Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comBrooke Siem is the author of the 2022 memoir, May Cause Side Effects, about the decade and a half she spent on anti-depressants (prescribed after her father died when she was 15) and what happened when she ditched them. Sarah is currently on anti-depressants, though she wonders whether she needs them. Nancy is not on SSRIs, though she was part of a gentle brigade who nudged Sarah to increase her dosage last year. This is a complicated knot! The ladies talk about over-medication, how cultural taboos migrate, and the problem with treating sadness, anger, frustration — very human emotions — with a pill. Also discussed:* Nancy suddenly cares about the Navy; Sarah questions this* That time Brooke wore a foxy denim jumper* “Chemical imbalance” is a hoodwink* The “Come Out of the Dark Campaign” meant to eradicate depression stigma leads to an explosion of SSRI prescriptions* SSRIs and orgasm* The opiate epidemic tracks with the anti-depressant era * “Chemical castration” didn’t start with puberty blockers …* 70s-80s Ritalin vogue* Related: Does Ritalin suppress male growth?* Hold up: a link between transitioning genders and SSRIs?* Drinking and depression, a tangled saga* “Headaches are caused by an Advil deficiency”* Beware Wellbutrin* Gothic SSRI withdrawal* “I never boned a cabbie … that I’m aware of.”* That time Sarah went hypomanic …* 1 in 4 American women are on anti-depressants* The hormones and menopause of it all* “Fuck you, person at Whole Foods!”* Big Pharma / Big Food = same playbook, different expression* “Do you bake with yeast?”* WTF with Pol Pot?Plus, boozy cupcakes, a coyote sighting, was Tom Cruise right about pharmaceuticals — and much more!This one’s a banger! Listen to the whole shebang when you become a paid subscriber.

Hello, mighty listeners and readers. This post is free for all, with an ask: Please subscribe to our new YouTube channel. Even better, watch/listen on the YT. Smooch!Nancy has a “virus of unknown origin” while Sarah is rarin’ to go on a story she sunk her teeth into years ago: the trials of Harvey Weinstein, this time, his current NYC re-trial for criminal sexual acts. (His previous NY conviction was overturned in April 2024.)The Weinstein case is interesting, because most people think they know it, but they really just know the salacious details and hype of early-#MeToo media stories. The criminal case against Weinstein — particularly in New York, though he was convicted in LA, too — is a murkier thing, littered with ambiguous exchanges, years-long relationships and rides on private planes. Weinstein may be a “sexual pig, an opportunist, a philanderer and a bully,” but does that mean the women accusing him played no role in this? And if not, what does that say about all that women’s “empowerment” we keep hearing about? Also discussed:* Ethan Strauss brings the rain* Is Taylor Lorenz monstrous? Troubled? Both? Nancy and Sarah discuss* Sarah used to make jokes about crack babies (in college, y’all!) * Rejected from a threesome? Yeah, that happened* Ronan Farrow: It all begins with mom* “Candace Rogan” ???* 2020: Let’s not put people in prison! Also 2020: Men accused of #MeToo crimes should go to prison!* Who will play Jessica Mann in the “American Crime Story” version of the Weinstein trials? Who, Harvey?* Should Harvey take the stand? * Gloria Allred’s daughter learned from the best* Sarah does not have an extra-large vagina* The sigh of Russell Brand exhaustion* Diddy may be going to prison forever* The genius of Don DeLilloPlus, Sarah and Nancy discover they both just started gardens from seeds (so satisfying!), Polish women are the hottest on the planet, cunnilingus as weapon, and much more!First Sunday Zoom is this Sunday! June 1, 8pmET/5pmPT. Paid subscribers (come on, now!) get link the day-of.Real empowerment comes from being a paid subscriberMeanwhile over on YouTube …Episode Notes: So this happened:How it started/how it’s going“Exclusive interview: Harvey Weinstein’s youngest accuser speaks out” (News Nation Now interview with Kaja Sokola) “Weinstein Trial to Shift to Defense After 3rd Accuser’s Striking Account,” by Hurubie Meko (New York Times)“Medical expert talks about erectile dysfunction shot at Harvey Weinstein’s NYC sex assault retrial” (New York Daily News)Yes, we’ve been down this road…… and yet there seems always more to learn from the pivots and how they are/are not explained to the public“Harvey Weinstein