Brutal Vulnerability

For our season finale, we explore the iconic bond between a girl with too much money & not enough love and an animal with absolutely zero agency. Hosts Lauren McQ & Rebecca Rush know from experience that wild hearts can't be broken. You know who else knows that? HORSE GIRLS. What is a horse girl and why does everyone hate them? Why are men so jealous of horses? Barn hierarchies, urban dictionary, reddit, and horse girl humor. Bonus: horse women Patreon: Rebecca's horse girl fails -- as an eight year old, as a camp counselor who was exiled to horseback staff, and the toxic barn dynamics that summer in Georgia. Upon google search only the camp's website comes up over and over which we all know is SUS. The stories that were scrubbed from google for only $5 a month! We will also be uploading new bonus eps during our winter break. See you there!   And a huge thank you to our listeners. There would have been no season two without you!

For the penultimate episode of season two: belonging, hosts Lauren McQ and Rebecca Rush retreat into the wide world of psychedelics as medicine with special guest Brittany Wilson of Original Instruction School. Brittany is an herbalist and midwife who has lived with indigenous cultures in South America and has been leading ayahuasca retreats for over a decade. The ladies discuss how most plant medicine doesn't get you high, tech bros, the dubious backgrounds of white shamans, Rhythmia in Costa Rica, and group dynamics.   On Patreon, Rebecca interviews Rosemary Gladstar, mother of modern herbalism and founder of California School of Herbal Studies.    

Lauren's Teal Swan episode as she brings us into a world she knows as intimately as her waking life -- comic book heroes, heroines, and anti-heroes. The simplicity of knowing who to root for in a land of goodies and baddies. Feeling like as a woman, one had to know more about everything and must always be ready to be quizzed on Star Wars by anyone. The empowerment that comes with identifying with superheroes. Cosplay / comic con / autism overlap and what accomodations could be made by comic cons for their disproportionately neurodivergent fanbase. Want more personal, nobody but our besties know them stories? Head on over to our Patreon where for $5 a month, you get four bonus video episodes, a master book list, access to our close friends list on Insta, free yoga, and more!

Hosts Lauren McQ and Rebecca Rush explore the ultimate in topics polite ladies don't discuss, the incredible, edible (maybe) menses. Period huts, red tents, witch imagery, gathering together to tell stories at the end of the month, religious taboos, indigenous practices, cultural taboos, herbal allies, and let us not forget Meghan Markle's work to end period stigma. God save the period! Rebecca reads a personal essay about getting her first period on the day of her Bat Mitzvah (Today you are a woman. Tomorrow you return to 8th grade. ) On Patreon, Lauren discusses painful periods and the shaming, blaming, and misinformation surrounding them while Rebecca shares some beauty and art hacks.

Go on, have a little pyramid scheme income as a treat. Become a coffee shop missionary and have your church pay you to hang out in one all day. They aren't regular Christians, they are COOL CHRISTIANS. Hosts Rebecca Rush and Lauren McQ wanted to understand WHY people can't just be happy enough with their own beliefs and have to go trying to force them on others. White savior complex, a free ride, and a chance to travel the world made sense. Social media as just a new way for the church to control the narrative. Influencers for Jesus believe that Jesus brought them the abundance they have, and not, say, inherited wealth.   On Patreon Rebecca discusses the joy of messing with missionaries in Thailand.

If there's anything more insiduous than a good ole fashioned American pyramid scheme it's once we involve the wellness industry. Snake essential oil salesman, the real customer is you, the 'salesforce', Anti MLM Reddit (ofc). Hosts Lauren McQ and Rebecca Rush bring you all the wild details on Herbalife,  Doterra, and the satanic panic currently surrounding Mormon essential oil brand Young Living. Oh, by the way, therapeutic grade is totally made up! On Patreon Lauren discusses how she got involved with and ALMOST became a Beach Body coach while Rebecca talks about all the MLM's she's watched ppl get caught up in and how much more sense they made before we bought everything on our phones. Girls from high school in ur dms selling candles.

