The queer ‘dom-com’ shows how intimate scenes can tell us more about character than dialogue

This year has delivered a string of surreal pop-culture moments: Katy Perry in space, Katy Perry going official with former Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, the jumbotron affair at the Coldplay concert, the Louvre heist, the rise of Labubus and JoJo Siwa's unlikely romance with Love Island's Chris Hughes.   Liv and Miranda discuss their favourite moments of the year as well as those things they'd like to leave behind.    Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda's 2025 highlights    Liv: Hard Truths (film) A Real Pain (film) One of Those Days (film)  Pillion (film)  Such Brave Girls (TV)  Mo (TV)  Kehlani (singer)  Sasha Keable (singer)    Miranda:  Fela Kuti: Fear No Man (Podcast)  Pipeline Left to Die (podcast)  Hamlet Hail to Thief (theatre)    More details on everything we chatted about in this episode!  Read Chloe Hadjimatheou's Salt Path Investigation HERE  Raynor Winn's response to the Observer's investigation HERE Miranda's Hamlet Hail to Thief review HERE   Let's chat! Send us your voice notes and predictions for 2026!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email     

The children’s author tackled the hard parts of growing up with humour and empathy

Spotify Wrapped is here! All of the usual suspects are dominating the global charts - Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Drake… not much has changed from last year. So how do emerging artists breakthrough on the world's largest streaming platform?    The new film, Pillion, starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling is a masterclass in how intimate scenes can add to the plot and develop characters. But how do you create ethical and compelling sex scenes for film? Ita O'Brien, the intimacy coordinator behind Normal People, I May Destroy You and Sex Education shares all the behind the scenes secrets.    Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE     

The former Little Mix star’s taste for theatre, chaos and camp is helping her forge a successful solo path

We're back in the land of Oz with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo for the second half of the Wicked adaptation. It's a box office hit, but critics have been divided. Was making a Wicked sequel the best or worst move for the franchise?   Timothée Chalamet is flooding Liv and Miranda's timelines with a string of press stunts: from a spoof marketing Zoom call and designer merch collabs to commissioning orange blimps to hype his new film. So who is the little-known 29-year-old Glaswegian behind the stunts who is collaborating with Timothée, Charli XCX, and Billie Eilish?   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Read Wendy's review of Wicked: For Good HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:    Liv: Burgonia (film)   Miranda:  This Ain't Rock 'n' Roll: Pop Music, the Swastika and the Third Reich by Daniel Rachel (book)    Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email     

Where do we draw the line with problematic artists? Last week, Michael Jackson became the first artist to land a top-ten hit in six different decades - right as the Michael biopic trailer dropped and racked up a record-breaking 116 million views in 24 hours.    Meanwhile, the battle for the best Christmas advert is officially underway. John Lewis, M&S, Aldi and Sainsbury's are all vying for your festive cheer. Joining Liv and Miranda to dissect the ad wars is legendary advertising guru Sir John Hegarty, the creative force behind some of the most iconic campaigns in the past sixty years, including Levi's, Lynx and Audi.   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE   

David Harbour hasn't posted about the latest season of Stranger Things and has skipped major cast interviews, despite being one of the show's stars. Liv and Miranda sit down with a crisis PR expert to explore how Netflix might be managing the fallout from Harbour's ex Lily Allen's breakup album - and the Daily Mail's claims that Millie Bobby Brown filed a harassment and bullying complaint against him.   Is getting zero star ratings from critics and initially receiving 0% on Rotten Tomatoes the best thing that could have happened for Kim Kardashian's new Disney+ series? More than three million people tuned in to watch in the first weekend alone.   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:  Liv: Die My Love (Film)  Miranda:  Broken English (Documentary out next year)  Listener recommendations: Celebrity Traitors‘ Mark Bonnar recommends: O Brother (book) Lee Miller exhibition at the Tate  Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Links to everything mentioned ‘In The Margins':  For The Love of Jamaica Grammy nominations - Olivia Dean Miss Piggy film    Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email 

How did The Celebrity Traitors become British television's most unmissable series? This week's finale looks set to break records - one in four UK adults tuned in for the launch. After 40 years, MTV is shutting down nearly all its UK channels. Once the gateway to pop fame, the music video may seem obsolete in the streaming era - yet Rosalia's latest release, Berghain, is blowing up. So, is 2025 the death of the pop music video or its rebirth? Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:    Miranda:  Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe    Liv: Sorry Baby (Film)    Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Links to everything mentioned ‘In The Margins':  Billie Eilish calls out Billionaires  Olivia Dean breaking records Is having a boyfriend embarrassing now? By Chante Joseph     Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email  

Has Lily Allen shared too much in West End Girl, her first album in 7 years? She's said it's “not gospel” but it reveals painful details of the breakdown of her non-mononymous marriage.    Has Strictly Come Dancing lost its sparkle now that Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly are making their exit? TV critic Scott Bryan shares his thoughts.   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:    Miranda:  Dave's new album ‘The Boy Who Played the Harp'   Liv: Yasmin Lacey's new album ‘Teal Dreams'   Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Links to everything mentioned ‘In The Margins':  Grace Wales Bonner ROSALÍA's new music video ‘Berghain' Vogue World 2025: Hollywood  Wayward (TV show) The Perfect Neighbour (TV show)   Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email   

