Gladiators, real housewives and the pull of reality TV
4/30/202652 min
People used to say "believe your eyes." But these days that's not so easy to do. What we scroll through every day blurs the line between entertainment and fact. And nowhere is that phenomenon more evident than in reality television. Today on the show, we tackle the genre that takes our most potent feelings – love, hope, anxiety, loneliness – and turns them into profit. This episode originally ran in 2022.
Guests:
Goloka Bolte, reality TV casting director
Dr. Jana Scrivani, licensed clinical psychologist
Racquel Gates, associate professor of film and media studies at Columbia University
Dr. J'tia Hart, nuclear engineer on Survivor (Season 28)
Jeff Jenkins, founder of Jeff Jenkins Productions (JJP)
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLulu Miller· Soundbite0:00
Hey, Lulu here. Whether we are romping through science, music, politics, technology, or feelings, we seek to leave you seeing the world anew. Radiolab adventures right on the edge of what we think we know, wherever you get podcasts.
Rund Abdelfatah· Host0:14
A quick warning: this episode contains some vulgar language.
Speaker 20:19
[gentle music] We've become bored with watching actors give us phony emotions. And we're tired of pyrotechnics and special effects. While the world he inhabits is, in some respects, counterfeit, there's nothing fake about Truman himself. No scripts, no cue cards. It isn't always Shakespeare, but it's genuine. It's a life.
Producer0:59
Fade the music up. [gentle music] Three, two, one. Quick cut to FBoy Island.
Nikki Glaser· Soundbite1:13
[upbeat music] Women have been forced to tolerate the manipulative douchebaggery of FBoys for far too long. And that's why we're here. Welcome to FBoy Island.
Producer1:26
[crowd cheering] Okay, fade the clip down.
Nikki Glaser· Soundbite1:29
Ladies,