This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comAfter a brief discussion of the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight, Nancy and Sarah talk about health, weight, and other confusions. The inspiration is a recent New York Times story that three-quarters of Americans are overweight or obese, a report that coincides with the rise of new gurus like Dr. Casey Means, who recently appeared on Real Time With Bill Maher to talk about how little doctors understand nutrition and why Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could be a disruptor in the Department of Health. (Debatable.) Sarah, who has struggled with weight most of her life, expresses frustration at the mixed messages around eating. Nancy, who carried 20 extra pounds as a young woman, wonders how much people let weight keep them in a holding pattern.Also discussed:* JerryWorld!* Was the fight fixed?* “You gotta let people take their shot.”* One word: Plastics* Glucose monitors?* The U.S. state with the most obese women is …* To Ozempic, or not to Ozempic?* Bill Maher is never backing down from January 6Plus, Sarah gets a walking desk, a new Taylor Sheridan show drops, Nancy’s daughter has a doppelganger, and more!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com“I didn’t transition to replace cis women in sports,” begins Brianna Wu, the straight-shooter who chats with Sarah and Nancy this week. “I transitioned because I wanted to get along.” Joined by Kelly Cadigan, who co-hosts their new podcast “Dollcast,” both women talk openly about the frustration of watching the trans civil rights conversation hijacked by extremists, pitting people against each other. We discuss how the election may have been affected by the trans issue, the challenge of integrating trans women into sports, and what a more sane approach to dealing with trans minors might look like.Also discussed:* The newest member of Sarah’s family* Gamergate* Brianna just wants to have lunch uptown* Vaginoplasty, actually rare among trans women* “You do not want to know me without HRT”* The nonbinary phenomenon* “I don’t have any delusions I’m a biological woman, just admit I’m a kind of woman, albeit a weird one.”* 15 is terrible for every girl!* “It’s dangerous for me to out myself.”* Who drank the Zionism super-serum?Plus, the conundrum of granting grace, the hope that we’ve reached a reset on conversations, the sexiness of Seth Moulton, and more!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comRats in the walls, ghosts in the bull rushes and some extreme reactions to the election of Donald Trump as president. What to do? Swear off sex? Buy a blue bracelet at Target? Excise at least 53% of Americans from your life? Sounds tragic. Maybe what we need is a child actress from the ‘80s to deliver some common sense …Also discussed:* A 🌹 is code for …* Worry is not useful* When a protest for sexual freedom becomes a vow of chastity* Say “blue bracelet” three times fast* Top o’ the morning, I doff my blue top hat* Nancy wants the ladies to “bring their bushels”* Joy Reid gonna Joy Reid* Young men and #MeToo* Justine Bateman’s cri de coeurPlus: A fond farewell to “A Special Place in Hell,” Nancy pronounces the word “pianist” a lot like a DIFFERENT word, and Sarah studies up for this week’s biggest! boxing! event! of all time!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comTrump won, Kamala lost. People have feelings about this (including us). But it’s not going to get easier imagining that 50% of Americans are racists, misogynists, or whatever other -ist can be deployed to explain how Republicans pulled off a stunning victory on Tuesday, which some worry is ushering in an unprecedented period of darkness…As it turns out, the sun rose! And Nancy and Sarah talk about What Happened: Are people uncomfortable with a woman leading? How big a factor was abortion? Do people just want change?Also discussed:* “Hollywood lost its grip on the popular imagination.”* Polling: What is it good for?* I mean we like Queen Latifah too, but …* Sarah once wrote a column called “Crying in Restaurants”* Trump announced during his acceptance speech that Melania’s book was #1. Does it shock anyone that this is not exactly the case?* What’s up with all the crying videos?* “Shut up, Mom!”* Some love for Brianna Wu* Is kissing cheating?* Wishing our pal Steve Kornacki a napPlus, some day-after podcasts that made sense of the election, an eye-popping new Netflix bio on Martha Stewart, and a bonus video of … Eli Lake dancing?