Jacqueline Wilson was the author who carried millennial women from childhood into adolescence. Her books didn't shy away from tough subjects like depression, abuse and grooming. Now, as she releases Perfect Imperfect, the long-awaited follow-up to her 1997 classic The Illustrated Mum, Liv and Miranda discuss how she mainstreamed taking girlhood seriously.   It's been a wild week in the art world: a heist at the Louvre, A-listers swanning through a British Museum ball trying to outshine the Met Gala, and the Frieze Art Fair came to London. But behind the Chanel and champagne lies one big question: why does a multi-billion-pound industry have a money problem?   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:  Miranda:  Thorpe Park Fright Night Liv: Pillion (film) Santosh (film) The Stimming Pool (film) I swear (film)   Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Links to everything mentioned in this episode:  Get a copy of Jacqueline Wilson's new book - Picture Imperfect - HERE    Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email   

This week, Netflix released a three-part series on Victoria Beckham's evolution from Spice Girl to fashion designer. Produced by David Beckham's company, it joins a growing list of self-made celeb docs - from Harry & Meghan to Beyoncé, Pamela Anderson, and Robbie Williams.   London and Paris Fashion Weeks sparked online outrage - with models walking in metal mouth braces, bound arms, bodysuits printed with male genitalia, and trad-wife-style aprons. With major houses like Chanel, Dior, Gucci, and Balenciaga now mostly led by men, Liv and Miranda ask The Observer's Jo Jones what's gone wrong.   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:    Miranda:  ‘It Always Was' (song) by Joshua Idehen ‘Cocksucker Blues' (documentary)   Liv ‘Dreaming Whilst Black' (Series)   Cat Burns (!!!) The Assessment (Film)   Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email   

Taylor Swift's new, record-breaking album The Life of a Showgirl is dividing a once-faithful fandom. Following the success of the epic Eras tour, Swifties are breaking cover to critique the star for the first time - particularly over one song which seems to pick a fight with Charli XCX.   Two major London clubs, G-A-Y and Corsica, announced their closure this week, marking another blow to the city's nightlife. Miranda came of age in the 1990s Manchester club scene; Liv did the same in South London in the 2010s. At this rate, traditional clubs it looks like could disappear entirely by the end of the decade. What happens if clubbing culture goes extinct?    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:  Miranda:  Yushy - Section 63 (book) Free Party: A Folk History (documentary) Liv: Jewel's Catch One (documentary) Curse of: America's Next Top Model (podcast series)    Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Read Kitty Empire's review of Taylor Swift's Life of a Showgirl - HERE   Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email    Clubs mentioned:   G-A-Y (London) Corsica Studios (London) KIKI (Manchester) VOID (Manchester) Tribeca (Manchester) Proud Bar (Somerset) Queer Junction (Sheffield) Chic (Birmingham) Jumbi Peckham (London) La Camionara (London) Coven (London) Blitz (London) Cream (Liverpool) The Haçienda (Manchester) Fridge (London) Trade (London) Ritz (Manchester) The PSV (Public Service Vehicle) Club (Hulme) Babes (London) Pxssy Palace (London) Bongo's Bingo (UK) Jewel's Catch One (LA, US)   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE   

Why is Irish culture having such a moment? Netflix's new blockbuster House of Guinness is the latest in a run of Irish TV hits following Normal People, Derry Girls and Bad Sisters. Musicians CMAT and Kneecap are breaking out, Nicola Coughlan and Paul Mescal are dominating screens, and writers like Sally Rooney and Claire Keegan continue to top bestseller lists. Amelia Dimoldenberg has awkwardly ‘dated' top A-list guests like Billie Eilish, Louis Theroux, and, of course, Andrew Garfield on her viral YouTube show. This week, Chicken Shop Date turned 10 - where does she go from here? Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:  Miranda: The Irish Passport  The Blind Boy Podcast Baxter Dury - Allbarone album  Liv: Four Mothers  Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE  Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email    Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE   

Girl group members turned solo artists have traditionally struggled to find success in Britain.  Has Jade Thirlwall from Little Mix  finally broken the curse? Listen to the Observer's new culture podcast - We Have Notes - HERE  

Former Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall has just dropped her debut solo album and it's already reached number three in the charts. For decades, women leaving girl groups have struggled to replicate their success on their own. Has Jade finally broken the curse?   The podcast industry was built off the back of true crime, but the genre has now spread to every corner of the media: Netflix docu-series, ITV dramas and blockbuster book deals. But can these stories ever be told ethically?    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:    Miranda's recommendation - You Had to be There by Jodie Harsh  Liv's recommendation - CKTRL - Spirit Read more ‘On My Radar' recommendations The Observer's New Review HERE    Follow us on Social Media and send your voice notes to @WeHaveNotes_pod on Instagram and TikTok  

The week in culture, annotated. Writer and journalist Liv Little and Observer critic Miranda Sawyer get notes from editors all the time - now it's their turn to hand them out. Every Wednesday morning, Liv and Miranda weigh in on the latest cultural happenings, from reality TV meltdowns and art house films, to gallery openings and TikTok trends. Smart, funny, and full of sharp observations. We Have Notes is culture with commentary.