I think, in May 2024, and the videographer picks up their camera in sometime in September 2024. So it's all it's not just looking back to the eighties and the old footage. This is stuff that is happening while he is putting together his defense in all of these trials and stuff.
Dr. Ruth:That part reeled me right in because initially, I I kinda wrote it off. I was like, what could possibly be revealed in a documentary that I didn't hear about in the massive media coverage and social media coverage of this scandalous trial? One of my favorite podcasters, Demetria Lucas, actually did a fantastic job breaking down the trial. If you are interested, those episodes are still available. If you really didn't quite catch all the nuance and don't understand how a verdict was arrived at, do please check out her her podcast, Ratchet and Respectable.
Dr. Ruth:But there is something a little bit different about seeing video, seeing people in a video version of an expose that I think is pretty powerful. It's only four episodes long, so I'm going to give it a try. I actually started the first episode and assured myself that I was actually gonna talk about it on the podcast, like, as something that I'm gonna watch. I'm not gonna do, like, a full recap thing, but I am gonna probably mention it at least in next week's episode, just what I thought of it, and of course, any new things I learned that I didn't know, having paid a pretty close attention to the trial itself. Although I have to admit, I'm a little bit nervous watching it because I'm traumatized by Surviving R.
Dr. Ruth:Kelly. I don't know what I was I think I was packing to actually move to this house when I watched it. I had as I watched 90% of what things I'm talking about, except, like, Stranger Things and things that I'm, like, really, like, full attention is gonna be given, I usually have TV in my closet on while I'm doing things, packing, putting away laundry, you know, etcetera, etcetera. And so I have a vivid memory. I'm just, you know, doing my stuff, packing my stuff in the closet to move.
Dr. Ruth:And I think I was so distracted, I took a really nice expensive sweater that I did not intend to donate because it still fit me, I was still wearing it. I put it in the donate pile because I was so shaken by some of the testimony being given by the people interviewed in Surviving R. Kelly, and it like, ugh, it was so disturbing. So, by the way, I did recover the sweater. But yeah, I I don't know.
Dr. Ruth:I hope it's not like that. I hope it's just more informative. Hard hitting, yes, but not just so heartbreaking. I think maybe was it the minors? Either way, that that documentary was great, but also just like nauseating.
Dr. Ruth:So I support anything that is exposing abusers. And so in case you're wondering, well, if it makes you a little bit queasy to see this stuff, why do you watch it? It's because these insane abusers should be exposed. And I'm gonna try my best to support projects that do that. You know, that's, I guess, my small contribution.
Dr. Ruth:What else is happening? I had told you guys that I would be watching Potomac Housewives closely or somewhat closely for signs of doctor Wendy and her husband overspending beyond what made sense. And I I know you guys mentioned the fashion. I'm gonna, like, debate this with you. Like, not everybody on reality TV actually buys and owns their clothing.
Dr. Ruth:A lot of people on reality TV rent their clothes. They have stylists they work with who loan them clothes. And the same thing goes for purses and stuff like that. Not everybody, I'm just saying a lot of people. So I don't want to make the assumption that because she wore a Gucci blazer in an interview or to a brunch that she owns that, that it's hanging in her closet right now.
Dr. Ruth:For me, the things that are more likely sources of spend are like home renovations. Like, homegirl is going through a renovation and she flashed the cost of this thing on the screen and it was about a $100,000. Now, for the list of things she went through, the number of areas that she's renovating, like kitchens, bathrooms, floors, etcetera, etcetera, a $100,000 is actually not that much money for the size of a house that she lives in. But it's still a $100,000, on top of whatever their existing expenses were, kind of also keeping up with the show and keeping that look going. There was an interesting scene in this past week's episode with her mother and her sister.
Dr. Ruth:They came over her house and it's crazy because I'm actually looking for stuff in a kind of a detective way, like a whodunit, like a that's where the money went. But it sparked empathy for me, this this scene, because she was talking about how her father did not reach out to her, doctor Wendy, for her birthday, how it had passed and he didn't reach out to her and her family group chat. He shouted out a cousin who had a birthday. And at some point, they had visited Nigeria with their children to give this man maximal opportunity to show up and be even like a shell of a grandfather in their lives, and he didn't. And so for any girl, that's gonna be hurtful beyond.
Dr. Ruth:She does credit her stepfather with being an amazing father figure in her life. Besides her great mom, she also had a great male role model in her life who loved her. But this is still a big wound. And her mom, she came in with, like, a moment of defiance, which I feel like makes sense for a woman who, you know, is no longer with the father of her children and there's just drama there, but she wants to be defiant and show him, like, look how well we're doing without you. So she kind of stood up and she was like, look how well you guys take care of me, you know, I'm wearing designer clothes, look how I'm spending your money.
Dr. Ruth:And she had like a Dior book tote and a Gucci belt and other designer items, and she was like, I'm living well, we're living so well. My daughters are taking care of me, they're successful. Look how I'm enjoying your money and your success. And it occurred to me that there is a degree to which her mother is displaying signs of wealth to kind of thumb her nose at her ex. And that looks to me like a train that could get out of the station and get run away real quick, you know, where Wendy feels pressure to always provide her mother with a lifestyle.
