Lyle and Erik Menendez, two Beverly Hills brothers, were convicted of murdering their parents in a tabloid case that captivated the nation in the 1990s. But in recent years, they have captured the attention of a new generation, becoming unlikely social media stars despite being in prison for the last 34 years. In this episode, Susie and Jess look at the dedicated fan accounts advocating for a new trial and the new evidence that might actually free them. 

FOR MORE:

• The New Menendez Defenders  (The New York Times)
• Ex-Member of Menudo Says He Was Raped by Father of the Menendez Brothers  (The New York Times)
• New evidence may back Menendez brothers’ sexual abuse claims. But can it free them? (The Los Angeles Time)

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Hanging out with Monica Lewinsky for her first profile in a decade. Booking Jessica Simpson for a weight loss reveal that never happened. Searching for Casey Anthony….  and not finding her. Wondering how many members of a polycule is too many to put on an expense report (!). In this episode, Jess and Susie revisit some of their most memorable, and sometimes cringey, adventures in journalism.

FOR MORE:

• Polyamory: The Next Sexual Revolution? (By Jessica Bennett, Newsweek, 2010)
• Monica Lewinsky Is Back, But This Time It’s On Her Terms (By Jessica Bennett, NY Times, 2015)
• Jessica Simpson Reveals Post-Baby Body on Katie Couric’s New Show (People, 2012)

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She made history as the first Black Miss America, then dramatically lost her crown in a scandal that would see her branded as "the pageant's own Hester Prynn.” But Vanessa Williams did not just go away quietly, she fought back — going head to head with Penthouse, the magazine that published her photos, and the man who tricked her into taking them. In this episode, Jess and Susie chart the aftermath of that sordid episode, as well as Vanessa’s staggering comeback. Plus, Jess talks about the time she went to Miss America just a few years ago, reporting from inside the pageant, where a pageant “civil war” was brewing.

FOR MORE:

• Books: Looking for Miss America: A Pageant’s 100-Year Quest to Define Womanhood, by Margot Mifflin, and There She Was: The Secret History of Miss America, by Amy Artsinger
• Articles: Goodbye, Swimsuit Competition. Hello, ‘Miss America 2.0.’ and Here’s What You Didn’t See on Miss America (both New York Times, both by Jess)
• Listen: Glamorous Trash, a Celebrity Book Club Podcast, in which Jess and Susie join host Chelsea Devantez to talk about Vanessa Williams’ memoir

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You may know her as the Grammy-nominated singer, or for playing the cunning and iconic  Wilhelmina Slater on “Ugly Betty.” But before all that, Vanessa Williams was a bright young college student from New York who would make history as the first Black Miss America, in 1984. And yet before she could complete her term, she would be dramatically dethroned — in a nude photo scandal that would ignite a torrent of racism and see her branded as “the pageant's own Hester Prynn.” In this episode, Jess and Susie revisit the incredible making, and the staggering undoing, of the first Black Miss America.

FOR MORE:

• Books: Looking for Miss America: A Pageant’s 100-Year Quest to Define Womanhood, by Margot Mifflin, and There She Was: The Secret History of Miss America, by Amy Artsinger
• Articles: Goodbye, Swimsuit Competition. Hello, ‘Miss America 2.0.’ and Here’s What You Didn’t See on Miss America (both New York Times, both by Jess)
• Listen: Glamorous Trash, a Celebrity Book Club Podcast, in which Jess and Susie join host Chelsea Devantez to talk about Vanessa Williams’ memoir

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In 1991, America’s sweetheart Sally Field starred in a movie about an American woman’s desperate escape from her abusive Iranian husband. For Susie, and a generation of other Iranian-American kids, this was the only representation they saw of themselves in pop culture – and it was not great. It was essentially a horror film – and the horror was Iran. In this episode, best-selling author (and fellow Iranian-American) Porochista Khakpour joins Susie to talk about what it was like growing up in the shadow of ‘Not Without My Daughter’ and its comically dark view of their homeland. 

