Welcome to a very difficult and complicated episode that has left us completely shattered.

Welcome to Love to See It with Emma and Claire, a podcast about bro tears and bromance. This week on The Bachelorette, it was Men Tell All time, and we were blessed with lots of both. Plus, some aggressive confrontations, a surprise French kiss, and a gut-wrenching, unexpected departure. Joining us is actor and Bachelor parody recapper Kelly Johns.

Welcome to Love to See It with Emma and Claire, a podcast where we dive deep into the world of modern art and floral vulvas. Or as burgeoning painter and art critic Blake Moynes would say, “flowery… with a twist!”

Welcome to Love to See It with Emma and Claire, a podcast about throwing shade and BLEEPing off. We’re delving deep into the taboo and the edgy, as we get into the later stages of Katie Thurston’s journey to find love. We’re joined by Aubrey Gordon, cohost of the wellness podcast Maintenance Phase and the author of What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat.

We’re back for part two of the sexiest, most prudish, show on TV: Too Hot To Handle! Kristen Meinzer — host of Movie Therapy and By The Book — is joining us for this very important episode.

Welcome to Love to See It, where we go to the bashball field and beyond to find the perfect strains of masculinity to accompany your commute. Yes, this week was bursting with rippling, muscular aggression — but also, to be fair, some refreshingly non-toxic notes of manhood as well. We’re talking cuddling. We’re talking emotional vulnerability. We’re talking tears shared in brotherhood. And that’s just the beginning! We’re going to discuss all the masculine courting behaviors on display and more with our guests, Victoria Price and Mikayla Bartholomew of The Blckchelorettes podcast!

We’re talking about our favorite super sexy, super prudish, super anti-hot-vax-summer Netflix reality show, Too Hot to Handle! Season 2 has finally dropped, and today we’re sinking our teeth into the juicy first four episodes. Joining us like a hyena sharing some of the lion’s meat (as Cam would say), is Daryn Carp, host of PeopleTV’s Reality Check, Scissoring Isn’t A Thing and Shaken And Disturbed.

Welcome to Love to See It with Emma and Claire, a true crime podcast about a man with a dark secret… a man who was open to the possibility of one day becoming Bachelor. The darkest, dirtiest deed imaginable. This week, the investigation of Thomas’s crimes culminates in a dramatic show trial. This whole episode is one group date and a rose ceremony nested amid hours of angst over Thomas and a suitor’s return. Even if it felt like a lot of filler, that didn’t stop us from having over 12 pages of notes to discuss between just the two of us!

When in the course of Bachelor events it becomes necessary for a former Bachelorette to dissolve the bonds that tie her to the franchise and write a piercing, heart-wrenching essay about the racism she experienced during her time being affiliated with the show... we must talk about it, with help from HuffPost's senior national editor Erin Evans. Read Rachel Lindsay's full piece here: https://www.vulture.com/article/rachel-lindsay-the-bachelor-franchise.html

Trigger warning: In this episode, we talk about sexual assault in the context of Katie’s discussion of it in this week’s episode of The Bachelorette. This discussion starts around 40:00. If you or someone you know have been affected by sexual assault, you are not alone. RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline is here 24/7 with free, anonymous help. Call 800-656-HOPE or visit online.rainn.org. Welcome to Love to See It with Emma and Claire, a podcast about labor organizing in the entertainment industry. It’s so difficult to unionize the Bachelorette contestants because of high turnover and the fact that they aren’t technically employees, but solidarity finds a way. Last night, not for the first time and hopefully not for the last, the show’s contestants tried to come together as one unit to meet management at the bargaining table. It was a beautiful moment for unions, but also a brief one. Today we will chart the rise and fall of this Bachelorette union, which quickly fell apart once the men were made aware that they couldn’t negotiate to each have a full Katie. We’re joined today by Bachelor alum, blogger, and opera singer Sharleen Joynt and her husband and cohost of their fantastic podcast, Dear Shandy, Andy Levine! You can listen to Dear Shandy here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dear-shandy/id1525795747 Learn more about the Santa Ana Pueblo and their lands here: https://nativeamerica.travel/tribes/pueblo-of-santa-ana and https://santaana-nsn.gov/about/

Welcome to Love to See It with Emma and Claire, a podcast about Western-themed erotic cinema. This week, we’re examining a modern classic: season 17, episode 2 of The Bachelorette. Katie’s search for a lover begins in earnest this week, and she’s ready to lasso herself a muddy cowboy with purple fluffy handcuffs. This episode was very sex-positive, very cowboy-positive, and of course, very dramatic. To dig through this week’s recap with us, we’re joined by longtime friend of the pod, Bachelorette alum and attorney Michael Garofola.

