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Who Weekly
Who? Weekly logo
Presentation
Hosted byBobby Finger and Lindsey Weber
GenreComedy, Talk
LanguageEnglish
UpdatesBiweekly
LengthApprox. 45 minutes
Publication
Original release18 January 2016 –
present
ProviderCadence13

Who? Weekly is a bi-weekly celebrity gossip podcast presented by Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber. Focusing on tabloid coverage of celebrities, it tackles, according to the tagline, "everything you need to know about the celebrities you don't".[1]

History

[edit]

Who? Weekly began as an occasional newsletter written by friends and pop-culture writers Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber before spinning off into a podcast.[2][3][4] The first episode was aired on January 18, 2016 [5] on the HeadGum network.[6] The podcast is currently released independently.[citation needed]

In both the newsletter and in the podcast, celebrities, ex-reality television contestants, YouTube stars, Broadway actors, and social media influencers[7][8] are categorized as either "Whos" or "Thems" – roughly D-list vs A-list celebrities – according to their name recognition and the nature of their fame. Whos and Thems are named for the likely response to hearing a person's name: "who?" vs "oh, them!"[9] This extends into, for example, describing behavior as "who-y", if it is seen as self-promotional or tacky, for example producing "sponcon" (sponsored content) or writing public apologies on Notes app.[10] Although mainly dividing the celebrity landscape between "Whos" and "Thems", the podcast has also created the categories "T.H.A.M.P.S." (or THAMPS) for the pseudo-famous Trainers, Hairstylists, Agents, Makeup Artists, Publicists and Stylists,[11][12] and "Nahs" for people that might be in the public eye, but are not famous enough to even be considered a Who.[13]

The duo continued releasing weekly newsletters as an accompaniment to the podcast episodes for paid supporters on Patreon.[14] As of 2020, the newsletter has been replaced with Who? Daily, consisting of four mini-episodes a week with stories not covered in the main podcast episodes.[15]

Beginning in October 2017, there have been a series of live Who? Weekly shows across the United States.[16][17]

On February 19, 2021, Who Weekly released its 500th episode.[18]

Format and recurring segments

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Episodes air twice weekly and alternate between the main episode discussing topical celebrity news and "Who's There" episodes, which consist of responses to callers' questions and stories left on the podcast hotline.

Main episode

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I Don’t Know Her

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Described as a "deranged version of six degrees of separation",[19] the hosts speculate if a specific 'Them' celebrity knows a specific 'Who' celebrity.

What's Rita Up To?

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Main episodes end with the segment What's Rita Up To?, featuring an update on the activities of singer Rita Ora.[7][20] They cover what the tabloids write about her and her relative anonymity in the United States.

The Most Markle-est Headline of the Week

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In the lead up to the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018, a recurring segment looked at news articles pertaining to the wedding, often revolving around Markle's various family members speaking to the press. The segment returned periodically since the wedding occurred.[21]

Benana

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Finger and Weber coined the term 'Benana' to refer to the relationship of actors Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas and started a weekly segment looking at what the couple had done that week. The segment ended in 2021 after the couple separated.

Sign-offs

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Callers traditionally sign-off with in-jokes from earlier episodes,[2] - the most iconic being, "crunch crunch!" - but including: "Good form, Bella Thorne", "Me in Greece", "ScarJo YummyPop", "Forehead Diamond", "Me and Charna!", "Livin' la vida laptop," and "Women don't belong in balloons".[22][23][7]

Who's There

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Who's There episodes were a later addition to the show, added after fans began contacting the hosts asking about the identity of various celebrities. The hosts consider the call-in show an integral part of the podcast as it opened up a dialogue between the hosts and their fan base and created a sense of community between the fans.[19]

Who Dat?

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"Who Dat?" is an occasional episode focusing on Black celebrities, which first occurred in 2016. The episodes feature guest hosts Aminatou Sow and Shani O. Hilton.[24]

Fanbase

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Who? Weekly fans are collectively called Wholigans.[25] The Wholigan Facebook group has 17,000 members and includes not only listeners but industry insiders[7] who discuss celebrity sightings, news, rumors and deep dives. Notably, the search for "who-y" behavior has led the group to discover in 2017 that then-White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had an open account on mobile payment service Venmo.[10] They began asking for payments as a form of trolling, causing some press attention.[26][27][28]

Celebrity callers to Who's There have included Lena Dunham, Lea DeLaria, and Richard Curtis[who?].