Find out why the studio Rebecca once called Yoga to SOME People shut down in 2020-- because it wasn't the pandemic. Hosts Lauren McQ & Rebecca Rush present to you the weird world of lesser known yoga cults. Comprehensive reporting and analysis of YTTP scandal & John Friend's anusara. Also, why is LA so ripe for cults (attachment wound, anyone?) Lauren teaches how to avoid accidentally joining a yoga cult, types of yoga cults, and Father Yod and the Source Family. On Patreon Rebecca interviews her fav yoga teacher who is not a cult leader, Kim Abraham of Kitchen Gallery Yoga in New London, CT.   https://patreon.com/BrutalVulnerability

Benefit from Rebecca's seven year hyperfixation on controversial spiritual teacher Teal Swan. A stream of consciousness interview guided by cohost Lauren McQ. The Deep End documentary, the Gateway podcast limited series.The completion process, synchronicity, saying hard things, where does all this knowledge come from, implanted memories, and more.  Content Warning: Suicide. On Patreon Rebecca details her completion process experiences.   https://patreon.com/BrutalVulnerability https://instagram.com/BrutalVulnerability  

Call Lauren & Rebecca now for your free tarot reading and sue us later! The psychic hotline boom of the 90's and lawsuits of the 2000's. Miss Cleo, Hotline (doc), CaliforniaPsychics.com, The best reddit has to offer on the topic, the types of people that call psychic hotlines, and a behind the scenes look at both a con man and a person who genuinely believed they were helping people. AND! What it's like working at a psychic hotline in 2022! On Patreon Lauren and Rebecca divulge juicy details from personal psychic readings.

Cohousing: Is It The Post Covid Cure All We Need? With the way the pandemic floored the rate of skyrocketing costs of living, the anguish of our isolated lives, and the terrors of climate change it wasn't shocking to me to find out that applications at Bergholt Hall, one of Britain's oldest farming communes increased six-fold the past year. Intentional housing, or cohousing, typically exists in communities small enough for everyone to know each other, where there is shared space and gardens along with relatively smaller stand alone single household units.  Some, like Lost Valley in Oregon, founded in 1988, serve as an educational and conference center, some, like Mariposa Grove in Oakland, seeks to provide community, affordable housing, and the sharing of resources for those living in the bottom 30% of income in the Bay Area.  Whatever the vision and mission that unites them, cohousers firmly believe that cooperation allows them to live lighter on the planet, is easier, more interesting, more fun, and more economical.  While more people may be drawn toward cohousing in the coming years even more may learn from them and make small changes in their life toward community and sustainability. ALSO! The shadow side of community. On Patreon they discuss times & places they felt truly a part of a tribe. Follow us on our beautifully curated Instagram page!

For this episode Lauren McQ takes us on a ride through the Satanic Panic that swept America in the 70's and 80's. Christian fundamentalism, MK Ultra, ritualistic aspects to various serial killers MO's including the zodiac and alphabet killers. Michelle remembers, day care centers, the man who killed Halloween, and more. On Patreon Lauren discusses her own experiences with abuse. Patreon Instagram

Welcome to the Burning Man missive, an ep so nice it has a Patreon twice. Documentaries were watched and Twitter weirdos hit up, but the gold came from Radical Ritual (2019) by Neil Shister, an impressive work of journalism that skillfully paints a montage of a soul exploding celebration of creative freedom. Burning things to cleanse your soul, SF in the 80's, gifting culture, leave no trace, Larry Harvey, art installations, Black Rock City, burners without borders, playa magic, your self as gift. The main episode closes w an interview w the pod's fav burner -- a member of the legion of Mollys, @forest_molly. It's not your job -- it's your turn. Patreon ($5 a month for 4 hella personal video episodes on each topic and heaps more) Instagram

Lauren takes the lead as we seek to understand the Disney Adult pipeline. Golden Oak (a gated disney community) & Celebration murders, a bit of a history into Walt, the feral cats of Disneyland, weddings at the park, renting the whole thing out for WHATEVER, what it's like to work at the park, and how connected we are to the Disney movies that came out at certain times in our own development. On Patreon, comedian Jeena Bloom joins to discuss the time she and Rebecca went to Disneyland California with an actual Dis Dis Adult. & follow us on Instagram for everything BV & please give us a review if you're enjoying yourself.  

