Podcast Episodes

Go Ask Alice Part 1 with Carmen Maria Machado

This week we begin our journey into the totally true not at all made up diary that has been scaring America’s teens for fifty years. Digressions incl…

4 years ago

Medieval Torture with Dana Schwartz

We want to play a game. This week, Dana Schwartz stuffs us in an iron maiden and explains why the most famous Medieval torture devices are none of th…

4 years ago

How Email Took Over the World with Anne Helen Petersen

How did the information superhighway get so gridlocked? Guest Anne Helen Petersen tells Sarah the story of how email took over the world and our work…

4 years, 1 month ago

Juliet's Balcony with Chelsey Weber-Smith

What do Chopin, Kylie Jenner, baby carrots, and the War of the Worlds all have in common? They’re all part of Sarah and Chelsey Weber-Smith’s speedru…

4 years, 1 month ago

Ronald Reagan and "The Welfare Queen" with Laci Mosley

Laci Mosley (Scam Goddess) tells Sarah about Linda Taylor and the origins of the Welfare Queen myth ("the build the wall" of the 70s). They also disc…

4 years, 1 month ago

Bonus: Groundhog Day with Josh Gondelman

What if there is no tomorrow? There wasn’t one today. Josh Gondelman is here to laugh and cry with us, and to unpack the heaps of big feelings in Gro…

4 years, 2 months ago

CSI: Junk Science with Josie Duffy Rice

Josie Duffy Rice and Sarah discuss the role of junk science in the criminal justice system. It is a big turkey to carve up and Josie serves Sarah a b…

4 years, 2 months ago

Winter Book Club: The Amityville Horror Part 3 with Jamie Loftus

In this final installment of the Amityville Horror Winter Book Club, Sarah tells guest host Jamie Loftus about Jodie the Demon Pig's scary hooves, th…

4 years, 3 months ago

Tom Cruise on Oprah’s couch with Willa Paskin

Willa Paskin (of Slate's Decoder Ring) brings Sarah back to 2005, when Tom Cruise jumping on a couch became the talk of the town.

We will return to A…

4 years, 3 months ago

Talking Tammy Faye Bakker with Jessica Chastain

Jessica Chastain and Sarah discuss Tammy Faye Bakker. Chastain is the star and a producer of the new film The Eyes of Tammy Faye. 

After Jessica and S…

4 years, 4 months ago