Landline with Mary Mahoney

We need to talk about Sarah, Plain and Tall. Yes, the children's book. Yes, it will make you cry. I'm joined by the brilliant Sara Petersen — writer of the In Pursuit of Clean Countertops newsletter and author of Momfluenced — to revisit Patricia MacLachlan's 1985 masterpiece, and I promise we are not being dramatic when we say it holds up. It more than holds up. It destroys you. We get into the very real and very wild 19th-century practice of advertising for a wife (one man received 794 letters, 13 daguerreotypes, and one thimble — just leaving that there), why Sarah Wheaton is a genuinely subversive heroine who would absolutely not survive the Ballerina Farm comment section, and what tradwife culture fundamentally misunderstands about what life on the prairie actually looked like for women. Spoiler: it was not sourdough and calico aesthetics. It was getting on the roof. We also talk grief and longing, Frontier House (the PBS show that radicalized a generation of history nerds), the Hemingway comparisons this book actually deserves, and why a scene involving three colored pencils might be the most emotionally efficient ending in American literature. Stay tuned for a future 411 episode connecting all of this to the longer history of Wives Wanted culture — and yes, 90 Day Fiancé.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Timestamps00:00 – Introduction: Why Sarah, Plain and Tall made us cry 05:30 – The real history of Wives Wanted ads (794 letters, 24 shirt buttons, one thimble) 13:00 – What this book is actually about: grief, longing, and Caleb's unanswerable question 22:00 – The yellow bonnet arrives: why Sarah puts everyone at ease immediately 27:00 – Tradwives vs. homesteaders: what trad wife culture gets completely wrong about the past 36:00 – Frontier House, Doctor Quinn, and our shared disease of prairie nostalgia 44:00 – The colored pencils ending, and why Patricia McLachlan is a geniusTranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1543EYkJM9RvhFTP3nh0Dy_mxzQOPO5DhxlLoINm0fUk/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] with Sara:Website: https://sara-petersen.com/ Twitter/X: @slouisepetersenInstagram: @slouisepetersen Book: Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer CultureNewsletter: In Pursuit of Clean CountertopsPodcast: Clean CountertopsLove the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline.Sponsor Message: Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb )  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why are we still so drawn to the Tudor era? Is it Henry VIII? His wives? The soap opera-level intrigue? I called up historian Nicola Clark, author of The Waiting Game, to talk about the women who were always in the background of this history, the ladies in waiting who served Henry VIII's six wives. These women were information brokers, diplomatic agents, reluctant witnesses, and fierce loyalists, often all at once. We get into orange-hidden messages, impossible loyalty oaths, the question of whether Anne of Cleves actually "won," and why we simply cannot stop talking about this era. Spoiler: Henry VIII is not actually that interesting. The women around him absolutely are. If you think you know the Tudor story, think again.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Timestamps00:00 – Catherine of Aragon could hold a grudge (a preview)02:32 – How long does it take to write a book like this?07:18 – So what actually is a lady in waiting?11:23 – Maria de Salinas and the Spanish archives nobody knew about18:37 – Messages hidden in oranges (yes, really)23:22 – Jane Parker: villain, victim, or just surviving?33:10 – Katherine Howard and the impossible tightrope52:09 – Why are we so obsessed with the Tudors?56:53 – The "girl bossification" of women in historyTranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MDd1xK5PoUuZf_pkv3a2VXQDM9l3kHtDeIDVAcG4Rd0/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] with Nicola Clark:Website: https://www.chi.ac.uk/people/nicola-clark/ Instagram: @nicolaclark86The Waiting Game: The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens: A History: https://bookshop.org/a/102042/9781639368099 Love the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline.Sponsor Message: Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb )  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oh, we're really doing this. This month's bonus episode is the one I didn't know I needed until I needed it desperately: a full deep dive into Xenon: Girl of the 21st Century, the DCOM that has genuinely never left my brain, and honestly, why would I want it to? I'm joined by editor extraordinaire and fellow Leo, Kat Brzozowski (of Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can't Quit American Girl fame), and we do not hold back. We talk costumes, we talk Raven-Symoné's criminally underused presence, we talk about Greg and his many, many crimes. We also get into what this movie actually got right about the future, why Protozoa is the only trustworthy man in the film, and what it means that we are — I cannot stress this enough — closer to 2049 than to 1999. Zetus lapetus, indeed.