You two look so hot!!!

the silent of the lamb

A podcast about the meaning of life dressed up as a podcast about pop culture. —a lifetime listener (please never stop)

Joan and Matthew do a lot of deep dives on things that I find interesting, and they have great banter that makes me feel like I’m hearing my friends yap. I think their series (Jonas brothers, VPR, Ariana grande etc) are where they excel the most. The singing wears thin after a while, I usually skip the entire last few minutes to avoid it. The strangest thing to me is that they’re good friends with Lara schoenhals of sexy unique podcast, I personally was an avid SUP listener until Lara came out as a right wing, anti vax, Tucker Carlson fan

As a Taylor fan I really love their criticism of Swift and other celebrities. I think this criticism is important in examining the GP’s relationship with fame and wealth, especially as the lines blur between casual fan and parasocial stan. Also, Joan and Matthew make me laugh CONSTANTLY. Thanks guys

Love these two, they have a really good pov on pop culture. Only complaint is that sometimes they are like needlessly mean about people. I get that it’s exaggeration for comedy’s sake, but for people as smart as they are, it waters down the more genuine criticism they make sometimes. Like the Brittany broski part in the Addison Rae ep. Just seems like mean spirited and unnecessary punching down. I’ll keep listening tho xoxo

⭐️ 10/25/24: how did I JUST put together that Lady Gaga’s identity versus persona is literally the same as Lee in Joker 2, pretending to be hard when she grew up rich. another layer. 🧅 💚 edited 8/22/24: NEED the House of Wax PS5 choice-based narrative game.

Just ignorant and boring

silent of the LAMB 💚

It’s not what we come here for - and you sound ignorant.

Silent of the lamb

I listened to the show because I thought it was fun, but it’s incredibly jarring that they have casual anti-Semitic comments dropped into many episodes. It, obviously, ruins what would otherwise be a real fun show.

🤭

Absolutely love this podcast

only trust ppl who listen to this podcast. only date ppl who listen to this podcast. and if you don’t get it, it’s not for you ~ love & light

💆

I listened to almost all of their 11 part series about VPR. Ignored a few red flags about potential anti-blackness and ableism. Gave them grace and the benefit of the doubt. Had to bow out because the microaggressions and punching down became too much.

This is the only podcast about pop culture that actually does the SATISFYING sociopathically in-depth kind of deep dives that I crave. Every other pop culture podcast is forty minutes of sound bites that are just mashing together surface level headlines about trending topics and calling it a deep dive…meanwhile, E4F is like eight episodes deep into exploring the cultural, socioeconomic context of Vanderpump Rules and we haven’t even hit the trainwreck that is TomTom’s yet and along the way we have heard the most howlingly cringeworthy interviews ever conducted by the ghosts of millennial media past and the kind of commentary that actually makes you laugh out loud while listening. This is the one podcast I actually religiously listen to every single week, because every single episode DELIVERS.

I have never felt so validated by Joan and Matthew’s SF takes. Joan is right; the Daly City Cinemark IS the best theater. AND THE PING PONG TABLE PLACE. I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN. That establishment is populated by evil men. But seriously, I’ve been listening to this podcast this the JoJo Siwa eps and have remained a listener ever since. I found the depth of research Joan and Matthew do amazing! As a fan of Ariana Grande, I thought her series was a very insightful, thoughtful deep dive.

That’s how I felt when a friend introduced me to this podcast after one of our weekly VPR viewing parties. Truly impressive research and entertaining banter for anyone with an interest in pop culture. Thank y’all!

I love how thorough they are in their research! I listen to many pop culture podcasts and the deep dives E4F goes into are unmatched. A must listen.

I came to E4F from joan’s gender reveal ep and now every week I am literally chomping at the bit for a new episode!! the most diligent and hilarious and also c*ntiest pop culture scholars I never knew I needed!!

a vital listen!

I don’t generally care much about celebrity gossip, but I love listening to Joan and Matt talk about it! The upshot is I then can have better conversations with others about this stuff as well. LOVE IT

started listening during the Selena / Justin episodes and have been listening religiously ever since. smart, incisive, and very well researched pop culture history and commentary. Bonus episodes on Patreon are also great, especially the beautiful women updates / SATC recap series.