Dr. Ruth:They did flashback to that allowance scene that I mentioned when I first talked about the arrest. And so I'm I'm leaning towards, yeah, family pressure is probably playing a bigger role than a lot of people are giving credit. There's more to come, we know. The preview for the next few episodes shows Eddie and Wendy having a very serious sit down conversation where they look extremely stressed. Not sure if that has anything to do with the alleged staged robbery or their arrest or their impending arrest or any investigations that may have taken place prior to the arrest.
Dr. Ruth:Guess we're gonna find out. But it looks it looks like some stress is coming, and I guess I'm invested in this because it's a young, black, educated couple with three kids. And I just I feel a lot of kinship with her in in those aspects. It's kind of family we all like to see. And I just can't for the life of me make the connection between all that, all those positive, wonderful things, and the decision to allegedly commit this kind of fraud.
Dr. Ruth:I think I'm spinning my wheels trying to make sense of things that don't make sense, so you'll pardon me here. But I said I would share when I saw things that were like, ding ding ding, like, what was this allegedly fraudulently gained $450,000 spent on? So I feel like we have a couple of breadcrumbs there. There's also still a huge part of me that hopes this is all just a big misunderstanding. Girl, it was just a misunderstanding.
Dr. Ruth:And then and that these black people don't go to jail because that would suck for their kids. I'm always worried about the kids. Last but not least, for those of you who are a little maybe bored of what's going on in the Bravo sphere, you know, despite my personal obsessions. Have you caught up with The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Hulu? The third season just aired and the reunion episode also just came on.
Dr. Ruth:Stasi Schroeder is hosting. She's from Vanderpump Rules. And I got really excited when I saw that she was hosting because I so appreciate a good reunion host, as you know, by how much I complained about Nick and Vanessa from Love is Blind being just the most ridiculous and useless reunion hosts I've seen in a very long time, I feel like Stasi knocked it out of the park. And maybe she has, you know, a future career in this, if that's what she wants to do. Who knows?
Dr. Ruth:I didn't watch I don't know if she was in the valley. I didn't watch that show. Either way, I don't know what she's really up to besides this, so it was it was nice to see her, see that she's doing well. She had a lot of empathy too for what the ladies are experiencing because she's got a child and a more adult part of her life that she's living besides working at a bar and living that party life. So I feel like she was a good, not biased choice for a host, and thumbs up to to the Hulu people for that.
Dr. Ruth:It was smart. But then she also called BS when she saw it. That was the other thing I appreciated, and that made her differ from Nick and Vanessa. Like, she pressed the cast members for clarity when it was appropriate, and she didn't, like, rule over them like some people overdo it a little bit, but she did definitely not let them just slide with nonsense. And I I did appreciate that.
Dr. Ruth:In terms of keeping the viewers engaged and feeling like we got answers to questions too. Three seasons in, and I have to give it to these girls, you know, three seasons into what I would consider mega reality TV stardom, like they're not just pockets of the world who know who they are. Like, everyone's heard of them. Even if you don't watch the show, you've heard of them. And three seasons in, I feel like, as a viewer, it just doesn't feel like they've diminished their willingness to be open and transparent and raw on topics that most people would sweep under the rug and never ever ever discuss in front of a camera.
Dr. Ruth:I feel like these girls are giving you raw, crazy, unvarnished peek into their lives as mothers, friends, married women, all of that. I mean, we saw babies being born. We saw personal conflict about expanding families. We saw depression in its worst state with Jen that she let the viewer in on her prenatal depression and even educated people about the existence of this condition. Everyone on the show who talked about a history of abuse of any kind, emotional, sexual abuse, and they did so so bravely and openly.
Dr. Ruth:And I just, like, I have to commend them because I don't feel like we always see that on a lot of reality shows. Most people, cameras are in front of them, are definitely understandably gonna be trying to show the best of their lives. And, you know, just like we do with Instagram and other social media, we filter our lives. All of us do it. You don't show when you've had the worst day.
Dr. Ruth:But as with those social media situations, it's usually the realest that are most relatable and that people really like to see. Overall, I'm impressed with how these girls were able to turn TikTok fame into household name fame, and they're still not holding back and giving us a real dose of their personal reality. Even when they do try to cover up misdeeds, like some of the little emotional infidelity scandals and stuff that have happened, I've noticed something. When they get caught or when they get outed, let's say, by other cast members, they're not gonna carry on with a lie just to protect their mean, they're just, like, gonna be, alright. This is the scandal.
Dr. Ruth:Let me own up to it. There was a joke about how many time they used the words accountability in the season, and it is pretty striking when they play back all the clips of how many times they talk about accountability. But I think there may be something to a culture of accountability or expecting accountability from wrongdoers that we're seeing in this cast that makes the show really good. And maybe that's a Utah thing because of the Mormon culture. I know was it Whitney?