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Timestamps00:00 — Intro & how Kat and Mary found each other (via Kat’s sister scout, publishing lore, and American Girl) 09:00 — Rewatching Zenon: the opening sequence as a masterclass in show don't tell, Leo energy, and the costume theory 20:00 — Greg's crimes, Aunt Judy's chaos, and the case for Protozoa 36:00 — Technology, surveillance, and what 1999 got eerily right (and wrong) about the future 51:00 — Girl power, Raven-Symoné, and why this movie has aged surprisingly well 1:05:00 — Supernova Girl, the songwriters, and the music that still goes hard 1:20:00 — Final takes, AOL emails, Lance Bass almost going to space, and why Zenon deserved moreTranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cSyNza0TE2Ti0bFpDw51l9bW6eRnRKf7GVAu14dy6bQ/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] with Kat:Kat’s Substack: https://katbrzozowski.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katbrzozowski/Love the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline.Sponsor Message: Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb )  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I'm talking with author and producer Meredith Bagby about her book The New Guys, which follows the NASA astronaut class of 1978, the first to include women and people of color. We get into Sally Ride's complicated legacy (first American woman in space, closeted gay icon, accidental hero of the Challenger investigation), the very real dangers of flying on a shuttle whose O-rings had failed a dozen times before anyone died, and what it means to celebrate diversity milestones when the culture is actively trying to erase them. Also: Ron McNair playing saxophone in space, Shannon Lucid befriending a canary in a freezing Russian apartment, and Judy Resnick telling Tom Brokaw where he could stick his roses. Kristen Stewart is playing Sally Ride in the Amazon series adaptation, and I genuinely cannot wait.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps00:00 Intro & Patreon updates01:20 Why Mary ended up reading a space book (thanks, Taylor Jenkins Reid)03:12 Meredith watched Challenger explode live as a kid — and never forgot it05:12 The class of '78: the first astronauts who didn't all look the same07:38 Sally Ride's hero's journey: lost friends, investigated her bosses, kept a secret13:58 The Challenger investigation — O-rings, cover-ups, and a document slipped to Sally18:21 How the women in the class handled the media, the sexism, and each other24:47 Ron McNair: physicist, jazz saxophonist, one of the greats27:42 Military pilots vs. Berkeley scientists — the culture clash inside NASA31:52 Anna Fisher: surgeon, astronaut, first mom in space34:00 Shannon Lucid: hid her pregnancies, aced a final two days after giving birth, lived alone in Russia with a canary42:00 How politics and budgets shaped the Challenger disaster48:00 What this history means now — DEI rollbacks, erasure, and why these stories still matter55:30 The Amazon series, Kristen Stewart as Sally, and new Challenger revelations57:30 Outro — Patreon, Instagram, and Jessica Fletcher memesTranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sJYZv8iwMI4BvEcFbyi8xZ5osq7KINYVpglZbcqkIUk/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] with Meredith Bagby:Website: https://www.meredithebagby.com/ Twitter/X: https://www.tiktok.com/@merbagby Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merbagby/ Book: The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space TravelLove the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline.Sponsor Message: Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb )  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to be a WNBA fan, and can we find the answer in fashion? I talked with digital media artist and archivist Hypatia Sorunke about A Women’s Basketball Fashion Archive, a project focused on documenting the expression of the global community of people who love women’s basketball. The premier project, “The Fitted W,” chronicled 1500+ archival film photos at 50+ games in 12 major cities across the United States. We get into queer community, the politics of visibility, how fandom cultures evolve, and why that jean jacket covered in defunct team patches found in Connecticut is basically a primary source. What are the best-dressed WNBA cities? The Worst? Yes, we get into it. I also share my feelings about the CT Sun moving to Houston, which I'm handling totally fine.