Episodes
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The health insurer horror stories haven’t stopped coming in the two weeks since UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed by alleged murderer-turned-folk hero Luigi Mangione. And the ruling class is not having it! Elected officials, corporate CEOs, and the mainstream media with the power to change or buck the system are hell bent on protecting it, at the expense of many more lives.
This week, Katelyn and Christine discuss the sudden, ongoing suppression of free speech, sharing each of their experiences with health insurance, censorship be damned. Their conversation spans UHC’s denials and demands for Christine’s mental health records in 2024 to Kate’s gender-affirming surgeries, which she crammed into one year to meet her deductible under one of the various insurance plans that Americans will have in their lifetime. Thirsty Internet assassin boyfriend memes, of course, rise to the top. And Kate asks Christine to name the greater Italian American—Christopher Columbus, or Luigi Mangione? Tune in for her answer!
Links:
Katelyn Burns: “Among Us” skeet via Bluesky
Annie Waldman for ProPublica: How UnitedHealth’s Playbook for Limiting Mental Health Coverage Puts Countless Americans’ Treatment at Risk
Jeanne Pinder for Clear Health Costs: UnitedHealthcare delays mental health payments, causing outrage
Independent journalist Marisa Kabas’ Mangione family Bluesky skeet censored
Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein: New Crisis Hotline for CEOs?
Taylor Ardrey for USA Today: 'Delay, Deny, Depose': Florida woman arrested, accused of threatening insurance company
Reductress: Luigi Mangione meme
Samantha Irby: Luigi Mangione meme via Instagram
r/WhitePeopleTwitter (and Bluesky): Luigi Mangione versus Kyle Rittenhouse meme
Your Ombudsmon's Corner: Marisa Kabas skeet critiquing Semafor Editor in Chief Ben Smith defending Bluesky’s apparent welcome to transphobes and trolls
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Last month’s Loser Election prompted an X-odus from Elon Musk’s crumbling app to Bluesky, which grew by 1 million users per day toward the end of November. Despite the grim news cycles, Bluesky is far from all doom and gloom. It is, in fact, putting the social back in social networking.
This week, Katelyn and Christine chat with Faine Greenwood, who created the “Alf hog” meme that caught the attention of everyone from AOC to Jeri Ryan to Jake Tapper in the early days of Bluesky. Katelyn, Christine, and Faine have fun with verbal shitposting and Internet shitposting and give credit to the nascent trans accounts that helped shape Bluesky, which they hope will remain a safe and fun space amid an influx of anti-trans and anti-abortion trolls.
In Flytrap news: Subscribe to read Christine’s first essay about her colonoscopy for Christ, “The Red Mass Went Up My Ass,” edited by the inimitable Katelyn herself!
Links:
Faine Greenwood on Bluesky: @faineg.bsky.social
Follow Katelyn at @katelynburns.com and Christine at @yourombudsmom.bsky.social on Bluesky!
Gael Cooper for CNET: Bluesky Climbs to 22 Million Users, and Luke Skywalker Is One: Should You Join?
Faine Greenwood: The Great Bluesky Migration: I Answer (Some) Of Your Questions
Memes, Memes Everywhere: Tom Bombadil with boobs, and https://lychgate.tumblr.com/post/699130356376403968/i-have-painted-the-fellowship-of-the-big-naturals and https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/gandalf-big-naturals
Gita Jackson for The Aftermath: For The Love of God, Make Your Own Website
Elon Green for The Awl: Topless Geraldo
Furry art by Biohazard
Bluesky’s trans origins—some trans people are now leaving due to harassment
Simon’s Rock closing
Support Cancel Me, Daddy by supporting our Patreon and subscribing to our worker-owned feminist media collective, The Flytrap!
Cancel Me, Daddy is a Flytrap Media production. Edited by Maria Paleologos. Graphics by Eden M-W, music by D Peterschmidt.
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Episodes manquant?
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The “Daddy Election” did not go as Cancel Me, Daddy planned. Everyone seems to have an opinion about what woulda, coulda, shoulda changed the outcome of the “Loser Election,” in which we’re all losers reading and skeeting our way through the Orange Fallout.
