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From pastel QAnon to celebrity pregnancy truthers, host Cristen Conger (Unladylike) unravels the conspiracy theory webs woven by and about women. If you’ve ever wondered where tradwives came from, why Taylor Swift can’t shake off psyops or who made Beyonce’s Illuminati mess, get out your red string and follow along. Conspiracy, She Wrote starts August 8. New episodes each Thursday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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From secret messages in “Single Ladies” to the infamous Blue Ivy bump gate, Beyoncé has been at the center of countless conspiracy theories. But nothing tops (or stops) the Illuminati rumors. Where did they start, and how much is Jay-Z to blame? Scholar Moya Bailey unravels the fixation on Beyoncé, revealing the misogynoir driving these conspiracie…
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**CONSPIRACY, SHE WROTE episodes 1-3 are out now! Subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss new episodes every Thursday** Pack your rush bags! It's sorority recruitment season in the South. Elizabeth Bronwyn Boyd takes us beyond the spectacle of #BamaRush into the "competitive femininity" and gender ritual of rush. She also reveals w…
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How did Taylor Swift’s pop superstardom become fodder for far-right political conspiracy theories? Grab your red string and follow along the conflicting narratives that first (baselessly) claimed her as a covert Nazi and more recently, a left-wing Super Bowl psyop with Travis Kelce. Swiftie sociologist Brian Donovan unravels why her celebrity makes…
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Roxane Gay never envisioned herself as gun owner, until increasing threats forced her to reconsider what it means to be a Black feminist in a country where gun violence is rampant. From the historic role of armed resistance in Black liberation to the modern-day realities of misogynoir and the indifference toward Black women’s safety, Roxane confron…
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Why were women and lifestyle influencers so pivotal to spreading QAnon lies about pedos, cabals and child trafficking via Wayfair furniture? Grab your red string and follow along with host Cristen Conger into the female-dominated landscape of "conspirituality," where wellness and woo-woo get extra delulu. Researcher, journalist and QAA podcast corr…
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Are good vibes the secret to success? Cristen revisits psychologist Dr. Gabrielle Oettingen, author of Rethinking Positive Thinking, who rewrites the "law of attraction" with science and one handy acronym. Keep listening: How to Manifest Your BEST Life (original episode) Ask Unladylike: Happiness vs Toxic Positivity Magical Overthinking Have you he…
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Introducing the debut episode of Cristen's brand new podcast Conspiracy, She Wrote. Where intersectional feminism meet conspiracy theories. Grab your red string and follow along for the unhinged women's history and Illuminati paranoia that set the stage for today's conspiracy-pilled political and pop cultures. Cultural historian Lindsay Porter intr…
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Women play key roles in conspiracy theories. You just have to know where to look. Grab your red string and follow along with host Cristen Conger (Unladylike) for the unhinged women's history and Illuminati paranoia that set the stage for today's conspiracy-pilled political and pop cultures. Cultural historian Lindsay Porter introduces us to the fas…
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From "peek n pokes" to chromosome testing, the Olympics has a questionable history of body policing female athletes. Tested host Rose Eveleth reveals the past, present and future of gender verification policies in elite sports, who they affect and what it has to do with fairness. Highlights include: Caster Semenya's swagger, Cold War paranoia, inte…
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When do we care about women in conflict zones? Feminist activist Lina AbiRafeh has spent decades doing exactly that and witnessing the disproportionate impact of war and terrorism on women firsthand. She takes us to Nepal, Afghanistan, Palestine and back to unpack the realities of gender-based violence, the necessity of moving beyond despair paraly…
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Inspired an unlady told her big nose needed "fixing", this 2022 gem asks: What happens when refusing a nose job means defying family tradition? Filmmaker Gayle Kirschenbaum shares why her mother endlessly agonized over the bump in her nose. Then, medical historian Sharrona Pearl deconstructs the "Jewish nose" myth, big nose stigma and rhinoplasty's…
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From the original Illuminati influencers to celebrity pregnancy truthers today, host Cristen Conger unravels the red strings connecting women, gender and conspiracy culture gone wild. Because QAnon moms, tradwives and even Taylor Swift government psyop conspiracy theories reveal a lot about power, pop culture and politics. Conspiracy, She Wrote sta…
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Why is menstruation still so misunderstood? Ask Kate Clancy, the anthropology professor and period scientist who cared enough to study the relationship between COVID vaccination and temporary cycle changes when nobody else was. Cristen talks to Kate about intersectional feminist period science, what "normal" means and Period: The Real Story of Mens…
