The Sauce with Maya Gurantz and Rebecca Cohen

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Feminist know-it-alls Maya Gurantz and Rebecca Cohen get sauced and deconstruct culture, politics and anything else they can drunkenly over-analyze.

Maya Gurantz & Rebecca Cohen


    • May 1, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 1h 6m AVG DURATION
    • 118 EPISODES

    Ivy Insights

    The Sauce with Maya Gurantz and Rebecca Cohen is an absolutely fantastic podcast that I have recently discovered and have been binging to catch up. This podcast offers a refreshing and insightful perspective on current culture and news, backed by the hosts' critical and historical knowledge. The combination of good drinks, humor, and warm rapport between these women makes for a truly cleansing listening experience.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is the way in which Maya and Rebecca dismantle various subjects with such clarity and depth. Their discussions go beyond surface-level analysis and delve into multiple layers, providing listeners with a more comprehensive understanding of pop culture. The hosts bring knowledge, historical context, nuance, and intelligent insights to their conversations, making it engaging to listen to them talk about anything.

    Another great aspect of The Sauce is its ability to tackle important issues like feminism while still maintaining a sense of style, wit, and humor. Maya and Rebecca embody unapologetic strident feminists who do an excellent job at smashing the patriarchy while also being entertaining. For example, their episode on gun culture provides both laughter and tears while imparting new information.

    It's worth noting that I have been listening to this podcast for quite some time now, and it has consistently remained one of my favorite pieces of media this year. The hosts' ability to combine critical perspectives with humor is truly impressive. They skillfully dismantle things you love without alienating listeners, but rather making them appreciate the nuanced analysis even more.

    In terms of improvements or potential downsides, I can only think of minor suggestions such as having an obscure booze sponsor or adding more instances of the drunk-o-meter going to 11. Additionally, it would be great if they shared Rebecca's bottomless Bloody Mary Mix recipe on Patreon. However, these are just small personal preferences that do not take away from the overall excellence of the podcast.

    In conclusion, The Sauce with Maya Gurantz and Rebecca Cohen is undoubtedly one of my top five favorite podcasts. The hosts' intelligence, well-researched discussions, and critical perspectives make it a standout in the realm of pop culture podcasts. It offers intellectually stimulating comments on the links between media and the rest of the world while still being entertaining and humorous. If you are looking for a podcast that combines knowledge, wit, and cultural criticism, this is a must-listen.



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    Latest episodes from The Sauce with Maya Gurantz and Rebecca Cohen

    RIP Free Speech

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2025 69:01


    For years, right wingers have loudly decried supposed attacks on free speech. Yet now those free speech warriors are strangely silent as Trump punishes universities and ICE arrests students for expressing dissent. Maya and Rebecca explain how this turnabout is not simple hypocrisy, uncovering how right wing discourse about free speech paved the way for … Continue reading "RIP Free Speech"

    Dems in Disarray

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2025 67:58


    With Trump and Musk trampling American democracy, why aren't elected Democrats doing more to stop the carnage? Maya and Rebecca piece together why the opposition party can't seem to get its shit together and draw unexpected insight from the Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud to figure out what Democrats should be doing differently,

    Ruining Huck Finn, with VERY SPECIAL GUESTS David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2025 75:40


    Let's ruin the Great American Novel. Maya and Rebecca are joined by Artist (and longtime Sauce listener!) Marcus Kwame Anderson and writer David F. Walker to discuss their new book– Big Jim and the White Boy, an audacious (and inspired) retelling of Huck Finn. Listeners may remember Marcus and David from the last time we … Continue reading "Ruining Huck Finn, with VERY SPECIAL GUESTS David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson"

    Bread and Circuses: Michael Jackson ONE and Cirque du Soleil

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2025 79:17


    How are we going to survive the fascist takeover of our government? Through a delicate balance of activism and avoidance. Maya and Rebecca introduce a new ongoing feature, BREAD AND CIRCUSES with Cirque du Soleil's insane Michael Jackson show, and unpack what it teaches us about how to make a spectacle out of a very … Continue reading "Bread and Circuses: Michael Jackson ONE and Cirque du Soleil"

    TRANS PANIC! (Election 2024 Edition) with Special Guests Guy Branum and Grace Freud

