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Hello, ladies. Hey, divas. Hi. I'm Zach Stafford. I'm Saeed Jones. I'm Sam Sanders. And you are listening to Vibe Check. Vibe Check.

This week, we're going to get into Joe Biden or Dark Brandon, as some call him, some people being Sam Sanders. And he finally seems to be catching some wins and getting some shit done. And also, we're going to be talking about Netflix turning 25, HBO going through a lot of drama, which feels on the nose for a drama company, and how the golden age of TV may be over. So we're going to talk about all of this. But first, I want to shout out all of you who sent us fan mail or tweeted us or DM'd us. We appreciate all the feedback.

Keep it coming. We love to see it, hear it, read it. We are at vibecheckatstitcher.com. Send us a note. How are we feeling today? How are we feeling, ladies? Speaking of golden age of TV being over, I'm feeling unbothered by things like the VMAs. The VMAs happened Sunday night. I saw the commercials for it. I said, should I watch? And then I said, no, I'm not going to watch. And you know what? Not watching was a-okay. I remember the VMAs of my youth.

And it feels like they're just a shell of what they used to be now. And I don't feel bothered by it. It's like, okay, not for me anymore. I don't even think young people, like, I think initially I was like, oh, maybe you just like naturally kind of age out of caring about something about the VMAs. But I don't get the sense that young people are like really excited about it either.

I don't know. Yeah. And it feels weird because all these celebrities are dressing crazier and crazier and crazier every VMAs red carpet to get more attention. But all they get from me is like a scroll on the feed. Then I'm like, oh, looks cute. Looks bad. But did you like the Bad Bunny kiss? He kissed one of his male dancers? Yes. Sure.

Good for him. I don't know. I was like, okay, great. Love that for you. We have talked a lot about queerbaiting on this show. So I'm kind of like, baby, shit a good off the pot. Tell me what you really want. I mean, sure. Kiss a dancer. I don't know. We're over it. Well, Syed, how are you doing today? I'm good.

I'm good. I'm feeling cute. Very autumnal. I'm excited. Wow. What's the temperature over there, Saeed? What's the temperature? You know, you're right. It is a smooth. It's 75. It is a crisp autumnal 75 degrees. I'm excited because this weekend I'm going tailgating. It's the first OSU game of the year. Oh my God. Is this your first tailgate since the pandemic? Oh no. Oh no. He's in it. No, I

I went last fall. I went last fall. But it's like the first game of the year. It's OSU versus Notre Dame. Big game. Very excited. It's a night game, which means I don't have to wake up early in the morning to go tailgating. Yeah, I'm excited. So I'm looking forward to that. Take pictures. Is the boyfriend coming? He might. I think he might do a road trip and swing by for Labor Day weekend. Oh.

Aw, we love this. Cute. I'm going to take him tailgating for the first time. I'll report back. I'll report back. Yes, yes, yes. Zach, how are you doing? I'm good. I'm in New York City. And I really feel lately everyone's like, where are you? And I'm like, I don't travel that much. But no, I really do. I'm in New York and Philly this week for some reason. I wish y'all could see the look Sam and I just gave Zach. I will listen. What are you talking about?

Allegedly, Zach Stafford's apartment is not too far down the road from my place. We both are in LA. I'll hit this man up being like, what you doing this weekend? He's always gone. Baby is always gone. Yeah, I'm gone. And my boyfriend definitely gets the apartment to himself all the time. So he's very lucky because I'm never there to bother him. So there we go. I hope your fall has you sitting still a bit more so we can hang out. Yeah, I hope. I hope. All right. Shall we kick things off? Shall we jump in? Let's do it, girls. Let's do it.

We have to talk about Joe Biden. Joe Byron. Dark Brandon. Cut it with the Dark Brandon bullshit. Because Sam has been trying to make Dark Brandon a thing for weeks. You ain't trying to make it happen. Y'all can have either Dark Brandon or Joe Byron. Which one do you want? I like Dark Brandon.

