anything goes with emma chamberlain - we ruin everything [video]

Episode Date: February 13, 2025

[video available on spotify] i’ve noticed something about us as a society: we really know how to ruin a good thing. i have a list of approximately 20 things that actually are good that have been completely destroyed by us, and today i’m going to go through that list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I've noticed something about us as a society. We really know how to ruin a good thing. Yeah, we do. And we do it time and time again. We take something good and we completely obliterate the culture around it. And we completely sell it out. And we make it so corporate that it's unbearable. We really know how to ruin a good thing. Stick with me here. I'll give you an example, okay? The Stanley Cup. The culture around the Stanley Cup is a catastrophe. For one, it's become sort of a trend

to collect every single color. Now, the beauty of the Stanley Cup is that it's incredibly durable and will last you a very long time. So you really only need at max two or three of them. I have three of them. But you really only need one because it's such a good cup. But it's become a trend to collect every single color. Fine. That's a hobby for some people. Who am I to judge? And that's great for the company.

You know, they're probably very happy about this. However, a lot of people are posting videos about their Stanley Cup hauls and, you know, the new Stanley Cup colors that they got. And people are waiting outside of a Target because there's a new Stanley Cup drop at Target starting at 6 a.m. And it's starting to be something that people judge, right? People are judging people who participate in the hype of Stanley Cup. It's starting to make the news.

And now the culture around the Stanley Cup has sort of been ruined because every time you walk around with your Stanley Cup, there's a chance that people are perceiving you like you're a Stanley Cup collecting freak. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, I'm just saying that that's the truth. I also think the Stanley Cup has an interesting symbolism. And I don't know exactly how it happened, how closely it relates to the Stanley Cup collectors, but I feel like Stanley cups have become sort of associated with a level of chuginess in the way that we absolutely couldn't stand the Ugg boots immediately

after Ugg boots were trendy in the early 2010s or it was actually mid 2010s or early to mid 2010s. We all hated Ugg boots for a few years thought they were absolutely hideous because they were so basic for a few years, thought they were absolutely hideous because they were so basic for a few years there. It's like the same thing with the Stanley Cup. It's become like a chuggy cup. It's not cool to have that cup. It's sort of Karen-coded.

It's just a mess. The culture around the Stanley Cup has been ruined. And I think it's unfair. I think it's a shame because I think the Stanley Cup is an incredible cup. I have three of them and I use them all constantly. They're all constantly in rotation. I have two different types of beverages. I put in two out of the three of the Stanley Cups.

I always have sparkling water with apple cider vinegar in one because that's a drink that I like to drink. Okay, it's weird but it's tasty to me and it I feel like makes my tummy happy, but I don't know. And there's definitely no science backing that up because I've Googled it. And then I also have another one filled with electrolytes because I love hot yoga and I'm constantly dehydrated. And then I have a third that is there for emergencies for if one of them's in the dishwasher or for my loved ones when they come over to my house

and want a big jug of a liquid. Because you'd be shocked at how often people want that when they come to my house. Yeah, I could make you a glass of water in a glass or I could make you a glass of water in a Stanley Cup and you could stay a while. You know what I'm saying? I love the Stanley Cup and the culture around it

has been absolutely ruined. And that's the whole point of this episode. We ruin everything. We ruin everything. And Stanley Cups are not the only victim of our wrath as a society. I have a list of approximately 20 things that actually are good, like genuinely good things, at least in my opinion, that have been completely destroyed by us. We've ruined these things. We've ruined the culture around them. We've ruined the magic. And today I want to go through that list of things that I think have been ruined by us. And I want to remind all of you and even myself that these things are great and that it's our fault for ruining them.

But what's sort of beautiful is that we can also fix them. We can bring them back, you know? We can fix the reputation of these things. We can fix the culture around these things if we work together. Without further ado, let's begin. Obviously Stanley Cup was number one. do. Let's begin. Obviously Stanley Cup was number one. What's number two? Band tees. Okay? Hear me out. Band tees, like wearing a Beatles t-shirt, wearing an ACDC t-shirt, wearing a Guns N' Roses t-shirt. I don't know who's wearing a Guns N' Roses t-shirt who actually likes Guns N' Roses. I don't know if that person exists, but you get the idea. Okay? I bet a lot of you are listening to me and thinking, Emma thinks the band tee has been ruined because it's become a trend to just wear a band tee and not necessarily care about the band that you're wearing the T-shirt for. That's part of it.

Don't get me wrong. That is part of it. And we'll get to that later. I think the worst thing that's happened to band tees is their presence in fast fashion sorts of stores. Okay? Band tees available at Forever 21 or at H&M or on fast fashion websites or at Brandy Melville. I think that taking band tees and pumping them out to the masses, I think it ruined the culture around the band tee. And I think it's because number one, the way that they've created band tees in mass

is all wrong. Number one, they took like top rock bands in like, I don't know what, the 70s and 80s, like Guns N' Roses and Led Zeppelin and ACDC and the Beatles and I guess Beatles are like, whatever, earlier, but anyway. And they take these like same like 10 bands and they slap the logo on a t-shirt

and then like somehow rip it up a little bit or put it on like a faded t-shirt. And then also people were just buying them because they were like, this is a cool design on a t-shirt which I can't blame people for. I'm not, see, I'm not about to police people for wearing a band tee for a band that they don't care about.

Listen, if you like the design on a shirt, be my guest, okay? I'm not gonna judge. I'm not judging the consumer, rather I'm angry at the company. You know what I mean? For taking something that was cool, like, okay, so what are these retailers imitating, right? They're imitating the concept of someone in the 70s

going to a concert and buying a band tee and then it getting worn in and ripped up over the years because it was somebody's favorite t-shirt. Now they're replicating that at Forever 21. Or now they're slapping it onto a t-shirt at Brandy Melville and a bunch of like 15 year old girls are wearing it who are like, I don't know who this band is but I just think that the design is cool.

