Introduction: Minutes 0 to 7:15
We recorded on Friday this week instead of Thursday as usual. Chandra loved the Olympics, particularly volleyball, fencing and gymnastics. I watched women’s bouldering and women’s 71kg weightlifting. The Nigerian contestant, Joy Ogbonne Eze, looked like she retired on stage. I mentioned that I couldn’t figure out if she retired, but I later found a tweet saying she will be back in 2028. We talk about the support in Algeria for gold medal-winning boxer Imane Khelif. Here’s a link to the tweet I mentioned. We’re glad that everyone came out to support her after she was subjected to hate that could have threatened her life. You can listen below!

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni: Minutes 7:15 to 18:45
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are costarring in the film This Ends with Us. The book is by Colleen Hoover and it’s been criticized as romanticizing domestic abuse. I’ve read that the movie does the same thing. Justin Baldoni is directing the film, he bought the rights and hired a screenwriter. People noticed that he skipped the London premiere and that he hasn’t posed with Blake Lively or done press with her. They also noticed that Blake and the author Colleen Hoove unfollowed Justin on Instagram.

The Hollywood Reporter said that Lively and Baldoni’s feud started in post-production, when Blake commissioned a separate edit of the film. Chandra thinks that Justin’s edit is likely the one that made it to theaters. Blake’s husband Ryan Reynolds also rewrote a key scene. THR next reported that Blake screened her own edit of the film at a book event for Colleen Hoover in June. It looks like she tried to take creative control of the film.

At first we got vague stories that Baldoni created a difficult work environment. The stories about why people hate him were suspicious to me. He also is said to have made Blake feel bad about her postpartum body.

Baldoni has hired the same PR crisis management firm that Johnny D-pp and Brad Pitt use. TMZ then reported that Blake felt uncomfortable around Justin because he kissed her too long in a scene and because he asked her trainer how much she weighed since he had to pick her up and has a bad back.

An older interview from 2016 recently came out where Blake and Parker Posey were meangirling a Norwegian interviewer, ignoring her and talking to each other instead. This is how Blake has always been. Here’s a link to the inane Q&A I mentioned.

Blake has been promoting the movie like it’s a frothy romance and Justin is being serious and measured in his promotion. His production company has partnered with an anti domestic violence foundation and he has been talking about ending the cycle of abuse. Here’s a link to the Schindler’s list tiktok/tweet that Chandra mentioned. Here’s a link to the supercut of Justin vs. Blake’s promotional styles.

Royals: Minutes 18:45 to 26:15
None of the major royals went to the Olympics in Paris. Will and Kate just recorded a brief video congratulations with celebrities afterwards. They didn’t congratulate any of the individual athletes.

The Daily Mail recently reported that Kate is still undergoing preventative chemotherapy, that she’s still recovering and that we probably won’t see her until Remembrance Day in November. This is the type of story we get about Kate every six months.

Earlier this month the Sussexes gave an interview to CBS Sunday Morning on behalf of their new initiative called The Parents Network, to provide support and resources for parents to protect their children from online harm. They included parents who had lost children to online bullying and to drugs purchased online. It’s a great cause. Meghan was asked about her past suicidal ideation, which she opened up about during her interview with Oprah. I play a segment from their CBS Sunday Morning interview. Harry and Meghan have been working on this cause for some time.

A couple of weeks ago it was reported that the Sussexes have accepted an invitation to visit Colombia. We didn’t realize it would happen so soon. Harry and Meghan are in Colombia now and the photos and videos coming out are incredible. They’re so warm and natural with people. They have been meeting with the Vice President Francia Marquez, they went to a theater performance and participated in a panel about Internet safety. Marquez saw their Netflix series and that’s why she wanted to meet Meghan!

Politics: Minutes 26:15 to 33:30
While we were off, Kamala Harris chose Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Chandra thinks that Harris has a soft spot for dorky white men. We loved Harris and Walz’s joint video interview. We hope she does more cooking videos. Here’s a link to the video of Harris telling someone how to brine a turkey. Here’s a link to the video of Harris showing Senator Mark Warner how to make a tuna melt. We want Harris to go on Hot Ones. Trump has been having a meltdown over Harris. He called her beautiful in that lispy interview with Elon Musk and may be conflicted about her for that reason. He hates being called weird. The Kamala HQ coms department does such a great job.

Comments of the Week: Minutes 33:30 to end
Chandra’s comment of the week is from Agnes on the post about Brad Pitt and George Clooney covering GQ magazine.

My comment of the week is from Beana on the post about Mark Zuckerberg commissioning a seven foot statue of his wife, Priscilla Chan.

Thanks for listening bitches!

Photos credit: CNP/INSTARimages, Abaca Press/INSTARimages, Avalon.red and via Instagram and YouTube