Cancel Me, Daddy

Our regularly scheduled episode happens to fall on Halloween! And spooky season is feeling extra—as extra as Tucker Carlson rallying “Daddy Trump” to give America a “vigorous spanking” for being a “bad little girl.” It’d be funny if it wasn’t sickening, and terrifying. We’re just five days from the 2024 presidential election, featuring the return of the Orange Fascist—and white evangelical power could strong-arm the strongman back into the White House.

This week, author and friend of the pod Talia Lavin unravels the intricacies of the movement, the subject of her new book, “Wild Faith: How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America,” with Katelyn and Christine. To well-funded white evangelical nationalists, only Trump can deliver us from the literal demons behind every abortion and pronoun. We need to take this group seriously, or the joke is on us come Election Day.

Content Warning: This episode includes extensive discussion of child abuse and corporal punishment, which Wild Faith explores as central to the Christian right’s political project: creating the conditions for future generations of obedient soldiers for God and country. Please listen with care, and take good care. 

Links:

Wild Faith: How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America by Talia Lavin

Talia Lavin for MSNBC: Tucker Carlson’s “daddy” comments speak volumes about the far right

Martha Ross for The Mercury News: Tucker Carlson: How early rejection by hippie San Francisco mom made him shameless

William Grimes for The New York Times: Alice Miller, Psychoanalyst, Dies at 87; Laid Human Problems to Parental Acts

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Special episode swap with BEED, a podcast by former Cancel Me, Daddy guest Bridget Todd:

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Chappell Roan’s cancellation by a certain set of voters got us thinking: When do fandoms become toxic? How does “stanning” an artist, a politician, or a (literal) piece of work disproportionately push people who already live at the margins of our culture out of the culture entirely?

This week, Katelyn and Christine nerd out on nerd culture’s historically toxic fandoms with Jessie Earl, aka Jessie Gender, the YouTube essayist who hosts two popular channels. Together, they try to find the “nuance in the nerdy,” from the “Lord of the Rings” to the 2024 presidential election. And “Your Ombudsmom,” Christine’s media critic alter ego, returns with her new regular segment. Stay tuned for out of context cancellations from Katelyn and Christine!

In breaking news: You did it! The Flytrap is fully funded, thanks in no small part to our loyal Cancel Me, Daddy listeners! Thank you! We have a stretch goal that will allow us to commission one freelance writer or artist per month, bringing EVEN MORE cool people to your inbox with provocative, fun cultural criticism and commentary. Who knows—you might be one of them! Please continue to donate what you can, if you can to our Kickstarter. Get exclusive access to our live Zoom show if you donate to the “Friends and a Show” tier!

Transcript here: https://theflytrap.beehiiv.com/p/chappell-roan-and-the-trolls-of-the-ring-transcript

Links:

Jessie Gender YouTube channel 

Jessie Gender After Dark channel

Katelyn Burns: “Concerning “The Rings of Power,” season one

*spoilers ahead* Jessie Gender reviews “The Rings of Power,” season two, starting with episodes 1–3 and continuing through the finale

Nicole Chung for GQ: Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Kelly Marie Tran Has a Story to Tell

Rebecca Sun for The Hollywood Reporter: The Resurrection of Kelly Marie Tran: On Surviving “Star Wars” Bullying, the Pressures of Representation, and “Raya and the Last Dragon’”

Madison Malone Kircher for The New York Times: What is the KHive?

Jon Blistein for Rolling Stone: Chappell Roan on Why She Turned Down White House Invite: “I Won’t Be a Monkey for Pride”

Jessie Gender After Dark: The Treatment of Chappell Roan

Scott Detrow for NPR: Bernie Sanders Defends Campaigning For Anti-Abortion Rights Democrat

Meredith Shiner for The New Republic: The Appalling Attack on Ta-Nehisi Coates Is a Massive Media Failing

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New York placed Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi “on leave” after the magazine Washington correspondent admitted to an inappropriate relationship with former presidential candidate RFK Jr.—sexting while covering the 2024 campaign. 

This week, Katelyn and Christine discuss the unfolding media scandal with equal parts humor and smart analysis, drawing from each of their experiences as Washington reporters themselves. They turn their criticism to the media gatekeepers—WTF is wrong with all of the prominent journalists caping for Nuzzi with the enthusiasm she’s poured into tradfascs in her coverage and on the website formerly known as Twitter?