And it's very saturated and a lot of people wear mainstream sort of band tees because it's sort of just something mass that people just buy. It's completely lost all of its power. I think what was cool about a band tee before was like, I bought this at my favorite artist's concert, or I ordered it from their website, and I was maybe supporting them directly.

And the bands who are on t-shirts in Forever 21 or Brandy Melville or whatever are having no problems financially. So I'm not saying that, it's like, come on man, like you need to support the Beatles directly. It's like the Beatles are okay. They're definitely fine. But I'm more talking about like the experience of buying a band tee used to be kind of sacred

in a way. It was like, you know, it's special. It's for a band that you really do love and care about it. Like the shirt actually sort of means something to you. And when you wear it out, people are like, oh fuck, you like them, that's cool. And there was sort of this authenticity to it. And again, I'm not trying to be a pretentious asshole.

And I'm not blaming the consumer at all. Because when I was a teenager, I was buying band tees from Brandy Melville that were like, it was ACDC or some shit, who knows what I even had. I'm not blaming myself for that. I'm not even blaming the companies for selling the band tees.

I actually don't think anyone's at fault. I don't think anyone's in the wrong. I just think it's like this sort of series of unfortunate events where now it's just like the beauty of the bandantee I think is kind of gone now. You know, like the idea of it being special and personal and it being a conversation starter that is ruined. And I think it's a shame. I guess maybe still some of the magic exists. Like, I don't know. I don't know. Listen, I could be off base here, but I feel like

the culture around the Bantee is not great anymore. It's a bummer. Moving on. This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats. It's official. The holidays are over. It's a brand new year and it's time to get back to work. The start of the year is always really busy and overwhelming, especially after a relaxing holiday. But have no fear, Uber Eats has you covered. You can get almost anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. What do I mean by almost? Well, you can't get a new car delivered, but you can get a cheese wheel. You can't get a warm fire, but a blanket? That's definitely a yes.

A wild moose? Sorry, no. But chocolate moose? Of course! Sled dogs? No, you can't get that. But a pair of clogs? Of course!

And I think clogs are gonna be trendy this year, so you might wanna get a pair. So whatever you're looking for this season, know that you can get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Download the Uber Eats app today to order now. Alcohol in select markets, product availability may vary by region. See app for details. This episode is brought to you by Uber One. Going back to life after the holidays can be really challenging, especially for those of you who are in college. When you live alone, you're responsible for absolutely everything. Feeding yourself, cleaning up after yourself, maintaining your space. You're the one who has to put food in the fridge. It's a lot. But thankfully, with the Uber One Student membership, college just got a little easier.

With amazing savings across Uber and Uber Eats, running late to class? Get 5% Uber credits back on rides. Up late studying for a final? Enjoy $0 delivery fee and up to 5% off your Uber Eats orders. You can even get free items weekly and even more discounts from your favorite brands. Whatever comes your way this year at college, sign up for Uber One for students on Uber or Uber Eats today and get four weeks free. Eligibility and member terms apply. Moving on to monogramming stuff, getting your initials embroidered into things, okay? I think it was something that was really trendy

a few years ago, sort of in the early 2010s, early to mid 2010s, and now it's sort of considered out of style, choogie, cringe, whatever, because it's just out of style. But I think it's an underrated concept. I don't know, I think a lot of people look at it like it's sort of, how do I explain it? Like it's not cool.

And it's not even looked at as something that's like, oh, it's personalization. I feel like it's looked at something where it's like, oh my God, like you're so not laid back and chill. Like you're embroidering your initials into stuff so that what, you don't lose it, nerd? Like you know what I'm saying? Like it feels like that.

I just feel like the concept of monogramming something, like getting your initials on something, it's actually kind of cool. Like I don't think it's cringe. I don't know, and I think like taking the extra effort and like getting your makeup bag embroidered or you know, getting a blanket and getting that embroidered. It feels like everyone hates it and everyone thinks it's sort of cringe. I don't know exactly

how it happened. It almost feels like something that a super mom would do for all of their kids' lunch boxes. It feels not cool, right? I don't know, but I think it is. And I don't think it's try hard, and I don't think it's in chuggy land. I think it can actually be cool. Not everybody thinks it's chuggy, by the way. But I don't know, I think the culture around it

got ruined, perhaps because maybe it is sort of the mom that embroiders all the initials of her kids into the lunchboxes and then the kids go to school and all the kids are like, okay, mama's boy, like you have your little embroidered little lunchbox. Maybe it started then for us when somebody's parent loved them enough to embroider their lunchboxes like, fuck you, that's cringe. And then maybe that carried on into adulthood for us, or perhaps it was the Vera Bradley floral bags of 2012 embroidered with cursive letters that have just scarred us for life.

It could be one of those two things, it could be something else, but I do think that the culture around monogramming has been completely ruined. I also think it's often not done very well. It's often done in sort of an outdated way. I actually just recently was online shopping, which is not good. This company was like hand painting toiletry bags and stuff, hand painting onto canvas

initials. And I was like, that is sick. And I did buy it. And I was like, this is cool. Like monogramming is cool. Like we need to, we need to not sleep on the potential for monogramming. I think it's, it's not all bad. Moving on to the show The Office, okay?

I absolutely love The Office, you probably do too. The problem with The Office is that it's such a good show that absolutely everyone loves it, and for one out of 10 people, I would assume their favorite show, honestly, one out of five people. If you were to take a random selection of five people and say what's your favorite TV show of all time, at least one out of five would probably say The Office.

