The Unspeakeasy With Meghan Daum

Writer Ben Appel discusses anti-Semitism on college campuses, focusing on his experiences at Columbia University. He explores the culture of self-censorship and fear, the influence of professors on students' views of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the challenges Jewish students face in expressing their thoughts. The podcast also touches on the connection between gay men and gender identity ideology.

Dr. Andrew Hartz, clinical psychologist and professor of clinic, discusses the politicization of therapy and the lack of support for certain populations. They explore the diverse demographics of therapists and the need for a therapist open to addressing complex issues. The chapter also examines gender roles in therapy and the drawbacks of using online therapy platforms.

Ethan Strauss, popular sports newsletter writer, discusses how sports media has lost touch with its core audience and been captured by elite media. They explore the difference between men's and women's sports in business and marketing, and who is driving the voice of sports institutions. They also touch upon the declining popularity of sports among young people and the impact of progressive messaging. In addition, they talk about the contradictory desire of journalists to be counterculture and mainstream, and the lack of trust and meaningful conversation within sports media.

Yascha Mounk discusses how niche views about race, sexual orientation, and gender identity went from marginal to mainstream. He explores the origins of wokeness, the impact of Tumblr on identity exploration, and the controversy surrounding the Harper's letter. Mounk also highlights the importance of free speech in empowering marginalized groups and shares his experiences navigating identity issues in the classroom.

The ladies from Ask A Jew are back for their biannual visit. This time for the Jewish New Year! In this episode, we talk about the meaning of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and (since we apparently have to go over it again) why Orthodox Jews have to get their cars detailed before Passover. (It's true.) We also talk about mikvehs. Because you know you were wondering. If you only ever listen to one conversation about mikvehs, let it be this one. Most importantly, we revisit our evergreen topic: the world's hottest dictators, despots and garden-variety world leaders. Who was hotter? Stalin or Gadaffi? Is Bibi Netanyahu more your type? Or George H.W. Bush? In the bonus, I do a solocast where I answer AMA questions and share more of my existential crisis about how to pronounce my last name. Paying subscribers who have questions for me can put them in the comments. Guest Bio The Ask a Jew podcast is where Yael Bar Tur, a secular Israeli living in New York, and ChayaLeah Sufrin, a Hasidic mother in Los Angeles, discuss everything from Torah to Tinder, no topics are off-limits. Yael Bar Tur is a digital communications consultant with over 15 years of experience in social media, government, law enforcement and crisis communications. She served as the Director of Social Media and Digital Strategy for the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Born and raised in Israel, Yael served in the Israeli Army as a foreign press liaison in the height of two wars, as well as volunteering for reserve duty at the Israeli field hospital in Haiti immediately following the 2010 earthquake. She holds a Master's Degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Yael lives in NYC where she has been granted lifetime approval to pet all police K9s. ChayaLeah Sufrin is the Executive Director at Beach Hillel. Prior to Hillel, she spent 15 years teaching high school Jewish history and was the Education Director of Shul by the Shore. ChayaLeah has been married to her husband Boruch for 18 years and together they have 4 sons. Jewish education and building community are ChayaLeah's two main passions - she also loves the New England Patriots. She was recently named one of Hadassah's 18 American Zionist Women You Should Know. HOUSEKEEPING 🔥 Follow my other podcast, A Special Place in Hell. 🥂 Join The Unspeakeasy, my community for freethinking women. 🎉 Can't make it to the one-day retreat on September 30th in Denver? Join us for a co-ed party that same evening! 🧖‍♀️ Join me at our sanity/real spa retreat in the Poconos with guest speaker Kat Rosenfield.

