You're Wrong About

This week, we bring you a re-release from our bonus vault as Sarah tells Carolyn Kendrick about the making of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. We learn about the worlds of songwriting and production, how the music business has changed since the 1970’s, and of course all the interpersonal relationships that make us love to love this band. We will be back next week with a new episode. You can find Carolyn o...

This week, Sports Illustrated’s Julie Kliegman volleys with Sarah about trans athlete Renée Richards’s fight for her right to play in the U.S. Open. They also dig into how the dialogue surrounding trans athletes has and hasn’t changed in the 40-plus years since. Plus, are tennis balls hollow? An investigation. You can find Julie online here .  Support You're Wrong About: Bonus Episodes on Pat...

Fly with us, lesbian seagull. This week Radiolab’s Lulu Miller brings us a story of queer nature and scientists in denial, featuring seagulls, penguins, rams, swans, dolphins, and—maybe the gayest animal of all—humans. To learn more about the seagulls, and hear much more of Lulu’s story, check out Radiolab’s amazing new episode . You can find Lulu on Twitter here .  Support You're Wrong About...

“I felt that empathy like it was directed towards me, and it helped me feel like my unhappiness was enough.” On our fifth anniversary, we asked for your stories about what You’re Wrong About has meant to you. Here they are. Support us: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Donate on Paypal Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show, You Are Good [YWA co-founder] Mike's other show, Main...

“What if you were writing a profile on someone named Janet and I was your editor, and I was like, ‘I’m sorry, for balance, find someone who wants to kill Janet’?” This week, Tuck Woodstock, host of Gender Reveal, takes us on a journey through the New York Times’ coverage of trans issues—and in the end, he points the way to a better future. You can find Tuck / Gender Reveal online here . You can fi...

 In 1988, twenty-year-old American figure skater Debi Thomas headed to the Calgary Olympics to face off against East German juggernaut Katarina Witt. In the process, she became the first Black American in history to medal at a Winter Olympics. Then she disappeared from the sport. Where did she go, and who wasn’t there to catch her when she fell? This week, Leslie Gray Streeter tells Sarah about gr...

This week, we fight the real enemy with Allyson McCabe.   Here's where to find Allyson online here . You can find Allyson's book Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters here . Support us: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Donate on Paypal You're Wrong About Spring Tour Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show, You Are Good  [YWA co-founder] Mike's other show, Maintenance...

This week, national treasure Amanda Knox talks with Sarah about what the American legal system claims to be for, what it’s actually doing, and what might be possible in the future. They entertain the most heretical ideas they can think of, which mostly seem to be about unconditional love and mercy. And at the end, Sarah’s ghost boyfriend Clarence Darrow turns up.   Here's where to find Amanda...

This week, criminal justice correspondent Josie Duffy Rice dives into America’s obsession with prosecuting children. From 19th century houses of refuge to modern day detention centers, we comb through the tangled braids of juvenile incarceration, tough on crime fallacies, as well as criminality and its dark shadow of capitalism. Please take care while listening.  Side bars include ice cream boats,...

This week, survival correspondent Blair Braverman tells Sarah the story of a Supertramp. In 1996, Jon Krakauer's book Into the Wild described a young man, Chris McCandless, who changed his name, walked into the Alaskan bush, and died after mistakenly eating a toxic plant. Or did he? Now, Sarah and Blair talk about the McCandless archive and its legacy in conversations around wilderness, Alask...

This week, a tale of two Shawns/Seans, their impossible dream, and the file sharing service that lived fast, died young, and helped create the internet as we know it. Plus, Metallica. Here's where to find Niko: Website Newsletter Twitter Resources cited in the show introduction: The Racial Roots Behind the Term "Nappy" on NPR's Code Switch https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitc...

In this episode, Carolyn and Sarah follow Karen from the height of her fame through her struggle to find independence, her attempts at eating disorder recovery, and finally to her death on February 4, 1983, when she was just 32 years old. Then it's time to sing a song. We extensively discuss eating disorders, disordered eating, and everything that goes with them in this episode. Please listen...

Long ago and oh so far away, Carolyn and Sarah fell in love with Karen Carpenter when they saw her drum. We examine her meteoric rise.  CONTENT WARNING: Karen Carpenter died in 1983 of complications from an eating disorder. Most of our eating disorder discussion will take place in Part II, but we never quite get away from the topic here either. Please listen with care. Here's where to find Ca...