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2024 55:30


    After a nice long stretch of denial, Maya and Rebecca dip our toes back into political waters with Very Special Guests Guy Branum and Grace Freud, who bring queer and trans perspectives to the transphobic messaging the Trump campaign relied on so heavily this past election season. Why was it so effective? How did it … Continue reading "TRANS PANIC! (Election 2024 Edition) with Special Guests Guy Branum and Grace Freud"

    WTF Happened?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2024 97:08


    Welp, America has chosen fascism. But the rejection of liberal democracy didn't start with Donald Trump; it's been taking shape for decades. Maya and Rebecca sort out how things went so horribly wrong, both this election cycle and over the last 40 years of American politics. Is our political system broken? And what do we … Continue reading "WTF Happened?"

    The Trump Cult: Revisited

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2024 93:34


    So we're all freaking out in this final stretch before Election Day 2024. Rebecca and Maya revisit our episode on the Trump Cult from four years ago, recorded right before Biden's inauguration, which we then thought—perhaps naively—would be the last one we'd have to do. We listen to it again and ask: why are we … Continue reading "The Trump Cult: Revisited"

    Why Is the Race So Close??

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2024 67:10


    On the one hand, a demented felon on a cross country tour, swaying and screaming nonsense into the void. But on the other hand–wait, HOW IS THERE ANOTHER HAND? Rebecca and Maya assess Trump's increasingly fascist language, rapidly deteriorating coherence, and try to wrap our heads around how this can even be close. And the … Continue reading "Why Is the Race So Close??"

    All-American Fascism Part 2: Neo-Nazi Boogaloo

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2024 76:10


    We all know Trump is a fascist, but lately he and JD Vance have taken it to a whole new level. Maya and Rebecca break down the unvarnished neo-Nazi talking points in their recent rhetoric and ponder the question: Is white nationalism really an effective campaign strategy?

    The Harris-Trump Debate

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2024 50:50


    What did we want to see in last week's Debate between TFG and VP Harris? Nothing that would make us want to puke. Maya and Rebecca talk about the impossibility of debating Trump, the things Kamala actually made possible, and whether our brains have been too broken by all of this to even see clearly … Continue reading "The Harris-Trump Debate"

    Vance, Walz and Dueling Masculinities

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2024 87:40


    JD Vance and Tim Walz represent a stark contrast in not just donut-ordering skills, but also performances of masculinity. Maya and Rebecca compare the drastically different representations of maleness embodied by each VP candidate, uncovering what their rhetoric and political philosophies reveal about their attitudes toward gender roles, and examining how it all connects to … Continue reading "Vance, Walz and Dueling Masculinities"

    Sauce Classics: RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA!

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2024 64:24


    As the DOJ indictments on Russian interference in right wing media and politics begin rolling out this week, Maya and Rebecca thought it would be a good time to share this episode about the changing roles Russia has played and continues to fill in the American cultural imagination.

    Trump’s Dementia

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2024 84:31


    It doesn't take a geriatrics expert to see that Donald Trump is deteriorating. Is it just normal aging, or something… else? Maya and Rebecca investigate Trump's lapses in memory, behavior and language and ask how well they match up with the medically defined symptoms of dementia.

    MAGA MELTDOWN

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2024 61:12


    Couch sex, race baiting, menstrual tracking—MAGA-world is melting down while the Dems are energized and in array. Maya and Rebecca dig into this wild few weeks and ask: why are couch jokes so funny? And why are these people so fucking weird?

    KAMALA 2024! With Special Guest Kaitlyn Byrd!

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2024 88:52


    It's KAMALA FOR PRESIDENT! Maya and Rebecca are wildly gratified to have our favorite political analyst Kaitlin Byrd back on to talk about the handoff from Biden, the instant national sea change it triggered, and our theories on what happened behind the scenes, how Veepstakes will go down, and what Vice President Harris will wear … Continue reading "KAMALA 2024! With Special Guest Kaitlyn Byrd!"