and the Death Rattle of #MeToo,” by Kat Rosenfield (Free Press)Forty Bucks and a Dream: Stories from Los Angeles, by Nancy RommelmannWhat’s in your hot box?Sarah:Nancy:Libra, by Don DeLillo This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comREMINDER: Subscribe to our YouTube channel (it’s free). Even better: Watch it.Happy Memorial Day! Nancy and Sarah discuss a Columbia Journalism Review bombshell about the alleged sexual misdeeds of journalist Wes Lowery, who shot to fame during the Black Lives Matter era and is perhaps best known for popularizing the idea of journalism guided by “moral certainty.” This is hot one! Sarah gets kneejerk over blackout confusion, Nancy doesn’t understand “situationships,” and they argue over the definition of “glory hole.” Whether Lowery is guilty of these misdeeds we can’t say, but we both hope #metoo stories start to pivot away from “tearing someone down” to pointing to a better way to engage with people you love/bone/covet/teach/mentor/etc.Also discussed:* The latest Mission: Impossible — wanna guess who liked it?* A blender full of stunts, frappéd* When did we start celebrating Memorial Day?* The smell of a nuclear submarine (let’s ask Sarah’s brother)* SLEEP BUFFET!!!!* Ken Burns’ theory on binary thinking shaped by computer code* Fifth Column + Lowery = “exactly what you want from mega-minds”* Buying a woman a drink: Predatory behavior — or kick-ass?* Do people get roofied? Yes, but way less than hype suggests* How dating fell apart* Assholes vs. criminals / regret sex vs. rape* The sad and endless hamster wheel of the compulsively sexual male* When Sarah was a drunk bully …* Slutdom during Nancy’s “Eddie Vedder years”* Rise of violence on on the left: To be continued!Plus, Nancy has a request for sociopaths, Sarah makes a hopeless pass at Douglas Murray — and much more!Memorialize the day you became a paid subscriber…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comEthan Strauss is a straight shooter in a (slightly) crooked profession. As a writer who follows sports and culture, the Substacker and podcaster has a land grab on pointing out things that others have become reluctant to acknowledge. He talks with Nancy and Sarah about the contradictions of the WNBA, the popularity of Caitlin Clark and the reluctance of sneaker brands to give her a shoe (at least first), how men have changed the audience for women’s sports, and NBA teams as a mini-Game of Thrones, replete with palace intrigue. We also discuss Bill Belichick and his very young girlfriend Jordon Hudson, third-runner-up to Miss Maine.REMINDER: Don’t forget our whisper-soft launch over on YouTube! Please subscribe to the SMOKE EM channel, which costs you nothing and brings us joy. Also discussed:* “Nancy knows she’s a narcissist”* When selfies kill (mostly men) …* Do all sports announcers sound like Marv Albert?* Why authors hated when Stanley Kubrick made movies of their books* Sports betting meets the WNBA* “Girls can do anything” era meets “Girls can’t win” era* Vanessa Bryant, Kobe Bryant’s widow, may NOT the best person to negotiate the future of her late husband’s brand, but please don’t aggregate this.* Sorry, Dirk, we don’t buy shoes for centers* Luka, the hot girlfriend Dallas lost* Why people can’t leave Bill Belichick’s age gap relationship alone* “Did he get a real blowjob, and lose his mind?”* The most romantic philosophy book Belichick ever signed* Viagra, the body hack with consequences* That time Sarah matched with a silver fox who was 72 …* The Boomers won’t leave!* Did Kerry really love Logan on Succession?* The problem of an aging father who is also single* Which former NFL superstar hangs around Dallas’s Katy Trail without his shirt on, chatting up the ladies?* The surprisingly tender story of Anna Nicole Smith’s old rich husband* The best role Tom Cruise ever played, and it’s not MagnoliaPlus, why Nike should have made an ad about girl dads, that time Nancy discovered Steve Nash, Ethan doesn’t know how Australians learn to read, and much more!NOTE: Ethan’s new show, RANDOM OFFENSE, premieres this Friday at 4pmET/1pmPT. Fancy Pommelmann will be there, and you come too!LOVE WINS, when you become a paid subscriber.