On October 14, 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell down a well in Midland, Texas. This week, Sarah tells our survival correspondent, Blair Braverman, about the community that worked to rescue her, and the nation that watched. Here's where to find Blair: Website Twitter Small Game [book] Support us: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Donate on Paypal Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah&apos...

They’re winsome and soft and so fun to cuddle/ With one of Ty’s Beanie Babies, you could never go wrong/ But they were all born from a toxic puddle/ It really was capitalism all along. This week, Jamie Loftus tells us the story of the greatest toy fad of the 90s, and liberates us from our tiny plastic boxes.   Here's where to find Jamie: Jamie's Website Support us: Bonus Episodes on Patr...

Put on your Docksiders for a stroll through history with Avery Trufelman, who shows us how Ivy style became “preppy,” and how preppy fashion escaped the campus and took over the world. We’re talking about clothing, class, race, and the American dream: you may be through with the polo shirt, but the polo shirt isn’t through with you. Here's where to find Avery: Articles of Interest on Substack...

How did Poltergeist get that PG rating? Podcast legend Karina Longworth, host of You Must Remember This, takes us on a wild ride through a century or so of Hollywood history, and shows us what’s been left on the cutting room floor. Here's where to find Karina: Website You Must Remember This Support us: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Donate on Paypal Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah&apos...

Our survival correspondent Blair Braverman is here to tell us the story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes on October 13, 1972. Of the 45 people on board, 16 ultimately lived. Their survival made them heroes, until the way they survived shocked the world. This week, a story of glaciers, peanuts, and friendship. Here's where to find Blair: Website Twitter Small Game...

“Abortion is healthcare and abortion is a human right. Abortion is racial justice. It’s economic justice. It’s at the intersection of every movement towards liberation. My abortion was a gift.”  We asked you to share your abortion stories with us. Here they are.  Contribute to the National Network of Abortion Funds here: https://abortionfunds.org/donate/ What to do if you need an abortion: https:/...

Why is it so hard to find the one thing you need? The Atlantic’s Amanda Mull is here to tell us the story of shopping, from the Silk Road to SHEIN hauls, and the story that emerges is one of workers turned against each other, and industrial byproducts reinvented as trends.  Here's where to find Amanda: The Atlantic Twitter Support us: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Bonus Episodes on Apple Podcasts...

This week, Mike and Sarah reunite to hunt for serial killers, and try to figure out whether they’re really endangered. Digressions include crow funerals, Carrie Bradshaw, and how we feel about being called mom and dad. An extended cut of this episode is also available for Patreon supporters and Apple + Podcast subscribers.  Here's where to find Mike: Newsletter Twitter Maintenance Phase  Supp...

You may: 1. Travel on the established trail 2. Take the Hastings Cutoff What is your choice? Chelsey Weber-Smith (American Hysteria) tells Sarah about the Donner Party.  Here's where to find Chelsey: Website Twitter Support us: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Bonus Episodes on Apple Podcasts Donate on Paypal Buy cute merch Where else to find us: Sarah's other show, You Are Good  [YWA co-founde...

This week we’re taking the back roads with Rachel Monroe, who tells us how the most prolific serial killer in American history may have been something much more ordinary—and why we keep trying to make violent men seem much more powerful than they are. Digressions include Ann Rule, career burnout, and tires for serial killers. Here's where to find Rachel: Website Twitter Support us: Bonus Epis...

Here’s some money, go see a Porn War. This week we’re going on a field trip to Times Square with Nona Willis Aronowitz, author of Bad Sex, to learn about Deep Throat, “porno chic,” and the unresolved feminist battle over whether to eradicate pornography or make more of it. Digressions include Carol Clover, this discovery of the clitoris, and Harry Reems (Joel Reems’ distant cousin). Here's wh...

This week, Eric Michael Garcia tells Sarah about America’s barely forgotten pastime, plus the Supreme Court’s long history of horrifying decisions. Digressions include due process, The Evil Dead, and what Hitler admired about the United States. Here's where Eric: Website We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation Support us: Bonus Episodes on Patreon Bonus Episodes on Apple Podca...