In Retrospect with Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett

In 1988, the actress Robin Givens and her husband Mike Tyson, the heavyweight champion of the world, gave a television interview to Barbara Walters addressing persistent tabloid rumors that their marriage was violent. In a stunningly honest moment, Givens admitted, with Tyson by her side, that she was tormented by her husband's physical abuse. In this episode, Susie and Jess revisit that interview...

The men in the office called them “Dollies,” and they had had enough. In 1970, 46 women who were not allowed to be writers sued Newsweek magazine for gender discrimination – paving the way for generations of women journalists to follow. Jess reflects on discovering that story when she was a young staffer at Newsweek four decades later, and how it led to her first book, Feminist Fight Club , which...

In Part 1, Jess and Susie dissected how a salacious Newsweek report about women’s likelihood of getting married sparked a national panic. Here they share their own views on marriage – and unpack what we’d make of that silly story today. (If you haven’t listened to Pt 1, we recommend starting there!) Guests: Sharon Attia, associate producer for IN RETROSPECT and resident young millennial FOR MORE:...

It was a 1986 cover story with a claim that spread like wildfire: A single woman over 40 was “more likely to be killed by a terrorist” than to get married. Jess and Susie unravel the origin of that salacious report — later retracted — and dissect how such a line went from reporter’s notebook to reference point in films such as “Sleepless in Seattle” and “When Harry Met Sally.” Plus: How that Newsw...

A recent Republican debate stirred up an age-old discussion about high heels: Who is allowed to wear them, how high they can be, and what they can tell us about gender politics in 2023. In this episode, Jess & Susie unravel the long history of high-heeled shoes (originally designed for men!) and how they’ve been used as a political insult and weapon. FOR MORE: Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and Th...

Mistakes? We’ve made a few. In the spirit of IN RETROSPECT, Susie and Jess share some of their professional regrets—from Susie’s season working on the reality show “Wife Swap” to a sexual harassment story Jess still thinks about. FOR MORE: Heidi Mae’s TikTok about appearing on "Wife Swap" See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amy Fisher would go to prison for shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco, the wife of her much older “boyfriend” Joey – but that wouldn’t be the end of the story. The media frenzy surrounding her would continue, and spawn three TV movies about her infamous crime. In this episode, Susie and Jess delve into Amy’s attempts to move on, where she is today, and dissect how that trope – the “lolita” – is used to pa...

In 1992, Amy Fisher, a teen girl from Long Island became a tabloid sensation almost overnight – when she shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco, the wife of her much older “boyfriend” Joey Buttafuoco. Within days, the New York Daily News would splash a picture of Amy across its front page with a headline that would follow her forever: The Long Island Lolita. In this episode, Susie and Jess interrogate the way Am...

The princess of pop's much anticipated memoir, “The Woman In Me,” is finally out. This week, Jess and Susie speed-read it and share their thoughts on the woman whose life is perhaps the ultimate case of "in retrospect." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can you understand U.S. cultural history without understanding Axe Body Spray? Listener, you cannot. In this mini-episode, Jess and Susie trace the scent that infiltrated school hallways and telegraphed wannabe masculinity for a generation of Y2K kids. Featuring a special appearance by Jess’s husband. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So Pacey lost his virginity to his high school English teacher. But what do we… call that? Was it a tryst? An affair? An assault? Jess & Susie dive into the linguistic acrobatics of how America talked about statutory rape in the 90s – and delve into the the true story that was playing out at the time, that of Seattle teacher (and convicted rapist) Mary Kay Letourneau. Guests: Rosie Bancroft, J...

It was 1998 and teenage Jessica was crammed onto the couch in the basement of a friend’s house in Seattle, swooning over the hot-and-heavy “love affair” between Pacey and Tamara on “Dawson’s Creek.” The only thing: Pacey was 15, and Tamara – aka Miss Jacobs – was his 38-year-old high school English teacher. Ew? Guests: Rosie Bancroft, Jess’s middle school pal and current middle school mental healt...

It’s “problematic.” In this mini episode, Jess rants about her dislike of this overly simplistic label (used to describe everything from people to paint colors), and Susie asks her why, if that’s the case, she can’t seem to stop using it. FOR MORE: If Everything Is ‘Trauma,’ Is Anything? (NY Times) I Was Wrong About Trigger Warnings (The Atlantic)  What If Calling People Out, We Called Them In? (N...

In 1988, Oprah Winfrey revealed on her hugely popular talk show that she’d shed 67 pounds, which she illustrated to her audience by wheeling out a little red wagon full of exactly that much animal fat. That show, the highest-rated of her 25-year run, would kickstart a cycle of speculation about this wildly successful woman’s body that would endure for decades. In this episode, Susie and Jess explo...

When lifeguard CJ Parker, played by Pamela Anderson, ran in slow-mo down a sandy California beach in her iconic cherry red swimsuit — you know the one, low in the front, hiiiiiigh on the sides — she didn’t just turn “Baywatch” into the number-one TV show in America, she became the enduring symbol of 90s sexuality. In this episode, Jess and Susie trace that swimsuit’s surprising history — and its r...

Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett met a decade ago in a newsroom, and have gone on to hold some of the most prestigious jobs in journalism. But they’re also pop culture obsessives and trash-TV addicts who can spend hours going down any rabbit hole. They often unravel cultural moments together, over late-night phone calls and edibles. Now you get to listen, too. Time to meet your hosts (hi!). FOR...

What did a generation of young women—and men—learn about sex and relationships when the most iconic romance on TV’s most popular soap opera “General Hospital” began with a rape? Susie and Jess unravel the story of Luke and Laura, the beloved couple from the longest running soap of all time, whose wedding was such a huge cultural moment that it drew more viewers than an actual royal wedding (twice)...

Do you have a piece of pop culture from your past that, looking back, makes you cringe? We sure do. Each week on IN RETROSPECT, we’ll revisit a cultural moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped us — and probably you — to try to understand what it taught us about the world, and our place in it.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.