It’s that time of year. 82% humidity in the 90-degree air, hordes of shrieking cicadas roaming the Eastern Seaboard, the dawning realization that you waited too long to reinstall your window AC unit — and, of course, the return of The Bachelorette. Now with 100% less Chris Harrison and 100% more forced references to sex toys! That’s right, Katie Thurston’s season premiere, baby. We’re here to dig into it with our wonderful guest, Molly Bernard!

After over half a decade podcasting about The Bachelor as Here to Make Friends, we have a new home and a new name! We’re extremely happy to be here at Stitcher, and to be launching Love to See It, a weekly podcast about The Bachelor and beyond. You may be wondering, what is this show going to be? We hope it will be a space for the same kind of free flowing commentary, snark and analysis about The Bachelor that we’ve always done, a space where we can chat with our favorite comedians, podcasters, critics, and Bachelor alums about all the minutiae of each episode. And to kick it off, we introduce you to the cast of Katie’s season! We’d love to hear from you about what you’d like to hear more of on the show! You can reach us at [email protected].

We’re going to begin this week’s podcast with a discussion on Taylor Nolan’s old tweets that resurfaced over the weekend and what accountability, consequence and empathy look like within the community of The Bachelor franchise. The tweets, which included hateful language toward a plethora of communities, were shocking, harmful, hurtful, triggering and absolutely indefensible. Later in the episode, we discuss the Women Tell All special with style icon and contestant on this season of The Bachelor, Chelsea Vaughn. Our Calls to Action this week: Stop AAPI Hate, an organization which includes a hate crime tracker, founded in the wake of rising and alarming violence toward Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic https://donate.givedirect.org/?cid=14711 The Asian American Federation, which specifically helps fight racism and for equality for NYC’s Asian community https://www.classy.org/give/253719/#!/donation/checkout Center for Disability Rights, a not-for-profit, community-based advocacy and service organization for people with all types of disabilities. https://cdrnys.org/donate/ The Disability Justice Culture Club, a collective of disabled and/or neurodivergent queer people of color operating out of East Oakland. https://bit.ly/3hONYqp The Trevor Project, which provides resources, support and a crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth. https://give.thetrevorproject.org/give/63307/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=EOY20&c_src2=headerdonatebutton  The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, a non-profit, all volunteer, fat-rights organization dedicated to protecting the rights and improving the quality of life for fat people. https://naafa.org/joindonate Jews For Racial and Economic Justice, a NYC-based progressive Jewish organization that fights against anti-Semitism alongside other marginalized communities. https://secure.everyaction.com/MItl2aYLe0-_DmwDEiGULA2 The Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum, http://auschwitz.org/en/donate/ The Native American Rights Fund, which provides legal assistance to Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide who might otherwise have gone without adequate representation. https://secure.narf.org/page/71129/donate/1?_ga=2.154578488.1462526717.1614619917-1113695369.1614619917 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

SPOILERS ALERT We will be discussing reporting that includes spoilers. Please be warned. Skip forward to approximately 16:00 to get to the spoiler-free recap. Joining us to discuss our reporting on Matt James’ statement from last night is HuffPost Senior Enterprise Editor Erin Evans. Read our piece: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/matt-james-the-bachelor-race-problem_n_60342be7c5b67c32961fef84?7jk It’s hometowns week on The Bachelor, and you know what they say: home is in Nemacolin, where you all live forever now. And so do your families! It’s like Noah’s ark -- each woman gets to save 2-3 loved ones from the pandemic. Just like Tayshia, Matt doesn’t get to actually travel to his ladies’ hometowns, but he does get to meet some parents this week. Here to discuss all the moms and all the sisters, we’re joined by Caroline Moss, host of the podcast Gee Thanks, Just Bought It! