A Special Place in Hell: Recent Episodes
Meghan Daum & Sarah Haider
On this most special episode, the ladiex say a tearless goodbye to the campaign of Kamala Harris, as well as to our little podcast. Yes, you read that right: This is the Very đ Last đ Episode đ. After we are gone, we hope you finally realize how much we meant to you, and wallow in regret for not showing it nearly enough. But in all seriousnessâyou guys have been the best audience we could have wished for, and we will miss you! (Read more about our decision, here, if you would like.)Love,
S&M
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As a gesture of goodwill, we interrupt the election doom/analysis-vomit to bring you a calm, collected, and pre-recorded conversation with political scientist Wilfred Reilly.
The threesome cover Wilfredâs unique upbringing and current thoughts on race, academia, and the dating/mating crisis.
Links
- Wilfredâs books: Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me, Taboo: 10 Facts You Canât Talk About
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In this episode, Penelope Trunk returns for another session of therapeutic sado-masochism. We relay listenersâ most personal questions and Penelope duly dismisses their trauma and punishes them for such public displays of vulnerabilityâeveryone wins!
We hope this leaves you with a sense of relief and lightness. Itâs like a deep tissue massage for your (lame) psyche. And if not, donât blame us. You knew what you were getting into.
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On this episode of A Special Place, the ladies decide to get their act together and learn how to do this YouTube e-lady thing right. But first, a tribute to the heroes at the Rescue the Republic rally, who dared to believe they can still draw a crowd. Finally, some handwringing about Kids These Days, and the anti-natalism conspiracy of car seat regulations.
Links
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How to Succeed at a Mr. Beast Production
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The Elite College Students Who Canât Read Books
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K-12 Education in a Post-Literate Age
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Cheat on Sarah! Subscribe to Meghan's YouTube Channel
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On this sexploitative episode, the ladies discuss (disapprovingly, duh) a variety of recent steamy scandals: Olivia Nuzzi / RFK Jr. sexts, ex-COVID czar Jay Varma's pandemic sex parties, Chris Rufo's alleged Ashley Madison account, and more.
Does anyone know how to have normal adulterous sex anymore? Where can Sarah get MDMA? Will Meghan, who just learned that eggplant emojis aren't invitations to go to the farmer's market, ever get the hang of emoji seduction?
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
On this already-stale episode, the ladies discuss the past weekâs debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, before delving into the more politically salient topic of Joe Roganâs Austin kingdom. Finally, thoughts on the finer points of eating cats.
Links
- How Joe Rogan Remade Austin
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
On this episode, the ladies try and uncover the mysteries of AI, and whether it is about to take their jobs. Meghan says no, but is she in denial? Then, should you divorce your mom for worrying about your eternal soul? Is going "no contact" with grandma a form of self-care?
Links
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Why A.I. Isnât Going to Make Art
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Why So Many People Are Going âNo Contactâ With Their Parents
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this episode, the girlx welcome special guestx Uri Berliner, journalist and famed NPR critic/apostate. Uri discusses his youthful attraction to public radio and how the slow erosion of many its ideals led to his decision to air his critique in the Free Press -- and, shortly thereafter, make his exit. He also reflects on how things have gone since the big leap. Was selling his soul to Bari Weiss worth it? (How can the girlx manage to do the same?)
Note: This episode was recorded on June 18. Uri has since joined The Free Press as a senior editor.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
On this episode, the ladies white-knight Bari Weiss following a War and Peace-length profile in the NYTimes. Can any journalist be expected to cover The Free Press founder fairly, given that she's positioned herself as their main critic? Does Bari's unique ability to hold steady in the face of extreme character defamation prove that women really can be public champions of unpopular truths? Most importantly: will our fangirling lead to jobs offers or restraining orders? Finally, a discussion about marriageability vs. hotness. Is it a compliment to tell a man that you wouldn't just use him for his body, but rather, for his wallet?
Links
- Bari Weiss Knows Exactly What Sheâs Doing
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In this (livestreamed) episode, the ladies de-center their American colonialist perspective to consider the recent hooliganism across the pond. Has the UK slipped into authoritarianism? Is British post-colonial guilt giving American guilt a run for its money? Or did the song There Always Be An England mean there will always be the threat of jail for wrong-speak? Then, Meghan flip-flops on JD Vance's trans friend and finally, a (lengthy) showdown on Art and Regret.
Links
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âThink before you postâ: Britainâs slide into censorship (Spiked)
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She Used to Be Friends With JD Vance (The Daily)
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The Emotion I Didnât Expect As A New Parent: Regret (NYTimes)
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I Used to Write Jokes About How Parenting Is Terrible. Then I Had My Daughter. (NYTimes)
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On this Excedrin-fueled episode, the ladies discuss the controversy surrounding the chromosomal makeup of Olympic boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting. They then move on to the latest scandal in the not (not)-for-profit world, this one involving GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, whose enthusiasm for expensive chandeliers and Swiss Alps travel took money from the pockets of needy gays.
Finally: Kamalot spamalot (it's out of control!) and the time Meghan wrote about the word "fag".
To listen to the full episode (and get lots of other perks, too) become a paying subscriber!
Links
- Lavish Spending by GLAAD CEO
In this episode, the ladies again revisit motherhood and its (concerning?) lack of representation among young women. Do we need a GI Bill for trad wives? They then discuss a recent article on mega-influencer Hannah Neeleman (aka Ballerina Farm) and her large, photogenic family that also happens to be extraordinarily wealthy. Is she a servant of the patriarchy? Or is the tradlife a kind of extreme sport that proves her ultimate superiority? Finally, they go over the recent damning revelations by the NYTimes that JD Vance once had a queer friend.
Links
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Meet the queen of the âtrad wivesâ https://www.thetimes.com/magazines/the-sunday-times-magazine/article/meet-the-queen-of-the-trad-wives-and-her-eight-children-plfr50cgk
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My day with the trad wife queen https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/my-day-with-the-trad-wife-queen-and-what-i-really-thought-of-her-qmbmmhkp8
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She Gave Birth Two Weeks Ago. Now Sheâs in a Pageant. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/style/ballerina-farm-mrs-world-hannah-neeleman.html
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JD Vance, an Unlikely Friendship, and Why It Ended. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/27/us/politics/jd-vance-friend-transgender.html
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
On this LIVESTREAMED episode, the womxn follow an inadvertently brilliant Twitter thread to its logical conclusion: that white-woman allyship means not wearing pink and green and never walking through conga lines. They explore the panoply of memes celebrating Kamala Harris's girlbossery, anticipate the Million White Woman March that is "Answer The Call," and consider the growing phenomenon of rich white men taking on non-white wives. Also: a eulogy for the sanity of Rachel Maddow, and the real reason why JD Vance was chosen for VP.
Links
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White Lady Allyship Instruction Manual (X thread)
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Non-White Wives
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Rachel Maddow on JD Vance
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This is the second half of our extremely long interview with Simone and Malcolm Collins! (Part 1 can be found here.)
We discuss gene pools, spanking, why autists are overrepresented in the pro-natalism movement and recount their own love story and evolution into "techno-puritans." Finally, they answer the definitive parenting question: is the harm of screen time overblown?
Links
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Malcolm and Simoneâs YT Channel Based Camp, Twitter, and Pronatalist Organization!
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Article in the Gaurdian (featuring That Slap).
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Pro-natalism advocates Malcolm and Simone Collins are here to lead us into the Handmaiden's Tale (or guide us away from it, depending on your view)! In Part One of this very long interview, the bespectacled iconoclasts share their thoughts on how modern society stacks the deck against fertility, especially those seeking to represent the U.S. in the fecundity Olympics (Malcolm and Simone are the parents of four children and hope to have nine more). They also assess the damage caused by the "trad wife" image, explain their views on spanking, caution against the progressive plot to Come For Your Kids, and expound on abortion. (You might be surprised!)In the upcoming Part Two (available NOW to paying members here), the Collinses discuss why autists are over-represented in the pro-natalism movement and recount their own love story and evolution into "techno-puritans." Finally, they answer the definitive parenting question: Is the harm of screen time overblown?
Subscribe to get the full interview NOW, plus all our bonus episodes and access to the comment community!
Links
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Malcolm and Simoneâs YT Channel Based Camp, Twitter, and Pronatalist Organization!
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Article in the Gaurdian (featuring That Slap).
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
The girlx enjoy a leisurely news day by discussing Saturday's assassination attempt on Trump followed by the announcement of his VP pick, J.D. Vance. The counterintuitive takes are flying! Are Trump rallies the ultimate experience in "touching grass?" Is Vance's political shift rooted solely in opportunism? Or does his conversion from Never Trumper to "actually I'm starting to like this guy" mirror the political journey of many disenchanted liberals?
Links
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Republican Party Platform
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Melania Trumpâs statement
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President Bidenâs statement
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This MEMBER ONLY episode is all about parenting, or at least, exceptionally bad parenting. First, they cover the explosive revelations of child abuse in an essay by the daughter of acclaimed writer Alice Munro, before moving onto another essay by Bridget Phetasy, in which she catalogs her own experience as a neglected child of divorce. Is no-fault divorce good for women, but bad for mothers?
Links
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My stepfather sexually abused me when I was a child. My mother, Alice Munro, chose to stay with him
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How divorce never ends
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Meghan's Substack post about Alice Munro
Podcast production legend Andy Mills survivedâand thrivedâin the venerable halls of NPR and the New York Times, where he worked for Radiolab, co-creating The Daily as well as series like Rabbit Hole and Caliphate. More recently, he co-created groundbreaking podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling for The Free Press. Today, heâs living in the midwest and, along with his creative partner Matthew Boll, trying to build his own platform, one meticulously produced podcast at a time. Is he losing his mind? Or getting his soul back?Check out Andy and Mathew Boll's new podcast, the Reflector:
We need you, we love you. Do you love us???? (Subscribe please, this is degrading.)
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The ladies bid a fulsome adieu to Pride Month and reflect on its most photogenic moments this year. They then enter a post-partum depression over Thursday's debate, the only treatment for which is heavy doses of copium. Then, an analysis at the most "mid" first lady in history, Dr. Jill Biden, and Meghan sheds white tears recalling her Twitter pile-on of a lifetime by Brave BIPOC Women. Finally, they cap off the episode with a discussion on the difficulties of being a progressive father Just Trying To Have It All.
Links
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First Lady Jill Biden on Whatâs at Stake in 2024
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Donât Mess With PhDs
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In this PAYWALLED EPISODE, the girlx/womxn practice self-harm by watching the Presidential debates from the nail-biting beginning to the eyeball-gouging end. Despite it all, Meghan feels strangely exhilarated by this rare moment of national unity (everyone agrees it was terrible). They speculate about what the Dems were thinking (is it 4D chess or classic incompetence?) Finally, they address some listener questions about their political allegiances. Are the masks finally coming off, revealing their true MAGA selves?
On this episode, the girlx/womxn discuss the "Main Character Energy" of GOP women, inspired by a new article by former guest Rebecca Traister. Are these tanned and toned patriot babes trying to have their cake and eat it too, or are they secretly spitting it out when no one's watching? What are normie feminists missing about the complexities of the cultural moment, and what is the appeal of guns + long hair? Also: a debate over the meaning of "butch." Finally, they discuss President Trump's interview on the All-In Podcast. Has Trump won the womxn over, or has he failed to close this deal?
Special Places require Special Work. Will you be our Special Savior, and support the pod?
Links
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How Did Republican Women End Up Like This?
