Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em Podcast

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em
  • 4.7 (133)
  • News Commentary
  • Updated Semiweekly

a podcast from the outskirts of the zeitgeist smokeempodcast.substack.com

  1. 1h ago

    267. Dr. Fauci and the Death of Responsibility, with Mary Katharine Ham

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com There are a lot of things Dr. Anthony Fauci might have said during his Senate hearing yesterday, about what he thought and did and did not do and might have done differently during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and lead member of the White House COVID-19 Response Team invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent more than 90 times. Is this shocking? Predictable? Irresponsible? Dangerous? Yes and yes and yes and yes. With Sarah busy recording the audiobook for her upcoming memoir, The Only Thing There Is To Want, Nancy asked perennial straight-shooter Mary Katharine Ham to come talk about Fauci, his “cartoonish self-absorption,” the political marketplace that has us tilt toward hero worship, and the one official who maybe kinda sorta admitted she was wrong about lockdowns. Also discussed: * Must be nice have never heard of the Tate brothers * The “personality disorder economy” that gives us a Dr. Fauci (and a Candace Owens) * Did Mary Katharine and Nancy adhere to the government-mandated COVID protocols? No, no they did not * John Fetterman’s statement seemed pretty close to the mark for many of us * What sort of hubris has you writing great your diary on a government computer? * A small nod of respect for Deborah Brix * Women watch true crime on TV. Men watch… * Mary Katharine and Nancy come up with a new hustle Plus, what is lost when you catastrophize, love and props for Liz Wolfe, Mary Katharine re-reads a book she hates, and much more! Did you watch Young Washington in anticipation of talking about it on First Sunday Zoom is this Sunday, August 2, 8pm ET/5pm PT? There’s still time! Paid subscribers get link day-of.

  2. Jul 19

    266. The Soul-Eaters and Their Unlucky Targets

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Nancy and Sarah discuss a two-part HBO docuseries called “What Happened, Brittany Murphy?” Did it just come out? No. But it’s compelling and relevant to many Smoke ‘Em hot topics (celebrity, sociopathy, addiction, true-crime). As Sarah texted Nancy, “It = our lane.” The movie tackles the mysterious 2009 death of actress Brittany Murphy, who hit the scene with Clueless and went on to 8 Mile and rom-coms like Just Married (when she was dating Ashton Kutcher) before plunging into a career spiral. That involved a boyfriend, Simon Monjack, who proves more sinister than the man he pretends to be. The conversation includes tangents on child actors, Marilyn Monroe, and what kind of role Murphy played in a relationship with a walking red flag who would end up sucking her money, her self-esteem, and eventually her soul. Also discussed: * “Sienna” is a color? * Sarah has adorable feet, Nancy has great up-tops [NSFW] * 8 Mile is a banger * Props to Perez Hilton for admitting his despicable behavior * Nancy says the “f” word (no, not that one); Sarah nevertheless objects * Howard Stern is terrified of women * Nancy and Sarah both weigh 130 pounds * The undeniable hotness of peak Ashton Kutcher * Six Degrees of Nancy Rommelmann strikes again: Demi Moore edition * Frozen orange juice concentrate, remembered * Sweetened condensed milk, remembered * The power of Matt Drudge * Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott = good dude * Don’t sleep on the latest Andy Mills joint Plus, the iconic Marilyn dresses we’d like to wear, Denzel’s masculine energy directed at the right targets, and much more! NOTE: Nancy is scheduled to appear on FOX’s “America’s Newsroom” Monday, 7/19, 10:15am ET. OTHER NOTE: Sarah’s new Substack, Love Anyway, launches soon and is FREE. We’ll be any Marilyn Monroe you like if you become a paid subscriber. Small note: Could maybe use a bra.

    266. The Soul-Eaters and Their Unlucky Targets

  3. Jul 13

    265. Welcome to the End of Reading

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Nancy and Sarah discuss the latest Atlantic cover story, “The End of Reading Is Here” by Rose Horowitch, who is too young to be writing a story this good (not that that’s relevant). The essay, which provides a historical and statistical overview of the written word, is something of a cold shower: “The literary era will prove to be a brief interlude between the oral and the digital ages.” We talk deep reading, AI, the joys of intellectual discovery, the rise of audiobooks, how to turn a kid off reading (Ivanhoe), and more. Also discussed: * Nancy vs. Sarah: Who wins in a cage match? VOTE NOW * Emergency self-tanner recommendations * Smoking Diaries and Pie Talk are back. What is this, 2024? * Mike Pesca, we salute you. * AI: Nancy wants to know, does it bleed? * We have a YouTube channel. Obviously, you subscribe … * Nancy adorably mispronounces “papyrus” (19-20 min) * A Clockwork Orange is NOT written in Olde English * “Screw the canon.” * The beauty of math * High school: boys like The Odyssey, girls like To Kill a Mockingbird * Reading Updike for the first time, swoon * Sarah apologizes to the ghost of David Wallace * Lindsey Graham, RIP * Lindsay Graham, aka Sarah’s ex, once insulted Sarah’s self-tanning, and she never forgot it. Plus, thoughts on AI character Tilly Norwood, Erica Jong’s mothering fails, Sarah wants a shirt that reads I BLAME MOYNIHAN and much more! REMINDER: Sarah is launching a FREE Substack, LOVE ANYWAY. Don’t miss out. The end of podcasting is nowhere near, especially when you become a paid subscriber. You know what would make our YouTube channel better? Yeah you do

