Desperately Seeking the '80s: NY Edition
Episodes
192 episodes
Cult of Beauty + Guerilla Galleries
Meg tells of Hoyt Richards’ life as a supermodel and loyal follower of oddball Frederick von Mierers. Jessica charts upstart gallerist Gracie Mansion’s path from Alphabet City to People Magazine fame.
Little Pricks + Novelty Nudes
Meg investigates the mysterious Upper West Side needle attacks of 1989. Jessica finds the nexus between novelty, news and nudity: Strip-o-Grams!
Club Campbell + Kembra’s Kink
Meg checks out Keith McNally’s collaboration with Nell Campbell and the birth of her eponymous 14th street boîte. Jessica immerses herself in the world of sexual art dynamo Kembra Pfahler and her terrifying creations.
Warhol Worries + No License, No Problem
Meg looks into Andy Warhol’s mid life crises and love affair with Jon Gould. Jessica tracks down the shady impresario who originated NY’s roving Outlaw parties.
Watch Party: Arthur
Meg and Jessica get lost between the moon and New York City during their rewatch of the Dudley Moore and Sir John Gielgud love story.
Book Talk: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Meg and Jessica revisit their tween angst by diving into Judy Blume’s iconic tale about periods, boobs, and God.
Immoral Authority + Pop Art Tchotchkes
Meg uncovers the time when the Moral Majority tried to infiltrate New York City. Jessica gets lost in Sotheby’s catalogue for Andy Warhol’s tchotchkes and nicknacks.
Adventure Play + Training Day
Meg explores the Adventure Playgrounds in Central Park and how a Dane in the 1940s changed how NYC kids could blow off steam. Jessica celebrates the origins of the subway system and the arrival of the first “no graffiti” Japanese subway cars in...
Return to Innocence + Broadway Mandela Effect
Meg revisits the optimistic early days of Stephen Sondheim and Hal Prince’s musical Merrily We Roll Along. Jessica investigates the origins of the apocryphal ad “it was better than Cats, better than E.T."
Women on Top + No Rock For You!
Meg introduces the queen of the clitoris, Shere Hite, and her rough ride in gender politics. Jessica tells of New York’s quest to get federal funding by raising the drinking age to 21 and effectively shuttering small rock 'n roll clubs.
Book Talk: The CBGB Conspiracy
Meg and Jessica discuss The CBGB Conspiracy by Gabriel Rotello, a twisting and turning whodunnit set in the East Village in 1977. Written with meticulous detail about the people, places, and intrigues of the day.
Class Act + Roll With It… Again
Meg tells of Bill Zanker’s disastrous marketing scheme to promote The Learning Annex. Jessica ponders how Merrily We Roll Along went from flop to runaway hit forty years later.
Beach Bum + Last Day of Disco
Meg discovers an NYC beach culture she never knew and Peter Stein, the David Hasselhoff of Far Rockaway. Jessica goes behind the velvet rope at Studio 54’s last glorious night.
Prep Puzzle + Richard's Rodent
Meg investigates the stunning killing of Exeter graduate Edmund Perry on Morningside Drive. Jessica goes deep on the urban myth of Richard Gere and an unucky gerbil.
Watch Party: Splash
Meg and Jessica rewatch 1984’s iconic mermaid romp Splash: a fairytale that examines true love and demands a major suspension of disbelief. We recommend! 5 stars.
Paul's Big Adventure
Meg tells Jessica about the rise and fall of Pee Wee Herman: the avant-garde art scene, Paul Rubens' uncompromising artistic vision, and the Wild West world of Saturday morning cartoons.
Prettiest Baby + Boy, Interrupted
Meg looks into the controversy over Garry Gross’ photographs of a nude ten year old Brooke Shields. Jessica has harsh words for the juvenile justice system’s response to the War on Drugs.
Choke Hold + Know Me!
Meg tells of how Joseph Porto and his lawyer Barry Slotnick defended his murder of Kathleen Holland. Jessica introduces artist/No Wave innovator Klaus Nomi who inspired Bowie, Hedwig and more.
The More We Know: Volume 3
Meg and Jessica school each other on wintry New York ghosts that haunt The Palace Theatre and The Ear Inn, plus fun facts about the bird population of Central Park, Bob Dylan's Greenwich Village, and the very first murder in New York.
Ed's Bed + The Kitchen Cooks
Meg uncovers how Larry Kramer and Rudy Giuliani made strange bedfellows in their attempts to besmirch Ed Koch. Jessica goes deep on how The Kitchen art collective used the Staten Island Ferry to spread the Hip Hop revolution.
The More We Know: Volume 2
Meg and Jessica school each other on Page Six greatness including snippets about the Sutton Place Christmas tree wars, Saul Steinberg's epic 50th birthday bash, Leona Helmsley's bizarre exercise habits, and the most macabre field trip New York ...
Bad Defense + U.S.S. Westie
Meg tells the tale of mob lawyer Barry Slotnik who found himself on the wrong side of a baseball bat. Jessica discovers how the Hell’s Kitchen Westies funneled millions out of the U.S.S. Intrepid Museum.
The More We Know: Volume 1
Meg and Jessica school each other on Michael Kors, the origin of The Big Apple, pigeon pee, John Lennon’s alien sighting, prison ferries, the Harlem tiger, the rules of dodge ball, and West Side Cowboys.
Killing Fields + Kooks Against Kink
Meg dives into The Killing Fields of East New York by Stacy Horn and uncovers the roots of the downfall of a Brooklyn neighborhood. Jessica tells of the time the moral majority and radical feminists got in bed together to legislate against porn...
Wire Hangers + Black Gloves
Meg revisits Christina Crawford’s Mommie Dearest, the first of many “tell-all memoirs exposing the rough childhoods of Old Hollywood’s nepo babies. Jessica gets the skinny on Gloria Swanson’s appearance at the New School and why the venue was j...