    Revisiting from 2020: Kamala Harris and Political Double Standards, Part A Million

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2024 51:59


    Friends, LET'S BE READY. As Kamala Harris accepts the mantle of the Democratic nomination, Maya and Rebecca open up the time capsule and share our Kamala episode from four years ago when Biden first selected her as VP. We're eerily prescient about the specific ways the left, right, and center would attack Kamala—attacks we're already … Continue reading "Revisiting from 2020: Kamala Harris and Political Double Standards, Part A Million"

    Sauce Classics: The Supreme Court (Part 1)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2024 76:09


    Happy (Possibly Last) 4th of July! In the wake of the recent horrifying decisions by the Supreme Court on presidential immunity and Chevron deference, Maya and Rebecca thought it was important to repost our episode from 2023 about the Supreme Court, our idealized notions of what it's supposed to be, it's real history, and the … Continue reading "Sauce Classics: The Supreme Court (Part 1)"

    The Trump Verdict

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2024 76:50


    We followed every moment of Trump's first criminal trial, and now that the verdict is in, boy is there a lot to talk about. From Trump falling asleep (and farting himself awake), to his defense team's dumbest moves, to the electoral implications of 34 felony convictions, Maya and Rebecca dive into the all pleasures and … Continue reading "The Trump Verdict"

    The Death of 90s Rock

    Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2024


    Grunge is dead (again). As Maya grieves the death of iconic producer Steve Albini, she and Rebecca break down whether this Gen-X's John Lennon moment, if the concept of “selling out” means anything anymore, and why edge lord humor just isn't the same as it used to be.

    The Dune Movies

    Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2024 75:32


    Dune is Rebecca's favorite novel, but Maya is a pure 100% Dune virgin. We watched Denis Villeneuve's massively popular adaptation of this legendary, and legendarily unfilmable, sci fi epic to see if we see any of the same things. Does it work as a movie series? As an adaptation? As a meditation on the white … Continue reading "The Dune Movies"

    Grab Bag! Beyonce, Tradwives, OJ Simpson

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2024 71:17


    There is too damn much to talk about so we try to talk about it ALL! In this episode, Beyonce Goes Country, Tradwifes Go Viral, OJ Simpson Goes Dead, and Rebecca and Maya just try to keep up. We break down Cowboy Carter, the weird fantasy of white housewife cosplay, and the legacy of a … Continue reading "Grab Bag! Beyonce, Tradwives, OJ Simpson"

    Trump, Fucked (?)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2024 72:41


    After taking a much-needed break from TFG, Maya and Rebecca catch up on Trump's troubles: legal, financial, political, and psychophysical. How fucked is he? How worried should we be? What's the most productive way to direct our anxiety between now and November?

    Poor Things

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2024 72:33


    Depending on whom you ask, Academy award winner Poor Things is either a feminist masterpiece about an empowered woman, or a male fantasy about a baby-minded fuck toy. Maya and Rebecca attempt to bridge the gap, asking the really important questions: Why is Yorgos Lanthimos so obsessed with old-timey whorehouses? Is this quirky visual style … Continue reading "Poor Things"

    Right Wing Attacks on Higher Ed (with Nadia E. Brown!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2024 76:55


    College presidents forced to resign. Faculties gutted. Anti-DEI legislations cropping up nationwide. There's no doubt about it–Right Wing activists are attacking Higher Ed, trying to “capture, restructure, and reform” centers of learning. Georgetown political scientist and Women's Studies professor Nadia E. Brown joins us to help us understand this moment, what makes it different than … Continue reading "Right Wing Attacks on Higher Ed (with Nadia E. Brown!)"

    Problematic Faves: Liberal Arts Education (with Meredith Yayanos!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2024 91:40


    Intellectual expansion! Youthful passion! Exploited innocence! Genius writer, musician, and professional flame-throwing shit-starter Meredith Yayanos, comes on to talk about their problematic fave: Liberal Arts Education. What does college MEAN in the social imaginary? What did it mean to us? Cronyism, elitism, pranks, nubility, narcissistic faculty, racism, classism, date rape, Jeffrey Epstein, the hangover of … Continue reading "Problematic Faves: Liberal Arts Education (with Meredith Yayanos!)"

    Swifties Strike Back

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2024 81:43


    Were we wrong about Taylor Swift? Actual, real live Swiftie Jenna Parrot responds to Maya and Rebecca's takes about her favorite pop megastar. Can she help us understand Swift's musical appeal, not to mention her cultural and political impact?