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps0:00 — Patreon announcements1:30 — Intro to WNBA fandom and what you'll see at a game7:39 — What is the A Women’s Basketball Fashion Archive and The Fitted W 10:15 — From the Great Migration to the WNBA: the research origin story15:33 — What makes WNBA fan spaces different17:26 — What Hypatia found traveling to 12 cities in 202421:17 — Fan fashion: homemade merch, vintage jerseys, and the fangirl vs. fashion spectrum27:28 — Gatekeeping, the Caitlin Clark effect, and the Don't Be a Cheryl shirt38:17 — The politics of team ownership, Indiana, and racialized history41:39 — Connecticut Sun feelings (mine, specifically)48:55 — Can fan culture keep the W from going fully corporate?54:13 — Best and worst dressed cities (we went there)1:05:40 — What this project is really about: documenting marginalized joy1:08:31 — The Fitted W as book: why Hypatia refused to just make a photo dumpTranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TB_xImPdbGFGx9JEffdfV8kwiSoDY9pRXin3HcWnbI8/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] with guest Hypatia Sorunke — digital media artist and archivistA Women’s Basketball Fashion Archive: https://www.awomensbasketballfashionarchive.com/info The Fitted W (lookbook) — https://notesofhype.bigcartel.com/product/the-fitted-w Hypatia's Vogue piece on the 2024 WNBA Finals — https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/i-traveled-to-40-liberty-games-this-season Hypatia's essay via Barnard —https://zines.barnard.edu/news/sport-organizing-black-action-heroine-hypatia-sorunke Hypatia on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/itshypatia/ Follow the FittedW:https://www.instagram.com/fittedwbb/ Love the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other pop culture and history lovers find Landline.Sponsor Message: Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb )  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is turning 40 a big deal? Am I headed for a midlife crisis? This week I'm joined by the brilliant Corinne Fay of Big Undies to dig into the actual history behind the midlife crisis (spoiler: it was invented in 1965, mostly about men, and honestly feels like a Mad Men episode). We trace the significance of "40" from Biblical floods to actuarial science to Gail Sheehy's hugely influential 1976 book Passages, and ask whether any of this is even real. We also review some truly unhinged celebrity 40th-birthday celebrations, including one that features a hologram of a dead father (!), and draft our personal role models for this stage of life. Angela Lansbury, Nicole Kidman's divorce photo, and Corinne's nephew all make the list. Perimenopause, Saturn's return, and Justin Timberlake's DWI also come up, because of course they do.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps00:00 – Intro & Patreon shoutout (Divas Live bonus episode, zine workshop)01:11 – Meet Corinne Fay: Big Undies newsletter, Burnt Toast podcast, and freshly 4002:47 – Moving to Patreon: what they love, what they miss about Substack05:46 – Astrology check-in: Capricorn, Leo, Saturn's return, and what it all means08:10 – Mary's turning 40 a week after her son turns one10:30 – How Corinne celebrated her 40th (a solo trip to Marfa, Texas)16:38 – Why did 40 become a milestone? The history begins20:07 – The number 40 in the Bible, the Middle Ages, and actuarial science23:20 – Freud, Jung, and psychology's role in defining midlife25:04 – Elliott Jacques coins "midlife crisis" in 1965 (spoiler: it's mostly about men)27:16 – Perimenopause enters the chat37:24 – Gail Sheehy's Passages and "the deadline decade"43:17 – Celebrity 40th birthday review: Oprah, Elizabeth Taylor, Kate Moss52:09 – Kim Kardashian's pandemic island birthday and the hologram gift59:26 – Draft: role models for turning 40 (Nicole Kidman, Angela Lansbury, Queen Latifah)1:07:06 – Who NOT to be like at 40 (Justin Timberlake, Don Draper, Gwen Stefani)1:09:45 – Closing wisdom and advice for turning 40Full episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Rl5nBjcfgmEqUZTRPi2p22AYMQkV3KG_W43xKYNtOE/edit?usp=sharing Love the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline.Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] with Corinne:Subscribe to Big Undies!: https://www.patreon.com/cw/BigUndies TikTok: @SelfieFayInstagram: @SelfieFayListen to Burnt Toast: https://www.patreon.com/cw/virginiasolesmith Want even more resources, deep dives, and behind-the-scenes context on this episode's topics? Patreon members get access to my exclusive newsletter with extended research, additional links, and insights that didn't make it into the show. You can get the weekly newsletter when you join for free. Paid members get a monthly bonus episode and a weekly newsletter of things I'm loving in pop culture.