Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em Podcast

It’s mid-July. Sarah’s sizzling in the hell mouth that is Dallas, Nancy’s mired in NYC’s hot human grime, and both think it’s a really good idea to stay inside and watch some television. “The Bear” on FX/Hulu turns out to be the distraction they need, a high-octane but humane adventure set in a Chicago kitchen. Nancy is moved to tears by the sight of broken people trying to be better. Sarah gets sucked in by the characters learning from each other and finding self-respect in their work. And both Nancy and Sarah are captivated by the making of a cake. Another treat turns out to be “How to Change Your Mind,” a four-part docu-series about psychedelics based on the 2018 Michael Pollan book that Sarah kept meaning to read. (Thank you, Netflix.) We learn under-the-radar histories about LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and mescaline, and hear from folks who say these long-vilified drugs can alleviate suffering, ease trauma, and evoke wonder. Sarah wonders if a sober life includes room for psychedelics. Nancy wonders if that amazing drug she once took was actually mescaline. Also discussed: men and crying, fear of death, and keg stands.A very under-appreciated intoxicant is becoming a free or paid subscriberEpisode Notes:NOMA, in Copenhagen, often named best restaurant in the world“The Bear” official trailerDavid Chang, chef and founder of the Momofuku restaurant chain and all-around interesting person, including on his podcast, The Ringer. Nancy finds Chang a very human guy, very ready to admit the hardships and show the love. He also let his pastry chef Christina Tosi, who later created Milk Bar Bakery, go wild, including coming up with the gooey crunchy butter bomb that is Crack Pie. Here’s the written recipe and, food porn alert, a video so you can watch the buttery deliciousness in action.“Ugly Delicious” official trailerKitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, by Anthony Bourdain, which Nancy recommends reading out loud to someone, as it will make both of you laugh and go, “Whoa…”Before his death in 2018, Bourdain hosted four TV series — “A Cook's Tour” (2002–2003); “No Reservations” (2005–2012), “The Layover” (2011–2013) and “Parts Unknown” (2013–2018) — and appeared on countless others. Love and miss him.Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain official trailerEighth Grade official trailerEbon Moss-Bachrach, who plays Richie on “The Bear,” is so expressive and wounded even his eye-bags speak to the mistakes and tumult of his life“Colin the Chicken,” PortlandiaAl-Anon website“How to Change Your Mind” official trailerDEA Say No to Drugs ads 1980s compilation“An Alcoholic’s Savior: God, Belladonna, or Both?” by Howard Markel, MD (New York Times)“The Science Behind Why Women Cry More Than Men,” by Liz Newman (Thrillist)Comedian Michael Ian Black talks about a different kind of “wet dream” (NPR’s Fresh Air)“Taking My Ex Back In (for His Own Good),” Modern Love essay in which Nancy tells the story of Tim crying (New York Times)David Levine caricature archive at The New York Review of BooksAfter wrapping, Nancy and Sarah realized they did not discuss how amazing the music is in “The Bear,” including songs by Wilco, Budos Band, AC/DC, The Breeders, the Beach Boys and others; full list is here, including…Outro song: “Chicago” by Sufjan Stevens“Magic 8-Ball, will Nancy bake Crack Pie for those who sign up as Smoke ‘Em founding members?” “Signs point to yes!” 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

Does college need to be reimagined? A new experimental university committed to free speech called the University of Austin drew mockery on Twitter when it was first announced, but the place is no joke: The college got 3,500 inquiries from professors in its first week, and has since raised $100 million dollars. Nancy and Sarah can’t help feeling invigorated by this kind of innovation (even if Sarah is confused by the name, since it’s pretty close to her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin). We share our admiration for a recent speech given by founding trustee and journalist Bari Weiss at the university’s inaugural event, where she diagnoses our current malaise and dares to be optimistic — even patriotic — about what comes next. How do we conserve the best of American values while creating new things? Speaking