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s been a hell of a week, and before we recap the episode, we need to discuss what’s been going on offscreen. For that discussion and our normal episode recap, we’re joined by the amazing comedian, author, podcaster, producer Phoebe Robinson and her wonderful boyfriend, British Baekoff. You can read our coverage of Chris Harrison, his remarks and the push to hold the franchise accountable here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/chris-harrison-interview-the-bachelor-rachael-kirkconnell_n_602437e6c5b6ddb3581568ab https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-bachelor-chris-harrison-racial-reckoning_n_602aaee2c5b6d667582eb47e See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to Here to Make Friends, where we preach harmony and peace, and lead by example, because actions speak louder than words. All the great lessons we learned from The Bachelor. We’re halfway into Matt’s season and there is actually a distinct lack of harmony and peace. The drama has never been more intense. When will we be able to rest? Possibly never. To recap another week of escalating, production-fueled sniping between the contestants, and Matt’s occasional breaks from mediating the conflict in order to make out with 23-year-olds, we’re joined by expert Bachelor recapper and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” writer Ali Barthwell. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week’s episode of The Bachelor may find a second life as a training video for teachers to recognize bullying dynamics in middle and high schools. Matt’s love journey was essentially on the backburner this week while he played Whack-a-Mole with the house bullies, so that’s what we’ll be doing as well. Here to unpack all the truly distressing scenes with us is content creator, YouTuber and woman about town, Alexa Losey. Link to the TikTok we reference: https://www.reddit.com/r/thebachelor/comments/l5qjs0/tiktok_about_rachaels_alleged_racism/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on Matt James’s journey to find love, we took one step forward and two giant steps back. We actually ended this episode with, somehow, more women than we started with -- and they even managed to jack up the already high level of unpleasantness in the house. Matt’s task is truly Sisyphean … as is our own, as audience members in search of a happy ending. So on this episode we have a new friend of the pod joining us, Zara Rahim. She is a communications strategist who has formidable experience approaching her work through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. She’s worked for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Vogue, the list goes on. Our call to action: In light of all of the sex work shaming that went on during last night's episode, we want to encourage people to donate to the the Urban Justice Center Sex Workers Project to support advocacy for the human rights of sex workers. Because sex work is work. Period. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, much like Chris Harrison and Matt’s women, we tried out our own Bachelor-centric erotica, full of turtleneck-clad abs and girthy arms. And then, of course, we couldn’t avoid addressing the girl-on-girl crimes that filled this episode of The Bachelor. Joining us this week is Correspondent & Host of the VICE News Reports podcast, Arielle Duhaime-Ross. Our call to action this week: In honor of MLK Day, it’s a great week to set up a recurring donation to an organization that promotes racial justice and healing! Some ideas include: Color of Change Black Lives Matter (their PAC or local chapter) Undocu Black Black Trans Travel Fund The Loveland Foundation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, honestly, we have a lot of questions about what we’re all doing here in Bachelor Nation. Like, is this a sorority? Are we here to make friends? We need more clarity on this! Maybe next week Victoria can shed a little light on whether this is, actually, a sorority. Until then, we’ll just have to muddle through. To help us sort through the second episode of Matt’s season, we’re joined by a very special guest -- HuffPost’s senior culture editor and our wonderful boss, Erin Evans! Read Erin’s HuffPost article ‘For Black Americans, The White Terror in D.C. Looks Familiar’ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/white-terror-capitol-riots-america_n_5ff7802ac5b6644fa210a0a7 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Let our lead Matt James be clothed in earth-tone turtlenecks and let his roses be given in wisdom. Amen, and a-women. And now, let’s get to some heavy drinking and light making out! The 25th Bachelor season kicked off last night, and things are already getting to be, as Tayshia would put it, a LOT. Joining us this episode to dig into the season premiere is BFF of the pod and co-host of the relationship podcast “Dear Shandy,” Sharleen Joynt. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to our recap of what will go down in history as one of the greatest love stories of our time. We can’t remember the last time this show gave us a proposal as romantic as the one we got last night. This very unusual season of The Bachelorette gave us two great love stories and we really can’t ask for anything more. Joining us to recap the end of Tayshia’s journey is friend of the pod and star of the upcoming sitcom ‘Mr. Mayor,’ Vella Lovell! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s finale week, and on today’s episode, the fantasy suites! We’re down to three potential partners for Tayshia, and sorry – we can’t choose. She’s going to have to marry all of them. In a just world, these sweet gentle boys would get to hang out with each other and Tayshia, all the time. No one has to have their heart broken! Except that they do have to. Hearts will be broken, and by this time tomorrow, we will know whose. Note: We will be discussing sexual assault at the beginning of this episode, until around the 8:00 minute mark. Need help? In the U.S., visit the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline operated by RAINN. [link: https://ohl.rainn.org/online/ ] For more resources, visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center's website. [link: http://www.nsvrc.org/resources ] Read Claire and Emma’s story here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We get right into it this week because we have to cover four hours of The Bachelorette! We have to go from 8 guys down to 3. We have to talk about a Men Tell All held in a hermetically sealed chamber and a hometown episode held not in anyone’s hometown, but on the same vacant Palm Springs resort where the cast has spent the entire season. And we have to talk about the Top Chef and Bachelorette crossover episode finally happening! Joining us this week to go through all of it is friend of the pod, Erin Darke! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We will be discussing depression and suicide during this episode from around 39:00 to 58:00. If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also text HOME to 741-741 for free, 24-hour support from the Crisis Text Line. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources. This week on The Bachelorette…. It’s Bennett vs. Noah: Two men enter the arena, one man leaves. And then a bunch of other guys also leave. It’s almost hometowns, and Tayshia still has NINE guys, so that can only mean one thing: an elimination bloodbath. Here to break down everything with us is Bachelor Season 24 alum and cohost of the podcast Click Bait with Bachelor Nation, Natasha Parker See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode contains a discussion on eating disorders from 58:20 to 1:10:00. If you're struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorder Association hotline at 1-800-931-2237 or visit https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support Welcome to Tayshia’s 4th week as the Bachelorette! And wouldn’t you know it, that just happens to be Very Sad Personal Story week -- not to mention I’m Starting To Fall In Love week. Like very romantic clockwork. Here to help us unpack all the drama and trauma is friend of the pod and cohost of the forthcoming Bachelor podcast “Baby Got Bach,” Brett Vergara! Our call to action this week: Good friend of the pod Ashley Spivey lost her baby over Thanksgiving weekend. In addition to this inexplicably cruel and painful loss, she has also experienced harassment from the anti-vaxx community. If you want to donate in Ashley and her baby CJ’s names, we’d like to suggest the Star Legacy Foundation, which funds research about stillbirth, and provides families dealing with the grief of pregnancy loss with resources, education and support. https://starlegacyfoundation.org/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s Thanksgiving week and for many of us, it may feel like there’s less to be thankful for than ever. This has been a year filled with loneliness and loss for so many Americans. But we do want to take a leaf from Bachelor Nation sweetheart -- eliminated but never forgotten -- Dr. Joe and focus on the good, and what we do have to be grateful for this week. Specifically, a very good episode of The Bachelorette. It seems like they cracked the code of quarantine bubble Bachelorette production and finally brought us an episode of that good, classic, frothy Bachelor fun. Here to discuss it all with us, we have BFF of the pod, Allison Williams. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to our grown-ass podcast. It’s a grown-ass show, where we discuss grown-ass men and grown-ass women and their grown-ass adventures on a grown-ass show called “The Bachelorette.” And last night, we closed the door on grown-ass woman Clare Crawley and devoted 100% of our attention to fellow grown-ass woman Tayshia Adams. Joining us to talk about this episode is Correspondent & Host of the VICE News Reports podcast, Arielle Duhaime-Ross. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sometimes, you just need your reality TV to be more boring than reality. A peaceful transition, new Bachelorette leadership installed without incident -- it feels good. Tayshia’s season began in earnest last night, and despite a couple of twists, it was really a back-to-basics episode. To discuss the season reset with us, we are joined today by author, journalist and commentator Liz Plank! Our calls to action this week: Fair Fight: The nationwide group combats voter suppression and promotes “free and fair elections” from its home base in Georgia. Donate here. The New Georgia Project. A well-regarded effort to register and engage voters, credited with enrolling over 500,000 people. A nonpartisan 501(c)3. Donate here. Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta: Before the November 3 election, the nonpartisan group called 92% of Asian American and Pacific Islander voters in Georgia. They’ll do it again leading up to January. Donate here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Well, at least we got to witness one peaceful transfer of power in this nation last night. It’s not the one we hoped for, personally, but hey. It’s something. We took a brief break from watching the votes trickle in in Georgia and Pennsylvania to watch Clare conclude her Bachelorette journey and pass the sceptre to Tayshia. And to talk about the big, climactic episode, and, obviously, election feelings, we’re joined by Bachelor alum, commentator, podcaster, and politics buff Ashley Spivey. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are so excited to be here today to recap a dramatic episode of the hit game show “What Did Dale Say About Me, Exactly?” Truly action-packed, and this week we did learn a lot about what Dale said about Clare, and what Clare said about Dale. We're joined on this episode by Kate Stayman-London, author of the delightful Bachelor-themed romcom One to Watch, to talk about Yosef’s many feminism fails, that one-on-one date with Zach J and, of course, Dale. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Every week we tune into a new episode of The Bachelorette, and we simply don’t know what we’re going to get. Some episodes are really rich texts, with so much to unpack and examine… others are maybe more like pamphlets. This week, though, we got a truly rich text. Genre-bending twists, complex characters, the plumbing of psychological depths. Here to help us close read the drama of this week’s episode is Cosmopolitan op-ed editor, and author of the hit Y.A. drama 'They Wish They Were Us' -- Jessica Goodman! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’ve waited so long for this and it’s finally here! Seven years after she first appeared on The Bachelor, Clare Crawley is our Bachelorette. We’re diving into a Bachelorette season that looks a lot different than we expected. Quarantines! Face masks! Nasal swabs! If we learned one thing last night, it’s that the men of The Bachelorette are much better at modeling public safety than the entirety of the Republican party. On this episode, author, podcaster, and political commentator extraordinaire Alyssa Mastromonaco joins us to talk about the first night in 'The Bachelorette' bubble. Our calls to action this week: Make sure you are registered to vote and have a voting plan! Go to iamavoter.com or votesaveamerica.com to check your registration, sign up for election text reminders, see what’s on your ballot and make a plan to vote! Given that voter suppression still runs rampant in the country, consider donating to organizations fighting against it. Fair Vote, a nonpartisan organization fighting for proportional representation (https://www.fairvote.org/) The Campaign Legal Center, fights partisan gerrymandering and also focuses on issues like voting rights and campaign finance through litigation and public education, (https://campaignlegal.org/about/support) Fair Fight, founded by former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (https://fairfight.com/) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’ve come to the end of this pandemic summer and this seat-of-the-pants pandemic Bachelor show. So long, The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons -- Ever! And for once the show has made a decision we can really get behind: ending with the best worst season in recent memory. Juan Pablo Galavis, the Bachelor even the bachelorettes ended up not liking all that much. After the recap, we talk to friend of the pod, Sharleen Joynt about what led her to The Bachelor, being a Juan Pablo defender and how the show deals with representation of non-Black people of color. Our calls to action this week: Volunteer to work the polls! The majority of poll workers are over 60 and COVID-19 has left the country with a nationwide shortage of poll workers. If you are young, healthy and able, fill out an application to be a poll worker in your area. Save our democracy! https://www.powerthepolls.org/ Look up opportunities in your state to be a voter protection volunteer to combat voter suppression -- especially if you have a legal background! https://votesaveamerica.com/everylastvote/#be-a-voter-teaser See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, we took a trip all the way back to the dark days of early 2017 to revisit Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor. And after suffering through Peter’s season with us, our colleague Leigh Blickley is back this week to fill in for Claire as guest host. Later in the episode, we’re joined by BFF of the pod and host of ‘Let’s Talk About It With Taylor’, Taylor Nolan, to talk about her experience on Nick’s season. Our calls to action this week: Donate to the GoFundMe for Jacob Blake’s medical bills Call or email local officials in Kenosha to demand they are held fully responsible: Kenosha City Attorney⁣⁣: 