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Sponsor Message: Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb )  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1998, VH1 gathered Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, and Carole King on one stage to raise money for music education — and accidentally created one of the most revealing documents of its era. I'm joined by music scholar Kwame Ocran to relive Divas Live in full: the Tommy Mottola sabotage plot hiding in plain sight, why Celine Dion dedicated My Heart Will Go On to the actual Titanic victims mid-concert, what happened when Aretha Franklin heard the air conditioning turn on, and who in that lineup was truly a diva versus who just crimped their hair and hoped for the best. We also get into the neoliberal defunding of arts education, the gendered double standard baked into the word "diva" itself, and why we are not going to be saying Jennifer Lopez's name on this episode. (We said it once. That's the limit.) Pop culture, meet context.Want to hear the full episode? Plus get access to resources, deep dives, and behind-the-scenes context on this episode's topics? Patreon members get access to my exclusive newsletter with extended research, additional links, and insights that didn't make it into the show. You can get the weekly newsletter when you join for free. Paid members get a monthly bonus episode and a weekly newsletter of things I'm loving in pop culture. Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] with Kwame:Website: https://music.sas.upenn.edu/people/kwame-ocran Links: https://linktr.ee/KwameOcran Love the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You know the logo. You definitely had the jeans. But do you know the full story? I called up historian Aimee Loiselle to unpack what Baby Phat actually tells us about hip hop entrepreneurship, fast fashion, global labor, and why hustle culture never really lets you off the hamster wheel. We get into Kimora Lee and the history of Baby Phat, the real woman behind Norma Rae (who doesn't get enough play in Sally Field's memoir), and why your stretchy leggings are literally made of petroleum. Also: Kathie Lee Gifford cried on television, and it's more relevant than you think.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps0:07 — Welcome & episode intro: TikTok girlbosses, drop shipping culture, and why Baby Phat is the millennial lens on all of it2:23 — Introducing Aimee Loiselle and Beyond Norma Rae: 6:01 — The real story behind the movie: who Crystal Lee Sutton actually was and what the film got wrong11:09 — Why pop culture is powerful AND dangerous: how Hollywood flattens labor history into one heroic white woman on a table19:36 — Aimee's research pivot: from Puerto Rican needleworkers to hip hop fashion empires, or: how global supply chains made Baby Phat possible25:51 — The Baby Phat logo, the Siamese cat, and how celebrities like Russell Simmons and Jay-Z built billion-dollar brands without ever touching a factory31:41 — Russell Simmons, Def Jam, and the rise of hip hop entrepreneurship: the good, the complicated, and the very bad38:00 — Kimora Lee's origin story: from being bullied in St. Louis to Karl Lagerfeld calling her "the face of the 21st century"43:00 — How Baby Phat was born, hit $265 million in revenue, and got sold to Kellwood for $140 million51:00 — The wilderness years: bigamy, catfishing, fabulosity, and how Kimora bought her brand back57:00 — The relaunch era: daughters on the runway, Ice Spice on the red carpet, and selling on Shein1:03:51 — What neoliberalism actually means, why "late stage capitalism" is not Aimee's thing, and why your students still shop at Shein even after seeing the factory photos1:10:39 — Kimora as the ultimate neoliberal subject: when being a fashion icon is literally your job1:16:01 — The Kathie Lee Gifford connection: child labor, televised tears, and why she belongs in Aimee’s second bookFurther Reading:Check out Aimee’s book! Beyond Norma Rae: How Puerto Rican and Southern White Women Fought for a Place in the American Working Class. “Baby Phat Is Back! How Kimora Lee Simmons Revived Her Iconic Y2K Brand.” Vogue. September 29, 2023. https://www.vogue.com/article/baby-phat-revival-kimora-lee-simmons.Want even more resources, deep dives, and behind-the-scenes context on this episode's topics? Patreon members get access to my exclusive newsletter with extended research, additional links, and insights that didn't make it into the show. You can get the weekly newsletter when you join for free. Paid members get a monthly bonus episode and a weekly newsletter of things I'm loving in pop culture.