Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em Podcast

“You get at most one cliche per book,” the writer Jonathan Franzen said in a recent interview. Cue: Literary Twitter exploding. Snob! Hypocrite! But as Nancy and Sarah point out: Franzen is also awesome! And the journo babes love The Corrections and Freedom, etc. A discussion ensues about writerly rules (made to be broken) and the role of snobbery in the arts.The journo broads also debate Emmy fashion, including Emmy host Mariska Hargitay’s teen daughter in what Nancy sees as a cute dress and Sarah sees as … not that. Nancy shuts down a misery scammer taking advantage of the memory of our late friend Andrew Wimsatt. Please only refer to Nancy, from now on, as “Nancy Rommelmann, online avenger.” Sarah gives Nancy a pop quiz about her upcoming memoir (9/29/26), The Only Thing There Is to Want, which Nancy hasn’t read yet. Nancy gives Sarah a hard time for not having finished Nancy’s 2018 book To the Bridge, despite the fact that Sarah has had roughly eight years to do so.This is a FREE episode, so send it to TWO friends, who’ll send it to two friends …Also discussed: * The return of the goon cave* Do not f___ with Nancy’s people* Widow’s Bay FTW!!!* Oscar Isaac, Sarah’s boyfriend who is not Robert De Niro* Sex worker or sorority girl?* Metaphor debate!* Ellroy or Leonard: Who said it?* Paglia or Steinem: Who made the cut for Sarah’s book?* Sarah goes to a hen party, does not apologize for the stereotypePlus, the shadow side of second-wave feminism, Joan Didion gets it right, did Infinite Jest predict our AI doomscape? And much more!ALSO! Sarah is teaching a special 90-minute memoir-writing workshop on Sat., Sept. 26, 1pm ET / 10am PT, for the under-$100 cost of 3 pre-ordered books. Just email your receipt(s) to [email protected], and you’ll get a Zoom link.More info on the memoir class here.For the cost of a freaking matcha latte, you could get this 90-min intimate-funny-smart chitchat in your ear holes every timeEpisode Notes:Matt and others remember Andrew Wimsatt, a gentle giant of a man“Anatomy of a Random, Unhinged Assault in Portland, City of Professed Benevolence,” by Nancy Rommelmann (RealClearInvestigations)Big congratulations to Nancy’s longtime friend Larry Karaszewski, whose producer-daughter Carver—whom Nancy last saw when she was eight-years-old—was part of the Widow’s Bay Emmy sweep. Soak it up, Dad!Nancy asked her daughter to weigh in on DressGate (picture below): “I was more attracted to Mariska, who is beautiful and sexy and amazing. Her daughter’s dress, I’m kind of neutral on. Plus they’re wearing matching dresses, which is sweet. We should all be so lucky. Just tell Hepola she’s a prude.”Sarah responds: “I am rubber, you are glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” — The ManagementPre-order The Only Thing There Is to Want, because you have less than two weeks to listen to these plugs, so let’s celebrate.What’s in your hot box? Nancy: Murder in Paris ‘68: A True Story of Death and Glamour, by Edward ChisholmSarah: The White Album, by Joan Didion This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy and Sarah discuss a Netflix documentary called The Unabomber in His Own Words, which came out years ago but has taken on new depth in our current mess. Ted Kaczynski’s random violence and mythologizing finds echoes in the Luigi Mangione case and the bizarre heroizing of Lindsay Clancy, who killed her three children. The journo babes talk revolutionaries vs. terrorists, how humans are still evolving, why American can never find the middle ground, and whether AI is an extinction-level event. So: A lighthearted episode! Still there’s no end of laughs, or Sarah’s nicotine gum pouches. Also discussed:* Supergraphics!* Fetterman at the RNC* I mean, Trump could’ve just thrown Trump steaks at the audience* Nancy is was a Netflix freeloader* The Unabomber-Antifa connection* Going no-phone is the new straight edge* Big love (always) for Bryan Burroughs* The New York Times calls Assata Shakur a “revolutionary” in obit, SMH* Sarah talks about wearing a “baklava,” because she’s a Dallas girl* Nancy devotes her entire future to writing the definitive book on MovieFone* The Babe-vegetarian connection* “We can just f*ck off climate change then”* Sarah jinxes herself in a contest by declaring if she wins, she’ll wear a white suitPlus, are geniuses sadists (paging Jon Ronson), we love Pam Colloff (again and always), another installment of “This Week in Kyle Chandler” (finally!) and much more!The world is rough. Being a paid subscriber is easyDON’T MISS: Sarah is teaching a writing workshop.You can join! Details here.