binchtopia: a new form feminist media
a podcast that creates community, conversation, and chuckles for women
“Binchtopia,” Martina explains enthusiastically, “talks about pop culture using academic articles. The hosts are so funny too; they’re so easy to listen to.” Martina has been my friend for seven years, so I trust her opinion wholeheartedly, but… a podcast? “Podcasts aren’t really my thing,” I say, puzzling over my coffee, “I’ve just never found one I liked.” This is true; all the podcasts I’ve tried either promise ways to ‘become the best version of myself’ (to no avail) or were straight-up boring. “Just trust me,” she pleaded. “Try one episode and get back to me.” I downloaded one out of kindness and planned to delete it the next day to reclaim the storage.
Flash forward to the gym later that day, where I was trying to motivate myself on the treadmill with techno music but instead, hated the run even more. With no Wi-Fi, I clicked my podcast app out of curiosity. My eye caught on the psychedelically bright cover and swoopy letters of Binchtopia, and I pressed play. I ran the longest I ever had that day, stopping the treadmill multiple times because I was laughing too hard. My first listen was over a year ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Martina wasn’t wrong; the co-hosts feel like two friends I’ve known for as long as my own. The hosts move between comedic and critical, as listeners bend over laughing one minute then deeply question our society the next. With topics swimming from parent influencers, Gypsy Rose, the Salem Witch Trials to eating disorders, you never know what pop culture phenomenon you’ll be debriefing that week. Nonetheless, you will always emerge more critical than before. In an interview with Emma Goldberg, Julia Hava—co-host of Binchtopia explains, “We miss[ed] those conversations you used to have in college where you hit a joint and talk about society.” Informal (non-drug induced) analyses are the cornerstone of the project.1
2 Best friends and co-hosts Eliza McLamb and Julia Hava started their podcast in December 2020. “Everyone always says working with your friends is hard,” McLamb tells Madeline Connors at The Face, “But it’s also fucking great.”3 The pair had met at George Washington University; and after McLamb dropped out, they started Binchtopia. “I have, like, half a gender studies degree,” McLamb said, “And you know what? That’s enough.”4 Hava, who holds history and psychology degrees from Brown University, uses her academic backgrounds to debunk current trends and queries, whereas McLamb uses other forms of critical thinking.
Despite the initial trending status on Spotify, the pair did not begin the show with academic research. “We would have existential conversations…[and] reference things we had read in college,” McLamb confessed, “[but] we didn’t know what we were doing.”5 Over time, the best friends began in-depth episodes by referring to academic research. In their episode critiquing society’s “fear of aging,” titled “A Year of Prolonged Suffering and Decrepitude,” the co-hosts reference over fifteen sources, including academic articles from Oxford Health and Susan Sontag, think-pieces from Vice and the Guardian, and Clare Chamber’s novel “Intact: A Defense of the Unmodified Body.”6 “As much as people learn from Binchtopia, Eliza and I are learning with them, too,” Hava tells Connors, “We’re doing this research, coming to understand it and then reporting it.”7
With the new format, they gained 40,000 weekly listeners. With over 150 episodes recorded, the pair now sells merchandise and hosts live shows for their binchies. For the superfans, otherwise known as the godly wives, they can subscribe to the Binchtopia Patreon to access bonus episodes, monthly Zoom hangouts, and a shoutout at the end of each episode. There are varying memberships, ranging from sweet baby angel to bestie vibes only, that allow the co-hosts to bring in nearly $40,000 monthly and employ a manager, social media marketer, and editors.
8 The pair have separate ventures outside of the show–McLamb released her first album in January 2024–but the podcast is their full-time job. “I’m not a podcaster who does music on the side, or a musician who does podcasts on the side,” McLamb states, “I’m just everything all the time.”9 Hava shares similar sentiments, explaining how thrilling it is, “Not having to choose between being funny or serious, creative or analytical.”10 The best friends describe their audience comparably, with McLamb noting how they, “Have more nuanced opinions about things and are craving discussion about things past just a tweet or a Twitter thread.”11
So, who are the binchies? The listeners of Binchtopia are typically females in their twenties living in North America. With the overarching lens of feminism, blog writers describe the show as covering, “Every topic a girl at a liberal arts college wants to learn about.”12 The co-hosts appreciate their audience’s refrain from cancel culture, noting that listeners are, “Not supposed to have the same opinion as [them], and [the co-hosts] don’t want to be this place to spoon-feed” but rather critically think about the themes and angles the podcast dives into.13
“It doesn’t magically fix everything in my life, but it really takes the edge off and makes things a bit more bearable.”
