“I might be wrong, but I seriously doubt it”: fertility, identity and The Fantasy of Reality w/ Dr. Rachel E. Silverman

In which the Historians discuss representations and depictions of fertility and infertility in popular culture, BravoTV and in real life; learn about women's health practices, particularly well-women's exams; discuss Dr. Silverman’s edited volume titled The Fantasy of Reality: Critical Essays on The Real Housewives (2015), play a new game called “Cheeseburger in Paradise, and much, much more!

Image courtesy of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

“Three Kids Under Thirty? How About Three Degrees Before Thirty”: Race, Empire and Sonja Morgan w/ Haley Shrorer

The Historians talk about the importance of fashion and material culture for denoting race and ethnicity, class, and religious associations in colonial Spain, the accuracy of RHOD’s portrayal of Dallas culture, debate the possibility of a Housewives cage match, discuss the importance of material culture, learn about how materiality and attire alter individual behavior both on Bravo and within the colonial Spanish empire, and much, more!. 

Image courtesy of UT Austin

“Come sit with me, I have time for all your nonsense”: RHONJ Feminism, John Legend, and the Politics of Immigration w/ Dr. Kumi Silva

In which the Historians respond to John Legend being named sexiest man alive, discuss the ways that Bravo shows relationship to feminism, how the Guidice’s experiences with incarceration, immigration, and deportation take on a different tone than what we might see at the border, the now infamous Andy Cohen interview with Teresa and Joe after his deportation, and much, much more!

Image courtesy of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Happy New Year!

HonH is taking this week off, but we’ll be back with an all new episode on January 15. For more HonH content, head over to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram updates and opinions about the latest shows on BravoTV and Bravoleberties.

Happy Holidays!

“I teach for a living, but I read as a hobby”: The Business of Reality TV, Santa Clause Andy Cohen and the #HonH Holiday Special with Dr. Martina Baldwin

In which the Historians break out their textured jingle-bell sweaters for a special in-studio holiday edition of HonH to discuss the history of Santa Clause, put to rest the eternal question of whether Coto de Caza is the sticks, learn the long and storied history of BravoTV as well as about critical media literacy, the (lack of) guilty pleasures in watching reality television, hear about what interviewing two Bravolebs was like and get a little tea, discuss the technical expertise of WWHL, listen to Kacey jingle some bells, attempt to answer the oldest chicken and the egg question: do the audiences shape the shows or the shows shape the audiences, and much, much more!

Image courtesy of CSU Fullerton

“Don’t try to fool me, I’m a historian and I know how to dig up the facts”: Housewife Politics, First Ladies, and the Reality-TV Presidency w/ Dr. Nicole Ansolver

In which the Historians talk about BravoTV in the classroom, play politics with the Housewives, discuss the art of leveling criticism when someone’s got to go, the connections between BravoTV and the First Ladies, compare CSPAN notes, learn about how women inform male-centered presidential histories, grapple with some of the implications of a reality star president with Housewife supporters and detractors, analyze the Kavanaugh fight on RHOBH, the politics of silence with Kyle Richards and Eddie Judge, RHOA’s activism in BLM and Bravo’s depictions of “mainstream politics,” and much, much more! 

Image courtesy of Indiana University Northwest

“Don’t let the elbow patches fool you, I watch a lot of television”: Dennis the Hot Dog King, #FergusonSyllabus, and franchise culture in Black America with Dr. Marcia Chatelain

In which the Historians discuss the ways that elite reality stars think about money, learn about the #FergusonSyllabus, interrogate the ways that Bravo discusses issues pertaining to race and racism in America, converse over Bethenny Frankel’s disaster relief work, learn about how people indicate their social class based on their consumption patterns, think critically about the connections between Dennis the Hot Dog King of Atlanta and the intersection of post-1968 civil rights struggle and the rise of the fast food industry, and converse about Tamara’s confrontation with her son Ryan over his support for Trump and The Wall.