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Trump on All-In Pod
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In this episode, the girlx/womxn are slightly late to the party in discussing a long piece on Ibram Kendi's implosion, courageously subverting their audience's expectations in order to side, at least sympathize, with the BIPOC man. Was Kendi set up to fail? Did white people set him up to fail? Is this a (very meta) manifestation of the very white supremacy that the Center for Anti-Racist Research was set up to combat? (Yes, yes, and naturally). They then move on to narcissism in the Instagram-girl world. Is it just normal to treat every waking moment of your life like a scene from a movie? Is "boyfriend" just another word for key grip? Finally, a discussion on short hair on women--is it sexy and subversive, or just another way of turning into your mom?
A Special Place In Hell is a reader-supported publication, as we have yet to find our billionaire benefactor/sugar momala. Please step in and step upâwe need you!
Links
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Ibram X. Kendi Faces a Reckoning of His Own (NYT)
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Your Boyfriend Isn't Your Camera Man (After Babel)
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On this episode, the girlx/womxm listen and learn from award-winning adult film director and screenwriter, Jacky St. James. Jacky details what a day of shooting on a porn set really entails, the effect of "tube sites" on the industry, the wisdom of MILFs, and how cancel culture came for porn (proving that nothing really is sacred). The episode comes to completion with a discussion on the future: AI sexbots and how parents can teach kids about responsible consumption.
We love you,we need you!! But do you love us? Subscribe to prove you care (and unlock all episodes + comment community).
Links
Jackyâs Website
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In a devastating turn of events, the girlx/womxn were FORCED to prepare for this week's recording in order to discuss the Trump verdict with a modicum of intelligence. The deck was stacked against them. Nevertheless, they persisted. Then, a brief update on G*NDER: the U.K. officially bans the use of puberty blockers in gender dysphoric kids, thereby denying life-saving care to 7-year-olds who have the wrong taste in clothing. Will England's TERF surf ever reach America's shores? Finally, a discussion on child abuse, in which the girlx land squarely in the "pro-spanking" camp, and reveal that they had both been spanked as children by their mothers. (Though Sarah's mom sounds a lot scarier.) Does this explain their hatred of women?
Without your support, we literally cannot go on. Help preserve and protect this Special Place by becoming a paying subscriber.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this education-centered episode, the womxn first admonish the Officially Brave efforts of a DEI admissions officer who may be behind the shocking downward trajectory of UCLA's medical school. They then contradict themselves to wonder how much education matters anyway. Is our kids learning? Was they ever learning? Finally, Meghan takes us down memory lane (as if she has any other lanes), to a time when documentaries were artsy and good. Was the late Morgan Spurlock of "Supersize Me" fame to blame for trash-activist-documentaries? Or was he simply standing on the supersized shoulders of Michael Moore?
Affirm and enable us by becoming a paid subscriber today.
Links
How Racial Preferences, Supposedly Outlawed in California, Have Persisted at UCLA by Aaron SibariumA Theoretical Case Against Education at Astra Codex Ten
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The girlx/womxn begin the episode with an animated discussion about abortion -- or, more precisely because they boringly agree on the issue itself -- the veracity of a viral thread on Twitter related to the Texas abortion ban. They then react to a recent embarrassing appearance by Martha Nussbaum, in which the renowned philosopher displayed her ignorance of the global fertility crisis. Is she just too old to keep up? Or is she misinformed because she doesn't listen to enough podcasts, like a real intellectual?
Want to hear the full episode? You know what to do.
Links
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Miscarriage husbandâs Twitter post.
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Martha Nussbaum clip from Wisdom of Crowds, and full interview.
Problematic geneticist Razib Khan returns to A Special Place to discuss the natalist turf wars (trad-caths vs. techno-degenerates), woke women, and the importance of BEING KIND.
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Another day, another viral video begging for deconstructive interrogation by our heroines. Its central question: can women be trusted to know what they want? (Let alone say it?) Can men be trusted not to take everything literally? Is consent culture bad for the autistic among us, or just Sarah? Speaking of dishonesty, Meghan notices that a much-ballyhooed newcomer to the heterodoxy who is, as the kids/Sarah say, highly (maybe) "suss". Finally, the girls review a shitty list of "shitty zionists", and complain that they're not on it. (Kinda like they weren't invited to the natalist conference.)
Become an enabler in our grift (and get access to all episodes) by subscribing below!
Links
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The viral clip in discussion.
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Recent news items about Bumble.
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The âShitty Zionistâ list.
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In this LIVE-STREAMED episode, the girlx/womxn weigh in on the Man vs. Bear discourse. If you're going to experience a #MeToo event in forest, who would you rather be able to sic a Title IX officer on later? A bear or a human man? The answer may (not) surprise you.
Then, Meghan dishes about her time at Dissident Dialogues, a convention of heretics at which she dissented from the dialogue by not giving any talks or speaking on any panels. But she was still a VIP, and what else really matters? Finally, the women share their views on the neverending LARP on college campuses.Live-streamed episodes are released right after the recording (and entirely unedited) on YouTube for paying subscribers only. If youâd like early access and all the bonus content, subscribe and join in!
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Do all dogs go to heaven? Or just those euthanized by Strong Republican Women? Like Kristi Noem (with a dash of Glennon Doyle?), the girlx/womxn prove they Can Do Hard Things when it feels right. Listeners will be dismayed to discover that what feels right today is agreeing with the overturning of Harvey Weinstein case in New York and poking holes in the witness testimony. Act 3: Women's tears: a discussion. (Again.)
Relevant Links
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The Guardian on Kristi Noem
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JoAnn Wypijewski's 2020 article in The Nation on Weinstein
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How is a cruise like BDSM? How is BDSM like this podcast? The girlx/womenx begin by clearing their throats about the last episode (TLDR: we are sorry you are mad), and Sarah recounts her tragic, abusive childhood (and in so doing provides living proof that hurt people hurt people).
They then move on to the chaos at Columbia, sidestepping the political discussion entirely to wave their canes at the damned kids.
Nothing in life is free, and especially not this podcast. To hear the full version, click on the red button. If you are a paying subscriber, thanks and welcome! Link to the YouTube video is below.
Links
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CRYING MYSELF TO SLEEP ON THE BIGGEST CRUISE SHIP EVER by Gary Shteyngart
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No Dorm or Dining Hall: Ilhan Omarâs Daughter Recounts Protest Arrest
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Isra Hirsi, Ilhan Omar's Daughter, On Columbia Arrests, Barnard Suspension, Palestine Protests
Feeling alone? Want to âtouch grassâ and âmake friendsâ and âfeel like a person worthy of authentic human considerationâ?
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In the wake of the solar eclipse, the girls/women contemplate the state of American leisure, particularly, the Supposedly Fun⢠pastime of cruise vacations. After taking an intermission to defend the TERF Queen from the usual suspects, they (aka Sarah) chastise second generation immigrants for being ingrates. Finally, another argument about psychotherapy (sorry!).
Feeling guilty about freeloading? Subscribe and find relief (and bonus episodes)!
Links:
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CRYING MYSELF TO SLEEP ON THE BIGGEST CRUISE SHIP EVER by Gary Shteyngart
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Activist faces 18 felony counts for allegedly threatening Bakersfield City Council
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SHIPPING OUT by David Foster Wallace
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Tweet by Rivkah Brown on JK Rowling
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Our fearless heroines return once again to defend the indefensible. First, they throw their hat in with the chaotic billionaire of Twitter/X, no not Elon Musk (although him too), but terf-queen J.K. Rowling. Why is Scotland so fascist? Should America invade that country, if for no other reason than to water down those unintelligible accents? Then they ruminate over class, wondering why everyone is afraid of rural whites. Finally (and probably inevitably) Meghan defends the honor of Woody Allen, who she suspects is the Real Victim. All that said, we all know that the real victim is Justice â and also, you the listener.
Links
An Utterly Misleading Book About Rural America by Tyler Austin HarperTwitter/X thread by Hussein Aboubakr Mansour
A Son Speaks Out, Moses Farrow on Woody Allen and Mia Farrow
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On this live-streamed (and members-only) episode, the girls/women ponder the merits of yet another titillating essay by Pulitzer Prize winner and aspiring female Andrea Long Chu, who argues that transition should be understood and accepted as a matter of choice, of a âfreedom of sexâ.
Has Chu finally gone too far? Or is this a preview of our glorious genderf*ck future?Then, Sarah finally reveals her misogynoir, appalling Meghan, who is still reeling from her last encounter with Intersectionality Twitter. Finally, they discuss yet another essay by Grazie Sophia Christie, a rising star in the personal essay genre (so say we). Is petty female envy the reason women will not take us to Mars?
Did you know? Paying subscribers get bonus episodes AND unedited livestream videos! You read that right: For only $7/month, you can witness a more authentic version of us, feeling closer to your she-ros than ever before. Is this the beginning of a true (parasocial) love? Subscribe to find out.
Links
Freedom of Sex The moral case for letting trans kids change their bodies
My Beautiful Friend
On this very long episode, the girls/women discuss the recent New York Magazine piece on Andrew Hubermanâs allegedly womanizing ways. Meghan defends the magazine fact-checking process, but Sarah finds the whole thing disgusting. They both agree that attempting to optimize your poops is psychotic, unless of course it is done in the name of Science.
They then move on to age gaps in dating, and whether Sarah is trash for dressing for the Male Gaze.
Our little Special Place is supported entirely by listeners. Help us keep it going by becoming a paying subscriber, and get access to bonus episodes and the comment community!
Links
New York Magazine: Andrew Hubermanâs Mechanisms of Control
The Cut: The Case for Marrying an Older Man
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This week, the girls/women are joined by writer Larissa Phillips, and the three discuss her recent essay in which she recounts her violent rape in the early 90s. Larissa shares her thoughts on the helpfulness of âtraumaâ discourse on recovery, the #metoo era, and the tension between personal responsibility and public trust.
They also touch on Larissaâs work in adult literacy, a subject Sarah finds especially interesting, as sheâs still learning how to read.
Relevant Links
Larissaâs Essay in Quillette
After Rape: A Guide for the Tormented by Celeste Marcus
On Not Being A Victim by Mary Gaitskill, Harperâs Magazine, March 1994
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On this episode, the girls/women bicker about the value of human life. Maybe fewer humans is better for humanity? Or maybe population collapse will send us spiraling into extinction, which would be terrible for our subscription growth. Is there anything we can do to stop the ongoing panda-fication of our youth? Or will the kids just happily lay around eating bamboo, never reproducing, but always looking cute.
Paying subscribers get most episodes early, plus bonus episodes just for them.
Links
Ezra Klein Podcast: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-jennifer-sciubba.html?smid=url-shareQuit Your Job on Palladium: https://www.palladiummag.com/2022/01/06/quit-your-job/
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Inexplicably, the girls/women are graced by the Edward R. Murrow of YouTube punditry, the lovely Ana Kasparian, executive producer and co-host of the long-running political commentary show The Young Turks. Ana guides us through the old and new media landscapes and shares the alarming experience at the root of her heterodox awakening. The girls/women share their frustrations with the Left (a first!) and wonder whether friendships discourage intellectual honesty (except the one with their new bestie Ana of course!!!). Finally, the hosts receive some tips on improving their grift.
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Housekeeping
đ Follow Sarahâs Substack, âHold That Thought.â
âFollow Meghanâs other podcast, âThe Unspeakableâ
đĽ Join The Unspeakeasy, Meghanâs community for freethinking women.
đĽ Follow us on YouTube!
â And on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
đ¸ And Instagram.
đľ And TikTok
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
Become a member if you want full access to all episodes.
On this episode, the girls/women are joined by Mia Hughes, author of the groundbreaking report based on files released from the internal messaging forum of the leading authority of transgender healthcare (âWPATHâ). The report confirms some of the worst fears of critics of the gender movementâthe files reveal widespread disregard for medical ethics and patient outcomes or overall well-being.
Mia guides us through the evolution of WPATH, its peculiar membership, and what makes this a particularly challenging scandal to address.
Links:
The WPATH Files: Pseudoscientific surgical and hormonal experiments on children, adolescents, and vulnerable adults
Know someone who would love this episode? Gift a paid subscription!