Reception

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Slate's Brow Beat described Who? Weekly as "terrific" and said that the show "feels smart and fun because it’s sometimes messy, not in spite of its messiness".[2] The podcast was chosen as one of the best podcasts of 2016 by The New York Times, who said that "the podcast feels delightfully absurd and truly vital in the Trump era",[29] and by Vulture, who said it "has quickly become a cult hit".[3] It has also been recommended by Nylon,[30] Esquire,[31] Marie Claire,[32] Vogue,[33] and The New Yorker.[34]

References

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  1. ^ Smith, Rachel Holliday (January 28, 2019). "A Beginner's Guide to Getting Into Podcasts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Brogan, Jacob (April 15, 2016). "Who? Weekly Is the Perfect Podcast About Celebrities Who Make You Say "Who?"". Slate.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Quah, Nicholas (December 12, 2016). "The 10 Best Podcasts of 2016". Vulture. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  4. ^ "Who? Weekly Seeks to Answer the Question on Everyone's Mind". Podcast Review. September 1, 2021. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  5. ^ "Episode list". Who? Weekly. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018 – via podbay.fm.
  6. ^ "Who? Weekly". HeadGum. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d Harmon, Steph (September 13, 2019). "From Rita Ora to Lena Dunham: how a podcast about celebrity became a 'recipe for joy'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  8. ^ Ward, Mary (May 18, 2019). "James Charles and the things that make you go, 'Who?'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  9. ^ Finger, Bobby; Weber, Lindsey (July 20, 2016). "How to Spot Whos, the Ubiquitous Noncelebrities Flooding Your Social Media". Intelligencer. New York. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Harnish, Amelia (August 9, 2019). "Wholigans Are The Real Thems Of The Who? Weekly Universe". www.refinery29.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  11. ^ "Who's There: Jake Paul & Tiffany Haddish?". Who? Weekly (Podcast). July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  12. ^ "Joyce Bonelli & Tokyo Stylez (T.H.A.M.P.S.)". Who? Weekly (Podcast). July 2, 2018. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2019 – via Stitcher.
  13. ^ "Flume, Tracee Ellis Ross & Independent Women Pt. 2". Who? Weekly (Podcast). September 13, 2019. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2019 – via Stitcher.
  14. ^ "Who? Weekly is creating podcasts". Patreon. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  15. ^ "Who? Weekly is creating podcasts". Patreon. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  16. ^ "2019: A Tour is Born". Who? Weekly. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  17. ^ "We're Going On Tour!". Who Weekly. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  18. ^ "Gina Rodriguez, Joss Stone & SMiZE Cream?". Who? Weekly (Podcast). February 19, 2021. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Apple Podcasts.
  19. ^ a b Hoepfner, Fran (September 27, 2017). "Who? Weekly's creators on why they'll never run out of wannabe celebrities to talk about". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  20. ^ Baila, Morgan (July 24, 2016). "Who? Weekly Funny Podcast On D-List Celebrities - Review". www.refinery29.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  21. ^ Curtis, Scarlett (May 13, 2018). "Gen Z hit list: Scarlett Curtis on the cult of who-lebrities". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  22. ^ "How The Aeronauts Drastically Changed the Real-Life Story". E! Online. December 6, 2019. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  23. ^ Lutes, Alicia (August 13, 2019). "How to stay happy when the news is depressing". Stylist. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  24. ^ "Zendaya? (ft. Who Dat?)". Who? Weekly (Podcast). February 7, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2024 – via Acast.
  25. ^ Keiles, Jamie Lauren (November 13, 2019). "Even Nobodies Have Fans Now. (For Better or Worse.)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  26. ^ Kircher, Madison Malone (February 6, 2017). "Somebody Found Sean Spicer's Venmo and Now People Are Asking Him for Money". Intelligencer. New York. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  27. ^ Mei, Gina (February 8, 2007). "Press Secretary Sean Spicer is Getting Trolled On Venmo". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  28. ^ Calfas, Jennifer (February 7, 2017). "Social media users are asking Sean Spicer for money on Venmo". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  29. ^ Hess, Amanda (December 6, 2016). "The Best New Podcasts of 2016". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  30. ^ Bryant, Taylor (October 31, 2016). "15 Podcasts We Can't Stop Listening To Right Now". Nylon. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  31. ^ Dibdin, Emma (October 14, 2016). "The 25 Essential Podcasts of 2016". Esquire. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  32. ^ Keong, Lori (December 9, 2016). "The 10 Best New Podcasts of 2016". Marie Claire. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  33. ^ Garcia, Patricia (December 20, 2017). "11 Great Podcasts For Holiday Travel This Year". Vogue. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  34. ^ Syme, Rachel (May 31, 2021). "'Who? Weekly' Explains the New Celebrity". The New Yorker. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
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