And I think that that person genuinely means it. I think The Office is one of the best TV shows ever to be made. And so it makes sense that it's a lot of people's favorite show. But the problem is, because it's everybody's favorite show, now when somebody says their favorite show is The Office, it's like, okay, who cares?

You know, wearing merch for The Office, wearing a t-shirt for The Office, who cares? Everyone loves The Office. Do you know what I'm saying? It's one of those things where it's like, everyone loves it to a point where it means nothing to love it. The thing about that that upsets me

is I actually really do think that that undermines the true beauty of that show. You know, like, I don't know. I just, it's unfortunate because I think now everybody's fatigued of hearing the answer that The Office is someone's favorite TV show. You and everyone else. I actually feel the same way about The Beatles.

I think in the exact same way that The Office is everybody's favorite TV show, The Beatles is everybody's favorite band. But The Beatles are really, really good. What both of them have in common, Beatles and the office is that they're both magic in the way that they appeal to pretty much every human being on the planet and That has ruined it in a way because everybody's just sick of hearing about it Like you if you talk about why you think the office is good if you talk about why you think the Beatles is good It's like you're a sheep

You're considered a sheep and I think that's a shame because I think both of these things are genuinely good and they do mean something to people. Like even though everyone likes them, they still mean something to people. Both The Office and The Beatles mean something to me personally that feels intimate. I feel an intimate connection to these two works of art, you know? I don't know,

it's just a shame. I think the culture around them has struggled a bit. Next, we have holidays in general, but especially Christmas, okay? Well, I think the holidays have just gone a bit too corporate, and I think that think that has ruined it for all of us. A lot of holidays nowadays seem to be all about consumerism. It's Christmas, got to buy gifts for everybody. It's Easter, got to buy a bunch of Easter candy for the kids and buy Easter eggs and fill them with stuff. It's Thanksgiving, got to buy all this special food, got to buy these decorations, got to

buy this stuff. It's Halloween, got to buy a costume, got to buy this stuff. It's Halloween, got to buy a costume, got to buy. It's all about, like holidays are all about spending money and feeling stressed out. You got to be on top of it. You got to be ready. You got to be prepared. Valentine's Day, if you're in a relationship, oh, got to drop a bunch of money on my significant other or else they're going to think I don't love them. It's all about spending money,

and I think that is the worst part about the holidays, the corporate element. I mean, listen, I do kind of love holiday shopping. Like, I love walking down, you know, the aisles during Easter. I love walking down the aisles during Halloween. I love walking down the aisles during Christmas. I'm there.

I don't even celebrate Easter because I'm not a child anymore and I'm not religious particularly so I don't celebrate Easter. But Easter's coming around and I want to see all the stuff with the little bunnies on it. Yes, I do. I do actually like some of that. I do think that we all almost have a level of PTSD every time a holiday comes around because we're like, oh God, it's time to spend money. I think holidays have lost their wholesomeness. The holidays are about reading Christmas stories in bed the night before Christmas, even if you're 23 years old. The holidays are about cooking with fucking grandma.

The holidays are about cooking with fucking grandma. Okay, the holidays are about eating together. It's about going into your closet 24 hours before Halloween and saying, what the fuck am I gonna do? That's what the holidays are about. That's what makes it wholesome. You know, it's also, listen, it's also fun to participate in the corporate elements sometimes. Sometimes you wanna go buy a fancy Halloween costume. You wanna go buy, you know, a really expensive gift for a loved one.

Sometimes that brings joy. Sometimes that's incredible. Sometimes that's magical. And that's why it's sort of complicated. It's like the holidays feel like a corporate event. It's up to us to make the holidays wholesome again. But it's hard to do that. I don't know.

But I think the holidays are kind of awesome. And I'm in a phase of my life now where I'm like, if it's a holiday, I'm going to do that. I don't know but I think the holidays are kind of awesome and like I'm in a phase of my life now where I'm like if it's a holiday, I'm gonna fucking celebrate, you know, like this year I Set up a tree in my house, you know, which I had skipped for the last few years. I whipped out the board games you know, I really spent a lot of time with family and You know, I don't know. I just I really spent a lot of time with family and I don't know, I really leaned into it. Yeah, I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I feel.

Okay, moving on, Disneyland. I feel like now, if you wanna go to Disneyland or Disney World or any sort of Disney theme park, people automatically are like, you're a Disney adult. What is a Disney adult? A Disney adult is an adult who absolutely loves Disney. Now, what's wrong with being a Disney adult, you may ask? Nothing. But people are very judgmental of Disney adults. It's become sort of like almost an internet meme, okay? Like making

fun of adults who enjoy Disneyland. And everyone's like, grow up, freak, you know? Disneyland is fun, okay? Disney World, I've never been, but it's probably really fun. I think a lot of people write off how fun Disney theme parks are out of fear that by going there, they're, you know, a nerd, a freak, a Disney adult. There's nothing wrong with being a Disney adult.

Also, being obsessed with something, like if you really love Disneyland, good for you. Thank God you have a hobby. Like now than ever, we need to like things. We need to have hobbies. We're a very lonely society, according to some articles I've seen. We have less friends than ever.

We leave the house less than ever. We have less friends than ever. We leave the house less than ever. We're more isolated than ever. For fuck's sake, we need hobbies. If you love Disneyland, you have something that you care about. You have something to get out and go do. You have something to make friends over, bond over with people.

