The Feminist Present

When Chloé Caldwell began writing Trying, she imagined it being about her fertility journey. That was, until a betraying truth was revealed about her marriage. This week, Chloe joins the podcast to talk about the freedom she found in writing about her life right as it fell apart. Chloé Caldwell is a national bestselling author and writing teacher. She has authored five books including a 2024 national bestseller, Women. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Bon Appétit, The Cut, Vice, The Rumpus, and half a dozen anthologies. Her new memoir, Trying, is available today.

In this episode, Caro De Robertis joins Laura to discuss their new book, So Many Stars: an Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color. Caro and Laura take a deep look into the queer medicine found within the stories of Queer and Trans elders who fought to create space for their full selves in the world.Caro De Robertis is an Uruguayan–American author and professor of creative writing at San Francisco State University. They are the author of six novels and a nonfiction book, and the editor of an award-winning anthology. De Robertis' work has won the Stonewall Book Award, a New York Times Editors' Choice, and the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award. Their books have been translated into seventeen languages and have received numerous other honors, including a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature, which they were the first openly nonbinary person to receive.

Melissa Febos joins Laura and Adrian to discuss her new book, The Dry Season: A Memoir of Pleasure in a Year Without Sex. Together, the trio dives deep into histories of horny nuns and Melissa’s experience of self discovery and feminist transformation during her period of abstinence.Melissa Febos is the critically acclaimed author of 5 books including Whip Smart and GIRLHOOD, books that weave personal narrative with feminist thought and sharp lyricism. She is a recipient of a 2022 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and was awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism for her book GIRLHOOD. Among many other recognitions, her book, BODY WORK, has been acclaimed as a national bestseller and an LA Times Bestseller. Her newest book, The Dry Season, is available now.

In this episode, Cat Bohannon joins Laura and Adrian to discuss her most recent book, Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, where she reframes the stories we tell about human evolution with women at the center.Cat Bohannon’s is a poet, academic, and scientist. She completed her PhD in 2022 at Columbia University, where she studied the evolution of narrative and cognition. Her work has appeared in Science, The Atlantic, Scientific American, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Lapham’s Quarterly, The Georgia Review, and Poets Against the War.

In this enlightening chat, Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, a Queer Black Troublemaker and Black Feminist Love Educator, shares her groundbreaking insights from her biography of Audre Lorde. She dives into Lorde's deep connections with nature and mentorship, shedding light on how these elements shaped her poetry. The conversation touches on the significance of storytelling and community engagement, along with the emotional process of honoring Lorde's legacy. Gumbs emphasizes the need for compassion and understanding in navigating feminist spaces, making her reflections both poignant and inspiring.

Samhita Mukhopadhyay, former executive editor of Teen Vogue and now editorial director at the Meteor, dives into the evolution of women's leadership beyond the 'girlboss' era. She discusses the pandemic's role in reshaping work-life balance and the quest for fulfillment over hustle culture. With humor, she critiques tech industry's impact on inequality and reflects on the evolution of feminism, emphasizing intersectionality and the importance of mentorship. Personal anecdotes and literary recommendations enrich the conversation, making it a thought-provoking listen.

Vanessa Angélica Villarreal is a celebrated author and poet, known for her insightful essays blending music, memory, and personal narrative. In this discussion, she dives into the queered pop culture icons of the '90s, unpacking the complexities of identity with figures like Selena and Beyoncé. The conversation touches on the impact of Kurt Cobain's legacy on societal issues, as well as the significance of Ricky Vasquez in shaping bisexual representation. Villarreal also emphasizes the power of magical realism in addressing loss and cultural narratives.

Sarah Manguso, a celebrated poet and author of nine books, joins to discuss her latest work, 'Liars,' which strips down the harsh realities of marriage and normalized misogyny. She shares insights from her own tumultuous divorce during the pandemic, revealing how such experiences fuel creativity. The conversation dives into gender dynamics, the complexities of motherhood, and societal expectations on women, while also highlighting the rise of 'pandemic divorces.' Manguso's reflections challenge traditional narratives, making for a compelling listen.

Jessica Calarco joins Laura and Adrian to unpack her newly released book, Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Social Safety Net. They discuss the histories and the sociological interviews central to Calarco's book, painting a picture of the women who are tasked with holding society together with their labor.Dr. Jessica Calarco is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on education, families, and health decision-making. Her award-winning research reveals how structures power and privilege maintain socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and gender inequalities in these settings. She is the author of Negotiating Opportunities, A Field Guide to Grad School, and most recently Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Social Safety Net.

Author and self-described "soccer mom Simone de Beauvoir" Lyz Lenz makes a triumphant return to the pod to discuss her new book THIS AMERICAN EX-WIFE with Laura and Adrian. (Please refer to TFP Episode 7 from December 2020 for Lyz's first mid-derecho podcast appearance!) Her third book in five years, THIS AMERICAN EX-WIFE brings Lenz's characteristic blend of incisive sociological research and searing personal commentary to a highly relevant post-pandemic issue: divorce. Discussion topics include how Laura and Lyz just missed each other in the early-2000s Twin Cities, why the movie Fargo is the Beetlejuice of the Midwest, and what we really talk about when we talk about women and divorce.