This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comThe Los Angeles trial of Harvey Weinstein ended with jurors proclaiming the disgraced movie mogul alternately guilty, not guilty, and [shrug emoji]. Nancy and Sarah plumb deeper on the trial, centered on the allegations of four Jane Does (including one spouse of a California governor). The two-month trial gained little traction in the press, perhaps because Weinstein was convicted in the court of public opinion five years ago. People are done with him, the monster in his cage. But not Nancy and Sarah! The latter goes deep on Weinstein’s childhood, his bullying mother, the forces that shaped him. Nancy reminds us how much young women will sacrifice to step into the Hollywood magic machine. They discuss Ken Auletta’s book Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence, and Ronan Farrow’s HBO docuseries Catch and Kill.In the paid-subscribers-only content (sign up on Substack): Why are people talking about “nepo babies”? Also: Twitter, twittered, twittering. What we gain (and maybe lose) when we step away from social media, and why it’s always better to complicate the picture.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comTwitter seemed so simple at first. Both of us joined in 2009, and Nancy loved the economy of form, though Sarah was confused by the purpose and character count. She wound up live-tweeting things like, “Her hat is weird.” Thirteen years later, Twitter is the white-hot center of a cultural debate over politics, civility, and the future of journalism. Elon Musk is trying to build the plane while he flies it, and it’s unclear whether that plane is finding new altitude, or crashing into a mountainside.We discuss former head of Trust & Safety Yoel Roth, ambitious world-builder/left-wing pariah Bari Weiss, and of course Musk himself, who has become #1 hero and public enemy. (This was recorded before Musk polled Twitter users to ask if he should step down. They voted yes, by the way.) Nobody knows where this wild ride is heading, but Sarah cautions against what folks in AA call, “Contempt prior to investigation.” Nancy agrees, with a parable about how she actually does like eggplant.In the paid-subscriber-only content (on Substack): Sex sells, but who’s the customer? Not Nancy, who has zero interest in hearing about other people’s sex lives (or discussing her own). Not so fast, says Sarah. Sex is an expression of character, one of the deepest connections you can find with another human, and the problem is not sex writing but the shallow, performative way it’s written. Then we discuss: MILF Manor!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy and Sarah watched the Harry and Meghan series on Netflix so you don’t have to. Actually, they never finished it, but that doesn’t stop them from having opinions. “I’d rather watch an hour-long ad for Purina cat food,” Nancy declares, while Sarah is still processing how the Prince was first drawn to Meghan after seeing a SnapChat photo where she’d used the filter of a puppy dog.Then it’s on to the Golden Globes nominations. Sarah and Nancy disagree about “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” Sarah rants about not liking “The Banshees of Inisherin,” and they clash over the value of shopping malls. Debate for another time. The Golden Globe noms did have a few snubs, such as season two of “Reservation Dogs” (which Nancy raves about again, and not for the last time). And no female film directors were nominated, notably Gina Prince-Bythewood for “The Woman King” and Sarah Polley for “Women Talking.” But what’s up with these lame titles? (See also: “She Said,” discussed on episode 44).

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comThe New York Times stages a (one-day!) strike, and Nancy and Sarah debate unions, or what Sarah sees as a “20th-century infrastructure being dragged to 21st-century.” We also talk the Twitter Files, in which Elon Musk releases thousands of internal Twitter documents to two independent journalists, and legacy media lose their collective minds. The first Twitter Files dump (ew!) came a week ago Friday, a 40-plus thread by investigative reporter Matt Taibbi, who was swiftly labeled savior, has-been, and scumbag. “I take it all back, TWITTER IS THRILLING,” Sarah texted Nancy around tweet #15.Sarah also got sucked in to the second season of The Vow, the HBO documentary on NXIVM, the human-potential company better known as a “sex cult.” The six-part doc (much better than season one) follows the trial of leader Keith Raniere, a master manipulator who teaches personal empowerment as he exerts a scary control. Talking with apostates and