18. Prison of Our Own Making

Can we talk about that Deep End finale? The saga of Teal Swan comes to a riveting close, and we discuss a group therapy session turned exercise in projection, the moment Sarah found herself sad for Teal Swan, and how putting fish in a tank became haunting television. Teal is a woman who “buries herself in a prison of her own making.” It’s becoming a running theme.

We turn to Felicia Sonmez, the controversial Washington Post reporter we spoke about in our last episode, who’s now been fired. Was this inevitable? Will people ever stop turning to Twitter to try to save themselves? How did things get so broken?

Speaking of: We turn to San Francisco, where progressive darling Chesa Boudin has been recalled as the city’s DA. Our girl Nancy was on the scene. We talk about what went wrong, the abject misery of the Tenderloin, and how an excess of compassion can lead to societal collapse. We share golden memories of the once-fabled city, and discuss the role of law and order in a functioning society. Nancy’s insight on cops deepened covering Portland during its 2020 meltdown. Sarah gained a new perspective dating a detective named Nick in her 30s, and apparently Sarah mentions Nick so frequently Nancy thinks he should be on their Bingo card. The role and ethics of cops is a sticky topic, but we both agree that people can behave very badly — but they can also behave heroically.

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Episode Notes:

The St. Louis hotel Nancy is recording from reminds her of …

Teal Swan docuseries The Deep End (Hulu)

Teal Swan calls The Deep End “an avalanche of betrayals.” (This hadn’t posted yet when we recorded our episode.)

Sarah says you must watch this clip. Nancy says “word salad.”

Thanos, Theranos, Thanotos, whatever!

Felicia Sonmez on Twitter

“The Washington Post fires reporter Felicia Sonmez after a week of feuding publicly with her colleagues,” by Oliver Darcy (CNN)

“I’m Radioactive,” by Emily Yoffe (Reason)

“The Shiv in the Hand of Kindness,” by Nancy Rommelmann (Arc Digital)

“The Marriage Cure,” by Katherine Boo (New Yorker)

“How San Francisco Became a Failed City,” by Nellie Bowles (Atlantic)

Chesa Boudin (Wikipedia)

“Us and Them: The Code of the Cop Bar,” by Nancy Rommelmann (LA Weekly)

“Hit on the Head,” story about Nick the detective by Sarah Hepola (Salon)

“San Francisco School Board Recall!,” by Nancy Rommelmann (Substack)

Nancy reports from recent San Francisco recall:

“Delusion on San Francisco Crime Will Get You Recalled” (Reason)

“Another Step Backward: The Chesa Boudin Recall” (Substack) (please subscribe!)

“Time’s Arrow: The Chesa Boudin Recall” (Substack) (ditto!)

“What the Chesa Boudin Recall Means for America” (ReasonTV/YouTube)

The Fifth Column podcast with Ilya Shapiro (Substack)

Outro song: “Grace Cathedral Hill,” The Decemberists

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