Housekeeping
đ Follow Sarahâs Substack, âHold That Thought.â
âFollow Meghanâs other podcast, âThe Unspeakableâ
đĽ Join The Unspeakeasy, Meghanâs community for freethinking women.
đĽ Follow us on YouTube!
â And on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
đ¸ And Instagram.
đľ And TikTok
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The girlx/womxn discuss an essay on Womenâs Bodies. Is there no end to the misery of being female? Or are men more oppressed, first and foremost by their boners?
They then move on to moralizing about Kids These Daysâ˘. Have smart phones made an entire generation basically learning disabled? Or is it the hormones in the water?
(And here we thought zoomer TikToks were incomprehensible because we are old â or, in the case of Sarah, old-adjacent.)
Relevant Links
âHow Feminism Endsâ by Ginevra DavisReddit Post on Students and Falling Standards
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Today in hell, the girls/women find themselves divided by a much-discussed personal essay in The Cut about divorce or near-divorce (or the dream of divorce?)
Meghan stands up for creative license (even when suspended), while Sarah sips on some haterade. In moments, the girlxsâ differencex seem irreconcialable, but they eventually decide to stay together for the sake of the kids (aka paying subscribers).
Plus: Meghan attends the premiere of film version The Coddling of The American Mind in a packed and anti-fragile theater in Beverly Hills.
RELEVANT LINKS
âThe Lure of Divorceâ by Emily Gould from The Cut.
The Coddling of The American Mind Movie.
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Our episode with Sam Harris is for premium subscribers only. Free subscribers only get the first 50 minutes. Become a member if you want early access to all episodes and get access to the bonus-only episodes.
Respected public intellectual and ultra-meditator Sam Harris makes another questionable career choice by joining us in our Special Place. Though he rarely broaches the subject of GEND*R, he willingly risks it all (especially considering our massive audience) and strides boldly across the minefield of explosive topics we lay out. He also shares his thoughts on audience capture, religion, cats, stoicism, and (naturally) Taylor Swift.
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In this first-of-its-kind livestream, the girls/women begin by discussing whether Taylor Swift is âmid,â as the males of Twitter proclaim. They decide that sheâs still highly desirable (because if she isnât, then what does that say about podcasters!?)
Then, then ponder why young women appear to radicalizing into extreme leftist politics. Is it just about the vibes? Or are Women Going Their Own Way (WGTOW), now that the men have failed to launch?
RELEVANT LINKS
âA new global gender divide is emergingâ from the Financial Times
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The girls/women discuss Kate Manneâs new book on fatphobia, Unshrinking, and its recent excerpt in The Cut.Also, who has done more for body positivity: feminists or the Kardashians? Are anorexic models the result of gay men controlling the fashion industry? And why did everyone start to get fat in the 1980s? Is it because food became laced with preservatives and endocrine disruptors? (Or do we blame working moms?) Finally, is nutrition a real science or a dark art?
RELEVANT LINKS
âUnshrinking: How to Face Fatphobiaâ by Kate Manne.
Kate Manneâs book excerpt in The Cut.
âFat positivity is a fantasyâ by Kat Rosenfield for Unherd.
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In this episode, a brief discussion on audience demographics. Then, a characteristically philosophical discussion on polyamory and how to find happiness despite being trapped in a crappy life. Lastly, a look at the groundbreaking NYT expose of problematic emails at the Claremont Institute. Finally, journalists do something useful.
RELEVANT LINKS
ââAmerica Is Under Attackâ: Inside the Anti-D.E.I. Crusadeâ from the New York Times.
âFour Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortalsâ by Oliver Burkeman.
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This week, the girlx compare notes about how they spent Martin Luther King Day, and Meghan recalls one of her first public speaking events. They then analyze the rise of Twitter trad bros advocating for stupid but hot stay-at-home wives, wonder if high IQ women have a âtall girl problem,â and marvel at how polyamorous people manage to âhave it all.â
RELEVANT LINKS
âHow a Polyamorous Mom Had âa Big Sexual Adventureâ and Found Herself,â from the New York Times.
âInterested in Polyamory? Check Out These Places,â from the New York Times.
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Legendary radio host, comedian and Scarily Acute Observer of Human Behavior Adam Carolla visits the pod to discuss the girlx favorite question: has the entire world become feminized?
Itâs been 13 years since the publication of Adamâs stunningly prescient book In Fifty Years Weâll All Be Chicks. How did Adam get it so right, so early?
Plus: Why did Adam and his Loveline co-host Dr. Drew Pinsky have a falling out with David Alan Grier? Why Adam is leaving California as soon as his kids finish high school? (And where is he going?) Finally, Adam gives Sarah and Meghan tips for podcasting success and explains why a career is nothing more than a bunch of hoses in a trough.
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Embattled Harvard president Claudine Gay is out. Who has the goods to replace her? And what are those goods, anyway? Then, why are business influencer bros telling lonely men to âwife up?â Does a traditional wife get you the best possible ROI? Or is the trad trend simply a new genre of porn? Plus, Meghan spots her 18-year-old self on YouTube!
RELEVANT LINKS
Claudine Gayâs Op-Ed for the New York Times.
Kat Rosenfeldâs piece about Trad Wives on TikTok for Reason Magazine.
Meghanâs piece about Mary McCarthy, The Group, and spotting her 18-year-old self on YouTube.
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Is the White House holiday video a Blank Panther psyop? Are âformer progressive friendsâ who inch slightly to the center victims of the right-wing cult? And what does The Nutcracker have to do with Christmas anyway?
Plus: Meghan comes clean about her tap dancing history.
RELEVANT LINKS
Dorrance Danceâs Nutcracker at the White House.
Whatâs Driving Former Progressives to the Right?
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Legendary advice coach, blogger, and Special Place VIP is back to answer more listener questions. For instance, how do you get your neighbor to stop chewing your ear off? What qualifies as a midlife crisis? How can you move past regret?
She also answers some questions about herself. For instance, why did she once hire a matchmaker and what were her requirements for a mate? Why is she sleeping on the living room floor of her fancy apartment? And why does her dog eat butter? (Answer pending.)
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This week, the girlx hash it out about transhumanism and reproductive technology. Does this new technology trans away our humanity? Or is it doing the lordâs work without bothering any lords? Should surrogacy be banned? Or should is one of those âdonât knock it âtil youâve tried itâ kind of things? Finally, the co-hostessx talk about memory and how different people experience it. Or something like that. They canât remember most of that conversation.
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The womxn discuss their recent conversation with New York Magazine writer Rebecca Traister about marriage, mating, and feminism.
RELEVANT LINKS
Check out our recent podcast with Rebecca Traister here.
âThe Return of the Marriage Plot: Why everyone is suddenly so eager for men and women to get hitchedâ for New York Magazine.
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New York Magazine writer, acclaimed author and old(ish) school GenX feminist Rebecca Traister joins the pod to talk about her September article, âThe Return Of The Marriage Plot: Why everyone is suddenly so eager for men and women to get hitched.â
Do trads have a point when they say the sexual revolution has led us down the primrose path and people need to start procreation early and often? Or is this simply the moral panic du jour and everyone should be left to their own devices â technological and otherwise?
Also, artificial wombs: yay or nay?
GUEST BIO
Rebecca Traister is writer at large for New York magazine. A National Magazine Award winner, she has written about women in politics, media, and entertainment from a feminist perspective for The New Republic and Salon and has also contributed to The Nation, The New York Observer, The New York Times and The Washington Post. She is the author of Good and Mad and All the Single Ladies, both New York Times best-sellers, and the award-winning Big Girls Donât Cry.
RELEVANT LINKS
âThe Return of the Marriage Plot: Why everyone is suddenly so eager for men and women to get hitched.â By Rebecca Traister for New York Magazine.
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Billie Eilish gets ratioed for saying no one criticizes menâs bodies. She is SO WRONG! (Yet kind of right.) In other news, famed atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali is now a Christian. What gives? Sarah has a few theories, Meghan is suspicious of the timing (Christmas is right around the cornerâŚ). Finally, the girls/women discuss what religion theyâd like to convert to and have a hard time deciding.
Plus, why the official new name for paying subscribers is âspeds.â
RELEVANT LINKS
âWhy I am now a Christianâ by Ayaan Hirsi Ali for Unherd.
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TikTokers discover Osama bin Ladenâs Letter to America and have âexistential crisesâ. Is it because itâs the first thing theyâve ever read thatâs longer than a tweet? Or is OBL this generationâs Che Guevara? Plus, infighting breaks out in TERF world when an AGP confuses business casual with ballroom formal.
Relevant Links
Osama bin Laden's TikTok popularity is based on childish notions of evil.
Meghanâs famous âpieceâ gets demoted to a âpost.â
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High school debaters stand up to whiteness (finally). A-romantic, asexual novelist throws Twitter tantrum. Plus, are all-female colleges dangerous places for women? Do women tear down more posters than men? Would Sarah have been better off at an all-boyâs school? Should Meghan a cult leader? Or is she more assistant-to-the-cult leader material?
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The womenx answer listenerx question. Youâre welcomex!
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Sarah and Meghan kick off their conversation by wondering whether you should be able to order a breastmilk latte at Starbucks and or if the Donner Party consulted YouTube for human meat recipes.
They then move on to the myth of the âdecolonizationâ narrative, the disinformation surrounding the Israel-Hamas War and ask whether TikTok is a âheadless propaganda machine.â (Signs point to yes.)
Finally, they discuss the case of the 21-year-old TikToker who went viral with a video complaining about the hours she must work at her first job. Spoiler: they agree with her!
(Psst! We also have a Patreon now in case you want to support us even more.)
Relevant Links
âThe Decolonization Narrative Is Dangerous and Falseâ from The Atlantic
âOpinion: Nothing has prepared me for the antisemitism I see on college campuses nowâ from The LA Times
âHamas Killed My Wokenessâ from Tablet
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In this episode Sarah and Meghan consider the ethics of adoption, surrogacy and the future of reproductive technology. They discuss the âBaby Scoopâ era, which lasted from just after World War II into the early 1970s, in which millions of unwed mother surrendered their babies to adoption agencies, many of which were profiting from the transaction.
They discover that Meghan, who was born the year of the highest number of adoptions, has always knows tons of adoptees and never thought much of it. Sarah, on the other hand, knew very few adoptees. Sarah also reflects on her own primal motherhood instinct and Meghan talks about her volunteer work in the foster care system.
RELEVANT LINKS
Meghan worked in the foster care system for a while, and she wrote this essay about it in The New Yorker.
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Eliza Mondegreen visits the girls/women to talk about the relationship between online communities and gender identities. From Reddit to Tumblr, tens of thousands of strangers are poised to welcome confused kids into a sprawling and hyper-accepting âfamily.â But, as Eliza puts it, âfinding these communities is like stepping in quicksand.â
Eliza Mondegreen is a graduate student researching online trans communities. She is a columnist for UnHerd, Fairer Disputations, and Genspect, and writes on Substack here.
ICYMI
You can listen to this episode for more context about the WaPo story about Artemis Langford.
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This week, the girlx discuss the recent Washington Post article about Artemis Langford, a University of Wyoming student who was driven out of a sorority house for not being the right kind of girl â specifically, a 6â2â biological male with a five oâclock shadow and some strange hobbies.
Relevant Links
âJudge Rules against Female Sorority Members Who Sued after Chapter Admitted Male Studentâ from The National Review
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An uncharacteristically somber episode in Hell, in which we share our frustrations and disbelief at the callous responses to the attacks by Hamas on Israel.
Relevant Links
Joint Statement by Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups on the Situation in Palestine.
Claudine Gayâs response to the student groups statement.