Two of the original influencers, Kenneth Hash (partygay turned tinsel town costumer) & James St James (the first celebutante turned author turned producer) join Rebecca & Lauren to discuss the Original Club Kids as they pertain to the theme of belonging and the courage to be fully who you are. The audacity to spread joy during the AIDS crisis, finding your tribe, a land before cell phones, and when the party truly does not start until you walk in. James is the author of Disco Bloodbath, the book from which the film Party Monster starring MaCauley Culkin is based. Lauren discovered both book and movie as an angsty teen & the pure relief of knowing that somewhere, there was a place she would belong. More on this era of Lauren's adolescence on ($5/month for personal video episodes on each episode, access to our instagram close friends list, yoga, and more on) Patreon!  Instas: @jamesstjames1 @kennethhash @brutalvulnerability Please review the pod if you've a moment & enjoyed listening! XOXO

What is straight edge & who knew it's part of punk rock history? Everyone but Rebecca, apparently. Enjoy an opinionated timeline of straight edge music and culture in the US, the different genres of punk rock and hardcore, gang activity & SX, and SX scene in Europe. Bibliography: Sober Living For The Revolution & Straight Edge: A Clear Headed Hardcore Punk History. On Patreon, Rebecca talks about learning the difference between crust punks and hippies the hard way, and Lauren talks mosh pits, farm towns, and the world's saddest youth center. We have a new column, Ask An Alcoholic, at The Sober Curator as well! If you enjoy the show please give us a review, tell a friend & we love you either way! Insta  

Lauren explains why she was 'completely intoxicated' by American cheerleading. Comprehensive history, different sorts of leagues, teams, and competitions, & film & media. Former professional cheerleader, cheer captain, and prom queen Katie Fischer joins to talk about her experience giving her all to cheerleading, and the joys and challenges created by her path. Enjoy this very wholesome episode! @brutalvulnerability Patreon On Patreon, Lauryn W. gives a a darker tale of cheer.

What does it mean to be a Swifty (Taylor Swift fan)? Rebecca invites on two fellow T Swift stans to discuss, while Lauren sits back and asks questions. Digital ethnography, what it's like to love Taylor when you don't look like Taylor, growing up alongside Taylor, her 2018 political awakening (and the historical context that made it so hard to do), and coming out of the closet as a Taylor Swift Adult. Comedian Molly Sanchez on main, and soon-to-be-pilot Aly York on the Patreon to discuss the night that began with Rebecca's SD taking them to the 2018 Reputation tour at Metlife Stadium, was middled by eating McDonald's with an SNL cast member, and ended with -- you'll have to subscribe to find out! Only $5 a month gets you access to 4-5 juicy & exclusive video episodes, our monthly Zoom yin yoga class and more. Also our Ask An Alcoholic Column is now live on Sober Curator -- Patreon sub questions get first priority. Molly Sanchez Aly York Brutal Vulnerability

In part two of the troubled teen industry episode, Lauren covers deaths directly caused by abuse and negligence inside of TTI facilities; Rebecca details Breaking Code Silence, a multi faceted social movement organized by activists and survivors of the child abuse wrought at these facilities that is relentlessly and shamelessly working to hold these f*ckers and the systems that hold them in place accountable. Comedian Sean Hennessey details his experiences in juvenile hall and the cash for kids prison system. Bonus! Sean gives us advice on loving a man who has been a victim of prolonged trauma and neglect. For a very special Patreon, Rebecca gets an exclusive -- the first interview with Curtis Galloway Conversion Therapy Survivor (spoiler alert, it doesn't work) and founder of nonprofit Conversion Therapy Dropout Network. Patreon is only $5 a month and comes with 4-5 exclusive video episodes that definitely belong behind a paywall, access to our close friends list on Instagram, and our monthly Zoom Yin Yoga class -- next class Monday the 27th of June at 3 PM PST. To take the yoga without joining Patreon you can PayPal $4 to BrutalVulnerability@gmail.com - and you are welcome to tip us ANYTIME.  Your support truly makes a difference! Next episode on Taylor Swift & the fans that love her.

Lauren and Rebecca bring on three guests that were victims of the troubled teen industry. First up McKenzie Graves, a comedian who attended the infamous Elan school (that came from daytop which came from synanon which was a CULT founded by a man who found 12 step not tough enough) while it was shut down. Second story by Sam Huber, who attended Midwest Academy also during the time it was shut down, whose founder is still at large in Idaho. Attack therapy, concrete isolation boxes, synanon in depth, the Paris Hilton story, five facts about this largely unregulated industry that continues to bring in 23 billion a year JUST IN PUBLIC FUNDS. On Patreon Rebecca reflects on the attack therapy (therapeutic community) she experienced at Florida House, a rehab in Deerfield Beach, and realizes, for the first time, that being put alone in the woods for four days on an Outward Bound trip with only five fig newtons and a tiny bag of GORP at the age of fourteen was abusive by definition - basic needs. Also! Our next Zoom yin yoga class (Lauren reads soothing spiritual lit, Rebecca intructs) is June 27 at 6 pm PST, free to our Patreon subscribers ($5/month) and $4 to our Paypal BrutalVulnerability@gmail.com for the class only, more details on our Instagram! Patreon