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney TranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zuLPSwf4giQPVzx4alHP2cHkH5RI6OUKcP2bAyUmbCo/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline.Connect with Aimee Loiselle:Website: https://www.aimeeloiselle.com/about/ Beyond Norma Rae: How Puerto Rican and Southern White Women Fought for a Place in the American Working Class. Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb )  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My Gen Z friend Erin Shapland, librarian, K-pop enthusiast, and person who has never heard of TRL, joins me for a generational exchange on purity culture and pop. In part 1, Erin takes me through the world of K-pop: the management companies that sign kids at 12, the fan communities that send funeral wreaths when an idol is caught kissing his girlfriend, and the ways patriarchy manages to victimize literally everyone. Meet us on Patreon for part two, where I take Erin through the absolute chaos of how we treated women pop stars in the 90s and 2000s, and try to describe the beauty/mess that was TRL. Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps00:00 - Intro: TRL, K-pop, and a generational knowledge gap that keeps me up at night08:06 - How Erin got into K-pop and the short version of what the "celibacy police" are10:33 - How K-pop groups are formed: the four major management companies and the making-the-band pipeline12:11 - control and contracts: how idols are signed as young as 12 and go six figures into debt before they ever debut16:08 - The no-dating clause, dating scandals, and what happens when a paparazzi photo ruins everything before you even debut22:05 - Fan service, the male gaze, and the weird contradiction of hyper-sexual performances from people who are publicly not allowed to be sexual beings29:17 - Queerness in K-pop: fan fiction, fetishization, and the idols people just sort of... know42:50 - Fan communities vs. management companies: who's actually in control here?50:37 - But where's the joy? Photo cards, fan meetups, and why K-pop is genuinely a great time55:18 - What's next: Erin's starter playlist and a preview of part two on PatreonResources & Links MentionedRadiolab's 2016 piece on the first K-pop paparazzi scandal involving Jonghyun of SHINee (transcript: https://radiolab.org/podcast/kpoparazzi/transcript )Jenna Gibson, Ph.D. on fan communities and idol image management (select media: https://jennargibson.com/media-appearances/ )Stray Kids — the 2017 JYP survival show that formed the group Stray Kids (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stray_Kids_(TV_program)) XO Kitty on Netflix — Mary's gateway K-pop-adjacent contentKi (Kim Ki-bum) of SHINee's collaboration with John Cameron Mitchell, "Sugar Daddy" (link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stCKYgiu9-0 ) Stray Kids' Han and Lino / Min Sang — for the rabbit hole Erin mentions (link: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Han/Lee_Know ) Erin’s amazing playlist: “K-Pop for New Recruits, a k-pop starter pack for millennial baddiesss” (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1O0bVXFWhidBy9HaSTjoyI?si=dcc5270038cd4386)Want even more resources, deep dives, and behind-the-scenes context on this episode's topics? Patreon members get access to my exclusive newsletter with extended research, additional links, and insights that didn't make it into the show. You can get the weekly newsletter when you join for free. Paid members get a monthly bonus episode and a weekly newsletter of things I'm loving in pop culture.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney TranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ipi7KrP2BqnorZoO5VXXvN3-vgo2CZAyzyZn4-cU7_c/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline.Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb ) Landline is an interview-based podcast exploring pop culture and history, hosted by Mary Mahoney. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's my turn. I take my Gen Z friend Erin — a K-pop expert who has never heard of TRL — on a journey through the late 90s and early 2000s, when the media decided that women pop stars needed to be simultaneously sexy and virginal, and then punished them for both. We're talking Britney, Christina, Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake doing the absolute most on Barbara Walters, and how Ronald Reagan is somehow responsible for all of it. This is a preview of this month's patreon episode. Join today to hear the rest of the episode! Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Historian Monica Mercado joins me to explore nineteenth-century utopian communities — from the polyamorous, silverware-making Oneida community to the celibate, achingly chic Shakers — and what draws people to radical experiments in communal living then and now. We get into charismatic male leaders who will always, always disappoint you, why the Shakers are having a moment (three members and counting!), and how nuns, queer culture, and Oprah Winfrey might all be connected. Spoiler alert: building a better world is not easy, but someone has to do it.Timestamps00:00 - Intro: TikTok nuns, convent summers, and the desire to leave society05:59 - Setting the scene: the "burned over district" and 19th-century utopian movements in upstate New York11:18 - Oneida: complex marriage, male continence, and why the silverware in your drawer might have a complicated history21:10 - Where Oneida goes wrong: eugenics, the government crackdown, and the charismatic male leader who runs away to Canada27:23 - Enter the Shakers: celibacy, beautiful furniture, and a female founder who said God is both woman and man36:18 - The last Shakers: Brother Arnold, Sister June, and the new member who just boosted global numbers to three48:07 - Nuns now: who's joining convents today, student loan debt as a barrier to entry, and the old nuns making protest signs on Facebook1:06:24 - Final thoughts: what utopian communities teach us about actually building (not just imagining) a better worldResources & Links Mentioned"I Am Anne Lee" by Eileen Myles (https://lithub.com/a-prose-poem-by-eileen-myles-ann-lee/ ) Visit the Oneida Mansion House — museum, B&B, and historic site in Oneida, NY (oneidacommunity.org)Ellen Wayland-Smith's Oneida: From Free Love Utopia to the Well-Set Table (https://bookshop.org/a/102042/9781250131867 )Visit Shaker sites: Hancock Shaker Village — the Shaker museum Mary visited in Pittsfield, MA (hancockshakervillage.org).  Shakers upstate (Albany, Chatham/Mount Lebanon. Sabbath Day Lake Shaker Village — home of the last living Shakers in New Gloucester, Maine (maineshakers.com)There Are NO Black Shakers is a contemporary folk opera re-interpreting traditional Shaker hymns to tell the very true story of Prime Lane, a free Black man who joined the Shaker Society in Albany in 1802.The New York Times profile of Brother Arnold and Sister June (2024)The New York Times coverage of Sister April joining the Shakers (2025)The AP on young nuns and student debt (https://apnews.com/article/young-nuns-catholic-student-debt-aging-4d61e7ed31df84f3879b119022cc170f)  and sustainable nuns! (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/st-anthony-messenger/the-nuns-are-ok-building-a-sustainable-future-for-women-religious/) Want even more resources, deep dives, and behind-the-scenes context on this episode's topics? Patreon members get access to my exclusive newsletter with extended research, additional links, and insights that didn't make it into the show. You can get the weekly newsletter when you join for free. Paid members get a monthly bonus episode and a weekly newsletter of things I'm loving in pop culture.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoneyTranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14R54vWfai4WiYdI7EqBuMuJJnDBMRj3wpwrBVZW6oBs/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other pop culture and history lovers find Landline.Guest InformationConnect with Monica Mercado:Website: https://monicalmercado.com/ Follow Monica’s convent research trips here: https://www.american-religion.org/empty-places/lorettoLandline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Sign up today to enjoy audiobooks and support local bookstores! (link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb)Landline is an interview-based podcast exploring pop culture and history, hosted by Mary Mahoney. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sports journalist Frankie de la Cretaz joins me to talk about Heated Rivalry, the queer hockey romance that has straight women yelling "kiss!" at NHL games. We get into what that phenomenon reveals about MLM romance, consent in different queer communities, and the complicated politics of who gets to consume queer culture. We also dive into Frankie's experience defeating Boston's 2024 Olympic bid, the PWHL's ICE funding problem, my Lilith Fair kidnapping story, going to Camp Gaylor, and why Lake Placid's Olympic Village is still a functioning prison. This episode is longer than usual because we kept discovering shared obsessions—I laughed until I cried and learned so much.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps[00:00] Intro: Women yelling "kiss" at NHL games[02:19] Meeting Frankie and Super Bowl hot takes[10:05] Frankie's role in defeating Boston's 2024 Olympic bid[15:53] Lake Placid's Olympic Village-turned-prison (still operational!)