of innovations, we discuss a recent New Yorker essay about a “hook-up app for the emotionally mature,” which caters to alternative sexualities, ethical non-monogamy, and kink. Nancy is reminded of Sarah’s observation that each generation tries to hack sex; Sarah is fascinated by the popularity of the app’s “Fantasy Bunker,” exclusively for virtual sexting and folks who prefer the safe sex of the cloud to IRL action. As technology gives us more choices for expressing our desires, we wonder: Can pleasure really be engineered? And whatever happened to making out?The summer heat is unbearable, but things get cooler when you consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Episode Notes:“Dr. Jill's Taco Gaffe, and Narrative vs. Truth, with Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch,” The Megyn Kelly Show“The Evil of Banality,” by Jake Siegel (Tablet)“‘Are You Are Becoming A Republican Or Something?’ Sarah Hepola On Letting Down The Left Without Ever Leaving It,” The Unspeakable Podcast with Meghan Daum“Why Republicans Shouldn’t Want Donald Trump to Run Again,” by Ben Dreyfuss (Substack)…… and one more from Ben, who’s on a roll this week: “If you think Jon Stewart should run for president, you should go to a mental asylum.”All you might ever want to know about Peter Boghossian, except maybe that the first time he and Nancy met they ate barbecue and the conversation was so intense, the meat was flying! Peter later asked Nancy to make videos about her experience covering antifa in Portland summer 2020. There are ten (!). Here’s one and the link to the series.“The New Founders America Needs,” Bari Weiss speech to incoming class at UATX, audio (Honestly podcast) “The New Founders America Needs,” written version (Common Sense)“A Generation of American Men Give Up on College: ‘I Just Feel Lost’” by Douglas Belkin (Wall Street Journal; may be paywalled)Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget, by Sarah HepolaSt. John’s College curriculum “focused on the most important books and ideas of Western civilization”Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has one of the most devastating and interesting histories of any living person, including having to go into hiding after Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who’d worked with Hirsi Ali on a short film (“Submission”), was assassinated by an Islamic extremist.1883 official trailer“The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake,” by David Brooks (The Atlantic)Gratuitous but super-cool interactive graphic showing the evanescence of internet superiority“The Hookup App For the Emotionally Mature,” by Emily Witt (The New Yorker)Outro Song: “Light and Day,” The Polyphonic SpreeOK, people, you won’t find this anywhere else: Nancy’s cookies might be your reward when you become a 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

Are land acknowledgments meant to honor Indigenous people little more than feel-good gestures? Is wanting to be a TikTok star the impulse to be acknowledged? Nancy and Sarah discuss acknowledgement — Nancy acknowledges tying into her neighbor’s wifi! Sarah acknowledges the hotness of firemen! — and why Natives and the arts are getting buckets of it right now, and rightfully so, including for the TV series Reservation Dogs and the documentary Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World. Further acknowledgment: Nancy has no idea what Sarah means when she says she “fell off the cracker” but nonetheless finds the phrase delightful. Sarah acknowledges the instrumental “Rumble” as “the song of juvenile delinquency.” And both acknowledge Michael Moynihan’s glorious confusion as he interviews wannabe stars in an LA TikTok house, I mean, how can you not?Nancy hereby acknowledges she flubbed a three-word Creek (Muskogee)-English lesson: Estehvtke (“stahutkeh”): white person; Estecate (“stajateh”): Indian person; Estelvste (“stalusteh”): black person. NB: “v” in Creek is pronounced “va,” i.e., Nancy’s daughter’s name is Tafv, pronounced “tava,” and meaning “feather.”As for whether “Indian” or “Native” is the right designation as of right-this-minute, let us acknowledge the answer might be embedded in the subtitle of Rumble, and also, that either is just fine. Let’s acknowledge that life would be better if you became a free or paid subscriber.Episode Notes:Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World