After recording, Nuzzi asserted in a court filing that her ex-fiancé, Ryan Lizza, former alleged New Yorker sex pest turned Politico bigwig, engaged in a blackmail campaign against her, allegedly exposing her online affair to New York leadership. Lizza has since been suspended by Politico, pending an investigation.

In non-sexting news: We announce our new partnership with the brand-new feminist publication The Flytrap, of which Katelyn, Christine, and eight other talented writers and artists are co-founders! Please support The Flytrap’s Kickstarter here.

Links:

Vanity Fair: "The Reported RFK Jr.–Olivia Nuzzi “Relationship” Casts New Scrutiny on All Journalists"

New York Post: "‘Obsessed’ Olivia Nuzzi pursued RFK Jr. ‘aggressively,’ pol had to block her repeatedly: source"

New York Post: "RFK Jr. and star journalist Olivia Nuzzi had ‘incredible’ FaceTime sex, said they loved each other: sources"

New York Times: "Ryan Lizza Fired by The New Yorker Over Sexual Misconduct Allegation"

SEMAFOR: Ben Smith newsletter, September 23, 2024

Christie Smythe: Tweet (we’ll never call it an X post)

Marin Cogan for The New Republic: House of Cads: The psycho-sexual ordeal of reporting in Washington

Tumblr: Said to LadyJournos, a mid-2010s Tumblr that compiled journalists’ anonymous submissions about their experiences with sexual harassment on the job

Moira Donegan (former Cancel Me, Daddy guest!) for The Guardian: "The real victims of Olivia Nuzzi’s affair with RFK Jr are other female journalists"

Christine Grimaldi: Tweets here and here about NPR Supreme Court correspondent Nina Totenberg’s conflict of interest-ridden friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsberg

Washingtonian: “My First: That Time Olivia Nuzzi Wrote About Anthony Weiner and Got Called a ‘Slutbag’”

The -30- newsletter: “A Q&A with Olivia Nuzzi of New York magazine on her career, covering Trump and access journalism”

Disclaimer: Katelyn once worked as a part-time political writer for Vox Media, the parent company of New York.

Support Cancel Me, Daddy by supporting the Kickstarter for The Flytrap!

Cancel Me, Daddy is a Flytrap Media production. Edited by Maria Paleologos. Graphics by Eden M-W, music by D Peterschmidt.

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This week we are pleased to welcome freelance journalist Christine Grimaldi for her debut as the new permanent co-host of Cancel Me, Daddy! Together, we also welcome the co-founder and CEO of the American Sunlight Project and disinformation expert Nina Jankowicz for an in depth discussion about last week's indictments involving conservative influencer group Tenet Media.

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This week Katelyn speaks with Mikhail Klimentov, former head of the Washington Post's gaming vertical and writer of the Substack ReaderGrev, to talk about the streamer Guy Beahm, more commonly known as Dr. Disrespect. Several weeks ago, Beahm's career essentially ended after it was revealed that he had messaged inappropriately with a minor.

Link to Klimentov's blog post mentioned in the episode: https://www.readergrev.com/p/dr-disrespect-is-allegedly-not-like-us

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This week, Katelyn talks with legendary trans author and activist Julia Serano, who is coming out with a third edition of her trans feminist book Whipping Girl (March 30). This episode we talk a lot about how the internet has shaped both the trans and anti-trans movements and how trans people can help protect ourselves from the obsessed weirdos that have been radicalized by our existences.

Citations:
Julia's website: juliaserano.com 

Julia's book pre-order link: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/julia-serano/whipping-girl/9781541604520/ 

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Hello Cancelers!
It feels like Taylor Swift is everywhere this year. She just broke a record at last weekend's Grammy's and this weekend we're likely to see numerous camera shots of her at the Super Bowl as her boyfriend Travis Kelce takes the field. Katelyn spoke with independent journalist Frankie de la Cretaz about everything Taylor, from the relationship, to Gaylors, and the roots of the weird right wing conspiracy theories that have popped up around her.
Show links:
Cosmo: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a44903791/taylor-swift-queer-theories-camp-gaylore/ 

NYT Gaylor piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/opinion/taylor-swift-queer.html 

NYT article how Travis Kelce got famous https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/02/style/travis-kelce-managers-agent.html 

Beckham documentary https://www.netflix.com/title/81223488 

WaPo concussion report https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/the-broken-promises-of-the-nfls-concussion-settlement/ 

Cosmo bachelorette party piece https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a57490/almost-no-one-came-to-my-bridal-shower/ 

Frankie substack https://thefrankiedlc.substack.com/ 

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