Podcast appearances and mentions of carrie wittmer

In this riveting episode, hosts Phil and Emily sit down with Emmy Potter and Carrie Wittmer to explore the enigmatic cult classic Nothebook. Hailing from the 2000s, this film broke the mold with its innovative narrative, striking visuals, and offbeat humor that still resonates today.Join us as our guests share fresh insights on how Nothebook challenged traditional storytelling and influenced a generation of filmmakers and audiences alike. From behind-the-scenes anecdotes to deep dives into its thematic layers, this episode is a must-listen for anyone who loves a good cinematic mystery from the 2000s.Tune in now to relive the magic of the decade and rediscover one of its most intriguing films!#Nothebook #PodcastLikeIts2000s #2000sMovies #CultClassic #FilmDiscussion #PopCulturePodcast #Nostalgia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1999 is generally considered one of the best movie years in the history of the medium, so to celebrate the 25th anniversary of that storied time we reunited the hosts of Podcast Like It's 1999, Kenny Neibart and Phil Iscove, with PL99 fan-favorite guest Carrie Wittmer, and Screen Drafts commish Ryan Marker, to competitively / collaboratively rank the 13 BEST movies that were released in 1999. Joining Clay at the commissioners table is first time guest commish Jordan Crucchiola!

Emmy potter and Carrie Wittmer return for a reunion of Winona Ryder and Keanu Reaves in Destination Wedding. Together, we discuss how the Gen X icons have evolved in the 2010s, Winona's ridiculous shoplifting scandal, how the movie compares to other films we have covered like Bridesmaids and Bachelorette and 90 minute movies  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/exitingthroughthe2010s/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/exitingthroughthe2010s/support

This week I'm joined by the incredible Carrie Wittmer to get into the final part of the uncensored Vanderpump Rules recap where Raquel finally comes on stage to face everyone, Lala being wrong and right, Sandoval's terrible attempt at clapbacks, and more!Find links to my Patreon, social media and more here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once in a lifetime, a podcast episode comes along that makes you feel like falling in love all over again. Last week we covered Kenny's favorite movie, now it's time for Phil to take the wheel with Danny DeVito's THE WAR OF THE ROSES.How sexy is Michael Douglas? Is this Danny DeVito's first blank check film? Why does Phil love this thing so much?! These are the questions we're trying to answer this week with a cracker jack team of writers named Carrie; Carrie Wittmer (GQ, Ringer) and Carrie Courogen (Bright Wall Dark Room, Condé Nast) This may just be our widest spread of rankings in almost 200 episodes...it's all out war!Find Carrie Courogen at: carriecourogen.comFind Carrie Wittmer at: carriesnotscary.comPodcast Like It's 1999: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-like-its-1999Twitter: twitter.com/podcastlike1999Instagram: instagram.com/podcastlike1999Reddit: reddit.com/r/podcastlikeits Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patreon: patreon.com/PodcastlikeitsTwitter: twitter.com/podcastlikeitsInstagram: instagram.com/podcastlikeitsReddit: reddit.com/r/podcastlikeits Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we celebrate out milestone 400th episode with a special tribute to one of the all time great TV dramas, which recently concluded it's brilliant run. Better Call Saul is the rare spinoff that not only lived up to its parent show, it actually surpassed it. Today I'm joined by writer/director/executive producer Thomas Schnauz, actors Patrick Fabian (Howard Hamlin) and Peter Diseth (Bill Oakley), casting director Sharon Bialy and journalist and cultural critic Carrie Wittmer, plus I revisit my 2020 conversation with Jimmy McGill himself, Bob Odenkirk. Thanks for everyone who joined us today, producer Georgia Mooney for helping pull this together and to everyone who has joined me for the past eight years and 400 episodes, either as guest or listener. We're just getting started!

‘Fanti' podcast hosts Tre'vell Anderson and Jarrett Hill join us to unpack the week. Then, Vulture's Carrie Wittmer walks us through a timeline of Jane Austen film adaptations. Plus, Gloria Liu tells us about her piece for Outside Magazine, “One Woman's Wholesome Mission to Get Naked Outside.”

This week we're joined by Carrie Wittmer to dig into the oft forgotten, but critically praised Jane Austen adaptation MANSFIELD PARK.We discuss the modern style and takes of this interpretation, why this work has been adapted less than Austen's other novels, and compare it to similar, more recent films such as Emma and Little Women. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today, Sophie welcomes to the show prolific entertainment journalist Carrie Wittmer (aka @carriesnotscary) to get her insights on everything from the Johnny Depp & Amber Heard trial, to Carrie's infatuation with Ben Affleck, to “Severance” on Apple TV, to “Summer House" and “Top Chef,” to the Revolve Fest Coachella fiasco, to "Moon Knight" (we have a Marvel fan in the house!), as well as Carrie's own professional journey, why life is better after 30, and much, much more. Let's just say they had a LOT to cover and could've ranted for several more hours. (It's a long one but a FUN ONE!) Enjoy the show—and make sure to follow @carriesnotscary on everything!Use code SOTRUE10 for $10 off your next order on AdoreMe.com!Produced by Bob Mallory

WEDNESDAY!! We made it thru 60% of the week!  Today is a show of pure joy because we have returning guest, one of my favorite writers, Carrie Wittmer (twitter insta @carrienotscary) who is here to break down this weeks Summer House with me and of course the first 35 minutes we talk bout a bunch of other pop culture topics.  If you love summer house youre going to love this.  If you dont love summer house youre going to love this!   Also, So Bad It's Good has merch now! Go to www.sobaditsgoodmerch.comto order yours TODAY! Also, So Bad It's Good has a voicemail now! 323-425-9542. Pleas feel free to call with your thoughts! If you do you are giving me full permission to use on the show! Also, I'm on CAMEO. I'll be filming in Dorit's Room so sign up today at cameo.com and search Ryan Bailey! Have a great week guys! -SO BAD IT'S GOOD listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/SOBAD.That's betterhelp.com/SOBAD. Remember to subscribe and join me Monday thru Thursday for interviews with podcasters and reality stars, show recaps, Garth and Justin, Bill and Becky Bailey and so much more!! Plus, tell your friends. I, honestly, think there is something for everyone in these pods. The more the merrier!  ALSO GO CHECK OUT THE PATREON patreon.com/sobaditsgood. Support what we are doing here. THANK YOUUUUUUU!!!!! If you're enjoying the insane amount of blood, sweat and literal tears of this pod consider telling a friend or rating us 5 stars on iTunes! Special shoutout to Maritza Lopez (Insta: @maritza.gif) for all of her insanely hard work creating these beautiful pieces of art on my instagram and patreon page!!  Time Stamps are below. Use them. They are your friend. This pod isn't meant to be digested all at once! Contact me on Insta if you need me to send them to you if you can't find them! 4:07-Show Notes 18:00-Carrie Wittmer Instagram: @sobaditsgoodwithryanbailey, @ryanbailey25 Twitter:@ryanabailey25 TIKTOK @sobaditsgoodwithryanb See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WEDNESDAY!! We made it thru 60% of the week! Today is a show of pure joy because we have returning guest, one of my favorite writers, Carrie Wittmer (twitter insta @carrienotscary) who is here to break down this weeks Summer House with me and of course the first 35 minutes we talk bout a bunch of other pop culture topics. If you love summer house youre going to love this. If you dont love summer house youre going to love this!  Also, So Bad It's Good has merch now! Go to www.sobaditsgoodmerch.com to order yours TODAY! Also, So Bad It's Good has a voicemail now! 323-425-9542. Pleas feel free to call with your thoughts! If you do you are giving me full permission to use on the show! Also, I'm on CAMEO. I'll be filming in Dorit's Room so sign up today at cameo.com and search Ryan Bailey! Have a great week guys! -SO BAD IT'S GOOD listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/SOBAD. That's betterhelp.com/SOBAD. Remember to subscribe and join me Monday thru Thursday for interviews with podcasters and reality stars, show recaps, Garth and Justin, Bill and Becky Bailey and so much more!! Plus, tell your friends. I, honestly, think there is something for everyone in these pods. The more the merrier!  ALSO GO CHECK OUT THE PATREON patreon.com/sobaditsgood. Support what we are doing here. THANK YOUUUUUUU!!!!! If you're enjoying the insane amount of blood, sweat and literal tears of this pod consider telling a friend or rating us 5 stars on iTunes! Special shoutout to Maritza Lopez (Insta: @maritza.gif) for all of her insanely hard work creating these beautiful pieces of art on my instagram and patreon page!!  Time Stamps are below. Use them. They are your friend. This pod isn't meant to be digested all at once! Contact me on Insta if you need me to send them to you if you can't find them! 4:07-Show Notes 18:00-Carrie Wittmer Instagram: @sobaditsgoodwithryanbailey, @ryanbailey25 Twitter:@ryanabailey25 TIKTOK @sobaditsgoodwithryanb Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

