Podcasts

This week, Dahlia and Amy dig into the world of YA drama. Recently, two YA authors have chosen to cancel their own debut novels after being called out by some readers for “problematic” issues in the text. Dahlia and Amy talk about the effects of a cancel culture that demands perfect art. Also, a Petty Political Pminute on what may be the road ahead to 45’s impeachment. And Amy vs. Dahlia is debating the worst of the worst: manspreading vs mansplaining! What’s your choice? Text “Man” to 503-855-6485 to let us know what you think!

Popaganda is back! In this episode, we’re going to be talking about an emotion you’ve probably heard a lot about lately: empathy. The way we talk about it, it’s almost like a superpower: it’s like we want to believe that the cure to political divisiveness, racism, and even war lies in the act of imagining exactly how someone else feels. But is empathy really going to save the world?  

In recent years, though, there’s been a big shift in the way we talk about abortion. People who’ve had abortions have been able to share their stories widely on social media. Though, of course, they’ve faced a lot of pushback and hatred, real people sharing their stories about abortion is helping change mainstream conversation about reproductive rights in a big way. And it’s helping change our pop culture, too. On this episode, we talk with Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health researcher (and Bitch board member) Gretchen Sisson about the way abortion is portrayed on TV. Then, we talk with the great Renee Bracey Sherman, author of Saying Abortion Aloud: Research and Recommendations for Public Abortion Storytellers and Organizations, about the evolution of political rhetoric around abortion. Listen in! 

What does it take to get “well”? When we think about wellness, especially right now, we tend to think of it as everything we do to make our lives and bodies healthy. Rather than defining health through the negation of sickness, wellness advocates press that being “well” is an ongoing process of maintenance and care. But so much of what we think about wellness is so wrapped up in watching and being watched—through fitness apps, Instagram, bureaucracy, or just the day-to-day experience of going to the grocery store.