Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em Podcast

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.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comTo talk or not to talk about this week’s red meat media story? Well, we’re talking. Are we surprised at the appetite that some in media take in shredding one of their own in public? Of course not; it’s the same old boring mob behavior. But what’s really behind it? Professional jealousy? The moronic idea that if you knock a person off her perch, that gets you closer to her gig? And does anyone believe, as a kajillion tweets enjoin us to believe, that women and journalism have been set back decades?Also discussed:* Melania Trump as new and improved political spouse* Who among us has not posed for tasteful nudes?* No one should doubt the pulverizing power of the Kennedy machine* The irresponsibility of running “too good to verify” stories* The necessary intimacy between reporter and subject. “It’s a dance of sorts.”* Status, the new fragrance for men…* Things worked out well for the creator of the Shitty Media Men List: yea or nay?Also discussed: the literary imposter Laura Albert (aka, J.T. Leroy), an unrecognizable Colin Farrell, Nancy’s got a new book (if no pre-publicity nudes, dammit!) and much more!

Nancy here. One of the super-cool things about being a journalist is that you can contact people whose work amazes you and say, “Come on my podcast!” and they almost always say, “Sure!”As did Michael Powell, one of my favorite journalists working today, currently at The Atlantic and previously at The New York Times, where, during the height of our national meltdown (aka 2020 to 2022), Michael took on subjects many of his colleagues and others in media would not touch: DEI, Title IX, and using identity as a scythe to cut down those deemed not the right color or gender or whose whose views were opportunistically seen as problematic. “We lost our bearings,” says Michael, who kept true to course, and to say his clear-eyed work made me feel less crazy is an understatement.Of deep value and delight is also his 2019 book, Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation. I felt as though I were living inside the work as I read, and I cannot wait to see Rez Ball, the movie it inspired and which opens September 27.Also discussed:* The explosive DNC protests that weren’t* COVID would cool down the culture wars, right? [Insert laugh track here]* The “scurrilous piece of journalism” in the Daily Beast by a writer Nancy now admires** The firing of veteran New York Times science reporter Donald McNeil Jr.? “Not the best moment of the New York Times, at all.” * The tenderness and importance of Jihad Rehab (now retitled The UnRedacted) and the shame of Abigail Disney* “Hey Michael, you’re white…”Plus, the permeability between worlds that you start to see when hanging in the Native world, the politician Michael always thought of as “a clown,” some high-tone hot boxes, and much more!Want to become a paid subscriber? Skoden!*Max Tani, now at SemaforCross-posted at Make More PieCanyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation, by Michael Powell“Star New York Times Reporter Donald McNeil Accused of Using “N-Word, Making Other Racist Comments,” the Daily Beast piece that Michael calls “scurrilous” and which drove Nancy up a tree…Michael tweeted repeatedly in support of McNeil…“The New York Times Succumbed to Another Mob. Journalism is Unrecognizable,” by Nancy Rommelmann (Newsweek)“Kids and Cowards: What Really Happened to Donald McNeil at the New York Times,” by Nancy Rommelmann (Newsweek)McNeil writes his own story on Medium, starting with, “NYTimes Peru N-Word, Part One: Introduction” (Medium)“Sundance Liked Her Documentary on Terrorism, Until Muslim Critics Didn’t,” by Michael Powell (New York Times)Michael wrote several articles about rez ball before embarking on the book, “For Navajo Team, a Season of Change and Challenge”…… and “In Navajo Nation, a Basketball Elder Earns Respect.” Nancy inadvertently referred to Mendoza at “Menendez.” Management regrets the error“The membrane between life and magic is very thin there…”What’s in your hot box?Michael: The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas MertonNancy: Small Rain: A Novel by Garth GreenwellMichael picks the outroClip Nancy filmed in final day of “Reservation Dogs” shooting, season 1…… and on the red carpet at Emmys 2024 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

Helen Lewis, an insightful author and journalist, dives deep into the cultural impact of Joe Rogan and his influence on Austin, where self-proclaimed 'heterodox' thinkers gather. She reveals her controversial encounters—like the infamous Jordan Peterson interview—and discusses her upcoming book, The Genius Myth. Topics include the complexities of modern masculinity, the polarization of political ideologies, and the evolving landscape of feminism. With witty anecdotes and sharp observations, Helen challenges our understanding of genius in today's world.

Nancy, a candid voice in discussions of casual sex, and Sarah, who brings insightful perspectives on intimacy, dive deep into the complexities of modern relationships. They unravel the subjectivity of 'good sex' and share humorous anecdotes from unique environments like silent discos. With a critical eye, they explore the dynamics of consent and pleasure, and how societal norms shape personal experiences. Their engaging conversation also touches on gender differences, the emotional nuances of casual encounters, and the tension between desires and societal expectations.