official trailer“I’m An Indian Too” - the 1491s (dir. Sterlin Harjo)Mekko official trailer (dir. Sterlin Harjo)Under Her Skin: Tafv Sampson, short film about Nancy’s daughter Tafv Sampson, her father Tim Sampson and grandfather Will Sampson (dir. Kelsey and Remy Bennett)“What Makes Taika Waititi Run and Run and Run?” by Dave Itzkoff (New York Times)Nancy recommends watching the Waititi-directed Thor: Ragnarok if you need a lift. Here’s the trailer!Waititi also directed one of Sarah’s favorite movies of the past few years, JoJo Rabbit. Watch that too!Navajo Code Talker Explains Role in WWII. (Nancy mistakenly said Navajos outfoxed the Germans. It appears to have been the Japanese. Management regrets the error.)“Flipping the Script: What do we really know about Bonnie and Clyde and their legacy in Dallas?” by Sarah Hepola (Texas Highways)“Land acknowledgments meant to honor Indigenous people too often do the opposite – erasing American Indians and sanitizing history instead,” by Elisa Sobo, Michael Lambert and Valerie Lambert (TheConversation.com)2022 Powwow calendar War Party official trailer“10 Amazing Slot Canyons to Explore”“Rolling Stones and Howlin’ Wolf, 1965”Guardians of the Galaxy opening, “Come and Get Your Love” by RedboneThe 1979 documentary Images of Indians, narrated by Will Sampson, who opens the film by saying, “The idea that Indians are quaint, strange but not quite human is an idea created and perpetuated by Hollywood movies.”Reservation Dogs, season 2 official trailer. Watch season 1 first!“The Anxiety of Influencers,” by Barrett Swanson (Harper’s; may be paywalled)Christopher Romero on TikTok “These Kids Are Skipping College to Be TikTok Famous” (Vice News)MTV’s The Real Real World, by Hillary Johnson and Nancy RommelmannTrailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah, by Kathryn MilesOutro song: Come and Get Your Love, by RedboneCome and get your love and more when you become a paid or free subscriber.A reminder to find yourself someone who looks at you the way Tim looked at a very pregnant Nancy ... 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

Did forgiveness go out of style? Nancy and Sarah want to bring it back. We talk about a current vogue for vengeance in the “progressive id” and where it may have originated, plus our own stubborn belief that understanding is better than judgment. We turn toward the tricky politics of sex, including Biden’s new campus codes, which return us to a troubled era of Title IX tribunals stripped of due process that resulted in hundreds of (successful) law suits, and why one Title IX coordinator referred to her gig as running “The Break-Up Office.” Every generation tries — and fails — to hack sex, which is one reason the subject is so fascinating. We look at the imminent dangers of a post-Roe landscape, and how it coincides with a sexual malaise brought on by hookup culture. “Don’t catch feelings” became a sad mantra in the online dating world, even as feelings were given free rein in so many other corners of life. We travel back to a pre-sexual revolution America, when a poor kid from Mississippi electrified the repressed audiences of the 1950s, a reminder of how dangerous even the mention of sex was once. Yes, Sarah saw the Elvis movie, and it gave her a new appreciation for the young performer before he became king. We stopped recording before talking about the moonlight in Elvis’s voice …… but not before Nancy asked that you share this episode with friends. Even better…Episode Notes:Rumble: the Indians Who Rocked the World official trailer“Who Gets To Be A Criminal Versus A Victim Versus A Human? On one of the most telling responses to ‘Canceled at 17,’” by Jesse Singal (Substack)Blocked and Reported podcast, with Jesse Singal and Katie Herzog“Canceled at 17,” by Elizabeth Weil (The Cut)“Ah, Carceral Liberalism,” by Freddie deBoer (Substack)“Consequences are Good, Actually,” by Jessica Valenti (Substack)“5 Ways Biden's New Title IX Rules Will Eviscerate Due Process on Campus,” by Robby Soave (Reason)Unwanted Advances, by Laura Kipnis“The Alcohol Blackout,” by Sarah Hepola (Texas Monthly)“Biden’s Sex Police,” by Emily Yoffe (Common Sense)Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, by Christine Emba“Women’s Orgasm and Sexual Satisfaction in Committed Sex and Casual Sex: Relationship Between Sociosexuality and Sexual Outcomes in Different Sexual