Why HLB is your new favourite podcast 

The urge to get on a facetime call with your best friend after a long day of work to just hear a familiar voice, then to have them prop their phone against the bathroom mirror while they dye their hair just ranting about why they think every girl should have a red hair phase. At times, this can feel like a warm hug and give you that sense of mind that makes you feel not so alone or judged.

Finding a safe space can be a rather tedious process. So what better way to feel like you're in a safe space than to relax with your favourite podcast? High Low Brow is the podcast that can make you feel like you're on that facetime call with your best friend. But, instead of a poor wifi connection, you may feel a real one.

Let's get to know the two voices behind your new favourite podcast!

Why do you love being a part of HLB?

 Amanda: I think the thing that I love most about making and creating High Low Brow is that it takes all my interests, whether it be plus-size fashion, reality television or the Internet— I get to talk about them in one place.

What are you most excited about for the new season?

 Ameema: We've only just started recording this season, and I'm already having so much fun! We’ve got some incredible guests lined up to discuss some cool cultural phenomena, and this is just a fun way to have exciting conversations with REALLY COOL PEOPLE.

What separates this podcast from the rest?

 Amanda: I'm not sure you're going to go on to another podcast that discusses pop culture and, you know, hear an episode about thirst traps. (laughs) We're trying to take a different look at things.

 Ameema: Probably all the references to vampire fiction…. Haha, but honestly, I think it’s because this podcast is about two people (and their guests) who are passionate or interested or knowledgeable about things that are often dismissed culturally. We don’t care or take ourselves too seriously. We show up, chat, and usually come out of it with an interesting perspective!

What piece of work are you most proud of?

 Amanda: A piece I wrote for The Walrus in March 2021 (and went viral) was called Will Beauty Change When the World Comes Back? It examines how beauty standards may change post-pandemic, granted we're still in a pandemic (laughs). But it also tried to illustrate how being in a lockdown was somewhat helpful for individuals to explore what beauty really meant to them, myself included.

 Ameema: Am I allowed to say I’m proud of all my work?

 One of the pieces I’m most proud of is my first published piece, for With/Out Pretend’s The Vault. It’s called This Body, My Body. This was a vulnerable, really intimate piece of work exploring the relationship I have with my body — being fat, racialized, and chronically ill. I poured a lot of myself into this work and will always be proud of myself for it.

I’m also really proud of my small (but mighty) Bookstagram account: @ReadWithMeemz! I started it to give a platform to diverse books and authors from marginalized communities, and I really love the community that I’ve built because of it. 

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

 Amanda: I'm in the process of working on two book manuscripts, and hopefully, one day, someone will have purchased them and they will have been released to the public! Plus, I still want to be working on the podcast! I just want to make my creative pursuits the thing that I am always working on — that's the end goal.

 Ameema: I hope to look back at a career of successful and unsuccessful submissions to publications because that will mean I tried.  am also hopeful that I will have written my first book by then! Also, I’m hoping in 5 years, I will understand the stock market (at least a bit), I will have learned how to braid my hair, and I will have learned to cook some more of my favourite Pakistani dishes. 

Don’t forget to tune in every Sunday to hear “high-brow takes” on “low-brow culture” with Ama and Ameema on Apple Music and Spotify!