Call Your Girlfriend

Episodes

Click on any episode below to listen and view links, credits, and a full transcript. To browse episodes by topic, click here.

February 11, 2022

Farewell

We say goodbye, in the final episode of Call Your Girlfriend. In typical fashion, we're going out talking about how friends have been helping us get through the pandemic, the never-ending furor over Joe Rogan, and what podcasts we're loving. If you're looking to subscribe to something new, check out Do You Know Mordechai, Sweet Bobby, and Like a Virgin. Plus, what we're going to do next, and some of your voicemails.

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December 17, 2021

I’m the Bad Guy Sometimes

We're not dead yet! Aminatou talks with legendary podcast, poet and essayist Nichole Perkins about navigating relationships as a Black woman, desire, boundaries, longing, and much more as we chat about her new book, Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be.

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December 10, 2021

See You on the Nostalgia Tour

Is there anything you miss from before the internet? Reading, focus, getting lost, filing cabinets, are just a few of the things New York Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul discusses with us. Her new book is 100 Things We've Lost to the Internet.

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November 26, 2021

Money, Grief, Kids

We talk with one of our favorite writers, The New Yorker's Ariel Levy, about dynastic wealth, how we experience grief, and big surprises in life, including the joys of getting older and having children. Her podcast that chronicles maternity wear icon Liz Lange, of the New York Steinbergs is The Just Enough Family.

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November 19, 2021

So You Want to Change the World

Can’t be that hard, right? We pass the mic to Nereya Otieno, one of Ann’s 2021 writing fellows, who sits down with two women who have started initiatives to improve the lives of a select few in hopes that it can spark a radical shift.

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November 11, 2021

Tastemakers

We talk with Mayukh Sen about seven immigrant women who remade American cuisine and his new book, Taste Makers. Plus, racism in the worlds of food writing and publishing and who gets to break out.

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November 5, 2021

Making Older Friends

Women over 50 are too often erased, including on this very podcast. Grace Bonney has been collecting inspiration and advice from women of more advanced experience in her new book, Collective Wisdom. She's gathered interviews and intergenerational conversations with over 100 trailblazing women, who describe the ups, downs, and lessons learned while forging their unique paths.

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October 29, 2021

Grief Companionship

Grief can come in so many forms and impact us in unexpected ways. Illustrator and designer Ngaio Parr knows all too well, having lost four family members in four years. Retreating from family and friends? Strange physical symptoms? Suddenly seeing things everywhere that echo a lost loved one? All these normal forms of grieving can be confusing in a world that's all too ready to have you move on.

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October 22, 2021

Bandsplain

Yasi Salek's podcast Bandsplain has us listening to music like teens again, with obsessive curiosity about whole albums and the quirks and life stories that draw us into the artists we come to love, or learn more about canonical artists we never understood.

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October 15, 2021

The Silent but Deadly Fart of Racism

10/15/21 - George McCalman is an artist, a writer, an illustrator, and a designer. This man does it ALL. He spent many years as a magazine creative director, shaping the look and feel of publications such as Mother Jones, Readymade, Afar. Then he opened up his own studio, McCalman Co, where he collaborates on branding, design, and editorial projects. This year his work was nominated for a National Design Award for communication design. He’s a writer. He shows his fine art in galleries. He created the Observed column for the San Francisco Chronicle, in which he illustrated his observations of the city’s cultural life. Recently, he worked on chef Bryant Terry’s new book, Black Food, which is a gorgeous tribute to the foodways of the African diaspora-- it’s out next week. And he’s deep in the work of creating Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen, which will be out next year.

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October 8, 2021

Change is Always Coming

10/8/21 - How fixed are we in our ways of being and doing things? We're always confronting change, but how much can we choose it? These are some of the big ideas through small moments Jade Chang tackles in her Audible Original, You've Already Changed Your Life: A Recipe for a Revelation. Jade is a friend of the podcast, deep thinker, and author of the excellent novel, The Wangs vs. The World.