Dr. Ruth:One of the cast members talked about something about some of the rituals in church that involve testimony and things where you get to talk before your congregation. And I have heard maybe it wasn't from this show, but I feel like I've heard from either a documentary or something about kind of an open forum of chastisement that is used in the church for the good or the bad, you know, however you feel about it, that your bishop can kind of call you out if you've been doing something inappropriate or whatever. And I wonder if that's, you know, all of these women having grown up in that culture, I wonder if that influences them. Because right when I think they're going to deny, deny, deny, and die on that hill and never share, next thing you know, there's a tearful there's a tearful confessional moment, some really raw moments between a husband and a wife on a couch talking about their marital troubles and how they're, like, ready to end their marriage, and stuff is just right on the table as soon as it's outed. And in some cases, they try to get ahead of it, you know.
Dr. Ruth:And I'm again, I'm to the degree that such things are admirable, I think it's admirable when you're faced with an ugly truth to just embrace your truth. Be accountable as their buzzword. And then guess what you get to do usually in the world of reality TV because America's very forgiving. You get to move on. So hats off to them for somehow churning out a third season and not being super jaded reality stars, big time reality people.
Dr. Ruth:But I'd love to hear your thoughts on this if you actually watch the show. Because I will say on its face, I was like, Utah and all of its super, let's say, homogeneity and lack of diversity, I I would not have initially thought that this was gonna be an interesting show for me. But like most reality TV, if you judge a book by its cover, you're always gonna be turned off and not be interested. But I guess I always see these shows from more of an anthropology perspective of looking at people, human behavior, you know, social settings, social groups. I find all that stuff fascinating.
Dr. Ruth:From that standpoint, even though I have absolutely nothing to do with the state of Utah and its residents, it is a place I'd like to visit, but I digress. Fascinating stuff. If you're a fan and you're if you're someone who watches the show, let me know because if there's enough interest, I'm considering recapping the next season. Because what they do that I do like is they never they never really put cameras down. It's almost like they're continually filming, which is, oh my gosh, I cannot imagine how stressful that must be.
Dr. Ruth:Like but it seems like that's what they did between seasons two and three because we picked up, like, they got back from the reunion. I think they were in New York. They got back from the reunion, cameras were in their houses, cameras were at their brunches. There was no, oh, two, three months later, they picked up. So from that standpoint, it really feels like just like fly on the wall anthropology looking into these lives.
Dr. Ruth:Okay. I think that's everything that I had to discuss on my list in my head. If I did miss something, drop a comment. If I missed something cultural entertainment wise it happened that I didn't get to talk about because of the Thanksgiving break that I forced myself to take from media in general. I will be sharing with you guys over the next couple of weeks what's going on with me, events that I'll be attending.
Dr. Ruth:One thing I saw on TikTok I thought about participating in, and I want to know if you guys are doing it too, is Vlogmas. I'm hella late on this, but it seemed like a fun idea. I'm not one of those people who can do every single day vlogs, like day in the life vlogs, but I could probably commit to twelve days of Christmas vlogs. I don't know. I don't know.
Dr. Ruth:We'll see. I think it'll be fun because it will definitely force me to get better at TikTok, which is one of my personal goals for the year. I've gotten a lot better at social media in general about trying to actually utilize it as a tool and enjoy it for what it's worth, step away when appropriate. But I think it would allow me to figure out fun ways to integrate vlogging in my life that is not disruptive because what I never wanna do is take myself out of the fun of everything I'm doing to try and get perfect shots and perfect footage. I wanna just be able to do it spontaneously and, you know, kinda share and move on.
Dr. Ruth:Like, even with the podcast, I use, obviously, tools to help me smooth things out, but I wouldn't be able to do this if I had to do a ton of heavy editing, just being honest. So I'm trying to get there also with social media, and little by little, I will. So if you're doing Vlogmas and you have a TikTok or Instagram handle that you would like to share, please drop it in the comments. I'm really interested. I wanna follow along with what you're doing, and I'm gonna attempt to do my own.
Dr. Ruth:It's not gonna be all about Christmas decorations and all that stuff, but I'll definitely be sharing a lot of what's happening with us for the holiday season. So yeah. Because, I mean, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but I do love Christmas, obviously. Christmas is great. And when you have kids, I don't know, man.
Dr. Ruth:They just they take Christmas to another level, not just because of the gift giving, but just all of their wonder, their excitement. We are a Santa household. We don't center Santa for our Christmas celebrations, but I do allow my kids to believe because I think one of the things that's magical about childhood is a belief in magic and a belief in anything being possible and a willingness to, you know, just kind of accept information and not spend too much time deconstructing truths. I feel like that's a freedom and a joy of childhood that believing in Santa is tied to for me. So we we go with the Santa thing.
Dr. Ruth:We call Santa the, like the head elf that helps God celebrate Jesus's birthday, you know, for what it's worth. So the kids get to enjoy that, but also keep in mind the reason for the season. Okay. Now that's totally everything I had in my head. I'm gonna wrap here and tell you, as always, thank you so much for listening.
Dr. Ruth:I appreciate you joining us for my favorite group chat. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and of course, share this podcast with anyone who you think might be interested in our little group chats as well. Okay? Until next time. Bye.