Feminine Chaos

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit femchaospod.substack.comKat and Phoebe discuss a traumatic tree takedown in Kat's neighborhood, a whisper network for women of a certain age, and a sundress that caused a civil war amongs online trad types. (Pictured: not the sundress, but a $10 doppelganger spotted in a local Charlotte Russe just hours after recording, which just goes to show… something.)LINKS:Miranda July is…

Phoebe apologizes for the print version of her bisexuals article appearing during Pride month, while Kat unpacks the controversy surrounding a certain judge's wife's flag-flying proclivities. Then: divorce! Does it make you hotter, or does it just make you sad? Links:When your wife is fond of flying flags: Inside the Clash That Prompted the Alitos’ Upside-Down Flag - The New York TimesAs CPAC dismisses claims that its stage resembled a Nazi insignia, Hyatt calls hate symbols 'abhorrent'When the O.K. Sign Is No Longer O.K. - The New York TimesNike Drops ‘Betsy Ross Flag’ Sneaker After Kaepernick Criticizes It - The New York TimesKat on the hot new divorcées: Does Divorce Make You Hotter? | The Free Press This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

Kat and Phoebe discuss a Catholic kicker's commencement-speech controversy, two literary autopsies of the Great Awokening, and whether communion wafers taste like flesh. LINKS:Harrison Butker is Catholic. So What? | The Free PressThe speech in full : Bubba: A Cancel-Culture Casualty – but Not in a Town Without Pity | RealClearInvestigationsNellie Bowles and Katherine Brodsky: Jewish women dangerously recap the cancellation era in new books reviewed by Phoebe Maltz BovyKat in Unherd: Why progressives want to forget George Floyd - UnHerdBooks mentioned:Morning After the Revolution: Dispatches from the Wrong Side of History a book by Nellie BowlesNo Apologies: How to Find and Free Your Voice in the Age of Outrage--Lessons for the Silenced Majority a book by Katherine Brodsky This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit femchaospod.substack.comKat and Phoebe discuss a scandal in the pageant world, the disappearance of dick appreciation discourse, the relative dangers of men as versus bears, and the dating app that apologized for suggesting that people might want to use it to, uh, date. LINKS:Kat on the beauty queens: Miss USA and the privilege of mental health - UnHerdKat on man vs. bear: The…

Kat delivers a traffic report from Norwalk, Conn., where a petroleum truck recently went boom. Then: Kat and Phoebe discuss the new sexy tennis movie Challengers, the undescended proverbial testicles of protesters, and the never-ending curse of being Harper's letter signatories.Links:The fireball that shut down the interstate! Kat at Unherd: Can Challengers make sex hot again?Phoebe at CJN: Kids on the lawn: Phoebe Maltz Bovy on the new 'youth' movement on display in campus protests across North AmericaMore from the "protesters are babies" discourse:https://twitter.com/Afinetheorem/status/1786128998675656994https://twitter.com/Lingman/status/1786355458313158800https://twitter.com/BovyMaltz/status/1786460248318063017Very sad story: Privileged Columbia protester who 'killed' elderly couple in crash should be in jail, not on campus, furious family saysVery sad frat boys: Normal Kids Get F*cked - Tablet MagazinePhoebe on the legacy of the Harper's letter: https://twitter.com/BovyMaltz/status/1787278271341638019 This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

Kat and Phoebe discuss a very horny theater critic, an uncommonly hot historian, and Uri Berliner's critique of NPR from inside the house.LINKS:Lea Ypi: "Advice for scholars: next time you lecture on Kant and revolutions at “Downing” Cambridge, make sure your hair is neatly tied and that you’re not blonde. Or else your research impact will be on the @spectator libido section."I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust. | The Free PressThe Real Story Behind NPR's Current ProblemsEmily Yoffe's reporting on l'affaire Sonmez: 'I'm Radioactive'Washington Post reporter pleads with Felicia Sonmez to cease Twitter rants: 'Please stop'Felicia Sonmez: Washington Post reporter fired after a week of feuding with colleagues | CNN BusinessKat and guest Amna Khalid discuss the Sonmez-Weigel conflict: https://femchaospod.substack.com/p/thats-not-funnyJeet Heer pulls a “nobody is talking about this” and gets community noted:https://twitter.com/HeerJeet/status/1780225893257945196 This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit femchaospod.substack.comKat and Phoebe discuss the mass bisexuality of Gen Z and the BookForum takedown of Lauren Oyler.LINKS:Kat on the bi boom: Gen Z-ers Are Identifying as Bisexual En Masse. Why? - Air MailPhoebe on straight women: Straightness Studies | Who Do We Think We Are? | Issues | The Hedgehog ReviewStatistics! LGBTQ+ Identification in U.S. Now at 7.6%Rod Dreher fre…