I like Joe Byron. Remember Joe Byron? If I have to choose. Joe Byron was fun. Okay, I'm gonna call him Joe Byron for the rest of this segment. Joe Byron has been on a run lately. Here are a few of his most recent achievements. One, student loan debt relief. We've all heard about this by now.

Now, Pell Grant recipients will get up to $20,000 in debt canceled. Other borrowers get up to $10K forgiven if their income is less than $125K. By some estimates, with this new Biden debt forgiveness program, some 20 million people will see their student loan debt totally wiped out.

Just a few days after that announcement, Joe Biden and his White House said that they would formally codify DACA as a federal regulation. DACA, of course, stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This is a program that lets dreamers stay and become citizens.

All of this comes after Joe Biden finally got the Inflation Reduction Act through Congress, which is the biggest American investment in fighting climate change ever. This bill also raises corporate taxes and expands healthcare coverage.

And we can't give Joe Byron all the credit for this, but inflation is down and gas prices are down, which leads to my big question for this segment. Can we say, at this point at least, that Joe Biden, perhaps the least energetic president in recent history-

Is he on a roll? Yes, I will say yes, he is on a roll. I'm going to give it a sure with a question mark at the end. But I don't think it was planned. I think somehow the planets aligned, like karma finally came back. Donald Trump is dealing with his stuff. He did not plan this. This is just like a lot of luck hitting back to back in my mind. That's what I was wondering because a lot of these Democrats cannot pass a law because of some of the na-na-na-na-na-na and Joe Manchin-

So a lot of this is, you know, it's a lot of like executive power being exercised, which is to say this could have happened at any point since Joe Biden became president. So I've been a little curious as to like why now, if as Zach is saying, if it's just a coincidence, you know, the political stars just aligned. Or is this like the Biden administration being like, okay, let's go into November, the midterm elections with, you know, making a clear case.

I think a lot of it was just him doing what he does best, which is palling around with senators long enough to get them to yes.

Before he was in the White House, he was in the Senate for decades, and he prides himself on being someone who can negotiate. And he got so much flack for months from the left for taking his time with Sinema, taking his time with Manchin. But the long game paid off, and it happened to pay off just a few months before the midterms. So whether or not he planned this or not, I do think we're entering this season where Democrats and Joe Biden are poised to do

pretty well in November should things hold, especially given the fallout from Roe being overturned. And I'm just baffled by this strange success for Joe Biden because in many ways,

He is the left's worst nightmare. He preaches compromise at a time when no one seems to want it. He is extremely unexciting. He does not project any of the symbolism that Democrats want in a president that Barack Obama provided. Or that arguably Trump provided for Republicans. Exactly. And yet he has a pretty strong list of accomplishments.

I guess I'm grappling with him and what he's doing. And it's almost a Forrest Gump situation. Like he just showed up at the right place in the right time. I don't know, but he's doing something. I'm realizing I don't,

don't really know how to respond to good news anymore when it comes to kind of national politics. Like I'm so used to, if not absolute chaos, then kind of Lucy snatching the football, you know, and it's hard to receive and kind of metabolize good news because I've gotten so used to being like, oh, get ready. Here's the next, you know, bit of chaos that we're ready to deal with. So, I mean, this is wonderful. I mean, pick any one of these issues, climate change.

DACA, which is just so important. Student debt relief, the way it's going to impact people's material realities. This is huge. Even drug pricing. Like he is going to allow the government to set drug prices, which most of the rest of the developed world does already. But this is a big deal. I wonder, you know, to hear you, Saeed, say that you

don't know how to accept a win given so many years of horrible politics. It seems as if in many ways the folks that should be the most excited about Joe Biden getting some stuff right these last few weeks, they don't know how to accept the win either. Twitter is not the real world, but we saw, we all saw after the student loan news

A lot of folks on the left said, this is horrible, this is wrong, this is evil because it didn't do enough. I found that surprising, Zach. I mean, I think it's surprising and it's also revealing of something I struggle with when we have conversations about Twitter. And when we say Twitter's not the whole world, we're talking both about