The AMPire Diaries Bonus Episode: ‘The Last Jedi' Commentary (feat. Carrie Wittmer) - Book Club's Reylo Month The AMPire Diaries Bonus Episode: ‘The Last Jedi' Commentary (feat. Carrie Wittmer) - Book Club's Reylo Month CALLING ALL FILTHY, GODLESS, LITTLE REYLOS! If you're a Patreon subscriber, you already know that our Book Club is celebrating Reylo Month for all of February and ending with our discussion on “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazlewood, a sacred Reylo text. In this bonus episode, you can get a glimpse into Reylo Month with a watchalong commentary for Rian Johnson's ‘The Last Jedi' with Morgan, Jill, and special guest Carrie Wittmer. Discussion will include: - We are a PRO Kelly Marie Tran podcast! - Colin Trevorrow's ‘Duel of the Fates.' - Finn + Poe = Boyfriends. - Can Laura Dern pull off purple hair simply because she's gorgeous? - The Real Housewives' next destination trip. - Carrie's hopes for the Obi Wan show. - “We are what they grow beyond.” - The Star Wars characters that we connect to the most. - And trying not to bring up ‘The Rise of Skywalker'… but failing… many times. Thank you so much to Carrie (@carriesnotscary) for joining us this month in our appreciation of Rey, Kylo Ren, and the horniest Star Wars movie. Become a patron! https://www.patreon.com/ampdiariespod/ Email us! theampirediariespod@gmail.com Tweet at us! @AMPDiariesPod Instagram... at us! @AMPireDiariesPod Go to our website! http://theampirediariespod.com/ The AMPire Diaries is now available to stream on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Amazon Podcasts, as well as wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to rate (5 STARS, please) and review the podcast. And most importantly, don't forget to get AMPED.

We're going gambling. with Carrie Wittmer (The Ringer, Vulture) and talking about 2019's addictive thriller from the Safdie brothers. Topics included how the release was at the time, best performances by athletes in film and unconventional comfort movies --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exitingthroughthe2010s/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exitingthroughthe2010s/support

FRIDAY!! First week without a beverly hills recap in a loooong time and ive given myself a gift and decided to have a two hour conversation with one of my favorite writers Carrie Wittmer (@carrienotscary www.carrienotscary.com). She is so funny and loves all the shows we love. We talk the Beverly Hills reunion, the Potomac reunion, where should we go with RHONY, and of course this past weeks Salt Lake City episode. Plus, we talk about our fascination with the upcoming film House of Gucci! Could of talked to her for 8 hours! Hope you guys dig her. I think youre going to have a blast with this episode and we will back to recapping next week! Have a great weekend! Also, So Bad It's Good has a voicemail now! 323-425-9542. Pleas feel free to call with your thoughts! If you do you are giving me full permission to use on the show! Also, I'm on CAMEO. I'll be filming in Dorit's Room so sign up today at cameo.com and search Ryan Bailey! Have a great week guys! Treat yourself and your loved ones to the new standard in bedding from Boll & Branch. Their gifts come wrapped and ready in their special holiday packaging. Order by 12/19 for guaranteed delivery by Christmas. Best Deals of the Year Going on Now from 11/1-11/11 with promo code sobad at bollandbranch.com. That's B-O-L-L and branch dot com. Promo code sobad. Exclusions may apply. With StoryWorth I am giving those I love most a thoughtful, personal gift from the heart and preserving their memories and stories for years to come. Go to StoryWorth dot com slash sobad and save $10 on your first purchase! That's StoryWorth dot com slash sobad to save $10 on your first purchase! Download Best Fiends FREE today on the App Store or Google Play. That's friends, without the r—Best Fiends Remember to subscribe and join me Monday thru Thursday for interviews with podcasters and reality starts, show recaps, Garth and Justin, Bill and Becky Bailey and so much more!! Plus, tell your friends. I, honestly, think there is something for everyone in these pods. The more the merrier!  ALSO GO CHECK OUT THE PATREON patreon.com/sobaditsgood. Support what we are doing here. THANK YOUUUUUUU!!!!! If you're enjoying the insane amount of blood, sweat and literal tears of this pod consider telling a friend or rating us 5 stars on iTunes! Special shoutout to Maritza Lopez (Insta: @maritza.gif) for all of her insanely hard work creating these beautiful pieces of art on my instagram and patreon page!!  Time Stamps are below. Use them. They are your friend. This pod isn't meant to be digested all at once! Contact me on Insta if you need me to send them to you if you can't find them! 4:50-Show Notes/Red (Taylor's Version)/Erika Jayne 16:50-Carrie Wittmer Instagram: @sobaditsgoodwithryanbailey, @ryanbailey25 Twitter:@ryanabailey25 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Writer/Critic Carrie Wittmer joins us to talk about the underappreciated adaptation of Graham Greene's 1950s romance novel, THE END OF THE AFFAIR.We discuss why we think this movie deserves a second chance, the fantastic lead performances from Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore (Who, let's be honest, would ooze romantic chemistry with a literal potato), and the ahead-of-its-time sex scenes. We also talk about why this movie hit us so hard, where it loses us, and break down Moore's incredible '99 run.Find Carrie at: carrienotscary.comFind Carrie's incredible breakdown of actors in sex scenes at: theringer.com/movies/2020/9/30/21492341/actor-sex-scenes-research-studyPatreon: patreon.com/podcastlikeits1989Twitter: twitter.com/podcastlikeitsInstagram: instagram.com/podcastlikeitsReddit: reddit.com/r/PodcastLikeIts See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Writer Carrie Wittmer joins us for a conversation on episode 13 of The West Wing, TAKE OUT THE TRASH DAY.We talk about the plot surrounding a controversial sex study, and the murder of a gay teenager that has been established in previous episodes. Through this we explore Bartlet's relationship to his faith, and CJ's voice becoming more heard in the oval office. Plus, we continue to check in on the CJ/Danny relationship, Carrie shares how the show influenced her creativity, and much more!Find Carrie at: carrienotscary.comPatreon: patreon.com/podcastlikeits1989Twitter: twitter.com/podcastlikeitsInstagram: instagram.com/podcastlikeitsReddit: reddit.com/r/PodcastLikeIts See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jordan and Brooke are joined by entertainment writer Carrie Wittmer to discuss 2000's girlboss extravaganza. How did this movie achieve queer classic status? Does McG actually understand what camp is? What is up with everything about Crispin Glover? And when are we getting the Cameron Diaz renaissance?Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/QueerQuadrant Follow Carrie! https://twitter.com/carriesnotscary This episode is sponsored by Super Yaki! (https://superyaki.com/) Code: SUPERQQ for 10% off

The delightful Carrie Wittmer (The Cut, GQ, The Ringer) joins us to celebrate what's now considered beacons of kindness and manners- that's just disguised as another "CGI animals interacting with human actors" in Paul King's Paddington series. We touch on Paddington 2's well-timed release regarding other world events, crying during movies and what Paul King did to make them as perfect as they are --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exitingthroughthe2010s/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exitingthroughthe2010s/support

