The Spinster Life Podcast

In this very haute couture solo episode, Amie has graduated from fangirling to a more nuanced way to look at what famous spinsters of history can teach us. This analysis of fashion maven Coco Chanel delves into both the good and the bad. Sure, Coco Chanel changed fashion by designing clothes that were less restrictive and easier to move in, which helped further women’s rights. But Coco was also a...

Post grad researcher Lucy Rivers is back for another look at TV. This time around, we’re discussing the women of the Netflix series BoJack Horseman. Even though the show has a male lead, the women he surrounds himself with are a vitally important part of the show. In her academic work, Lucy has explored how mental illness is represented on TV through the lens of BoJack Horseman. If you’ve never se...

“In his book on female aviators, Bernard Marck explained under the photos of three women that the first woman piloted balloons, gliders, airplanes, hydroplanes, and helicopters. The second woman was"a medalist who made a clean sweep in the entire range of sports: swimming, gymnastic, skiing, walking, fencing (saber, foil, and épée), polo, bobsled, boxing, ju-jitsu, shooting, equitation, ice-skatin...

In this episode, Amie confronts her own mortality as she talks to Patricia De Fonte about estate planning. But she soon learns that estate planning isn’t just for when you’re dead. Patricia breaks down everything you need to know for your own estate plan. Things like: * What to look for in an estate lawyer * How to decide who gets your stuff * How insurance can help you answer the question “Who wi...

Female pleasure. Access to the contraception of your choice. Women masturbating! Breaking up with someone who is anti-choice!! For a show about nothing, Seinfeld sure had a lot to say. In this episode, listen to Amie’s conversation with Sheevani Desai, the host of Hot & Heavy: The Elaine Benes podcast where they nerd out and fangirl all over Julia Louis Dreyfuss and the legacy Elaine had on their...

Another solo podcast episode! This time I'm livid about a paint commercial! You might have seen the uproar online about an ad for paint that aired in the UK all over social media. It was supposed to be a lighthearted story about a couple painting a nursery, but it quickly turned into a story about how childfree women are constantly told that they don't know what they really want. You can also watc...

In this episode, Amie sits down with fellow spinster and fellow podcaster Lucy Meggeson, the host of Spinsterhood Reimagined, for a two-part conversation. What could two childfree spinsters possibly have to talk about if they don’t have husbands or kids? Plenty as it turns out. In part one ( catch part two on Spinsterhood Reimagined), Lucy and Amie tell their single stories, which feature late-nig...

It's a podcast. No, it's a video. Wrong again. It's both! In this episode of my YouTube podcast crossover show, I discuss the legacy of 30 Rock and how the show contributed to how we see single women in their late 30s and beyond. Was Liz Lemon a secret spinster hero? Or did the show do more to further the idea that all women feel incomplete if they're not in a relationship? You can listen to more...

One host. One microphone. One camera. In this episode, Amie monologues about the rantings of an old white man and the writings of Elena Ferrante. Last week The Sunday Times published a piece titled "Should We Tax The Childless?" and the internet blew up and said, "Absolutely Not"!  Childfree people are already familiar with this handwringing about how we are not doing our part to furnish the futur...

Will television rot your brain if you talk about it with an academic? Amie finds out when she talks to Lucy Rivers, a post-grad researcher who has a thing or two to say about how women are represented in US sitcoms. Light spoiler alerts ahead! Amie and Lucy do discuss what happens in the series finale of The Golden Girls. Don't say that you weren't warned! Timestamps Mary Tyler Moore - 13:25 MASH...

One host. One microphone. One camera. Amie is thrilled to introduce a new format for the podcast and YouTube! In this yet untitled series, listen as Amie monologues about some of the pieces of content that she's watched this week, and how they've changed (or solidified) how she thinks about single women in the pop culture narrative. In this episode, Amie reacts to two streaming shows about the wom...

One host. One microphone. One camera. Amie is thrilled to introduce a new format for the podcast and YouTube! In this yet untitled series, listen as Amie monologues about some of the pieces of content that she's watched this week, and how they've changed (or solidified) how she thinks about single women in the pop culture narrative. In this episode, Amie tackles Instagram Face. Social media has wa...