âNothing will ever be the same againâ by Yael Bar-Tur
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Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation For Individual Rights And Expression (FIRE) and author of the new book, âThe Canceling Of The American Mind,â visits A Special Place to explain once and for all that cancel culture is real. For the much-anticipated followup to the seminal âThe Coddling Of The American Mind,â Greg teamed up with 23-year-old wunderkind Rikki Schlott to show how cancel culture is much more than a moral panic. In fact, itâs a manifestation of the social dysfunction that results from people batting for power and status in a culture that has come to value grievance over resilience.
And in case you find yourself in arguments with people who take the position that Cancel Culture Doesnât Exist Because Louis CK Is Still Performingâ˘, Greg cites several recent examples of blatant speech suppression (including at Stanford Law School) that youâll want to write down and keep in your back pocket.
Finally, as FIRE co-sponsored the recent Free Press debate in L.A. about whether the sexual revolution failed (in which Sarah and her partner Grimes DESTROYED gently but definitively toppled the opposition), Greg and the womyn/girlx do some Monday morning quarterbacking of the event and also discuss the confounding press coverage.
GUEST BIO:
Greg Lukianoff is an attorney, New York Times best-selling author, and the President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). He is the author of five books, notablyâThe Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failureâ with Jonathan Haidt. Most recently, Greg is the co-author of the upcoming âThe Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Destroys Institutions and Threatens Us AllâBut There Is a Solutionâwith Rikki Schlott.
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In this episode, the girls/women cover the Coleman Hughes vs. TED saga, and try their best to come up with a fresh take on race and cancel culture, but fail.
Also, Meghan shows off about a super exclusive event for geniuses which she got invited to for some reason.
Relevant Links
Read Coleman Hughesâ piece on The Free Press here.
Read the response from Chris Anderson and Adam Grant here.
You can also read Jesse Singalâs take on the whole thing here.
This very book-heavy episode, the girls/women discuss the relevance of Banned Books Week since no one really reads and libraries are essentially homeless masturbation zones. Meghan shares her distaste for the morally-dubious lessons of The Giving Tree (the Shel Silverstein classic), but Sarah defends it as a necessary parenthood redpill.
Finally, they discuss a problematic listener comment about single parenthood and the black community.
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In this episode, Sarah and Meghan do their podcasterly duties and discuss the scandal (or is it merely a juicy nothingburger?) surrounding Ibram X Kendiâs mishandling of the more than $43 million that poured into his Center for Anti-Racist Research at Boston University. After getting high on schadenfreude fumes, they ultimately decide itâs not Kendiâs fault but the well-meaning (mostly white) enablers who threw money at him because, well, he was there â and apparently a genius.
The womynx then move on to the topic on every commenterâs lips this week: Marriage and whether itâs good for society or simply another tool of the imperialist white supremacist capitalist, heternormative, homosapiast, Taylor Swiftian, Basic Bitchinâ patriarchy.
Arguing for the âgood for societyâ side are people like David Brooks, who recently added to his arsenal of pro-marriage data by citing a paper by Sam Peltzman of the University of Chicago Business School showing that married people are happier. Arguing for the âshut up conservatives; itâs not that simpleâ side is Rebecca Traister of New York Magazine, who is concerned that nice liberal elites are becoming trad-curious and playing into the hands of Republicans and their anti-woman agenda. Who is correct? We are, of course!
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And what was the outcome? Despite being an uncharismatic, humorless scold with a normie American accent, Sarah won the debate! It hardly seemed possible, but she and her partner Grimes (aka âTechno Mechanicusâs mother) proved to a packed house that The Sexual Revolution⢠was an unmitigated success a net positive.
In this special episode for paying subscribers only, Sarah and Meghan discuss the debate, the audience, the afterparty, and the zombie apocalypse that surrounded the beautifully-restored Ace Theatre in a sad pocket of downtown L.A. Sarah also works through the anticipatory anxiety she carried with her across the country (in business class!) and reports that Anna was not scary at all, Grimes showed us women really can have it all, and Louise Perry could have recited the phone book and still sounded smarter than everyone else thanks to her sublime British accent.
The w*myn also talk about motherhood, who should have kids, and take a bold stance against eugenics. (Sort of.)
Know someone who is as black-pilled about the culture wars as we are? Donate or give a gift subscription.
HOUSEKEEPING
đ Follow Sarahâs Substack, âHold That Thought.â
âRead Meghanâs Substack post about the press coverage of the debate and âBari Weiss Derangement Syndromeâ
đĽ Join The Unspeakeasy, Meghanâs community for freethinking women.
đĽ Follow us on YouTube!
â And on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
đ¸ And Instagram.
đľ AndTikTok
In this episode, the girls/wom(y)n â aka Meghan Daum and Sarah Haider â tackle the subject of academic tenure and ask whether it actually encourages ideological conformity at universities. Also under discussion: have the social sciences have been captured? Why are so many administrators? Moreover, why do universities bend over backward to cater to 18-year-olds when the people who really matter are aging donors?
Finally, in this episode: AT LONG LAST we learn what Sarah and Meghan were like in high school: Meghan was a writing and oboe prodigy who was borderline learning disabled in other areas, and Sarah was just a little too good at convincing people that assisted suicide is a good thing.
In the bonus, the grls/womn discuss all of you who have hate-subscribed just to spite us, answer some premium subscriber questions, and ask if universities fail their missions when they are politically motivated.
Want to hear the bonus? Upgrade your subscription now.
Relevant Links
Why Conservatives Must Not Abandon Universities: A four-point plan
Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid
HOUSEKEEPING
đď¸ Get your ticket to The Free Press debate with Grimes, Sarah, Louise Perry and Anna Khachiyan.
đĽ Join The Unspeakeasy, Meghanâs community for freethinking women.
đĽ Follow us on YouTube!
â And on the platform formerly known as Twitter: www.twitter.com/specialplacepod
đ¸ And Instagram.
đľ And TikTok.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit aspecialplace.substack.com
In this episode, the girls/wom(y)n â aka Meghan Daum and Sarah Haider â tackle the subject of academic tenure and ask whether it actually encourages ideological conformity at universities. Also under discussion: have the social sciences have been captured? Why are so many administrators? Moreover, why do universities bend over backward to cater to 18-year-olds when the people who really matter are aging donors?
Finally, in this episode: AT LONG LAST we learn what Sarah and Meghan were like in high school: Meghan was a writing and oboe prodigy who was borderline learning disabled in other areas, and Sarah was just a little too good at convincing people that assisted suicide is a good thing.
In the bonus, the grls/womn discuss all of you who have hate-subscribed just to spite us, answer some premium subscriber questions, and ask if universities fail their missions when they are politically motivated.
Relevant Links
Why Conservatives Must Not Abandon Universities: A four-point plan
Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid
Know someone who is as black-pilled about the culture wars as we are? Donate or give a gift subscription.
HOUSEKEEPING
đĽ Join The Unspeakeasy, Meghanâs community for freethinking women.
đĽ Follow us on YouTube!
â And on the platform formerly known as Twitter: www.twitter.com/specialplacepod
đ¸ And Instagram.
đľ And TikTok.
Today the girls/women discuss the phenomenon of Oliver Anthony, the breakout star behind the hit song Rich Men North of Richmond Is he actually a music industry plant and does it matter? Are political songs all terrible, or is it just Sarahâs opinions?
Next, they talk about the New York Timesâ evangelical zeal of reporting on hate crimes. In two recent, high-profile cases, a store owner was shot for defending a pride flag and a man was stabbed at a gas station while vogueing. Meghan and Sarah question whether or not there is more to these stories.
In the bonus segment, Meghan and Sarah talk about how much they love libraries â except for when they try to shush their free speech. And the New York Times finally confirms whistleblowerJamie Reedâs claims about Washington Universityâs youth gender clinic in St. Louis.
Want to hear the bonus segment? Upgrade your subscription now.
Housekeeping:
đď¸ Get your ticket to see Sarah and Grimes debate Louise Perry and Anna Khachiyan on Sept. 13.đMeet Megahn Daum in Denver at The Unspeakeasy 1-day retreat.đĽ Follow us on YouTube! â And on the platform formerly known as Twitter: www.twitter.com/specialplacepod đ¸ And Instagram: www.instagram.com/specialplacepod đľ And TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@aspecialplaceinhell
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
Why do women find things disgusting? Is your toddler secretly trying to cock block you?
Evolutionary psychologist Diana Fleischman visited us in Hell to discuss all of the above PLUS weigh in on our debate about whether women get breast implants for themselves, men or other women.
In the bonus segment, we followed up on all the questions that we missed in the Penelope Trunk episode of âDo As We Say.â Upgrade your subscription if you want to hear it.
And you can watch our episode where we give you invaluable life advice here.
GUEST BIO
Diana Santos Fleischman PhD is an evolutionary psychologist and Associate Research Professor at the University of New Mexico. You can follow her on Twitter at @sentientist. Sheâs currently writing a book called âHow to Train Your Boyfriend.â You can also follow her on Substack.
Are you someone who is as black-pilled by the culture wars as we are? Upgrade your subscription and join us in Hell.
Housekeeping:
đď¸ Get your ticket to see Sarah and Grimes debate Louise Perry and Anna Khachiyan.
đĽ Follow us on YouTube too!
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
Today in Hell: The girls/women discuss Neil Degrasse Tysonâs various ruminations about gender, and very belatedly breaking down his discussion with Ben Shapiro from 2019 about gender ideology.
And in the BONUS segment for members only, the girls/women discuss NARCOFEMINISM: What is it? What can be done about it? Is it contagious?
Watch the episode on YouTube:
Ben Shapio and Neil deGrasse Tyson's Thoughts on Transgenderism:
The Sociological Reviewâs Issue on Narcofeminism:
https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/sora/71/4
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
Sheâs back! Accomplished fem-trepreneur, take-no-prisoners life coach and model Aspergian Penelope Trunk returns to a special place â this time to help launch us in our new roles as advice ladies. Subscribers shared their problems (and, boy do you have problems) and we enlisted Penelope to help us help you. Along the way, Penelope registered her disapproval of our listeners' hobbies, Meghanâs hair, and in fact the entire podcast.Â
To hear the full breadth of her wisdom (and to submit your own questions for the next advice episode), subscribe today! Next time it will only be us, but Meghan will keep things interesting by inhaling a whippet (THE DOG NOT THE DRUG).Â
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
Is it literally impossible to be a woman? Is Sarah a mean boss? Is Meghan a menâs rights activist? In this episode, Meghan reports back from seeing Barbie and offers her rewrite of America Ferreraâs âepicâ feminist speech. Sarah does some global politics âsplaining about why Western occupation couldnât topple the Taliban and, along the way, reveals that her father named her after Linda Hamiltonâs character in The Terminator. Plus: bonus content for everyone!
In the BONUS-FOR-ALL segment: Sarah sh*ts all over American norms about toilet hygiene and brags about her new bidet seats. Meghan complains about The New York Times; first for a misleading headline about abortion pills and second for a hysterical article about whether itâs safe to go outside.
Subscribe to listen to such brilliance every time and to get access to our smart and thoughtful Substack community!
LINKS:
-
Meghanâs Substack: I Rewrote The Barbie Speech For A Man
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New York Times: Nebraska Teen Who Used Pills To End Pregnancy Gets 90 Days In Jail
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New York Times: Is It Safe To Go Outside? How To Navigate This Cruel Summer
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
On this episode, the girls/women go in search of the secrets of school-age lassies who do double duty as saint-adjacent as moral sages. Is this the kind of work no grown woman can do? To wit, is it the final frontier of ageism? At age 20, Greta Thunberg look a day over 11. So why is she refusing to share her skincare secrets? FYI: The girls/women are launching an advice segmentâsend in your personal/professional/political/spiritual questions to us, and we will kill a pig, examine its intestines, and share our wisdom with you. Finally, the girls move onto more incel white-knighting (brown-knighting, in Sarahâs case) and wonder why itâs women who stand up for the guys more than most men do. Just another form of unpaid, emotional labor. And in the BONUS segment for members only, the girls/women discuss a confusing op-ed in the New York Times by a black ballet dancer, and move onto a seriously problematic discussion about body types, ending with Sarahâs (racist?) awakening at a nude spa. Subscribe here to listen to the BONUS and to get access to our smart and thoughtful substack community.