I think it's like 5% to 10% of Twitter users create 90% of the content. There's a vast difference between being on Twitter and then who's actually creating the conversations on Twitter. Meaning conversations on Twitter aren't representative of everyone. But I sometimes get frustrated with the left by not understanding how large a moment can be and being able to celebrate it. And also...

misunderstanding who is actually impacting. So like some quick numbers for people, 43 million Americans are going to be eligible for $10,000 of debt loan forgiveness. That is amazing. Just that is amazing. That's amazing. And when you look at some other numbers and all these numbers are coming from this organization called Rise is a student led nonprofit. A friend of some of ours created it named Max Lubin, who used to work in DC for Obama. And I got him to send me over a bunch of numbers and

I was really shocked because I didn't understand that 92% of the state of California of people who are borrowers will be eligible for this. That's a lot of people. That's something that we should be really, really excited about. And it also just shows you that while we look at TikTok and we look at Instagram and see people going to Mykonos, going to New York City constantly. I know I'm part of that problem. It's for work, I swear. But we see people living these huge lives. We have an overinflated idea that people are really wealthy in this country.

And they're not. Most people do fall well below $125,000 a year. So this is going to hit a lot of people very quickly. And we do have those numbers. We know 8 million people by October will have it cleared immediately. And then 35 million more people will have to go through an application process before the end of the year. And that's 44 million people. That's a lot of people. And according to some White House estimates, the average Black borrower will see their balance cut nearly in half

and more than one in four will have their balance forgiven altogether. This is before you include the 10,000 more of debt forgiveness for Pell Grant recipients. This is good for black people. It's good for lower income people, for middle income people.

And I don't know. It just feels like if any other president had done this, there'd be dancing in the streets. But something about Joe Biden, you're just like, I don't know. I mean, it's not just like any other president. It's where we are now. We're in this moment. I mean, black folks in Jackson, Mississippi, an 80 percent black city, the capital of Mississippi, woke up this morning to find out indefinitely.

they aren't going to have safe water to drink. So I just think we're in a moment where so much is going on, no matter who was announcing the good news, I don't think we'd exactly see people dancing in the streets. And I've got to say, I'm ambivalent about the idea of being nice to politicians, actually. No, yeah, we don't owe them anything. They owe us. To me, I'm kind of like bully politicians to always push them forward. So I think maybe that complicates the messaging because I would like to see student loan debt 100%.

And the same with medical debt, you know? And so I don't know, but I would like to think there's a way to say good start, not enough. We need more as opposed to totally, you know, dispelling the impact of this. Well, that nuance doesn't exist in spaces like Twitter.

It just doesn't exist there. That's true. And I think people have really stopped realizing that progress is a step-by-step process. History happens in small moments and mini moments, back to back to back, and it may take a while. And I think people, due to maybe TikTok or due to social media, have this really like, they need it in this.

the immediate future, and that's when it really matters, or they need it to be this really big march to really matter. But sometimes structural change happens without you really seeing it tomorrow materially, and it starts to trickle in. And also, to the credit of activists, you know, the reason why we got here is because young people showed up and voted in 2020.

it's because Betsy DeVos is not in the Department of Education anymore. There's been real pressure on this administration and the administrations before that have led to this moment. So I think people, not that I want to give the Biden administration one more vote on the just go vote, because I think that's really patronizing at times. I do think people should celebrate that they are the reason why this happened.

This is a long path out of Trump that you did, not Biden, that allowed him to do this executive order. And it's a good moment to understand what the relationship between activists and politicians should be and could be. It's a constant song and dance. Your work is not done. The work of activists is to yell, yell, yell, shout, shout, shout, organize, organize, organize, get some, take a day, and then keep going. Yeah.

I think a lot of people want this student loan debt conversation to be over in one fell swoop. It's going to be a process that requires more activism. And that's what I'm almost waiting to see more than like the midterm turnout results. I think it's safe to kind of predict where things might head given Roe. What I'm anxious to see is what the relationship between activists on the left and the Biden White House continues to be. And I hope it remains antagonistic.

