Reality TV is a genre that has wormed its way into our screens, our culture, and—for many of us—our guilty pleasures. While some might dismiss these shows as frivolous entertainment (we’re using the term “entertainment” generously here), maybe there’s more to it than good old fashioned wife swapping, marrying strangers and surviving in the wild with nothing but a six-pack and an epic tan.   Perhaps reality TV is so popular because it holds up a mirror to society, showcasing the full spectrum of human emotions. Watching real people in real situations causes us to reflect on our own life choices and experiences. Or perhaps it’s all completely fake, scripted rubbish that makes the producers a hell of a lot of money. As a writer of The Simpsons, Dana Gould put it, reality TV is “people who aren’t actors working with people who aren’t writers in an amateur production of nothing.”   But how “real” is reality TV… really?   *CHAPTERS:* 00:00 Born In The Wild 07:30 Bet on Your Baby 11:06 How Real is Reality TV? 16:38 Release The Hounds 25:14 The Role of NDAs in Reality TV 29:14 The Naked Magazine Sweepstakes 30:21 Ethics and Consent in Reality TV 31:24 Who's Your Daddy? 33:59 Viewer Shame 37:11 When Reality TV Goes Too Far 43:17 The Upsides of Reality TV 48:23 What’s Next on The Wholesome Show   SOURCES: Who's Your Daddy? (2005 TV series) - Wikipedia 34% of Aussies who watch reality TV lie about it "Born in the Wild": Lifetime TV has lost its mind | Salon.com "Born in the Wild" TV Review on Lifetime https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/absolutely-bonkers-reality-shows/ Release the Hounds - Wikipedia Intervention (TV series) - Wikipedia https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshwilson/2022/03/17/reality-tv-how-the-genre-has-consistently-re-engineered-itself-into-new-life/?sh=2cbffce5303a How Reality Shows Affect Our Lives and Society | Psychology Today Australia Reality TV Has Reshaped Our World, Whether We Like It or Not Why are people so embarrassed to say they love reality TV? - ABC News Full article: The Voice: non-disclosure agreements and the hidden political economy of reality TV Angles /The Reality Behind Reality TV by John Yazbek Five myths about reality television - The Washington Post Just how fake are reality TV shows? | HowStuffWorks 20 worst reality TV shows of all-time (so far) The New Quiz Show Scandal -- Reality Television - Los Angeles Times ‘Intense and insane’: was this the most unsettling reality TV show ever? | Documentary films | The Guardian https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a823156/most-dangerous-reality-shows-ever/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.