Who? Weekly's Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber Talk Guinness, Gossip, and Going Intercontinental

In the age of social media, anybody can aspire to celebrity. YouTubers and influencers are just as, if not more, famous than celebrities known for their music, acting, or athletic prowess—and so many strive for multi-hyphenate status, tacking on monikers like “food blogger” and “lifestyle guru,” whatever that means. If swimming through the veritable ocean of D-Listers is entertaining (if a bit daunting) to you, then you either already or need to listen to Who? Weekly, the podcast hosted by journalists Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber.

The podcast’s title is derived from the idea that celebs fall into two categories: the already-famous Thems and the attention-seeking Whos. For example, British singer Rita Ora is a Who (Queen of the Whos, in fact), while American pop star Katy Perry is firmly a Them. And someone’s Them- or Who-dom is a mutable quality, with various factors like their career, romantic partner, and the media landscape sliding them up or down the fame scale. The podcast started in 2016 and boasts a cult following of fans who call themselves the Wholigans; director Richard Curtis and writer Lena Dunham have even left voicemails on their weekly call-in show. Once you start listening to the podcast enough, your speech becomes littered with Who? Weekly slang and references.

Not only do Weber and Finger release two hilarious episodes each week (in the words of Andy Cohen, “Wow, twice a week”), full of low-level celeb gossip and the type of lovingly overlapping conversation that comes with true familiarity, but they’re also taking the podcast on tour. Who? Weekly did their debut live show at the Bell House in New York City back in 2017, and now they’re going overseas for their first-ever European gigs in London (March 1 and 2) and Dublin (March 4).

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Weber’s particularly excited to visit Dublin, since she studied abroad in the capital during college, even ending up at the Irish premiere of the hit musical movie Once.

“It really has been that long since I’ve been there, so I want to see if I get any kind of potent déjà vu going on. I feel like that’s a very powerful sense memory. I would love to see the Oscar Wilde statue again in my life. I think that is an incredible thing in Dublin, that lounging man in the garden,” Weber tells me over Zoom. Finger’s also spent time in Dublin, usually visiting friends that lived there, and has a fondness for the Guinness Storehouse that Weber doesn’t share (and that’s how I can tell she lived here for a while—I feel much the same way).

“You just would have a much better time drinking a Guinness at a pub and having Irish people giggle at you for your typical Guinness drinking—more fun than being surrounded by other tourists also trying a Guinness for maybe the first time. It’s just better. It’s a better experience,” Weber says. Finger disagrees—he was given stout-shy visitors’ untouched pints, so that trumps the one Guinness your (very expensive) ticket entitles you to.

Tourist destinations aside, the pair plan to tailor the Who? Weekly live show to UK and Irish audiences, especially considering that Who- and Them-dom can be location-specific.

“To us a lot of these [British and Irish celebs] are Whos, but we know that to a lot of people in the audience, they’re going to be Thems, so I think those conflicting perspectives are going to be really fun,” Finger says.

And it definitely holds true—I quiz them on famous Irish people, and some of their designations surprise me, but then again I’ve been living here a decade. Whos include Barry Keoghan (Weber: “There’s cuspiness there.”), Eve Hewson, Brendan Gleeson (“I think you’d call him a prestige Who,” Finger says), and his son Domhnall Gleeson. James Joyce, Sally Rooney, Saoirse Ronan, and Gabriel Byrne are Thems, and Finger is waiting for Gladiator to come out before bestowing Them status on Paul Mescal.

Who? Weekly is about more than celebrity gossip, though. “Lindsey and I would like to believe that our podcast is as much about the state of media as it is about D-List Whos. And sometimes I feel like that can kind of get lost,” Finger explains, later adding: “We love talking about the media, because we’re both in it. And we used to be more prevalent as just writers and journalists. So, you know, even though it’s a podcast, I do consider it as the media. I don’t have any weird illusions about that.”

Weber is in agreement: “I think that we, in our fantasy, created an outlet to gossip about media, really, and it’s through the lens of celebrity, but really where our interest is, is in the future of magazines, the future of journalism, and all of that. So I think people who’ve listened for a long time get that, but whenever we’re explaining the podcast to people, and they’re like, ‘Who are your favorite celebrities,’ I’m like, ‘Who cares,’ you know?”

Both Finger and Weber are depressed about the state of journalism these days, especially considering how many of their friends in the media have been laid off and publications shuttered, but also because of the wider societal ramifications. Thankfully Who? Weekly is going strong, in large part because of Wholigans’ devotion.

“Word of mouth is the most that we could thank you for, and I think every podcast would say that. But maybe people forget that telling your friends about cool stuff is really the way to support your favorite stuff on every level,” Weber says near the end of our conversation.

So if you enjoy Who? Weekly, or anything for that matter, don’t forget to rave about it to your friends; your endorsement is more important than you realize.

Get your tickets to the Who? Weekly live shows in London (March 1 and 2) and Dublin (March 4) here.

Clare Martin is a cemetery enthusiast and Paste’s assistant comedy editor. Go harass her on Twitter @theclaremartin.

Who? Weekly‘s Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber Talk Guinness, Gossip, and Going Intercontinental