It seems like everywhere you look, men are struggling to find a sense of meaning and purpose. In fact, men are just getting kind of weird. On the other side of the equation, many women say they can't find a "good man" who meets their expectations. Enter Christine Emba, Washington Post columnist and author of the 2022 book Rethinking Sex: A Provocation. In a recent WaPo essay, she discusses the crisis of masculinity and where men are looking for models of masculinity, from Jordan Peterson to Andrew Tate and beyond. In this episode, we chat about her article, her book, the past and present mating economy, and the evolution of her own thinking since her college days and the emergence of "the Princeton mom." (Leave it to her to ask the questions Matt Walsh doesn't.) In the bonus, we talk about dating apps — everyone's favorite gripe — in addition to the resurgence of matchmaking and how people got dates and met people in the pre-app world. ————————— WHO IS CHRISTINE EMBA? Christine Emba is a writer for The Washington Post's Opinions section. She is also the author of Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, which challenges the narrative of sex positivity. Prior to joining the staff of The Washington Post, Emba was the Hilton Kramer Fellow in Criticism at the New Criterion and a deputy editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit. She grew up in Virginia and earned an A.B. in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. Follow her substack here: https://bit.ly/3Z8nJ49 Read her article, "Men are lost. Here's a map out of the wilderness." here: https://wapo.st/45KoHX4 Get her book "Rethinking Sex: A Provocation" here: https://amzn.to/3EvpU8A ————————— HOUSEKEEPING Get your ticket to The Free Press debate with Grimes, Sarah Haider, Louise Perry and Anna Khachiyan: https://www.thefp.com/debates Meet me at The Unspeakeasy Denver Retreat on September 30th: https://bit.ly/3qRWcaz Join me at our sanity/real spa retreat in the Poconos with guest speaker Kat Rosenfield: https://bit.ly/3R8IKtL Can't come to the full, one-day retreat on September 30th? Join us for a co-ed party that same evening! https://bit.ly/45oCp1n Join The Unspeakeasy, my community for freethinking women:https://bit.ly/44dnw0v Follow my other podcast, A Special Place in Hell: aspecialplace.substack.com

Comedian Maria Bamford joins Meghan for a conversation about her new book, mental health struggles, and financial survival in the creative economy. They also discuss dating apps for celebrities, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, the stereotype of the 'basic bitch,' and the challenges of buying a house in Los Angeles.

Dr. Sunita Puri, palliative care physician and author, discusses the impact of medical advancements on end-of-life care. She explores the complexities and misconceptions around CPR and the need for better communication about prognosis. Ageism, socioeconomic class, and racial biases in medical decisions are highlighted. The lack of conversation training in medical education and the shortage of palliative care professionals are also discussed.

Even if you don't recognize Tim Kreider's name, there's a good chance you've read his work. In addition to his two collections of essays, We Learn Nothing and I Wrote This Book Because I Love You, he's published many short essays in the New York Times opinion section, nearly all of which seem to go viral. The first such essay was The Busy Trap, published more than 10 years ago, wherein he called out Americans' perpetual condition of being "crazy busy" as "a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously, your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy." He's also famous for an essay about knowing people are talking about you behind your back, which Meghan has mentioned several times on the podcast and which has been immortalized in a famous meme. In this conversation, Tim shares his thoughts about writing about yourself, writing about other people, teaching writing to college students and (unrelatedly) getting stabbed. He also talks about the process of deciding not to have kids, the difficulty of living with another person as you get older, and a phenomenon he describes as the "soul toupee." For paying subscribers, Tim stays overtime and talks about (among other things) being 56-years-old, contemplating mortality, coping with a diminished attention span, and dating his fans – although he insists they're not really fans once you start dating them. To hear that portion, become a paying subscriber at https://meghandaum.substack.com/. Guest Bio Tim Kreider is the author of the essay collections We Learn Nothing and I Wrote This Book Because I Love You. He has contributed to The New York Times, The New Yorker's Page-Turner blog, Men's Journal, The Comics Journal, Film Quarterly, and Fangoria. His cartoon "The Pain–When Will It End?" ran for 12 years in the Baltimore City Paper and other weeklies and is archived at thepaincomics.com. Learn more about him at timkreider.com

Lucinda Rosenfeld is the author of five novels and has published essays and short stories in outlets such as The New Yorker, N+1, and The New York Times Book Review. She visits The Unspeakable this week to talk about "My Adventures In Deconstruction," her essay in the June 9, 2023 edition of The New Yorker. On the surface, the essay recounts a romantic relationship with a college professor 15 years her senior, back in 1990. But the essay goes much deeper than that, mapping the main story onto the landscape of the deconstructive criticism movement in literature, which posited that an author's intent doesn't matter and meaning itself is subjective. In this conversation, Lucinda talks about her the process of writing the essay, the 1990s-era trope of the "bad girl," and the complexity of power dynamics in relationships between very young women and older men. She and Meghan also wander into a surprising conversation about the role that cigarette smoking played in both of their lives when they were in their twenties. Speaking of which, Lucinda stays overtime for paying subscribers to talk about how she feels about being the age that she is, which happens to be the age that Meghan is! To hear the bonus content, become a paying subscriber at meghandaum.substack.com. Guest Bio: Lucinda Rosenfeld is the author of five novels, including What She Saw and, most recently, Class, which was named a Best Book of 2017 by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Her fiction and essays have appeared in N+1, Harper's, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Book Review.