Because pushing that White House is the only way to see real change happen. And that's, I guess, what I'm going for. It's like productive antagonism. Because to your point, Zach, I understand that substantive progress requires a step-by-step. But we're facing such systemic collapse because of really the last decade, not just the last few years. That I do think a lot of the – yes, it's like Twitter and these platforms are not making space for nuance.

But also I just think people are kind of like under duress. And when you're in that situation, nuance or kind of being like step by step, you know, you kind of don't want to hear that. It's almost like you can't afford that kind of pacing. So I'm really happy about the public policy that's taking place over the last month from this administration. We'll see. Yeah.

We'll see. And to your point, you know, if people aren't jumping for joy, I'm going to have a very harm reductive response to this and be like, we need a lot more structural change. And the Biden administration should be able to hold both of the truths, the excitement that $10,000 is gone and the reality that people need it all gone. We need more. And we'll figure out the middle. I want to end this segment by not giving any flowers to Joe Biden, but just saying, huh, he's surprised me. You did the right thing, Joe. He did the right thing.

Dare I say we did it, Joe? He did it, Joe. They did it, Joe. Something. All right. Time for us to take a quick break. But stay tuned. We'll be right back with no more Joe Byron, but a lot of Netflix and such.

This message is brought to you by McDonald's. Did you know only 7.3% of American fashion designers are black? Well, McDonald's 2024 Change Leaders Program is ready to change the face of fashion. The innovative program awards a monetary grant to five emerging black American designers and pairs each with an industry professional to help them elevate their brands.

I know specifically and distinctly how McDonald's can support and empower not just black Gen Z but black people. My first job was McDonald's. I learned a lot there about customer service and how to relate to people. I still love that place and go there very often. Look out for the change of fashion designers and mentors

at events like the BET Awards and the Essence Festival of Culture. And follow the journey of the 2024 McDonald's change leaders on their Instagram page, We Are Golden. All right. Hello, my dears. We're back. And let's jump into our next topic, the downfall of the streaming era, aka happy 25th anniversary Netflix. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Happy birthday, girl. That's right. And this is a huge part of what's going on. Netflix, which was initially the only streaming platform, is celebrating its 25th year. But so much has changed. Now it has competitors left, right, up, down, the middle. I mean, everyone's in it. And I think it's fair to say everything has changed. And as we were kind of talking about it in the group text this week, it

feels like there was a moment where we were really in not just the golden age remember people would be like the golden age of prestige tv which was really i think heralded by hbo shows and we're going to talk about hbo hbo shows like the sopranos amc's mad men breaking bad also breaking bad all of all of those unhappy dangerous white men all of those

And then we entered the golden age of streaming, which was like, you know, particularly as a writer, as an artist, really exciting. Orange is the New Black was so exciting. Yeah. And so all of these opportunities for storytelling and more diversity representation opportunities. And now... You know what it is now, Saeed? I feel so overwhelmed when you look at all the streamers, all the platforms and all the content. It's too much to keep up with and no one is in charge. Right.

In 2021, last year, the official count was that there were 559 scripted series on streaming networks or broadcast. And that's incredible. That's just too much. That's just scripted shows. That's not even counting selling the OC and selling the this and selling the that. It's insane. That's not Housewives, not reality TV. That's wild. It's too much. I'm just tired. And I'm tired.

I think what I've been struggling with, what is the difference between this and cable? Remember when we, growing up, you had cable and you're like so many channels, but nothing, nothing to watch. And there was a lot of cable. There was a lot of cable. We had a lot, a lot of cable. I mean, satellite TV is infinite, but it never felt like it was collapsing like we're seeing right now.