That's incredible. Disney is sort of magical. You know what it is? I haven't been to Disneyland in so many years. Actually, I really want to go. But like the fear to go to Disneyland every few years, to go to Disney World every few years, whatever, because it's like, ooh, that's not cool. I just think that that's lame and just like,

shut the fuck up. Who cares? Good for them. Again, thank God they have a hobby. I bet you don't have a hobby if you're shitting on Disney adults. And I think the judgment towards these people who absolutely love Disney is also getting in the way

of the average person who vaguely enjoys Disney, but would probably enjoy a day at a theme park, why not? It prevents those people from being like, hey, I'll go give that a try, I'll go spend the day at Disneyland, fuck it, why not? Could prevents those people from like being like, Hey, I'll go give that a try. You know, I'll go spend the day at Disneyland. Fuck it. Why not? Could be fun. Very expensive, but could be fun. You know? Okay, I'll give an example. I recently said to a group of people like, Oh, I want to go to Disneyland. And I got mixed responses. Some people were like, Oh, fuck. Yeah, I'm down. And then other people were like, Ew, no. And I'm like, ew, no? Why? Tell me why. Is it because of the lines?

Okay, that's fair. But it's never because of the lines. Is it because of the food? You don't like the food there? The food's delicious. And also there's lots of, eh, is it because it's expensive? That's fair.

Oh, it's not because of that? It's never for a valid reason. There are many reasons to not like Disneyland. But that's never why people don't like it. That's never why people don't wanna go. It's because for a valid reason. There are many reasons to not like Disneyland, but that's never why people don't like it. That's never why people don't wanna go. It's because they're judging it. They think it's weird. They think it's nerdy

because that's sort of the culture around it, but I think it's unfair. Moving on. Romantic love. I think there's like a lot of judgment around the concept of romance these days. Like the idea of two people being soulmates, falling in love, getting married, having a family. I feel like the general conversation around

love is very pessimistic and very negative. If you see maybe a couple online, honestly, even if you have a happy couple in your life, there's always sort of gossip like they're going to break up in a few years. They're going to get divorced in a few years. They're both desperate. They don't really love each other. Look at the way they look at each other. It doesn't even seem genuine.

Oh, they got married? That's cringe and outdated. Like, ew, who gets married anymore? What are we living in the 1800s? True love doesn't exist. All this stuff. By the way, I have a podcast episode on this podcast, Anything Goes, called like Romantic Love is an Illusion or something? We're basically, I talk about how a lot of times I think romantic love is an illusion and we have intimate relationships with people that are maybe romantic, but we

actually don't even really truly love each other, perhaps. Because I think depending on what your definition of love is, which is not just like feeling really affectionate towards somebody or feeling really attracted to somebody, it's a bit more complex. It's more about being like, I want this person to be happy no matter what. This person's happiness and wellbeing is important and is my priority in this relationship above my own in a way. If this person is gonna be happier without me,

then to love them is to let them go. It's that sort of idea, right? And I think a lot of times, we're in a romantic partnership with people and we don't fucking feel that way. We don't feel selfless at all towards that person. And a lot of times we're experiencing lust or we're experiencing, without even realizing it, gaining something else from the person.

Perhaps financial security, perhaps confidence, if it's somebody that we find attractive and they find us attractive, just that can simply make us feel like, oh, I must love this person. But it's like, no, they're just helping you build your confidence or actually giving you something else. So I've myself been pessimistic about romantic love before. I think there are many reasons to be sort of pessimistic or skeptical. I think it's good to be skeptical. Pessimistic less so, but I think it's like to be sort of skeptical, I think it's good to be skeptical. Pessimistic less so, but I think it's like,

to be sort of skeptical I don't think is wrong, right? But I think there's this like understandable, but ultimately harmful pessimism when it comes to romantic love these days. I understand it, I completely get it, because it is complicated, and a lot of times it doesn't work out. There isn't actually love between the two people. I understand it, I completely get it, because it is complicated. And a lot of times it doesn't work out.

There isn't actually love between the two people. A lot of times people fuck up, they cheat on each other, they hurt each other really badly emotionally. It's not easy. You know what I'm saying? So that's why I understand why we're all so pessimistic about it. But I think we're at a point now where as a society in a way, we're so pessimistic about romantic love that it's like we're not even giving it a chance to exist in a way.

We don't even believe it exists anymore. It's only made worse by hookup culture and stuff where of trend in dating has been less about commitment and more about sort of experimentation and just kind of enjoying the act of sex, which I think is fine. And if that's what works for you, that's what works for you. But I think for a lot of people, myself included, it doesn't work. And it actually ends up being like a really sort of at times traumatizing, disheartening experience that then leads to, you know, people feeling like how can real love exist if I

can date so casually, if I can date so like meaninglessly. It can confuse people. It's confused me even. We've definitely destroyed the culture around romantic love. By number one, focusing on what can go wrong. Cheating, lying, manipulation, divorce. Focusing on that and not, I guess, giving maybe enough airtime to the times when it does work out. But also too, hookup culture. Not, I guess, giving maybe enough airtime to the times when it does work out, but also

to hook up culture. I think the two of them have sort of ruined the culture around it. This episode is brought to you by Roots. If you're a sweats connoisseur like me and looking to up your style game, check out Roots. They just dropped all new colors of their iconic sweats. You'll love Roots because they have hands down the best quality and their sweats are so soft. It's like you're being hugged by the fluffiest cloud.

Made from plush cotton, their sweat sets give the most flattering fit and holds its shape wash after wash. Plus, you've got to check out their latest active wear. Like their sweats, it's super soft, has four-way stretch, and just dropped in all new colors. Head to a Roots store or roots.com to check out their latest styles for yourself. This episode is brought to you by Sunwing Vacations. Listen, if there's one thing we can all get behind, it's a dream vacation that isn't

a nightmare for your wallet. With Sunwing, it's time for that friend trip to make it out of the group chat, come on. My best friends and I have been trying to plan a trip for over a year now, but I think the reason why the trip hasn't happened yet is because the logistics and the organization of the whole thing is really complicated and expensive and it's a lot.