Contexts,” Val Wongsomboon, Mary H. Burleson, Gregory D. Webster (The Journal of Sex Research)Key scene from The Ice Storm“What Does Overturning Roe Mean in Texas?” (Houston Chronicle)Pew Research Center study: America’s Abortion Quandary “This Is What a Pro-Life Feminist Looks Like,” by Geoff Johnston (D Magazine)“Roe is Reversed, and the Right Isn’t Ready,” by David French (Substack)Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis official trailerElvis Presley: The Searcher (HBO) official trailerElvis ‘56 documentary Elvis Presley’s longtime Graceland cook, Mary Jenkins, makes his favorite sandwichSelf-promotion alert! Kindle version of Nancy’s book, To the Bridge, a True Story of Motherhood and Murder, is on sale all of July for 99¢. Outro song: “Suspicious Minds,” by Elvis PresleyAre you lonesome tonight? You won’t be when you become paid or free subscriber!What happens when Sarah texts, “I’m glad you’re part of my world, Nancy Rommelmann”? smoke ‘em 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

Nancy here. After receiving a heartbroken text from Sarah a little ways back, I sent a pep-up message and a power pop playlist, which I made when writing the lead essay for Go All the Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop. … and speaking of Bill Pullman, I cannot highly enough recommend his reading The One Inside by Sam Shepard, which is seriously transcendent. Here’s a sample:Also, this book cover? My god. … and speaking of Sam Shepard, I cannot highly enough recommend the Netflix series Bloodline, which I loved and still think about and feel the pull of. If I ever go AWOL, look for me in the Florida Keys …Episode Notes:“Brown Dirt Cowboys,” by Nancy Rommelmann (LA Weekly)Go All the Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop, S.W. Lauden, Paul Myers, editors, in which I wrote “Analog Anthems,” hopping through personal history via some favorite power pop songs. Here’s (most of) the line-up xxGo all the way with a paid or free subscription 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

We knew it was coming, but the overturning of Roe v. Wade is still huge news, and sadly for Sarah, it’s too hot to smoke. (Pardon the coughing.) Let’s talk data: How do other countries handle abortion? Why wasn’t abortion codified into law during Obama’s presidency? What will a post-Roe America look like? And what’s going on with that bounty-hunting law in Texas? Now let’s talk complications: How can we support the choice to not have a baby without turning against motherhood, along with its challenges and rewards? How does the ideological comfort food of despair and outrage become a trap? And how can we understand the abortion debate as part of the modern battle (along with the trans movement, the fertility industry, and many other medical advancements) to control our own destinies? The future is always uncertain, but you make it cooler when you become a free or paid subscriberEpisode Notes:Fifth Column Podcast with Damon Root: “Guns, Abortion, the End of All Things”Damon Root bibliographyThings Fell Apart, a podcast on the culture wars by Jon Ronson (BBC)“Why didn’t Congress codify abortion rights?” by Amanda Becker (The 19th)A history of birth control“Pass and Enforce Red Flag Laws. Now,” by David French (The Dispatch)Recent abortion laws in Europe and the U.S.“The Texas Abortion Law Creates a Kind of Bounty Hunter. Here’s How It Works,” by Alan Feuer (New York Times)“The Upshot: Most Women Denied Abortions by Texas Law Got Them Another Way,” by Margot Sanger-Katz, Claire Cain Miller, and Quoctrung Bui (New York Times)Online abortion access: AidAccess.org and PlanCPill.orgBest swamp coolers for your unbearable summer (Popular Mechanics)“This Magazine Can Help You Get an Abortion,” May 23, 2022 issue of New York Magazine“This Is Not An Abortion Story,” by Sarah Jones (NY Mag)“Onward, Women!,” by Claudia Walls, 2001 Time story on feminism: “Our generation was the human sacrifice," says Elizabeth Mehren, 42, a feature writer for the Los Angeles Times. “We believed the rhetoric. We could control our biological destiny. For a lot of us the clock ran out, and we discovered we couldn't control infertility.”