Sports journalist Frankie de la Cretaz joins me to talk about Heated Rivalry, the queer hockey romance that has straight women yelling “kiss!” at NHL games. We get into what that phenomenon reveals about MLM romance, consent in different queer communities, and the complicated politics of who gets to consume queer culture. We also dive into Frankie’s experience defeating Boston’s…

Figure skating journalist, coach, and writer Maura Sullivan Hill joins me to discuss what I’m predicting will be an extremely messy Winter Olympics. We talk about the lore surrounding today’s figure skaters, the politics baked into every aspect of the sport, and why—spoiler alert—Michelle Kwan should have won the gold medal. Plus, Maura breaks my heart by confirming the pachinko…

American Girl is turning 40 this year (same, honestly), and with that milestone comes some reckoning with their original books. A few years ago, they quietly released revised editions of some classics, including “Kirsten Learns a Lesson”—the book where Swedish immigrant Kirsten befriends an Indigenous girl named Singing Bird, they somehow communicate without language, and then Singing Bird’s family just…leaves…

Landline is the podcast where pop culture gets some context. Hosted by historian Mary Mahoney—your millennial friend with too many interests and not enough friends willing to talk on the phone—each episode calls up guests to connect today’s celebrity culture, internet trends, TV, music, and movies to the histories that explain why it all feels so familiar (even if it’s…