Welcome to Woodycast, where we talk about all things Woody Harrelson! Wait....this is a Frasier episode?!With over 100 Primetime Emmy nominations, 37 wins, and a 20 year stint from Kelsey Grammer as the titular pompous radio host, we all knew a Frasiercast was inevitable. Alongside Writer/Critic Carrie Wittmer, Phil taps into season 6 episode 13 "The One Where Woody Shows Up" to not only examine the show itself, and it's role in 90s sitcom culture, but its connections to Cheers, and success in paving its own path. We also talk about Woody Harrelson. Like, a lot. How could we not!Find Carrie at: carriesnotscary.comPatreon: patreon.com/podcastlikeits1989Twitter: twitter.com/podcastlike1999Instagram: instagram.com/podcastlike1999Reddit: reddit.com/r/PodcastLikeIts See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Carrie Wittmer (@carriesnotscary) joins us this week to talk all about 1.11 Covert War! Zhukov is killed, Elizabeth loses it, and Sandra speaks for all of us when she calls Stan the bad guy. Plus: Philip feeds his children dinner from a vending machine after offering them peanut butter and warm orange juice. Tune in!Carrie's articles about the series finale (spoilers!):https://bit.ly/3iJG0zPhttps://bit.ly/39mfTvPFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/bestofamericansEmail us at bestoftheamericans@gmail.com

Carrie Wittmer helps us make sense of Dolly Parton's "Christmas on the Square." Jen Keefe and Melissa Radzimski join for a deep dive on "Happiest Season." Courtney Diskin talks about how teachers are handling Christmas this year. And the gang learns about Santa's grotto and Dominic the Donkey.Christmas characters and cocktails — 0:00 - 09:09Guest Courtney Diskin — 09:09 - 34:00News update — 34:00 -  39:20Dolly Parton's "Christmas on the Square" — 39:20 - 01:09:15News update — 01:09:15 - 01:14:10"Happiest Season" — 01:14:10 - 01:55:44Holiday Cheermeisters — 01:55:44 - 01:59:59Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/christmas-news. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By far the newest movie picked for the podcast but also one of the most polorising, sees writer and critic Carrie Wittmer defending the Tom Hardy movie Venom. We discuss the infamous lobster scene, the bizarre soundtrack that features a title song from Eminem, and the worst wig in the world. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

After a brief (9 month) hiatus, Harry Potter and the Hot Takes is back, baby! First, we will release previously unreleased episodes, and then we will be kicking off Season 2 with brand new episodes with HOT HOT TAKES and HOT HOT GUESTS! ~~~~~~~~~~~ Enjoy this episode recorded back in February 2019 with the brilliant Carrie Wittmer, co-author of 'New Erotica for Feminists'. Carrie is a Brooklyn-based comedy writer, entertainment journalist, and critic. By day, she writes about television and "Paddington 2" for Business Insider's entertainment team. On nights and Saturdays, she writes jokes. On Sundays, she sings songs she made up about her dog to her dog. She's been published in McSweeney’s, The New Yorker, and Refinery29 and her work has been syndicated on sites including The Independent. Twitter + Instagram @carriesnotscary ~~~~~~~~~~~ Hosted, Produced, Edited by Katie Johantgen, Twitter + Instagram +TikTok @katiejoyofosho Theme Song by Sean Wilcox, Instagram @wilcoxmusic, Twitter @wilcox_music Cover Art by Maggie Brownstone --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hphottakes/support

Harmony and Meryl talk to season two guest Carrie Wittmer about Hollywood Homecoming, the seventh episode of season 3 of GLOW! Carrie (@carriesnotscary) is a freelance entertainment journalist and comedy writer whose work can be found in Vulture, Harper’s Bazaar, Consequence of Sound, McSweeneys and The New Yorker. She is also a co-author of New Erotica for Feminists, available wherever books are sold!  Find Harmony at @harmonopoly and Meryl at @MerylWilliams on Twitter. #HeadOverHeelsPod Theme song: "Head Over Heels," Tears for Fears

"We hit on this nerve that it would be erotic for women to just be treated in a safe, human way." - Brooke Preston   Caitlin Kunkel, Brooke Preston, Fiona Taylor, and Carrie Wittmer are comedy writers and satirists whose work has been featured in the New Yorker, McSweeney's, and many other outlets. Together, they cofounded and edit the website The Belladonna, which responds to today's culture, news, and politics with comedy and satire written by women writers by all definitions. The Belladonna has been called “the New Onion” by Vulture and the editors some of the “gatekeepers of American humor” by The Writer Magazine. Follow New Erotica for Feminists on Twitter, Instagram, or the website neweroticaforfeminists.com. Follow The Belladonna on Twitter, Facebook, or their website thebelladonnacomedy.com.  Connect with Caitlin Kunkel on Twitter @KunkelTron or her personal website caitlinkunkel.com.  Connect with Brooke Preston on Twitter @bigu or her personal website brookeprestoncomedy.com.  Connect with Fiona Taylor on Twitter @fionaleslie or her personal website therealfionataylor.com.  Connect with Carrie Wittmer on Twitter @carriesnotscary her personal website carriesnotscary.com.   ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF NEW EROTICA FOR FEMINISTS HERE.     Caitlin's book recommendations: The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters by Priya Parker and The Witch Elm by Tana French Fiona's book recommendations: Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward by Gemma Hartley and anything by Samantha Irby Brooke's book recommendation: Amateur Hour: Motherhood in Essays and Swear Words by Kimberly Harrington    Mentioned in today's episode: The Loft's Wordplay event May 11-12 How to Start a Podcast with Renee Powers at ModernWell May 13 Comedian Kelsey Caine aka Penis C.K. Illustrator Sarah Kempa on Instagram @auntsarahdraws   About today's sponsor: Glee Gum is an independent, certified woman-owned business, dedicated to linking world communities and creating environmentally and socially responsible products. Based out of Providence, RI, they were the first gum in the world to be non-GMO verified. Subscribers will receive both sugar-free and sugar-friendly options and all products are allergy-friendly, gluten free, kosher and vegan with no artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors, or preservatives. Learn more at gleegum.com  -- Website: http://www.feministbookclub.com Instagram: @feministbookclubbox Twitter: @fmnstbookclub Facebook: /feministbookclubbox Email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dvRgvD   -- Logo and web design by Shatterboxx  Original music by @onyxrose.music Transcript for this episode: bit.ly/FBCtranscript18   Get $5 off your Feminist Book Club Box with the code PODCAST at feministbookclub.com/shop.  

If you haven't heard about New Erotica For Feminists then you need to tune into today's episode, a sly and satirical take on all the things that turn feminists on. In this episode you'll get a glimpse into the daydreams of Caitlin Kunkel, Brooke Preston, Fiona Taylor and Carrie Wittmer. Their book imagines a world in which all erotica was written by feminists, including equal pay, a gender-balanced Congress, and Tom Hardy arriving at their doorstep to deliver a fresh case of LaCroix every week. New Erotica For Feminists: https://amzn.to/2DP6onE See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Carrie Wittmer (@carriesnotscary) returns to end the terrible, long, stupid year of 2018. She has a new book called New Erotica For Feminists: Satirical Fantasies of Love, Lust and Equal Pay that you can and should buy now. We talk about how our favorite movies and tv of 2018 including The Favourite, Widows, not watching Amazon's The Romanoffs, The Americans, Into The Spider-Verse and much more. We all made it through another terrible year and we are all stronger and weirder for it. Thank you so much for listening. Watch Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story with your family. See you in 2019.