262-653-4170 ⁣⁣Email: [email protected] or City Attorney Edward Antaramian at [email protected]. Kenosha Mayor and City Administration: 262-653-4000 ⁣⁣Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Prompt: “Hi, my name is [first and last name] and I am [calling/emailing] to demand justice for Jacob Blake who was shot multiple times on Sunday, Aug. 23. I demand that [what you think should happen]. Thank you for your time.” Donate to the Milwaukee Freedom Fund to support protesters See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Time to take a virtual trip back to 2009. We were still youthful college students who hadn’t been swept up into Bachelor Nation’s inescapable pull though we did have the same ill-advised layers and flat-ironed side bangs as some of the contestants – and a handsome single dad was learning just how fickle reality TV fame can be. That’s right, we’re revisiting Jason Mesnick’s season! The first, and to our knowledge only, Jewish Bachelor, he was also the first but far from only Bachelor to dump his winner and then pursue his runner-up for the cameras. A groundbreaker. And on this episode we’re joined by the man himself, Jason Mesnick, for our spotlight interview. Our calls to action this week: The Loveland Foundation Therapy Fund National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s been two weeks since our last episode And we can’t believe how much has happened since then. Like… the whole Bachelorette season might be different? But before we get to that, we need to take a trip down memory lane to 2010. Obama was still president, none of us were yet addicted to Instagram, and the word “influencer” had barely entered the lexicon. And former Facebook employee Ali Fedotowsky was wearing many layered tank tops on her televised journey to find love. Our calls to action this week: Liberty Hill COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund for Community Organizing: “This emergency fund is designed to support immediate community organizing needs on the frontlines and fuel emergency advocacy efforts in Los Angeles County to protect the most vulnerable (Black, Brown, Asian, Indigenous and queer communities) during this time of unimaginable upheaval due to the COVID-19 crisis.” https://www.libertyhill.org/form/covid-19-rapid-response-fund-for-community-organizing Native Americans in Philanthropy COVID-19 emergency response fund The COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is designed to distribute funds efficiently and swiftly to Native nonprofit organizations and tribal programs that need it most. Initially, funds are being prioritized in high-concentration areas – California, New Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, New York, Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and COVID-19 hotspots. https://www.firstnations.org/covid-19-emergency-response-fund/ Know Your Rights Camp COVID-19 relief fund The fund helps black and brown communities, which are disproportionately affected by Covid-19 by focusing on food, shelter relief, education, PPE equipment and incarcerated populations. https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/covid19?form=KYRC-Covid-19-Relief-Fund See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s 2007. The era of sweetheart necklines, poorly-structured empire waists, and, of course, the most hated man in America. No, not George W. Bush. Brad Womack, the slow-talking, monotone, chiseled Texan who walked onto our TV screens and away with zero lady hearts. This week, we dive deep into his TWO seasons with Ashley Spivey. Ashley has been a vocal part of Bachelor Nation for so long that it’s almost hard to remember where it all began -- as a contestant on Brad Womack’s second season of The Bachelor. Our calls to action this week: Riot Ribs feeds people and protesters in Portland, Oregon. Find $riotribs on CashApp or @riotribs on Venmo. Oregon Justice Center is fighting for criminal justice reform and providing legal services: https://ojrc.info/donate See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There was no new episode this week, so instead, we’re here to introduce you to a new member of the HuffPost podcast family. D Is For Desire is hosted by our colleague Noah Michelson and explores sex, sexuality, relationships and love from angles you could have never imagined in health class. You may have heard a trailer for the show play during a break on last week’s podcast, but we’re here to give you a chance to listen to a full episode about a topic Bachelor fans know all too well: Romance! And the lack of it! And questioning the very concept of it! In this episode of D Is For Desire, we hear from Joci, a woman who thought there was something wrong with her until she was 46 years old, when she discovered the term “Aromantic.” The first three episodes of D Is For Desire are already available, with more episodes premiering on Fridays, this summer. You can listen and subscribe to D Is For Desire on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d-is-for-desire/id1516511773 Or wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/d-is-for-desire-aromantic-romantic-orientation_n_5efb6598c5b612083c537b08 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The year was 2002. We had it all: Dark neutral lipsticks, blurry camera phones, and, of course, The Bachelor! We’re not saying that The Bachelor took our live show ideas, but we’re just saying, that if you liked Monday’s recap of Alex Michel’s season, you’ll REALLY like the deep dives that we did as part of our live tour last year. Way to steal our thunder, ABC. But, alas, we persevere. We also got to revisit a slightly less familiar season -- one we don’t know better than our home phone numbers -- the first-ever Bachelorette season starring Trista Rehn. This week, we talked to LaNease Adams, who made history with Alex Michel as the first-ever on-screen kiss in Bachelor history. We wanted to dive even deeper with LaNease, so we reached out and chatted with her about her time on the show, that kiss, the racism she dealt with from viewers, and more. Our call to action this week: donate to organizations that are responding to COVID-19 related evictions. The Human Utility, which helps people pay water bills in Michigan and Baltimore https://www.detroitwaterproject.org/ The National Low Income Housing coalition has collected emergency rental assistance programs, state by state https://nlihc.org/rental-assistance See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons -- Ever!, ABC is keeping us in the purgatory of 2016 with JoJo’s brutal season of The Bachelorette (aka the Trumpiest season of “The Bachelorette” ever.) We covered some highlights -- and lowlights -- from JoJo’s season during Monday night’s special, but we wanted to continue digging deeper into the stories of contestants who didn’t get as much screen time. This week we chatted with Grant Kemp, who appeared on JoJo’s season of The Bachelorette and season three of Bachelor in Paradise. Our call to action this week: Black Trans Travel fund, “a grassroots, mutual aid based organization developed for the purpose of providing Black transgender women with the financial resources necessary for them to be able to self-determine and access their safest travel options.” https://www.blacktranstravelfund.com/donate See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, we took a trip back to 2016 to revisit the last pre-Trump season of “The Bachelor.” Though we got to relive some of the good, bad and cringeworthy times of Ben’s season on Monday’s Bachelor special, we wanted to continue speaking to contestants whose stories haven’t been in the spotlight. We had the pleasure of chatting with Amber James, who was on both Chris Soules’ and Ben Higgins’ seasons of The Bachelor, AND the second season of Bachelor In Paradise, as well as Jami Letain, who was on Ben’s season of The Bachelor and BIP 3. Our call to action this week: go to tinyurl.com/EmailBreonnaTaylor to email the Kentucky Attorney General & Governor demanding that the officers who killed Breonna Taylor all be fired and charged. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A lot has happened in the weeks since then-police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd. This horrifying event sparked mass protests against racism and police brutality, around the country and around the globe. Since then, arrests have been made, public schools have cut ties with police departments, white CEOs and Editors In Chief have been forced to step down, and famous reality TV stars have been fired. And it seems – maybe – that space has finally been opened up for anti-racist fans of The Bachelor franchise to not just demand real change, but actually get it. Bachelor alumni who often avoid politics on their feeds in favor of shilling products, were suddenly put in a position where they had to speak up or signal complicity. Their comments sections became spaces for full-blown debate. Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin had a candid, raw, difficult conversation about race on the official Bachelor podcast feed. Just days after a grassroots campaign for Bachelor diversity was launched and Rachel threatened to sever ties with the franchise altogether, “The Bachelor” named Matt James – the founder of nonprofit ABC Food Tours who was supposed to be a contestant on Clare Crawley’s season – as the first Black Bachelor. Because so much has been going on, we wanted to dedicate a whole podcast episode to diving a bit deeper into this current moment of Black Lives Matter activism, and how it is playing out in Bachelor Nation. First, we spoke to two of the Bachelor Diversity Campaign's co-creators, Ria Ali and friend of the pod Brett Vergara about the grassroots campaign that now has more than 100,000 signatures. Then we caught up with Rachel Lindsay, the morning that the news about Matt James becoming the franchise’s first Black Bachelor broke. Finally, Taylor Nolan, who has been an outspoken voice for change within The Bachelor franchise, shared some very practical advice for white people who want to be actively anti-racist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, we