Kat and Phoebe discuss sexually adventurous podcasting, unwanted heirloom dining sets, the phenomenon of "divorce rings," the latest viral Cut essay about age gap relationships, and what to do when your foyer is too narrow to hold your collection of body parts in jars. LINKS:Kat and Phoebe on BARpodTwitter: Won’t someone think of the boomers’ furniture?I Inherited a Nazi Helmet From My Husband. What Should I Do With It? - The New York Times Divorce Rings Are Having a Moment Thanks to Emily Ratajkowski - The New York TimesAge Gap Relationships: The Case for Marrying an Older Man This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit femchaospod.substack.comKat and Phoebe discuss the moral quandary of missing royalty. Links:Kate announces her cancer diagnosis: https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1771235267837321694Everyone should be ashamed over Princess Kate but me | Ben Sixsmith | The Critic MagazineOpinion | The Real Royal Scandal Is on Us - The New York Times-“I will NOT be scolded into feeling …

Kat and Phoebe discuss breast aesthetics, 90s nostalgia, and whether we're all taking too many drugs.  Links:Are We Sunsetting Ass and Entering a Golden Age of Boobs?Sydney Sweeney has brought boobs back - The Spectator WorldKatherine Dee: “I think benzos and SSRIs are overprescribed for the same reason antibiotics and birth control are. Pharmaceuticals are a lucrative industry and being sick is a lifestyle brand.”Meghan Murphy: “Popping pills won't actually address your feelings of depression or anxiety. Go outside, get some exercise, interact with humans or nature.”Are You Asexual Or On Antidepressants? - by Freya IndiaAbigal Shrier on Bad Therapy: Honestly with Bari Weiss: Why the Kids Aren't Alright on Apple PodcastsKat on drugs:Why Ozempic is cheating - UnHerdWomen are pawns in the contraception war - UnHerdAll in Her Head is in bookstores now: https://www.amazon.com/All-Her-Head-Medicine-Matters-ebook/Mary Harrington’s pill musingshttps://twitter.com/Heritage/status/1662534135762624520 This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit femchaospod.substack.comKat and Phoebe talk about the sandwich anecdote that melted the internet, how they got jobs in journalism, and the one-way feud between two memoirists.Links:The origins of Sandwichgate: I Was a Heretic at The New York Times - The AtlanticPhoebe on sandwich discourse:Kat on the battling memoirists: https://unherd.com/2024/02/polyamory-is-a-luxury-belief/

Kat and Phoebe discuss a fun philosophical question about desire, a fine literary essay about not getting divorced, and the sacred gossip machine known as the whisper network.Is it better to desire or be desired? Many journalists, etc weigh in: The Desire Question｜DirtEmily Gould decompensates, turns decompensation into literature.Should I Leave My Husband? The Lure of DivorceThe article shall be a book! https://twitter.com/EmilyGouldNYmag/status/1757840399928844671Phoebe on Emily Gould’s not-divorcing essay: Phoebe on Emily Gould’s yes, divorcing crowdfunder that preceded it: Kat on whisper networks and the women who whisper: This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

Kat tells a story about accidentally installing a public toilet in her home, while Phoebe uncovers a conspiracy within the New York Times real estate section. Then: Taylor Swift! Is she old? Fat? Mineral? Vegetable? We may never know.Links:Nobody will ever know what you’re doing behind this door (just as long as you draw the curtain first)…The latest evidence that “Living Small” is a deliberate troll:The Best Part of Tiny Living? The 'Freedom We Have Created for Ourselves.'Ross Douthat: Taylor Swift, Donald Trump and the Right’s Abnormality ProblemTaylor Swift, poster child for obesity?Not-an-incel-gate, or Phoebe gets Mad OnlineTaylor Swift And The Gray Area Of Disordered EatingKat observes that millennials, and Swift is one, are old now: Millennials are rebranding the menopause - UnHerd This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit femchaospod.substack.comKat and Phoebe discuss the cringiest response to Barbie's semi-snub at the Oscars, one lady's viral tweetstorm about the scourge of Zionists in the literary world, and the multifarious polyamorous discourse du jour.Links:We've had Kenough of this sort of thing:https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/1750185844219015517Dan Savage doesn’t want to hear f…

