Brace yourself for the lively energy of an interviewer who has been pandemic-isolated for too long and an interviewee who really just wants to talk about reality television. I sat down with author and person-I-want-to-trick-into-being-my-IRL-friend andrea bennett to talk about their new book, Like a Boy but Not a Boy, out now with Arsenal Pulp Press. We also talked about mental health in a pandemic, Great British Bake Off, patterns of abuse and harm in CanLit, boomer men’s bad opinions about parenting and libraries, and why we’re pretty comfortable with TikTok youths roasting the heck out of millennials. Here are some links!

• You can, and should, buy andrea’s book here. If you’d like to read excerpts in The Walrus, Xtra, and Chatelaine, and you can hear me read an excerpt from my favourite essay on this podcast.
• To prove that I do like puppies, here’s a video of some puppies.
• andrea recommended Sarah Liss’s article, “Pandemic parenting in a two-mom family means twice the maternal guilt”
• Here’s a little context on the Great British Bake Off babka drama
• If you are unfamiliar with the larger context of Joseph Boyden’s identity, here’s a long read on the topic.
• Learn a little more about Duncan Campbell Scott and “The Onondaga Madonna”
• I’ve talked about this before, but here’s a little more context on the Galloway suit.
• It looks like the blog post andrea referenced has been removed, but you can still read Ken Whyte’s bad takes on non-fiction and libraries. (They might be pay-walled, but honestly you’re not missing much.)
• Watch some examples of Gen Z roasting the heck out of Millennials.
• Finally, the documentary andrea mentioned about trans representation in media is called Disclosure.

The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. andrea’s theme song was “La Demeure” by Stereolab.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded and produced by Hannah McGregor on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.