    Taylor Swift and Beyonce

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2024 65:09


    We can't start the new year without talking about THE biggest pop culture story of 2023: Beyonce and Taylor Swift dominating American music, culture and even economics with their wildly popular, wildly extravagant Renaissance and Eras tours. Maya and Rebecca break down the star power, the spectacle and the songwriting, asking what makes these two … Continue reading "Taylor Swift and Beyonce"

    More Israel!

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2023 72:05


    Apparently there are some people we didn't alienate with our last Israel episode? Well, if at first you don't succeed… Maya and Rebecca dive back into Israel/Palestine and try, try again to understand why this topic is so hard to have conversations about.

    Israel

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2023 78:43


    Two drunk Jewesses (one with an Israeli passport) dive into the Hamas attack on Israel and the current catastrophe in Gaza, taking apart three major talking points that have been floating around and explaining why they're all wrong.

    Hot Labor Summer w/ Miles Kahn

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2023 73:00


    Organized labor is so hot right now. With the UAW and SAG on strike – and more industries getting ready to join – Maya and Rebecca welcome multi-talented writer/producer/director Miles Kahn to go inside the recent Hollywood writer's strike, analyze pop culture depictions of strikes, and uncover why unions having such a moment.

    Elon Musk and the Anti-Defamation League

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2023 58:28


    Wow, we did Nazi that coming! (Yes we did.) As Elon Musk beefs with the Anti Defamation League, Rebecca and Maya follow up on how he's ruining Twitter and track how anti-Semitism on Twitter looks different in 2023 than it did in 2016.

    Sauce Classics: Consiglieri Cohen & Trump as Gordon Gekko

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2023 45:58


    As Trump's legal issues mount, we revisit Part 2 of Maya and Rebecca's discussion about Trump and mafia narratives, examining how the character types of the “fixer” and the shady business mogul shed light on the public's perceptions of Michael Cohen and Donald Trump — as well as their apparent perceptions of themselves. This week … Continue reading "Sauce Classics: Consiglieri Cohen & Trump as Gordon Gekko"

    Oppenheimer (with Special Guest Ellen Sebastian Chang)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2023 71:51


    Friends, if you're looking for new and profound insights into the birth of the Atomic Age, you ain't gonna find them in the turgid recent hit Oppenheimer. Rebecca and Maya welcome Very Special Guest, legendary artist Ellen Sebastian Chang, to drop personal and political context that exposes the limits of filmmaker Christopher Nolan's historical, cinematic, … Continue reading "Oppenheimer (with Special Guest Ellen Sebastian Chang)"

    The Supreme Court (Part 2)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2023 70:07


    In Part 2, Rebecca and Maya dive deeper into what our corrupt and conservative Supreme Court actually looks like RIGHT NOW: poorly reasoned decisions! Inconsistent application of precedent for theocratic right-wing ends! Fancy RVs from billionaires! How do we not lose our minds? (Drinking recommended).

    The Supreme Court (Part 1)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2023 76:09


    Isn't the Supreme Court supposed to protect our rights – not take them away? Maya and Rebecca examine how our idealized notions about SCOTUS don't match current reality, and how that didn't happen by accident. They dig into Supreme Court history and uncover the far right's decades-long project to capture the court and subvert democracy.

    Barbie!

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2023 85:15


    Rebecca and Maya break down the summer's hottest corporate feminist blockbuster, asking all the REALLY IMPORTANT questions: How is Barbie like Schindler's List? Is the movie really as man-hating as the right-wing pundits are promising us, or will we be disappointed? Can a 2-hour toy commercial even BE feminist? And why aren't the Barbies humping?

    Sauce Classics: Catholicism (with Special Guest Julia Sweeney)!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2023 72:15


    As we continue to reel from last week's Supreme Court decisions, we return to this VERY SPECIAL EPISODE with Julia Sweeney as she ruins the Catholic Church for Maya and Rebecca! The legendary comedian, writer and longtime Sauce patron talks inside baseball about Pope Francis, Opus Dei, the Knights of Malta, why there are so many damn … Continue reading "Sauce Classics: Catholicism (with Special Guest Julia Sweeney)!"