LINKS: The Advocate:Â Gay Nude Resort Must Allow Women, Judge Declares The Atlantic:Â Donât Wait for the Children to Save Us NYT:Â American Ballet Theatre Doesnât See Me As I See Myself WaPo:Â Men are lost. Hereâs a map out of the wilderness
Follow us on: Twitter:Â https://bit.ly/40heL4Z Instagram:Â https://bit.ly/3X3fHXE Facebook:Â https://bit.ly/3l2OW8G Substack:Â https://bit.ly/3XYHFoW YouTube: :Â https://bit.ly/3jrxz0A Website:Â https://aspecialplaceinhell.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Supreme Court has weighed in: Affirmative Action is out. Itâs too late for Sarah to claim her rightful place in the ivy league but maybe another future tradwife can be saved from the humiliation of a state school education. (We kid, of course! We donât believe in the value of college. Or, for that matter, any education!) Still, we have many highly educated opinions.  Next up: Are young homely men the Real Victims of society? Can they be lifted out of sexual poverty? The girls/women discuss a recent Tablet article, âUnfuckable Hate Nerds,â which posits that in the game of life, young women have always had an advantage and young men are losing more than ever before.  And in the BONUS segment for members only, we discuss the most urgent question of our time, at least according to Twitter: Are women uglier at 25 than 35? (Yes, that is the question.) The answer may surprise you! But it probably wonât. Subscribe here to listen in and to get access to our smart and thoughtful substack community. LINKS: Americans' Support for Affirmative Action Programs Rises https://news.gallup.com/poll/247046/americans-support-affirmative-action-programs-rises.aspx New Yorker: Why the Champions of Affirmative Action Had to Leave Asian Americans Behind https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/why-the-champions-of-affirmative-action-had-to-leave-asian-americans-behind McWhorter: On Race and Academia https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/04/opinion/race-academia-preferences.html Deresiewicz: Unfuckable Hate Nerds https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/unfuckable-hate-nerds-william-deresiewicz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week: Why New York (continues) to suck, why we still donât trust the news, and what might be turning our young singles into raving SJWs / far-right nationalists. Plus, Sarahâs theory blaming (who else?) #AllWomen for the corrosion of our institutions, at which point Meghan breaks character and defend female honor. Will women put a stop to this madness? If they do, what will Meghan and Sarah complain about next? In the BONUS segment for members only: Why only fools spend money on expensive weddings, and why tiger moms are the key to resurrecting meritocracy in America. Subscribe here to listen, and to get access to our smart and thoughtful substack community: https://aspecialplace.substack.com/ LINKS: NY Post: https://nypost.com/2023/06/18/parents-who-back-merit-higher-standards-sweep-nyc-school-council-elections/ The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/us-marriage-rate-different-political-views/674358/ The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/07/luxury-wedding-planners-industrial-complex-cost/674169/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this episode, the girls/women respond to listener comments on the last episode about AGP, and in the process, gain some empathy for the harmless crossdresser-next-door. Then they dive into the wacky world of internal monologues. Are you crazy if you have one? Are you stupid if you donât? (Yes, and yes).
In the bonus for SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, Sarah targets another profession for baseless accusations: democracy-saving journalism. Can Meghan talk some sense into her? Does she even want to? Find out by subscribing here.Â
https://aspecialplace.substack.com/
LINKS: My Adventures in Deconstruction https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/my-adventures-in-deconstruction The News Is Bad For You https://sarahhaider.substack.com/p/the-news-is-bad-for-you-stop-reading
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, the girls take their DGAF-ery to the next level and talk about the elephant in the gender room: AGP. Culture critic Andrea Long Chu, who has described autogynephilia in graphic detail (while wisely avoiding the term itself), won a Pulitzer Prize. Does this mean weâre finally allowed recognize the existence of something that gender activists say definitely doesnât exist? Meanwhile, Sarah gets tough on pronouns and Meghan visits Target and is SHOCKED by what she finds in the kids clothing section: The tackiest tee-shirts sheâs ever seen! Plus: Was Amanda Gormanâs book really âbannedâ in Florida? Or is the âmiddle school library shelfâ where books go to hide from a few unhinged parents? IN THE BONUS FOR PAYING MEMBERS ONLY, the girls reflect on last weekâs interview with sex work tycoon Aella, respond to listener complaints, and debate the pros, cons, and more cons of artificial wombs. Subscribe here to listen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The New York Times has been tiptoeing up to the gender youth story. Does that mean the subject will soon be safe to talk about in polite company? The ladies discuss a recent Times article about the effects of school policies that compel teachers to hide kidsâ new gender identities from parents. In the interests of balance, they also talk about an article in The Federalist (which Sarah reads religiously despite being an atheist) bout how government overreach and agenda-driven advocacy caused a troubled teenage girl to be removed from her home and placed in child protective custody, where she was eventually sex trafficked and violently assaulted. Mercifully, Meghan eventually lightens the mood by describing a recent conversation with her doctor, who appears to be woefully misinformed about certain things despite being a doctor and therefore super smart. (Meghan also wrote about this on her Substack this week.)
Speaking of doctors: In the bonus content available to paying subscribers only, the girls/women discuss an advice column letter from a neurosurgeon in her late 30s who wants to find a husband and start a family now. Did she get the right advice? It doesnât matter, since Sarah is here to give her the final word. (Sarah also thinks Meghan reads The New York Times too much and needs to #DoBetter.) They also respond to reader comments about their last episode, which seems like a long time ago because it was. They will #DoBetter!
Links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/22/us/gender-identity-students-parents.html
https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/19/virginia-teen-sex-trafficked-twice-after-school-hides-gender-identity-from-her-parents/
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
Is Sarah too-light skinned, or not light-skinned enough? What sort of impact will this have on A Special Placeâs imminent move to video? Unrelatedly, how does one pronounce the Brothers Karamazov? Or the name of its author, for that matter? Plus, Sarah hears the pronunciation of Solzhenitsyn for the first and itâs like a blind person who can suddenly see.
Speaking of great authors, in this episode, the girls/women discuss Lex Fridmanâs reading list (because everyone else already has, and they are committed to leading from behind). After trashing critiquing the Lady Patriot Betsy Ross and Trailblazing Black Scientist George Washington Carver, Sarah discusses her discoveries about male scholarships. (Spoiler: Donât bother, gentlemen.) They then move on to Meghanâs new Substack post about why she thinks she can afford to talk about gender, while others run for the hills at the mere mention. In the BONUS CONTENT for paying subscribers only, the girls minimize sexual assault (âIt was a different time!!â), and come out of the closet as fans of Cuties, the infamous groomer drama that is really an art film because itâs not only French but directed by a WOC.
Lexâs Reading List
Sarahâs post on scholarships for men:
Meghanâs post on talking about trans stuff:
BONUS: #TheeToo : Teen Stars of Romeo and Juliet File Lawsuit
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
Is Christmas the Master Holiday? Or is it the Joe Rogan of holidays? Have young men ODâd on video games? Are so many words actually that harmful, or is it just Stanford? Plus: More Penelope Trunk backbiting.
In this episode, the girls/women discuss their holiday plans, which are very unexciting. Was Sarah a trans-child, or was she just neglected? Has Meghan always hated babies? Should Sarah (who has large cheeks) gift her fat to Meghan (who needs padding), thus bonding them forever in the vain pursuit of beauty? And how wrong was Penelope Trunk anyway? They then discuss the Harmful Words List from Stanford University, feeling very superior all the while. They insist on reserving their right as AMERICANS to call anyone a spaz, or r*tard â or maybe even a grandfather.
In the BONUS content for paying subscribers: Some dusty old man Sarah has never heard of comes out as a Nazi. Meghan is overjoyed to have another sane voice around. They then move onto a general discussion about COVID vaccines, which inevitably becomes a conversation about menstruation. Plus: An announcement!!!
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this episode, Sarah and Meghan welcome business coach, blogger and all-around opinion-ista, Penelope Trunk.
Should women get plastic surgery? Are video games the key to a future as a business tycoon? Can women run businesses anyway??
Penelope is a professional career coach, so she tells Sarah and Meghan what they are doing wrong (spoiler: almost everything) and why they will never make it in this business (or perhaps, any other). She also administers some tests to determine whether theyâre autistic.
In the bonus portion for subscribers only, Meghan and Sarah talk about Penelope behind her back. Did they learn a lot? Yes! Should Sarah hire Penelope as a coach? Only if you become a paid subscriber so she afford it!
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
This week, Meghan and Sarah revisit their conversation from the previous episode about hormonal birth control. Is Sarah an anti-birth control zealot secretly advocating for legislation to ban all contraception? Is Meghan too forgiving of men who hate condoms?
They then move onto late breaking Twitter news (now known as âold newsâ). As they recorded, Matt Taibbiâs bombshell thread about political bias and content suppression at Twitter was unspooling in real time. Can they make sense of it? (Mostly.) Do they care? (Yes!) After that, Meghan talks about the recent article in Semafor about the novelist Junot Diaz, whose life and career were upended after sexual misconduct allegations that, as it turns out., appear far less serious than previously reported. Finally, they discuss someone who deserves his disgrace, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and wonder how he could have fooled so many, so well.
In the bonus edition for paying subscribers: The ladies discuss Kanye Westâs new look on Alex Jonesâ InfoWars. Ski masks: Hot! Anti-semitism and antipsychotic medication: Not!
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this episode of A Special Place in Hell, recorded on Thanksgiving eve, Sarah and Meghan discuss their plans, including why itâs taken Sarah awhile to get the hang of this holiday, especially the cranberry sauce and eating at 2pm part. (You can read Meghanâs take on Thanksgiving in her latest Substack essay.) After touching on a few breaking news stories that everyoneâs forgotten by now, they turn to the subject of birth control. Sarah read a book about it and Meghan watched a documentary and they each report back on what they learnedâor, in Meghanâs case, what annoyed her. This leads to yet another variation on Meghanâs favorite theme; why_____ isnât as good as it used to. (In this case, documentaries!)
The girls/women discuss whether documentary films are now primarily tools of activism and Sarah cites Blackfish (which Meghan canât bear to watch) as an example of a documentary that effected real change. Meghan cites the 1990 film Paris Is Burning as an example of a âreal documentary,â and this leads to a discussion about drag queens and whether theyâre offensive and misogynistic or soothing and perfect for story hour.
In the very special Bonus Content: Sarah and Meghan address a listenerâs comment about their conversation with Katie Herzog and the subject of gestational surrogacy. Does everyone have the right to be a parent? Also: are old-fashioned matchmakers better than dating apps?
Book: Sarah Hillâs This is Your Brain on Birth Control
Movie: The Business of Birth Control
The legacy of Paris Is Burning
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
This week, superstar podcaster Katie Herzog visits A Special Place In Hell to talk about what itâs like to dwell in that sordid sphincter of public discourse known as Twitter. Her podcast, Blocked and Reported, which she co-hosts with Jesse Signal, may live in indentured servitude to some of the the worst the Internet has to offer, but Katie herself knows how to live off the land â or at least touch grass. Here, she talks with Sarah and Meghan about how her wife keeps her grounded, how she fears sheâll be working in a grocery store one day and why Blocked and Reportedâs recent east coast tour involved being cancelled at Dartmouth College, though not because of student protests (bummer). Katie also shares here views on gestational surrogacy, which she and Sarah recently tweeted about, and announced that she would not accept such a gig for less than $15 million.