[18:34] Olympics as political propaganda and anti-trans victory laps[24:57] USA Hockey's trans ban and the silence of women's hockey players[26:56] The PWHL's Mark Walter problem: funding ICE while having moments of silence[30:02] The NHL's viewership crisis and opportunistic embrace of Heated Rivalry[34:41] The "kiss" chants at NHL games[39:02] Mary's Lilith Fair kidnapping story[47:09] Going to Camp Gaylor and writing about it for Cosmo[50:34] Why the Gaylor community matters beyond Taylor's actual sexuality[57:17] Introduction to Heated Rivalry: the show, the books, the obsession[1:02:03] The brilliant narrative adaptation from books to show[1:04:10] It's NOT a happy ending—they got caught, not liberated[1:09:47] Why straight women love MLM romance (and it's complicated)[1:14:21] Cruising culture, consent, and how it works in gay male spaces[1:28:40] Will sapphic sports stories get the same attention?[1:30:34] Pitching the National Women's Football League as a TV series[1:33:18] What queer sports storytelling should look like going forward[1:35:07] Book recommendations: Kate Cochran, KT Hoffman, Victoria Zeller[1:42:10] The Sochi Olympics, Tattoo, and Heated Rivalry coming full circle[1:47:48] Wrapping up: Subscribe, support, and join the conversationResources & Links MentionedBooks We Recommend:Frankie de la Cretaz. Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League Adam Berg. The Olympics that Never Happened: Denver ‘76 and the Politics of GrowthKate Cochrane. Wake Up, Nat & DarcyKT Hoffman. The ProspectsFurther Reading:Frankie de la Cretaz. Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League Frankie de la Cretaz.“In the Field: An Interview with Sapphic Woho Romance Author Kate Cochrane.” Out of Your League, December 23, 2025. https://www.thefrankiedlc.news/p/in-the-field-kate-cochrane. Frankie de la Cretaz. “Sorry but I Don’t Give a Fuck That the NHL Has Embraced ‘Heated Rivalry.’” Out of Your League, December 26, 2025. https://www.thefrankiedlc.news/p/sorry-but-i-don-t-give-a-fuck-that-the-nhl-has-embraced-heated-rivalry. TranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v7jr_E2ipmYT4AWv84N9WXGpR6RQErwXyLfjvUkrzcE/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline.Frankie de la Cretaz Resources:Website: https://www.britnidlc.com/ Out Of Your League: https://www.thefrankiedlc.news/ Book: Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League Instagram | Threads | BlueSkyLandline is an interview-based podcast exploring pop culture and history, hosted by Mary Mahoney. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm so excited to welcome my wife, librarian Anna Newman, for a conversation about navigating children's literature as new parents to our son Max. We discuss the joy and challenges of early parenthood, revisiting beloved childhood books that haven't aged well, and how we're thinking about introducing Max to classic stories—including whether problematic favorites like The Giving Tree and certain American Girl books have a place on his bookshelf.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Figure skating journalist, coach, and writer Maura Sullivan Hill joins me to discuss what I'm predicting will be an extremely messy Winter Olympics. We talk about the lore surrounding today's figure skaters, the politics baked into every aspect of the sport, and why—spoiler alert—Michelle Kwan should have won the gold medal. Plus, Maura breaks my heart by confirming the pachinko is not technically possible.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps00:00 - Introduction and welcoming Maura Sullivan Hill03:13 - About Maura's book "Legends of Women's Figure Skating."08:18 - Figure skating as a lens for understanding culture and politics13:31 - The 2002 Salt Lake City judging scandal15:26 - Old 6.0 system vs. new International Judging System20:22 - U.S. women's team: Amber Glenn, Alyssa Liu, Isabeau Levito28:28 - Amber Glenn as an openly pansexual athlete34:25 - Music selection and music rights issues43:12 - The French team controversy and Gabriella Papadakis's memoir53:39 - Same-sex ice dancing partnerships1:01:02 - Deanna Stellato-Dudek competing at age 421:04:38 - Men's figure skating and Ilya Malinin1:07:58 - Maxime Naumov's story after the 2024 plane crash1:09:38 - Citizenship and nationalism in figure skating1:19:45 - Closing and Patreon watch party infoFurther Reading/Viewing:Check out Maura’s Book, Legends of Women’s Figure Skating Finding Her Edge (Netflix). Is this great? No. Is it fun? Absolutely. The Cutting Edge. A classic. Want even more resources, deep dives, and behind-the-scenes context on this episode's topics? Patreon members get access to my exclusive newsletter with extended research, additional links, and insights that didn't make it into the show. You can get the weekly newsletter when you join for free. Paid members get a monthly bonus episode, access to my AIM Buddly List chat, and more!Become a Patreon member →Read the full episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oPLlyYTke-HjI7B4DsWTgqJuDuzGJ7cM5s8nlJzHBDE/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] with Maura:Website: https://www.maurasullivanhill.com/ Instagram: @maura_sullivan_hill Check out Maura’s book, Legends of Women’s Figure SkatingLove the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

