I was not quite three sentences into my Substack writing career when I made this admission: “I get stupidly star-struck, when the star in question is someone I believe to be famous for being very smart.”

At the time, I was referring to Chris Hayes of MSNBC, who didn’t deserve the praise, but you know who does? Today’s guest, Meghan Daum!

Meghan has written for magazines ranging from Vogue to The New Yorker. She’s been a columnist at the Los Angeles Times, and she’s the author of six books, including most recently the New York Times Notable Book “The Problem with Everything”, which one reviewer called “a lifeline thrown to those of us who feel we’re drowning in nonsense.”

Her solo podcast ‘The Unspeakable’, is a show about ideas, and not just those pointing straight at gender madness. Still, Meghan has managed to engage all the leading lights in our little corner of the heterodoxy: Sasha Ayad, Lisa Selin Davis, Abigail Shrier, Jamie Reed, Pamela Paul, Corinna Cohn, Colin Wright, Buck Angel, Kathleen Stock, Jesse Singal, Katie Herzog, and more. For someone who isn’t narrowly focused on ‘gender,’ I don’t think there’s another podcaster whose command of the subject is as complete and granular as Meghan’s. I’d be surprised if I know anything she doesn’t, and I’m about as narrowly focused as you can get.

Listeners who have followed the Tickle v Giggle story out of Australia will be interested to hear about Meghan’s own women-only online community, which she dubbed The Unspeakeasy and launched in 2022. I’m a member, and if you’re a woman whose daily life could use more meaningful interactions of the kind you’re about to enjoy in this episode, you might want to check it out too.

Links:

The Unspeakeasy online community for women

Meghan’s X/Twitter account

MY brand new X/Twitter account, which Meghan persuaded me to get. PLEASE FOLLOW ME, as it would be nice to have a follower!

Meghan’s first interview with Sasha Ayad on The Unspeakable Podcast

Meghan’s interview with Andrew Sullivan, which graphically enhanced my ‘trans’ sex education

Meghan’s interview with ‘exotic conservative therapist’ Dea Bridge: “Do only liberals go to therapy?”

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