A culture & politics podcast where we drink cocktails and ruin the stuff you love.
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Couch sex, race baiting, menstrual tracking—MAGA-world is melting down while the Dems are energized and in array. Maya and Rebecca dig into this wild few weeks and ask: why are couch jokes so funny? And why are these people so fucking weird?By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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KAMALA 2024! With Special Guest Kaitlyn Byrd!
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It’s KAMALA FOR PRESIDENT! Maya and Rebecca are wildly gratified to have our favorite political analyst Kaitlin Byrd back on to talk about the handoff from Biden, the instant national sea change it triggered, and our theories on what happened behind the scenes, how Veepstakes will go down, and what Vice President Harris will wear at the Convention.…
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Revisiting from 2020: Kamala Harris and Political Double Standards, Part A Million
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Friends, LET’S BE READY. As Kamala Harris accepts the mantle of the Democratic nomination, Maya and Rebecca open up the time capsule and share our Kamala episode from four years ago when Biden first selected her as VP. We’re eerily prescient about the specific ways the left, right, and center would attack Kamala—attacks we’re already seeing again, …
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Sauce Classics: The Supreme Court (Part 1)
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Happy (Possibly Last) 4th of July! In the wake of the recent horrifying decisions by the Supreme Court on presidential immunity and Chevron deference, Maya and Rebecca thought it was important to repost our episode from 2023 about the Supreme Court, our idealized notions of what it’s supposed to be, it’s real history, and the far right’s decades-lo…
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We followed every moment of Trump’s first criminal trial, and now that the verdict is in, boy is there a lot to talk about. From Trump falling asleep (and farting himself awake), to his defense team’s dumbest moves, to the electoral implications of 34 felony convictions, Maya and Rebecca dive into the all pleasures and surprises of watching this re…
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Grunge is dead (again). As Maya grieves the death of iconic producer Steve Albini, she and Rebecca break down whether this Gen-X’s John Lennon moment, if the concept of “selling out” means anything anymore, and why edge lord humor just isn’t the same as it used to be.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Dune is Rebecca’s favorite novel, but Maya is a pure 100% Dune virgin. We watched Denis Villeneuve’s massively popular adaptation of this legendary, and legendarily unfilmable, sci fi epic to see if we see any of the same things. Does it work as a movie series? As an adaptation? As a meditation on the white savior narrative?…
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Grab Bag! Beyonce, Tradwives, OJ Simpson
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There is too damn much to talk about so we try to talk about it ALL! In this episode, Beyonce Goes Country, Tradwifes Go Viral, OJ Simpson Goes Dead, and Rebecca and Maya just try to keep up. We break down Cowboy Carter, the weird fantasy of white housewife cosplay, and the legacy of a famous wife-killer.…
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After taking a much-needed break from TFG, Maya and Rebecca catch up on Trump’s troubles: legal, financial, political, and psychophysical. How fucked is he? How worried should we be? What’s the most productive way to direct our anxiety between now and November?By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Depending on whom you ask, Academy award winner Poor Things is either a feminist masterpiece about an empowered woman, or a male fantasy about a baby-minded fuck toy. Maya and Rebecca attempt to bridge the gap, asking the really important questions: Why is Yorgos Lanthimos so obsessed with old-timey whorehouses? Is this quirky visual style more or …
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Right Wing Attacks on Higher Ed (with Nadia E. Brown!)
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College presidents forced to resign. Faculties gutted. Anti-DEI legislations cropping up nationwide. There’s no doubt about it–Right Wing activists are attacking Higher Ed, trying to “capture, restructure, and reform” centers of learning. Georgetown political scientist and Women’s Studies professor Nadia E. Brown joins us to help us understand this…
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Problematic Faves: Liberal Arts Education (with Meredith Yayanos!)