American Girl is turning 40 this year (same, honestly), and with that milestone comes some reckoning with their original books. A few years ago, they quietly released revised editions of some classics, including "Kirsten Learns a Lesson"—the book where Swedish immigrant Kirsten befriends an Indigenous girl named Singing Bird, they somehow communicate without language, and then Singing Bird's family just...leaves Minnesota voluntarily at the end. For my first episode of Landline, I call up Colette Denalie Dion Montoya, an indigenous researcher and librarian, to help me understand what American Girl changed in the new edition and whether swapping out words like "savage" actually addresses the deeply colonial narrative at the heart of this story. We talk about representation, nostalgia versus history, the insidious ways racism gets re-coded, and why Pleasant Rowland collaborating with Barbie feels like a betrayal.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps00:00 — Why American Girl Made Millennials Like ThisMain character energy, history-as-personality, and the doll books that rewired our brains.07:00 — “American Girl Is in Its Hot Mess Era”Mattel, quiet revisions, and why the 40th anniversary feels… tense.12:00 — The Plot of Kirsten Learns a Lesson (Red Flags Included)Secret forest meetings, “Indian friends,” and who gets to claim land as “home.”23:30 — What American Girl Changed (and What They Didn’t)From “savages” to “treaties”: how blame quietly moves off settlers and onto “the government.”38:00 — Nostalgia vs. HistoryWhy revisions, Barbie collabs, and 90s dolls reveal what the brand values now.Further Reading/Viewing:Cooperative Children’s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Diversity Statistics and Graphics: https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/literature-resources/ccbc-diversity-statistics/ LibGuides: Native American Literature: Children’s Books (from Ohio Northern University): https://library.onu.edu/c.php?g=1279965&p=9394796 “Manifest Destiny” in The American Yawp (a collaborative textbook on American history) “Running Zach” episode of Saved by the Bell, which its star discussed (and apologized for) on a later rewatch podcast, Zack to the Future. Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can’t Quit American Girl (full disclosure: I co-wrote this unhinged history of a brand that has meant a lot to me!) Want even more resources, deep dives, and behind-the-scenes context on this episode's topics? Patreon members get access to my exclusive newsletter with extended research, additional links, and insights that didn't make it into the show. You can get the weekly newsletter when you join for free. Paid members get a monthly bonus episode, access to my AIM Buddly List chat, and more! Become a Patreon member →Read the full episode transcript here: (link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GY9vpEsF4CPdkcppujqW5gXKLY_u4xl7mfguine7DxY/edit?usp=sharing ) Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyConnect with Colette: Instagram: @colettka_cutletka Love the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Landline is the podcast where pop culture gets some context. Hosted by historian Mary Mahoney—your millennial friend with too many interests and not enough friends willing to talk on the phone—each episode calls up guests to connect today’s celebrity culture, internet trends, TV, music, and movies to the histories that explain why it all feels so familiar (even if it’s not).Blending non-boring history, sharp cultural analysis, and the intimacy of a private phone call, Landline helps listeners make sense of the present by dialing into the past.Want more Landline? Join Landline on Patreon. You’ll get a weekly newsletter and bi-weekly episodes delivered to you all for free. For $5 a month, you can get a bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of links and recommendations, chat with other listeners about all things pop culture and history, suggest topics for future episodes, and more!Full transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BHkqtU7EJ8537Uo2wlSURrKMZiLx_tByVFs6P_bL4rU/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoney Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.