Shows / Syllabus
Syllabus
Two recovering straight-A Millenial ladies just stompin' around and figuring it all out. Join Ashby and Coco as they trade in textbooks for real talk from the school of life. Each week they dive into articles, books, conversations, and culture—unpacking the complicated themes that shape our world. With curiosity, humor, and a dash of existential dread, they apply the only skills they have (read: turning everything into a grad school discussion seminar) to try to make sense of these nonsensical…
Episodes
SyllabusEast of Eden
This week, Coco and Ashby watch Netflix’s East of Eden and revisit the John Steinbeck novel that inspired it. They love the performances and appreciate how Zoe…
SyllabusSense & Sensibility
This week, Coco and Ashby get cozy with Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility. They discuss their relationships with Austen’s work, and while neither tends to…
SyllabusThe Uncomplicated Magic of Dua Lipa
This week, Coco and Ashby close out the summer with pop music’s most literary It Girl: Dua Lipa. Coco takes Ashby on a journey through her algorithm and her…
SyllabusBackrooms & Obsession: Horror Movie Summer
This week, Ashby and Coco decide to give themselves nightmares by watching Backrooms and Obsession. Note: this episode contains SPOILERS. They briefly touch on…
SyllabusShaboozey, Lone Women & Sinners: Reflections on Country Music & American Western Iconography
This week, Ashby and Coco ask: can Shaboozey explain America? While that’s too much pressure to put on one (very talented and very likeable) artist, they use…
SyllabusSummer House Reunion: Our Unfiltered Reactions to Part 1 (of 3)
This week, Ashby and Coco, along with the entirety of the Bravoverse, tune in to Part 1 of the Summer House reunion. In this episode, we get into Lindsay…
SyllabusThe Importance of Childfree Representation
This week, Coco shares reflections on being a childfree woman in this current moment: at the intersection of far-right pronatalism and declining birthrate…
SyllabusReading Yesteryear: Gender Fantasies & Fascism
Ashby and Coco continue their reading journey with spring’s hottest novel, Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke, who also co-hosts the incredible Diabolical Lies…
SyllabusLindy West and Why Women Don't Talk About Marriage (but maybe we should)
First off, a quick apology: this week’s episode was recorded on slightly different equipment than usual, which led to some audio issues. Thank you for your…
SyllabusSummer House Scandal: West, Amanda, Disloyalty & Discourse
Scandal This week, Coco takes Ashby on a two-part journey through Summer House, introducing her to her friends (and frenemies) who love to party in the…
SyllabusSummer House Deep Dive: Recapping Kyle & Amanda's Relationship Story
Kyle & Amanda This week, Coco takes Ashby on a two-part journey through Summer House, introducing her to her friends (and frenemies) who love to party in the…
SyllabusEp 12: Women's History Month Special: On "Radical" Women
In this special Women’s History Month episode, Ashby and Coco dive into the work of three transformative women: Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, and Greta…
SyllabusRec Room: Discussing 'Hamnet' & our 2026 Awards Season Roundup!
This week, Ashby and Coco talk about their big picture Oscar feelings, go through the nominees for Best Picture, and shoutout a few films that didn’t get quite…
SyllabusThe Thin Crust of Niceness: On Critics, Trump, and AI Extraction
This week, Ashby and Coco shift into grad school discussion mode as they dive into two excellent essays: “Within the Pretense of No Pretense” by Greg Jackson…
SyllabusRec Room: Phantom Thread
Happy Valentine’s Day and welcome to the House of Woodcock. This week, Ashby and Coco watch Phantom Thread, a movie Coco has been thinking about it since she…
SyllabusRec Room: Heated Rivalry Top 10 Takeaways
This week, Ashby and Coco watch Heated Rivalry, and while they definitively do not think you need more takes from straight ladies in the suburbs, they…
SyllabusEp. 10: Sentimental D(e)ads
This week, Ashby and Coco watch two excellent movies, D(e)ad and Sentimental Value, that explore the complex relationships between fathers and their adult…
SyllabusRec Room: Best of 2025 & Welcoming 2026
This week, Ashby and Coco are in the Rec Room, recapping some of their favorite purchases, media, and lessons learned from 2025, as well as exploring some…
SyllabusEp. 9: Lily Allen and the Terror of Divorce
This week on Syllabus, Ashby and Coco dive into Lily Allen’s latest album, West End Girl, while reflecting on a classic Anne Helen Petersen essay, Blue…
SyllabusRec Room: Frankenstein, Audiobooks, and more ways to get cozy
This week on Syllabus, Ashby and Coco get cozy with some movie, book, and, yes, Dungeons and Dragons recommendations. They highlight some great audiobooks to…
SyllabusEp. 8: Work Sucks (I know) Part 2
Show Notes for Part 2 This week on Syllabus, Ashby and Coco continue their conversation about work and all its complications. You can listen to Part 1 here. In…
SyllabusEp. 7: Work Sucks (I Know) Part 1
This week on Syllabus, Ashby and Coco attempt to distill 5+ years of conversations down to a breezy couple of hours. Do they succeed? You can be the judge!…
SyllabusRec Room: Diane Keaton, One Battle After Another, & Other Thoughts
This week on Syllabus, Ashby and Coco remember the late Diane Keaton and celebrate her authenticity, her film legacy, and her certified icon status. From her…
SyllabusRec Room: Will This Fix It?
This week, Ashby and Coco ask: Will this fix it? In which they explore the the coping mechanisms, habits, and, yes, of course, purchases that we turn to in an…
SyllabusEp. 6: Materialists
(Heads up: There's an extremely brief discussion toward the end of this episode of a sexual assault plot point in the film. Nothing graphic or detailed, but…
SyllabusEp. 5: Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder (Part 2 of 2)
Show Notes: Part 2 A note about this episode: We had some recording issues that impacted the audio quality. Editor Ashby worked her magic, and the issue is…
SyllabusEp. 4: Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder (Part 1 of 2)
Butter: A Novel x Part 1 A note about this episode: We had some recording issues that impacted the audio quality. Editor Ashby worked her magic, and the issue…
SyllabusRec Room: The Podcasts that Made Us
This week, Ashby and Coco crack open their podcast apps and their emotional archives to ask: Why do we listen to the shows we do? What podcasts have stuck with…
SyllabusEp. 3: Overthinking Pop Girlies: An Old Moral Panic x New Sabrina Carpenter Album
This week, Ashby and Coco (cautiously) enter the glitter-filled group chat to ask: What is a pop girlie? And who gets to be one? And will we ever stop being so…
SyllabusRec Room: Hannah Einbinder, Josh Johnson, Chris Fleming, & more.
This week on Syllabus Pod: Ashby and CoCo get personal about their lifelong relationships with comedy (and Ashby reveals a superpower). Whether you’re a fan of…
SyllabusRec Room: Dying for Sex, Farmer Wants a Wife, Babygirl, Survival of the Thickest
[Originally Published June 2nd, 2025] Real Fan Deep Cut: This early "bonus" episode from April 2025 features the gals just gabbin' about their latest TV…
SyllabusEp. 1: Our Brains are Broken: On Being Terminally Online in 2025
This week: A deep dive into a May 2025 piece in the New Yorker titled My Brain Finally Broke- written by everybody's favorite cool girl author Jia Tolentino-…
SyllabusEp. 2: Mental Health x Comedy
Discussing Cameron Esposito's 2025 special "Four Pills" on Dropout TV and Taylor Tomlinson's 2022 Netflix special "Look at You", in which both comedians…