    Government Secrets & Rich People vs. the Ocean

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2023 87:01


    Sometimes it's good to leak government secrets, sometimes it's not? Maya and Rebecca ask how we're supposed to know the difference, when we're not the ones keeping the secrets. Then we talk orcas, Titanic tourism, and why the ocean seems to have something against rich people.

    Gender Panic!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2023 82:01


    Drag bans! Trans panic! Won't somebody think of the children's normative gender socialization? Maya & Rebecca take a look at the massive wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation sweeping across the United States. Why is this happening? What does it reveal about the right wing mindset? Have 15 seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race taught us nothing? And … Continue reading "Gender Panic!"

    E. Jean Carroll and Tucker Carlson

    Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2023 75:01


    With E. Jean Carroll standing up to Trump and Tucker Carlson getting fired, are we finally (FINALLY) reaching a point of accountability? Or at least, liability?

    Maya Watches Marvel! THE AVENGERS

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2023 68:09


    Maya finally watched The Avengers for the first time, and she has some OPINIONS. We dig into the repeating formulas of superhero stories, why Maya doesn't want to watch any more of them, and what the MCU is doing to all of our brains as movie-watchers.

    Yellowjackets (with Rebecca Wright)!

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2023 80:47


    We think maybe Showtime went to all the trouble of producing the hit series Yellowjackets just so Rebecca and Maya could break it down with Very Special Guest Rebecca Wright. 90s culture and music! Teen girl trauma! Middle-aged reckoning! Survival BY ANY MEANS! Pull up a drink and some steak tartare and LET'S DO THIS.

    The Fabelmans (with Guy Branum!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2023 63:48


    The legendary Guy Branum DEMANDED that Rebecca and Maya watch The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg's autobiographical bildungsroman, and he joins us to break down the Jewishness, the queerness, and the goddamn Spielberginess of it all.

    Mailbag!

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2023 54:30


    The Sauce has the best listeners in all of Podcastdom, and this week, they HAVE SOME SALTY OPINIONS about our episodes on Copaganda, White Lotus, and Hallmark Movies. Are we done? Oh, WE'RE NOT DONE.

    COPAGANDA

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2023 57:59


    As we grieve Tyre Nichols' death at the hands of the Memphis PD, Rebecca and Maya finally dive into a long-time-coming topic: Copaganda, meaning pop culture media starring THE POLICE. We reach back to its radio roots, historical collaborations with law enforcement, track decades of the genre's greatest popularity–and most troublingly, dive into why it … Continue reading "COPAGANDA"

    Congressional Clown Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2023 69:27


    After a historically long (and nearly violent!) Speaker of the House election, Maya and Rebecca are joined by one of our favorite guests, political maven Kaitlin Byrd, to break down the circus that is Republican dysfunction, examine how we got here, and predict what it might mean for the country going forward.

    2022 In Review

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2023 60:41


    The New Year is here! But before we let the last one go, Maya and Rebecca have to get to the bottom of some of the biggest stories we just didn't get to during 2022.

    Hanukkah on Rye and the Hallmark Holiday Movie

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2022 65:21


    The Hallmark Channel Xmas Romance Season has branched out (heh heh) into Hanukkah, and Maya and Rebecca watched Hanukkah on Rye SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO. As newbies to the genre, we ask–what the hell is going on here? And what happens when Jews get integrated into these narratives?

    The White Lotus

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2022 85:55


    So many of you asked us to watch the wildly celebrated HBO show, The White Lotus. So God help us (and all of you), we did. What does writer/director Mike White think he's doing? What is he actually doing? Maya and Rebecca bring insights into heterosexual marriage, luxury vacations, and being white girls who read … Continue reading "The White Lotus"

    Sauce Classics: The World Cup!

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2022 60:09


    Can Maya & Rebecca ruin the World Cup? They already did! We revisit that conversation with NY Times journalist Ken Bensinger, author of “Red Card,” which details the investigation into soccer's massive international scandals. Four years later, with all the corruption and human rights violations in Qatar, the topic remains, ahem, relevant.

    Midterms and Musk

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2022 71:47


    The “Red Wave” hit a Blue Wall and Elon Musk is managing to destroy Twitter in under two weeks. Fasten your seatbelts and pour yourself a drink because boy oh boy IS THIS A BUMPY RIDE.

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