How did Barbie—a voluptuous fashion doll for children—become the It girl of toy aisle in the early 1960s, and what has it taken Mattel to keep it that way? Answer: Beyoncé-level PR and a whole lotta lawsuits. Intern Anuli and Cristen sleuth out Barbie's ascent from gold digger to girl next door; her creator, Ruth Handler, whose own children hated the dolls; when Mattel took "Barbie Girl" to court; and why it took 21 years for Black Barbie to happen.
Part 1 of 2.
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Barbie Part 1: Welcome to the Dollhouse

A feminist lifestyle podcast on a mission to stay curious, build empathy and raise hell. Hosted by Cristen Conger.

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Comedy Interviews

What happens when adult women discover they're autistic? Cristen busts the gender stereotypes and neurotypical myths of Autism Spectrum Disorder with help from unladies who've been there. The Loudest Girl in the World host and producer, Lauren Ober, details the (expensive!) jungle gym she had to cross for a middle-age diagnosis. Meanwhile, listener Sarah has mixed feelings about self-diagnosis, and listener Anna feels finally free to unmask. Highlights include: refrigerator-mom blame, too-tight ponytails, a queer correlation and America's Next Top Model cringe.

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"You Don't Look Autistic" (ENCORE)

Exiled from a world of engineered perfection, Demetria crash-lands into the brutal reality of the Outerlands. Distrusted by the defiant survivors, her only hope lies with a mysterious AGI, First Belle. But the secrets it holds could break her... or forge her into the hero she never knew she could be. 
From Wondery, the makers of Academy and Dr. Death, The Last City stars actors Rhea Seehorn, Jeannie Tirado, and Maury Sterling.
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Sneak Peek: The Last City

Could an 1873 law that hasn't been enforced in nearly a century be a national abortion ban just waiting to happen? Legal friend of the pod Natalie Birnbaum (Repro Solutions) returns to explain what the Comstock Act is, why it's getting so much attention lately and whether it could it ban medication abortion and even birth control. Highlights include: Gilded Age abortionist Madame Restell, a postmaster general gone wild, fake-out abortion referenda and Justice Samuel Alito's revisionist legal history.
Recommended resources:

Plan C Pills

Yellowhammer Fund

ReproCare

If/When/How


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Comstockery!

**Unladies' Room Patreon preview**
What does it take to erect a monument to women's history? Just ask Diane Carlson Evans, without whom the Vietnam Women's Memorial would not exist...
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Monument Building with Diane Carlson Evans (TEASER)

Magician Nicole Cardoza has never met another illusionist who looks like her. The reasons why are no stage magic secret. This episode, Nicole debunks the default pale, male magician and his "lovely assistant" and reclaims the power of suspending disbelief. Highlights include: spiritual appropriation; taboo magic; the Queen of Coins; sexist pockets; and America's first Black female magician, Ellen Armstrong. 

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Barbie Part 1: Welcome to the Dollhouse

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