A Special Place in Hell

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On this Excedrin-fueled episode, the ladies discuss the controversy surrounding the chromosomal makeup of Olympic boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting. They then move on to the latest scandal in the not (not)-for-profit world, this one involving GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, whose enthusiasm for expensive chandeliers and Swiss Alps travel took money from the pockets of needy gays.

Finally: Kamalot spamalot (it's out of control!) and the time Meghan wrote about the word "fag".

To listen to the full episode (and get lots of other perks, too) become a paying subscriber!

Links

* Lavish Spending by GLAAD CEO

In this episode, the ladies again revisit motherhood and its (concerning?) lack of representation among young women. Do we need a GI Bill for trad wives? They then discuss a recent article on mega-influencer Hannah Neeleman (aka Ballerina Farm) and her large, photogenic family that also happens to be extraordinarily wealthy. Is she a servant of the patriarchy? Or is the tradlife a kind of extreme sport that proves her ultimate superiority? Finally, they go over the recent damning revelations by the NYTimes that JD Vance once had a queer friend.

Links

* Meet the queen of the ‘trad wives’ https://www.thetimes.com/magazines/the-sunday-times-magazine/article/meet-the-queen-of-the-trad-wives-and-her-eight-children-plfr50cgk

* My day with the trad wife queen https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/my-day-with-the-trad-wife-queen-and-what-i-really-thought-of-her-qmbmmhkp8

* She Gave Birth Two Weeks Ago. Now She’s in a Pageant. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/style/ballerina-farm-mrs-world-hannah-neeleman.html

* JD Vance, an Unlikely Friendship, and Why It Ended. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/27/us/politics/jd-vance-friend-transgender.html

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com

On this LIVESTREAMED episode, the womxn follow an inadvertently brilliant Twitter thread to its logical conclusion: that white-woman allyship means not wearing pink and green and never walking through conga lines. They explore the panoply of memes celebrating Kamala Harris's girlbossery, anticipate the Million White Woman March that is "Answer The Call," and consider the growing phenomenon of rich white men taking on non-white wives. Also: a eulogy for the sanity of Rachel Maddow, and the real reason why JD Vance was chosen for VP.

Links

* White Lady Allyship Instruction Manual (X thread)

* Non-White Wives

* Rachel Maddow on JD Vance

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com

This is the second half of our extremely long interview with Simone and Malcolm Collins! (Part 1 can be found here.)

We discuss gene pools, spanking, why autists are overrepresented in the pro-natalism movement and recount their own love story and evolution into "techno-puritans." Finally, they answer the definitive parenting question: is the harm of screen time overblown?

Links

* Malcolm and Simone’s YT Channel Based Camp, Twitter, and Pronatalist Organization!

* Article in the Gaurdian (featuring That Slap).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com

Pro-natalism advocates Malcolm and Simone Collins are here to lead us into the Handmaiden's Tale (or guide us away from it, depending on your view)! In Part One of this very long interview, the bespectacled iconoclasts share their thoughts on how modern society stacks the deck against fertility, especially those seeking to represent the U.S. in the fecundity Olympics (Malcolm and Simone are the parents of four children and hope to have nine more). They also assess the damage caused by the "trad wife" image, explain their views on spanking, caution against the progressive plot to Come For Your Kids, and expound on abortion. (You might be surprised!)In the upcoming Part Two (available NOW to paying members here), the Collinses discuss why autists are over-represented in the pro-natalism movement and recount their own love story and evolution into "techno-puritans." Finally, they answer the definitive parenting question: Is the harm of screen time overblown?

Subscribe to get the full interview NOW, plus all our bonus episodes and access to the comment community!

Links

* Malcolm and Simone’s YT Channel Based Camp, Twitter, and Pronatalist Organization!

* Article in the Gaurdian (featuring That Slap).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com

The girlx enjoy a leisurely news day by discussing Saturday's assassination attempt on Trump followed by the announcement of his VP pick, J.D. Vance. The counterintuitive takes are flying! Are Trump rallies the ultimate experience in "touching grass?" Is Vance's political shift rooted solely in opportunism? Or does his conversion from Never Trumper to "actually I'm starting to like this guy" mirror the political journey of many disenchanted liberals?

Links

* Republican Party Platform

* Melania Trump’s statement

* President Biden’s statement

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit aspecialplace.substack.com

This MEMBER ONLY episode is all about parenting, or at least, exceptionally bad parenting. First, they cover the explosive revelations of child abuse in an essay by the daughter of acclaimed writer Alice Munro, before moving onto another essay by Bridget Phetasy, in which she catalogs her own experience as a neglected child of divorce. Is no-fault divorce good for women, but bad for mothers?

Links

* My stepfather sexually abused me when I was a child. My mother, Alice Munro, chose to stay with him

* How divorce never ends

* Meghan's Substack post about Alice Munro

* Meghan’s Unspeakable conversation with Bridget Phetasy about divorce

Podcast production legend Andy Mills survived–and thrived–in the venerable halls of NPR and the New York Times, where he worked for Radiolab, co-creating The Daily as well as series like Rabbit Hole and Caliphate. More recently, he co-created groundbreaking podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling for The Free Press. Today, he’s living in the midwest and, along with his creative partner Matthew Boll, trying to build his own platform, one meticulously produced podcast at a time. Is he losing his mind? Or getting his soul back?Check out Andy and Mathew Boll's new podcast, the Reflector:

We need you, we love you. Do you love us???? (Subscribe please, this is degrading.)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com

The ladies bid a fulsome adieu to Pride Month and reflect on its most photogenic moments this year. They then enter a post-partum depression over Thursday's debate, the only treatment for which is heavy doses of copium. Then, an analysis at the most "mid" first lady in history, Dr. Jill Biden, and Meghan sheds white tears recalling her Twitter pile-on of a lifetime by Brave BIPOC Women. Finally, they cap off the episode with a discussion on the difficulties of being a progressive father Just Trying To Have It All.

Links

* First Lady Jill Biden on What’s at Stake in 2024

* Don’t Mess With PhDs

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aspecialplace.substack.com

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit aspecialplace.substack.com

In this PAYWALLED EPISODE, the girlx/womxn practice self-harm by watching the Presidential debates from the nail-biting beginning to the eyeball-gouging end. Despite it all, Meghan feels strangely exhilarated by this rare moment of national unity (everyone agrees it was terrible). They speculate about what the Dems were thinking (is it 4D chess or classic incompetence?) Finally, they address some listener questions about their political allegiances. Are the masks finally coming off, revealing their true MAGA selves?