Ep 4: Carrie Wittmer + The O.C. Chrismukkah by Deck The Pod

What if Tom Hardy drove up to your house to deliver loads of LaCroix and cash? That’s the premise of just one of the stories in New Erotica for Feminists, a book of “satirical fantasies of love, lust, and equal pay.” And we were lucky enough to talk to its authors! We got three out of the four—yes, four—authors on the line to talk about writing the book, how they collaborate with so many different schedules and voices in the mix, what it’s like to build a women-run comedy site on a shoestring, and why all of us could use a group of badass creative partners in our lives. > We all have a lot of rage at society…and this partnership helps us sort of channel it into a constructive way where it’s at least cathartic and we can feel like we’re helping other people laugh. I mean, that’s one of the things that came out of this book—we would love for it to change the world. It’s probably not going to do that, but at least it entertains people and makes them feel like they are not so alone. > —Fiona Taylor , co-author, New Erotica for Feminists Links on links on links Pick up New Erotica for Feminists pretty much everywhere Bookmark The Belladonna, our guests’ hilarious comedy site Follow the authors: Caitlin Kunkel, Brooke Preston, Carrie Wittmer, and Fiona Taylor Read the McSweeney’s piece that started it all Also on the agenda We talk about writing with coauthors: what works, what doesn’t, and how to make sure no one loses their shit in the process Katel talks about finding her own voice, distinct from her company’s Sara wonders if her freewheelin’ podcastin’ lifestyle is bad for business (and whether she cares) (Spoiler: her bank account cares) We say farewell to our co-host Jenn, who’s sadly not coming back to the show next season (but whose hilarious takes on balancing parenting and professional badassery we miss every day) Sponsors This episode of NYG is brought to you by: Shopify, a leading global commerce platform that’s building a world-class team to define the future of entrepreneurship. Visit shopify.com/careers for more. Harvest, makers of awesome software to help you track your time, manage your projects, and get paid. Try it free, then use code NOYOUGO to get 50% off your first paid month. Transcript Sara Wachter-Boettcher Thanks to Harvest for supporting today’s show. Harvest makes project planning software that you can use for all kinds of crucial stuff like tracking time, managing deadlines, and my personal favorite—getting paid. They’ve even got all kinds of reports you can run to gain insight and shine a light on the health of your projects. Try it free at getharvest.com and when you upgrade to a paid account, make sure you use the code “noyougo” for fifty percent off your first paid month. That’s getharvest.com, offer code “noyougo.” [intro music plays for 12 seconds] SWB Hey everyone, I’m Sara! Katel LeDû And I’m Katel. SWB And you’re listening to No, You Go, the show about building satisfying careers and businesses KL getting free of toxic bullshit SWB and living your best, feminist life at work. KL Today we are talking to Brooke Preston, Carrie Wittmer, and Fiona Taylor, three of the four—yes, four—authors of New Erotica for Feminists, a collection of “Satirical Fantasies of Love, Lust, and Equal Pay.” It came out last month, after the authors wrote a post of the same name on McSweeney’s earlier this year. We talk with them about the book, why they wrote it, and what it was like to collaborate with four co-authors, as well as how they all came to be writing partners, and what it’s like to write satirical erotica—or erotic satire??—about women getting promotions and men doing housework. It was awesome. SWB Yes, it was a super fun interview to do, but I actually want to start with something a little bit serious—creative collaboration! It’s such a big theme for us, I feel like it comes back around to that over and over again. And obviously, that’s important for me and you, but also it got me thinking about cowriting. I also co-authored a book with Eric Meyer, it’s called Design for Real Life, you may have heard of it. KL Uh, yeah I have. And I remember when you came to us, that’s actually the first and only book so far that we’ve published by two authors at A Book Apart. And when you pitched it, I was kind of not worried, but—and less worried that it would be hard for us to publish, but more about what the process was going to be like because I’d never done that with two authors and I wasn’t sure if you all had an approach or how you would do it. And I don’t think I ever really asked you about how that went. What was it like? SWB You know, you’re asking a little late. The book’s already been out for like [KL laughs] two years! [laughs] KL I know! [laughing] I’m like, “by the way…” SWB Okay! So, at first, I had this moment where I thought that maybe it would be easier than writing a book by myself because I’d actually just written my first book alone before that. And, you know, I thought it’s fewer words per person, right? KL [laughing] Yeah. That totally sounds like good math. SWB Yeah. [laughs] It wasn’t really easier. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. This is not negative in any way, it just wasn’t for me. And I think Eric would probably agree, it wasn’t necessarily an easier process than writing alone because me and Eric, we had never worked together before. So, we didn’t really have a shared history or a shared voice. It wasn’t like this came out of all these other projects, it came out of just sort of—we had some overlapping interests and we had recently become very driven to help designers sort of understand how their work could impact people or hurt people. And so we came at it with a lot of shared passion and sort of some shared values, but we just—we didn’t have a body of work or a history together to build on. So, it was like starting from scratch in a lot of ways. And I think one of the things that we tried to do was just communicate really clearly and really kind of concretely about who was doing what and how we wanted to do things. And it’s not like every decision we made at the beginning about how to break up the work stuck, things morphed over time. But I think it sort of set us up to talk to each other about it and not make assumptions about it, which was good. KL Yeah. And I can imagine. I mean, you’re two different people and it’s two different perspectives, and even though you’re both really great writers, I just want to say that at least from my perspective, it felt very smooth. And I think you’re a natural lead taker on projects, so I’m sure it helped having someone sort of steering the ship. Were your conversations with Eric productive? SWB Yeah, I think that one of the things you mentioned that it felt very smooth, I think one of the reasons it felt very smooth was that we talked a lot about how to fit things together. And, like you said, we’re both strong writers, but I think my experience is a little bit more editorial, meaning I have a lot more experience editing other people’s work. And so, for me, it would be painfully obvious where he had written something and where I had written something. And so for me— KL [laughing] Right. SWB —I spent more of that time smoothing things out before you ever saw it. KL Right. SWB And I worried a little bit—I was nervous about doing too much of it because I didn’t want to make him feel like I was changing all of his stuff or his voice, but I think that we had a good conversation about that. And fundamentally, he trusted me from that perspective and also wasn’t precious about it. And I’m glad that we had that because it did allow me to take something I was already strong at—I’m quick at doing that kind of smoothing editorial from editing other people’s work for years, that it ended up feeling pretty good. I think it made me—I think, I hope—a better writer or a better partner in projects and it also I think just made me better or more confident in collaborating with people, which is good because now I collaborate with you all the time and I don’t know, I feel like it’s going okay. [laughs] [5:35] KL Uh, definitely. I think about this a lot over the years of running A Book Apart because everyone I work with is freelance. So, there’s a lot of collaboration that has to happen in all sorts of different degrees of intensity. Even though we’ve developed a network of editors, for example, I work mainly with Lisa Maria Martin, who is our managing editor. SWB I love Lisa Maria! You know, I have gotten to collaborate with her too. I think the first time was actually way back in 2012. KL Wow! SWB I knew she wanted to quit her job, and a project came up where I was putting together a team for it—it was a really big project—and I was like, “hey, if you are ready to get out of there, I can get you on to this project with me. It’ll go for three months.” She wanted to move and so the timing was perfect. The project was not perfect, [both laugh] but the timing was good and it was the right moment for me to be able to be like, “hey, I think you’d be a really great fit for this.” And from there we’ve gotten to be able to work together a bunch of different times. And it’s just awesome when you have somebody that you can kind of sync with and that you can really trust. And so I’m really glad that you get to work with her! KL I know, me too. And I love working with her. It’s funny because I think about sort of the trajectory of how we’ve built out processes and stuff. And for a long time, I thought having several editors working across projects was the best approach, but then working more and more closely with Lisa Maria, I realized that it was more effective to have a lead on everything and then bring others in as needed. And I think we both actually realized that. Plus I think we both really love having what we consider a quote on quote “real colleague” in our day to day ABA work. I mean, I know I do and I think it’s just been really important to both of us. But I don’t think I’ve collaborated with someone on a really big project in a long time. The podcast and the other work you and I are doing are definitely the biggest outside of my daily gig. And I’m going to say it, it’s been an incredible journey. You know how I like to talk about journeys. [laughing] I have learned so— SWB [laughing] I do, I do know this about you. [both laugh] KL [laughing] I am looking at my crystals on my windowsill. I have learned so much about myself. One thing I did not realize until we started doing more together was that I was really hungry for new challenges. And then we started the podcast and I was like, “wow, here are all these things I do not know how to do.” Like developing a good interview, or crafting articulate ways to tell the stories I want to tell. And I learned so much from you, you’ve helped me get a lot more comfortable with that articulation and you just really make me feel like I am capable of anything. SWB That’s so great to hear because I also—I feel like it’s been really exciting for me over the course of the past year to hear you sort of get more comfortable in interviews, get more comfortable in our conversations and open up more. We’ve talked about this. KL Yeah. SWB I came into this doing a lot of public speaking and it doesn’t mean I knew shit about podcasting [KL laughs] because I did not. I did not. But it did mean that I was a little bit more confident putting sentences together on the fly. KL Totally. SWB And that’s just something you have to get used to. And so, I don’t know, I feel like over the course of us working on this, I’ve been like, “oh my gosh, it’s so great to hear more of your voice shining through on things.” KL I love it. SWB Okay, so something else I’ve been thinking about after we did this interview was what do you do when you have a creative project or a side project or whatever it is, and it doesn’t necessarily align with the rest of your professional identity? So, I asked our interviewees about how this fits in with the jobs that they have because they have jobs in journalism or digital strategy. And I wondered, “are you ever worried about not being taken seriously in those spheres because you’re writing feminist erotica in this other sphere?” And