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comBefore we talk about this episode: Pretty-please go to YouTube and subscribe to our new channel. It costs you nothing! It could give you so much joy! Now, on to the show:Nancy and Sarah go deep on the Sean Combs case, thus inspiring them to slap the first warning label on a Smoke ‘Em episode. This one’s explicit! It’s also sad, confusing, funny-depressing, one more cautionary tale about fame, money, and power. They talk about the recent conviction of Gerard Depardieu, the one-time Casanova of French cinema who confessed in the course of his trial that he was “ill suited for the current era.”Also discussed:* Age of consent laws are wild* France reckons five years later* Zut alors, the jerk lawyer in that Depardieu case!* Nancy needs seven showers* Mise en place, mise en scene …* Cowboys 4 Angels* Baby oil, so much baby oil* Dan Savage, you’re our last hope* “But I don’t want to go to a Brazilian steakhouse!”* The backstory behind that violent March 2016 footage in the hotel* Beware the scared man who fears his woman is getting too powerful* Does the public have a right to see Diddy freak-off footage? Nancy: Yes. Sarah: No. Wanna guess who would watch it, though?* Nancy flirts with victim-blaming, pulls back from the brink* Send hate mail to Gavin de Becker* But what is sex trafficking?* Nancy tells a tragic story about an old acquaintance* A drinking problem starts as a drinking solutionPlus, the book that is blowing Sarah’s mind, Nancy’s magical trip to a land before time, altogether too much freaking off, and much more!Because we’ll never cover you in baby oil (unless you ask nice) — become a paid subscriber

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comPoet and author Nick Flynn joins Nancy and Sarah to talk about poems that blew his mind, the destabilizing experience of watching your life re-enacted in a movie (his memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City became Being Flynn with Robert DeNiro, Julianne Moore, and Paul Dano), why DeNiro demanded Nick be on set, riding in a limo to said set with the young Dano, and why white male writers are alive and well, at least in the classes he teaches.“The poets I’ve met are assholes,” Sarah confesses to Nick, although upon further reflection, it’s more like the assholes really stand out. Nick isn’t friends with assholes, but he does know many amazing poets, including Marie Howe, who just won the Pulitzer. Also discussed:* Sarah hates poetry, then proceeds to recite poetry* Nick defends Robert Frost* Pantyhose vending machines at Hooters* The surprising diversity, art/dining scene of Houston* Nick reads “Bag of Mice,” blows our minds* “Aristotle did not promise writing would be cathartic”* The greatness of Lili Taylor, better known to Nick as his wife* Who will play Nancy in the movie?* What’s Amy Adams doing in, oh-say, two or three years?* Houston museums! Iranian films! Barn dance! * Sinners is a must-see, but…* … not a lot of love for Black Panther on this podcastPlus, Nick yells at a marriage therapist, why making stuff is dangerous, a rare sighting of Nancy’s daughter in the wild, and much more!Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not become a paid subscriber — oh no, wait you can:

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comStop what you are doing and subscribe to Smoke ‘Em’s new YouTube! Right now yes thank you. On to our regular program!Nancy and Sarah are joined by culture critic/novelist Kat Rosenfield to talk about who we can blame for our current morass: Social media? Heterodox thinkers? Everyone? The trio end up discussing the difference between activism and storytelling, what it means to be “disingenuous,” Kat’s Twitter beef with Cathy Young, writer’s envy (or maybe just Sarah’s envy), and Kat’s long-promised kimono, a gift for her most-frequent-guest status, which has not been bought yet (ed note: Sarah glares at Nancy). Trump’s 100 Days: How did we get here? And if we all got into this together, can we get out together, too?Also discussed:* Three votes for the moon* Surprise cat appearance!* Trump “corrupts his allies and deranges his opponents in a way that makes the culture worse.”* Why categorizing anyone as “anti-anti Trump” is axiomatically corrupt* Ambiguity frightens people. * Losing friends for speaking up* Dick Cavett, the Joe Rogan of his day* Politics as a litmus test for moral character* England, don’t stick your dick in a box of badgers* Dad-Bod-GatePlus, Sarah offers a poignant quote from Milan Kundera (or maybe Instagram; whatever), Nancy unintentionally inaugurates a “Hate Thing of the Week” feature, the problem with men wearing teensy-tiny pants, and much more!REMINDER: Paid subscribers can join us this Sunday, May 4, for our First Sunday Zoom, 5pm PT / 8pm ET, link sent out day-of!It’s already May! Looks like the perfect month for you to become a paid subscriber.Reliable, beautiful and bright candidate that wasn’t on the ballot (though Kat wrote it in)