Well, with Sunwing, you can get the best offers on all inclusive packages covering flights, transfers, meals, drinks, and activities. Sunwing just makes financial sense. Your beach chair is calling. Book your sunny escape at sunwing.ca or with your travel agent. Your wallet will thank you. Sunwing Vacations. save more, do more. Okay, next, I think we've ruined the online discourse

around things like mental health, things about personal experiences, things about like challenges. That conversation has been destroyed. That cultural conversation has been destroyed, in my opinion. I think many years ago, no one was really talking about their challenges. Nobody was really talking about their struggles. It was a lot more hush-hush.

And slowly but surely on the internet, you know, people, myself included, for whatever reason, just felt emboldened to just start talking about these things, right? And I think for a long time, it was deeply appreciated. It was like, whoa, this is so helpful. It's so helpful to hear about people's challenges, whether it's like mental health related or it's just like a personal story or it's a challenging experience, like whatever it may be, having these sorts of vulnerable conversations on the internet was really celebrated and appreciated.

And that sort of bled into real life. I think a lot of people, especially young people, became more comfortable with just talking about shit, you know, with their friends, perhaps even their parents, or their teachers, or their school counselor, whatever. Like I just feel like the whole culture became more open over the last few years. But I think there's been a shift where now the culture

around talking about your feelings, talking about your challenges, telling your stories, I've noticed that the culture around it has shifted. People are not as accepting of this anymore. And I think that that's because, number one, I think it became something that people could profit off of and benefit from. It used to be that telling a vulnerable story was a big feat. Everybody was afraid to do it. Now, I think people will perhaps even exaggerate or lie online because they know that being vulnerable in some way will give them a lot of views.

I don't think most people are doing that. However, it's starting to become hard to tell. I think some people are doing that, exaggerating, lying for the sake of fame, views, money, whatever. And then in real life, I think people have realized like, oh, if I talk about, you know, certain struggles, people have maybe started to at times, not all the time, but at times, abuse that, like, oh, if I say I have anxiety to my boss, then I won't have to do this part of my job that I don't want to do. Now, the problem with that is there's always going to be some who lie and who abuse this

sort of thing, and that will always ruin it for the people who genuinely, genuinely have a challenge that they need to talk about or need to share with somebody because it's a survival thing. You know what I'm saying? So it's like, it gets complicated in that way. And I think because now nobody really seems to be afraid to tell vulnerable stories, nobody really seems to be afraid to talk about mental health. And in fact, they're actually lying about it or even exaggerating about it at times

for the sake of, you know, whatever. It's sort of ruined the conversation as a whole. Like, there's always a level of skepticism of like, are you talking about this for the right reasons? I've noticed with, you know, celebrities, people look at celebrities who struggle and are like, okay, number one, you have so many resources, why are you struggling? That's weird. And then number two, are you just saying this to win us over? Are you saying this to seem relatable? Even worse so with influencers who share their mental health struggles. Everyone's like, are you just pretending to have mental health struggles

because you gained notoriety for having mental health struggles and now you're just pretending to have them still, even though now you're rich and famous and you definitely don't have struggles anymore? It's very complicated. But it just seems like a lot of people cried wolf in a way and now no one trusts anyone anymore. And I think it's a shame because it's like,

I think it was a really good thing for a while there, but I think it kind of got ruined. But I think it's still a good conversation to have, you know, as much as we can. Okay, next we have Pickleball. Listen, I still haven't played Pickleball because of how much I dislike the culture around it. It's become this like trendy, pretentious thing

that I just am like, I'm completely put off by it. I bet I would love it, okay? But if I wanna go play pickleball, I have to go pay $40 to like rent an hour at a court, by the way. I don't know if it's actually $40, I'm just guessing. I have to try to find a pickleball court that's open, which is impossible because it's so popular. And I have to pay a bunch of money,

and everyone's obsessed with it to the point where now it's sort of considered chuggy. It's not cool anymore to play pickleball. If you like pickleball, it's the same thing, it's the same fucking thing as The Office and The Beatles. Okay, it's genuinely really fun, and that's why a lot of people like it, but it just got completely ruined.

In this case though, I think it's really sort of sold out. You know what I mean? Like, there's like pickleball clubs that have opened in Los Angeles. I'm not really aware of how they work or what they even are. But to me, that sounds like, I don't know, what's going to happen to that in 10 years? I don't know. But everybody's buying all the equipment. People are paying money to rent, go to the court and like, well, okay, listen, if you live in like a small town, you can probably

play pickleball all day long. And it's free and it's fun. All you have to do is buy the racket. Great. If you live in Los Angeles, good luck. Okay. One day I went with someone to go play tennis. We were going to try to play tennis because I don't know, it just sounded fun and we had never played tennis before, but we were like, oh, we'll go try it. And we went to a local court and like a public court. And it was all full for the rest of the day. And a bunch of people were playing pickleball. I don't know. It's like the whole thing. It's so mass. It's become so choogie. But I actually bet pickleball is fun. And once the hype dies down a bit, and it's a little bit less like of a thing, and it's a little bit less of a thing,

and I can actually find an available, I don't have to rent an hour at a pickleball court, two days, no not even, honestly, two weeks in advance, I'll try pickleball, but for now, it's like the barrier to entry here is tough. That's number one. And number two, it's become sort of cringe in a way, which I think is a shame because I think it's probably really fun.

Next, being into skincare. Skincare is and has been such a cultural phenomenon for the last five to 10 years. I feel like we're really into skincare and into it to a point where we know the ingredients. I don't think my mom really knew about an AHA, BHA exfoliant when she was in her 20s. She had no clue what that fucking was. And now everybody knows everything about skincare. And it's sort of a rabbit hole that you can so easily fall down. And we've all been falling down it for the last few years to a point where we've taken our cultural skincare obsession to a ridiculous point, right?