I asked that question for me because [laughs] I’ve wondered about that for this show. We are really open here, I talk about a lot of personal stuff, we interview people who talk about periods and sex tech or just subjects that I think a lot of corporate culture is really uncomfortable with, right? Like talking about race and racism directly. And so I’ve worried and wondered and worried and wondered over and over again—what does that do to my consulting business? And, you know, it actually hasn’t [laughs] necessarily been great for it! KL [laughs] Yeah, I mean, it’s so interesting to hear you talk about that because I think my work is associated with A Book Apart as a company, it’s so different for me. I’m not selling myself directly in the way that you are. And I feel like I do have a certain amount of flexibility and sort of safety to branch out and expand my professional persona. And obviously, I also want to stay mindful of how I present myself on behalf of A Book Apart, but it’s so interesting to kind of look at those two things side by side. [10:15] SWB Yeah and I guess as I think about it and as I talk through it out loud, I think in my head I think, “oh, maybe this podcast is at odds with my consulting.” But I actually am not sure that’s what it is. It’s more maybe, I don’t know, I guess over the past year, I feel like I’ve invested a ton of time in getting this off the ground and really wanting to make it good. And that isn’t tied directly to my consulting and as a result of that, I haven’t done a lot of work to publicly talk about practical issues within design, content strategy, user experience. And I do still have opinions on that stuff, it’s not like I don’t. But I feel like I’ve been less interested in writing and speaking about it, except for talking about sort of bias and harm in tech culture, which isn’t really the kind of thing you get hired for as a consultant. KL Yeah. SWB So, I guess maybe it’s more that. It’s like, where am I spending my time and my focus and my energy? And then thinking, “well what is the right balance?” I might give a talk about something like bias and inclusion in tech products and that might be great for a conference, but do I need that to be able to turn into a longer-term project? Do I need to build clients out of that? Do I need to focus specifically on building that side of things? Or am I okay if people don’t call me as much? [KL laughs] Am I going to be okay with that? KL Yeah. SWB And what does that look like? And so I don’t know that I have the exact answer to that yet, but it’s something I’m really thinking about. And it’s funny, it’s been seven years that I’ve worked for myself and I think this is the very first time that I’ve felt a little bit like, not just that I’m making evolutionary change or iterative change, but more like, “oh, you might be reaching a crossroads.” KL [laughing] Oh my gosh, yes! I was just realizing that. I have been with A Book Apart for—it will be six years in March, which just—I can’t believe it. And it’s amazing and it really feels like a big accomplishment, but I also think about how that’s a long time and only in the last year have I really branched out and developed a bit more of myself that isn’t strictly associated with A Book Apart. SWB I think that’s awesome. I think six years is a long time and I think it is something to celebrate, but I think it’s also a huge thing to celebrate that in the past year, you have been like, “oh wait, I’m not just this business, I am also a person with an individual identity” and wanting to kind of tease that out a bit. And, I don’t know, maybe we’re at the crossroads together. Maybe we can do a remake of that Britney Spears movie. KL Uhh, you know I’m down for that. [both laugh] SWB So, okay. So as much as I want to resolve all of our career questions in the next ten minutes, I don’t think it’s going to happen. KL I mean, that would be great. [laughs] SWB But I will say this. I felt really inspired when I heard the New Erotica authors talk about how they worked together and how they think of their collaboration and how they trust each other because it’s—I don’t know, I feel like that’s more how we work together. KL Yeah, it totally is. SWB They’re funnier, but that’s okay [KL laughs] because it made me really confident that however things shake out and whatever it is that I decide to do with my life and however we decide to work together in the future, I guess I feel like you’re going to be at the center of all of it, which is great. [music fades in, plays for five seconds, and fades out] [13:21] Interview: the authors of New Erotica for Feminists KL Today’s show is real special because we’ve got multiple guests joining us. They are three of the four authors who wrote one of our new favorite books—I’m going to give it to all the feminists in my life for the holidays. It’s called New Erotica for Feminists: Satirical Fantasies of Love, Lust and Equal Pay and we are so very here for it. Brooke, Fiona, and Carrie, welcome to No, You Go. Carrie Wittmer Thank you for having us. KL So, your fourth co-author, Caitlin, couldn’t make it today, but we are really excited to talk with the four of you. How did you all start working together? CW So, we all met on the internet on Facebook about two—almost exactly two years ago. I was a member along with Caitlin, Brooke and Fiona of a private Facebook group for female comedy writers. And I was feeling very frustrated because I couldn’t get any of my work published. I didn’t feel like any of the sites that existed, while great, didn’t really fit my voice. And so one day I just posted, “hey, does anyone want to start a female satire site with me?” and Caitlin and Fiona responded, we started emailing. And Brooke and Caitlin knew each other because they did comedy together in Portland, Oregon. And so Caitlin added Brooke and for a couple of months, we just started planning a website that became The Belladonna Comedy. And so we literally met on Facebook. KL That’s so cool. And we definitely want to ask about The Belladonna a little later on, but since we are talking about the book, let’s dive into that. Tell us what it’s all about and how it came to be. Fiona Taylor So, one day we were on GChat and we were talking about our dream of having The Belladonna get a sponsorship from LaCroix sparkling water. And Brooke said, “I’m not really sure how sponsorships work, but I think Tom Hardy drives up to your house in a box truck full of LaCroix and cash and just [KL laughs] backs up to your garage and unloads it and plays with your rescue dog.” And we were like, “yeah, that sounds scientific.” [SWB & KL laugh] So, then I said, “well, actually, that sounds like porn for Brooklyn women.” And I think Caitlyn may have said, “oh, that’s a premise. Let’s throw that into a Google Doc and start going with it.” And of course, we all had ideas from there and it morphed into the McSweeney’s piece—“New Erotica for Feminists”—that quickly went viral once it was published. And about a week later, we got an email from a book editor in the UK saying, “do you want to write a book?” And we ended up writing the book in three months and then editing it in two, so it was on a really accelerated schedule. KL That’s incredible. So, you mentioned the McSweeney’s piece went viral. Was it weird to have an article become something much larger? [16:11] CW I think it was—I’m speaking for myself—for a comedy article to get that wild, for lack of a better word, was really new and shocking to me. For my full time job I’m a reporter at Business Insider, so I’m quite used to some pieces taking off and having a huge audience. But for my comedy, which is what I’m truly passionate about, I was like, “wait, people actually want to read this.” KL [laughing] Yeah. So, there are lots of things we love about the book and in the beginning, you note that you “intentionally removed many identifiers to allow a diverse array of readers to superimpose themselves onto the page.” I personally think this makes the book very sexy. Why was that so important to do that? Brooke Preston I think these were conversations we were having throughout the process. We wanted to be very aware of the fact that we happened to be four, white, straight, cis women and making sure that were were understanding our privilege there, but also that were were writing in a way that made every reader truly feel welcome. At first, we tried to write a lot of diverse vignettes and reps that were maybe about a woman in a headscarf or about not touching someone’s hair, but it didn’t feel right to speak as someone else’s experience that we didn’t live. And so we decided to kind of go the opposite direction with it and remove a lot of the identifiers unless we were talking about a specific famous person because then everyone can sort of superimpose themselves, as they do in real erotica, and become the sexy star and feel included. CW Yeah, I think another thing we wanted to do with the book was we were trying to kind of embrace good erotica because a lot of great writers have written good erotica. Most of it on the internet is bad, but there are some great writers who have written good erotica and the best erotica is not specific because it invites you to imagine yourself. I think I said at another talk a couple of days ago how erotica is more specific to women and more popular to women because they’re not seeing some guy rail a woman in a kind of gross, upsetting way. They’re imagining themselves, not seeing someone else do it. So, I think it was important to us to also stay true to the good erotica that we’ve seen. KL Yeah. Things start out super strong with the opening vignette and I will read it, if I may. [laughs] “The cop asks if I know why he pulled me over. ‘Because my taillight is out?’ ‘Yes ma’am, it’s not a huge deal, but it could be a potential safety issue. I’m happy to escort you to a busy and well-lit garage a few blocks up run entirely by female mechanics. I won’t give you a ticket if you can take care of it now.’ ‘That’s fair,’ I say, my eyes lingering over his clearly visible badge and identification.” So, [laughs] A) that’s hot. [FT laughs] B) I know this is satire, but legitimately it turns me on too, which makes me think about how sad I am that literal fairness, equality, and not being treated terribly is so scintillating. [laughs] Can you tell us more about how you explored the play between satire and erotica and maybe what kind of boundaries you came up against, if any? [19:26] FT I think one of the things that we discovered while we were writing this is we read our joke and we were like, “haha, that’s so funny.” And then we were like, “but is it really funny? Because that’s how the world should be.” And then there was sort of a mixture of sadness and rage in there as well. So, I think that’s what we tried to do with the satire is just sort of create—it’s funny, but it really shouldn’t be funny because this is really how the world should be. BP And our UK team, as part of the promotion of the book, created a “My Feminist Fantasy” hashtag and had readers kind of write their own vignettes about what their feminist fantasies would be. And it was—they were very funny and very good, but also it was striking that so many of them just centered around safety—just basic safety. Someone wrote in and the gist of the vignette was that they were waiting at a bus stop and a man comes up next to them and takes off his headphones and says, “I can tell that it’s making you uncomfortable that I’m here and you don’t know me, so I’m just going to wait at a different bus stop.” [laughs] And that’s the whole vignette. And that so many of these are just like you realize that we’re not at a place societally on either side of the pond where we can just take our safety for granted. And so even though we’ve come so far in the last year or so in the national conversation, this was sort of also chance to say, “yes, but big and small, there are still so many inequalities that we still have to address and that are still so far from being our erotic ideal [laughs] or reality.” CW Yeah. I’ll also say my approach to writing this book was a little different than my co-authors in that I just read a lot of erotica. This is also how I approach a lot of my