What I've found really interesting is that through the launch of Netflix and HBO Max and through Twitter, I think more people know the process of making a TV show than ever before. People know who a showrunner is. People know what a writer's room is. People are having expectations of what the writers are. And due to our investment in them, similar to journalism, as some of them are getting fired...

laid off, contracts change, we are emotionally invested because we know who's making our TV for the first time, our films. And now that they're not catering to us, quote unquote, and we're seeing quick shifts, it feels more real because we're seeing it all happen in real time, which would have never happened in the 90s. Like a showrunner getting fired, you never cared. You didn't know. Totally. I think there are two things happening.

One, cable for all of its flaws was a viable business model because we all paid so much for cable, right? It kind of paid for itself. Streaming has yet to figure out how to successfully pay for itself. A lot of these big streamers, especially Netflix-

They started out not making money and they built their audiences not actually making money. And now they have to make money and they're considering doing things like adding ads to the platform, which for cable, you're like, that's a no brainer. You got to do something to make the money. So the business model is still being worked out. But I also think that like we're in this moment where we know more than ever about TV shows. So we're invested more than ever in them.

You know, I would watch some shit on cable as a kid and not think anything of it after the show was over. But now I can read all the reviews and all the recaps and I can follow the showrunner and the actors on Instagram and social. And I'm fully invested in these shows that haven't yet proven that they're commercially viable. So when they're canceled or disappeared from HBO Max, I'm like,

I throw a conniption fit that I never would have 20 years ago. Right. And it's interesting. I was reading the other day that Neil Gaiman, wonderful, successful writer, and of course, I'm assuming one of the producers of Netflix's Sandman adaption, which is incredible. I...

Wow. I've watched the entire first season twice, actually four times because I rewatched it with my boyfriend. I just thought they did a very, very good job. And I know at times, you know, everything can feel like, you know, IP and it's just getting kind of crazy. But I just thought this was an example of actually a very successful text to screen adaptation. And still they're not sure if it's going to be renewed for a second season, even though it's currently the most viewed season.

show on netflix i think for like the third or fourth week running like it's a hit by all estimations it's a hit and even neil gaiman himself is like uh we'll see i'm trying my best and i guess it all goes back to sam what you were saying like they you know how do you monetize this and so when you spend millions and millions of dollars on these you know beautiful slick well-acted and edited shows but you're not getting kind of the financial returns yeah it doesn't feel as

It's not fun anymore.

where it was like so many amazing stories because we had funding to send people everywhere, do everything. And people got so used to this really quality content that was really inexpensive or free, especially, you know, .com content. And then suddenly overnight, it all went away. And like what we know as journalists is that when that funding disappeared, it wasn't that you didn't have more news to read or that you didn't have things to click on at work. It's real people's lives were not being spotlit and legislation was falling through. That's why we're dealing with this kind of

avalanche of all this legislation passing because there's not enough reporters. So I feel like we're at the beginning of that for Hollywood, where we had a moment where we saw ourselves and now it's going backwards. That's a great point. And it's actually very concerning because, yeah, from the position of digital media, what we saw really from, I would say, 2016 to now as all the layoffs and the shrinking is

All of the journalists of color, queer journalists, you know, that were brought into newsrooms, finally, given the support and resources they deserved to do great work, those were some of the first people laid off. And that impacted the journalists themselves and the work they were doing, right, which benefited the readers. And just like I said earlier, part of the joy was

of all of these streaming platforms is that we had more opportunities for storytelling, which did create more opportunities for diverse storytelling. And now as we see with like HBO Max and Warner Brothers, guess who they're laying off? Black people, brown people. Yes, and this is a pattern that I feel like happens a lot

when a lot of investor or tech or VC money comes into an industry, props it up, and then you realize these things can't sustain themselves, the first thing to be cut, the first folks to lose their job, that's usually people of color, queer people, and women.

You know, in this same week that Netflix turns 25, another big streamer has been in the news recently for a lot of missteps in this merger they're having. Warner Brothers Discovery has axed about 13 non-white executives as they try to climb out of debt.

And that's going to affect the kind of shows that are made. You know, that platform laid off about 70 people this month. There are also quietly disappearing TV shows. HBO Max canceled Batgirl after spending $90 million for the movie, after having that movie have an Afro-Latina lead. And I mean, and also, can't...

