
After The Hunt: Provocative or Pointless?
03/1/2026 | 10 min
Go to http://factormeals.com/thetake50off and use code thetake50off to get 50% off your first Factor box PLUS free breakfast for 1 year! After The Hunt was poised to be the provocative drama of this year’s Oscar’s race – but it didn’t get the reception everyone was expecting, and has ended up dividing audiences for very different reasons. This prestige drama from a renowned director starring some of Hollywood’s biggest stars should have been a slam dunk – so what went wrong? Let’s take a deeper look at After The Hunt to figure out if the film really did miss the mark, or if it’s just misunderstood… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Heated Rivalry Phenomenon Explained in Under 15 Minutes
01/1/2026 | 13 min
How did Heated Rivalry, a hockey romance drama, become such a huge cultural phenomenon?! The unexpectedly mega viral hit combines humor, sports, love and self-discovery in a way that's captured audience's hearts and minds. So, let's take a closer look at Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov's stories, their relationship, the truth about Heated Rivalry's alleged fanfic origins, why the show's ending is so important, and what might be coming next in Heated Rivalry's second season! Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/Fiv_nxX6oEM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friends: The Truth About Rachel's Life, Money & Friendships Then vs Now
24/12/2025 | 11 min
On Friends, Rachel Green’s life was so aspirational in many ways – but would it be totally impossible to have now? From the giant apartment she splits with Monica, to her rocketing career trajectory, to the fashion and lifestyle she’s able to have in one of the most expensive cities in the country – it’s definitely interesting to imagine how things might be quite different for Rachel today (and how watching her story might have set us up with some unrealistic expectations…) So, let’s take a look at 4 key areas of Rachel’s life (her family wealth, career journey, $$$ lifestyle, & most important relationships) to see if she still would have been able to make things work now. You can watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/dvu7eMeSBVs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The *Real* Reasons AI Slop & The Blandness Epidemic Have Totally Taken Over Media, Explained
16/12/2025 | 12 min
Go to http://greenchef.com/thetakegraza and use code THETAKEGRAZA to get started with 50% off Green Chef + FREE Graza Olive Oil Set in your 2nd and 3rd boxes! Have we passed the point of no return with AI Slop and bland content? We’re going to dive into the four major aspects of this issue: businesses like Disney and Coca-Cola embracing AI (and possibly destroying their own brands), the financial reasons behind the blandness epidemic, how everyone seems to be losing the war for attention, the secret fear underpinning everything, and more to uncover the truth about the big problems and the ones hiding under the surface. Let’s take a closer look! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Rich Girl Plot Armor Problem , Explained | Trope Analysis
06/12/2025 | 14 min
Go to http://uncommongoods.com/thetake for 15% off your next gift! Money can solve a lot of problems, but… what happens when nearly every character seems to be protected by a bubble of invisible wealth (even ones that are meant to be “just like us”?!) While “Rich Girls” have always had a certain amount of plot armor (on screen and in real life,) in movies and TV shows even average, supposedly down-to-earth characters can feel like they’re living in a total fantasy world. Which, on the one hand, makes sense since… they’re literally not real. But the truth is that these kinds of stories can have a psychological effect on us in real life, too. So, let’s take a closer look at all of the sides of this trope to figure out how it’s really shaped our perception of wealth and our own lives… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices



The Take