Cult of Perfect

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

Hello, and welcome to Cult of Perfect! Today we're investigating the pressure to perform domesticity—and how that leads to the erasure of actual domestic labor, with Angela Garbes, author of Like A Mother and Essential Labor. 

This is a limited run podcast about the intersection of motherhood, public performance, and bodies. We are Sara Petersen and Virginia Sole-Smith, two moms and writers who are trying to figure out what our addiction to the idea of perfect says about us—and the world we live in.

Sara also writes In Pursuit of Clean Countertops, and is the author of Momfluenced. Virginia writes Burnt Toast, hosts the Burnt Toast Podcast, and is the author of Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. You can read more about each of us here.

To hear today's episode in full—and join our Substack for awesome biweekly thread discussions—you'll need to subscribe (it’s just $5 per month or $15 for the whole series) to get full access to our every episode, plus commenting privileges and our biweekly live threads. 

The Cult of Perfect podcast is produced and hosted by Sara and Virginia. Follow Sara on Instagram or Twitter; Follow Virginia on Instagram.

Our transcripts are edited and formatted by Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing.

The Cult of Perfect logo is by Deanna Lowe.

Our theme song is “Good Mom” by Farideh, from her new album, The Mother Load.

And Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.

Hello, and welcome to Cult of Perfect! Today we're talking about the perfect woman as defined by evangelical Christianity, and exploring how evangelicalism has come to define so much of American culture with guest Jeanna Kadlec. 

This is a limited run podcast about the intersection of motherhood, public performance, and bodies. We are Sara Petersen and Virginia Sole-Smith, two moms and writers who are trying to figure out what our addiction to the idea of perfect says about us—and the world we live in.

Sara also writes In Pursuit of Clean Countertops, and is the author of Momfluenced. Virginia writes Burnt Toast, hosts the Burnt Toast Podcast, and is the author of Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. You can read more about each of us here.

To hear today's episode in full—and join our Substack for awesome biweekly thread discussions—you'll need to subscribe (it’s just $5 per month or $15 for the whole series) to get full access to our every episode, plus commenting privileges and our biweekly live threads. 

The Cult of Perfect podcast is produced and hosted by Sara and Virginia. Follow Sara on Instagram or Twitter; Follow Virginia on Instagram.

Our transcripts are edited and formatted by Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing.

The Cult of Perfect logo is by Deanna Lowe.

Our theme song is “Good Mom” by Farideh, from her new album, The Mother Load.

And Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cultofperfect.substack.com/subscribe

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

Hello, and welcome to Cult of Perfect! Today we're talking about the perfect woman as defined by evangelical Christianity, and exploring how evangelicalism has come to define so much of American culture with guest Jeanna Kadlec. 

This is a limited run podcast about the intersection of motherhood, public performance, and bodies. We are Sara Petersen and Virginia Sole-Smith, two moms and writers who are trying to figure out what our addiction to the idea of perfect says about us—and the world we live in.

Sara also writes In Pursuit of Clean Countertops, and is the author of Momfluenced. Virginia writes Burnt Toast, hosts the Burnt Toast Podcast, and is the author of Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. You can read more about each of us here.

To hear today's episode in full—and join our Substack for awesome biweekly thread discussions—you'll need to subscribe (it’s just $5 per month or $15 for the whole series) to get full access to our every episode, plus commenting privileges and our biweekly live threads. 

The Cult of Perfect podcast is produced and hosted by Sara and Virginia. Follow Sara on Instagram or Twitter; Follow Virginia on Instagram.

Our transcripts are edited and formatted by Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing.

The Cult of Perfect logo is by Deanna Lowe.

Our theme song is “Good Mom” by Farideh, from her new album, The Mother Load.

And Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.

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

Hello, and welcome to Cult of Perfect! Today we're exploding a whole bunch of stereotypes about single moms (especially Black single moms) with guest Ashley Simpo, and talking about why the nuclear family was never designed to serve us in the first place. 

This is a limited run podcast about the intersection of motherhood, public performance, and bodies. We are Sara Petersen and Virginia Sole-Smith, two moms and writers who are trying to figure out what our addiction to the idea of perfect says about us—and the world we live in.

Sara also writes In Pursuit of Clean Countertops, and is the author of Momfluenced. Virginia writes Burnt Toast, hosts the Burnt Toast Podcast, and is the author of Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. You can read more about each of us here.

To hear today's episode in full—and join our Substack for awesome biweekly thread discussions—you'll need to subscribe (it’s just $5 per month or $15 for the whole series) to get full access to our every episode, plus commenting privileges and our biweekly live threads. 

The Cult of Perfect podcast is produced and hosted by Sara and Virginia. Follow Sara on Instagram or Twitter; Follow Virginia on Instagram.

Our transcripts are edited and formatted by Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing

The Cult of Perfect logo is by Deanna Lowe.

Our theme song is “Good Mom” by Farideh, from her new album, The Mother Load.

And Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.

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

Hello, and welcome to Cult of Perfect! Today we're unpacking the intersection of anti-fatness and diet culture during pregnancy.

This is a limited run podcast about the intersection of motherhood, public performance, and bodies. We are Sara Petersen and Virginia Sole-Smith, two moms and writers who are trying to figure out what our addiction to the idea of perfect says about us—and the world we live in.

Sara also writes In Pursuit of Clean Countertops, and is the author of Momfluenced. Virginia writes Burnt Toast, hosts the Burnt Toast Podcast, and is the author of Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. You can read more about each of us here.

To hear today's episode in full—and to join our Substack for awesome biweekly thread discussions—you'll need to subscribe (it’s just $5 per month or $15 for the whole series) to get full access to our every episode, plus commenting privileges and our biweekly live threads. 

The Cult of Perfect podcast is produced and hosted by Sara and Virginia. Follow Sara on Instagram or Twitter; Follow Virginia on Instagram.

Our transcripts are edited and formatted by Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing.

The Cult of Perfect logo is by Deanna Lowe.

Our theme song is “Good Mom” by Farideh, from her new album, The Mother Load.

And Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.

Hello, and welcome to Cult of Perfect!

This is a limited run podcast about the intersection of motherhood, public performance, and bodies. We are Sara Petersen and Virginia Sole-Smith, two moms and writers who are trying to figure out what our addiction to the idea of perfect says about us—and the world we live in.

Sara also writes In Pursuit of Clean Countertops, and is the author of Momfluenced. Virginia writes Burnt Toast, hosts the Burnt Toast Podcast, and is the author of Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. You can read more about each of us here.

Today's episode is free, but to hear the whole series—and join our Substack for awesome biweekly thread discussions—you'll need to subscribe (it’s just $5 per month or $15 for the whole series) to get full access to our next five episodes, plus commenting privileges and our biweekly live threads. 

The Cult of Perfect podcast is produced and hosted by Sara and Virginia. Follow Sara on Instagram or Twitter; Follow Virginia on Instagram.

Our transcripts are edited and formatted by Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing.

The Cult of Perfect logo is by Deanna Lowe.

Our theme song is “Good Mom” by Farideh, from her new album, The Mother Load.

And Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cultofperfect.substack.com/subscribe