Not to be pushy but my favorite podcast should also be yours. It’s called Las Culturistas and it’s available on all the podcast platforms - so no excuses!

Listening to Las Culturistas is my weekly dose of queer culture injected right into my earholes. The show is hosted by two genuine best friends, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang met in college at NYU. They mention their origin stories and college days often, even having made some cool friendships along the way (like Oscar-nominee Stephanie Hsu). The two guys bonded over Nicki Minaj’s Superbass at a party and since then, they’ve been lifelong supporters of each other. From Kylie Minogue concerts (pre-Padame at World Pride) and trips together to interesting queer hotspots like Fire Island to running one of the most successful pop-culture podcasts out today, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang truly live on the ever-beating pulse of pop culture. And queer folks who love pop culture need to be tuning in!

Get to Know Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang!

Matt and Bowen each have extensive careers, finding success in comedy from humble beginnings. After years of growing up silently absorbing queer culture (although Matt’s favorite show at the time was Desperate Housewives) and exploring their sexual orientations in college (not with each other mama!), the two met like planets colliding. Working their comedy and growing their voices performing as NYU students and members of Story Pirates, a traveling story-telling non-profit, they recognized the talent in one another. In a world where sometimes two gays in the same room can go at it like rabid rats, it’s great to see a positive friendship blossom. Nearly a decade is how long they’ve been working on Las Culturistas, building a brand that would eventually be supported by Will Ferrell’s production company, Big Money Players. Episodes with special guests, iconic hot takes, and insightful takes on current events (they went  OFF during the SAG-AFTRA strike) are delectable hours of audio bliss.

While Matt and Bowen haven’t collaborated on much outside of Las Culturistas (and the live annual Las Culturistas Awards Show), the one time they shared the big screen was iconic. The two best friends starred in the 2022 movie Fire Island, written by their mutual buddy Joel Kim Booster. About the gay haven off Long Island that’s welcomed LGBTQ+ tourists for generations, the movie was a queer-centric retelling of Pride and Prejudice set on the titular spicy island- becoming a cinema classic for gays everywhere.

Matt Rogers is most known for his hilarious role on Showtime’s I Love That For You, alongside comedy icons Vanessa Bayer and Molly Shannon. His Christmas album, Have You Heard of Christmas?, was flying off digital shelves this year and bops like ‘RockaFellaCenta’ were even treated with music videos filmed at Rockefeller Center. He also voiced Twink in the short-lived, poorly marketed, but genuinely funny gay spy animated show, Queer Force. It was way more creative than people give it credit for and the jank trailer ruined the show before it even hit the streamer.

A Great Podcast for SNL Fans

Bowen is best known for his past few years of hard work on Saturday Night Live and his breakout role in Nora From Queens. He’ll also be in the upcoming Wicked movies- on the podcast, he often gives insight into Ariana, how the production is going, and what we can expect from our dear mother Elphaba. Please watch some of my favorite sketches he’s in: The Iceberg. I enjoy Bowen’s respectful transparency about working at Saturday Night Life, his honesty about the rewarding (but draining) work the job requires, and how this season has been one of his favorites due to the talented ensemble cast. In their End of Year recap episode, Yang expressed how he’s receiving a level of “care” at SNL, being treated like a valued member of a united team. Work-life balance is something everyone struggles with, and celebrities on a busy show like SNL aren’t immune to the human struggle of stress. It’s also great to hear about the celebrity interactions he has on set, of which there are many!

The celebrity guests that stop by the show add to the dynamic conversations Rogers and Yang excel at. The Seth Meyers episode brought an insightful conversation about his come-up in comedy overseas and history at SNL. Juxtapose that to guests like Patty Harrison who show up just for the good time, and you have a mix of episodes that are either heavily heartfelt or light and hilarious!

I’m impressed by the way the co-hosts can navigate big conversations. For example, an insightful interview with Roger’s absolute favorite, Kelly Clarkson, finally happened in 2023. Listeners know Matt Rogers is a Kelly Superfan, American Idol aficionado, and credits her season one win as the moment that defined culture in his life. As a fan of Matt, the show, and Kelly, it was exciting to see Las Culturistas finally meet the queen who brought Matt into the world of pop culture he excels in. Matt is the Trivial Pursuit Pop Trivia game piece if I was turned into a human.

The Show Gays On!

A fun segment near the end of every show is called "I Don’t Think So Honey” in which guests and co-hosts alike are given one minute to complain about something irking them in the mainstream. This can range from people chewing too loudly to hyper-specific instances of disgruntledness, like how Rep. Lauren Boebert got felt up at a concert for Beetlejuice: The Musical. It’s a cathartic release of stress and I find myself nodding along to their complaints, even the ones I haven’t personally experienced in my own life or career. Their relatability is as entertaining as it is palpable.