GUESTS:  

• Porochista Khakpour, best-selling author 

FOR MORE:

• The Not Without My Daughter Problem: How a Sally Field Movie Became an Iranian-American Headache (New York Magazine)
• Iranians Moving Past Negative Depictions In Pop Culture (by Porochista Khakpour, LA Times) 
• Order Porochista’s book Tehrangeles

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As we revealed in part one, the 2007 Rutgers women’s basketball team was having a Cinderella season when radio host Don Imus callously dragged them into a national firestorm with a racist slur, effectively stealing their moment. But the women of Rutgers didn’t just go away quietly – they fought back, rising above the noise to tell their story. Susie and Jess are joined again by former Rutgers captain Essence Carson and Emmy-winning journalist Jemele Hill to unpack the aftermath of that sordid episode, and discuss the complexities of who gets to respond in anger when they are publicly targeted, and why.

GUESTS:  

• Essence Carson, former WNBA star, Rutgers captain and current creative executive
• Jemele Hill, Emmy award-winning journalist

FOR MORE:

• A First-Class Response to a Second-Class Put-Down (NYT, 2007)
• Imus: Race, Power and the Media (Newsweek, 2007)
• Don Imus, DJ fired for racial slur at Rutgers players, dies at 79 (ESPN, 2019)

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Long before Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were shattering records and making national headlines, there was the 2007 Rutgers team. The New Jersey players had a Cinderella season, powering their way to the Final Four in an extraordinary triumph. But instead of being celebrated, the young women were attacked – dismissed and belittled in an infamous on-air slur by the popular radio host Don Imus. In this episode, Susie and Jess revisit the moment which sparked a national firestorm – and a much-needed conversation about racism, sexism and women’s sports. They also welcome two women who were there: former Rutgers captain and WNBA star Essence Carson, and the journalist Jemele Hill, who reported on the story in real time.

GUESTS: 

• Essence Carson, former WNBA star, Rutgers captain and current creative executive
• Jemele Hill, Emmy award-winning journalist

FOR MORE:

• The Imus Fallout: Who Can Say What? (Time, 2007)
• Trash Talk Radio (by Gwen Ifill NYT, 2007)
• Take A Stand Against Indecency And Cruelty (by Jemele Hill, ESPN) 

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For a certain generation of girls, the trading of lip gloss was akin to sharing secrets — there was hierarchy, and subtlety, and hidden messages all in one. In this mini episode, Jess reminisces about middle school makeup rituals and what they can tell us about female friendship, while Susie wonders how it’s possible to be so nonchalant about the spreading of germs (lol!).

FOR MORE:

• Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton and… Lip Gloss? (by Jessica Bennett, NYT)
• Makeup As Meditation, Skincare As 'Girl Therapy' (by Jessica Defino, Substack)

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It was the iconic and irreverent magazine that shaped a generation of 90s girls, teaching them about pop culture, fashion and feminism. Sassy was accessible and relatable, willing to openly talk about taboo subjects like sex and teen suicide when nobody else would. In this episode, we chat with the founding editor and perennial cool older sister Jane Pratt about why Sassy still resonates for so many nearly 40 years later. 

FOR MORE:

• My Totally Normal Addiction To Buying Teen Magazines (NYT, 2021)
• How Sassy Is Tavi Gevinson? (NYT, 2011)

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You asked, we answered! In this episode, Jess & Susie take a trip down memory lane — responding to “in retrospect” moments shared by listeners (you!). From a generation named after Jordan Catalano of “My So Called Life” to Brandy and Monica’s faux-feud in “The Boy Is Mine,” here are some moments from the 90s that you can’t stop thinking about.

FOR MORE:

• Meet Generation Catalano (Slate, 2011)
• Monica on 25 Years of ‘The Boy Is Mine’ (The Hollywood Reporter, 2023)

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Exactly 25 years ago, the blockbuster teen comedy “American Pie” launched the term “MILF” into the stratosphere — that is, Mom I’d Like to F*ck. Jennifer Coolidge, who played Stifler’s Mom, is perhaps still the most famous MILF in America. But… where did that term really come from? Jess and Susie uncover the MILF’s true origin story and how it was shaped by the most raunchy teen sex comedy of our time.

FOR MORE: 

• Review: The Road to Manhood, Paved in Raunchy Jokes and Pie (NYT, 1999)
• American Pie at 20: The Notorious Pie Scene from Every Angle (NYT, 2019) 
• Don’t Use This Acronym: MILF in the OED (blog post by Laurel Sutton)
• At the Super Bowl of Linguistics, May the Best Word Win (by Jessica, NYT, reporting from the annual linguistics convention in 2015)

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