Hosts Lauren McQ and Rebecca Rush explore the poison ivy league and the private school culture that feeds them. Guest Molly C comes on to discuss her recent experience attending Princeton Reunions, a yearly party so big it's been written up in Esquire, SOBER. Status, money, nepotism, and the pressure. On Patreon Lauren discusses attending Yale Music School and Rebecca talks about dating someone at Columbia and why she didn't go to Loomis Chaffee. @BrutalVulnerability on Insta Subscribe to our Patreon for only $5/month

Teen mean queens and the girls who hate to love them. Bullies, hallmarks of relational aggression, former mean girls, what makes someone a target, mean girl movies, social emotional learning, and why republicans are scared of it. On Patreon we get into our very personal stories.

Welcome to season two, focused on the theme of belonging. On this episode, hosts Lauren McQ and Rebecca Rush explore the sad world of pickup artists and the women they abuse. NLP, The Game, The Attraction Method, approach anxiety, San Diego rape case, pickup companies as cults, rapey boot camps, and #TakeDownJulienBlanc. Ya goddamn war criminals! On Patreon, the ladies discuss their various experiences with PUA's. Surprising no one, one of Rebecca's exes became a PUA trainer while digital nomading through Europe. (& being shitty) This episode is sponsored by WorkitHealth Patreon ($5 a month for over two hours of exclusive video content, master book list, a monthly Zoom Yin Yoga class & MORE)

For the Season One finale, Lauren and Rebecca interview social worker Angela ZHang and  research fellow Kate Griffin (who also happens to be Rebecca's cousin) about their work studying the link between poverty and shame. Lunch shaming, period poverty, how military spending is prioritized over people, the book Poverty Safari, and the dominant poverty narrative and how it maintains the status quo. On Patreon the ladies discuss varying experiences of both poverty and the poverty narrative, learned judgements and learned shame, and, most importantly, the dismantling of the beliefs that do not belong to us. Patreon Subscriber Yin Yoga on Zoom 3rd Wednesdays 6 pm PST, $4 without subscription, DM us on Insta for details. Also via Insta, follow and DM us what you think our S1 theme was - first person to guess correctly wins a 90 day subscription to our Patreon. Season Two Premieres May 10.        

Welcome to the penultimate episode of the first season! This is a continuation of last week's episode on diet culture, and it's on loving (& even buying jeans for) the body you're currently in. From initiatives designed to educate medical professionals like Health At Every Size to movements like Intuitive Eating and Beauty Redefined to the Fuck It Diet and the Minnesota Starvation experiment, we go to great lengths to explain something that we all understood as children - our bodies are pretty fucking cool places for our souls to hang out. On Patreon we discuss how complicated it feels to be told we've lost weight, having different standards for ourselves and others (worse) moments of judgement, and going to a hypnotist for your career only to have them include weight loss suggestions in the tapes. Yoga for our Patreon subscribers ($5/month for 4-5 half hour video eps, master book list, close friends list on Insta, and our monthly Zoom yin yoga class and hang. First class April 20th at 6 pm PST. To join yoga without subscribing, Paypal us $4 with an email for the link to BrutalVulnerability@gmail.com Instagram Patreon   Sponsored by WorkitHealth

Diet culture is embedded so deeply into our psyches hosts Lauren McQ and Rebecca Rush didn't even realize how many of their toxic beliefs were not their own. Now a 100 billion dollar industry, they explore the history of the diet, fatphobia, the medical political industrial complex, disturbing facts (Weight Watchers has an app for kids as young as 7), backlash, impact, and the three types of eating personalities. On Patreon Lauren takes a tour of all her counterintuitive diets and Rebecca talks about the endless diet cycle her mom and stepdad took part in. 95% of diets fail...but we still blame ourselves? That's what big diet WANTS!   Patreon Instagram

Is monogamy dead? Hosts Lauren McQ and Rebecca Rush are divided. Why polyamory? What's the difference between polys and swingers (hint, it's more than a generational thing)? The relationship escalator, relationship anarchy, polyamory in the pandemic, Franklin Deveaux & poly abuse, and, what Reddit wants you to know. On Patreon Lauren talks about a failed poly experiment with a football player, Rebecca talks about a failed poly relationship that ended with her screaming "I forgive you" on 10th street at 2 am, sober.   Sponsored by WorkitHealth Join us on Patreon with 4-5 v personal bonus eps a month, private zoom yoga, a master book list, and more for only $5 a month!

