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It Appears That Children Were Left Behind

Binchtopia

Release Date: 07/09/2025

Bad Book Club: Diva Down! *TEASER* show art Bad Book Club: Diva Down! *TEASER*

Binchtopia

Julia and Eliza team up for another bad book club episode in which they review Colleen Hoover’s newest work of experimental autofiction: Woman Down. In a suspenseful story that is definitely not based on CoHo’s life at all, an author who has been brutally and unfairly CANCELED goes to crazy lengths to break her writer’s block, even taking it to a place of copaganda. Digressions include Taylor Swift’s subpoenaed text messages, Eliza recapping her personal Rabiesgate, and apt comparisons to Hunter S Thompson. This is a teaser for a Patreon-exclusive episode. To listen to...

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Realness, On Demand! w/ Allegra Chapman show art Realness, On Demand! w/ Allegra Chapman

Binchtopia

In the first episode of a two-part series, Julia is joined by Binchtopia favorite Allegra Chapman to lovingly dissect the mind-bending genre of reality TV. The girlies trace its evolution from chaotic human experimentation into neoliberal propaganda, mapping the multiverse across TLC, E!, MTV, and Bravo while decoding the cultural logic each network normalizes along the way. Digressions include the ultimate guide to landing yourself a cruise bae, Boston as a cosmic punishment, and Allegra’s short-lived stint as a puck bunny. This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and...

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And You Did It at My Paddock w/ Nick & Chase *TEASER* show art And You Did It at My Paddock w/ Nick & Chase *TEASER*

Binchtopia

Julia is joined by cacklers Nick and Chase for their very first venture into the cursed depths of Reddit’s Am I The Asshole. Horrors include: a husband’s mysterious gaycation to Ibiza, a black market Labubu deal, a fuckboi horse with navy blue hay, and a man who is enchanted by his server’s gongerous scalp. Plus, Chase’s formative years herding sheep in Arizona, the sacred right to be rude at work, and personal legal drama… ALLEGEDLY! For more Nick and Chase, check out their podcast ! This is a teaser for a Patreon-exclusive episode. To listen to the full episode and...

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The Great Resolution Delusion w/ Aliza Jay show art The Great Resolution Delusion w/ Aliza Jay

Binchtopia

In the first episode of the new year, Julia is joined by Jewish Aliza to interrogate the concept of New Year’s Resolutions. The girlies put on their therapist hats to explore the psychology behind a “fresh start,” why most resolutions are doomed to fail, and how habits only stick once you stop trying to punish yourself into change. Digressions include Aliza’s campaign to stop the lesbian yearning epidemic, debating whether being waterboarded is worse than proposing to a man, and the radical act of putting down The Bat. This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and...

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The Body Keeps the Shake *UNLOCKED FROM PATREON* show art The Body Keeps the Shake *UNLOCKED FROM PATREON*

Binchtopia

Happy New Year, binchies!! In case you’re looking to shake up ya life in 2026, we’re releasing this formerly Patreon-only episode onto the main feed! Join Julia and Nick as they unveil The Ten Commandments of Shaking Up Ya Life and counsel past and future shakestresses on their journeys. Digressions include Nick’s updates from the dildo factory, society’s declining birth rates, and living full time in Colonial Williamsburg. To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.  

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The 2025 Pop Culture Recap: WE NEEDED THIS! show art The 2025 Pop Culture Recap: WE NEEDED THIS!

Binchtopia

In the final episode of the year, Julia and Nick deliver our annual pop culture recap, revisiting the most absurd moments of 2025, including Hawk Tuah insisting she did a Zoom in North Korea, JoJo Siwa’s straight rebrand, and the birth of Aquaman Moses Paytas-Hacmon. Digressions include: Nick’s Looney Tunes–ass passport horrors, modern headphone dependency, and the importance of having mutuals with a baby. This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi Burdette. If you’re looking for ways to get involved, support your community, or stay connected:...

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Lemme Ruin Christmas *TEASER* show art Lemme Ruin Christmas *TEASER*

Binchtopia

This week Julia and Nick bring you a holiday horrors episode full of festive chaos! They unpack their own holiday traditions and react to cursed listener stories including a dad who got too kooky, a dramatic dog on a mission, and a girl who received heartbreaking news about her dentist. Digressions include the tooth fairy’s terrible work life balance, the beautiful lives of leaf cutter ants, and Oil. This is a teaser for a Patreon-exclusive episode. To listen to the full episode and access over 50 bonus episodes, mediasodes, and our monthly news broadcast What the...