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October 5, 2021

SCOTUS vs. Abortion

10/5/21 - In a special episode brought to you by Rewire News Group, we go deep on the conservative push to regulate and ban abortion in Texas and Mississippi with Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo of the Boom! Lawyered podcast.

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October 1, 2021

Disability, Fragility, Vulnerability

10/1/21 - Emily Ladau and Kelly Dawson return to dispel dull narratives around disability and go beyond the 101. How coping with fragility creates resilience. How friendships deepen with the knowing and trust that disabled people share. What allyship looks like to them as physically disabled women. The hypocrisies of non-disabled people's reactions to COVID, and, in its wake, how we can all look more closely at what it means to live a full life.

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September 24, 2021

Believing Anita Hill

9/24/21 - Dr. Anita Hill made history in 1991 when she testified to the Senate Judiciary committee about the sexual harassment perpetrated against her by Clarence Thomas. After the all-white, all-male committee led by then-Senator Joe Biden heard Dr. Hill's testimony, Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the US Supreme Court.

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September 10, 2021

Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation

9/10/21 - Don't today's conspiracy theories make UFOs and JFK conspiracy theories seem quaint, almost sweet? Dr. Stacy Wood breaks down how independent communities of belief have accelerated online. It's not only the fault of social media, but as we reorganize how we search and find information, Facebook, YouTube, Google, and others are all part of how we have become so entrenched in our beliefs.

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September 3, 2021

Finding Your Voice

9/3/21 - Comedy and art criticism don't exactly sound like parallel career paths. But after bouncing from a freelance hustle to a fancy art world job to improv classes, Christina Catherine Martinez realized she wanted to do both. We talk about how she navigates making a life and a career as an intellectual and a comedian, how alike those performances are on social media, and how power and money infect everything. One place she is sharing her voice is in her book, Aesthetical Relations.

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August 27, 2021

Sex Work is Work

8/27/21 - As OnlyFans flips and flops on the sex workers that built its platform, we revisit our interview with Lorelei Lee on the history of sex work legislation. Lorelei is a writer and performer who discusses how sex work is neither purely exploitative nor purely empowering. Instead, like all work, it's complicated.

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August 20, 2021

Sustainable Style

8/20/21 -Miranda Bennett has long been one of our favorite designers. We discuss how she got started making and selling clothes, how she balances running a sustainable business with keeping the lights on, and tips for buying sustainably (even though we know there is no ethical consumption under capitalism).

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August 13, 2021

Summer of Friendship: Forever35

8/13/21 - Our summer of friendship continues with Kate Spencer and Doree Shafrir, hosts of the podcast Forever35. While we love their conversations about serums and budget-friendly makeup tips, we come and stay for their deep friendship, which started on the internet and was partly cemented at a CYG live show.

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August 6, 2021

Bad Behavior

8/6/21 - From Matt Damon to Andrew Cuomo to gender testing at the Olympics, we do a quick survey of men in the news behaving badly.

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July 30, 2021

Boundaries

7/30/21 - We talk about finding and maintaining boundaries, why the world makes it easier for some people than others, how boundaries help us be in community with others, and how grateful we are for boundary possibility models like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka.

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July 23, 2021

Summer of Friendship: Foxy Browns

7/23/21 - More from our Summer of Friendship series, where a few of our favorite podcasters tell us how they met, times their friendship has been stretched, and how they grow together. This week, dear pals Camilla Blackett and Priyanka Mattoo of the Foxy Browns podcast.

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July 16, 2021

Summer of Friendship: Two Old Bitches

7/16/21 - As we continue our Summer of Friendship series, a few of our favorite podcasters tell us how they met, times their friendship has been stretched, and how they grow together. This week, Idelisse Malavé and Joanne Sandler aka Two Old Bitches!

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July 9, 2021

Summer of Friendship: Claire Mazur & Erica Cerulo

7/9/21 - As part of our Summer of Friendship series, a few of our favorite podcasters tell us how they met, times their friendship has been stretched, and how their off-air an on-air friendship is different. This week, iconic bestie entrepreneurs Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo of A Thing or Two.