Is polyamory just gentrified polygamy? Hosts Lauren McQ and Rebecca Rush present an in depth study into polygamy in American culture and around the world. LDS, FLDS, and the the plural marriage principle, the economy of child brides, the psychological impact of polygamy on women and children, polyandry (plural husbands) around the world, polygamy today, and the stories of three women who escaped. On Patreon, Rebecca will tell the story of a girl she knew who grew up in the FLDS in Texas and how it appeared to affect her as an adult where Lauren discusses all the men who've tried to wife her (which is basically like marrying three people) Sponsored by WorkitHealth Follow us on Instagram Join for 30-45 minute brutally personal video episodes on each topic on our Patreon

What constitutes cheating? Why do people cheat? And why does it hurt SO much? Hosts Lauren McQ and Rebecca Rush can't wait to tell you. Infidelity around the globe, sex workers and infidelity, microcheating, the stages of emotional affairs, trauma, betrayal, adult children, infidelity and attachment theory, and the stages of recovery from infidelity. Does finding out your partner cheated cause transient BPD? On Patreon, Lauren talks about being the other woman, and Rebecca talks about both cheating and being cheated on, once, by and on her husband, with the same person, on the same weekend, in the same house. Miami is wild! Patreon is only $5 a month and includes 4-5 bonus v personal video episodes on our topics, a master book list, a spot on our Instagram close friends list, and our monthly zoom yin yoga class. Sponsored by https://workithealth.com Https://patreon.com/BrutalVulnerability https://instagram.com/BrutalVulnerability    

To close out the npd/bpd arc, Lauren and Rebecca get into the 9 habits of highly ineffective couples - the npd/bpd relationship. Conflicting needs, why they are attracted to each other, narcissist abuse recovery, and, Sea World. On Patreon Lauren discusses an NPD/BPD long term relationship & Rebecca talks about another common NPD/BPD relationship - the BPD bisexual woman and the NPD gay man 'besties'. @BrutalVulnerability Patreon

Lauren and Rebecca wouldn't bring you all the way into hell without leading you back out - with a little help from our Lord and Savior, Marsha Linehan, the creator of DBT, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. History and overview of DBT and why it's so effective treating BPD and other trauma related disorders, followed by an interview with DBT Therapist Mary Tobon, LCSW. On Patreon, we talk about times we used DBT skills to get through a bad situation without making it worse. Sponsored by WorkitHealth @BrutalVulnerability on Instagram Patreon! @MaryTobonLCSW on Instagram

When you have BPD like our hosts Rebecca Rush and Lauren McQ, you attract a lot of narcissists. Most people with NPD/narcissism will never get better, so it's on the rest of us to learn to spot them & deal. Let them help you: New Age Narcissism, behavioral aspects, different types, ghosting, narcissism vs NPD, CULTS, 5 signs of narcissistic texting, & the work of Dr. Ramani Durvasula, who has studied narcissism in Los Angeles for over years, which as Lauren would say, is a FECUND FIELD.

Borderline Personality Disorder is the umbrella under which everything else the people who have it exists - anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction. Lauren & Rebecca have more to say on this one than other episodes - listen and find out why. Traits that aren't found in the DSM, misconceptions, pain management behaviors, the biosocial causation, how it shows up in men v women thanks to socialization, and the brilliant new memoir by Courtney Cook, The Way She Feels. Sponsored by @curiouselixers

Lauren & Rebecca take on a topic that affects all of us: abortion rights. From the bible to the talmud, the ancient world to the lack of access today. Sea shanties, all of the UK being forced to travel to England, the grim situation in Eastern Europe, and the beauty of women standing in solidarity of other women - like when a 16 y/o girl in N. Ireland in 2016 was arrested for buying abortion pills online and hundreds and hundreds of activists turned themselves in at police stations, claiming they too had done this. On Patreon they tell their own stories of abortions - Rebecca has 6. This episode sponsored by Curious Elixers. Use code BRUTAL22 for a discount. @BrutalVulnerability

The podcast has it's first guest, KCL Anderson, author of Difficult Mothers, Adult Daughters as Lauren and Rebecca discuss emotionally immature parents. Being born feeling everything that is forbidden in the family, the dream that one day our parents will magically become different people, role reversal, and remembering that not everyone wants to be happy. On patreon they discuss the toxic dynamics of the family group chat. https://kclanderson.com/ Patreon Sponsored by Curious Elixers