In the very special BONUS CONTENT, Katie laments her thwarted #vanlife aspirations and holds forth on Elon Muskâs Twitter takeover. To listen: become a paying subscriber!
Relevant links:
Meghanâs Substack The Unspeakable With Meghan Daum
Sarahâs Substack Hold That Thought
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
This week (or was it last week?) the girls/women monitor the midterm election returns as they re-record the episode (#BecauseStandards). Along the way they discuss the latest object of mass cultural derangement: Elon Musk. Is Musk the new Trump? Is Twitter really any different than it was a few weeks ago? Itâs difficult to say, but as it happens Meghan spent several days hanging out with Musk several years ago when she profiled him for Vogue (in 2015; not in 2014 like she kept saying). She describes their interactions (sort of) and recounts having lunch with Muskâs first wife, Justine, as well as the excitement of seeing her name on a designated parking space at the SpaceX headquarters.
The ladies then move onto the fraught topic of crop tops in the office. Did the New York Times cover this issue just to get the attention of podcasters? Does having opinions about appropriate attire amount to policing womenâs bodies? Also: should we blame our parents for letting us do dumb things as teenagers (things even dumber than wearing crop tops) that we were hellbent on doing no matter what? Should people who aren't extremely online be eyed with suspicion? Finally, in a rare moment of âget off my lawn,â Sarah complains about too many young people being in charge despite not knowing anything about anything.
In the very special Bonus Content: the girls/women refresh their browsers and check in with the midterm results. Meghan reveals what her Google news suggestions say about her true interests and Sarah reassures her that not caring about political horse races is not a character flaw. Upon discovering that a 25-year-old has been elected to Congress in Florida, both ladies declare civilization officially over. At least for the evening.
Meghanâs Vogue Magazine profile of Elon Musk
NY Times article on crop tops in the office.
Sarahsâs Substack page, Hold That Thought
Meghanâs Substack page, The Unspeakable With Meghan Daum
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this edition of the podcast, the girls/women kick off the discussion with reports on their respective special events; Sarahâs Rights and Religions Forum conference in Washington, DC and Meghanâs latest Unspeakeasy retreat in New York. Lamenting their ongoing habit of saying âIâm a liberal, but . . .â before talking about anything that might be construed as right wing, Sarah says the noticed the same tic in a book sheâs reading about the unintended consequences of the birth control pill. #NotThatWeDontSupportBirthControl. Speaking of procreation, they move on to the subject of fecund billionaire Elon Musk and his purchase of Twitter. Will the resulting speech violence drive all the right-thinkers to Canada? Will Sarah lean harder into gender tweets? Will Meghan give up her blue check?
Sarah admits she wasted a car salesmanâs time by taking a Tesla out on a self-driving spin (unsurprising spoiler: the car can park better than she can). The hostesses then return to the evergreen subject of censorship, citing the resurfaced brouhaha over the forced departure of New York Times opinion editor James Bennet in 2020. Some who joined the pile-on are now apologizing, but is it too little too late? Meanwhile, they wonder if their own intense lack of censorship, especially around certain topics, is potentially an ineffective tool for change. Are they too obsessed to make a difference?
In the very special bonus content: more Zamboni-splaining! Plus, the girls/women respond to listener comments about . . . porn! Finally, Sarah reminisces about her (briefly) unplugged travels in Greece and Meghan recalls a trip to Egypt as part of a faux thrupple.
Relevant links:
Semafor: Inside The Identity Crisis At The New York Times
Meghanâs Substack
Sarahâs Substack
Final reminder: The first ever Special Place Zoom hangout is coming up this Saturday, November 5 at 8pm ET. Sarah and Meghan will show their faces and answer your questions (within reason).
This is for Founding Members only. If youâre not yet a Founding Member, upgrade your subscription now and join them!
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
On this episode of A Special Place in Hell, the girls/women tackle it all; marriage, sexism, racism, jock smells. This is despite physical and emotional exhaustion from their very special projects; Sarahâs conference and Meghanâs Unspeakeasy retreat.
Sarah begins by wondering whether âself-hating millennialâ is misleading and, god forbid, cringe. Meghan wonders whether all of childhood is cringe. They then move onto the topic of marriage and expectations and whether mothers should move into âLady Communesâ because marriage sucks and husbands are disappointing and #patriarchy. Meghan concludes that Lady Communes are maybe very useful when we are all old and have no one to take care of us, either because children are too selfish or we were too selfish to have children in the first place. Sarah returns to her favorite topic of wondering whether there will ever be a female Jordon Peterson or if this is impossible given the degree to which women hate female figures in this kind of role.
Then they move on to SPORTS, a topic around which they have no lived experience but lots of deeply uninformed opinions. Does the NHL have too many white people? (Yes.) Are minorities allowed to just not like hockey very much? (No.)
In the very special BONUS content, Sarah shares two of her most trad opinions. Do women belong in combat units or is this just another way the Patriarchy coerces the female body? Plus: More porn musings and (you guessed it) G*NDER.
Reminder that our first Zoom hangout will be Saturday, November 5 at 8pm ET. This is for Founding Members only, so itâs a great time to become not just a paid subscriber but a very special Founding Member.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this episode of A Special Place in Hell, the girls/women wade through the sorry details of last weekâs scandale littĂŠraire involving Hobart, a literary magazine no one had ever heard of until last Wednesday. Meghan is a veteran of the literary world and it turns out itâs her job to educate Sarah about how things work. They discuss the phenomenon of âwhite Brooklyn ladies of the publishing business,â as coined by the writer Alex Perez, a Cuban American writer and Iowa Writers Workshop alum who is Sick Of The Wokenessâ˘. Meghan talks about her own experience in an MFA program, her bouts of self-loathing about it in recent years and the vagaries of the literary âcommunityâ.
They then move on to the lighter topic of assisted suicide and consider the ways in which Canadian programs for the benefit of the terminally ill might actually be a slippery slope. Meghan deathsplains to Sarah about the phenomenon of death cafes and death doulas. (Sheâs a fan!).
In the subscriber-only BONUS content, Sarah reveals the truth behind her affinity for taking Twitter polls. (Spoiler: itâs not feminist). The ladies then return to one of their favorite questions: why do so many otherwise smart people go along with idiotic nonsense? Are Sarah and Meghan smarter than everyone else? Or do they just have better b**t detectors?
Relavant links:
-
Hobart Interview with Alex Perez
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Who Killed Creative Writing? Meghanâs Substack article about the Hobart saga
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Scheduled to Die: The Rise of Canada's Assisted Suicide Program
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Sarahâs Free Inquiry article
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this episode of A Special Place In Hell, the girls/women lose their sh*t over Jon Stewartâs latest virtue signal flare from the ideological bunker in which he appears to be held captive. Itâs especially egregious considering a new Reuters story that, for the first time, lays out actual numbers about how many kids are being medicalized for gender dysphoria, including getting invasive surgeries. But before that, they discuss Meghanâs New York Times interview with a âconservative therapistâ that made a splash last week. What is a âconservative therapistâ anyway? And why do so many self-identified mental health professionals on Twitter seem so invested on keeping people feeling mentally fragile? Finally, the hostesses address problem of information overload and the way it makes smart people feel stupid and (perhaps?) stupid people sound smarter than they are.
In the bonus content for paying subscribers only, Sarah explains the definition of âbody count,â which Meghan thought had to do with killing people. In fact it refers to how many people youâve had sex with and the girls discuss this in great depth without ever hinting at their own body numbers. Also: Do bisexual men exist? Does having sex with someone both before and after their gender transition count for two bodies?
Relevant links:
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Excerpt of Jon Stewartâs interview with Arkansas Attorney General
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Reuters: As More Transgender Children Seek Gender Care, Families Confront Many Unknowns
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New York Times: What A Conservative Therapist Thinks About Politics And Mental Health
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Sarahâs Substack Post: The News Is Bad For You. Stop Reading It.
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Sarahâs Conference on Oct 22 in DC: Info and Tickets
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OKCupid blog: The Big Lies People Tell in Online Dating. (More posts, archived here).
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
This week on A Special Place in Hell, the girls/women spend way too much time on names. Are you a racist for mispronouncing Nimrata Nikki Randhawa? (Yes). Is the aforementioned a white supremacist for changing her name to Nikki Haley? (Yes). Should Meghan become Meghan X Daum? (Definitely). Why did George W. Bush call his wife âBushieâ? (Unclear).
The girls/women then move on to a lighter topic: the new guidelines announced at the recent World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) annual meeting, which contain protocols for gender-affirming surgeries on minors and, at long last, recognize a new protected identity, âeunuch.â Fully aware that they have not covered the topic of gnder nearly enough on the podcast, they make up for lost time by going down a number of fetid rabbit holes exploring a number of avenues, including Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria, the televised gender journey of Jazz Jennings, and mothers with Munchausen by proxy syndrome. The last item leads them to their second favorite activity after talking about grâblaming women for societal ills. *On the BONUS segment, for paying subscribers only, the ladies/lassies go through an OKCupid blog picked by Sarah, and determine whether their podcast marriage is meant to last.
Subscribe now to hear the BONUS content, and unlock the comment section where you can complain about it to your heartâs desire!
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
Itâs the second ever special guest episode of A Special Place In Hell! This week, journalist Suzy Weiss visits the pod, not only fulfilling Sarahâs call for a Gen Z guest but also sharing her insights from her recent Common Sense article Generation Swipe. Suzy explains what a decade of dating app culture has done to the psyches and future plans (or lack thereof) for millennial and Gen Z-ers. It is depressing out there, but Suzy is optimistic. (A welcome change from nihilistic Sarah.)
Suzy also talks about what itâs like being the sister of one of the most beloved and vilified figures in media, Bari Weiss.
Then, in bonus content thatâs available to everyone this week (YOU ARE WELCOME), Sarah and Meghan talk about Suzy behind her back for a few minutes before reading and discussing a blog post about women can live their best lives. (Hint: a little bit of plastic surgery goes a long way ladies!)
However, as usual the comment section (often more thoughtful than the podcast) is available ONLY to paying subscribers, so pony up!
Relevant links:
Hurts So Good: Suzy Weiss on an epidemic of invisible illness
Sarahâs Substack Hold That Thought
Meghanâs new Substack
Blueprint for a Womanâs Life
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
Does Meghan look like a media elite? (Does that blue check make her look fat?) Would wearing hijab help Sarah's career?
On Saturday evening, as As Sarah and Meghan recorded this episode of A Special Place In Hell, Meghan was being ratioed on Twitter after posting an article so absurd she felt it needed no comment. (Wrong! The mob thinks she wrote it, and now theyâre piling on.) But before assessing the damage, the girls/women respond to listener feedback about some of their earlier conversations about one of their favorite topics: how to live your life right. Meghan, whoâs never lived her life right, helps Sarah clarify what she meant about settling down early becoming a âsocial normâ again. They then move on to Meghanâs viral tweet, which referenced an Atlantic Magazine article arguing that sports should not be separated by sex. Why? Because part of the reason men are physically stronger than women is because the imperialist, white supremacist, capitalist, heteronormative, cis- patriarchy keeps them from having as many training opportunities. #Duh!
They then move on to another recent vital tweet storm, which suggested that âheterodoxâ POCs are simply opportunists who launder tired racist tropes because thatâs how you get the big bucks. Sarah takes offense at this and finds it racist. Meghan admits sheâs a little jealous not to have such such opportunities. Unrelatedly, in a shocking reveal: Meghan admits not to knowing the story of The Little Mermaid. This evens the score after Sarahâs previous disclosure that sheâd never heard of The Love Boat.
In the bonus content for paid subscribers the women/girls answer listener questions about how to keep your friends even though they have turned into woke idiots see things differently than you do. They also revisit their semi-plans to release video content and bemoan the patriarchal forces that will require them to get expensive makeovers in order to do so.
