Diabolical Lies

Caroline Cake and Katie Herzog unpack why infant feeding sparks such fierce emotions. They explore the social pressures behind “personal” choices, the exhausting realities of nursing and pumping, and the clash between breastfeeding recommendations and American work life. They also examine how health claims, parental guilt, and class shape the breastfeeding-versus-formula debate.

A wide-ranging Q&A explores FIRE, financial literacy, and escaping capitalism without becoming obsessed with money. They discuss success that feels like failure, creative work shaped by defensiveness, politically agnostic friends, Christianity and feminism, conspiracy theories, and the “cop in your head” that steers career choices. The conversation also touches on motherhood, the male gaze, research methods, and building a more fulfilling life.

A sharp take on the tradwife craze and how curated motherhood aesthetics hide real labor and paid help. They parse interviews, virality, and media framing to ask whether personal stories can erase political meanings. The conversation weaves feminist theory about motherhood as institution with examples of performance, PR, and the costs of caregiving.

A lively rundown of a Nantucket store’s “no-influencers” spat and how a viral sign ignited online parodies and national debate. They trace tourism tensions, define feminism and misogyny for the conversation, and follow how one influencer’s response escalated the story beyond the island. Casual updates and personal news bookend the chat.

A sharp revisit of how a 2025 policy manifesto pushed a supply-driven vision for solving big problems. They compare optimistic tech and infrastructure cases like mRNA, broadband, clean energy, and high-speed rail. The conversation digs into housing, zoning, profit motives, and whether persuasion and elite institutions can overcome entrenched corporate and class interests.

A dive into how injectables and beauty politics have shifted with social media. They trace TikTok trends, Zoom-fueled appearance anxiety, and the social pressures that make cosmetic work feel compulsory. Conversations explore belonging, pretty privilege, and how editorial framing normalizes Botox. Short reads and personal reactions spark a critique of cultural beauty norms.

A look at a high-profile cultural feud that exposes how relatability is packaged and sold. The conversation traces rival public personas, business maneuvers, media double standards, and the mechanics of parasocial fandom. It spotlights corporate drama, reporting shaping the story, and how intimacy becomes a monetized strategy.

Hosts recount their lifelong fascination with reality TV and why it hooks viewers. They explore how nonstop surveillance culture from shows and social media shapes public behavior and politics. They dig into the economics driving unscripted programming and why contestants take big risks for attention. A viral kiss-cam moment and a reality-star political run illustrate entertainment's spillover into real life.

A lively unpacking of the Lean In and Girlboss cultural moment and why ambition became a slur. Short takes on media double standards when men and women step back from work. A look at how corporate feminism was celebrated, critiqued, then rejected. Historical backlash patterns and how narratives turned individual choices into structural explanations.

They unpack court-ordered C-section cases and the surreal reality of a Zoom hearing during active labor. They trace the decline of midwives and the 19th-century shift to hospital births. They connect forced cesareans to historical patterns and explore how slavery shaped reproductive control.