This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comThe Internet knows him as “Chartthrob” and “Map Daddy,” but once upon a time, Sarah knew him as “Snackwells,” the boy-genius politics editor at Salon and sweetheart of a co-worker who bought her a daily Diet Dr Pepper and picked stray vegetables out of everything he ate. The one and only Steve Kornacki joins the pod to talk about his stratospheric popularity as elections analyst on MSNBC (“I don’t fully understand what happened”), the Super Bowl and sports betting, his #1 Spotify listen of 2022 (Bobby Vee, anyone?), his famous Gap khakis, and his fantastic new podcast, “The Revolution,” tracking the rise and fall of Newt Gingrich, whose Nineties’ tenure as Speaker of the House had an outsized influence on American politics.In the bonus: Sarah and Nancy discuss Rihanna’s fumble of a halftime performance: the pregnancy reveal, the amazing dancers who (unintentionally?) looked like sperm, and the bizarre moment when Rihanna sniffed her own crotch. (Sarah has some hot sports opinions about that one.) But there was one performer going for broke during that show, and we adore her. Also: The Waco siege, 30 years later, and will a Netflix show make Nancy change her mind about Glass Onion?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comIn 2021, actor Armie Hammer’s career crashed into the side of a mountain. The recently separated star had lined up a series of high-profile projects when an anonymous Instagram account called the House of Effie began posting eye-popping messages of violent sexual fantasy that purported to be from Hammer. “I am 100% cannibal,” read one. More women joined the fray, bringing accusations of coercion, power abuse, and eventually rape. The Internet, no surprise here, was riveted. Cue a cascade of clickbait articles and a high-profile documentary, but along the way, there was one side of the story curiously missing: Armie Hammer’s.Journalist Jamie Kirchick changed that with his barnburner new profile, “Armie Hammer Breaks His Silence,” recently published in Graydon Carter’s magazine, Air Mail. Kirchick comes on the podcast to talk about a scandal gone wild, a media in absentia, kink shaming, the parts of those salacious messages we never got to see, the problem with the court of public opinion, and whether consent can ever be taken back. It’s a hell of a story.In the bonus: gamifying your healthcare, Nancy reveals her big TV commercial break, how to eat a cupcake, MILF Manor gets real (silly), the brilliant and controversial third episode of HBO’s The Last of Us, and a whole bunch of hotness in our hot boxes.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comWhat up with the language police? Nancy and Sarah take on the one-percent who insist on scrubbing the mundane (“he,” “she,” “the”) and the arcane (“graybeard”?) from our mouths on the off-chance the words cause harm or feelings of exclusion. Language is shape-shifting, and good communication aims toward inclusion, but who does it help when we replace basic words with the un-fun, the opaque, and the workshopped? Sarah and Nancy may disagree on how to pronounce Latinx (“Lah-TEENix”? “LaTINKS”?) but agree with Substacker Rob Henderson when he writes that “only the affluent can afford to learn strange vocabulary, because ordinary people have real problems to worry about.” Speaking of language, New York Times Opinion writer and former head of the Times Book Review Pamela Paul revisits the novel American Dirt and its author Jeanine Cummins, both fed to the cultural appropriation fires of 2020. More than a hundred writers wrote an open letter denouncing Cummins to Oprah Winfrey (who’d made American Dirt an Oprah pick), and such campaigns have left publishers running in fear, but the public? They made the book a bestseller. Plus: Nancy and Sarah on deep-fried anything, the legacy of Tom Wolfe (the best American novelist on the subject of “status”) and some cracking 20th-C essays about the sexual revolution, a time when “finding yourself” left many people lost.In the bonus: Sarah takes us to MILF Manor, while Nancy talks about her mom and memory loss, wishing a pox on those who prey on the elderly. An update on journalist Felicia Sonmez, star of the 2022 melodrama, “As the Washington Post Turns.” Then it’s into the hot boxes, of which Sarah’s appears to be gushing lava, lots and lots of lava … And we tease our next guest. You may call him “Map Daddy”; we call him friend.Please note! Zoom hangs for paid subscribers will be the first Sunday of each month. We gather THIS SUNDAY, Feb 5, at 8pm ET/5pm PT. We’ll send a Zoom link the day-of. Will Sarah wear a wig? Will Nancy wear a halter? Find out.Come for the deep-fried Oreos, stay for the MILF Manor recap and straight talk. Isn’t it time to become a paid or free subscriber?