go back to where it all started – for this podcast that is. Kaitlyn’s season was the first one that Here to Make Friends recapped, all the way back in 2015. By then, The Bachelor was more consistently casting people of color on the show – but they didn’t often get far or have very positive portrayals on the show. Of Kaitlyn’s contestants of color, only Ian Thomson – who had a very rough exit – got any real screen time during Monday’s recap. Once again, the supercut approach made the show even whiter. But Ian wasn’t the only Black man to have a very unflattering storyline on the show. Kupah James left at the beginning of episode four, after a painful conversation with Kaitlyn about their lack of connection and a dramatic exit interview. Jonathan Holloway, a soft-spoken single dad, made it a bit further despite being #TeamBritt. To find out more about that messy exit and what it was like in Kaitlyn’s Bachelorette mansion, we talked to Kupah and Jonathan about their time on the show. It may seem like the protests are simmering down, or at least like they’re out of the news cycle or your Twitter feed. But people are still in the streets, fighting for a better world, and it’s incumbent on us to stay tuned in and to keep doing what we can. As promised, we are going to give our community calls to action each week: (1) The Okra Project – “The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever we can reach them.” https://www.theokraproject.com/ (2) Native Women’s Association of Canada – Canada is having its own difficult conversations about racism and police brutality, and many of these dialogues center around police violence against First Nations peoples https://www.nwac.ca/ (3) Subscribe to 2 Black Girls 1, support their Patreon https://www.patreon.com/2blackgirls1rose See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are coming back in the midst of a global pandemic and a series of nationwide (and global!) protests against racism and specifically police brutality. We always want the podcast to feel like it’s adding something to the world, not taking up space. So the context of the world has changed how we will be approaching this season. On this episode, we have a short discussion about Sean Lowe’s season, which was the first Bachelor season after a class-action lawsuit was filed against the show by two men, Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson, alleging that “the deliberate exclusion of people of color from the roles of the Bachelor and Bachelorette” violated their civil rights. One of the results of trimming the season down to spotlights on its final six or so contestants – and fan fave Sarah Herron – was that the only woman of color spotlighted was Catherine. None of the black contestants really got any screen time. But two black women actually had notable arcs on the season – Leslie Hughes, who made it to week four, and Robyn Howard, who made it to week five. Leslie garnered a glam one-on-one, the annual Pretty Woman shopping spree date, and Robyn, when she wasn’t getting mixed up in Tierra drama, had a pretty frank conversation with Sean about race. To look back at that season, the first for several years that even had any black contestants, we talked to Leslie and Robyn about their time on the show. Links: National Bail Fund - https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory Bachelor Diversity Campaign - https://www.change.org/p/abc-a-campaign-for-anti-racism-in-the-bachelor-franchise Follow @bachdiversity on Instagram and Twitter See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In an alternate reality, in a 2020 not derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Clare Crawley might already have been engaged -- and we would be getting ready to tear into her cast’s bios and rate limo exits. Instead, Clare is -- presumably -- single and waiting to mingle, and we’re gearing up for a much different Bachelor summer: no Bachelorette, no Paradise. But, to fill the void, ABC will be airing a journey into the show’s archives called “The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons -- Ever!” which premieres Monday, June 8. Each episode will recap, at dizzying speed, the highs and lows of a single classic season, kicking off with the most successful Bachelor ever: Sean Lowe. Last week, we spoke with Senior Vice President of Alternative Programming for ABC Rob Mills about plans for Clare’s season, what to expect from the upcoming greatest hits series, and the future of the franchise as a whole. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After vowing on this very podcast to never watch 'The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart', we have to eat our words and admit, we really loved it! The spin-off wrapped up its first season this past Monday with Chris Watson and Bri Stauss being named the winners. We talked to the couple over Zoom about what drew them to each other, what we didn’t see on the show, and the process of recording a whole album in quarantine. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.