- Counseling a movie sounds pretty unprecedented, right? - Yeah, that's never happened really before. - And so like several years into the world of streaming, when it promised us infinite possibility and opportunities for all kinds of creatives, what we're seeing is actually a consolidation of this industry in which fewer companies are in charge of it, all with white men on top, and you're losing the parts of these companies that embrace diversity.

So, so much I think of the promise of Netflix, of the promise of streaming, it hasn't been fully realized yet. And it's just tired us all out. As a viewer of TV and movies, I am exhausted by how much there is to watch, how much there is to keep up with, and how no one is helping me

keep that stuff in order in my life. I miss knowing what shows are on on Thursday night, what shows are on on Friday night. I miss that. And I just feel like I'm lost in the wilderness when it comes to streaming now. And something that's always bothered me, Netflix started this, but I think the other streaming platforms have similar practices. We don't know actually how well the shows are doing consistently, right? Like when Netflix says like, oh, Sandman's doing great today.

I'm assuming they are telling the truth, but like that doesn't make sense. If a publication is able to like put out their own ratings, you know, that's kind of ridiculous. And when we go back to the heyday of cable and network television, you know, like the impact of Sweeps Week and all of that, like you had a sense of your impact as a viewer on a show's success.

And now it just doesn't matter, you know? And it's weird. It's like on one way, as you both pointed out, things feel more transparent and maybe even annoyingly interactive because we're aware of the behind the scenes. You know, like, don't worry, darling isn't coming out until October. And I feel like we are all deep in the back and forth. You know, like it's weird to be so, you know, in it. But at the same time, when you show up for something and really love it,

The impact of that enthusiasm feels dampened because at the end of the day, if, I don't know, Reed Hastings at Netflix just says, oh, it doesn't matter too much money. It doesn't matter if it's a critical darling. It's out. It's out. And so it's just a weird –

And that's why people take us so personally is that we came from a digital media environment where we're saying, for you, by you, with the whole crew looking like you. And then to see when the times get tough, they chop you first. That's really disheartening for you as just a person in the world. Because at the end of the day, that...

that reality that exists of white supremacy in this country and racism and discrimination becomes materialized in these choices of content. When they say, you're not worthy of our investment, we're going to go with the middle America reading code kind of racist shows. And that just shows you where the money's at. And that's really sad for you as a person of color. I keep thinking now as Netflix turns 25 and we're all asking questions about whether this wide world of streaming was good or bad for us.

I keep coming back to how eventually some of this stuff has to go back to what it knows.

When streaming was becoming ascendant, everyone said, well, the beauty of this is that you can just binge a show in one day. We'll release it all and you watch it all. What's happening now? We're moving back to time slots for TV shows, which is the way it was back in cable days, right? We also saw this moment where Netflix said, we can survive as a business model without ever having to show you advertisements. Guess what Netflix is going to have to do? And they've said they're going to do very soon, run ads.

You know, there was so much hubris in the world of the Netflixes and the streamers about how they could reinvent the wheel. But some of the big parts of that old wheel of yesteryear, time slots and commercials, is still gonna be with us. And I kind of think about that a lot when I think about Joe Biden and his recent successes. Everything about that man feels old school. The way he approaches politics and DC and all of it feels tired, tired.

But sometimes it works.

Also, meanwhile, you know, as someone who has a Disney Plus subscription, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Paramount Plus, it adds up and it might damn well be as much as a cable. It's the same as a cable, bro. It's the same as cable. Same as cable. Listen, so the moral of this story is quit your streamers, get back on cable, and support your local geriatric politician. Take me back to the days when I would go through the TV Guide channel looking for any hint of gayness. I mean, like, okay, Will, great.

Scarcity. Got it. Red Shoe Diaries. We'll see what we can figure out there. Yeah. Okay. We're going to take another break, but don't go anywhere. We'll be right back.