true believers, The Vow asks: When are we responsible for our own behavior? It’s a haunting tale about belief, coercion, and our need for belonging.Our paid-subscriber-only content includes a favorite topic, lying sociopaths — in this case, Grey’s Anatomy writer Elisabeth Finch, whose fake cancer and sympathy scams were exposed in a Vanity Fair article discussed in episode 11. Now comes a follow-up where Finch, “disgraced and in exile, explains what made her do it.” But does she?Plus! A special on-air appearance by bingo-card favorite and Fifth Column co-host Matt Welch, whose thoughts on Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em are …All this and much more!You can fill that “un-fillable love hole” and get access to juicy bonus content when you become a paid or free subscriberEpisode Notes:“NY Times staffers walk out — but two key reporters cross picket line” (New York Post)Nancy was live at the scene:“Ousted NY Times Reporter Donald McNeil Jr. Speaks Out: ‘I’ve Been a Jackal Circled by Jackals’” by Lindsey Ellefson (The Wrap)“NYTimes Peru N-Word, Part One: Introduction,” by Donald McNeil Jr. (Medium)“Unionizing Salon Is Easier Said Than Done: 'We're Incredibly Frustrated,' Staffer Says,” by Dave Jamieson (HuffPo)“Elon Musk, Matt Taibbi, and a Very Modern Media Maelstrom,” by Michael M. Grynbaum (New York Times)Transcript from the Munk Debates: "Be it Resolved: Don't Trust Mainstream Media" (TK News) Bari Weiss resignation letterJournalists having trouble authenticating anything Jim Baker says? That’s not new.No, not that Jim Bakker!“Controversial Take: It’s Bad To Put Words In The Mouths Of Murder Victims,” by Jesse Singal (Substack)“Twenty years ago, in Moscow, Matt Taibbi was a misogynist asshole—and possibly worse,” by Aimee Levitt (Chicago Reader)NXIVM Wikipedia entry is a solid crash course“Inside Nxivm, the ‘Sex Cult’ That Preached Empowerment,” by Keith Raniere (New York Times)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comPerformer Irene Cara died this week, but what was she doing before that? How did a major ‘80s talent just … disappear? We answer that question and discuss the cultural impact of the 1980 musical Fame, which is like a blueprint for our American Idol-inspired, TikTok-addled moment. The Alan Parker movie may be remembered for its kick-ass theme song (and lesser TV adaptation), but the film holds up, kinetic and dark and deeply ambivalent about a career in the arts. Also, both Sarah and Nancy were obsessed with it. Nancy tells us about a doxxing controversy in Portland among black-bloc activists, who are angling for their own kind of fame. Then we discuss Ben Smith’s story on disgraced novelist Junot Diaz, including what it means to “forcibly kiss” someone (we both know from experience). In the subscriber-only bonus content, we come to different conclusions about the new Hulu series “Fleishman Is In Trouble,” though we both agree the show runner and author of the novel, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, is one of the best cultural observers out there. Also: The movie that made Sarah love going to the movies again, and Nancy discovers a new author-love. Episode Notes:“What is the origin of the term hoochie mama?” (Quora)“How ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls’ Reveals Roger Ebert’s Values as a Film Critic,” by Matt Singer (Indie Wire)Olive Tree Cafe/Comedy Cellar is where the best band in the world performs every Monday night at 9pm. You will sometimes find Nancy there! Here’s a shot from this past Monday, with Michael Moynihan and her daughter Tafv Sampson.Oh, but you want to Coleman Hughes and the band? Okay!Four journalists walk into the Supreme Court of IsraelGirls Night In board game Irene Cara obituary (New York Times)Fame on WikipediaFame trivia on IMDB is a very satisfying read“An Oral History of Fame, 40 Years On,” by Catherine Shoard (The Guardian)Fame official trailerEight-year-old Irene Cara appears on “Ted Mack Amateur Hour” Irene Cara, “Flashdance … What a Feeling”Gene Anthony Ray obituary (New York Times)“Remembering His Name: The Legacy of Gene Anthony Ray,” by Jeremy Kinser (LGBTQ Nation)Gene Anthony Ray playing Leroy Johnson in FameIrene Cara, “Out Here On My Own”As Sarah mentions, Fame grew out of the Broadway play A Chorus Line, which the cast of Hamilton honored several years ago by singing the Chorus Line hit “What I Did For Love.” Has Nancy watched this video a dozen times and cried every time? Well…Midnight Express official trailerIrene Cara wins Best Original Score for “Flashdance… What a Feeling”“Ready for an Encore,” by Jennifer Wulff (details of Cara’s law suit, People)The Back Story with Irene