Culture

The “Scandal” Effect: The Rise of Flawed Black Female Protagonists

As Scandal takes its final bow to make room for the peak TV content that has sprung up in its wake, it’s clear that the desire for more diverse stories has not abated. Read more »

Not My America: Patriotism, Thanksgiving, and White Erasure

You can’t celebrate a genocidal holiday. Read more »

The Final Girl Is Still as White as Ever

A Final Girl’s whiteness is unchangeable. Read more »

Popaganda: Designing for Democracy

Political observers often blame people for not voting. But we don’t often stop to examine what barriers keep people from voting—or make them feel like it’s not worthwhile. On this episode, we examine our democracy as a design problem—and explore what structural issues are built... Read more »

It's About Your Game: Flirting to Find Your Authentic Self

A lot of us don’t know how to articulate what we really want. Read more »

I Knew You Were Trouble When You Logged In: “The Swift Life” Monetizes and Exploits Fandom

Taylor Swift manipulates a feeling of closeness to deepen fans’ investment. Read more »

We’re Still Here: Debbie Reese On Native People Telling Their Own Stories

Knowing one’s community also means intimate knowledge of issues that impact us. Read more »

Pistols or Pearls: Gender Reveal Parties Are a Sham

Gender-reveal parties reinforce a faux binary. Read more »

Backtalk: Indictment Day & Kevin Spacey

This week, Dahlia and Amy dig into the beginning of the indictments against Trump-adjacent folks and the latest crop of sexual abuse allegations against powerful men. There’s have a moment of mini-celebrations because FBI director’s Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump... Read more »

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Why You Should Pay for Porn

If you’re a progressive middle-class individual, chances are you think about where your food comes from. Maybe you try to buy shoes that are... Read more »

It's Time to End the Long History of Feminism Failing Transgender Women

The marginalization of transgender women in feminism is not new, but the decades-long debate has taken on new dimension thanks to social media and the ease of finding strangers’ personal information online. Read more »

Dear Bear: My Partner Makes No Money. Is That a Problem?

Our advice columnist offers a lesson in anticapitalist self-care. Read more »

What I Learned About Gender and Power from Sailor Moon

My life began in 1995 — the year I turned eight and became a divorced kid.    Read more »