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God Forbid We Linger show art God Forbid We Linger

Binchtopia

Julia and Eliza are back in the stu for a deep dive into hostile architecture, unpacking the spikes, slopes, bars, and billion-dollar “design choices” that quietly shape our cities and public spaces. In analyzing bisected benches, shadeless streets, and the Evil of Robert Moses, the girlies consider what it means to live in a world built to restrict movement and community. Digressions include the sacred magic of knitting tutorials, NYC’s food poisoning themed Erewhon, and Eliza staying bricked up. This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Kylie Finnigan and edited by Livi...

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Julia’s Fireside Chat *TEASER* show art Julia’s Fireside Chat *TEASER*

Binchtopia

Julia cozies up in her childhood bedroom for her first-ever solo episode, providing a little life update from the trenches of her PhD program and giving the binchies some sage advice. Digressions include whatever the hell is going on with the Wicked cast, New York apartment vermin, and the strange comfort of magical thinking. This is a teaser for a Patreon-exclusive episode. To listen to the full episode and access over 50 bonus episodes, mediasodes, and our monthly news broadcast What the Hell Sure NEWS, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.  

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Against The Big Light w/ Roxy Jamin show art Against The Big Light w/ Roxy Jamin

Binchtopia

Julia is joined by artist and candlelight devotee Roxy Jamin for an illuminating episode examining The Big Light. Together, the girlies explore how modern LED lighting and the death of neon have slowly divorced us from nature, mystery, and the romance of the hearth, while keeping us trapped in a world of endless noon. Digressions include the shame of using an Instagram Reel as a flashlight, the false promise of a pink drill, and the occasional need to admire the Amish. This episode was produced by Julia Hava and edited by Livi Burdette. To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus...

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More Episodes

This week, the girlies are armed with their No. 2 pencils to ask: what’s the current state of literacy, how did we get here, and are the kids okay??? They unpack how we went from clay tablets to BookTok fairy smut and trace how phonics, poverty, and the policy failures of the Bush administration shaped how we learn to read. Digressions include Zohran Mamdani socialist prom, the power of drawing portals, and empathy for Travis Kelce.

This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Eliza McLamb and edited by Allison Hagan. Research assistance from Kylie Finnigan.

We’re going on tour!!!! Find tickets at https://linktr.ee/binchtopia

SOURCES:

A Brief History of Summer Reading 

A Chapter a Day – Association of Book Reading with Longevity

A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel 

American Children’s Reading Skills Reach New Lows 

America’s literacy crisis isn’t what you think 

Ancient customer-feedback technology lasts millennia

Are men’s reading habits truly a national crisis? 

BookTok: A new era in the history of reading 

BookTok Statistics 

BookTok: The Dark Horse of the Economy

Can Reading Make You Happier?

Children and young people's reading in 2025 

Exploring BookTok’s impact on literature  

How BookTok is Reviving the Era of Physical Bookselling 

How is the popularity of BookTok impacting the publishing industry? 

How Literacy Became a Powerful Weapon in the Fight to End Slavery 

How One Woman Became the Scapegoat for America’s Reading Crisis 

How the Second World War Made America Literate 

How TikTok Became a Best-Seller Machine 

Introduction to the Original Edition Literacy and History  

Illiteracy: “Another form of slavery” 

Literacy Rate in the US 2025: Top Picks

National Reading Panel - Teaching Children to Read 

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 

No Child Left Behind: An Overview  

Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed at Fifty 

PEDAGOGY of the OPPRESSED by Paolo Freire 

Report finds ‘shocking and dispiriting’ fall in children reading for pleasure 

Share of TikTok users reading more books because of #BookTok in the United States as of May 2023, by state 

School Summer Reading Lists: A Brief and Nerdy History 

Sold a Story

Soldiers Literacy Training Collection 

The History of Summer Reading 

The Influence of BookTok on Literary Criticisms and Diversity 

The Invention of Summer Reading and the Birth of the Beach Read 

The Literacy Crisis in the U.S. is Deeply Concerning—and Totally Preventable 

The Nation's Report Card 

The Rise and Fall of Vibes-Based Literacy 

The Subversive Joy of BookTok 

This is how much the global literacy rate grew over 200 years 

Why I Won’t Quit BookTok