Reviewer of Binchtopia14
14 From the get-go, binchies have expressed their appreciation for the podcast, with reviews praising the co-hosts for their wit and nuanced explorations. One reviewer described the podcast as an anti-depressant, explaining that, “It doesn’t magically fix everything in my life, but it really takes the edge off and makes things a bit more bearable.”15 Fans have also created a Reddit space with over 4.1 thousand followers to discuss all things Binchtopia. A reviewer even had the same experience as me, writing that the co-hosts had them “cackling aloud [in the gym], garnering concerned looks from passersby,” but they, “wouldn’t want it any other way.”16
A recent New York Times article highlights the importance of female-driven media in our current cultural landscape. Gone are the days of feminist blogs, with websites such as Jezebel, Bitch Media, and Feministing shutting down in recent years. Without blog sites openly writing about women’s rights, a cavity was created in the world of women’s media. The Gen Z demographic in North America has lived through the #MeToo movement, COVID-19, and the overturn of Roe V Wade, fighting for rights our mothers have already campaigned for. Little community has been re-established for young females to critically discuss our societal landscape, so Binchtopia and other feminist writers have generated discourse and unity in this age of isolation. Although the co-hosts did not explicitly read past feminist blogs, Hava notes how, “It was trickle-down feminism…[with] the larger feminist consciousness influenc[ing] what younger people [are] talking about” now.17
Ultimately, Binchtopia advocates for listeners to think critically about pop culture, questions the North American societal landscape, and creates community for young females. After my (personal) record-breaking run, I immediately texted Martina. “I am obsessed,” I wrote, “it’s sooo good!” She immediately wrote back “YES!” with two laughing emojis, “We are binchies and binchies are us. Can’t wait to debrief next week’s episode!” And that is the beauty of it; Binchtopia instantly makes you feel a part of their community, all with a huge smile on your face.
Goldberg, Emma. “Goodbye, Feminist Blogs. Hello, Gen Z Content Creators?” The New York Times, 17 Nov. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/11/17/business/feminism-gen-z.html.
McLamb, Eliza, and Julia Hava. “Binchtopia on Apple Podcasts.” Apple Podcasts, 17 Jan. 2024, podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/binchtopia/id1542744511.
Connors, Madeleine. “Binchtopia: The Viral Podcast Merging Philosophy and Culture.” The Face, 20 Feb. 2023, www.theface.com/culture/binchtopia-podcast-julia-hava-eliza-mclamb-cultural-criticism-commentary-pop-culture-red-scare.
Connors, Madeleine. “Binchtopia: The Viral Podcast Merging Philosophy and Culture.” The Face.
Connors, Madeleine. “Binchtopia: The Viral Podcast Merging Philosophy and Culture.” The Face.
Goldberg, Emma. “Goodbye, Feminist Blogs. Hello, Gen Z Content Creators?” The New York Times.
“Julia Hava🌹 on Instagram: ‘The Legend of the Boots!!! 👢 📸 @badnewsblaire.’” Instagram, August 27, 2023.
Connors, Madeleine. “Binchtopia: The Viral Podcast Merging Philosophy and Culture.” The Face.
Connors, Madeleine. “Binchtopia: The Viral Podcast Merging Philosophy and Culture.” The Face.
Connors, Madeleine. “Binchtopia: The Viral Podcast Merging Philosophy and Culture.” The Face.
Shaffer, Ava. “Upinon: ‘Binchtopia’ Is the Hilarious, Sexy, Educational Podcast You’ve Been Searching For.” UP Magazine, UP Magazine, 15 Feb. 2023, www.upmagazinemu.com/post/upinon-binchtopia-is-the-hilarious-sexy-educational-podcast-you-ve-been-searching-for.
Connors, Madeleine. “Binchtopia: The Viral Podcast Merging Philosophy and Culture.” The Face.
McLamb, Eliza, and Julia Hava. “Binchtopia – Customer Reviews.” Apple Podcasts, 17 Jan. 2024, podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/binchtopia/id1542744511?see-all=reviews.
McLamb, Eliza, and Julia Hava. “Binchtopia – Customer Reviews.” Apple Podcasts.
McLamb, Eliza, and Julia Hava. “Binchtopia – Customer Reviews.” Apple Podcasts.
Goldberg, Emma. “Goodbye, Feminist Blogs. Hello, Gen Z Content Creators?” The New York Times.
References
“Binchtopia.” Fanjoy, fanjoy.co/collections/binchtopia.
Connors, Madeleine. “Binchtopia: The Viral Podcast Merging Philosophy and Culture.” The Face, 20 Feb. 2023, www.theface.com/culture/binchtopia-podcast-julia-hava-eliza-mclamb-cultural-criticism-commentary-pop-culture-red-scare.
Goldberg, Emma. “Goodbye, Feminist Blogs. Hello, Gen Z Content Creators?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 Nov. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/11/17/business/feminism-gen-z.html.
McLamb, Eliza, and Julia Hava. “Binchtopia – Customer Reviews.” Apple Podcasts, 17 Jan. 2024, podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/binchtopia/id1542744511?see-all=reviews.
McLamb, Eliza, and Julia Hava. “Binchtopia on Apple Podcasts.” Apple Podcasts, 17 Jan. 2024, podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/binchtopia/id1542744511.
R/Binchtopiapod, 2020, www.reddit.com/r/binchtopiapod/.
Shaffer, Ava. “Upinon: ‘Binchtopia’ Is the Hilarious, Sexy, Educational Podcast You’ve Been Searching For.” UP Magazine, UP Magazine, 15 Feb. 2023, www.upmagazinemu.com/post/upinon-binchtopia-is-the-hilarious-sexy-educational-podcast-you-ve-been-searching-for.