Podcasts

We publish a new feminist podcast episode every week. Our hour-long show Popaganda digs deep on movies, books, TV, and media while Backtalk is a snappy conversation between two Bitch editors about the week’s pop culture. Subscribe to the podcasts on iTunes!
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Backtalk: Good, Bad & Problematic at The Oscars

This week, Dahlia and Amy are back to grumble and celebrate the Academy Awards. They dig into the limits of #MeToo in an industry that would continue to celebrate known abusers Gary Oldman and Kobe Bryant and overlook Ryan Seacrest’s abusive behavior so he can stay on the red carpet. And the tale of two white women actors, Emma Stone and Frances McDormand, and how their different remarks reflect what White Feminism or true allyship can look like at the Oscars. And of course the latest update on the clown car show that is the Trump administration in Petty Political Pminute, and don’t forget the latest Amy vs. Dahlia!

Backtalk: Stoneman Douglas & The Olympics

This week, Dahlia and Amy talk about the growing anti-gun student movement that’s happened since the shooting at the Parkland, Florida, high school and an update about the Winter Olympics. After the latest horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, students have rallied together to demand serious gun control and that the NRA get out of the pockets of politicians. And at this year’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, a #MeToo moment with Shaun White and some incredible performances from Chloe Kim and the American figure skating team. Plus, a Petty Political Pminute and a new Amy vs. Dahlia poll!   

Backtalk: Actual Bad Feminists

This week, Dahlia and Amy (a.k.a your friendly neighborhood rage cheerleaders) talk about Rose McGowan’s confrontation with trans activist Andi Dier and Katie Roiphe’s “feminist” screed against #MeToo. At a recent stop on her book tour, Dier asked McGowan to explain remarks she made on Rupaul’s podcast about how transwomen didn’t grow up as women. Then they talk about the Roiphe essay you don’t need to read and how exhausting contrarian feminists need to step away from writing unproductive fodder criticizing young women.

Backtalk: #MeToo Backlash & Larry Nassar Sentencing

This week, Dahlia and Amy dig into the latest “feminist” backlash against the #MeToo movement in light of Babe.Net’s Aziz Ansari—a story which showed how a celebrity who banked on his male feminist allyship ultimately doesn’t want to respect boundaries around consent. Then they talk about the sentencing hearing for former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University physician Larry Nassar, who has pled guilty to child molestation, and the systemic failure of powerful organizations to protect the vulnerable. Plus, another Petty Political Pminute on Trump’s terrible tweet about this year’s Women’s March and the latest in the Mueller investigation. 

Backtalk: Is It Really Time’s Up in Hollywood?

In this first episode of 2018, Dahlia and Amy get into this year’s Golden Globes, the Time’s Up movement, and the misguided obsession for Oprah 2020. The Golden Globes is the first awards show since the fallout from the Weinstein effect and it didn’t shy away from talking about #MeToo and the latest movement to announce that Time’s Up for sexual harassment and violence against women in the industry. But is it all for show and what will real, concrete change look like? Plus, they kick off another segment of Petty Political Pminute with all the best/worst details from Michael Wolff’s tell-all of the first days of the Trump White House in Fire and Fury.

Backtalk: We Made It Through 2017

The year that felt like a decade with the inauguration of 45, no gun reform in sight, attacks on marginalized communities through policies, the normalization of supremacists, and, of course, the Weinstein effect. But we made it through because we have one another and we believe in the possibility of real concrete change. On this episode, Dahlia and Amy share their pop culture faves that got them through this year from Latinx pop music and the TV series based on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Alias Grace to the November elections and pro-athletes taking a stand by taking a knee. We have hope, power in numbers, and we’re ready for 2018 for more inspiring pop culture and for invites to impeachment parties. Don’t let the bastards grind you down.

Backtalk: Silence Breakers & The Weinstein Effect

This week, Dahlia and Amy break down Time’s much-anticipated “Person of the Year” magazine cover and cover story, and the continued fallout from the Weinstein effect. We thank our respective dieties that Trump’s ego isn’t being fed for being on the Time cover, but another white supremacist icon graces its cover instead. Taylor Swift accompanies Ashley Judd, agricultural worker Isabel Pascual, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, lobbyist Adama Iwu, and an anonymous hospital worker who represents those who are unable to speak out publicly. Though Swift had her own sexual harassment suit to contend with, we dig into whether or not she’s really a “silence breaker.” Then they discuss the latest batch of folks of predators and why Woody Allen is still a protected Hollywood institution (like, wyd, Kate Winslet?). 

Popaganda: Fembots

From Metropolis to Westworld, female robots have always played out complicated power dynamics onscreen. While the term “fembots” conjurs up the image of killer mechanical sex-kittens from Austin Powers, cinematic stories about female robots often deal with much darker and deeper dynamics. In this episode, filmmaker and professor Allison de Fren walks us through the history of female robots onscreen in movies like The Stepford Wives, Ex Machina, and Her and how their stories revolve around issues of power and control. Then, for you Westworld obsessives, poet and scholar Margaret Rhee discusses the race and gender dynamics of hit HBO series Westworld. But, of course, robots are all around us in real life, too. Feminist researcher Miriam Sweeney delves into the world of virtual assistants that have female voices and bodies, from the modern Siri to the old-school Ms. Dewey.   

Backtalk: Believe Women & Just Say No to Normalizing Nazis

This week, Dahlia and Amy talk about the latest attempt by conservative “infiltration” group Project Veritas to discredit the Washington Post for covering the sexual abuse allegations against Alabama candidate for the Senate Roy Moore and how this undermines the true stories of survivors. Lena Dunham didn’t need to get involved either, but she “naively” thought it was a good idea to release a statement in support of her friend and former Girls writer and accused sexual assaulter, Murray Miller. Then they dig into the latest shitshow that is a a New York Times profile of a Nazi and how it fails to reveal anything behind the pathology of white supremacy while normalizing neighborly hate.

Backtalk: Louis C.K. & Election 2017

This week, Dahlia and Amy declare that Louis C.K. is cancelled after he’s finally admitted that the alleged rumors about him are true, albeit through a shitty non-apology. And they talk about the assault claims against Alabama candidate for Senate Roy Moore that will piss you off because a known child molester is actually considered a viable Republican candidate. But we end on a positive note! There were some historic, inspiring, and hopeful victories across the country so that 2017 isn’t just one big toilet bowl of a year after all. 

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