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Intellectual expansion! Youthful passion! Exploited innocence! Genius writer, musician, and professional flame-throwing shit-starter Meredith Yayanos, comes on to talk about their problematic fave: Liberal Arts Education. What does college MEAN in the social imaginary? What did it mean to us? Cronyism, elitism, pranks, nubility, narcissistic facult…
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Were we wrong about Taylor Swift? Actual, real live Swiftie Jenna Parrot responds to Maya and Rebecca’s takes about her favorite pop megastar. Can she help us understand Swift’s musical appeal, not to mention her cultural and political impact?By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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We can’t start the new year without talking about THE biggest pop culture story of 2023: Beyonce and Taylor Swift dominating American music, culture and even economics with their wildly popular, wildly extravagant Renaissance and Eras tours. Maya and Rebecca break down the star power, the spectacle and the songwriting, asking what makes these two ……
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Apparently there are some people we didn’t alienate with our last Israel episode? Well, if at first you don’t succeed… Maya and Rebecca dive back into Israel/Palestine and try, try again to understand why this topic is so hard to have conversations about.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Two drunk Jewesses (one with an Israeli passport) dive into the Hamas attack on Israel and the current catastrophe in Gaza, taking apart three major talking points that have been floating around and explaining why they’re all wrong.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Organized labor is so hot right now. With the UAW and SAG on strike – and more industries getting ready to join – Maya and Rebecca welcome multi-talented writer/producer/director Miles Kahn to go inside the recent Hollywood writer’s strike, analyze pop culture depictions of strikes, and uncover why unions having such a moment.…
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Wow, we did Nazi that coming! (Yes we did.) As Elon Musk beefs with the Anti Defamation League, Rebecca and Maya follow up on how he’s ruining Twitter and track how anti-Semitism on Twitter looks different in 2023 than it did in 2016.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Sauce Classics: Consiglieri Cohen & Trump as Gordon Gekko
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As Trump’s legal issues mount, we revisit Part 2 of Maya and Rebecca’s discussion about Trump and mafia narratives, examining how the character types of the “fixer” and the shady business mogul shed light on the public’s perceptions of Michael Cohen and Donald Trump — as well as their apparent perceptions of themselves. This week … Continue reading…
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Oppenheimer (with Special Guest Ellen Sebastian Chang)
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Friends, if you’re looking for new and profound insights into the birth of the Atomic Age, you ain’t gonna find them in the turgid recent hit Oppenheimer. Rebecca and Maya welcome Very Special Guest, legendary artist Ellen Sebastian Chang, to drop personal and political context that exposes the limits of filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s historical, ci…
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In Part 2, Rebecca and Maya dive deeper into what our corrupt and conservative Supreme Court actually looks like RIGHT NOW: poorly reasoned decisions! Inconsistent application of precedent for theocratic right-wing ends! Fancy RVs from billionaires! How do we not lose our minds? (Drinking recommended).…
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Isn’t the Supreme Court supposed to protect our rights – not take them away? Maya and Rebecca examine how our idealized notions about SCOTUS don’t match current reality, and how that didn’t happen by accident. They dig into Supreme Court history and uncover the far right’s decades-long project to capture the court and subvert democracy.…
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Rebecca and Maya break down the summer’s hottest corporate feminist blockbuster, asking all the REALLY IMPORTANT questions: How is Barbie like Schindler’s List? Is the movie really as man-hating as the right-wing pundits are promising us, or will we be disappointed? Can a 2-hour toy commercial even BE feminist? And why aren’t the Barbies humping?…
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Sauce Classics: Catholicism (with Special Guest Julia Sweeney)!
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As we continue to reel from last week’s Supreme Court decisions, we return to this VERY SPECIAL EPISODE with Julia Sweeney as she ruins the Catholic Church for Maya and Rebecca! The legendary comedian, writer and longtime Sauce patron talks inside baseball about Pope Francis, Opus Dei, the Knights of Malta, why there are so many damn … Continue rea…
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Government Secrets & Rich People vs. the Ocean
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Sometimes it’s good to leak government secrets, sometimes it’s not? Maya and Rebecca ask how we’re supposed to know the difference, when we’re not the ones keeping the secrets. Then we talk orcas, Titanic tourism, and why the ocean seems to have something against rich people.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Drag bans! Trans panic! Won’t somebody think of the children’s normative gender socialization? Maya & Rebecca take a look at the massive wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation sweeping across the United States. Why is this happening? What does it reveal about the right wing mindset? Have 15 seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race taught us nothing? And … Continue re…
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With E. Jean Carroll standing up to Trump and Tucker Carlson getting fired, are we finally (FINALLY) reaching a point of accountability? Or at least, liability?By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Maya finally watched The Avengers for the first time, and she has some OPINIONS. We dig into the repeating formulas of superhero stories, why Maya doesn’t want to watch any more of them, and what the MCU is doing to all of our brains as movie-watchers.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Yellowjackets (with Rebecca Wright)!