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July 2, 2021

Hot Vax Summer of Friendship

7/2/21 - Aminatou and Ann's book Big Friendship is available in paperback July 6, so to celebrate we're doing our second Summer of Friendship series. We catch up and kick off chatting through our recent forays back into the world, which friends we're seeing, how we work through the emotional distance with close friends and acquaintances, and how we're approaching boundaries and travel while it seems possible.

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June 25, 2021

Bi Bi Bi

2/23/18 - Gina takes over the host seat to discuss bisexuality. First, professor and psychologist Jennifer Vencill's research on health, sexual satisfaction, and feelings of invisibility that can affect bisexual people. Plus, writer Catie Disabato on the word bisexuality, how we identify, the richn

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June 18, 2021

Lockdown Lesbian Love Story

6/18/21 - Queer women aren't exclusively looking for longterm monogamous love - but some are! As part of our Pride series, a lockdown lesbian love story featuring musician Abby Diamond and actor and director Rachel Cora Wood.

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June 11, 2021

Detransition, Baby

6/11/21 - We talk with Torrey Peters about her breakout novel, Detransition, Baby, full of queer characters finding and defining family, and why she dedicated it to divorced cis women. Plus, a bunch of great reading recommendations for books by trans authors.

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June 4, 2021

Queer and Questioning

6/4/21 - On this month's agenda: exploring queer identities with CYG producers Gina Delvac and Jordan Bailey. First up, we talk with queer sex therapist Casey Tanner about questioning your sexuality or gender identity, coming out, and dating when you're first exploring a queer identity. This is a great episode to share with anyone who is excited about a new attraction or label, but scared about being new or taking up too much space. Welcome; there's room for you in our queer family.

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May 28, 2021

What Does an Art Curator Do

5/28/21 - As more of us can step back into the world and get to look at art in person, we discuss the role (and responsibility) of an art curator with Helen Molesworth, formerly of MOCA in Los Angeles, and host of the podcast Recording Artists.

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May 21, 2021

Healing Ourselves with Friends (and Books)

5/21/21 - You know that friend you can get real with about therapy, shedding the hard parts of your childhood, and how to take the next steps in your life? Ashley C. Ford is that and more to so many, in how shares of herself online, in her podcasts, and now her new memoir, Somebody's Daughter.

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May 14, 2021

The Other Epidemic

5/14/21 - As we emerge back into the world, how long will we live with COVID? Will it be like HIV/AIDS? We talk to people who have been closely involved in AIDS activism and responding to the coronavirus: Mathew Rodriguez and Leisha McKinley-Beach

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April 30, 2021

Creative Evolutions

4/30/21 - We have all had to find different ways to cope, and for those with creative practices, they are often evolving. For friend of the podcast and artist Kenesha Sneed, that has meant moving among media and the many different roles her art has played in her life - from joyful personal expression to income-generating job to outlet for grief. You may know her design work, her paintings, or her work in clay. Now Kenesha has written and illustrated a children's book, Many Shapes of Clay: A Story of Healing.

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April 23, 2021

Cooking and Eating with Friends

4/23/21 - Home cook and author Julia Turshen joins us to discuss pandemic cooking fatigue, why the stories behind recipes matter, and how she learned to love cooking and eating. Her latest cookbook is Simply Julia: 110 Easy Recipes for Healthy Comfort Food.

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April 15, 2021

Love in Color

4/15/21 - We're easing our way back from our break with Bolu Babalola, author of the delightful collection of romantic stories that center Black women, Love in Color.

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April 9, 2021

Get Your 2020 Taxes Right

4/9/21 - Taxes are scary but getting free money from the government is great. CYG's accountant and the force behind Taxes for Artists, Claudia Yi León returns to tell us all about how to deal with the wild year of unemployment and (non)income that was 2020. From PPP loans (freelancers, you can still get one) to extended filing deadlines (May 17) to claiming your stimulus payment if you didn't file 2019 taxes, this episode is packed with info. Cross-reference our notes below and follow @taxesforartists for all the latest.

