Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy and Sarah share their highs and lows from the year that was. Which movie did Nancy love, and Sarah despise? (Hint: It’s not the Bob Dylan movie.) Which book did Sarah love, even though Nancy finds the author “twee”? Plus, Sarah quizzes Nancy about momentous events in 2024, and Nancy mostly bombs, no cap.Also discussed:* “It’s always butter with you”* Was Joan Baez that hot?* The movie that set both Sarah and Nancy’s nerves on edge* What live televised event got a Taylor Swift bump?* Who was that guy that bombed at the Golden Globes, again?* Big love for Andy Mills* No Problematic Coffee* “As a childless cat lady …”* Michael Moynihan’s Melania impersonation gets a run for its moneyPlus, knee-jerk Nancy on the year’s worst politician, Sarah panic-votes for macaroni and cheese, and more!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comIt’s the end of 2024, and Sarah and Nancy wonder if two recent media phenomena represent a paradigm shift in two areas: porn and the collective consciousness. On one side: “I’m Lily Phillips, and today I’m getting run through by a hundred guys.” On the other side: “This groundbreaking series challenges everything we think we know about communication and the human mind, inviting viewers to step into a reality where the impossible is not only possible but happening every day.”Yes, we’re talking about the YouTube documentary I Slept With 100 Men in One Day and the podcast The Telepathy Tapes, exploring the potentially telepathic abilities of nonverbal autists. What do these two things have in common? Join us to find out, in a conversation that veers from unexpected sex toys to Carl Jung. Also, Nancy cries about something other than journalism.Also discussed:* Nancy pens a viral tweet!* The how-to-fold-a-fitted-sheet debate* Wait, there are drones over LA, too?* Sarah wants Nancy to start an OnlyPans page* The orange street cone goes into WHAT, now?* Lily Phillips’ understatement of the year: “I don’t know if I’d recommend it”* The arrogance of thinking we know everything about science* When Freud and Jung parted ways …* Babe Paley’s husband

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy and Sarah discuss the very online experience of watching both the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the capture of the man named as his killer, Luigi Mangione. We discuss the memes, conspiracies, tasteless jokes, and crushes on the alleged shooter. Did the tragic incident offer a pressure-valve release to Americans frustrated by a limping healthcare system, or is it an inflection point for something more dangerous? And how should we feel when murder becomes entertainment? Also discussed:* The Daniel Penny verdict* The floating-in-space feeling between election and inauguration* Activism ain’t what it used to be* “Will you forgive me for loving to say his name?”* Piers Morgan, the Jerry Springer of political shows* “The brain is a dangerous thing”* Bonnie & Clyde and glamorous crime* “Desire knows no ethics”* The detail that helps Luigi Mangione’s capture in a McDonald’s make sense* Caitlin Flanagan, the master storyteller* “What will survive of us is love”* Did Sonny Liston take a dive?Plus, Sarah’s brain makes “popcorn” in the middle of the night, Nancy thinks CBD makes her sing better, Ben Dreyfuss talks with Taylor Lorenz (let’s listen), and more!As the poet says, what will survive of us is love. As the podcasters say, we survive only if you become a paid subscriber

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comSmoke ‘Em welcomes favorite repeat guest and self-proclaimed “absolute newspaper romantic” Matt Welch. He talks with Nancy and Sarah about whether legacy papers can ever make a comeback and how they ignore local news at their own peril, plus whether civility might be on the upswing.Also discussed:* Pink hair don’t care* How the Los Angeles Times “changed the physical landscape of the West.”* Scott Jennings joins the editorial board at the LA Times. And?* “Like perestroika, incivility starts in the home”* They’re still counting votes in California!* Is activism dead or just sleeping?* “Throw any Russian in a skirt at Hegseth and he’s going to loosen his tie”* “A dark sky had fallen over Nantucket, Mass., on Saturday evening when President Biden left church alongside his family after his final Thanksgiving as president …”* Meghan McCain, flashpoint* “Mono-politics is bad for governance”* Maybe people should disengage from politics and take up streaking and fart books?* People who voted for Kamala, but were pulling for Trump?* Nancy thinks “raw-dogging” means …* Sarah interviews Ken Burns, American treasureAlso, a wretched New York Times “Ethicist” question, thoughts on why Biden pardoned his son, dick-shaped cookie cutters, and much more!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy and Sarah discuss two recent dust-ups between men and women: One is fraught and potentially career-damaging, the other is (arguably) romantic, but also potentially legacy-damaging. Trump’s nominee to lead the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, is facing scandal that stems from a 2017 encounter at a Republican women’s convention, and the details are … confusing? Don’t really add up? Then we discuss the secret muse of Cormac McCarthy, 64-year-old Finnish lass Augusta Britt, who shares the story of her underage love affair (and lifelong connection) with McCarthy in a Vanity Fair story that was much-loved and much-trashed. Wanna guess where we fell?Also discussed:* Can anyone pronounce the last name Hegseth?* The detail that brought the case together for Nancy* Never name your bar “Knuckles”* What if he were in a blackout, and she wasn’t …* Cock-clock, crotch-block, what?* The two foods all men love* “We don’t get enough Finnish chutzpah”* “Well baby, that’s what I do. I’m a writer.”* Nancy just keeps vibrating* Purple prose? Bring it* The case of Joyce Maynard* Sarah is really mad at WickedPlus, controversy over a writer’s hair, Nancy’s stuffing recipe, and more!

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