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comWe discuss a viral advice column titled “You Fat-Shamed Your Beautiful Girlfriend.” It begins with a letter from someone wrestling over how to handle a partner’s weight gain. The advice giver’s clap-back (“If your girlfriend wrote into this column with this story, I would tell her she should break up with you”) prompts an antic conversation about fat, shame, sexual desire, pharmaceutical interventions like Ozempic, integrity, and the long relationship we have with our own bodies.Also: Update on a Twitter spat, more philosophical musings on sex with a dead chicken (of course), and we share a dissenting opinion from a listener (and mother) on last week’s episode about “All Gas No Brakes” host Andrew Callaghan, accused of being a “sexual pest.” Sarah points out she’s not here to talk about how things should be, but how they are. Nancy knows you can never protect your kids enough, from the tiniest mean glance to a plane crash. What you can do, she argues, is to teach them good survival skills and tell them it’s absolutely fine to say no.In the bonus episode: MILF Manor may be a sign of cultural collapse, but the second episode sure was fascinating! We revisit a 1980 Stockard Channing movie about an “ugly ducking” who transforms into a hottie with a mind for revenge. Nancy gets hooked on an Israeli television show, and Sarah rediscovers the brilliance of a 1994 movie along with the hotness of Ralph Fiennes.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy and Sarah dive back into the faked death of romance novelist Susan Meachan, thanks to journalist Ellen Barry, who did a deep dive in the NYT. After learning details of her (actual) life, do we have any more empathy for Meachan and her seduction by and escape into Romancelandia?Next we look at the scandal around Andrew Callaghan, YouTube star of All Gas No Brakes who was hit with allegations of sexual coercion on the eve of his HBO debut. Nancy is suspicious of the timing, as well as the request for money from one of his accusers. Sarah thinks this kerfuffle raises good questions about coercion, alcohol, and sex. They both found Callaghan’s four-minute apology video like a bingo card of social-justice catch phrases.Also: Why can’t we stop talking about sex with dead chickens? And Sarah gets dinged on Twitter by someone accusing her of “agreeing with the boss’ wife about Justice Kavanaugh.” Nancy is confused. Isn’t she Sarah’s boss?In the bonus, it’s onto (into?) the new reality series MILF Manor, which Sarah is mainlining and whose title Nancy can barely bring herself to say. The journalistas took the “Are You a MILF?” quiz. We reveal who scored higher, what’s in our hotboxes, and news about upcoming live events.And speaking of events! Nancy and Sarah will be appearing onstage with Meghan Daum and Sarah Haider (of A Special Place in Hell) on Thursday June 22, as part of the University of Austin’s 2023 Forbidden Courses event. Despite the name of the university, the event is actually being held in Dallas, 7:30-9pm central, at the Old Parkland.For full episodes, go to our Substack page: https://smokeempodcast.substack.com/podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy has been enjoying the audiobook of Harry Windsor’s blockbuster memoir, “Spare,” but Sarah thinks a more fitting title might be “Spare Me.” They debate the controversial figure of Prince Harry, grieving son in a golden cage but also emblem of millennial entitlement and empty social-justice activism. Sarah has a problem with the ghostwriter’s heavy hand, while Nancy has a problem with cruise ships, which becomes relevant when the terrific film “Triangle of Sadness” (which takes place on a boat) prompts a debate on 21st-century American masculinity. Do men still know how to build a fire? What about fixing an engine? And just how manly is it to get frostbite on your penis — and is that even possible?In the bonus: We discuss the life of the late Lisa Marie Presley, who grew up as American royalty, and how far (if at all) she was allowed to fly from the golden cage. Were her marriages to troubled men an attempt to help the troubled father who died when she was nine? Plus, we revisit lustrous moments from the Golden Globes and — again! — Sarah and Nancy disagree about an award-winning film.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comHave you ever known someone who came back from the dead? (Aside from JC and Manti Te'o's girlfriend.) Well, you do now: Susan Meachan was a prolific writer of self-published romance novels when, following reports of online bullying, her suicide was reported in 2020. Alas, Meachen apparently found being dead a bit boring, and announced her resurrection this month. We dig into this story, leading to a discussion about the scorned but popular genre of romance, the endurance of boy bands, endless social media frauds, and how far people will go for love and attention. Susan, if you’re reading this: Sarah has questions.We then look at the latest university scandal, which PEN America calls “one of the most egregious violations of academic freedom in recent memory”: An adjunct art history professor at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, showed the class a painting of the Prophet Mohammed. While she’d alerted the class in a syllabus as well as prior to the discussion, a Sudanese student nevertheless described herself as “blindsided”; a forum was held, accusations of Islamophobia and misconduct flew, and the whole thing wound up in the New York Times.Also discussed: What is nonbinary workwear? Is Sarah a nicer person than Nancy? Is it morally acceptable to have sex with a chicken if said chicken is dead? And what is a robot kitten (or as Nancy puts it, “kit-ten”)?Bonus content: The Menu is the dark foodie satire we need. We rediscover our love for Ralph Fiennes and praise Anya Taylor-Joy (recently of The Queen’s Gambit) and disagree on whether foodie culture has gone too far. Also: How much did Nancy pay to eat at the fabled Chicago restaurant Alinea, and who doesn’t have a crush on Harry Styles?