Cara podcast“Junot Diaz in Limbo,” by Ben Smith (Semafor)The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is the Junot Diaz book whose title Sarah flubbed“The Silence: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma,” by Junot Diaz (The New Yorker)Felicia Sonmez has something to say …“The Shiv in the Hand of Kindness,” Nancy on Sonmez, part googolplex (Arc Digital)“To Tell You the Truth,” by Sarah Hepola on meeting Jayson Blair (The Morning News)Stephen Elliott talks “Truth, Consequences, and "S****y Media Men” (Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em, episode 41) The best holiday gift is the one you give yourself, so isn’t it time you become a free or paid subscriber?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy and Sarah talk Thanksgiving turkeys — both the actual food, and the items we could do without. After killing off some sacred cows (Nancy’s looking at you, Brussel sprouts), we delve into She Said, the movie about the New York Times investigation that helped bring down Harvey Weinstein and launch #MeToo. Despite Oscar buzz and critical acclaim, the film tanked at the box office. What happened? We talk escapism, the bore of righteous cinema, and what a braver movie would have included.Next, we turn to the young grifters among us, who sniff out exactly what we can’t resist: Saving the world! The multibillion-dollar collapse of Sam “what’s a washing machine?” Bankman-Fried and Elizabeth “I don’t blink, I really don’t!” Holmes have become riveting dramas, satisfying that need we have to see false gods brought low.Then it’s on to our new bonus feature, a subscriber-only portion of the episode where we talk the power of the pussy, what’s in our hot boxes, and what we’re grateful for this Thanksgiving (besides stuffing), which includes you, dear listener. Now go subscribe! Pass the popcorn, crunch the chicarrones, and snuggle up with us when you become a free or paid subscriber.Episode Notes:Pie for Everyone: Recipes and Stories from Petee's Pie, New York's Best Pie Shop, new baking book that is Nancy’s obsession“A Special Place in Hell” podcast, with Meghan Daum and Sarah HaiderNancy’s traditional stuffing: Dry out 2 loaves of cheap white bread for a few days. Cut into cubes and toss with poultry seasoning, salt and black pepper. Melt one cup butter in the biggest pot you have, heavy bottomed preferred. Dice 2 yellow onions and a half-head of celery. Toss into the hot butter and saute, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching, until softened and with some brown bits. Add the giblets and liver, finely chopped, you’ve simmered in your turkey stock. (You did that right? If not, chicken broth works perfectly.) Some time during this process chew on the turkey neck you’ve also simmered, causing your husband every year to say, “I cannot watch you do that.” Toss the bread in the onion/celery butter, add more melted butter if it looks as though it needs it, moisten with stock or broth until it has the moistness you like, remembering that it will get moister inside the turkey. Yes, that’s right, you’re baking the turkey stuffed, don’t listen to all the health freaks, just make sure stuffing is cool before you stuff the turkey. Also make sure there’s a gigantic mound sticking out of the neck cavity. This will get deeply brown and crunchy and buttery from the basting. Cook’s prerogative to break off several hunks and eat these immediately.She Said, by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey“‘She Said’ Bombs: Why Aren’t Awards Season Movies Resonating With Audiences?” by Brent Lang (Variety)“Harvey Weinstein, Convicted Rapist, Gloats Over ‘She Said’ Fizzling at Box Office,” by Elizabeth Wagmeister (Variety)“The Plan to Make Harvey Weinstein a Hero” by Megan Garber (Atlantic)“Former Harvey Weinstein Attorney Lisa Bloom, Angling for a Hefty Payday, Now Faces Fraud Allegations” by Lloyd Grove (The Daily Beast)“SBF: The Virtue Was the Con” by Lane Brown (New York)“They Lived Together, Worked Together and Lost Billions Together: Inside Sam Bankman-Fried’s Doomed FTX Empire” by WSJ staff (Wall Street Journal)“Moynihan Taught Me,” crypto edition (Vice) “Elizabeth Holmes Is Sentenced to More Than 11 Years for Fraud” by Erin Griffith (New York Times)Bad Blood by John Carreyrou“Humiliation is part of the punishment for Elizabeth Holmes” by Stephen L. Carter (Bloomberg) Episode notes continue for our paid subscribers! Including what we’re grateful for, a discussion of pussy power, and a 1977 chanteuse in a plunging gold-sequined top. (Ed. note: Aren’t these all kind of the same thing?)Are we saving the best for last? Find out by becoming a paid subscriber!

