Huge fan of cmbc and absolutely this new evolution! Love hearing about articles and multiple topics per episode. Still my favorite!

I really enjoyed this podcast when they focused on book reviews. Their reviews were funny, insightful, and engaging. The books grounded the conversation, which is what I think is missing from this new format.

I cannot believe I just found out about these two gems, love them & their hilarious takes!

The memoirs were great. This one is disappointing. Extreme left pod. If you hate the Republican Party, this one’s for you.

Do you like insufferable people complaining about “wokeness”? This could be the podcast for you.

Its a great podcast but I really miss the celebrity memoirs

I should’ve realized when they would spend the first 40 minutes of the old episodes intro talking about their mundane lives and 6th grade level jokes about butts and farts, that the plot was rapidly losing itself . It’s so lame to have made a podcast about books, build a following on the subject and then once achieving fame pivot into a whole new show instead of just creating a WHOLE new show . Very lazy . Hoping to find a replacement podcast to fulfill what the OG episodes first did .

Disappointing

So funny and SMART! My fav “fun” podcast. I’m not particularly into celebrities or pop culture, in general, but I’d listen to Claire and Ashley talk about anything! Their takes are nuanced and thoughtful. They are well-read and educated, but the podcasts are such a light and fun romp! Literally, my fav. Most of what I listen to is highbrow and these girls can keep up. Also, to weird commenters re: Claire “rude” to Ashley. Their dynamic is so relatable to me (I’m the Claire). Do you guys have sisters? This is love. Be cool. I’m older so maybe it’s the younger gen being all like “this is toxic.” Lame. Anyway, I could not love the pod more. Rockstars!

Please undo this. The new format is chaotic and boring. And that’s a hard combo to pull off. Good noticing is ok-ish if you listen on 1.5x speed

No complaints about the new format and I really appreciate a lot of the cultural commentary and critique. However, their recent political commentary has pushed me to unsubscribe from their feed. No issue with hearing the best arguments put forth by liberals/progressives, but they are seriously misrepresenting reality now. For instance, Claire’s recent description of the FCC’s equal time standard and how it is being applied to late night comedy shows was profoundly incorrect. The anti-Israel/anti-America stuff has gotten old. If you can’t be smart, be right, if you can’t be right, shut up.

Passed apps are a nightmare. Great, interesting podcast.

This used to be my absolute favorite podcast. I’ve seen it live and I’ve met Claire and Ashley. This new format is not it. For the love of Christ, if Claire says “can I just say?” Or “do you know what I mean?” one more time all while talking over Ashley, I’m going to scream. Please bring back the old show. Claire, you’re really not too good for it like you think you are.

Hoping to hear "We're bringing back the book club!"

Do better

I have loved this podcast since the cmbc early days, but Claire’s attitude with Ashley is getting old. I don’t understand why she is so toxic and harsh with her. At this point I assume Ashley finds it to be normal, but it’s not and it’s distracting. I encourage Claire to do some self reflection because she is very smart and thoughtful but her criticism of Ashley has always felt like a large blind spot.

I’m a mom who doesn’t have the time or energy to absorb all the pop culture. Thank you for being my weekly self care ritual to feel like I am still connected in a thoughtful way.

No shade just miss the memoirs. 🤷🏻‍♂️

New format blows

Love the pod but please stick to pop culture and books, no need to comment on world news it’s not yalls forte. Also Claire please be less rude to Ashley it’s a real bummer the way you talk to her sometimes

I was slow to give the new format a try but I have laughed out loud several times already. Will be listening regularly!

I loved CMBC and at first I loved this format too - Ashley and Claire are well informed and fun to listen to. But it’s getting stale for me and the attitude of it feels off. Even the way they speak to each other is a little condescending and rude. Not a bright spot in my day like it once was, and I find myself not even paying attention when listening. Just ok.

It’s actually really dangerous for white women to claim they’re giving informed takes on history and politics and then spread misinformation. One example: Claire said Che Guevara was Guatemalan in the latest episode. He was very famously Argentinian. That led to the rest of the segment being unclear. Did she mean to speak about Guatemalan history or did she actually mean to speak on Argentinian history? Spreading misinformation is extremely dangerous these days. It gives that you see all Latin American countries as the same and as white women it’s an especially bad look. Ashley has been made to look bad by Claire and her ignorance again and again.

Thoughtful and funny, Claire and Ashley do a lot of research, are informed on the news and culture and make jokes. I like hearing their opinions. Good podcast.

Pleaaasseee don’t do news news, just pop culture and art news, I come to you for a distraction not a reminder

Claire really is so rude to Ashley. She thinks she’s being intellectual? but she’s really just a cruel & cutting knowitall (ex: the Alex Honnold convo). And “skyscraping” is a truly clever term for climbing buildings.

For years, this podcast was my literal obsession and never missed an episode and listened to most episodes twice. I have tried to give this new format a chance and it just does not work. You guys excelled in the memoir category and I wish nothing more for you guys to go back to it and keep succeeding.

reminds me of the meme about listening to a podcast is like being ghost who knows the answer but no one hears you…meme no fun

Please bring back the celebrity memoirs! I was recommended this show and loved to hear summaries and comments on my favorite celebrities’ memoirs. It was such a unique show and you ladies did a great job of summarizing it. I unfortunately already listen to other pop culture podcasts and am not looking for a new one. I would love to hear your summary and thoughts on Chris Appletons memoir! There’s so many new memoirs that have come out since you girls stopped doing the summary. Please please please bring it back. If not I unfortunately will not be listening, I have MSNBC for my news and current events :(

Long time listener and the commitment these women have to speaking about marginalized communities is deeply refreshing and unique. They have no obligation or expectation and yet I am listening to an incredible interview with a transgender attorney about a Supreme Court case they have been working on. My sibling is trans and is constantly devastated by the silence from most creators and people in entertainment, I’m so thankful to be able to send them this episode.