For example, you know, middle schoolers are now into skincare. Children who do not have acne yet, who do not need to be using skincare products. You know, at times it's actually been potentially harmful for children to be using skincare products. They're using things that are meant for older skin. Everybody's obsessed with like, you know, an intense overnight routine where, you know, they're putting on eye patches and a face mask and a lip mask and a jaw mask and a red light thing and all this. In the morning, it takes like 10 minutes to take everything off. There's viral products, trendy products, intense methods of-aging, like taping your face or like there's just,

it's gotten to a point where it's crazy. A lot of it's irrational, not even effective, a lot of times, like some of it's not even effective. And I think that this sort of hysteria around skincare has ruined the culture around it to the point where now it's confusing for people who say just like enjoy taking care of themselves, right? Like I'm somebody who, because I have struggled with my skin in the past, have learned a lot about skincare and I find it really interesting and I like trying new products and stuff. I'm careful about it, very, very careful about it. But, you know, I have a lot of brands that I like, I have a lot of products that I like, and I like experimenting.

And I like using products, like I like the way that certain products make me feel. But it's like, I don't even want to like talk about skincare with people or like watch videos about skincare because they've gotten so extreme. That's a bummer, I guess, because it's now something that causes me stress. I don't know who to trust. There's so much information. It all seems kind of bullshit. Half the time, it's feeding my shopping addiction, which is unhealthy because I'm trying to not have a shopping addiction anymore. I don't know. I feel like being into skincare is unhealthy because I'm trying to not have a shopping addiction anymore. I don't know.

I feel like being into skincare is now something. It's become sort of a... Skincare has become a monster in a way. I think it's a shame because I think taking care of your skin is actually a really enjoyable, luxurious, but also like helpful practice. Now it's just considered like overkill. And I don't think all of skincare is overkill, you know? Because there's so much misinformation or like extreme practices, it's just sort of,

I think made a lot of people feel like, well, the whole thing seems fishy to me. Do you know what I'm saying? Also too, there's so many skincare sponsorships. I've done skincare sponsorships, you know? So that also makes it confusing. It's just like, it's so saturated. I don't know, it's overwhelming.

Next, we have Jane Birkening the bag. I've talked about this so much. It's the concept based on Jane Birkening the Bag. I've talked about this so much. It's the concept based on Jane Birken, a model who would carry around her Birken bag every day and as she went on with her life, she would attach things to her Birken. For example, tie a bandana onto it that she was wearing one day but got too hot and took it off and tied it onto the bag. Untie her watch one day when she doesn't want to wear it anymore and attach it to the bag. Attach her favorite necklace to it, blah, blah, blah, blah. Attach things to her bag. Over time, it started to look like Jane Birkin's bag.

This is Jane Birkin's bag. It has stuff hanging off of it. It's uniquely hers. It became sort of a trend to mimic this style of accessorizing the bag. I do think that this sort of concept in some ways has been ruined because I think what was so cool about it when Jane Birkin did it was that it was a genuine utilitarian practice, okay? She was putting, she was taking her watch off

and attaching it to her bag, not because it looked cool, but because it was useful, you know? She was tying her band it to her bag, not because it looked cool, but because it was useful. She was tying her bandana around her bag because she was like, I might want that bandana at some point. I took it off right now. I'm not going to put it back into my drawer because it actually is kind of nice that it's here on the bag. And if one day I want to put on a bandana, now it's attached to the bag.

I have this sentimental necklace I want to carry around with me. I'm going to attach it to my bag so that it's with me all the time, but I don't want to wear it because it maybe doesn't match my outfit. I'm not saying these are the reasons why she attached things to her bag. These are just assumptions, but that's sort of what the concept was, and that's what made it so cool. I think sort of the concept now of like we're attaching all these things to the bag, not because they're sentimental or meaningful, but rather because it's a trend.

The look of it is sort of a trend. I think it took away the personal element of, like the whole, I guess, the whole point of it was that it was personal and it was actually useful. And I think by making it a trend, we in a way ruin that. Do I think it's cute? Fuck yeah. Do I think if you think it's cute, you should do it?

Fuck yeah, who cares? But I'm just saying, okay, that I think the true magic, magic, did not follow into the trend because it kind of became ingenuine, you know? And a lot of bag designers started coming out with charms and stuff. People are buying, you know, keychains that mean nothing to them.

It doesn't have the same magic. Do I think it's wrong or bad? No, but I actually think it looks quite cute and I think it's really smart. Let's say I was like, oh, it's a really smart idea. Like from like a utilitarian standpoint, from like an actual utility standpoint, it's helpful to attach things to your bag. In fact, I actually do attach one thing to my bag. I have these little hair clips that I wear

now that my hair is short because they help me get my bangs out of my face when I wanna get my bangs out of my face. And I will clip them to my bag. It's vaguely Jane Birkening, not quite. But I got that idea to clip them to my bag because it's nice because they're not lost in my bag at the bottom of my bag,

so it's nice to have them out and attached. I think it looks cute. And the idea of attaching it to the bag came from the idea of the Jane Birkening. I was like, wait, I could just attach these clips to the outside, there's nothing wrong with the contents of my bag being half in, half out, like that's kind of cool. But let's say I had a bunch of ideas, I was like,

oh, you know, I wear a digital watch every day now, I never take it off, but let's say I wanted to, would I attach it to the bag or would I put it inside? Like, it's almost like now, you can't do the Jane Birkening trend authentically. It feels like because it's been so corporatized now, it'll always look like, oh, she just is doing the Jane Birkening thing. It's not like, oh, she's authentically doing that. It always looks like, oh, she's trying to be trendy.