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April 2, 2021

More Shine Theory

4/2/21 - What better time to be lifting up the people we love and growing together? Brooke Baldwin of CNN joins us to discuss the groups of women - or huddles - that make collective change happen at work, in activism, sports, and our personal lives. And we revisit our own notion of Shine Theory.

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March 26, 2021

More Pelvic Power

You should never pee when you laugh. You can see a midwife for non-pregnancy health exams like pap smears. And you can even insert your own speculum at the gynecologist if that makes you more comfortable. We revisit all the things we learned about pelvic health from our Pelvic Power episode.

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March 19, 2021

More Samantha Power

Samantha Power served as the US ambassador to the United Nations in the Obama administration and has been nominated by President Biden to serve as administrator to USAID. We revisit our 2019 interview full of hard and candid truths about what she was and wasn't able to accomplish, especially in Syri

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March 12, 2021

More Pleasure Activism

It doesn't feel like a great time for pleasure, but that's exactly why we need it, right now. We revisit our interview with adrienne maree brown, author of Pleasure Activism, Emergent Strategy, and most recently, We Will Not Cancel Us.

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March 5, 2021

Burnout

Getting real about recognizing burnout, how it's different from similar feelings like depression, and how ambition means more than working constantly.

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February 26, 2021

Fighting for Indigenous Rights

A planned tar sands pipeline through Northern Minnesota crosses tribal land and would disrupt waterways and wild rice cultivation. Tara Houska is Ojibwe, an attorney, an environmental and indigenous rights advocate, and has a long history on the land Line 3 would travel through.

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February 19, 2021

Feeling Our Way Through

Poet, artist and activist Cleo Wade feels deeply and writes movingly about growing up, finding ourselves, and having good boundaries with the people in our lives and our social feeds.

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February 12, 2021

Caity Weaver

Caity Weaver joins us to discuss her love of Santa Fe, television, pronouncing words correctly, and how her insatiable curiosity compels her to find out how glitter is made. Plus, in her many celebrity profiles: who tried to pick up the check, who was beautiful in person, and who smells amazing.

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February 5, 2021

Cozy Content

This episode is all about comfort in challenging times and staying true to yourself. We talk with a paragon of creating cozy feelings, Jenny Han, the author behind the book and Netflix series To All the Boys I've Loved Before.

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January 29, 2021

Jangling Keys of Friendship

Is it childish to call people Best Friends? Who holds the various keys to our hearts and identities? And what dreams of the past and future are getting us through the pandemic? Aminatou discusses travel, religion, finding ourselves and how we use coded language to find our people with Jedidiah Jenki

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January 22, 2021

Transition of Power

We discuss the inauguration celebrity parade, the fallacy of calls for "unity," Melania's caftan, Bernie's mittens, and "We will be back in some form."

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January 8, 2021

Level Up 2021

The new year has already been more of a lot. Amid so many challenges, here are the practices, advice, and rituals we're bringing with us into 2021.

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December 18, 2020

Good Riddance

Crawling to the finish line of 2020, we catch up and reflect on what parts of our pandemic routines we may keep as we move into 2021.

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December 11, 2020

COVID Consent Conversations

As cases spike in the U.S., we talk to one of our favorite consent experts, sex and dating coach Myisha Battle, about how to have the COVID talk with friends, family, and potential romantic prospects.

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December 4, 2020

Food Justice

We talk food justice with the founders of Polo's Pantry, a mutual aid organization providing free meals to unhoused people in Los Angeles.

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November 27, 2020

Nourishment

We are enjoying this slow season, grateful for what we have and opening our wallets for those who experience food insecurity. In the first of two episodes about food justice, we discuss our Thanksgiving feels and talk with Ebony Derr, financial manager at the Okra Project , which nourishes Black tr

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November 20, 2020

Indoor Activities

Purging our archives, mailing care packages in lieu of clothing swaps, confronting our own consumerism, who we imagine perusing our estate sales, secret talents, and some delightful things we're watching (including cults and sexy chess of course).