The big question Matt and Bowen ask their guests is “What was the moment that made you say culture is for you?”, meaning did any past moment in media give you an exciting awakening into the world of pop culture? Past examples from celebrity guests include watching Monty Python or seeing Wicked on Broadway. From my years of loyal listening, I believe Matt’s moment was seeing Kelly Clarkson win American Idol season 1 and Bowen’s was MadTV back in the early 2000s. Sometimes I think about how I’d answer, and iCarly is a major contender.

The Rules of Culture. Whenever the co-hosts say something iconic, they’ll catch it and dub it a “rule of culture”. They’ve even hinted at a coffee table book with the rules listed over their years of episodes. The Rules usually make sense in context, always offer a hot take worthy of conversation, and never fail to make me smile. Some brave fan on Reddit compiled them all here. A few of my favorite examples are below:

Rule 3: current events are happening as we speak

Rule 4: Saoirse Ronan is more talented than Ben Affleck

Rule 22: Disney kids, they show up and they know their lines

Rule 24: Apples and oranges? They should start saying Beyoncés and Taylors

Rule 33: all Ravenclaws were libertarian

Rule 35: unfortunately Zuckerberg has a fat ass

Rule 40: Coke and Pepsi have an ancient rivalry

Rule 58: if there's a Karla on Survivor, you know they're going far

Rule 79: some women need to be by the sea

Rule 98: Brie Larson was the sister in Trainwreck

Rule 103: you can't stop the beat

Rule 134: Denise Richards is canon

Some jokes are niche, and some are Real Housewives references that you may not enjoy- but it’s water cooler talk for Grindr HQ and that’s wonderful.

The specialty episodes are wonderful little surprises on my morning commute some days. They did a ranking of the Top 200 Moments in Culture, created the Great Global Songbook for the top 300 songs for their 300th episode, and now they’re working on the top 400 People in Culture to celebrate 400 episodes. Insane to think about them doing this for years- it’s just a testament to their friendship.

The honesty both Matt and Bowen convey is extremely admirable. Matt’s been super open about how a breakup in 2023 derailed his happiness. I appreciated the raw look at his emotions and was so happy to see him rise above the negativity to produce an iconic Christmas album. He even went on tour last month and put his all into those performances.

If you watched CNN this New Year like I did, you got to see Matt and Bowen talking with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper around 11 PM. The hilarious segment is just four iconic gays just talking and vibing. It’s actually perfect, especially bringing up pass-around bottoms. I’m sure the CNN control room was shook by that.

Las Culturistas is a Community

If you’re interested in keeping up with Las Culturustas, you can go to the show’s Reddit where people break down episodes, what Matt and Bowen are up to, and fan theories. For example, Matt mentioned he sat next to a creepy celebrity on a plane and people sleuthed, ultimately landing on the mystery freak as (allegedly) Jared Leto. The forums are also just a nice page to talk about the show, however beware of haters. And don’t contribute to the hate either!

I had a really solid community of queer friends when I lived in Washington D.C. a few years ago for college. But COVID scattered us to the ole gay winds and being in New Jersey has left me missing that connection. People to watch Ru Paul’s Drag Race with or complain about our parents asking well-intentioned but too invasive questions. Someone to bond over the trials and tribulations of the queer suburban experience. Las Culturistas helps to fill that rainbow void.

On my wickedly boring drive to work in Trenton, usually over an hour long, the saving grace is Las Culturistas. Matt and Bowen keep me awake in the early mornings when the sun is barely out. They keep me cracking up after long days and even longer drives home. I am grateful for their humor, wit, and commitment to each other. The two always impress by supercharging each other. Bringing out the best in one another, and their loyal listeners is what makes Las Culturistas a cultural phenomenon.

Las Culch Fans and Awards

The fans of Las Culturistas are loyal and are appreciated by the duo. The co-hosts came up with funny identifiers for their audience, helping make fun little sub-groups in the already niche show. In coming up with a name for fans of the show, it was decided that four would be welcomed: Publicists, Readers, Kateighs, and Finalists. I’m a Publicist because I always talk about the show and love pop-culture news. Finalists are ultimate icons, like frequent show guest D’Arcy Carden. Yellowjacket’s Melanie Lynskey is another finalist (and super-fan of the show, her episode is one of the best of the year!). Readers and Kateighs are just another goofy fan identifier, it’s just picking your preference. And that’s fun!

Finally, an annual award show with awesome-looking trophies was made by Matt and Bowen. The Las Culturistas Awards are crazy and camp and everything we want in our entertainment. You don’t even care that it’s a fully biased award show because Padam Padam is playing and everyone is laughing. And sometimes we just need that.