Now, who cares? If you want to do something, you should just do it. Who cares if it's trendy or what anyone says. But I'm just saying that I think the culture around it has been sort of ruined. And I'm not saying that that's wrong. I'm not saying you should avoid it. I'm just saying that that's how I feel about it. And that's what I've noticed where now, you know, it's like looked at as a trend, which will ultimately soon become cringe because that's what happens with super popular, popular, popular trends. They eventually become cringe and stale. Again, none of this really matters and none of this is really that deep, but I'm just analyzing it for the sake of analyzing it. I have nothing better to do.

just analyzing it for the sake of analyzing it. I have nothing better to do. Okay, next we have the sweater vest. Okay, the sweater vest was such a trend in like 2019-2020. I was involved in that trend, you know, I was there. But for some reason I feel like we've all decided that we hate sweater vests now and that they're completely out and we hate them, but we forget that a sweater vest can exist in many shapes and sizes. A sweater vest is not just a V-neck vest with an Argyle print on it. A sweater vest is an incredible layering piece, and I think we associate it with 2019, 2020 style and that takes away from what a sweater vest can be.

If you're online shopping and you're looking through the categories online, you shouldn't ignore the sweater vest section. You might find a really incredible layering piece. Do you know what I'm saying? But I think a lot of people now are like, ew, I don't want to wear a sweater vest. I don't want to even look at a sweater vest. We imagine it styled exactly how we styled it in like 2020 and we're stuck in that memory, but it can be so much more than that.

Okay, next we have organizing with plastic containers. It has become such an online trend and just like a kitchen, pantry, garage, laundry room, closet, organizational trend to have a container for everything, have acrylic storage for every single little thing. And the whole sort of concept of organization, I think has gone a bit stale for people. I think because it's gone to an extreme, right? People aren't just like, oh, it makes sense for me to have a container here. Like, using a container is actually going to be useful for this, you know, specific function. It's become this thing of like, everything needs to be aesthetic, everything needs to be beautiful.

And convenience in utilities like coming second, right? Like, a great example is people are, you know, taking their spices out of their original spice jar that is totally usable and good and putting it into a plastic one just because it looks aesthetically pleasing to have all of your spices be in matching little containers with cute little labels on it from a cute little label maker. Now listen, if that's something that really makes you happy and is your hobby, please don't let me get in the way. I don't like policing people and telling people what to do.

And I don't like also being like, that's wrong and that's wasteful because it's just not my place. If that really makes you happy and is your hobby, for fuck's sake, do it. The problem is it's become irritating to a lot of people who are looking at this sort of lifestyle and they're like, it's so wasteful. It's so stupid. And now the whole concept of containers, going to the container store and organizing your home is considered over consuming or it's considered excessive or unnecessary.

But I actually don't agree. I think that there are times when it really does help and it is a great concept and a great thing to tap into. I think the missing piece is it just needs to be intuitive. Like I hired an organizer a few years ago and like did the whole thing and had her like do the whole fucking Instagram organization sort of, I hated it, I hated it, okay?

She did a beautiful job, I hated it. Okay. I didn't like having all my spices in the individual spice things. I've, you know, hated refilling them. You know, I had all these different bins for all my different like things in the pantry, even though like having them in their original boxes or bags was totally fine. Like I hated it. Okay. And so, you know, then, I have all these containers in my garage that now I use intuitively. I also donated some of the boxes and stuff too because I just had way too many. But it was an unsustainable lifestyle for me. It was completely ridiculous. I regretted it. Now, I repurpose those sorts of containers for purposes that actually make

sense to me. I'm using all the storage food bins for stuff like cat food, where it's actually really helpful to have the cat food in its own little smaller container because I buy massive bags of cat food that don't fit in my pantry where I want to store them. Or I make my own nut milk and I buy massive, massive, massive bags of nuts, almonds, coconut shreds, cashews, whatever. And it's kind of frustrating to manage the big bag. It's very helpful to put it into smaller containers that I can fit, again, in my pantry I think we've become fatigued by the idea of organization and using these sorts of

Methods because we've seen such an extreme and become fatigued by it, but it's actually it is Not a completely like ridiculous stupid Excessive method. I actually think there is value to it. So it's kind of a shame that now it's like, it feels like you're doing something wrong almost, but I don't think that that's necessarily true or fair. Next we have the DJ. The reputation of the DJ is struggling, I would say. I don't know a lot about DJing. However, I love, as we all do for the most part, listening to music. I love going to a party, going to a bar or club or whatever, and the music to be good.

The art of playing good music, the art of building up the energy, the art of curation, I'm there. That I understand. The actual art of being a DJ, what it really means to fucking touch all those knobs, it's none of my business, I don't even wanna know. But I know where the doubts are coming from, okay? Number one, I think we're at a point where becoming a DJ is so accessible because of technology,

it's like easier than ever. Apparently, it used to be a situation where you'd like go out and collect vinyls, right? Like vinyl records. And then you'd spin the vinyl. You'd bring a bunch of vinyls to the club or whatever, or to the party, and you were known for your vinyl collection, and you were also known for your ability to spin the vinyl well and blend it from one song to the next really well. I don't understand how this works, okay it's again none of my business but like there was more of an art to it. I think of curation and actually executing on the sounds whereas it sounds like now, you know a lot more things can be automated

That's not to say that there aren't DJs out there who are like fucking twisting and beat matching and like doing all this shit doing doing a really good job and whatever. But like, I watched this YouTube video about the quality of DJs going down. A lot of people who are actually finding success in it apparently aren't technically good. Okay, this was a video from a DJ talking about other DJs and about why, you know,

the quality of the DJ is going down. You know, this was an opinion piece from this person, but it kind of resonated. And then I started paying attention. Anytime I'd hear DJing happening in any capacity on the internet, in real life, wherever, I started paying attention. And I'm starting to like, realize like, oh, yeah, maybe that wasn't super well done, like a super clean transition or something. I don't know, again, I don't know about DJing, but I can see what people mean.