In the final installment of the attachment theory series, Lauren and Rebecca investigate the mythical secure attachment style. Secures are 50% of the population and nobody we know. How to move toward building a secure base, meet your needs, and be lovingly conscious. The small good things you do in relationships add up! On Patreon we discuss close encounters of the secure kind.   @brutalvulnerability Patreon This episode brought to you by @curiouselixers

Lauren and Rebecca delve into the forgotten attachment style, called both mixed and disorganized, having qualities of both anxious AND avoidant. It is created when your caretaker and abuser are the same person. How we become addicted to trauma, the 6 forms of abuse, in relationships, brainwashing, dissociation, brain damage, and the power of reflection. On the Patreon we discuss our darkest secrets yet, involving a mentor taking the ultimate advantage and whether or not someone hired a hit man to murder their own family. @BrutalVulnerability on Insta Patreon! This episode sponsored by WorkitHealth. 

Attachment theory episode two - avoidants! Deactivating strategies - tools to keep love at arms length, assets to avoidant attachment style, 8 things you can do today to stop pushing love away, the phantom Ex, pining for the one, mistaking self reliance for independence. Rebecca's social media block list and Lauren's avoidant beaus on the Patreon. @BrutalVulnerability

The first of a four episode series on attachment theory, Lauren and Rebecca cover the anxious attachment style. Negative self/positive other positioning, protest behavior, the need to acknowledge and accept your true needs, the anxious - avoidant trap, activating strategies, hypervigilance to social cues, core beliefs, and how attachment injuries occur. On Patreon they discuss anxious relationship behaviors they've witnessed and acted out. @BrutalVulnerability Patreon   Bibliography: Attached by Amir Levine & Rachel Heller    

To complete the eating disorder series, Lauren and Rebecca explore the wild world of food addiction. Victims of childhood sexual abuse are far more likely to become obese adults. Bingeing after sex, just wanting to FEEL FULL. Compulsive eating as anorexia of the soul. Food is less stigmatized than alcohol but being fat? Isn't. On Patreon we discuss how our eating got weird in Covid. @BrutalVulnerability Patreon Recommended Reading: Hunger by Roxane Gay Women, Food, and God by Geneen Roth  

Welcome to our exploration of bulimia, whose movies all have secret in the title. Do bulimics come from chaotic families? Who knows, we basically stopped covering it in the media in 2005. Famous bulimics include Lady Gaga, Jane Fonda, Elton John, and Princess Diana. The link with addict brain, private self torture vs throwing up public, brain over binge (terrible) and do our binge/purge desires go down as we focus on *gasp* self nurture? Patreon ep details the anatomy of a binge. @BrutalVulnerability on Insta

Welcome to the first three episode arc of the podcast, on eating disorders. Anorexia is up first. Lauren & Rebecca discuss, fear foods, Karen Carpenter, Amy Winehouse, The Best Little Girl In The World, Lene Marie Fosson, Wasted, the ana creed, the thin commandments, progression of restriction, and watching the Food Network while starving on purpose. Lauren moderated a pro-ana message board in the aughts. In the Patreon episode, we discuss our personal histories with the most admired (and deadly) of the eating disorders. Follow us on Insta! @BrutalVulnerability   Bibliography: Best Little Girl In The World by Steven Levenkron Wasted by Marya Hornbacher

"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy." - Dorothy Parker Another dive into the history of the modern mental asylum, this time from 1900 to today. Hosts Lauren MCQ and Rebecca Rush discuss Girl, Interrupted; One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest; Lobotomies; Sylvia Plath; Deinstitutionalization (and therefore recriminalization) of the mentally ill (Thanks, Reagan!); electroshock therapy; The Bell Jar; Zelda Fitzgerald, and more. Lauren once asked her Dr for electroshock therapy to help her stop thinking about a man. This Patreon episode is about each of the hosts second (and hopefully final) experience in the psych ward. If that isn't a sign this partnership was meant to be, what is? @BrutalVulnerability on Insta Linktree   Bibliography: 1. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen 2. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 3. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey  

Welcome to the first episode! Cohosts Rebecca Rush & Lauren McQ delve into the history of the modern mental asylum up to 1900. Nellie Bly's 10 Days In A Madhouse, Mad Woman's Ball, The Yellow Wallpaper, Saint Dymphna; Patron Saint of Insane, Dorothea Dix, Female Hysteria, High Royd's, and getting sectioned. Check out the Patreon for twenty minute video episodes after each show where they get more brutal and more vulnerable. This one is the ladies personal first time in the psych ward stories!