Just out here, two ladies taking in the view from three years into their podcast on the outskirts of the zeitgeist. The Old 97s make honest women of us. Dave Cicirelli gives us a new look. Nancy and Sarah are making this episode free to everyone, in celebration of 1095+ days of trying to make sense of this crazy world.Also discussed:* The Smoke ‘Em guests that riled up listeners* Ross Douthat “places his finger on the deep wound”* We love a dorky wedding!* Pop quiz for Nancy: Pronounce “swastika”* Our 2025 guest wish list: we’re looking at you, Douglas Murray.* Conclave, cleavage, whatever* Mike Pesca and his “New Substack” panic button* “Don’t put it down, put it away …”* Nancy will never lose her contempt for Bernadine Dohrn* The hotness of Diego Luna* The hotness of Tom Hardy* Nancy’s mom* POP ROCKS!Plus, things that are sexy: men who take the lead, flying toward the story, pleather, and much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy and Sarah discuss the continuing saga of Luigi Mangione, newly minted folk hero and alleged assassin of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. “Here’s this man who is a revolutionary, who’s famous, who’s handsome, he’s smart, he’s a person who seems like a morally good man, which is hard to find,” said journalist Taylor Lorenz on CNN, and while there was some context to that comment, there wasn’t much. At Coachella, Circle Jerks’ frontman Keith Morris called for an “army of Luigis,” while folk singer Jesse Welles is selling out venues with his Luigi-inspired song “United Healthcare.” Nancy and Sarah talk about anti-heroes, the politics of protest music, the catharsis of Netflix, and why our culture has a hard-on for murderers.Also discussed:* Would you go to space?* Why wasn’t Oprah on that flight?* Nancy’s Circle Jerks encounter* Sarah eats two-week old steak. Pays the price.* Cody Balmer is no Luigi Mangione — or is he?* Taylor Lorenz is one strange bird* Luxembourg, Rosenberg, same diff …* Missing Ross Perot* Sarah confuses Dallas Morning News baseball writer Evan Grant with Ryan Murphy favorite/teen heartthrob Evan Peters …* Weinstein case = can of worms with snakes inside* Sarah tells a dad joke, stands behind it* Someone looks like four miles of bad road* Candace Owens, if we must* You gotta put batteries in your vibratorPlus, Clyde Barrow was not impotent, ChatGPT roasts Sarah and Nancy, a special friend-of-the-pod on Bill Maher this Friday, and much more!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy and Sarah discuss former “Shagger of the Year” Russell Brand, who’s been charged with sexual misconduct, a year or two after an explosive documentary landed on British TV about the comedian/entertainer/podcaster/New-Age guru. That show kicked off a criminal investigation, now headed to the courts.Brand is at once an obvious and peculiar #MeToo target, since he was so outspoken about his misdeeds in real time, including a memoir about his sex addiction called My Booky Wook. The ladies discuss changing cultural climates, why women are drawn to charming reprobates, the logic of age-of-consent laws, and the appropriate legal consequences for someone who behaved badly and got lavishly rewarded for it.Also discussed:* Are Americans horny for anger, or is it just our Twitter feeds?* Disinhibited by a nap, Sarah falls into Twitter spat* Carrie Coon stans came to win* The spitfire that is (recent Smoke ‘Em guest!) Meghan McCain* Sarah regrets editing out a line about Russell Brand asking about panties* “Attention hunger”* The late great David Carr* “Feeding the fat kid” into perpetuity* Beware the older man saying, “I want to buy you a dress and take you out in it.” Honeytrap!* Paul Schrader, Taxi Driver screenwriter, should have known better* Sarah challenges Kmele Foster to an “antic conversation”* “It’s dudes all the way down.”Plus, Sarah tries to explain a “vacation hat,” Nancy nominates Tom Hardy for perennial “Sexiest Man Alive,” a pic of where dozens of your favorite podcasters have peed, and much more!Correction: Nancy said the tariffs had wiped out $10 trillion in “debt,” when she meant to say “wealth.” Management regrets the error, while thinking she might have been wish-casting …