  4. Jul 7

    264. The Graham Platner Implosion

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Nancy and Sarah discuss Graham Platner and an explosive Politico story accusing him of sexual assault. Do you think social media has opinions on this? Do you think people will show consistency, calm and rationality in their discussion of this sensitive topic? Of course not! But then, what would we talk about on this pod? Also discussed: * Nancy’s Flock of Seagulls hair * Partisanship is undeniably part of this story * Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was the first blackout book * The IG messages we wish Jenny Racicot had not deleted * We are all unreliable narrators * When therapists don’t go on record … * New York Times vs. Politico * The return of mom jeans * The indoctrination camp of BlueSky * Man up, Graham Platner! * The award for “running your head into a brick wall” on Twitter goes to … * AIPAC, the new dog whistle * Kyle Chander: TEXT US. Plus, we need a “men yell at us” supercut, Stephen King’s woke daughter, a breezy summer beach read, and more! ANNOUNCEMENT! Sarah is starting a Substack, called Love Anyway, and it’s free. It’s launching mid-July. Sign up here, or you’re gonna get left behind, and you’ll be sad. Also sad is when you aren’t a paid subscriber to this pod. Plus, Sarah says goodbye to one of the people who built her. RIP, Dave Barranco.

    264. The Graham Platner Implosion

  5. Jul 2

    263. America 250: F*ck Yeah — or Nah?

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Are you proud of America? It can be a complicated question. Sarah and Nancy tackle the topic of patriotism and whether American is an unfinished experiment or a beautiful place unlike any other country. (But wait: Why can’t it be both?) We talk about a Tom Hanks-produced Netflix series on the nation’s founding, The American Experiment, which shows how much in-fighting and compromise were part of the country’s creation. The series also introduces us to a peg-legged lady killer who wrote much of the Constitution (Gouverneur Morris) and confirms that Alexander Hamilton was, indeed, a hottie. Nancy just moved into her new pad, so you’ll have to excuse a) the slight echo and b) the three (?) different times she had to leave to attend to a mover. Also discussed: * True or False: Sarah is a flower girl at Taylor Swift’s wedding * True or False: Semiquincentennial is a real word * Happy graduation, Megan! * The downward mobility of college grads * That time Sarah doubled-down on becoming un-hireable * American Dream: Beautiful or unfinished? Let’s debate! * “They tried to take away football” * JD Vance, Ben Rhodes, Zohran Mamdani, Al Gore * “What’s a buggy whip?” * The Scots love Boston * Croats > Brits * James Madison isn’t black??? * George Washington: Amazing man, maybe not the most fun at the kegger * Writers who get our love: Emily Yoffe, Pamela Colloff, William Finnegan * How to make Nancy swoon? Tell her you know her byline Plus, Avocado toast and doomsday, Sarah at the World Cup, Nancy only does the “F” in Marry, F**k, Kill, and much more! REMINDER: First Sunday Zoom, July 5, 8pm ET/5pm PT. Also two questions: Are you in college? And do you cover your heart during the National Anthem? Let know in the comments or — even better — tell us yourself on Sunday. Do you hate America, or are you willing to become a paid subscriber?