Kat and Phoebe discuss the big gay intrigue over Taylor Swift, the contemporary contours of Mean Girl World, and the missing Jews of Only Murders in the Building.Links:Kat talks awards season and royal drama on Piers Morgan:  Oscars may experience a ‘vibe shift’ with actors avoiding politics and virtue-signalling | Sky News AustraliaThe Gaylor Manifesto: Opinion | Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do - The New York TimesKat's take: Why Taylor Swift can't deny being gay - UnHerdPhoebe's take: Kat on Mean Girls: https://unherd.com/2024/01/we-are-all-mean-girls-now/Phoebe on the de-Jewification of the televised Upper West Side A Jewish neighbourhood without Jews: Phoebe Maltz Bovy considers 'Only Murders in the Building' This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

Kat and Phoebe discuss a provocative underwear ad, a post-wall woman, and the stolen valor of a new book about fatphobia. Links:Mr. Underpants https://twitter.com/CalvinKlein/status/1742901431185584252Soooo… what is that building back there? Does anyone know?Phoebe on Mr. Underpants Senior: Kat's review of Kate Manne’s Unshrinking (and why is Manne using “we” to describe the people who don’t fit in airplane seats?) : https://unherd.com/2024/01/fat-positivity-is-a-fantasy/ This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

In an extra-long, very special episode, Kat and Phoebe finish out the year with a retrospective on the death (or was it?) of journalism, a discussion of Soup Discourse, and a debate on the foolishness (or is it?) of tradwives.Links:James Bennett's essay: When the New York Times lost its wayPhoebe on the death of swashbuckling:Kat on tradwives…: The Paradoxical Freedom of Tradwife Tiktok…and the cost of soup.The origins of “Rosemary’s Bibi” in a single image: This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

Kat and Phoebe unsheath their wooden swords to discuss an all-hemp house featured in the NYT's "Living Small" column, and the latest galaxy-brained takes about sexual violence in Gaza.Links:Their Cape Cod Home Isn’t Small, but Its Carbon Footprint IsAccounts of Sexual Violence by Hamas Are Aired Amid Criticism of U.N. - The New York TimesPhoebe on the #MeToo Unless You’re a Jew phenomenon This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

Kat and Phoebe battle a glitchy recording platform to talk about the reporting process behind Kat's latest Airmail article, why people are firing bullets at Jewish buildings, and what the Israel/Palestine discourse has to do with Taylor Swift.Links:Kat: The Israel-Hamas Conflict Causes a Rift Among Young Progressives - Air MailA school shooting (that is, a school was shot): Montreal police investigating gunshots at two Jewish schools early in the morning of Nov. 9Phoebe on the food-appropriation discourse: In which I claim no personal credit for hummus This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe

Kat and Phoebe, notorious signatories of the Harper's letter on free speech, discuss tasty hats, terrible ballet flats, strange bedfellows in the queer activism community, and why the New York Times hired a Hitler fanboy for its coverage in Gaza.Links:The hat-eater (when will the free speech crowd say something oh wait they have): https://twitter.com/BovyMaltz/status/1716629638988857732Worm Joke Causes Science Twitter Flame War Over Accusations of Sexism and RacismBackground on the NYT's Hitler-loving videographer: News outlets backtrack on Gaza blast after relying on Hamas as key sourceRemember Donald McNeil?Ex-Times Reporter Who Used Racial Slur Publishes a Lengthy Defense - The New York Times“Lezbollah”!https://twitter.com/blakeflayton/status/1716812963636793404 https://twitter.com/MattiAharon/status/1716813816267518418BDM on Balletcore:The terrible shoes: https://www.thereformation.com/products/barbara-ballet-flat/1313874.html This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit femchaospod.substack.com/subscribe