This message is brought to you by McDonald's. Did you know only 7.3% of American fashion designers are Black? Well, McDonald's 2024 Change Leaders Program is ready to change the face of fashion. The innovative program awards a monetary grant to five emerging Black American designers and pairs each with an industry professional to help them elevate their brands.

I know specifically and distinctly how McDonald's can support and empower not just black Gen Z, but black people. My first job was McDonald's. I learned a lot there about customer service and how to relate to people. I still love that place and go there very often. Look out for the change of fashion designers and mentors.

at events like the BET Awards and the Essence Festival of Culture. And follow the journey of the 2024 McDonald's Change Leaders on their Instagram page, We Are Golden. All right, so we're back. And before we end the show, we each like to share something that's helping us keep our vibe right this week. And to get us going, I'm just going to throw it to Saeed because I saw him Googling and I want to see what she was Googling over there. Well, I don't know if you know this, but I tend to think of myself as a sunny goth girl. Yes.

Wow. She says, in a Led Zeppelin shirt. Wow. We love to see it. I just smiled everything dead on the inside. So I was just absolutely delighted. I was, oh, I went to see Nope, and I ended up seeing a trailer for this television show. It's on Hulu via FX. The show is called Little Demon. Yeah.

It's a new animated show. And this is just a perfect one sentence synopsis. After being impregnated by the devil, a reluctant mother and her antichrist daughter attempt to...

Let me get my blessed oil. Cause in the name of Jesus, I rebuke this. The reluctant mother is voiced. The reluctant mother is voiced by Aubrey Plaza. Satan is voiced by Danny DeVito. And the daughter is Lucy DeVito. It is so great.

It looks so good. I have been wanting to watch it all week. Is it funny or dramatic? It's very funny. It's very, very funny. Check it out. Check it out. And I just think the mother character who's like a tough demon fighting badass. And so it's like you both have the kind of divorced parent.

tension but it's playing out in a you know really dramatic way it was very feminist i don't know i you know if if you got into my harley quinn recommendation a couple of weeks ago you know let's take it to a little demon you love like this like you are goth because these are very goth images

Let it all burn and laugh while doing it. And Little Miss Evanescence over here. We love that. We love that. I'm going to be checking that out. Sam, you got your... The blessed oil. The blessed oil. Listen, anointing this computer. Put the oil on this computer screen.

What is your vibe? What's keeping you right this week, Sam? Yeah. So I actually just before this taping tape with my friends over at NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour to talk about the new Regina Hall, Sterling K. Brown movie, Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul. And I'm going to talk about the new Regina Hall, Sterling K. Brown movie, Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul.

It is worth it just for Regina Hall's performance alone. I love Regina Hall. She's so good. Love her. So she plays a pastor's wife, and they're caught up in a sex scandal, but they're trying to rebuild their church after the scandal. And the whole thing is shot in a mockumentary style. The movie has some flaws, but the performances are superb. Regina Hall is truly Oscar-worthy in this film.

She does this wonderful thing and most of the stuff she does where she'll start a scene almost feigning innocence. And she's just delivering her lines, looking at you. And then you gradually see this wink and a nod behind the eyes and something deeper there. And she's always the smartest person in the room.

And she's just phenomenal, pitch perfect. Her comedic timing is amazing. There's a final monologue towards the end where she's in full Baptist preacher's wife regalia and clown face paint. Won't explain it, but

But the girl is working for the awards. If there's any justice in this world, Regina Hall gets an Oscar nomination at least for her work in this movie. Go see it. I love, okay, I'm excited. I think Regina Hall is a comic genius. Yes. And part of it is she's really able to use almost like the veneer of respectability. Like you said, innocent. Because she looks, I mean, she has that put together, perfect, you know, almost like kind of elevated soccer mom look. Yeah.

You know, she is wild. She has a wicked sense of humor and I love it. Ooh, I'm excited. Okay. And Sterling K. Brown. Yes. He is fine and shirtless in this movie. Amen. Amen. Praise Jesus. We love.