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy explains the tragic case of Lindsay Clancy, a mother who strangled her three kids, to Sarah, who has only been barely paying attention. Nancy has written several stories about mothers who kill their children, including the nonfiction book, To the Bridge, a True Story of Motherhood and Murder. She and Sarah delve into the strong reactions people have to the case, the dangers of postpartum depression and the perils of over-medication, why being too invested in Clancy’s clemency might be a selfish pursuit, and how the criminal justice system might distinguish between the reason for a crime — and the responsibility for it.Also discussed:* Nancy likes a chunky guy* Sarah has “the biggest memoir of the fall”??* “Sly little kitten …”* Steinem: The mixed bargain of being the face of a movement* Betty Friedan was a feisty scrapper* Gloria and her aviators* “We gotta get rid of that lavender menace!”* You can live your child at a firehouse?* Lithium is a hell of a drug* Married to the moon: We dig it!Plus, were the Scientologists right about psychiatric drugs? Tarantino’s late-career genius, and no one asked the Smoke ‘Em girls to sing an early Rolling Stones jam but welp, they did anyway … and much more

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy and Sarah welcome Ethan “crackerjack mouth” Strauss back to Smoke ‘Em for round three, this time inspired by his recent piece about a fake 49ers player who scammed scores of women out of more than a million dollars. Dark? Yes. Also hilarious, in terms of perpetrator Daejon Love’s come ons, e.g., telling women his family owned part of the Gucci store “on Saks Fifth Avenue.” They also talk Ethan’s recent “get that nose to the grindstone, kids” piece about making money in sports media, how to help your aging parents not get scammed, and whether anyone on the panel cares what people think of them. (Spoiler: 1.5 yes/1.5 no.)Also discussed:* Katie Herzog retools her addition to help others* “Unnecessary cleavage” * Ethan as Chuck Klosterman of the week* Daejon Love is nowhere near as hot as Napoleon* “I was a white girl on Tinder”* “Necessity is the motherf**ker of invention.”* Some love for The Gift of Fear* The iPhone as elder abuse* Cary Grant, anyone? Anyone?Plus, football as an old-fashioned striptease, baseball as a good sport to do your taxes to, why Gen Alpha likes golf best, and much more!Oh hello, Sarah’s upcoming book is AN OPRAH PICK! Buy it now xxMemoirist Hepola returns after her acclaimed recovery memoir, Blackout, with a wickedly lovable account of three lost loves: a married man, a younger man, and a New Orleans cop she once believed was the man of her dreams. The title arrives when she phones the married guy for advice about dealing with his 29-year-old successor. “I’m scared I only want what I can’t have,” she tells the ex. “Oh baby,” he replies, “It’s the only thing there is to want.” This line feels to Hepola like a skeleton key to her existence, unlocking the surprising amount of pleasure (not to mention the very good stories) one can find on the path of an apparently hopeless quest. Hepola’s self-deprecating candor and perfectly paced storytelling make this book anything but the boohoo-fest you might imagine. Possibly the perfect gift for a friend going through a breakup.About that unnecessary cleavage…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comFor her birthday today, Sarah had one request: Please, Nancy, will you PLEASE watch the 1978 super-musical that launched a million imitations, the much-cherished film that Sarah calls “Star Wars for girls” and one of her all-time favorites? As the poet says: Grease is the word. So, how’d that go?But first, the gals talk about the unrivaled beautiful soul of Dolly Parton, whose death at 80 arrived yesterday. The tributes poured in (Eminem?), and there can never be enough, but the passing feels culturally momentous. Is this the unofficial end of the America century — or the American dream?Also discussed:* “WTF did Jolene look like?!” * “Swagoo”* The Osmonds weren’t slutty, as far as we know* Newsflash: the feminists didn’t like a woman* “Bite the weenie, Rizzo.” / “With relish.” * Sarah punts her mother to voicemail* The awesomeness of telling men they are handsome* “Smell my Calvins”?* The wonder of John Travolta dancing.* Sarah casts a Heterodox Grease: Moynihan as Kenicke, Rosenfield as Marty, Rommelmann as Frenchy. (Sarah as Sandy, obvs.)* BUT WHO PLAYS DANNY? One hint: Three men — a sweetheart and genius of a podcaster, an Italian stallion, and a brainiac born to hand jive, babeeeePlus, Nancy counteracts Grease with another ‘80s classic, what it’s like growing up in the eye of the (imaginary) camera, Dolly’s letter to Eminem, and more!Do you love Dolly? Are you a human being? Become a paid subscriber. Pre-order Sarah’s new book. Even Oprah loves it (or, someone adjacent to Oprah)Oprah’s Daily Picks: The Best Books of Fall 2026