Such a great interview and love the new format

I loved CMBC. There are so many memoirs that I want to know about, but I don't actually want to read. I loved when you read them for me, so I didn't have to. I understand it was probably hard to find that many memoirs to read a new one each week, but maybe you guys could cover some. I even tried to read Charlie Sheen's memoir by myself, but it was so bad, I had to stop. Please read it for me!!!!!!

I was so excited for these format change as I wasn’t a regular memoir listener. But all of the topics they cover are super stale. I think they should focus on more obscure topics since the mainstream ones are already covered to death by the time GN tries to take them on. Also, why are they covering news stories? The topics are not well researched and I would rather just listen to NPR.

long time listener since before the rebrand. I find it quite ironic that ~1.5 years before the rebrand they discussed and asked their audience to support news sources/journalists with integrity, and now they are using those same sources as material for their podcast. Feels weird that they are redirecting support from a ‘struggling’ industry their own financial gain. Furthermore, their ‘takes’ on the more serious topics just is straight regurgitation and does not add to the conversations in meaningful ways.

I look forward to this pod every week! Love the new format. From My review before on CMBC: Insightful and a fun listen. I want to know what to think about certain celebrities and a memoir (presenting their true selves without a PR team) is a good way to figure it out. I’m simply not going to read all of their books unless they are Britney Spears. The memoirs are way more interesting when Claire and Ashley talk about them because of added context and getting to the point. Love it call me a worm 🪱

I listen every week and am on Patreon as well. I’m enjoying the new format. There’s a mix of regular pop culture news with other culturally relevant articles, media and current events. Some topics they cover I probably wouldn’t have read or known about if it weren’t for this podcast, which I appreciate. And I like listening to their takes, even if I don’t always fully agree, it gets me thinking harder about my own takes and why I feel or think that way. And that’s the point, no? Overall it makes me want to broaden the content that I’m reading and taking in regularly. Plus they have a sense of humor and don’t take themselves too seriously, which I enjoy from a podcast. And note, I did love Celebrity Memoirs. However, I felt Iike they were running out of interesting celebrities to cover. So I understand the change and love to see it.

Please bring back the memoirs

I loved the memoirs and I actually really like this new direction. I find their discussion about niche cultural rabbit holes to be fun and emotionally intellectual. Yay!

I am giving these podcasters five stars because they did not perpetrate the hatred so many feel (for no good reason) for Meghan Markle. Thank you. Uh oh. You just said she’s annoying. 🫣

Unfortunately the memoirs were the only thing keeping this pod afloat! Neither of the hosts are smart or interesting enough to be the cultural authorities they think they are.

CMBX was fun to listen too and I loved hearing about celebrity memoirs from their perspective. But this new podcast is boring and I don’t care about their takes. You had your Niche and then lost it.

If you want to hear your two dumbest friends try to regurgitate a few articles to you with zero context or nuance, this is the show for you. Two “comedians” who are shockingly unfunny, with one of them, Claire, occasionally spewing offensive comments.

I loved the old format but I understood its limitations and love the new direction. I’ve always been interesting in these little media rabbit holes they cover. And, idk, there is a lot of nuance to be had. Recent reviews here are confusing to say the least.

Edit to add: the “bring them home” joke in the 12/10 episode.. extremely distasteful. Without the interest of a memoir, I just find the hosts annoying. Half baked takes lacking any nuance on topics like surrogacy and politics that all come back to “I don’t know man”

I no longer listen to their podcast. I realize they aren’t authentic at all

I really liked that the previous iteration of the podcast dove deep on books about famous people that I wasn’t going to put the time into reading but was interested in hearing the gist of in an hour or so along with a very detailed and honest review. I turned friends onto the pod and even bought some merch. A/C both read the material and provided thoughtful takes that were raw and often gave me a new perspective. Unfortunately the new approach of talking more about the mundanities of their own lives, making random recommendations (e.g., plays in NYC when much of their audience doesn’t live there), and recapping articles/media (often that only one of them has taken the time to read or watch) without providing any additional insight or much thoughtful analysis is just not a big value add. I also feel like Claire has started defaulting to attacking Ashley’s takes and putting her on the defensive — it’s painful to listen to on repeat. I hope that they can retool and tighten the concept so that the show is focused on a more unique subject again, but I understand if this podcast just isn’t for people like me anymore.

This podcast and the weekly Patreon are always my most anticipated listens of the week! Claire and Ashley provide educated, nuanced takes on current events and yes even still, memoirs. For the reviewers mad about the Starbucks ad (which was addressed on the patreon) - GET A GRIP and a peppermint mocha and focus on real problems.

Used to really like this pod but it kinda sucks now. Hosts sold out and the content is stale and unfunny, probably bc of it

I loved CMBC. It was a fantastic concept that made for intriguing, funny episodes. The new format is far less interesting. Claire often comes off as rude and dismissive toward Ashley. It’s tough to sit through Claire’s scoffing. I’d love to see the old format come back or, even better, Ashley branch out for her own podcast.

I LOVED celebrity memoir book club and was a devotee to the Patreon the rebrand is just making the Patreon public and with less sauce to keep it ad friendly and less gossipy because it’s not behind a paywall. Gave it a shot but unsubscribed from the show and the Patreon