A blast of nostalgia that harkens back to a simpler time with addictively witty essays on NSYNC, Passions, and The O.C.—from the beloved pop culture critic and host of the Keep It podcast.

In this inviting and joyfully raucous collection of sixteen original essays, written with a rare combination of humor and sharpness, Ira Madison III combines memoir and cultural criticism to offer an updated pop-culture manifesto.

As a teenager in the early 2000s, Madison’s life changed when he read Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. Inspired by the revelation that discussions of pop culture could be rigorous, not only reserved for the likes of At the Movies or Buffy the Vampire Slayer message boards, Madison went on to make a career of dissecting pop culture from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to Britney Spears. Here, he reveals his journey to becoming a prominent cultural critic and screenwriter, sharing stories about growing up as a Black, gay man in Milwaukee and unearthing the pop phenomena that shaped his youth and the lives of so many. In this enlightening, unforgettable trip through the ‘90s and the 2000s, Madison reflects on learning about gay sex from his mom's Lil' Kim CDs; the most devastating election of his adolescence (not George W. Bush winning re-election in 2004, but Jennifer Hudson losing American Idol); and never getting his driver’s license in high school, making him just like Cher Horowitz in Clueless: “A virgin who can’t drive.”

Revel in his examination of Black fatherhood through The Cosby Show and Family Matters, and discover how Jerry Springer impacted queer representation on-screen. In each essay, Madison unearths how pop culture shapes us, both for the better and for the worse. Alternately irreverent and emotionally resonant, Pure Innocent Fun will leave you laughing and inspired.