“This Texas Teen Wanted an Abortion. Now She Has Twins,” by Caroline Kitchener (Washington Post)“What Do Women Want?,” Smoke ’Em podcast where Sarah talks about her own abortion“On Not Being a Mother,” by Sarah Hepola (Smoke ’Em Substack)“Biden’s Cowardly War on Conversion Therapy,” by Kat Rosenfield (Unherd)“Why the Lia Thomas Movement Failed,” by Ethan Strauss (House of Strauss Substack)What is A Woman? official trailerRBG official trailerCarole King had two children, daughters (Nancy said sons; management regrets the error) by the time she was 20, the same year of her solo debut, “Baby Sittin.” Listeners likely know King’s songs from her gazillion-selling album Tapestry, here's one now!"Warm Hearts on a Hot News Day: A girl walks into a diner,” by Nancy Rommelmann (Substack)"The Necessity of Hope in Post-Roe America," by Rebecca Traister (The Cut/NY Mag)“The Future of Abortion: Frances Kissling on moving forward in a post-Roe America,” The Unspeakable podcast with Meghan DaumThe population of the U.S. is 334 million, in case you were wonderingThe wisdom of Instagram:"The Misery of Twitter: I deleted my account and you should too," by Kit Sargent (The Ankler)Outro Song: “Don't Dream It’s Over,” Crowded HouseThey come to build a wall between us, but you don’t let them win when you become a free or paid subscriber.You think Nancy won't sing for our supper? She'll do it for a snack! smoke ‘em 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

Did you know we’ve started “Smokeshow Specials” for subscribers to answer your burning questions? We’re just getting started. Sarah sings the praises of Nancy’s recent articles, which leads to a riff on dads and daughters at the movies, how to protect tender things, and the wisdom of Nancy’s late father-in-law’s M.O.: “Do it, then talk about it.” Our main course is a discussion of the controversial New York magazine cover story about a 17-year-old who shared a nude photo of his girlfriend and then watched his world fall apart. Elizabeth Weil’s article is a “primal scream” about teenagers who are not OK, but Twitter has been in “primal scream” mode over why that story isn’t OK either. Nancy and Sarah beg to disagree. Can anything save us from our bloodlust for suffering? Nancy gets feisty on a cultural addiction to seeing people taken down. “They are trying to fill themselves up with the destruction of others,” she says.We also talk about how feminism fell out of fashion, and the ways the movement is prone to “cycles of matricide,” as Michelle Goldberg says in the NYT. The in-fighting and ideological nit-picking may be why 46 percent of Democratic men under 50 agree with the statement, “Feminism has done more harm than good.” But what do we mean when we say “feminism”? The answers are all over the map, in the culture, and our own lives. We end with a discussion of Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In manifesto (the most purchased, least read book of 2013?) and the “crackling hellfire of C-suite America.” Glad we aren’t there. But of course, that means we need your support.Can you look this cat in the eyes and NOT become a free or paid subscriber?Episode Notes:The Bad Mother by Nancy Rommelmann“The Camera and the Audience,” by Nancy Rommelmann (Substack)Annie official trailerThe plot of Never Been Kissed (which Nancy’s daughter made her father watch 39 times) is a reporter who goes back to high school undercover …… a movie that came out the same year that one of the reporters around here did that for reals! “Undercover on High School’s Ritziest Glitziest Night It All Goes Down at Prom,” by Sarah Hepola (Austin Chronicle)“Fast Forward Into Trouble,” TV comes to Bhutan article (Guardian)Parents Music Resource Center’s objectionable “Filthy Fifteen”Are the Smoke ‘Em girls really giving us a link to “The Case Against the Trauma Plot” again? Apparently, yes!“The Doom Crusades,” by Nancy Rommelmann (Substack). Audio version (Apple podcasts)“Cancelled at 17,” by Elizabeth Weil (The Cut/NY Mag)“Anatomy of a Child Pornographer,” by Nancy Rommelmann (Reason)Fleishman Is in Trouble, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner“Sentimental Journeys,” Joan Didion (on the Central Park Five) (NYRoB)“The Central Park Five: ‘We Were Just Baby Boys’” (NYT Mag)So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, by Jon Ronson“The Future Isn’t Female Anymore,” by Michelle Goldberg (NYT)“Tinder and the Dawn of the ‘Dating Apocalypse’,” by Nancy Jo Sales (Vanity Fair)“How Whitney Wolfe Herd Changed the Dating Game,” by Sarah Hepola (Texas Monthly)The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt“This is Pleasure,” a #MeToo novella by Mary Gaitskill (New Yorker)“Out of It: Notes From Outside the Consternation Machine,” a new Substack by Mary Gaitskill “Sheryl Sandberg and the Crackling Hellfire of Corporate America,” by Caitlin Flanagan (Atlantic)Broadcast News official trailerOutro song: “867-5309/Jenny” by Tommy TutoneAnd take some advice from Wallace the cat on how to stay cool this summer … Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em is a fan of animals, accessories, and even humans. Consider becoming 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