A Special Place In Hell is a reader-supported publication. To receive the bonus content and get access to the comment section, consider becoming a paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this episode of A Special Place In Hell, the girls/women make some perfunctory remarks about the death of Queen Elizabeth, with Sarah praising the television series The Crown and Meghan explaining why her favorite royal is Camilla Parker Bowles. They then reflect on last weekâs conversation with their first ever guest, Kmele Foster of The Fifth Column podcast. Kmele, who met his wife when they were teenagers, had some fascinating things to say about the benefits of finding your mate early in life. Is he onto something? It is better to pair up with someone you meet when youâre very young, like Sarah did? Or are you better waiting until youâre older and have mastered the art of eating over the sink, like Meghan did? Sarah also wonders why so few famous second wave feminists were mothers and the girls/women discuss Selfish, Shallow & Self-Absorbed, the 2015 anthology that Meghan edited about choosing not to have children â and also why Meghan hates the term âchildfree.â Finally, they wonder whether Sheryl Sandbergâs book Lean In had any basis in reality whatever and whether Elon Muskâs apparent quest to populate the world with his seed presents a good opportunity for single women wishing to have children.
Bonus Content for paid subscribers includes responses to reader comments, a brief discussion of the contradictions of atheist communities, and Meghanâs challenges with creating her new community, The Unspeakeasy. It is also (damningly) revealed that Sarah has never heard of The Love Boat.
Subscribe now to get access to the longer episodes, and to our lovely comment community!
Relevant links:
Selfish Shallow & Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers On The Decision Not To Have Kids
Meghanâs other podcast, The Unspeakable. This weekâs guest is Louise Perry.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
For months, the girls/women have been threatening to have a Special Place special guest. And here he is! Kmele Foster, whoâs one-third of the beloved and mega-popular Fifth Column Podcast, visits the pod to talk about . . heâs not sure what. (In fact, heâs not even entirely sure where he is or what heâs doing there.) Sarah and Meghan inform Kmele that heâs there to represent All Men and to explain the current state of masculinity, including why so many men are addicted to porn, unable to form meaningful relationships, and are getting outpaced by women in just about every area of life. Of course, none of this applies to Kmele, whoâs been with his wife since they were in high school, has tons of friends (including famous and important ones) and is a stratospheric professional success. But he gamely has the conversation anyway. The result is a deep, wide-ranging discussion about everything from the mysteries of the universe to the mysteries of audio equipment.
Kmele stays longer for lots of bonus content, which you can hear if you become a paid subscriber. It also lets you join in the comments (here!), which are quickly becoming better than the show itself.
Other stuff to know about:
Kmeleâs podcast, with Matt Welch and Michael Moynihan, The Fifth Column (duh)
Meghanâs new Substack page The Unspeakable With Meghan Daum
Sarahâs Substack page Hold That Thought
Meghanâs community-in-progress for freethinking women, The Unspeakeasy
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
Buckle up debtors and non-indebted allies, this episode of A Special Place in Hell has everything: class, college, and fresh cut flowers.
The girls/women start by discussing Meghanâs CLASS-ic New Yorker piece, My Misspent Youth, in which she describes her twenty-something struggle to achieve the shabby chic dream life of a working writer in New York City. Trigger warning: her rent was less than $1200 a month.
Meanwhile, Sarah shares her experience as an immigrant with a low-income upbringing caught between the worlds of her high achieving classmates and her down-on-their-luck neighbors. In this, the girls/women have little in common. However, they quickly find consensus in their (mostly) mutual distaste for student loan forgiveness, agreeing that art majors should never, ever catch a break. (Okay, Meghan might not put it that strongly, but as a self-hating MFA grad, she's allowed to wonder about it.)
In the BONUS content for paying subscribers only: The girls/women go through some of your comments, and despite their best efforts, yet again end up discussing g*nder.
Please note, from here on out, the comments will only be accessible on the BONUS episode (here!).
Relevant Links:
Meghanâs New Yorker essay "My Misspent Youth"
Meghanâs new Substack (which contains her essay about staring into space)
Sarahâs (older) Substack
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
Itâs the TENTH (10th!) episode of A Special Place In Hell. In this extra special Special Place, Sarah and Meghan honor the work and legacy of Norah Vincent, the immersive journalist whose untimely death was reported last week. For her 2006 book Self-Made Man, Norah* spent eighteen months infiltrating male spaces as âNed,â an alter-ego that allowed her to observe how men behave when there are no women around. Though the stunt seems dated now, Norahâs work and outlook were strikingly ahead of her time.
Responding to clips from interviews from ABC News and NPRâs Talk of the Nation, the women/girls examine Norahâs ideas about gender stereotypes, her empathy for men, and her pride in being an androgynous woman. Along the way, Sarah reveals herself to be a failure as a woman because she is an assertive boss and , unlike Meghan, doesnât say âsorryâ all the time. Meanwhile, Meghan admits she broke down in tears listening to old episodes of Talk of the Nation because sheâd forgotten how good NPR once was. Sarah, who is shocked at the high quality of Talk of the Nation, explains that sheâs never known NPR to be anything but crap and, furthermore, always assumed that writers were, by definition, intellectual lemmings whose job it was to simply restate the obvious. Meghan almost breaks down in tears again. They then remind listeners to rate and review the show.
In the bonus content for only for paid subscribers:
Meghan tells the story about going out to an expensive dinner with Norah Vincent and wondering halfway through if it was a date (admittedly, Meghan WAS leading her on).
Sarah and Meghan discuss what it means to be an âintellectualâ and respond to listener comments about the Red Scare podcast and whether they should aspire to be more like it. Can the girls/women pull off the whale-tail? (Spoiler: no!)
Subscribe to get access!
*Yes, we know weâre calling Norah Vincent by her first name even though we called Salman Rushdie by his last name.
Links:
NY Times obit of Norah Vincent
Norah Vincent in the Village Voice on the new âtranssexual ageâ (in 2001!)
Norah Vincent in the L.A. Times on abortion
Norah Vincent on Talk of the Nation
Sarahâs substack piece on Rushdie
Meghanâs intellectual community for freethinking women, The Unspeakeasy. (Home of the âsanity spa vacation!â)
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this 9th episode of A Special Place in Hell, Meghan kicks off the conversation by pondering a friendâs advice that she not make fun of herself for being an âaging Gen Xer.â She asks why Sarahâs tagline gets to be âself-hating millennialâ when she, too, is self-hating (to which Sarah explains that she doesnât hate herself, merely the entire rest of her generation). They then move on to an uncharacteristically somber topic: the attack on writer Salman Rushdie. Sarah expertly lays out the chronology of the whole affair, even though the offending work, The Satanic Verses, was published before she was born. She predicts that this event will change nothing. Meghanâs contribution to the conversation consists mainly of pretending to remember what The Satanic Verses was about and avoiding saying that she was already in college when it came out.
Finally, they tackle the more critical topic of Sarahâs recent Twitter escapades, including a poll about physical affection (in which Meghan reveals herself as an Ice Queen, and Sarah reveals herself to be needy hugger) and one embarrassingly ratioed thread in which which Sarah wondered how physicality might play a role in friend selection. She recalls meeting online friends âirlâ for the first time and being surprised when their physical appearances and mannerisms didnât match their online personae, and asks if Meghan has ever felt out of place in such a circumstance. Meghan proclaims to have never had this experience because she is an #AgingGenXer and made all her friends in the real world.
The girls/women remind listeners to rate and review the show and announce perks for paid subscribers, including at the highest level, the opportunity to braid Sarahâs hair.
In the bonus content, available only for paid subscribers, the girls/women get big mad at the non-binary Joan of Arc production at Shakespeareâs Globe Theater in London, and then proceed into a disagreement about how this will all end, concluding with a lighthearted discussion on mass rape in England.
Relevant links:
Sarahâs Substack newsletter Hold That Thought
Meghanâs freethinking womenâs community The Unspeakeasy
Show theme music by Mia Dyson.
End music The Ground Beneath Her Feet by U2. Lyrics by Salman Rushdie. (Who's also in the video.)
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this episode of A Special Place In Hell, Sarah and Meghan discuss the recent meme craze spawned by a comic about eating peaches. Since the comic had to do with motherhood, a subject Meghan knows nothing about, Sarah took the lead and explained why mothers sometimes make more work for themselves than is strictly (or remotely) necessary. They then spend some time contemplating hookup culture and âsex positivity,â which Sarah thinks is anti-woman and Meghan suspects (posits? hypothesizes?) is for ugly chicks. #JustAskingQuestions
The women/girls then move on to their main topic, a recent Honestly podcast conversation between Bari Weiss and authors Louise Perry and Jill Filipovich about Perryâs forthcoming book The Case Against The Sexual Revolution. They gush over the book even though they havenât yet read it and declare Perry to be an important and refreshing new voice (that may be able to get away with saying certain things because that voice is British). They are particularly interested in Perryâs thoughts about motherhood being incompatible with high achieving professional life and, by extension, individuality itself. Though Meghan has always been a proponent of universal daycare, she wonders if this would be tantamount to dropping your child off at the DMV. She then asks why westerners arenât more amenable to intergenerational households and Sarah offers an epic lesson as to the pros and cons of living with a bunch of relatives. (Hint: itâs the patriarchy, stupid.) Also, small shouldnât children drink tea!
In BONUS content only for paid subscribers, the co-hostesses ask if fatherhood is a central identity for men and if men with dangerous ideas censor themselves after starting families. Also: why Sarahâs husband doesnât read anything she writes or listen to anything she says.
Links:
Honestly Podcast conversation on Bari Weissâs Common Sense Substack
Daily Mail article about poly family, and the aftermath
Sarahâs Substack newsletter Hold That Thought
Meghanâs forthcoming community for freethinking women, The Unspeakeasy.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this seventh episode of A Special Place In Hell, Sarah and Meghan are feeling generous and decided to make the bonus content at the end available to everybody (you are all very welcome)!
But before they get to the extra-spicy stuff, they take on two medium-spicy topics. The first concerns policing; specifically policing womenâs voices. Provoked by a tweet from actor Jane Lynch inveighing upon women to speak in lower registers, the women/girls consider why higher pitchesânot to mention âuptalkâ â is taken less seriously. Meghan, who has spent an inordinate amount of time over the years thinking about vocal intonation, has some things to say about this. She also shares her own struggles with vocal fry. This is an act of radical vulnerability.
The women/girls then move on to one of Sarahâs favorite subjects: why university life has become so lame. Citing a recent article about Stanfordâs gradual elimination of student social organizations, she laments the homogenization of social life under the banner of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. On the other hand, Meghan thinks renting bulldozers to lay six inches of sand on the floor of a fraternity house might be a mark of privilege.
Because the co-hostesses realized the bonus content was the best part of the episode, it was decided that the entire episode would be available to the plebs. (#Inclusivity) In the final portion of the show, they discuss a recent New Yorker article about a new dating app for non-monogamous, non-heteronormative people, and Meghan explains why sheâd rather look at real estate than use dating apps. They also consider whether women who get cosmetic surgery always do so for the Male Gaze (or someoneâs Gaze). Sarah thinks performing for the Gaze is okay, so long as one is honest about it, and wonders if she should invest in a new face.
Relevant links:
Palladium Magazine, Stanfordâs War On Social Life
The New Yorker, A Hookup App For The Emotionally Mature
Sarahâs Substack, Hold That Thought
Meghanâs new society for heterodox women, The Unspeakeasy (Which Stanford would probably ban.)
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this sixth installment of A Special Place In Hell, Sarah bows to âwhite supremacy urgencyâ and powers through her illness, which is either COVID or Monkeypox. Meghan talks about attending a screening of the film Jihad Rehab, a âcontroversialâ documentary that made it to the Sundance Film Festival, only to be deemed âa truckload of hateâ and effectively wiped out of existence, leaving the first-time filmmaker without work or any financial or community support. As she watched the film, Meghan couldnât figure out what the problem was. But Sarah guessed it on the first try!