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We think maybe Showtime went to all the trouble of producing the hit series Yellowjackets just so Rebecca and Maya could break it down with Very Special Guest Rebecca Wright. 90s culture and music! Teen girl trauma! Middle-aged reckoning! Survival BY ANY MEANS! Pull up a drink and some steak tartare and LET’S DO THIS.…
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The legendary Guy Branum DEMANDED that Rebecca and Maya watch The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical bildungsroman, and he joins us to break down the Jewishness, the queerness, and the goddamn Spielberginess of it all.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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The Sauce has the best listeners in all of Podcastdom, and this week, they HAVE SOME SALTY OPINIONS about our episodes on Copaganda, White Lotus, and Hallmark Movies. Are we done? Oh, WE’RE NOT DONE.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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As we grieve Tyre Nichols’ death at the hands of the Memphis PD, Rebecca and Maya finally dive into a long-time-coming topic: Copaganda, meaning pop culture media starring THE POLICE. We reach back to its radio roots, historical collaborations with law enforcement, track decades of the genre’s greatest popularity–and most troublingly, dive into why…
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After a historically long (and nearly violent!) Speaker of the House election, Maya and Rebecca are joined by one of our favorite guests, political maven Kaitlin Byrd, to break down the circus that is Republican dysfunction, examine how we got here, and predict what it might mean for the country going forward.…
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The New Year is here! But before we let the last one go, Maya and Rebecca have to get to the bottom of some of the biggest stories we just didn’t get to during 2022.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Hanukkah on Rye and the Hallmark Holiday Movie
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The Hallmark Channel Xmas Romance Season has branched out (heh heh) into Hanukkah, and Maya and Rebecca watched Hanukkah on Rye SO YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO. As newbies to the genre, we ask–what the hell is going on here? And what happens when Jews get integrated into these narratives?By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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So many of you asked us to watch the wildly celebrated HBO show, The White Lotus. So God help us (and all of you), we did. What does writer/director Mike White think he’s doing? What is he actually doing? Maya and Rebecca bring insights into heterosexual marriage, luxury vacations, and being white girls who read … Continue reading "The White Lotus"…
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Can Maya & Rebecca ruin the World Cup? They already did! We revisit that conversation with NY Times journalist Ken Bensinger, author of “Red Card,” which details the investigation into soccer’s massive international scandals. Four years later, with all the corruption and human rights violations in Qatar, the topic remains, ahem, relevant.…
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The “Red Wave” hit a Blue Wall and Elon Musk is managing to destroy Twitter in under two weeks. Fasten your seatbelts and pour yourself a drink because boy oh boy IS THIS A BUMPY RIDE.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Anti-Semitism is back! And you better believe Rebecca and Maya have things to say about that. We break down Kanye’s public meltdown, Trump’s threats, conspiracy theories, American Jewish white privilege, and what we really worry about when we worry about this.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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The queen is dead, long live America’s bizarre fascination with British royalty. Didn’t we fight a war about, dunno, throwing off the shackles of monarchy? Rebecca and Maya break down princess fantasies, pageantry, and the particularly American way we fictionalize and normalize nostalgic ideas of inherited power.…
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We knew it was only a matter of time before Lauren Boebert came for us! Lesbian dance theory experts Maya and Rebecca do a grand jete right into the right wing temper tantrum over Biden’s student loan forgiveness.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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After 30 years of attempts, Neil Gaiman’s legendary comic series The Sandman finally makes it onto the screen as a new series on Netflix. Longtime fans Maya and Rebecca have a LOT to say about how the adaptation hits, breaking down Gen X ideas of about magic, theories of everything, the male genius, and art.…
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Biden. A frail ineffectual elderly centrist? OR A WILY SLAYER OF DRAGONS? A meme born from NASCAR and the dirtbag left’s contempt is turning into the maybe only way we can truly appreciate Biden’s recent political successes. Rebecca and Maya dig into the Dark Brandon meme, and parse this past insane week of The Former … Continue reading "DARK BRAND…
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Sometimes an F-14 is just a giant flying dick. Rebecca and Maya return to San Diego, their hometown, to watch TOP GUN: MAVERICK and ponder Tom Cruise, masculinity, mortality, middle-aged sex, military industrial propaganda, and how all those things go together.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Problematic Faves: Big Trouble in Little China!
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When we put out the call for Problematic Faves, *multiple* listeners asked us to break down John Carpenter’s 1980s cult fave. Can the history of American Chinatowns help us unpack the ongoing appeal of this dated flick? Why does this movie inspire so much DENIAL about how it traffics in the worst Yellow Peril stereotypes?…
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Maya and Rebecca are detoxing from insane travel, weddings, COVID, and the past two weeks of political nightmarishness, and we had to go LIVE to do it! Here’s our convo from Tuesday, as we sort through the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe, gun laws, EPA regulations–and the January 6th hearings. Can Dems even DO spectacle? … Continue reading "Everyth…
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As the January 6 Committee continues to unpeel the collusions and braided illegalities of TrumpWorld in the face of insurrection, we want to share this episode from 2018, in which we discuss not only the ways that TrumpWorld behaves like the mob, but how mafia narratives actually lay the groundwork for a widespread American acceptance … Continue re…
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The N-Word (with Special Guest Dr. Neal Lester!)
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Could the “N-word”—not the actual epithet, but the euphemism itself—be problematic? A longtime listener brought up this question on the Sauce Speakeasy, our Discord channel (for Patrons only!), posing the question; what does the use of the euphemism achieve when used in a culture built on structural racism? So we went to an expert to … Continue rea…
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In the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, Laguna Woods, and Uvalde—and the imminent demise of abortion rights in this country—we repost this episode on Terrorism, how it exists in the our cultural imaginary, and how violence intended to terrorize actually performs itself in America.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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Yeah, Elon Musk will wreck Twitter—but what if it’s already a mess? Rebecca and Maya ruin our favorite social media addiction and offer our predictions for what a post-Musk Twitter will look like.By Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen
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