Aack Cast by Jamie Loftus

5.0 (19)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
WEEKLY SERIES

Aack! Cathy, the iconic and much-maligned comic strip by Cathy Guisewite, chronicled the day-to-day tribulations of its titular working woman for 35 years, met with equal praise and derision. In this podcast, Jamie Loftus (Lolita Podcast, My Year in Mensa) weaves between reporting and fiction, putting a cruelly treated cartoon everywoman in context.

21/06/2021

Introducing Aack Cast by Jamie Loftus

Aack! Cathy, the iconic and much-maligned comic strip by Cathy Guisewite, chronicled the day-to-day tribulations of its titular working woman for 35 years, met with equal praise and derision. In this podcast, Jamie Loftus (Lolita Podcast, My Year in Mensa) weaves between reporting and fiction, putting a cruelly treated cartoon everywoman in context. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 min
28/06/2021

Aackt 1: Cathy Comics, Revisited

Allow me to be the first to advise you: Cathy comics are good as hell — but it’s complicated. Today, Jamie takes a look at what exactly happens in the 34 years of Cathy lore, and it’s way more than you think. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1h 4m
05/07/2021

Aackt 2: Who is Cathy Guisewite?

For an author constantly conflated with her most famous creation, would the real Cathy Guisewite please stand up? In this two-part interview, Jamie and Cathy talk about what the journey from unknown diarist to world-famous aack connoisseur was like, and all the misjudgments and road blocks that came up along the way. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

47 min
07/07/2021

Aackt 2 Part 2: Who is Cathy Guisewite?

Today, we hear what happened to Cathy at the height of the comic’s popularity in the late 1980s until now. Cathy Guisewite tells Jamie all! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

37 min
12/07/2021

Aackt 3: Cathy and American Feminist Backlash

This week, Jamie takes a look at it where Cathy falls in the history of American feminism — and take a look at how the feminist movement has progressed, regressed, and gatekept. Why are feminists frustrated with Cathy? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1h 6m
19/07/2021

Aackt 4: The Pages Around Cathy, Part 1

Cathy Guisewite is often hailed as one of the only women in comic strips, but that's far from the truth -- this week, we uncover her frequently overlooked predecessors going back to the flapper age, and the underground scene that developed when the funny pages wouldn't address the issues feminists wanted to hear about, Wimmen's Commix. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

43 min
21/07/2021

Aackt 4: The Pages Around Cathy, Part 2

In part two of Jamie's exploration into who shared the American funny pages with Cathy Guisewite, we take a look at the artists chronicling the experiences of the boomer and Gen X crowd day to day along with her -- Gary Trudeau of Doonesbury, Aaron McGruder of The Boondocks, Alison Bechdel of Dykes to Watch Out For, and Lynn Johnston of For Better or For Worse. Tell your moms! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

39 min
26/07/2021

Minisode: Take the "Show Your Mom What a Podcast Is" Challenge

In this minisode, Grammy award-winning electronic music producer Jamie Loftus shares a Pulitzer Prize-winning song teaching your mom how to access a podcast. Aack Cast will be back next week to kick off the second half of our series! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

5 min

See All (13)

TRAILER

Introducing Aack Cast by Jamie Loftus

Aack! Cathy, the iconic and much-maligned comic strip by Cathy Guisewite, chronicled the day-to-day tribulations of its titular working woman for 35 years, met with equal praise and derision. In this podcast, Jamie Loftus (Lolita Podcast, My Year in Mensa) weaves between reporting and fiction, putting a cruelly treated cartoon everywoman in context. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21/06/2021

•

3 min

5

out of 5

19 Ratings

Another great listen, she did it again

25/04/2023

playingyoursong

Jamie Loftus never misses
Never thought Cathy comics would be bingeable content…

08/10/2021

One Dollar Vinyl

I loved every minute of this podcast. I grew up with Cathy comics taped to the fridge and this podcast gave me so much insight to the world my mother was inhabiting and hustling through. I’m moving onto Jamie Loftus’s other podcasts now. Fascinating, well-researched and compellingly presented stuff!
So good

27/08/2021

Z Nanuma

Knocked it out of the ball park. I’d never read Cathy but loved this and gave me so much to think about.
Amazing

09/08/2021

Jess_Mac211

The theme song slaps and I know I generally enjoy everything Jamie Loftus does but I’ve never even read this comic and I am enjoying the pod. Give it a go

Aack! Cathy, the iconic and much-maligned comic strip by Cathy Guisewite, chronicled the day-to-day tribulations of its titular working woman for 35 years, met with equal praise and derision. In this podcast, Jamie Loftus (Lolita Podcast, My Year in Mensa) weaves between reporting and fiction, putting a cruelly treated cartoon everywoman in context.

Channel

iHeartPodcasts
Creator

iHeartPodcasts
Years Active

2K
Episodes

13
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

2025 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia
Show Website

Aack Cast by Jamie Loftus
Provider

iHeartMedia + Entertainment, Inc