satirical writing and comedy. I just go deep into the thing that I’m trying to satirize. So, I just read a lot of erotica and I thought, “okay, I just read a really upsetting master and dom thing with a buttplug and they were coworkers, how can I make this into—spin the feminist issue on this?” So, instead of thinking of what are the issues I want to address, I did what are the erotica things I want to put in the book and then how can I spin them? So, it was really eye opening. KL Yeah, I can imagine. That’s super interesting. And in another set of vignettes in the New Erotica for Feminists Who Are Parents chapter—that chapter is perfection. One of our faves from that, [laughs] again if I may. “I open my blouse, my naked breasts peeking through for a fleeting moment. I breastfeed my child in public. It is extremely uneventful and everyone is chill about it.” So racy! [laughs] I mean, we know from friends with babies that this is quite literally a fantasy. You’re never far from a judgey person or a creep. Why do you think it’s important to call this out and why was it important to include these in the book? BP Fiona and I are both parents. But obviously even though Carrie and Caitlin are not currently parents, they are very supportive of women who choose to be parents. And so the four of us really felt like parents are really just an overworked and under-appreciated part of the population. And feminists who are parents are facing a lot of really real challenges and a lot of the most egregious examples of this inequality—the lack of paid maternity leave being a great one. Or talking about a less than perfect split of emotional labour in the household. And so, I think we have a joke in the table of contents that says something like, “we’ll explore the fantasies of these parents, even if it’s really just naps.” And I think we wanted to make sure there was a parent chapter, even though I think it was the hardest to write because obviously, you don’t want there to be any whiff of that you’re trying to eroticize children. [laughs] And so it was the hardest entry point to try and crack, but it was important for us to include. KL So, talking a little bit more about the process, what was the book writing process like for the four of you? FT I think it was less challenging because there were four of us, which made it a lot easier. Someone always has an idea, even if someone else is like, “I am totally braindead at this moment.” So, what we did is we opened a Google Doc. First, in our book proposal we worked out the sections. So, everyone just started throwing ideas in there and I think our work on The Belladonna—we edit together, we write pieces together, we’re just so used to working with each other now that I don’t think there’s ever been an issue where someone has edited or added to someone else’s work and anyone has had an issue with that because we all make each other’s work stronger and better I think. So, people would have an idea, sort of throw it in there, get it as far as they could, then everyone else would sort of come in and go at it and make it stronger and I think that we’re just really lucky that we collaborate well together. CW Yeah. I think another thing we did really well was communicate on when we were going to work a bunch on the book. So, I would send a GChat to the group like, “hey, I’m getting up early on Saturday morning and I’m planning on spending the entire day writing.” And we were just really good about communicating when we could, and so I think our contributions to the book were all very equal. I mean, we’re—like Fiona said, because we do edit each other and add jokes to some that maybe we—I originally wrote, we all have an imprint on every single part of the book. A lot of people have been asking, “oh, so which chapters did you write, Carrie?” And I’m like, “I wrote the whole book. We all wrote the whole book.” [KL laughs] [25:30] BP I would just say the other piece of that to tack on—we all bring a sort of different sensibility to our writing, so Fiona has a lot of literary depth, as does Caitlin. Caitlin has a strong knowledge of mythology. Carrie, being an entertainment reporter, has a ton of science fiction and TV and referential knowledge. So, everyone just brings something different to the table and has a slightly different voice. And so they meld really well together and so it was a good check on ourselves because there were a few times where we would go back and edit and then in the early stages—the original person that had started the draft of that vignette and would say, “oh, that wasn’t actually the joke that I was originally going for.” But then if we weren’t getting it, maybe the audience wouldn’t have gotten it. KL That’s so cool. It really sounds like you all do really work very well together. You also all co-founded The Belladonna together, which is a satire site by women and other marginalized genders for everyone. We love this. How did you decide to found the site and what are your goals for it? BP I think one of the pieces that was really important to us was that what we didn’t want to do was create a site that the byline wasn’t really of value. The tricky part when you’re a new site and you don’t have any cache or followers yet [laughs] is that we wanted to make it really clear that we wanted to make this a high quality writing site that was selective. Not so selective that women felt they could never be part of it or develop their voice on it, but also not something where you could just send anything in and we would just put it on the site. Because I think those sites exist and they serve their purpose, but they’re not as valuable of a professional byline because they’re not a selective site. So, we wanted there to be an editorial process that was really focused on A) showing women’s voices—developing their own voice, rather than having them fit into a specific style that way that say _The Onion_— FT Yeah, because we want to really help writers and at the moment, unfortunately, we can’t pay because we’re not making any money from the site. One day we hope to have that change, that is a goal. So, in terms of—we can’t pay people, so we are trying to make sure that we give them valuable feedback that will help them get published on our site, help them get published on other sites. And sometimes when we read a piece and it’s good, but it’s not quite right for us, we’ll make suggestions about where they should submit it in order to get another byline. So, we really just want to be a place where voices that wouldn’t be heard that frequently are sort of amplified and we do want to be able to monetize and we do want to be able to pay writers and I’m sure we have other goals too. BP Yeah, I think just the biggest thing is just building that community and widening that pipeline. SWB So, you mentioned that you’re not yet making money off of the site and that you’d like to, and I wanted to ask a little about just sort of where you see the site going and how you kind of keep it in perspective. Because I know that running an indie editorial site is famous for being hard, right? We all miss—well, maybe I won’t speak for all of you—but I know me and Katel definitely miss The Toast, I miss The Awl, and I’m curious—as you’re thinking about what you want to do with The Belladonna, how do you kind of make it work, despite the fact that it is hard to run an editorial site on the internet without necessarily having a big influx of cash? CW Yeah, it’s not easy. You’re very right that it’s very hard. All of us have made sacrifices in our personal life I think to devote to the site. I think we each spend about ten hours maybe per week, give or take depending on how many submissions we get, on our work for the site. And we all work full-time, so it’s mostly our nights and weekends, our days off. And I think that we keep doing it even though we don’t get paid for it yet because we’re all so passionate about it. I know that sounds very cheesy, but it’s true. We really believe in ourselves, we really believe in our writers and we all want to get ahead—we want big TV writing jobs and we want that. So, we’re going to keep doing this because we believe in ourselves and our community and we know that this is a great way to get ourselves out there. [30:04] BP And honestly, we’ve gotten so many great emails and some of the most moving are when someone writes and says, “you know, I was going to give up on comedy and I just didn’t feel heard or appreciated in this community at all, and now I’m going to keep going.” Or a lot of people will write to us and say, “that was the nicest rejection letter I’ve ever gotten and that makes me want to submit to you again.” To me, those are real people that are experiencing maybe a lasting career shift, or maybe they’ll say, “I found sort of my own writing partners or my own people through this site and through this community and now we’re off writing together for other sites.” That is a real, tangible effect that you had on someone’s life. And so to us, that’s well worth the small time sacrifices and financial sacrifices that we’re currently putting in this site to just see this vision that we’d had actually coming to fruition and happening. SWB Yeah, that’s really interesting. It sounds like it’s not just, “we want to run an editorial site to run an editorial site,” but that there’s all these other potential outcomes that you’re looking at like are there screenwriting or TV writing gigs out there? What kind of community does this create? And that sort of changes some of the incentives, which I love hearing about that. BP And we also have really great interns. We hire a pair of interns every—it was designed to be quarterly, but in the last few rounds they have been so great that they have offered and we have begged them to stay on for longer, so it’s been more like six month cycles. And they contribute pieces to the site, they help us on the editorial side just making sure, you know, all the trains run on time. They also sometimes have their own special projects of something they’re really passionate about. Whether it’s how can we bring more diversity to the site and curating some initiatives around that, to merch—we’ve been in process talking about how do we maybe do that. So, it’s been so beneficial to have these young women, who are hungry to start their careers and so talented. SWB And so I want to pick up on something that has come up a little bit here and there as we’ve been chatting and that’s that you all are also doing other jobs. So, for those kinds of jobs, is it ever weird to navigate the different parts of your professional identity? Do you ever get worried that commercial clients or, Carrie, for you, journalists or editors will think you’re, I don’t know, not serious about that work or look at what you’re doing with erotic feminist satire [laughs] as being at odds with the other part of your identity? [BP laughs] CW I don’t really care. [laughs & SWB laughs] And if they have a problem with it, I’ll go somewhere else. That’s what I have to say because this is what I care about. [laughs] Honestly! FT Yeah, I haven’t really run into that issue. My boss, I have to say, is really excited that I published a book. He’s going to publish his own book. And he doesn’t necessarily tell clients what the name of my book is, but he’ll be like, “oh, she wrote a book.” You know, which—he’s like, “this helps me too.” So, so far it’s working out. KL So, Brooke, you and Caitlin are both involved in Second City, right? Can you tell us a little bit about that? BP Yeah! So, Caitlin is the person that created the online satire writing program and curriculum for Second City. And she’s taught that as part of their faculty for seven years. And then she brought me on just about a year ago, and now I teach her curriculum and I’ve added sort of my own notes and experiences to that as well for about a year. KL That’s so cool. I would never have ever dreamed there would be an online satire writing program. How did that start and how has it sort of evolved? BP I mean, I think Caitlin could speak to the origins of it more. But I know that the demand is really high, it’s one of the top enrolled programs perennially in the online pantheon of classes at Second City. And first of