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November 13, 2020

The Curse is Broken

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won. We break away from our stress puzzling to celebrate this win. While there's so much work to be done, seeing Kamala on stage Saturday night was very moving. We revisit our 2018 interview with then Senator, now VP-elect Harris. And we are pleased to announce this offic

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November 6, 2020

What Now?

As we await final results, we share our election week feels and discuss some of the racist scams that undergird the American electoral system - like the Electoral College itself - with Heather McGhee, author of the forthcoming book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper T

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October 30, 2020

Art of Resistance: Guerilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls have been resisting sexism and racism through art for the last 30 years. An anonymous collective of gorilla-mask bedecked agitators, their campaigns have ranged from protests to posters, billboards, and museum interventions. With style, humor, and collective action, they call att

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October 23, 2020

Art of Resistance: Chorus

Activists and artists were waking up each day in anger and despair after Trump's election. Alongside actions and demonstrations, groups started forming around the country to gather, protest, and sing. In the first episode about the art of resistance, we listen to the voices (spoken and sung) of two choirs: the Resistance Revival Chorus in New York City and Community Chorus in Los Angeles.

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October 16, 2020

Incandescently Furious

We contemplate a VC-backed startup for women who need to scream into pillows. A brief discussion of the Supreme Court nomination of the Judge Handmaiden. Fortunately, Rebecca Traister's work on the political power of women's anger is always timely, as we revisit our 2018 interview.

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October 2, 2020

Election Pep Talk

We're managing our election anxiety and getting out the vote. Does phone banking, text banking, and making a voting plan really move the needle? We find out with Crooked Media political director Shaniqua McClendon.

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September 25, 2020

Fall Books

Do you need something to read (and take your mind away from doom-scrolling)? We talk with Nessa Rapoport about her novel Evening and Alice Wong, editor of the anthology, Disability Visibility.

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September 18, 2020

Use the Power You Have

How can we create change from within institutions? We talk with longtime civil rights activist, Pramila Jayapal, who was elected to Congress in 2016 about her work with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, pushing for change within the Democratic Party.

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September 11, 2020

These Precedented Times

We're engulfed in crises: caregiving, police violence, employment, and an election. These may feel like unprecedented times, and yet, some of our favorite guests have been experts and activists who tackle these issues.

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September 4, 2020

Ace

What does attraction mean, specifically for people who don't experience sexual attraction? Angela Chen joins us to talk about her book Ace: What Asexuality Reveals about Desire, Society and the Meaning of Sex.

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August 28, 2020

The Long Haul: Summer of Friendship #9

Friendships that stretch into years and decades hold a special place in our lives, and require special tending. As we conclude our Summer of Friendship series, we hear about your big friendships that have gone the distance.

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August 21, 2020

Power of Community: Summer of Friendship #8

We often see people don’t have time for friends as life gets busier: Hint hint, it’s capitalism and patriarchy making you feel that way. And we interview author Mia Birdsong on building the communities and relationships we actually want, rather than those we’ve been told to want.

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August 14, 2020

Breakdowns: Summer of Friendship #7

Difficult patches, communication breakdowns, and periods of estrangement are part of a LOT of important relationships, and friendships are no exception. We discuss our breakdown and why we had to go to therapy to start fixing it.

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August 1, 2020

Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith is the author of the novels White Teeth, The Autograph Man, On Beauty, NW, and Swing Time, as well as two collections of essays, Changing My Mind and Feel Free. Her latest is Intimations.

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July 10, 2020

Big Friendship

Days away from the release of Big Friendship, Aminatou and Ann share key definitions from the book and read a passage about a very challenging time in their friendship.

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June 19, 2020

Media Reckoning

On the conflict between outward facing antiracist messaging and internal office behavior: who’s hired, who’s promoted, who’s given a raise, how Black people feel at your place of work, whose ideas are supported and welcomed—in media, and beyond.