For those of you who prefer to listen to your longform narratives, we offer this low-fi audio recording of the essay I wrote on the Depp-Heard trial, which you can read in full here. Please excuse my stumbles, occasional coughing, and the flip-flopping over the pronunciation of Harvey Weinstein. We’re learning as we go around here. — S.H. 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

We start with a discussion of Sarah’s Depp-Heard opus, “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Depp v. Heard,” about which one reader on Twitter commented, “This is a Persian rug. It is exquisite, and among the finest things I've ever read. Sarah Hepola is what writers aspire to.” (See, Twitter can be nice too!) The story reminds Nancy (and readers) of what magazine writing can be, and why we will do more of it, and how you can make that happen …Oh look at that, the perfect moment to ask you to become a free or paid subscriber. We talk about the cultural delusion of celebrity, our own childhood craving for fame, and enjoy a short sidebar on heels and the times we were mistaken for sex workers. But back to Depp: Nancy loves how Sarah described teen heartthrobs, “the low testosterone of their beauty,” and this leads to a discussion of how threatening sex and masculinity can be to a girl. Sarah makes Nancy all squeamish describing the way she could see the outline of Baryshnikov’s penis through his ballet tights (and just typing that makes Nancy re-squeam). We talk about Amber Heard’s big sit-down interview (meh) on Today and Dateline, and why it frustrates us when women don’t acknowledge their own agency and power. A juror appeared on Good Morning America to discuss how “a majority of the jury felt she was the aggressor” and found her unconvincing on the stand. True strength means owning your own behavior, but as Sarah wrote: “Her empowerment was ghostwritten.”Sarah celebrated 12 years of sobriety this week, and she talks (and cries a bit) about that turning point when she left behind a thing she loved to become the woman she wanted to be. Our last order of business is that Nancy needs a new TV series to watch: Help her find one in the comments! A mysterious sound descends in our last 15 minutes (apologies), and Nancy swears it’s a lawnmower, but it also might be aliens beaming her into a space ship. We wish her luck.Episode notes:“The Agony and the Ecstasy of Depp v. Heard,” by Sarah Hepola, brought to you by …What the heck are the AANs?Nancy and Sarah sincerely apologize (not!) to Jesse Singal and Katie Herzog for unconsciously cribbing the “What’s the name of this podcast?” line. We have nothing but warm gushy feelings for them and “Blocked and Reported” and you will too.Circus Circus may be the most emblematic hotel/casino in Vegas, with all its all-you-can-eat desperation and dead-end-ness and it’s kind of horribly glorious.The Real Real World, by Hillary Johnson and Nancy Rommelmann, which stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 13 weeks, getting to #2, and we were each paid $7500 flat, and that’s all Nancy is saying.Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed… speaking of beautiful boys, we give you Tim Sampson, late father of Nancy’s daughter, here at about, oh, age 13. Miss you, Tim.White Knights trailer“Johnny Depp Through the Looking Glass: Examining the madness that male beauty elicits,” by Rhonda Garelick (NYT Opinion)“Uniquely Stupid and Incredibly Coddled: Jonathan Haidt On How We Lost Our Collective Minds (And Whether We’ll Ever Find Them Again),” The Unspeakable podcast, Meghan DaumBilly Wirth, Kevin Dillon, Tim Sampson in War PartyAmber Heard in, All the Boys Love Mandy LaneThe Fifth Column (A Podcast): 354 w/ Sarah Hepola "Barack's Misinformation Warfare Unit b/w Teenage Blackout"Amber Heard interviewed by Savannah Guthrie on Today: part one, part twoJuror interview on Good Morning America“Get Out of My Bedroom, Andrew Cuomo!” by Nancy Rommelmann (Tablet)We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life by Laura McKowen1883 official trailer“1865” podcast, an old-fashioned radio dramaOutro song: “Take it With Me” by Tom WaitsWe promise to rescue Nancy from the alien spaceship if you 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