Three months before her wedding, my guest Laëtitia Nguyen was focused on wedding planning. When her fiance called off the engagement, Laëtitia didn't let her heartbreak overtake her. Instead, she went through with the wedding as planned, except for one new twist. She married herself in a beautiful ceremony, the wedding of her dreams! Listen as Laëtitia tells us about her Solo Wedding in Santorini,...

Amie gets another chance to talk to the incomparable Yanna Slack! This week they discuss how spinsters can take care of themselves when they're sick, injured, or aging. And it turns out there are lots of ways to set up a robust support system for yourself, and so many social changes we can advocate for that can help us all live more connected lives. This is the second part of a two-part series. Yo...

Amie is joined by guest co-host Yanna Slack. Yanna's experience with spinsterhood started in childhood when she was surrounded by multiple single women who lived fulfilled lives full of peace and freedom. Today, she tells us about the Beguines, an independent spiritual order that gave women the freedom to remain single, and the invaluable service they provided to their communities.  This is part o...

Haley Shapley is the author of Strong Like Her , a look at the history of female athletes. Shapley's own foray into weightlifting gave her a unique insight into the way women's bodies are viewed in relation to fitness and made her curious if women have always been judged more than men. The short answer is yes. Enragingly, yes. But as Shapley started researching how women throughout history stayed...

Money: a subject we've never tackled on the podcast before. Until today that is. Amie chats with Financial Planner Rachael Burns about how newly single women, or women who've always been single, can take small steps toward making a financial plan that leaves their sanity intact. Rachael is the face of True Worth Financial. She specializes in helping newly single women get a handle on their finance...

Amie welcomes sex and relationship therapist Liz Dube to the show. Let's talk about sex! Just because you're single doesn't mean that you have to be celibate, and it also doesn't mean that you have to be in a committed relationship. Casual sex comes with some risks, but Liz gives us some great advice on how to navigate personal safety, consent, and what to do when someone catches the feels. You ca...

In the last episode, Amie and Laurel told you a little bit more about Gloria Steinem. This week, Laurel asks Amie about her experience living like Gloria, and Amie dishes about:   All the highs and lows. All the outrage and ah-ha moments. All the radical feminism. Thanks to Laurel for guest hosting! You can follow our podcast, Love Fool (@lovefoolpodcastofficial) on IG! Listen to Part One Amie's E...

How do you live the spinster life? By following in the footsteps of other great spinsters! The podcast is launching in a bold new direction. One where Amie and her guest hosts don't simply talk about spinsters, they actually live like spinsters.   In this episode, Amie tells us why she wants to live like Gloria Steinem for a week and how she's going to do it.    What will she learn? Will she be ab...

I welcome my guest Aimée Lutkin. She is a writer, director, and performer from New York City, where she was born and raised. Her writing has been featured on Jezebel, Marie Claire, and Glamour online, among other places. Her latest work is her memoir The Lonely Hunter. I sat down with Aimée (pronounced ah-may, like amazing) to talk to her about dating, the loneliness epidemic, and the history of m...

What did Amie and Eva get up to in 2021? The pandemic felt endless, Eva went through some changes in her personal life, Amie wrote a book and had great hair on national television, and their conversations, as usual, have plenty of tangents.  Hear all about it in this very lengthy, very open episode.  Get full access to Hotter & Weirder at hotterandweirder.substack.com/subscribe

The Spinster Life is one year old! And what a journey it's been. Eva and Amie reminisce about their favorite moments from the podcast and make plans for the future.  They did exchange the traditional one-year anniversary gifts of paper and clocks to remind themselves about their looming mortality. They did not, however, eat old cake from the freezer.  A huge thank you to everyone who has listened...

  In this episode, Eva interviews Amie and her roommate Kasha about what it's like to have a roommate in your 40s. It is all cheesecake and St. Olaf stories like The Golden Girls? Are there constant fights? Is it something in between?? Find out as Eva hurls thoughtful, sometimes divisive questions at Kasha and Amie, who dish out some roommate realness.   As always, we play our favorite game, but t...

Think you know Stacey Abrams the politician and voting rights activist? In this episode, Eva and Amie learn more about spinster Stacey Abrams and her sultry side. Stacey also published romance novels under the nom de plume Selena Montgomery, while she was attending Yale Law School!  E & A also tell us about their attempt at writing erotica, discuss the high price of success, and play a new gam...