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June 12, 2020

Gossip Queen

We talk with queen of gossip and media literacy Elaine “Lainey” Lui about the meaning of gossip, the royals, and how covering celebrity has changed.

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June 5, 2020

Police Abolition

We turn to Mariame Kaba, a longtime police and prison abolitionist, educator, and organizer who has been doing the day-in, day-out work of opposing state-sponsored violence since the early 2000s.

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May 29, 2020

Whimsy and Elegance

The inimitable Maurice Harris joins us to discuss his creative origins, how he started using flowers in art, being a small business owner in the time of corona, and his new show Centerpiece.

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February 8, 2019

Winter Books 2019

2/8/19 - We discuss what's on our bookshelf and talk to authors of some of our favorite recent titles. Nikki Darling and her protagonist (also named Nikki Darling) explore teen girlhood and '90s Los Angeles in her novel Fade Into You. Esmé Weijun Wang investigates mental illness, stigma and her o

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January 4, 2019

Permission Slip 2019

1/4/19 - Our yearly kickoff episode in which women we love give you permission to… Liberate your attention ( adrienne maree brown | How to Survive the End of the World ) Make just a small adjustment ( Autumn Brown | How to Survive the End of the World ) NOT reply to email ( Otegha Uw

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December 8, 2018

Delicious Company with Samin Nosrat

12/7/18 - Our queen of cookbooks, Netflix, and writing is here! Samin Nosrat is the author of Salt Fat Acid Heat, and brings her infectious personality and obvious pleasure in eating to the TV show of the same name. We discuss her time at Chez Panisse, how male chefs take credit for their grandmothe

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October 5, 2018

A Woman’s Anger with Rebecca Traister

10/5/18 - From #MeToo to Brett Kavanaugh, we have a lot to be mad about. Rebecca Traister is back to discuss her new book exploring the social and historical power of women's anger. When women get angry, movements form and revolutions spark. See: Rosa Parks, Florynce Kennedy, Maxine Waters, and

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August 31, 2018

White Fragility

8/31/18 - Let's talk about race, baby, and what white people really mean when they say they don't see it. Whether it's willful ignorance about collective racial identity or an unexpectedly defensive flare-up from someone who claims to be progressive or an intersectional feminist, white fragility ha

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August 17, 2018

Friendship Dilemmas

8/17/18 - Amina and Ann are writing a book! It's a memoir-manifesto called Big Friendship, and, as we kick off the writing process we're answering some of your friendship questions. Friendships where privilege gets in the way. Friendships where one of you has moved on and doesn't know how to tal

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December 4, 2015

Phone-a-friend: Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Stephanie Beatriz

12/4/16 - For this week’s phone-a-friend edition of Call Your Girlfriend, Amina calls top Hollywood bae, Stephanie Beatriz who plays the no-nonsense, leather-jacket wearing Rosa Diaz on Brooklyn Nine-Nine to discuss shine theory, how she got into acting, her favorite TV shows and so much more.

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August 29, 2014

Episode 7: Follow Your Arrow

8/29/14 - In a special listener mailbag edition, we answer questions about starting a long-distance friendship, women who are mansplainers, a Shine Theory dilemma, work self vs. internet self, an office style conundrum, and why iPhone read receipts are terrible.

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April 1, 2016

Episode 45: Right Hand Woman

We talk with Huma Abedin, longtime Hillary Clinton strategist, aide, and Vice Chair of her 2016 presidential campaign about having her emails and private life made public,...

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February 5, 2016

Episode 42: Twitter Ninja

2/5/16 - Podcasting in facemasks, we’ve got a news rapid fire, including the all-lady Congress during DC’s snowstorm. This week in menstruation, would you try a marijuana suppository to cure cramps? Amina as internet investigator with deep background on Kanye’s Twitter rant. And hate the caucuses but not Iowans.

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March 11, 2016

Phone-a-friend: Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman

Ann calls Smitten Kitchen creator Deb Perelman to learn about her favorite recipes and the hustle of cooking and writing for the internet, home-cooked meals as a creative pastime and the chocolate cake that can ease menstrual woes.

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