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com2023 is off to a roaring start, as the Twitter vultures rip apart the carcass of podcaster Lex Fridman’s reading list of the classics. (On the Road? Biiig mistake.) We discuss the passing of TV pioneer Barbara Walters, whose gently probing style allowed her to act as a kind of collective consciousness. She merged soft celebrity and hard-hitting politics to become a fixture in the American home. (And we didn’t even mention “The View”!) Did you know Walters filmed a TV segment dressed as a Playboy bunny a year before Gloria Steinem’s famous expose? The woman had one hell of a career.Vice assembled a genuinely diverse panel of nine women to discuss feminism, and oooh boy, it was fascinating. Arguments over abortion, trans women in sports, beauty privilege, #MeToo, the hour-long conversation was a real intersectional shit show. Is feminism dead? Maybe. Definitely. Certainly not. As Sarah says, “Feminism is an ongoing project that shape-shifts over time.” What’s cool about the panel is also what made it so contentious. These conversations are fraught, and no one agrees.In the bonus: New Year’s resolution talk about food and writing, let’s not bring Darren to the party, possible book club reading list, and Sarah makes a weird but touching offer to Nancy should they ever get stranded in the Sierra Mountains.Episode Notes:“A Murder in Portland,” by Nancy Rommelmann (Washington Examiner Magazine)“The Reality Portland Does Not Want to See: Everything modern Portland did led up to the horrific, predictable murder of Rachael Abraham,” by Nancy Rommelmann (Nancy’s Substack — go ahead and subscribe!)I mean, the guy was just asking to be cancelled …It’s all good!“Barbara Walters, a First Among TV Newswomen, Is Dead at 93,” by Alessandra Stanley (New York Times)“Cindy Adams remembers her friend Barbara Walters,” by Cindy Adams (NY Post)“Monica, you have been described as a bimbo, a stalker, a seductress. Describe yourself.” Barbara Walters interviews Monica Lewinsky on 20/20:Barbara Walters learns “the Bunny Dip”: “Slow Burn podcast: The Clinton Impeachment”“Why I Hope top Die at 75,” by Ezekiel J. Emanuel (Atlantic)“Headlong: Missing Richard Simmons” podcast by Dan Taberski“A Psychologist Explains Why Life is Easier For Attractive People,” by Romano Santos (Vice)“'Ugly Ducklings' On How People Treated Them When They Got Hot,” by Amelia Tait (Vice)“Anti & Pro Feminists Debate Abortion, Trans Rights, and #Metoo” | VICE Debates:“I did want to acknowledge the violence brought to my trans and non white counterparts during this whole thing,” Mindie Lind’s Instagram “The Problem With Intersectional Feminism,” by Helen Pluckrose (Areo)You’ve been called a bimbo, a stalker, a seductress, but with one simple text field, you could become a paid subscriber.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comIt’s our year-end wrap-up, and a flirtatious/contentious one! Nancy and Sarah spar over “Glass Onion,” the latest “Knives Out” mystery, before running down the most memorable moments of the past year (and 49 episodes!), from Will Smith’s slap to Teal Swan’s manipulation. We chat celebrity, cults, and spiritual voids. (Kwanzaa turns out to have a pretty bleak history, but Joyous Kwanzaa to you, anyway.) Why is Nancy so drawn to narcissistic liars? Why is Sarah so willing to defend terrible people? The tension grows thick. Will our hosts ever stop quibbling and admit they’re in love? (That’s for the paid subscribers, people.)Bonus content: Who are our picks for person of the year? Villain of the year? We share our favorite movies, TV shows, and books, and make our bid for the most important news story of 2022. Then we confess all our secrets. Or at least, like, two.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comMeghan Daum is an acclaimed essayist who hosts two podcasts, the interview show “The Unspeakable” and the current topics-based “A Special Place in Hell” with Sarah Haider. Meghan is an inspiration to many, including Sarah. While Nancy bakes pie in some upstate New York location, Sarah engages in a far-ranging solo interview with Meghan that somehow includes: Terry Gross, Michael Barbaro and his noises of affirmation, Fran Lebowitz, Meghan’s unconventional childhood of music theory and tiny adulthood, Tom Waits and Joni Mitchell, the birth of “call outs,” Roxane Gay and Bad Feminist, why heterodox writers might be the new counter-culture, the invisibility of Generation X, whether Meghan and Sarah are “conservative” despite identifying as liberals (and what “conservative” even means in an era of political realignment), why neither of us became mothers, and if there’s any truth to Candace Owens’ crack about childless women that “if you don’t use your eggs, they scramble.”On the paid-subscriber-only episode (Ed. note: It’s really good): The perils of writing about people in your life, why Sarah dates younger men, the most controversial claim Meghan can make about herself, marriage versus singlehood, and how feminist discourse got swallowed by gender ideology.