Mary Lambert  is a true titan of truth-telling who, over the last seven years, has become as famous for her vulnerability as she has for her powerhouse vocal talent. Mary is a grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, author, and activist who just released her second full-length album, Grief Creature. But most folks know her for her breakout 2012 collaboration with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on the triple-platinum-selling gay rights anthem “Same Love,” a huge hit that made Mary a gay icon overnight. In this episode of BUST’s Poptarts podcastrecorded in Brooklyn a few days before COVID-19 social distancing went into effect, she explores the delicate process of turning trauma into art and staying spiritual in a judgemental world.

About:  BUST's Poptarts is a twice-monthly podcast hosted by magazine editors Emily Rems and Callie Watts that celebrates women in pop culture. The first half of each episode is devoted to a hot topic in entertainment, and in the second half, a segment called "Whatcha Watchin'?," Callie and Emily dig into all the shows, movies, books, music, videos, and podcasts they've enjoyed since the last episode, and either praise or pan each experience

This podcast was produced for BUST by Cait Moldenhauer and Jessy Caron at More Banana Productions and was recorded by Logan del Fuego.

Photo: Shervin Lainez

Few reality shows are as popular or as divisive as Bravo's Real Housewives, a franchise that has included casts in Orange County, New Jersey, New York, Atlanta, Beverly Hills, DC, Miami, Potomac, Dallas, and Salt Lake City over the past 15 years. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem once criticized this pop cultural phenomenon on E!, saying, "It is women, all dressed up and inflated and plastic surgeried and false bosomed with incredible amounts of money spent, not getting along with each other. Fighting with each other. It is a minstrel show for women. I don't believe it. I feel like it's manufactured, that the fights between them are manufactured and they're supposed to go after each other in a kind of conflicting way." Nonetheless, some feminists like BUST’s Poptarts podcast hosts Emily Rems and Callie Watts are intrigued by the women being relentlessly documented on these shows. And even “Bad Feminist” Roxane Gay bonded with BUST in March over the antics of the new Salt Lake City cast. On the latest Poptarts podcast, Callie and Emily discuss the series’ cultural impact with Housewives superfan Sean Anthony, and provide an introductory crash course in “Housewives 101,” for the Bravo-curious.

Listen to the Real Housewives 101 episode of BUST's Poptarts Podcast Here:

More About BUST's Poptarts Podcast:

BUST's Poptarts is a twice-monthly podcast hosted by magazine editors Emily Rems and Callie Watts that celebrates women in pop culture. The first half of each episode is devoted to a hot topic in entertainment, and in the second half, a segment called "Whatcha Watchin'?," Callie and Emily dig into all the shows, movies, books, music, videos, and podcasts they've enjoyed since the last episode, and either praise or pan each experience

This podcast was produced for BUST by Logan del Fuego.

Photo: Bravotv.com