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Why is number two extra taboo for girls? This listener fave originally aired in 2019, but unlike Joe Biden, it does not get old. Cristen revisits a pair of comedian "poop friends" and an IBS expert to find out how gender gets in our guts, the side effects of poop shame and generally dealing with unruly bowels. Highlights include: the Moth for poop …
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As the old saying goes, horses sweat, men perspire, and women glisten. In which case, call me a horse; I'm dripping. Cristen (and her signature sweat mustache) dives into the gender- and class-coded human superpower that is SWEATING. Science journalist Sarah Everts (The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration) explains why our bodies make…
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Sharing a preview of the Say More podcast, where, in a special series, Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung is opening up the conversation about stress and burnout to help listeners feel less alone and inspired to get help. In this episode, Krista Tippett, says the uncertainty of the times we’re living in requires a larger spiritual quest for meani…
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Samhita Mukhopadhyay is done sacrificing herself to ambition. Editorial director of The Meteor and former Teen Vogue executive editor, Samhita details how corporate feminism failed us, what got lost in the fall of the girlboss and why we have to think beyond the fact that work suuuuucks. Her new book is The Myth of Making It: A Workplace Reckoning.…
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Women initiate 70 PERCENT of divorces in husband-wife marriages. But why? Are no-fault divorce laws to thank/blame? Cristen digs through the legal history divorcing women, surprising stats and an old LIFE magazine to help explain the paradoxical and persistent relationship between women and divorce. Highlights include: faking affairs, mythbusting "…
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Are diaries the ultimate form of authenticity? How do our stories shift when we're journaling for no one to see? On Theme co-hosts Yves Jeffcoat and Katie Mitchell read into Black women's diaries for the personal reflections, everyday details and emotional nuance that goes unseen elsewhere. Highlights include: social media vs. journal authenticity,…
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What do 400 years-worth of women's published diaries tell us about the kinds of secrets and feelings we keep to ourselves? From a 16th-century spiritualist to the diaries of Anne Frank and Ma Yan, writer Sarah Gristwood reveals the everyday histories they document, the age-old frustrations they share and why she's a proponent of hanging onto your o…
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How did Bumble get its (celibacy-themed) rebrand so wrong? What does it tell us about general dating app burnout? Cristen revises the brand's millennial girlboss origin story, its promise of female empowerment and Whitney Wolfe Herd's path to self-made billionaire. Highlights include: AI dating coaches, a sketchy Russian billionaire, corporate apol…
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Imagine having to host the Pope and the Chinese President. On the same day. Plus, a whole press corps and socialite circle is watching and waiting to blame you for anything that goes wrong. That’s what Deesha Dyer walked into when she was promoted to White House Social Secretary for the Obama administration in 2015. But even more than her high-stak…
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NeW ePiSoDeS returning next week, unladies! In the meantime . . . What happens when women in long-term relationships with straight men realize they're bi, and why are they less likely to come out? Writer and Culture Club host Maggie Zhou shares her own reckoning with the "Bittersweet Privilege of Straight-Passing in Queer Communities," queer impost…
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What happens when adult women discover they're autistic? Cristen busts the gender stereotypes and neurotypical myths of Autism Spectrum Disorder with help from unladies who've been there. The Loudest Girl in the World host and producer, Lauren Ober, details the (expensive!) jungle gym she had to cross for a middle-age diagnosis. Meanwhile, listener…
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Exiled from a world of engineered perfection, Demetria crash-lands into the brutal reality of the Outerlands. Distrusted by the defiant survivors, her only hope lies with a mysterious AGI, First Belle. But the secrets it holds could break her... or forge her into the hero she never knew she could be. From Wondery, the makers of Academy and Dr. Deat…
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Could an 1873 law that hasn't been enforced in nearly a century be a national abortion ban just waiting to happen? Legal friend of the pod Natalie Birnbaum (Repro Solutions) returns to explain what the Comstock Act is, why it's getting so much attention lately and whether it could it ban medication abortion and even birth control. Highlights includ…
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**Unladies' Room Patreon preview** What does it take to erect a monument to women's history? Just ask Diane Carlson Evans, without whom the Vietnam Women's Memorial would not exist... To hear the full, ad-free episode, join the Patreon - and THANK YOU!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
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