We weren’t thrilled by the idea of covering Candace Owens’ new documentary on George Floyd. Sarah was so nervous to log onto Daily Wire, you’d think she was downloading porn. Nancy scoffed at giving 90 minutes to a provocateur she detests. “The Greatest Lie Ever Sold” is flawed, but it also raises questions the media has largely ignored, introducing us to Floyd’s two roommates, who carried the financial burden of his death but never saw a dime of the $90 million raised by Black Lives Matter. A refusal to cover inconvenient truths — the grifts of BLM organizers, the complicated realities of Floyd’s life and death — is how conspiracies grow.“It shouldn’t be this hard to talk about things,” comedian Dave Chappelle lamented in his “Saturday Night Live” monologue, a watertight fifteen minutes that might have satirized Jewish stereotypes but also might have normalized them. Whatever your perspective, we dare you to beat Chappelle’s description of Trump as an “honest liar” and Melania as “the kind of chick James Bond would smash but not trust.”Meanwhile, Twitter convulses as Elon Musk takes over, a mess that’s also a bit fun. Sarah stans for “Infamous” comedian Andrew Schulz, and Nancy gives the view from Israel, along with a story about a Holocaust survivor that leaves us both wiping tears. 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

Why is Nancy in Tel Aviv? Was it Nick Gillespie or the ghost of Michael Moynihan who gave Sarah COVID? We dive into the mid-terms, or “the normie elections,” as one person on Twitter called them. Not a red wave, but a repudiation of political extremism, a reminder that MAGA is a losing hand, that abortion matters, and that election polling doesn’t work.It’s possible the only thing this country can agree on is Steve Kornacki, MSNBC data analyst and khaki-wearing dreamboat who also happens to be a friend of the pod. We delight in KorSNACKi fan-fiction generated on election night, and contemplate which Dem should run in 2024, given that the current guy is — well, you know.Then it’s on to the barnburner of a Britney Spears profile by Kerry Howley in New York magazine, “House of Spears,” about why the singer’s father placed her under a conservatorship. It’s also a sprawling intergenerational tale of violence, poverty, and mental illness told like a Southern gothic. We doubt anyone will write a better story this year. 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

It’s hard to overstate the impact of the Shitty Media Men List on the media landscape back in October 2017. If you’ve never heard of it, good for you (not said sarcastically). If you have, you know it was a Google spreadsheet where 70 women, who remained anonymous, input names of media colleagues and acquaintances along with their alleged misbehavior, from creepy DMs to rape. This was a week after the Harvey Weinstein bombshell in The New Yorker, and men on the list lost jobs, friends, and reputations. As #MeToo was exploding, the idea of fighting back wasn’t popular. Stephen Elliott did it anyway. The writer, filmmaker and founding editor of the literary site The Rumpus filed a defamation lawsuit against the woman behind the list, Moira Donegan.In this week’s New York Magazine, journalist Lila Shapiro tackles the controversy and the personalities behind it as the legal battle heads toward court. Elliott, a friend of Nancy’s, was afraid the story would be a hit job. It wasn’t. Both Nancy and Sarah found it balanced, if favorable to the spirit of the list. Elliott agreed to come on the show to talk about his experience of being accused of rape, the personal and professional fallout, and whether these sorts of campaigns can ever (or eventually) have a positive impact. One detail not included in the story was Elliott’s car being spray-painted with the word RAPIST and his garage marked with the letters S C U M. We’re not sure why this was left out; Elliott says he sent the photos as well as the police report to the author. We share them with you here.We also discuss a current raft of #MeToo lawsuits, including cases against Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Paul Haggis, and Danny Masterson. The details aren’t pretty.Finally, the girls talk about Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native activist best known for refusing Marlon Brando’s Oscar for The Godfather on his behalf. A recent SF Chronicle piece exposed Littlefield as a “pretendian” who invented her Indian background, according to her sisters. (The family was Mexican.) Nancy, with her connections to the Native world, could potentially be exercised about this; she is not.No hotbox this episode, but we do reveal that Rachel Dolezal has an OnlyFans. Not that we’re linking to it!Find out why we’re the “OnlyFans of podcasts” when you become a free or paid subscriber.Episode Notes:“Bad Reputation,” by Lila Shapiro (New York Magazine)“What to Do With ‘Shitty Media Men?’” by