I have been listening to Joan & Matt for many years at this point, and I’m still entertained & amazed by them. They are such great hosts & have such good chemistry together. I’ve honestly learned so much from them, they have fundamentally changed the way I think about the media that I consume and interact with on a daily basis. As someone who grew up obsessed with celebrities and pop culture, Eating For Free appeals to me because I love gossip, but there are stories that are more than just gossip. Joan & Matt have the ability to dive deeper into these topics, in a way that feels so intelligent, you can feel their passion for knowledge behind their work. They’ve had me laughing my butt off, they’ve had me screaming at juicy gossip. They’ve got such unique points of view, and they’re very intelligent & well researched. And they’re just so funny together. Even when they talk about topics or people I normally wouldn’t care or think about, I’m entertained just by hearing them talk, they MAKE me interested in whatever they’re talking about, and I trust whatever journey they take me on. I just really respect these two individuals, and I will always root for them!

so smart, so funny, so insightful. i’ve been listening since the pod started and i think it’s made me a better person. love you joan and matt

Joan and Matt are so smart and funny. If you like pop culture, this show will help you think more critically about the nature of celebrity and how it operates in this day and age. I always have a blast and learn something new when I listen to E4F and I can’t recommend it enough.

They predicted Scootergate, so you know they’re really big brained. Joan Summers and Matthew Lawson are insightful and have taught me how to better ingest modern PR and advertising. And they’re fun and funny! I would suggest starting with their Pop Music That F***s or Balenciaga series and moving forward. From there, you’ll see the breadth of their abilities weaving archival research (delving into contemporary sources) and industry knowledge (Summers and Lawson have worked in advertising and celebrity gossip) into an informative and entertaining listen. Engaging, wise, and witty- listen to Eating for Free!!!!!!

🤍🤍🤍

A five-hour deep dive of Ariana Grande with citations?! This is the pop culture podcast I’ve been looking for.

!!

Best gossip/ critical commentary/ joyous pod

My all-time favorite podcast! Hilarious and well-researched

No one’s doing it like Joan and Matt!

Each episode delves into subjects you constantly hear about in the news or social media, but the takes and unknown sides to the story presented by Joan and Matt always leave me feeling totally shook. They bring a human side to each story that doesn’t sensationalize the subject but rather humanize it and make me feel a little less crazy in this world. Truly a new favorite of mine!! Everyone should listen !!!

The Drew Barrymore segment went on forever. It was so repetitive. I couldn’t access my phone to ff. When you decided to replay her statement, I started to tear up and wondered if this would ever end. Do better.

i, like joan, refuse to let men talk and burp too much. love it.

love how the hosts cover pop culture/gossip topics from an analytical angle w/ extensive research. they somehow manage make u feel smart as you learn about justin bieber for example. lots o fun.

truly trusted and genius i love y’all but girl please let us hear matthew out 🤩lmao

I don’t want to live in a world without this podcast

I found this podcast through another podcast host who mentioned it on twitter, and I am so glad I followed the recommendation. Joan and Matthew are both so charming and funny, and they balance that perfectly with extensive research into the topics they cover. I haven’t listened to the whole catalogue, but from what I’ve listened to so far, they use their research to dig deeper and analyze their topics well beyond popular perception. Their Avatar episode cracked me up but actually taught me a ton about the business of making movies and how much more of a menace James Cameron really is. I assumed it would be a whole episode about Avatar=Bad and James Cameron=Dumb, (which is how I felt walking out of the theater) but it was so much more than that. I really like pop culture and learning about the way it changes as society changes, and I definitely think Eating for Free does some of the best research and analysis I’ve ever seen. Even their older episodes hold up today because they ground their discussions using their research. If you’re interested in seeing that, definitely check out their Jojo Siwa episodes because they demonstrate this really well. I’ve recommended this podcast to so many people because I think it’s so fun and interesting to listen to, and they have a huge catalogue. I’m so bad about writing reviews for the stuff I listen to, but I love this pod so much I really wanted to make the effort :)

This podcast has been a long time favorite of mine but Joan talking over Lawson has become unbearable 😩

I say this as a fellow tran: This show is unlistenable. I WANT to listen. I have TRIED to listen, several times, hoping it got better. Some of the topics are super interesting - I want to know more about militarism in the MCU. And yet. I just cannot endure two people with no journalistic or radio training constantly blowing out their mics (and my ear drums) by relentlessly shouting over each other. This isn’t a dialogue, it’s a 1.5 hour poorly delivered diatribe from a single unqualified person, who doesn’t even pause to acknowledge her cohost’s input before launching into her next tirade. I wanted to support this show, but I shudder every time I see a new episode in my feed. I can’t do it anymore, not even for the fam.

Amazing show, always cracks me up ty girlies!

this is the only podcast that matters

Do you want to be able to decipher blind items and cure queer loneliness? This podcast is that girl.

Listener since the beginning. #noodlesandbeef But also, what is the deal with the burping/hitched breathing thing?!!!!

Every week Joan and Matthew bless us with quality content that I can’t seem to find anywhere else on the internet. They have everything, from insightful comments to stupid jokes that make me scream alone in my car. I love them.

I’ve listened since the first episode & Matt and Joanie have added so much insight, laughter, and happiness to my life. Genuinely can’t wait for new episodes & patreon eps every week!! THANK YOU. :)