'Selling The City,' Khloe K.'s New Podcast & Ina Garten's Memoir
Recommendations for your weekend
Welcome to Gibson Johns’ pop culture newsletter — subscribe to get recommendations of what to watch, read and listen to in your inbox every week!
Subscribe to my new weekly podcast “Gabbing with Gib”: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube
In case you missed it, the list of everything that I watched in December will be the last free version of my monthly watch lists.
I’ve been writing this newsletter for over two years completely for free and, in order for me to be able to keep doing it, I’m going to be launching a paid version of this newsletter.
These Friday recommendation posts will remain free, but the monthly watch lists, plus monthly lists of what I’m currently watching, as well as any other extra musings, recommendations or thoughts I have, will be for paid subscribers.
I’m so grateful to everyone who reads this every week, and I’ve gotten such great feedback over the last two years that these lists are helpful and that people look forward to them, so I’d love your support to help me sustain this newsletter as a completely independent writer and creator (buttons to “pledge” your support are below—you won’t be charged until my first paid post is sent out).
If you’d like to remain a free subscriber, I totally understand, too! You’ll continue to receive these Friday posts as normal.
Gibson
Read
If you’ve ever wondered what movie producers actually do, read this helpful new explainer. (Brooks Barnes for The New York Times)
This opinion piece that argues that Mia Thornton’s storyline is not entertaining on “Real Housewives of Potomac” this season made the rounds in the Bravosphere this week. (Victoria Uwumarogie for Essence)
Two of the kids from “School of Rock” just got married—and nine of their castmates were at the wedding! (Madison Malone Kircher for The New York Times)
Listen
Khloe Kardashian Interviews Scott Disick on “Khloe in Wonder Land”
The first episode of Khloe’s new podcast premiered this week, and it was… fine! I watched it on X (where it drops in video form one day before the audio version becomes available), it felt like a prolonged scene from “The Kardashians” — which, if you follow the family religiously like I do, means that it delivered more than a few juicy tidbits to demand my interest. It’s a bit weirdly edited and I don’t love the name, but I’ll probably check this out whenever she has noteworthy guests.
“Be Ready When Luck Happens” by Ina Garten (+ Interview on “The Oprah Podcast”)
I’m stepping into my audiobook era, and I kicked things off with Ina Garten’s recently-released memoir, which was an absolute delight. I loved learning more about her life, and it felt really nice to get through a book during a fall in which I completely fell off of my reading grind. As an avid podcast listener, fitting audobooks into my routine shouldn’t be an issue.
The below conversation with Oprah was a nice little post-book bonus from Ina, too!
Watch
“Selling The City” (Netflix)
Listen, I was as skeptical as you can get about us getting yet another real estate reality show, but… enough people told me to get into this latest one that I finally gave in. And I’m glad I did! Eleanora is a fantastic central character, it’s really fun having Steve Gold back on our screens, and the rest of the cast has very wide-ranging skill levels which makes it hilarious and dramatic all at once. An easy, fun watch.
“The Brutalist” (in theaters)
An audacious, impressive feat of filmmaking. Adrien Brody is fantastic playing a Holocaust survivor over the course of over three decades after moving to America. The film is three and a half hours long and features an intermission (which I kind of loved), but it’s worth the commitment—even if I found the second half to be a bit of a mess, ultimately it works.
“The Brutalist” took top honors at the 2025 Golden Globes on Sunday, so it’s also worth seeing even if you just want to keep up with the awards season conversation.
The Hollywood Reporter’s 2025 Actress Roundtable
This came out last Friday, and it’s worth the watch! Some of it is a bit self-indulgent, but I found this convo between the likes of Demi Moore, Angelina Jolie and Zendaya to be a great listen.
Self-Promotion
Next “Housewives” Franchise, Who Succeeds Andy Cohen, Meghan Markle’s New Show & More (Listener Mailbag)
Answered a bunch of listener mailbag questions about all things Bravo, “Real Housewives,” the Kardashians, Meghan Markle’s new show and more.
Discussing The Latest From RHOP, RHOBH, RHONY & RHOSLC
Taria Faison, host of the “What Else Is Going On?” podcast, joined me this week to chat about the first new episodes of the year for the four currently-airing “Real Housewives” franchises. I also shared my thoughts on Karen Huger’s reunion no-show and Craig Conover breaking his silence on his split from Paige DeSorbo.
Currently
In the city this weekend and can’t stop thinking about the devastating fires in L.A. Sending love to everyone affected. Here’s how you might be able to help.