Utah pop culture, served group-chat hot.
Hive Mind tracks reality TV, celebrity drama, films, local eating, and the stray personal tangent with fast, familiar banter. Its recent run circles Taylor Frankie Paul, Jen Shah, The Bachelorette, Traitors, the Oscars, and Utah restaurants with equal appetite.
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Hive Mind is a Utah-rooted pop culture show with the pace of a busy group chat and the instincts of people who have watched enough reality TV to know when a joke has turned into a problem. Reality television is the center of gravity. The orbit is wider than that. Recent conversations move through Jen Shah, Taylor Frankie Paul, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, The Bachelorette cancellation, Summer House, Traitors, Oscars talk, local restaurants, Disneyland, John Mulaney, and One Battle After Another. The result is less recap machine than running cultural audit. A scandal gets treated as entertainment, social text, and neighborhood weather all at once. The hosts and guests can be very funny. They can also stop cold when the material gets darker, especially around abuse allegations, vulnerable children, public humiliation, and reality TV’s appetite for redemption arcs. That tension gives the show its bite. It is not trying to sound detached. It sounds invested, exasperated, amused, and sometimes genuinely unsettled by the same shows it cannot stop following. The Utah perspective matters, especially when Mormon reality TV becomes national news and everyone suddenly has half the story. Hive Mind is strongest when it catches that mismatch: the outside world sees a headline, while the panel is already sorting context, timeline, billboard fallout, and group-chat confusion. The lighter episodes keep the same rhythm. A restaurant check-in can become a soup dumpling critique, a PR read, and a plea for Din Tai Fung in Utah. A movie conversation can start with watch lists and slide into reality casting ethics. Even a chameleon tangent feels at home. The show is for listeners who like pop culture commentary with memory, specificity, and jokes that sound lived-in rather than packaged.
Made for: Best for reality TV watchers, Mormon reality TV followers, and pop culture fans who like sharp conversational analysis with local Utah texture. It also suits listeners who want food and movie tangents alongside scandal talk.
What sets it apart: Hive Mind pairs reality TV fluency with unusually specific Utah context, so national celebrity drama lands with local stakes and lived-in references. Its best moments balance quick jokes with real discomfort about fame, exploitation, and televised fallout.
Become a Paid Subscriber: https://anchor.fm/hivemindhq/subscribeHive Mind is a weekly, Utah-based podcast hosted by Meg Walter, Eli McCann, Emily King, and Irene Stone about all things pop culture, television, movies, local food, and the social media accounts of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Subscribe for bonus episodes:https://anchor.fm/hivemindhq/subscribe
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A loose restaurant catch-up with 43 Bakery, soup dumplings, and a brief Din Tai Fung comparison.
Meg and Irene's quarterly catch-up turns into a relaxed tour through recent restaurant visits, with 43 Bakery emerging as the clear focus and the place most tied to Housewives and, maybe, some online promotion.
A miserable Beyonce weekend frames a delirious, affectionate case for The Altar.
Meg and Reby turn a miserable, deeply funny Las Vegas weekend into a lively frame for their take on The Altar, the latest from the creators of Provost Most Eligible.
Meg and Emily size up Jen Shah's comeback strategy, prison complaints, and TV prospects with dry, skeptical timing.
High Mind treats Jen Shah's People Magazine interview as a stress test for reality TV's comeback machinery. Meg and Emily keep their focus on exposure, public relations, and the uneasy possibility of another run on television, with the strongest moments coming when Shah's…
Fast radio comedy with sharp local mess.
Meg and Rebbie recount a chaotic weekend trip to Las Vegas for Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter tour, detailing turbulent flights, bad photos, and post-concert struggles.
Meg and Emily of Hive Mind dissect Jen Shah's recent People Magazine interview about her prison experience.
Meg and Eli discuss their recent viewing of the animated film The Wild Robot, comparing it to the book and sharing their thoughts on its appeal.
Hive Mind hosts Emily and Meg respond to Page Six reports that The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast members Whitney Rose and Justin are living separately.
Meg and Emily react to Angie Katzenavis and Sean Trujillo ending a marriage that began in 1999, while questioning why the split surfaced now.
Meg explains why checking in years later can still help someone grieving a parent.
Leftover bulgogi, kimchi, gochujang, and cream become a surprisingly effective homemade pizza.
Hive Mind hosts Meg and Eli open with Disney, where Eli calls the live-action Snow White 'hot garbage' at 39% on Rotten Tomatoes and apologizes for once dismissing the 1937 original.
Emily describes two Los Angeles celebrity sightings within one hour: Owen Wilson ordering 'a large' smoothie at Erewhon, then Adam Sandler asking her 'how do you use Apple Pay?' at the Brentwood Country Mart.
Meg and Eli open Hive Mind by comparing David Sedaris's The Land and Its People to his earlier books, and by recommending the Where's My Spinoff podcast's Survivor 50 recaps from Corinne Kaplan and Brittany Hayes.
Hive Mind hosts Meg and Emily launch Dead Dad Club the week of Father's Day, after discussing the idea for "one year and 10 months." Emily's dad died in March 2020 after a terminal brain cancer diagnosis in 2019, while Meg's dad collapsed at the gym on August 2, 2024, from a probable heart attack.
Two hosts discuss starting a podcast as an alternative to reality TV, exploring personal identity, pop culture, and a humorous debate about getting a chameleon pet.
The hosts discuss Jen Shah's recent interview with People Magazine, analyzing her motivations, PR strategy, and the cringe-worthy nature of the content.
The hosts discuss the cancellation of 'Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' and the ethical implications of reality TV, focusing on the Taylor-Frankie-Paul domestic violence incident and its impact on mental health.
Emily discusses her experiences in New York City during the viral news about Taylor Frankie Paul, including seeing her on billboards and reactions from coworkers.
This episode discusses the chaotic cancellation of The Bachelorette and related scandals involving Mormon reality TV personalities like Taylor Frankie Paul, exploring how the situation turned from fun to dark.
The hosts reminisce about a past episode that brought laughter during a difficult time and discuss their podcast chemistry.
"I have entered my sourdough phase. I'm in it. I'm fully in."
The hosts and guests discuss the reality TV show 'Traitors', focusing on the controversial casting of Colton and its entertainment value.
Meg and guest Patrick Beatty discuss their experiences at Sundance and Critics' Choice events, covering film highlights, industry trends, and celebrity encounters.
This episode features Dr.