Doree Shafrir (Buzzfeed)“On Pandering: How to Write Like a Man,” by Claire Vaye Watkins (Tin House)“Harvey Weinstein’s Lawyers Say Everyone Had ‘Transactional Sex’ in Hollywood Before #MeToo,” by Elizabeth Wagmeister (Variety)“Harvey Weinstein Accusers Are Furious His Lawyer Called Gov’s Partner ‘Bimbo’,” by Pilar Melendez (The Daily Beast)“Woman describes alleged rape by ‘dead-eyed’ director Paul Haggis as trial opens,” by Priscilla DeGregory (NY Post)“Documentary Filmmaker Testifies Oscar Winner Paul Haggis Assaulted Her at Film Festival: ‘I Felt Humiliated,’” by Antonio Ferme, Brent Lang (Variety)“The Apostate: Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology,” by Lawrence Wright (New Yorker)“Kevin Spacey Is Cleared of Anthony Rapp’s Battery Claim,” by Julia Jacobs and Nate Schweber (New York Times)“Actor Anthony Rapp: Kevin Spacey Made A Sexual Advance Toward Me When I Was 14,” by Adam B. Vary (Buzzfeed)“Scientology church looms over actor Danny Masterson rape case,” by Noah Goldberg (LA Times)“4 Women Claim the Church of Scientology Came After Them for Reporting Their Rapes,” by Gwynedd Stuart (LA Magazine)“Cuba Gooding Jr. Pleads Guilty to Forcible Touching,” by Benjamin Weiser and Colin Moynihan (NYT)“Sacheen Littlefeather was a Native American icon. Her sisters say she was an ethnic fraud,” by Jacqueline Keeler (San Francisco Chronicle)Outro song: “Apology Song” by the DecemberistsSo you’ve been lurking for a while. No apology needed, but isn’t it time to become a free or paid subscriber? 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

Hey Smokers! Zoom hang #1, Wednesday, October 19, at 9pm ET. Paid subscribers get a link emailed day-of. Not yet a subscriber? Let’s fix that!Nancy and Sarah have fallen hard for documentary filmmaker Meg Smaker after her recent appearance on Sam Harris’ podcast. Smaker’s film, originally titled Jihad Rehab (now called The UnRedacted), was canceled before it was ever released, having met a perfect storm of identity politics, institutional cowardice, and social media pile-on. But what we see in Smaker is a champion of radical empathy. She’s also a bad-ass, a former firefighter who cusses like a Marine and describes herself as a “six-foot albino godzilla.” Our kinda woman. Our friend Meghan Daum, of The Unspeakable and A Special Place in Hell podcasts, brought our attention to the dust-up at Hobart literary journal, where Cuban-born writer Alex Perez gave an interview filled with the spot-on observations everyone knows but no one talks about (Sarah calls them “truth clicks”) and which — surprise! — led to five editors quitting. A new site called Semafor drops some truth bombs about tensions at The New York Times, including an exchange with a former editor that gave Nancy a mental orgasm. Speaking of orgasm: We climax with a discussion of the clitoris, and agree to volunteer for any future research. For science.It’s not hard to find the button where you become a paid or free subscriberEpisode Notes:Arkansas Hot SpringsThere are many good Korean spas in Los Angeles, including Olympic Spa and Beverly Hot Springs. Plan on spending 2-3 hours.Sojo Spa Club, in Edgewater, NJ, with free shuttle from 42nd St. in NYC“Sundance Liked Her Documentary on Terrorism, Until Muslim Critics Didn’t,” by Michael Powell (New York Times)Sam Harris: A TALE OF CANCELLATION: A Conversation with Meg SmakerJihad Rehab/The UnRedacted website and GoFundMe“Who Killed Creative Writing? Thoughts on Alex Perez, Hobart magazine, and the price of literary citizenship,” by Meghan Daum“Alex Perez on the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, baseball, growing up Cuban-American in Miami & saying goodbye to the literary community,” by Elizabeth Ellen (Hobart) “Inside the Identity Crisis at The New York Times,” by Ben Smith (Semafor)“New York Times Journalists Scared to Have an Op-Ed Page,” by Matt Welch (Reason)“The New York Times staff revolt over Tom Cotton’s op-ed, explained,” by Zack Beauchamp (Vox)“James Bennet’s Resignation Proves the Woke Scolds Are Taking Over The New York Times,” by Robby Soave (Reason)‘Threw Him Under the Bus’: NY Times Publisher A.G. Sulzberger Laments Bennet’s Ouster,” by Lloyd Grove (Daily Beast)Bari Weiss NYT resignation letter“Half the World Has a Clitoris. Why Don’t Doctors Study It?” by Rachel E. Gross (New York Times)The TV show Nancy was searching for was “The Practice,” and this was the story in which she asked each of the women about their body image. The most reluctant was Lara Flynn Boyle, whose mother stood off to the side during the shoot for the cover, pantomiming for Boyle a “Chest up! Chest out!” motionWhat’s in your hotbox?Sarah: LulaRich official trailerNancy: Black Water by Joyce Carol OatesOutro song: “Put the Message in the Box” by World PartyWe will world party with paid subscribers Wednesday, October 19 at 9pm ET! 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