Sarah is scared to fly, Nancy is freaked out by moldy cheese, and both of them have scary stories related to times they got in a car they shouldn’t have. In honor of Halloween, we talk about classic horror movies, break out some October 31 trivia, and discuss what scares Americans most. Also discussed:* Is Jaws a horror movie: a debate!* Nancy’s almost-star turn in said same movie* 2023’s #1 Halloween costume* Alligators in the sewers: real or urban myth?* The movie image that freaked out 12-year-old Sarah* The devil’s entrance from hell was in … Nancy’s dad’s apartment?* Everyone is afraid of one of these: snakes, rats or …* Small planes have a better chance of survival?* “The guy with the pin cushions in his face.”* Elevator shaft close calls* “The line between blooper reel and tragedy is very thin”Plus, how to swim out of a riptide, Nancy does a Vincent Price impersonation, Sarah’s top scary movie, and much more! First Sunday — and last call before the election — Zoom: For paid subscribers, this Sunday, November 3, 8pmET/5pmPT. Bring your predictions, your fears, what’s left of your kids’ Halloween candy and/or something stronger.It was a dark and stormy night when you finally became a paid subscriber … Forgot to mention: Our pal Michael Moynihan will be on “Real Time with Bill Maher” this Friday. Last show before the election should be a doozy.Episode Notes:“Bannon's Prison Sentence Is Over and He Has Nothing New To Say,” by Nancy Rommelmann (Reason)“Highest Grossing Horror Movies of All Time,” by Travis Bean (Forbes)“What Are Americans Really Afraid Of?” Chapman University surveyAmericans’ #1 fear? Corrupt politicians. In related news …“Alligators in the sewer myth is true: City workers find out in jaw-dropping video,” by Ben Cost (New York Post)Thank you, Stephen KingWhat’s in your hot box?Sarah: Stoner, by John Williams Nancy: Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution, by Simon SchamaSarah picks the outro 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.com“The election is a week from tomorrow, thank God,” says Sarah, speaking for the rest of us, feeling as though we are Danny in The Shining and the candidates are the twins…We take a break from political news (well, kind of) to talk about two recent TV distractions: Anatomy of Lies, a three-part docuseries about the bundle of fraudulence that was Grey’s Anatomy writer Elisabeth Finch, and Woman of the Hour, a tense Netflix drama directed by and starring Anna Kendrick and based on the real-life story of a serial killer contestant on The Dating Game. Also discussed:* Tony Hinchcliffe’s very bad joke* Nancy wants the media to use more precise language* Joe Rogan podcast: Trump has logorrhea* Be careful what you say in the supermarket …* Andie MacDowell and the afterlife* A side effect of knee surgery replacement is … obsessive lying?* What with all the serial killers?* Should we watch the Menendez Brothers documentary?Plus, Sarah can’t go anywhere without being recognized, Nancy has a question about crossing over, a very enthusiastic hot box recommendation, and much more!Correction: Nancy initially said the pro-Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden took place in 1939, then changed it to 1936. Right the first time! First Sunday — and last call before the election — Zoom: For paid subscribers, this Sunday, November 3, 8pmET/5pmPT. Bring your predictions, your fears, what’s left of your kids’ Halloween candy and/or something stronger.Our girl Nancy has a birthday this week, and we know the perfect gift:

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comLet’s say you want to promote a book and you have a little ad money to burn. If you are author and communications consultant Melanie Notkin, you might contact Shelf Awareness, which sends free newsletters to, per its Instagram bio, “booksellers, librarians, publishers, book collectors, literary antiquarians, and everyone else who loves to read.” Shelf Awareness publisher Matt Balducci was happy to run the promo, for the U.S. release of Bernard-Henri Lévy's latest book… until two days later, when he emailed Melanie to say they were cancelling the ad.“I’ve never been denied the ability to pay for an ad in any outlet,” says Notkin, who knew, before she spoke with Balducci — a conversation Notkin recorded — that he was backing out because of one of the words in the book’s two-word title, and it wasn’t “Alone.”Francesca Block at The Free Press reported on the story earlier today. Here, Notkin picks up the conversation, including:* Is the anti-Israeli movement contracting or going underground?* Pro tip: When you basically tell someone you’re caving to the mob, maybe try not to sound patronizing* The shadow-banning of books and authors leads nowhere good* Quick: A group of masked people on the subway chant, “Raise your hand if you’re a Zionist!” What do you do?* “I don’t want to live in a world where my friend denounces me.”* #nevershuttingupPlus, big love for Douglas Murray, when intolerance becomes a show of valor, and did casual Fridays ruin everything?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comGreetings from Nancy’s 31st hotel room! Our roving reporter is on the scene in Asheville, North Carolina, where she gives Sarah the scoop on hurricane damage, what the politicized coverage has gotten wrong, and why it’s good to live near churches when catastrophe strikes. The two of them talk Ted Cruz vs. Colin Allred, as well as Kamala Harris vs. Bret Baier. Then it’s on to the New York Times’ latest story on University of Michigan’s DEI double-down.Also discussed:* What up with those shower half-doors?* Fewer “talking points” Kamala, more Feisty Kamala* Name someone more weasely than Ted Cruz. We’ll wait …* “Whore’s bath”???* FEMA controversy = not that controversial* Does DEI cause plane crashes?* How long will colleges ignore the ROI?* Anatomy of Lies: Next week’s topic?* What does it say about us that we love exposing liars?Plus, the problem with the docu-series, the man who puts Sarah to sleep every night, Nancy needs a bath, and more!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com“The path to success may not always be easy, but with determination and courage, you can achieve your dreams.” So writes Melania Trump (or ChatGPT?) on page 34 of the memoir released yesterday by the former first lady. And we have questions! Such as, did any of the Big Five publishers bid on the book? Who wrote Melania’s memoir and has she seen it? Is Donald Trump, as portrayed here, actually made out of wood?Also discussed:* Every Ta-Nahesi Coates interview doesn’t need to be a tongue bath* Nancy’s turning point with Palestinian protestors* Will Melania’s pro-choice position sway undecided voters?* But really: No way is Donald Trump pro-life* Why did Skyhorse, which published Melania, demand $250,000 when CNN asked for an interview?* “Who gives a fuck about Chrismas decoration?”: Melania caught on hot mic* The explanation of that weird “I don’t care, do you?” fashion moment* Point-counterpoint: Was Melania truly out of the loop on January 6?* Melania’s plastic surgery* The case for the middle ground on abortion* How to get “maximum spillage and bobble”Plus, the viral performance artist imitating trash bags, the disturbing face-eating disease Nancy brings up at the last moment (why?!), some love for FIRE, and more!

Oksana Hutnyk, a resident of Lviv, shares her gripping insights on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. She reflects on the emotional journey from fear to resilience, revealing how communities adapt amidst war's harsh realities. The conversation covers the disillusionment with international support, the deep psychological impact on children, and the complexities of public sentiment towards leadership. Oksana emphasizes the need for sustained global attention and urges actions to address the human cost of conflict, all while expressing gratitude for the support received.