S3 Ep. 6: The Language of Abuse: Rene Denfeld and Megan Phelps-Roper on Private and Public Violence in the Trump Era

In this episode, writers Rene Denfeld and Megan Phelps-Roper talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about how the private language of abuse has infected the political rhetoric of the Trump era. Denfeld discusses her work as a licensed investigator and talks about writing about verbal abuse, as well as the difference between investing in mass incarceration and investing in justice; Phelps-Roper recounts how she thought about language and audience as a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, and how she considers the same thing now that she has left it.To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below.Guests: Rene Denfeld Megan Phelps-Roper Readings for the Episode:Rene Denfeld The Butterfly Girl The Child Finder The Enchanted Megan Phelps-Roper Unfollow I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left, TEDNYC Talk, February 2017 Others Sonia Sotomayor Raises the Alarm Over Border Patrol’s Lawless Brutality: The Supreme Court is poised to remove all constitutional limits on border agents’ ability to kill. by Mark Joseph Stern, Slate.com, Nov. 13, 2019 Rape is rampant at this women’s prison. Anyone who complains is punished, lawsuit says. by Romy Ellenbogen, The Miami Herald, Dec. 4, 2019 The 25 women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, by Eliza Reiman, Business Insider, Oct. 9, 2019 The Language of the Trump Administration Is the Language of Domestic Violence, by Jessica Winter, NewYorker.com, June 11, 2018 Men in Power and the Lies They Tell: On Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump, and the Malleability of Truth, by Lacy Johnson, LitHub, Oct. 2, 2019 Topeka Church Protests at Bethesda's Walt Whitman School Over Poet's Sexuality, by Daniel de Vise, The Washington Post, April 25, 2009 "A Humanist View," by Toni Morrison, speech given at Portland State University, May 30, 1975. Transcribed by Keisha E. McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.