Emily Ratajkowski is entering her “b**** era” as she moves into the podcast space with her new show High Low With EmRata.
She joined TikTok a few months ago, mainly sharing her takes on happenings in pop culture. In one notable video, Ratajkowski critiqued the new Marilyn Monroe film Blonde for fetishizing female pain and garnered lots of attention because of that.
“I was thinking about it, and you know what’s kind of hard to fetishize? Anger …I think we all need to be a little more pissed off … I think we should all be in our B**** Era,” she said in the video.
This is the energy Ratajkowski is bringing to her podcast High Low as it focuses on all sorts of topics, from politics to sex and everything in between.
In partnership with Sony Music Entertainment, High Low, a part-monologue, part-interview podcast series, airs twice a week. A third bonus episode will be released, where she will hear from the listeners for discourse and more conversation on the topics she covered earlier in the week.
In her opening episode, Ratajkowski explored the concept of sex on the first date while touching on power dynamics and the complexities of first-time experiences in general.
“I’ve been thinking about this a lot because it speaks so much to power dynamics, and sex on the first date is the ultimate example of that because you’re dealing with gender dynamics in such a specific little vacuum of a moment,” she said in the episode.
In her first guest episode with Alex Cooper, host of Call Her Daddy—another podcast focusing on sex and the female experience—Cooper spoke about Roe V Wade and the work she did on her video podcast. She spent her Saturday at a Preferred Women’s Health Care Center looking into what exactly takes place when people seek abortions. Cooper met with people on both sides of the issue, pro-choice and pro-life, as well as the women working in the clinic.
The duo also touched on the misogyny they face on a daily basis in their fields. Ratajkowski specifically opened up about how she was shamed for a dress she wore, when people started saying no one would take her seriously if she “parades her body around like that.”
“People have a hard time believing… that women can be multifaceted. They don’t appreciate us straying from the norm,” said Cooper.
Ratajkowski also invited Julia Fox to her show, where the two bonded about what it’s been like to raise their sons on their own and how motherhood has impacted them.
Fox and Ratajkowski also talked about wanting to raise their children to be free of patriarchal traditionalism.
“It’s hard as a single mom, raising a son, you just don’t want them to end up like every single guy you’ve ever met, you know? How do I stop this conditioning from occurring?” Fox said.
The two were also very transparent on the podcast in describing the process of taking paparazzi photos. Fox said she has one photographer specifically who she loves to work with. The episode with Fox opened listeners to a part of the celebrity world that is usually not spoken about — many celebrities deny that any of their paparazzi shots are staged.
Ratajkowski also dedicated an entire episode to the ethics of recording strangers in public. In a world run by social media, this is becoming a very common practice. She highlighted the pros and cons of recording strangers and sat with her lawyer Ellie Heisler to discuss the law’s response to these issues.
Several users on TikTok have come forward to critique Ratajkowski’s first few episodes, calling it a “white feminist podcast,” because she mainly focuses on her own experiences and fails to diversify the people she’s spoken with.
However, Ratajkowski is acknowledging this issue.
If you don’t agree with her takes, she’s open to hearing about why. In her part of the podcast, where Ratajkowski listens to questions and feedback from fans, she took advice from one listener who suggested that the podcast should shed light on women of different backgrounds and look at how these topics impact women of colour, for example. Ratajkowski was joined by Serita Wesley, Head of Entertainment Podcast U.S. and executive producer of High Low, to discuss intersectionality and representation.
“I hope you guys continue to hold me accountable in that way,” Ratajkowski said.
As the podcast continues, hopefully, Ratajkowski is able to broaden the scope of her topics and interview guests from different backgrounds and walks of life.
Following the mega-successful launch of her book My Body, Ratajkowski’s entrance into the podcast space is looking to be the move for her new era.