Hello lovely Smoke ‘Em people, Nancy here with a newsletter/update-y thingy. It’s been a BIZZEE week (not to be confused with the greatly-named WaPo executive editor Sally Buzbee, who herself has a bizzee week last week, and more on that below) for the Smoke ‘Em gals. Sarah has been rassling a 10,000-word story about… wait for it… Depp-Heard, which that should be ready for you within the next 24 or so. And I’m just back in NYC after driving halfway across the country and staying in not one but two super scary hotels, the second in Wheeling, WV, the location of which at least provoked repeated fits of laughing from my daughter, who, as we amscrayed out of there before 8am, kept quoting back to me what I’d said when I’d picked it blind off the Hotels.com site: “‘It’s right on the waterfront!’” Did someone ask whether Maverick was worth seeing? I’ma say, big yes. Also, that my daughter leaned over midway through and said, “You look like her,” of Jennifer Connelly, an untruth I will nevertheless shamelessly spread. Plus, holy cow, the F-18 scenes! In addition to prepping the “We read your letters!” episode, Sarah and I are getting ready to start having guests. We have several in mind and want to hear who you want to hear from so, hit us up with suggestions.Smoke ‘Em wishes to amplify your happiness, which the gypsy* lady says is in the cards when you become a paid or free subscriber. People who tell you often and loudly that they're right sometimes get shown the door. Such was the case last week with WaPo reporter Felicia Sonmez, who, not satisfied with her previous campaigns against coworkers, caused such a Twitter kerfuffle her bosses terminated her employment, which Sarah and I talked about on episode 18. Based on what I know about Sonmez, which new visitors (and hello!) can read about in this post, I’d say it’s a good bet we will be hearing more from Sonmez, likely in court, albeit her previous suit against her employer was dismissed, with prejudice.Chesa Boudin, SF’s progressive DA, could not convince voters that his progressive policies were what was best for the city. He was voted out last week.As I alluded to on the past two episodes, I was in SF writing about what Boudin had hoped to accomplish and spoke with SF police sergeant who felt the policies were not working, and also about the devastation of the open-air drug market at United Nations Plaza and the area surrounding the Tenderloin Center, a site ostensibly to help addicts but which instead, to my eye, had metastasized the troubles. A clip:I am going to do my best to not put too fine a point on this, to not illustrate what is happening within a few feet of Sandberg and me in a way that makes you think I am trying to win you to one side or another, but if you will, here is the scene: A young man stands in front of us babbling for ten minutes, wanting us to buy a vape pen or to have sex, it’s unclear which. A toothless woman screams. A legless man lights a pipe. Tourists photograph each other with City Hall in the middle distance, and a woman with a leg cast encrusted in grime rolls past. It's not possible to tell how old she is: thirty? Fifty? She has no possessions that I can see, and no destination, rolling in a desultory manner toward and then away from several men also in wheelchairs, one whose foot is so badly infected my groin contracts and feels flash-burned.The day after the recall, I published "Delusion on Crime in San Francisco Will Get You Recalled" at Reason, and also spoke with Reason's Nick Gillespie.Last, Matt Welch (eagle-eyed clickers will recognize the babes in his avi!) and I planned to talk about both ousters yesterday on the Paloma Media YouTube channel, but at the last minute he had a conflict so it’s just me! Video here; audio embedded. Happy Tuesday!*Nancy’s Czech great-grandmother had a Romany surname so don’t @ her but do sign up for a paid of free subscription! 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