all, kudos to Second City for having online classes because I’m the only one of the four of us that doesn’t live in New York. I live in Columbus, Ohio, but that doesn’t make me any less serious about comedy writing. And we’re finding that that’s true with a lot of people and especially women, either because they have a job obligation or family obligation, that not everyone can or wants to live in New York or LA, but that that has been prohibitive for people to have professional comedy careers. So, The Second City really saw that and helped open this new channel that has raised so much talent from across the country and across the world because you can really take classes from anywhere. And it was instrumental to my development. I took Caitlin’s first iteration of classes when she developed the class, I took the first round as a student. And that really helped me polish up work and polish up my skills and find a group of people to write with and earn a lot of bylines that have led to other opportunities. [35:02] KL I love that it sort of morphed into that for you. So, we’re really interested in how you all work together, obviously. And not just logistics of making work happen, creative or otherwise, but also just how it is to work with people who are also your friends. What drives you to keep making things together? BP I think we just really enjoy each other. We are friends and we like being around each other and we really are also true admirers of one another personally and professionally—of our work and our voices. And so it just makes it fun. I wish that I had more time to devote to the things that we’re working on together because it’s much more fulfilling for me—sort of in the vein of what Carrie said—it’s much more fulfilling to me to do this work than it is to necessarily work on a white paper about something. Whereas I’m good at that and I can do it, but it’s not bringing out my passion. [laughs] CW I think it also has a lot to do with the fact that we like each other like Brooke said and we work very well together, but we also know that one day, we can probably help each other do something great or do something great together. We could maybe one day create a show together, or one of us could get hired on a show and try to help us get in too. So, I think it’s just the fact that we have that passion that Brooke is talking about that’s never going to go away. It also helps us just always want to work together because we know that this is something really special that will turn into something big. And it did! [laughs] Our relationship already has benefitted all of our comedy careers, so it can only hopefully go up from here! FT Yeah, and I’m just going to add that I think we all have a lot of rage at society [laughs] in the path to here. And this partnership helps us sort of channel it into a constructive way where it’s at least cathartic and we can feel like we’re helping other people laugh. I mean, that’s one of the things that came out of this book—we would love for it to change the world. It’s probably not going to do that, but at least it entertains people and makes them feel like they are not so alone. And we also have a resource section at the end where people can decide what they can handle and take on and sort of try to change things. And so hopefully our book will make people laugh and then they can sort of go do something constructive as well. KL Sara and I feel this so much. We sort of back each other up and we keep each other going and we’re kind of these—we’re rocks for each other in all of this [laughs] hellscape that’s happening! [BP laughs] And we keep inspiring each other, so I think that’s so important. [FT laughs] And it’s really been important for us to figure out what the boundaries are around and between how we work together and what our friendships looks like. Is there ever any need to adjust or readjust the working relationship in order to kind of keep nurturing the friendships? BP Probably on smaller levels. I mean, I think we all communicate so often and pretty honestly that there aren’t needs for major adjustments too much. One example that’s funny now in retrospect—everyone always tells you how hard the writing process is and that you’re going to get exhausted and that you’re going to have these breakdowns sort of in the middle of it. And I was thinking, “you know, I think we’ve done pretty well, we haven’t had any major breakdowns.” [laughs] And then we were on a call talking about the past—someone had sort of mentioned that they were interested in potentially talking to us about in the future doing a pilot around this idea. And we had tried to start in the process of also doing the book—the book wasn’t out yet—thinking about how could we spin this off into a pilot idea. And I’d had a particularly hard week, I was very exhausted. And I don’t know if you’ve ever reached the creative place where you’re just like, “I don’t have ideas any more!” [laughs] “I don’t have any of any kind!” So, I was just sort of at that point. But I had grown up as a comedy and TV junkie, I’d really, really—what an opportunity when someone brings you to that. So, you’re thinking, “I don’t want to miss this.” And so I was so just sort of beside myself that I didn’t have any ideas [laughs] that were very good for this that Caitlin very gently on an internal call with the four of us said, “do you have any ideas, Brooke?” And I was sort of quiet for ten seconds and then I just burst into tears [laughs] on the call! And I’m like, [wailing] “I don’t have any ideas!” [laughs] It’s only funny now in retrospect, but they were so taken aback and like, “oh, are you crying?” And I’m like, [wailing] “I think so!” But they were so sweet about it and were just like, “well, maybe we should just back up [laughing] and do this after the book comes out. Maybe this is a sign that this is too much to have on our plates right now at one time.” So, that’s sort of a more extreme example of—you know, I should have been more self aware of just like, “nope, that’s too much for me!” and just been more aware of it. But I was just so exhausted that it just manifested in this sudden breakdown that they were very sweet about. [40:20] SWB I love that story because I think it would be great if we were all so self-aware [CW laughs] that we were going to prevent ourselves from going into meltdown mode. [BP laughs] But you need the friends who can help you even when you do go to meltdown mode, so I love that you all found that in each other. I feel like that’s a theme that me and Katel come around to all the time on the show. So, we are just about out of time though and while we could talk with you all day, we’re going to have to let you go. And so before we do, I want to make sure we ask, where can everybody keep up with more of the awesome stuff you’re working on and very importantly, buy your book? BP So, you can buy our book anywhere that fine books are sold. If your local store doesn’t have it, it would be super great if you could ask them to carry it. Our website is thebelladonnacomedy.com. And we have a lot more ideas in the works that we hope to bring more books and more projects to you in the future if you someone will let us do that. So, that would be great. SWB Well, I certainly hope that they do. And thank you all so much for being on the show! [music fades in, plays for five seconds, and fades out] Career Chat with Shopify KL Hey friends, it’s time for our weekly career chat with Shopify. You know, I manage a small business and an online storefront and using Shopify to help us do that is a no-brainer. But what about all those big businesses? That’s where Shopify Plus comes in because they believe large merchants should love their commerce platform too. I really dig that. And the best part? They’re hiring an Enterprise Sales Rep to show high-growth, high-volume merchants like Tesla, RedBull, GE, and L’Oréal all the reliability and flexibility Shopify Plus has to offer. This isn’t just any sales position either. The job description says you’ll need to have a sense of adventure and an entrepreneurial spirit. That means you’ll be taking the reins and growing fast in the role. And get this, you’ll rack up experience equivalent to a real-world MBA. That’s really cool. I also just really love that Shopify values hiring diversity for all their positions. They say, “we know that diversity makes for the best problem solving and creative thinking, which is why we’re dedicated to adding new perspectives to the team and encourage everyone to apply.” So, if that sounds good to you, learn more about the Enterprise Sales Rep position and dozens more at shopify.com/careers. [music fades in, plays for five seconds, and fades out] Fuck Yeah of the Week KL Okay, okay. Let’s get to our fuck yeah. Sara, it’s pretty important this week. SWB Yes, it is. So, you all remember our third co-host, Jenn Lukas. So, back in October, we told you she was out for the season. And, well, she’s decided that she’s not going to be able to come back to the show. And we are really bummed out that we couldn’t figure out a way to make it work, but me and Katel decided we’re going to keep the show going. We actually have a lot more on that next week because we actually have some big news to share about the show! But this week, we wanted to first make sure we took a moment and give a fuck yeah sendoff to Jenn! So, what we want to do is listen to some favorite clips. KL Oh my gosh, yes. This is such a great idea. You know, I have really been missing her voice on parenting and figuring out how to be a mom—and any day now, a mom of two kids—while being awesome at work. And it was so helpful to have her open up about stuff like family leave. JL Maybe two months into my leave, I started watching conference talks [laughing] while I breast-fed because I missed it! I missed being in the know and being still connected to that part of me that is my career. And being like, “how do I stay ambitious while I’m physically acting as food for my child?” [laughs] SWB You know, it was so funny. I remember she actually texted me during that time to ask me, “hey, are any of the talks you’ve given recently online? Are there videos of them?” And I was like, [KL laughs] “yes, but why would you be watching them?” And I just didn’t get! So, that conversation totally helped me get, right? I was like, “oh, because she wanted to feel more connected to the stuff that she felt like she was missing.” And so that made me also remember we need to make sure as we go forward that we talk about parenting-related issues. And we definitely need to bring on more badass moms because otherwise I’m not going to realize all that stuff! KL Yes! SWB You know what I also miss though? I miss Jenn’s sense of humor a lot. She was always bringing so much energy to the show. Like when we all talked about periods? JL You know, they have the Myers-Briggs test and these color tests and I just want you to know that my personality right now is period! KL I know, [laughs] I could not stop laughing. Something Jenn always did was bring a lot of energy to the show, like you said. And also no one—no one—loves Jeopardy as much as Jenn. [45:05] JL At one point during labour, I think I definitely said to my husband and doula, “I wonder who won College Jeopardy.” [SWB & KL laugh] SWB Yeah, so when Lilly Chin, who was the winner of that College Jeopardy tournament that she mentioned, when she agreed to be on the show, I thought Jenn was going to lose it. [KL laughs] Not quite like Ke$ha level of lose it, but still, she was going to lose it! KL Yeah. SWB So fuck yeah, Jenn, we miss you. And we are sending you all of our best vibes as you prep for baby number two! KL Fuck yeah! That’s it for this week’s episode of No, You Go. NYG is recorded in our home city of Philadelphia and produced by Steph Colbourn. Our theme music is by The Diaphone. Thanks to Brooke Preston, Carrie Wittmer, and Fiona Taylor for being our guests today. And if you loved today’s show as much as we did, don’t forget to subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Your support helps us do what we do and we love that! See you again next week for our season finale! SWB And big news! Bye! KL Bye! [music fades in, plays alone for 32 seconds, and fades out]