  6. Jun 28

    262. Justine van der Leun on Women Who Kill Their Abusers

    Note: Our recording app crapped out at the one-hour mark (rude!), but we include our hot boxes in the copy below, which you ALL get since we’re making this episode free xx Nancy and Sarah talk to Justine van der Leun, the author of Unreasonable Women: Three Stories of Violence, Imprisonment, and Extraordinary Survival. Justine is a heavy hitter in the occasionally lightweight genre of true-crime journalism. Nancy reviewed her 2016 book We Are Not Such Things, about the murder of an American activist in South Africa, and called it a “masterwork of reported nonfiction.” Unreasonable Women tells the stories of three women in prison for what Justine calls “criminalized survival,” meaning they were fighting back against their abusers. Her research was extensive. She wrote to 10,000 women in prison, created data sets that did not exist, and spent years crafting a book that is both hard to read (in its ugly humanity) and hard to put down (in its narrative propulsion). Also discussed: * Sarah, not going viral * Justine’s amazing bone structure * Journalism is license to be nosy * 94% of women are abused before they enter the U.S. prison system * The trap: “If it was so bad, she would have left. If she didn’t leave, it surely wasn’t so bad.” * Nancy unwinds with a “box of chicken and The Price is Right.” * Bitches Who Stab = the jokey title Justine’s husband gave her book * The criminal justice system is so confusing/frustrating that “why bother?” becomes a reasonable reaction — and that’s the point. * Kneejerk Nancy has some choice words for the mothers in these stories! * Big love for Bob Kolker, Rachel Aviv, Brian Goldstone, Ann Rule * The horror of Gisele Pelicot (though this convo got cut off, sadly) Plus, what keeps an author going over the long haul of a book project, the troubling history of sexual exploitation in families, a bonanza of hot box books, and much more! We’re so dang generous this episode is free. Consider returning the generosity by becoming a paid subscriber! Episode Notes: Unreasonable Women: Three Stories of Violence, Imprisonment, and Extraordinary Survival All about Justine’s work at www.justinevdl.com We Are Not Such Things: The Murder of a Young American, a South African Township, and the Search for Truth and Reconciliation by Justine van der Leun (Amazon link) Justine on Instagram To the Bridge: A True Story of Motherhood and Murder by Nancy Rommelmann (Amazon link) “The Trial of Gisèle Pelicot’s Rapists United France and Fractured Her Family,” by Rachel Aviv (New Yorker) There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone (Amazon link) Random Family, by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (Amazon link) Svetlana Alexievich is a Belarusian journalist who won the 2015 Nobel Prize. One of her many books: Lost Girls: An American Mystery, by Robert Kolker (Amazon link) The Adversary: A True Story of Monstrous Deception, by Emmanuel Carrere (Amazon link) The Stranger Beside Me: The Inside Story of Serial Killer Ted Bundy, by Ann Rule (Amazon link, audiobook recommended) What’s in your hot box? Justine: Dear Monica Lewinky: A Novel, by Julia Langbein Nancy: The Vanishing Family: Love, Fate, and the Quest to End Dementia, by Robert Kolker Sarah: Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast, by Pamela Colloff This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com/subscribe

  7. Jun 24

    261. The Scariest Movie Nancy Has Ever Seen

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Nancy bravely went alone to see Backrooms and is not sure if she’s right yet. Backrooms is one of two movies Gen Z is currently obsessing over (the other is called, um, Obsession). Sarah and Nancy talk about art in the age of YouTube, what gets people to the theater, the spookiness of the unknown, and whatever “creepypasta” turns out to be. They also discuss Sarah’s semi-viral tweet about men changing tires and RFK’s push to help Americans get off anti-depressants. Also discussed: * Nancy is an easy lay * “Death before AAA” * Sarah is an aspirational engagement farmer * The Safelite jingle is … a jam? * Broken-window theory, men vs. women * Happy 21st birthday Kane Parsons, you miserable overachiever * Liminal spaces as metaphor for the Internet (and the subconscious) * The Blair Witch Project, remembered * “Don’t go in the shaft!!!” * David Lynch + Salvador Dali + Severance + The Shining + Being John Malkovich * Why Sarah went on antidepressants, version 100 * Sarah will not join Nancy’s running group * “There’s something going on with Ezra Klein, and I dig it.” Plus, Sarah tries to pronounce the names of actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, Nancy flexes her 4chan knowledge, solvitur ambulando, and much more! DO NOT GO INTO THE SHAFT!!! But we encourage you to become a paid subscriber.

  8. Jun 17

    260. Of Maternal Murderers and Sexual Predators

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Nancy asked Sarah to watch two documentaries, and because Sarah is a supportive pod partner, she did just that — and fell into an existential depression. My God! What darkness did Nancy thrust her into? Maternal Instinct is a true-crime documentary currently dominating the Netflix top 10, about a deeply troubled young woman in Texas who … well, if you remember the headlines, then you know what she did, but let’s just say, what she did is godawful. Next up is Predators, a 2025 documentary about the aughts-era Dateline show To Catch a Predator. It’s one of the most powerful documentaries either of us has seen in some time. Their conversation takes them through con artists and sexual compulsions, human pain as entertainment and law enforcement as clickbait. Also discussed: * Sarah is World Cup-bound! * “Collective effervescence” of New York City * Buc-ee’s brings the world together * Ethan Strauss on fire * Sarah and Nancy would NEVER share a Netflix password * Texas: We’re #1 in soda refills! * Nancy is the moral agent of this podcast, Sarah wants everyone to have a trophy * How to fake a pregnancy with things bought on Amazon * Can Taylor Parker ever be redeemed? * To Catch a Predator should have been called Fish in a Barrel * The bottom-feeding of aughts-era pop culture * But what is entrapment? * Justice vs. understanding * MeToo and careerism Plus: Nostalgia for soccer hooligans, a discussion of women’s intuition, and Nancy reveals that she finally finished … which book?NOTE: Nancy will be doing a salon with Interintellect tonight, Wednesday June 17, at 7pm. Will she reveal a new scam that befell her just today? Sign up and find out! Nancy Rommelmann on Caring for Mom: An Education in Scams and Fraud Everyone gets a trophy when you become a paid subscriber.

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4.7
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a podcast from the outskirts of the zeitgeist smokeempodcast.substack.com

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