The Cut

It's always exciting when there's a new first: the first Black President, the first Latinx Supreme Court Justice, the first woman Vice President. But when you're first, you're only just arriving at the starting line. Comedian and activist Cristela Alonzo talks with Avery Trufelman about how to be first, when to say no to being first, and discusses her new documentary podcast series, Chicano Squad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Celebrities like Armie Hammer and Marilyn Manson have tried to deny allegations of abuse by excusing their behavior as just kink. So what is kink? And why is it considered either a super scary taboo thing or a nerdy pastime? Writers Lux Alptraum, R.O. Kwon, Garth Greenwell, and Roxane Gay weigh in on the power of kink. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Desire, commitment, passion — these are all words that often make up a romantic relationship. But what if you feel a strong, deep love for your best friend? This week, Cut producer Allison Behringer on what happens when your soul mate moves away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The burden of quarantine has made a lot of people question their drinking habits. Among them is producer Alex Sujong Laughlin, who has been cutting back on alcohol but isn't quite ready to be sober. This week, why we drink. And what happens when we don't. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Biden was sworn in a week ago, but we’re still dealing with the emotional and global turmoil left by the previous administration. The Cut talks to journalists Olivia Nuzzi and Maria Ressa, who both cover their country's presidents. And they have both learned ways to deal with the last four years of fear and anxiety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With yoga studios shuttered, people are practicing and teaching yoga in their living rooms and bedrooms. Or at least, they're trying to. This week, what yoga means without the studio- for students, for teachers, and for the entire culture of American Yoga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Black girls growing up in the 90's grew up seeing actors who looked like them on film. But these child actors were rarely in the spotlight. Usually, the spunky black kids were cast as sidekicks on childhood adventures. Producer B.A. Parker navigates the feeling of being relegated to the sidelines with a little help from her favorite ‘90s Black child actresses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Lost in the Mall experiment is a classic case study in Psych 101 classes. The study's conclusion: if you are told something happened to you as a child, you're inclined to believe it and that we're all susceptible to false memories being implanted in our minds. But the story behind this study is complicated. And so is the nature of memory. Cut writer Katie Heaney and host Avery Trufelman investigate how an accusation of sexual assault turned shakey science into widely accepted truth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, people continue to get married. The way that people have been getting married in 2020 might change weddings forever. And that's for the better—or at least, that's what host Avery Trufelman is trying to convince her friend, who is wondering what kind of pandemic bride she's going to be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For more than a decade now, NYM Editor-at-Large Stella Bugbee has lived with her parents, and raised a family in the home she grew up in. But for a long time, she kept that a secret, perhaps because it's so stigmatized in American culture. But the percentage of people living multigenerational households has been on the rise since the 1980s. In this episode, we'll hear from people who've done it out of necessity, and by choice—even when it's not the easy choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices