Call Your Girlfriend

Shouldn't we all have a personal code for how we internet? Through the mini saga of plane bae, how we're conditioned to indulge in hetero-patriarchal fantasies. When internet fascination turns to outrage, no surprise, women pay the price. TV networks that juice social media storylines do not. Just because someone's account is unlocked doesn't mean you should publicize their posts, at least not without permission. Plus, the hosts of Unladylike are diving deep into the Equal Rights Amendment and its (possible!) future.Reading list:Why plane bae was so fucked up / ApologyERA campaign from UnladylikeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We step back from Cheeto-induced chaos in the U.S. and take a global view. Protests at the World Cup in Russia. The politics of globalization and migration on and off the pitch. In China, the government is cracking down on women organizing online. In Nepal, menstrual stigma risks the lives of women and girls. In slightly better news, women in Egypt are working to end gender-based violence, starting with the men who drive cabs and tuk-tuks.Reading ListRussia: Hidden Flag / Pussy Riot World Cup protestsChina: Women factory workers’ networking group shut downNepal: Menstruation taboo leading to deaths / ZanaAfricaEgypt: Iman El-Mahdi of CARE Egypt / Circles of Change programSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everybody poops and we're finally talking about it all: Period poops. The pleasure of getting regular. Checking your stool as an indicator of health. Eliminating poop shame and stigma. The pleasure of the bidet. And Dr. Susan Stryker on the unnatural social construct of sex-segregated public bathroom.Reading ListEverybody is constipated by Maggie Koerth-Baker at FiveThirtyEightThe Lily on documenting their poop for the duration of the month“America has softened on stool.”Period poopsOprah was on this tip back in 2005 / clipTushy, SquattyPotty, Poo DropsBristol stool scaleMona Chalabi on stress and rectal bleedingSusan Stryker: Everybody poops. No one should be stigmatized for it.Stalled projectSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're at the library, on the beach, and by the pool with our noses in books/kindles. And you know we're all about the stories that share and expand on women's experiences. This week we hear from Jessica Knoll about The Favorite Sister, her novel full of murder and scandal set in the world of reality TV. Glynnis MacNicol's memoir No One Tells You This is full of dispatches on life after 40 when you don't follow a spouse-and-kids blueprint. Yrsa Daley-Ward is perhaps best known as a poet, and her new memoir The Terrible uses that precision of language and feeling to explore her youth.Reading list:Novels by Jessica Knoll: Luckiest Girl Alive, The Favorite Sister...and essays: I Want to Be Rich and I’m Not Sorry, What I Know (trigger warning: description of sexual assault)No One Tells You This by Glynnis MacNicolBone and The Terrible by Yrsa Daley-WardShare your faves using #cygbooks!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a week of upheaval in legal doctrine, the Supreme Court issued another shocking decision: Justice Anthony Kennedy is stepping down. Legal writer (and icon) Dahlia Lithwick explains why Kennedy has never been a centrist, reviews some of the landmark cases Kennedy decided, and previews the likely jurisprudence to come. (Hint: it’s about as scary as you think.) A small silver lining: progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her Congressional primary thanks to grassroots support. Plus, we're working on our protest signs and fundraising with friends.READING LISTDahlia Lithwick on the “fan fic” that Kennedy was a moderateIf all goes well in November, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.Flippable / Indivisible / Sister District / Run for Something / Swing LeftSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donate, Protest, Midterm Elections is the new Gym, Tan, Laundry. Let's move from shock and despair at Ivanka's dad's inhumane immigration policy to reading history and taking action. The white women who defend Trump (and still get burned). Delightful quotes from Flo Kennedy: ''Sweetie,'' she said, ''if you're not living on the edge, then you're taking up space.'' Gina got a website! Bey and Jay's creative partnership and black art in white spaces. And the power of a bespoke suit.Reading list:Gina got a website!Kirstjen Nielsen & complicit white womenChildren ripped from their families: Native Americans, slaves, Japanese AmericansDemocrats who paved the way for family separation“Donate, Protest, Midterm Elections is the new Gym, Tan, Laundry.”Flo Kennedy’s life, quotes, and public access showJune 30: March to Keep Families TogetherBey and Jay’s creative partnership, forgiveness, black art in white spacesEmily Meyer suits / the power of bespokeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remember when the question was, let me know when this administration gets really bad? Welcome to this week, especially for immigrants. We rage and discuss options for supporting people who are likely affected in your local community. Plus, loving ways to handle bouts of mental illness and depression within a friendship.Reading List:ShopCYG is back!DOJ not interested in asylumA small town in Tennessee deals with immigration raidsThat Merkel photo Voter-roll purges greenlit by SCOTUSWhy “You are loved” and “please reach out” aren’t good enoughCrisis text line: Text HOME to 741741 in the United StatesOr call 1-800-273-8255See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Delve into the world of scammers with stories of fake royals, political grifters, messy drama lovers, self-declared saints, wellness icons, and pyramid schemers including Anna Delvey, Trump cabinet members, Gwyneth Paltrow, Elizabeth Holmes, and more. Explore the audacity and variety of scams in different sectors, from finance to tech, with insightful analysis and engaging storytelling.

(Hint: you're already in one.) We talk about all the ways we’re feeling good in our bodies this summer; why body positivity is about working to make the world better for ALL kinds of bodies, not just your own; our favorite instagram accounts from people with a range of hot bods; microdosing, psychedelics, and other ways we get out of our heads and into our bodies.Insta accounts we loveJessamyn Stanley / Keah Brown / #DisabledAndCute / the thicc / She’s All Fat / Jacob Tobia / Tuesday Bassen / Muse Gold / Virgie Tovar / FatLeopard.jpeg / Myisha BattleReading List:Lindy West on being a happy fat womanMicrodosing / Michael Pollan / Ayelet WaldmanA feminist guide to microdosingInterview with our faves at She’s All FatSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We let our aggressive word nerd selves out to play. Why the Glass Cliff is an imperfect metaphor for women who get promoted after men fail (glass shovel, anyone?). Al Franken and what's next for #metoo men. Plus, your questions: is it okay to call a group of women "hey guys"? how do you deal with a fragile male ego at work? And, you donated 580 pints of blood in our drive, enough to save 1700 lives!Reading list:“The glass cliff”Laura McGann on Al Franken + letters she’s gotten from men who miss himKate Manne on what misogyny is really aboutLeeann Tweeden’s statementWhat’s next for ‘Me Too’ men?#MeToo doesn't lack nuance. Its critics doThe writings of Andrea DworkinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.