Image courtesy of hastac.org

“Be Careful What You Say, I Might Write About It In The Future”: The Armenian Genocide, Oral Testimony, and The Politics of Memory w/ Nora Lessersohn

In which the Historians learn about the Armenian Genocide, some of the implications and politics of genocide denial, how testimonials on the Housewives franchises can be great tools for understanding Lifewriting Theory, learn how shared grief helps shape community identity within the Armenian-American community, dig into the Kardiashians’ personal histories with the American Genocide, learn about Nora Lessersohn’s family history, speculate about a Real Housewives of Boston, learn how testimony resonates as a form of identity creation and how this relates to Bravo television, how Carol and Dorinda’s trip to London to recover Anthony’s ashes provides a window into the ways that memory and identity get imparted through narrative, and much, much more!

Image courtesy of academia.edu

“You’re Gonna Have to Work to Pass This Jen-Ed, and that’s Jen-Ed with a ‘J’!”: Shannon in the Woods, The Nuns of Saint Croix, and the Medieval Roots of the Housewives with Dr. Jennifer Edwards

In which the Historians learn about the many connections between Medieval Europe and Bravo including the similarities between Roman sumptuary laws and the Housewives, comparisons between Erika Jayne’s glam squad and Lancelot preparing for battle, why a chair spread disease, the ways that a Thuringian princess and Frankish queen, Saint Radegund, was like LVP, Jill Zarin, Karen Huger and other matriarchs from the Bravo Housewife franchises, Bravo News launches with court reporter Dr. Jen Edwards down in South Carolina, and much much more!

Photo courtesy of Manhattan College

Episode 5: “Some People Think I’m Mean, F—- Them”: Peter Pan Syndrome, Extended Adolescence, and Comparatives in Toxic Masculinity w/ Dr. Emily Ryalls

In which the Historians compare the men of Vanderpump Rules and Southern Charm, the privilege of extended adolescence, toxic masculinity, Bullying, feminist and LGBTQ+ representations on Bravo, Reiki therapy, guess “Who ‘Probably’ Did It,” the importance of female friendships to the project of feminism, and much much more! 

Photo courtesy of California Polytechnic State University

Episode 4: “When in Doubt, Take a Page from One of My Books”: #HonH Year Zero, Book Publishing, and the Apology Economy w/ Dawn Durante

In which the Historians talk about the #HonH origin story, conferences, speculate about who isn’t Andy Cohen’s favorite housewife, the Suffrage Centennial, learn about what goes into making books, gab about Housewives’ product lines, and Dawn educates the Historians about the Housewives’ “apology economy.”

Image Courtesy of Dawn Durante

Episode 3: “I’ve Got a Ph.D. in Shade and Tea”: Creating Community, the Politics of Party Planning, and the Eco-Systems of Fashion w/ Dr. Tanisha C. Ford →

In which the Historians interview Dr. Tanisha C. Ford about the parallels between Karen Hueger and Molly Moon, the role of fashion in creating community and Project Runway, the politics of hosting parties, why clothes are so important to everyone’s day-to-day lives, why Million Dollar Listing LA is better than Million Dollar Listing New York, the eco-system of fashion, and much much more!

Image courtesy of tanishacford.com

Episode 2: "Don't Start None, There Won't Be None": Gentrification, Segregation, and RHOP w/ Dr. Tikia K. Hamilton

This episode the Historians on Housewives are joined by Tikia K. Hamilton to discuss her work on the history of school segregation in D.C., play Historians Hot Take: Lightning Round, explore the politics on RHOA and RHOP, and speculate about why Kim Fields produced a bounty hunters’ funeral.

Tikia K. Hamilton, Image Courtesy of the History Department, Princeton University

Episode 1: The Pilot

The Historians introduce themselves, play a game, and discuss the legacies of slavery and the family histories on Bravo's Southern Charm.