Carrie Wittmer (The Belladonna Comedy, New Erotica For Feminists) joins Alan to talk about her comprehensive writing major, making herself write humor pieces every week, and being an entertainment journalist.New Erotica For Feminists is out now! https://www.amazon.com/New-Erotica-Feminists-Satirical-Fantasies-ebook/dp/B07D22FBSD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542162549&sr=8-1&keywords=new+erotica+for+feminists See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week I am joined by Carrie Wittmer, a comedian and television/entertainment reporter. We get to know each other, talk about the MCU and Paddington 2, the fantastic new Mitski album BE THE COWBOY and more. Then Carrie and I dissect Halt and Catch Fire, an underrated show that we both love dearly. If you have seen the show this episode is for you. If you haven't seen the show maybe this episode will make you want to start it! All four season are available on Netflix and it is one of the very best there is.  Carrie has a book called NEW EROTICA FOR FEMINISTS coming out on November 13th. She is on Twitter @Carriesnotscary.

Carrie Wittmer, TV writer for Business Insider, joins the show in this part one of a two-part chat. In today's first part, she talks with Harmony and Meryl about episode 9 of GLOW season two, "Rosalie." Pull up a non-Patio Town chair and listen! Carrie is on Twitter @carriesnotscary and you can find Harmony @harmonopoly and Meryl is @MerylWilliams! Tweet about the podcast at #HeadOverHeelsPod. Theme song: "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears.

This episode of Talkward welcomes guest Carrie Wittmer! Carrie is a comedy writer, performer and a co-founder of The Belladonna Comedy –  Comedy and satire by women, for everyone. She along with her co-editors Caitlin Kunkel, Brooke Preston, and Fiona Taylor have penned their first satire book New Erotica for Feminists due out in November! Follow Carrie on the twitter @carriesnotscaryRead the article that is becoming a book!https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/new-erotica-for-feministsPre-order the book now!

This episode of Talkward welcomes guest Carrie Wittmer! Carrie is a comedy writer, performer and a co-founder of The Belladonna Comedy –  Comedy and satire by women, for everyone. She along […]