Yeah. Oh God, I'm going to have to go watch Girls Trip again and pay homage to Regina Hawking. Or go watch the Scary Movie franchise again, which she was great at. Oh my God. Remember that from way back in the day? Those parodies? I'm not even going to start quoting that movie because it gets so raunchy, but I love it. The popcorn scene. Yes.

Zach, what's your rec this week? My rec this week is go watch Serena Williams in her final tournament at the US Open, if you haven't been. She played Monday. She won. She plays today as the show's airing on Wednesday. And it is her last tournament, allegedly, as she evolves out of tennis. And what's so amazing about watching it, even if you don't watch tennis, is as you're watching the game, no one cares about who she's going against. Like, I feel so bad for these other people playing her because the entire crowd is like,

Spike Lee, Queen Latifah, Bill Clinton, the sex psychiatrist. Dr. Ruth was sitting next to Bill Clinton last night, which was hilarious. But it's just tons of celebrities there just clapping for Serena. And what's so funny is last night or on Monday night's game, Gayle King came out and they did this whole ceremony to say goodbye to Serena and all this stuff. But the gag was that she just won. She won by a lot. So she wasn't retired yet. So we're having this goodbye ceremony again.

And like, she's still playing. And Serena Williams loves winning so much that she just looked confused the whole time. She's like, why are y'all doing this? I still, I'm still playing. I'm still here. That is part of what's really interesting about, because, you know, it's not like an actor or someone saying like, okay, I'm going to go out on top, you know, or this is going to be my last performance in a way that like, we know when it ends, you get to tell, you know, like this, we'll see. We'll see. I mean, ugh.

I'm excited. What I loved is seeing Olympia, seeing her daughter, you know, just in the stands, just being her mama's number one fan. Biggest fan. That thing.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and we were just like, what a wonderful time to be alive. We got to see not just Serena Williams be on the top of her game for like 20 years. We've also seen Beyonce do the same thing. We are in this moment of black woman celebrity where there are pillars of the culture like Beyonce and Serena that have been giving us a plus for decades now and been on top for decades now. And we got to see it. How,

lucky we are. Imagine if we got to see Arthur Ashe play as well as he did for 20 years. That's what we got with Serena. Also, what I think what gives me hope

And what does feel actually different is it's not just the black women icons. We also see the assured success of the next generation, you know, and so whether that's Naomi Osaka in tennis, right. And, you know, when I think of television music, you know, like we, we see Quinta Brunson, we see Issa Rae, you know, and so it means a lot that it's not like, oh, if Serena Williams and Venus Williams stopped playing, that's it for black women in tennis. They have raised money.

Yeah. And that's beautiful. And, you know, just to see these women have careers that have legs, there used to be a time when all these industries would chew up young women and spit them out, especially black women. So to see Beyonce and Serena say, we're going to be dominant women.

well into our adulthoods and you're going to deal. I just love it. What a time to be alive. And they're saying we are retiring at 40 and we're going to have a whole other chapter of our lives and I love that. The girls are cashing checks and we love that for them. Do it. We love it. All right. Well, that's our show for this week. As always, we like to know what you are feeling or not feeling this week, what your vibe is or what's keeping your vibe in check. So let us know at vibecheckatstitcher.com.

I'm just thinking about putting holy oil on Sterling K. Brown's abs. Anyway, thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of Vibe Check My Loves. Huge thank you to our producer Chantel Holder, engineer Brendan Burns, and Marcus Holm for our theme music and sound design.

Special thanks to our executive producers, Nora Ritchie at Stitcher and HNIC Brandon Sharp from Agenda Management and Production. And last but not least, thank you to Jared O'Connell and Imelda Skender for all of their help. We want to hear from you. So don't forget, you can email us at vibecheckatstitcher.com. And you can keep in touch with us on Twitter at at Zach Stafford at The Ferocity and at Sam Sanders.

Follow us on our new TikTok at vibecheckpod, which freaks me out every week because I see us in my own For You page and that is so weird to me. But stay tuned for another episode next Wednesday. Bye. Bye. Stitcher.

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