Curse of: Miss America

Tyra Banks screamed it, but was she ever really rooting for these girls? In the series opener, host Bridget Armstrong explores one of ANTM’s biggest criticisms—that the show didn’t create any top models. We go back to the beginning to figure out how this germ of an idea in Tyra Banks’ imagination ended up on our screens. We talk about Tyra’s accomplice, ANTM Executive Producer Ken Mok, and explore how ...

Cycle 1 was messy, low-rent, and groundbreaking. It was also the blueprint for everything ANTM would become. It introduced us to the larger-than-life personalities that became synonymous with the show. Cycle 1 also laid the groundwork for the body shaming, humiliation, and on-screen drama that made ANTM iconic. From the beginning, ANTM loved a Cinderella story. While Cycle 1 winner Adrianne Curry may have gotten the crown, she didn...

We explore one of ANTM’s most infamous controversies. Angelea Preston won the All-Stars season of America’s Next Top Model. Later, she was stripped of the title, and her win was given to Lisa D’Amato. But what really happened behind the scenes? Angelea and Lisa tell very different stories. We hear from the models at the center of ANTM’s messiest win and discuss the contestant contract that enabled it all.&nb...

CONTENT WARNING: This episode mentions sexual assault, suicide, and suicidal ideation.  

Before you could be cast on America’s Next Top Model, you had to pass a psychological evaluation. Contestants were told these psych evals were about keeping them safe. But whose safety was ANTM really worried about? In this episode, we explain how the ANTM psych eval worked and where it failed.

Looking to place a face to the nam...

CONTENT WARNING: This episode mentions sexual assault, suicide, and suicidal ideation. 

We continue our discussion about the ANTM psychological evaluation. We hear from models who say the traumatic experiences they shared with the show’s psychologists were later used to manipulate them for the cameras. We discuss contestants who may have slipped through the cracks of the psych eval and later met tragic ends. Then we expl...

ANTM was never really about creating top models. It was a reality TV disguised as a modeling competition, and it showed. We break down how photo shoots were designed to create unforgettable moments and reactions on screen and how casting prioritized personalities over potential. We also explore why the winners rarely became working models. From laughable challenges to unusable portfolios, this episode exposes the truth: The show ca...

ANTM was one of the most racially diverse reality shows of its era. So why did so many of its episodes look so racist? This episode investigates how ANTM represented, performed, and exploited race. We hear from models who were put in Blackface for the infamous race-swapping photo shoots and talk about the racial dynamics at play during the “We Were Rooting for You” moment. We unpack the show’s racial stereotypes a...

America’s Next Top Model was a pioneer of LGBTQIA+ representation on reality TV. The show gave us iconic queer judges, featured an openly lesbian contestant on season one, and even made groundbreaking decisions to cast a transgender model in 2008. But like many things with this show, the way production treated these contestants and their identity was flawed. In this episode, we explore how Top Model broke barriers and re...

To this day, Tyra Banks hails ANTM as a champion of body positivity. But in reality, the show was one of the biggest body shaming offenders of our generation. Season after season, ANTM picked apart contestants’ bodies, shamed them for their weights, and even brought on plus-size models, only to tell them there was no place for them in the industry. The show cast women with eating disorders and criticized their bodies, to...

No matter who won, Tyra Banks was always the real star of ANTM. But was she a fairy godmother, a villain, or both? On this final episode, we explore Tyra’s on-camera persona and off-camera legacy. We hear from models who went through the ANTM machine, and find out what they think they’re owed.

Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts, wher...

Experiencing “Curse of” withdrawal? We’re bringing you a taste of a show we love: Smart Girl Dumb Questions. In this episode excerpt, host Nayeema Raza asks relationship expert Esther Perel: Why is falling in love harder as we get older? Is it age, apps, materialism, modern feminism, or the trad wife trend? Also … what is worth fighting about in a relationship? AND: if you’re seeing a the...

Thanks for listening to this season of Curse of: America’s Next Top Model. As you can imagine, we had to leave a lot on the cutting room floor. In this special bonus episode, we hear more behind-the-scenes details and stories from the models. We also take a field trip through time, to explore the surprising origins of reality television and its parallels with psychological experimentation. Plus, we revisit early 2000s body sh...

The new Netflix docu-series has everyone talking. “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” features sit-down interviews with Tyra Banks and Ken Mock, plus longtime ANTM judges Miss J, Jay Manuel, and Nigel Barker.  

“Curse Of” host Bridget Armstrong is joined by editor Monique Laborde to break down the new Netflix series. They unpack the biggest revelations, discuss what the Netflix series...

We’re continuing our conversation about the Netflix docuseries “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.” In Pt.2, host Bridget Armstrong and editor Monique LaBorde break down Tyra’s disappointing interview in the Netflix docuseries, and why it leaves so much to be desired. They also tease what to expect on the upcom...

Former Bachelor Clayton Echard’s casual one-night fling turned into a paternity nightmare.  The scandal ignited the internet, attracting hundreds of citizen sleuths who noticed the story didn’t add up. 

New episodes are released every Thursday. 

If you would like to reach out to the team, email lovetrappedpod@gmail.com and follow along on Instagram @GlassPodcasts. 

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The ANTM reckoning continues with a new E! docuseries, Dirty Rotten Scandals America’s Next Top Model. The series premieres on E! tonight March 11th, at 9PM EST / 6PM PT. 

Lauren Saft, Executive Producer of Dirty Rotten Scandals America’s Next Top Model, joins Bridget Armstrong to pull back the curtain on the latest ANTM deep-dive.  

With exclusive interviews from A...

A new season of Curse Of launches October 20th. The team investigates the unraveling of the Miss America pageant. We follow the ongoing legal battle over the pageant’s ownership, and the scandals that have been plaguing the pageant for decades.  

You can reach out to the Curse of Miss America team at missamericapod@gmail.com. For more Curse of Miss America, follow us on Instagram @glasspodcasts.  

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