Lady Problems

On the season one finale of “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, Teo Bugbee and Rachel Handler talk to genius comedian Aparna Nancherla. Aparna's comedy takes many forms — she does stand-up, she's a writer, she has an amazing Twitter, she's written for Late Night with Seth Meyers, she's been on Inside Amy Schumer and Netflix's Love, she has a podcast called Blue Woman Group, a Comedy Central special…. We could go on, but instead we will let her talk about how she wrings absurdist comedy from depression and anxiety, what it's like to occasionally write for dudes, and what's actually funny in the Trump era. Later, she'll answer a Lady Problem from our co-host Hazel Cills and an existential query from a listener.

This week on “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, MTV News' style editor Haley Mlotek joins Rachel Handler to interview writer Durga Chew-Bose. Durga is the author of the new essay collection Too Much and Not The Mood, and also Haley's good friend — in fact, Haley edited three of the essays that appear in the book, so we go deep on those. We talk to Durga about the strange and bittersweet experience of living alone for the first time, the blissful relief of hiding in a movie theater during the oppressive New York summer, and what it sounds like to fall off a bridge. Later, Durga schools us all about Polly Platt, one of the most influential producers and production designers and screenwriters of the 1970s and 1980s who — by nature of being a woman in '70s Hollywood — was often overshadowed by the men she worked with.

This week on "Lady Problems," the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture's treatment of women, Hazel Cills and Teo Bugbee co-host alongside film critic Kristen Yoonsoo Kim. First, we talk about the new Olivier Assayas movie Personal Shopper, in which Kristen Stewart plays a personal shopper who may or may not sext with ghosts. Then we analyze Stewart’s career at large from the cringe-worthy Twilight to her first Assayas collaboration Clouds of Sils Maria and try to pinpoint exactly when she got so damn good at acting.  Find Rachel, Hazel, and Teo on Twitter and say hi, and call us up with your Lady Problems at 205-677-5239  — yes, that is 205-677-LADY, and if you think we’re not going to remind people of that every single week, then you must not know Lady Problems.

This week on “Lady Problems,” the MTV News podcast dedicated to pop culture’s treatment of women, Teo Bugbee, Rachel Handler, and Hazel Cills put a rush on the episode so you can listen to it while you get ready (or show solidarity) for the International Women’s Day strike. The three of us go back in time and talk about labor trailblazer/movie star Olivia de Havilland, who happens to also be one of the narrators of Ryan Murphy's latest FX series, Feud. We delve into the first episode of the show as well, which has a strange way of looking at aging women. Later, it's the return of our segment "Fucked-Up-in-a-Good-Way Movie About Women of the Week." We talk about the 1979 classic Norma Rae, in which Sally Field kicks ass unionizing a textile factory in North Carolina. Onward, comrades! Find Rachel, Hazel, and Teo on Twitter and say hi, and call us up with your Lady Problems at 205-677-5239  — yes, that is 205-677-LADY, and if you think we’re not going to remind people of that every single week, then you must not know Lady Problems.

This week, Teo and Rachel talk to the fabulous Melanie Lynskey. Melanie's in the new movie "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore", an eccentric crime-thriller-cum-dark-existential-comedy (just watch it) that won Sundance's Grand Jury Prize and premiered on Netflix last week. We talk to Melanie about the film, why she's such a consistently calming presence in indie cinema, how she sometimes feels "invisible" as a woman over 30 in Hollywood, and how she keeps herself from disappearing into her consistently morose characters. Later, we play a game with Melanie called "Trivia About Yourself," in which we quiz her about her 20-plus years of incredible movies.