Like, I don't know, I guess maybe the art of it is struggling. But listen, if you want to be a DJ, I don't know, I just think, oh my God, it's so funny. Wait, I have another funny story. I was at an event recently, and I was talking about someone in my life who makes music and I was talking to like an older man, okay? This person makes music, blah, blah, blah. And I was like telling a story and I mentioned that this person in my life makes

music in this story, okay? I know this seems like a ridiculous story, but just stick with me. And then this man that I'm talking to is like, is he a DJ? Don't tell me he's a fucking DJ. I was like, no, he's not a DJ, but like that's the general sentiment around DJs. It's not good. But I think it's kind of a shame because I actually do think that there's an art to being a DJ. You know, like playing good music, beat matching the music, you know, curating really well. But I think now, you know, majority of DJs are playing top hits. They're not curating in a way that's

unique to them. You know, God knows how much they're doing themselves and how much they're automating or doing beforehand or like who even knows what's happening but it doesn't feel as Hands-on it doesn't feel as intimate It doesn't feel as authentic to the DJ as it maybe once did and I think it's a shame because I think that there's an art To it. That's all I'm saying. All right moving on to acai bowls genuinely delicious But it was a huge food trend like 10 years ago. And now I feel like nobody just wants to sit down and have an acai bowl anymore.

Like can I be honest? If I was caught sitting down eating an acai bowl, for some reason I'd be kind of embarrassed. There's something about it that's embarrassing. I think it's like such a pretty like beautiful food It's almost like avocado toast like avocado toast acai bowls these trendy, you know Foods that are genuinely delicious are like embarrassing to order or embarrassing to eat almost because it's like Really? You fucking tumblr girl you're ordering an avocado toast. It's a stereotype. It's become something that's like try hard or something, but they're genuinely good foods. I love an acai bowl and I love avocado toast. We've sort of ruined it, but also I think still delicious. I think

they hold up. Last but not least, ironically, I think to an extent we've ruined podcasting. Or maybe we haven't. Maybe we haven't. I don't know. I'm like, I'm sad and scared to even, like, I don't even want to talk about it because, like, I have a podcast. But I'm also probably a part of the problem. Or not the problem, but the reason why there seems to be this sort of general feeling around podcasting that everyone has a fucking podcast these days, most podcasters are talking about jack shit. I don't know, I feel like there's sort of this

feeling of like, oh my God, if I hear about another fucking podcast, I'm going to put glue in my ears and let it dry and not hear anymore. You know, like I don't want to hear about another podcast. I don't want to hear another podcast. A lot of people seem fatigued by podcasts and by the industry. And they're just like, I'm sick of this. There's too many. And I just don't like, and I don't even like a lot of them and people just are saying shit and they don't even know what they're talking about. Like I make a podcast twice a week, doing it right now about jack shit.

What am I even talking about? You know what I mean? Like I'm coming to you with opinions, thoughts, that's about it. You know? And like some people really enjoy that I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it.

I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it.

I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it.

I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. I think that's about it. boom, if you will, over the last few years, it's sort of giving everyone this like podcast existential crisis all at once where everyone's like, like, what the fuck is going on? Oh, my God, I just remembered I ran out of the yogurt that I like to eat. And I was really excited to eat a yogurt bowl after I recorded this because I'm very hungry and I'm like, I'm out of my yogurt and I'm bummed out. It's all good though. Like I can totally go get more yogurt, but I'm just remembering

and like this specific yogurt, I have to go to a specific grocery store to get because they just, they don't have it where I usually shop. And so I'm just sorry. I just had an intrusive thought about the fact that I don't have my yogurt. All good. Anywho, you get the idea, okay? I think people are sort of fatigued by podcasts. However, I think podcasts, I think it's incredible. I like listening to podcasts. I haven't as much recently. Like I don't really have one that I'm really into right now, but I've gone through many podcast phases with many different podcasts.

I like making them. I think podcasting is great, but I also understand the sort of fatigue and like just kind of cringed out culture about it. Like everyone's kind of sick of the podcast, but also that doesn't mean that the podcast is not still like a booming industry. It's doing very well, but I think a lot of people are starting to get sick of it.

I'm noticing that. And I totally get it. However, I'm still here making mine on that note. That's it. That's all I have to talk about today. I really have to pee and I really, really want yogurt. So I'm going to wrap this up. Okay.

Those are some things that I think as a society we've ruined, but I don't think they're ruined permanently. I think that these things, all of them, all of the things that I mentioned are actually genuinely solid things. Solid concepts, solid items, they're solid. And I think that they will stand the test of time despite the fact that they're maybe going through a rough patch with their reputation right now. Okay?

These are all good things and I'm here to remind you that they are and to not let the fact that we ruined them to ruin it for you. You can choose to love these things again. Okay, anyway, I'm done talking. If you enjoy this episode, tune in Thursdays and Sundays to Anything Goes. Anywhere that you stream podcasts, video is on YouTube and Spotify though.

At Anything Goes on social media, at Emma Chamberlain on social media, chamberlaincoffee.com is my company, my coffee company, at Chamberlain Coffee on social media, at Emma Chamberlain on social media. Chamberlaincoffee.com is my company, my coffee company, at Chamberlain Coffee on social media. Today I was drinking a cute little iced latte, which I think is why I have to pee. Sounds disgusting going down my gullet, but I had to just let you hear that. Yeah. Okay, that's it. I'll talk to you all very, very soon. I love you all and appreciate you all

and it's always a pleasure to just sit around and yap to you all. So, anywho, have a great rest of your day or evening. I love you all and appreciate you all and goodbye.