Here’s the thing—I got my “professional writing” start by keeping a blog that covered The Bachelor, and that’s because I’ve always been a bit of a pop culture obsessive. That blog turned into a recap gig for Entertainment Weekly, and then I found myself writing for a whole slew of places about things that were “important” (Zeke being outed on Survivor and how Grey’s Anatomy saved my mom’s life) and a lot of things that weren’t (Scorpion fans, I see you. I hear you). For the five years I spent as a staff writer at Esquire, I spent more time covering pop culture than I did food or anything else. I’ve always believed that pop culture is one of our few universal unifiers, even if we don’t always agree with what’s happening on screen. That said, eventually, I found myself writing more about celebrities than I did the culture itself, which is no bueno.

And I love writing about food and the recipes I love, but I find myself missing the pop culture conversation, so I’m creating “Now Steaming”—a subset of Cooking with Justin that takes whatever I’m streaming, watching, listening to, and gives you the food spin (I’m pretty devastated to be starting this right as the Thailand season of The White Lotus wraps because I could’ve concocted a piña colada recipe that would’ve KILLED).

It’s a delicious look into pop culture, and it’s (ideally?) going to help me get back on my pop culture game. Not so much as a writer, but as someone who is constantly DROWNING in the deep well of my watchlist. Let’s get into it, preferably with something to snack on nearby.