The girls/women then revisit the main subject of last weekâs episode: pornography. Listeners left some candid feedback in the Substack comment thread (available only to paid subscribers) and the co-hostesses discuss these remarks, especially one from a man who described becoming so desensitized by porn that he no longer finds most real life women attractive. (Obviously heâs never met a female podcaster!) Sarah hypothesizes that porn addiction will eventually lead to human extinction.
Sarah and Meghan (or S & M) then move on to a problematic evergreen, the subject of sexual consent. Citing a recent New York Times opinion piece suggesting that saying âyesâ to sex doesnât necessarily make it totally consensual, Sarah wonders why itâs so hard to just say âickâ and move on. Finally they delve into the subject of (trigger warning) cuddle parties, asking why anyone would go to such a thing and whether wearing footie pajamas constitutes âasking for it.â
Extra Juicy Bonus Content (for paying subscribers only!): Prominent New York literary figure creates merchandise line inveighing upon another prominent literary figure to âRetire B***h.â Sarah is appalled. Meghan, who was an English major, explains how literature works.
Relevant links:
Emma Campâs New York Times Op-Ed on consent
Melissa Febosâs New York Times Magazine article on consent
Interview with Jihad Rebab filmmaker Meg Smaker. FAIR newsletter post on the screening.
Meghanâs op-ed writing class, running four Mondays, Aug 8-29 (learn to write an oped about consent!)
Sarahâs Substack newsletter, Hold That Thought
Meghanâs project-in-progress, The Unspeakeasy
Opening music by Mia Dyson. End music The Cuddle Song by Jae Seven.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In episode 5 of A Special Place In Hell, Sarah and Meghan get into some pretty spicy territory: the monoculture of academia (may not be suitable for sensitive listeners or people without PhDs) and the omnipresence of pornography.
Citing a recent Washington Post article about the percentage of professors whose parents also held PhDs, Sarah talks about the lack of conservative thinkers on college campuses and wonders how anyone can get a complete education in such an environment. She and Meghan ponder the differences between left-leaning intellectuals and conservative intellectuals, a line of inquiry that inevitably leads to a discussion of female conservatives and whether they are hotter than liberal women.
The girls/women then move on to the more staid subject of pornography. Inspired by a July 6 post by Emma Collins on Wesley Yangâs Year Zero Substack newsletter, they discuss the psychological effects of early and frequent porn exposure, particularly on young men. They compare and contrast their own earliest exposures to porn (Sarah saw online porn when she was eleven-years-old; Meghan had to make do with furtive peeks at her friendsâ fathers hidden Playboy stashes) and wonder if the sexual function of all of modern civilization is being wiped out by increasingly hardcore and exaggerated visual stimulation.
Bonus Content (only for subscribers, here) is big this week! Sarah and Meghan discuss (wait for it . . .) gender ideology and wonder why they are so obsessed with it. (More accurately, they ask why everyone isnât as obsessed with it as they are.) They discuss (and disagree a bit on) whether there is such a thing as âtrue transâ and also return to a subject previously discussed on The Unspeakable: which dictators, terrorists and depots are hot.
To get access, please consider becoming a paying subscriber!
Other highlights:
Meghan describes a recent meltdown over the challenges of the creator economy and contemplates going back to (gasp) . . . writing.
Sarah explains how, growing up in the 1990s and 2000s, âfeminismâ was presented as chiefly about sex positivity. This is very different from Meghanâs 1970s and 1980s experience. (Also, Meghan doesnât get the choking thing.)
Sarah discusses how devoid from reality philanthropy can be.
Relevant links:
Washington Post: People From Elite Backgrounds Increasingly Dominate Academia
Wesley Yangâs Year Zero Substack: The Case Against The Sexual Revolution
Meghanâs oped writing course: She said the wrong dates last week and failed to mention it altogether this week. But please note that Meghanâs Zoom workshop in opinion writing will run four consecutive Mondays in August beginning August 8. Application deadline 7/27. More info here.
Sarahâs Substack Newsletter Hold That Thought
Meghanâs project-in-progress, The Unspeakeasy: an intellectual community for freethinking women.
Credits:
Opening music by Mia Dyson. (Opening quotation: Madeleine Albright.)
Ending music: Dating A Porn Star by The Weepies.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this fourth installment of A Special Place In Hell, the girls/women clarify a few matters, starting with the meaning of the name of the podcast. They then analyze their Apple Podcast reviews and respond to criticism that the show is a departure from their usual seriousness. Are theyâre letting down their diehard fans by trafficking in snark rather than upholding their usual gravitas? (Answer: whatever.)
Meghan announces that sheâs putting The Unspeakable podcast on hiatus for the rest of the summer so she can focus on A Special Place In Hell as well as her other projects. She and Sarah agree that it was time they did something light and fun for a change. Plus, they are have such comedic talent. The world needs to know! After taking a few minutes to perfunctorily lament the current state of comedy (their version of land acknowledgements) the girls/women move on to the subject of the July 4 massacre in Highland Park, IL and Tucker Carlsonâs much-cited and largely (but not wholly?) misguided rant about why young men become mass shooters. Is it because fathers are absent and female authority figures (aka single mothers and pink-haired English teachers) tell them theyâre toxic? Is it because guidance counselors now hand out psychotropic drugs like so many Kaplan SAT course brochures? Is it because whiteness is such a liability that the only choices in life are TikTok stardom or committing mass murder?
Ever the contrarian, Sarah thinks itâs more complicated than that. She reflects on growing up as an immigrant in a lower-middle-class neighborhood and realizing she had more advantages than her troubled white neighbors because, among other things, she had a strong family structure. Speaking of families, she and Meghan then discussâand even performâa recent viral tweet thread about the moral obligation to abandon your family of origin if theyâre not sufficiently committed to social justice.
Other questions pondered:
Is Sarah a âtrad?â (Kind of)
Does Meghan have evil in her heart? (Only professionally)
Is saying you love America the equivalent of carrying a plastic purse? (Depends on your shoes)
Links/Announcements:
Sarahâs Independence Day Essay: American Pride, American Shame
Meghan is teaching an opinion writing class on Zoom, four consecutive Mondays, August 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th (not August 2; she misspoke on the pod). 3-5pm ET. Details here.
Lean about The Unspeakeasy, Meghanâs community-in-progress for freethinking women, here.
Like our new theme music? Itâs by friend-of-the-pod and Australian rock star Mia Dyson!
BONUS CONTENT (for subscribers):
The girls/women answer some listener questions, including what constitutes a good faith debate, what do they like to cook, and what are their positions on Bitcoin, animĂŠ and certain kinds of furniture.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
(Hey! Paying subscribers! This is not the post for youâ you are special. For you, we have an extra-long episode, which you can access, here).
In this THIRD installment of A Special Place In Hell, the girls/women do their best to celebrate Independence Day despite their subjugation by the patriarchy, the Republican Party and the woman-hating world in general. They discuss the tenor of the public conversation around the overturning of Roe v. Wade and wonder if their long range thinking and lack of catastrophizing amounts to a âtone problem.â They then compare generational notes when it comes to actual abortions (Meghan knows many women whoâve had abortions while Sarah knows very few), access to reliable birth control and (semi-relatedly) the âmythâ of women âtrickingâ men into becoming fathers.
Moving along to the less fraught topic of race, Sarah and Meghan ponder the âKarenâ phenomenon and Sarah relays a story of being recently micro-aggressed by a well-meaning but clueless progressive (who had a âcoexistâ bumper sticker on his car) with whom she got into a fender bender. Finally, they discuss whether theyâre failing at womanhood by not worrying enough about other peopleâs feelings or, in Meghanâs case, not always helping clear the table when sheâs a dinner party guest.
But wait! There is more! (For some of you, anywayâŚ.)
Paying subscribers get access to a BONUS CONTENT version of this episode, in which the women/girls reveal whatâs inside their medicine cabinets and ponder whether this topic has racial undertones. To that end, they also wonder whether all our race problems are really President Obamaâs fault. Tantalizing! Subscribe to get access!
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this (second!) episode of A Special Place In Hell, the girls/women discuss the use of the word âgirlsâ in the showâs tagline and whether itâs anti-feminist. Meghan describes visiting the set (well, sitting on a patio outside the set) of Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday to watch Blocked and Reported co-host Katie Herzogâs debut appearance on the show, alongside Andrew Sullivan. Sarah recalls her own guest appearance on Real Time (also with Andrew Sullivan!) and both agree that going on that show is a traumatic experience that most media people will nonetheless kill for.
The girls/women then move on to the obvious main topic: the long-anticipated yet still shocking news of the SCOTUS overturning of Roe v. Wade. They break down the political and practical ramifications of this decision while also assessing the collective nervous breakdown thatâs playing out on social media and elsewhere. Sarah explains why she thinks the ruling will cause many yearsâeven decadesâof pain but might ultimately pave the way for wider pro-choice legislation across the country. Meghan asks why politically conservative women, from Phyllis Schlafly to Amy Coney Barrett, seem able to balance big families and big careers better than liberal women. This leads into a conversation about the âtradâ trend and why so many young people seem to be fetishizing pioneer life.
Other highlights:
Can you be a âtrad furry?â
If Amy Coney Barrett were on the political left, would she be a Badass Boss B***h Earth Mama She-ro?
Sarah gives a sneak preview of her latest article in Hold That Thought.
Meghan does some psychological processing of a tweet she sent Friday evening that went viral. It was a high quality joke. But naturally it was âweaponized!â
Meghan and Sarah both try to take the high road on social media, but are they kidding themselves? (Yes.)
Relevant links:
Sarahâs Substack newsletter Hold That Thought
Meghanâs May 8 Unspeakable Podcast interview with legendary abortion rights activist Frances Kissling
This weekâs Unspeakable Podcast two-part series on guns
Meghanâs new project-in-progress The Unspeakeasy, a community for heterodox-minded women.
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe
In this inaugural edition of A Special Place In Hell, Sarah and Meghan kick things off with an explanation of how to pronounce (or not bother pronouncing) their names. From there, they ponder their 20-plus year age difference and do not think about the fact that Meghan is technically old enough to be Sarahâs . . oh never mind. They then commence with in-depth discussions of three recent pieces of media content.
The first is Ryan Grimâs treatise in the Intercept about the epidemic of personnel meltdowns at progressive nonprofit organizations. (As a nonprofit leader herself, Sarah found this very interesting, as well as deliciously vindicating.) They move on to What Is A Woman?, the documentary by Daily Wire correspondent Matt Walsh, who pokes fun at jargon-spewing ideologues while asking a fundamental and seemingly simple question no one can answer. The film is a powerful shot over the bow in the battles over gender ideology, but does it trip over its own right wing agenda and undermine itself with sexist stereotypes? Finally, the ladies deliberate over Sundayâs very long New York Times Magazine article about debates within the field of medicalized gender transition in young people, a subject theyâre both already obsessed with.
Other highlights:
Meghan explains to Sarah the connection between J. Jill clothes and the progressive nonprofit world.
Meghan makes a reference to Christopher Guest movies and Sarah doesnât know what sheâs talking about.
Meghan sings one line of Steely Dan.
Sarah wonders if breaking out of the gender ideology cult--er, âcommunityâ is analogous to leaving the Muslim faith.
Sarah reveals her motherâs ânicknameâ for her father.
Links:
The Elephant In The Zoom by Ryan Grim, The Intercept
What Is A Woman? film by Matt Walsh, The Daily Wire
The Battle Over Gender Therapy by Emily Bazelon, The New York Times Magazine
This is a public episode. If youâd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com/subscribe