This week, Katelyn and Christine make sense of the “multiverse” of election takes with “Cancel Gunkle” Michael Hobbes, journalist and co-host of Maintenance Phase and If Books Could Kill. Kate, Christine, and Mike discuss checking our priors and checking each other, turning what could have been a hot mess into a thoughtful discussion and mutual thirst for Paul Newman (RIP), both of which we encourage you to contribute to via Bluesky. Everyone has an opinion, and we want to hear yours. Keep up the infighting! And take care of each other. That act is more important than any opinion poised to change over the days and weeks to come.
Links:
Michael Hobbes: Bluesky edition
Follow Katelyn at @transscribe and Christine at @yourombudsmom on Bluesky!
Blueprint poll asking voters whether “Kamala Harris is focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues rather than helping the middle class”:
Katelyn Burns via Bluesky: The rent is too damn high
Katelyn Burns for Xtra: Trans issues didn’t doom the Democrats
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Our regularly scheduled episode happens to fall on Halloween! And spooky season is feeling extra—as extra as Tucker Carlson rallying “Daddy Trump” to give America a “vigorous spanking” for being a “bad little girl.” It’d be funny if it wasn’t sickening, and terrifying. We’re just five days from the 2024 presidential election, featuring the return of the Orange Fascist—and white evangelical power could strong-arm the strongman back into the White House.
This week, author and friend of the pod Talia Lavin unravels the intricacies of the movement, the subject of her new book, “Wild Faith: How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America,” with Katelyn and Christine. To well-funded white evangelical nationalists, only Trump can deliver us from the literal demons behind every abortion and pronoun. We need to take this group seriously, or the joke is on us come Election Day.
Content Warning: This episode includes extensive discussion of child abuse and corporal punishment, which Wild Faith explores as central to the Christian right’s political project: creating the conditions for future generations of obedient soldiers for God and country. Please listen with care, and take good care.
Links:
Wild Faith: How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America by Talia Lavin
Talia Lavin for MSNBC: Tucker Carlson’s “daddy” comments speak volumes about the far right
Martha Ross for The Mercury News: Tucker Carlson: How early rejection by hippie San Francisco mom made him shameless
William Grimes for The New York Times: Alice Miller, Psychoanalyst, Dies at 87; Laid Human Problems to Parental Acts
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Chappell Roan’s cancellation by a certain set of voters got us thinking: When do fandoms become toxic? How does “stanning” an artist, a politician, or a (literal) piece of work disproportionately push people who already live at the margins of our culture out of the culture entirely?
This week, Katelyn and Christine nerd out on nerd culture’s historically toxic fandoms with Jessie Earl, aka Jessie Gender, the YouTube essayist who hosts two popular channels. Together, they try to find the “nuance in the nerdy,” from the “Lord of the Rings” to the 2024 presidential election. And “Your Ombudsmom,” Christine’s media critic alter ego, returns with her new regular segment. Stay tuned for out of context cancellations from Katelyn and Christine!
In breaking news: You did it! The Flytrap is fully funded, thanks in no small part to our loyal Cancel Me, Daddy listeners! Thank you! We have a stretch goal that will allow us to commission one freelance writer or artist per month, bringing EVEN MORE cool people to your inbox with provocative, fun cultural criticism and commentary. Who knows—you might be one of them! Please continue to donate what you can, if you can to our Kickstarter. Get exclusive access to our live Zoom show if you donate to the “Friends and a Show” tier!
Transcript here: https://theflytrap.beehiiv.com/p/chappell-roan-and-the-trolls-of-the-ring-transcript
Links:
Jessie Gender YouTube channel
Jessie Gender After Dark channel
Katelyn Burns: “Concerning “The Rings of Power,” season one
*spoilers ahead* Jessie Gender reviews “The Rings of Power,” season two, starting with episodes 1–3 and continuing through the finale
Nicole Chung for GQ: Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Kelly Marie Tran Has a Story to Tell
Rebecca Sun for The Hollywood Reporter: The Resurrection of Kelly Marie Tran: On Surviving “Star Wars” Bullying, the Pressures of Representation, and “Raya and the Last Dragon’”
Madison Malone Kircher for The New York Times: What is the KHive?
Jon Blistein for Rolling Stone: Chappell Roan on Why She Turned Down White House Invite: “I Won’t Be a Monkey for Pride”
Jessie Gender After Dark: The Treatment of Chappell Roan
Scott Detrow for NPR: Bernie Sanders Defends Campaigning For Anti-Abortion Rights Democrat
Meredith Shiner for The New Republic: The Appalling Attack on Ta-Nehisi Coates Is a Massive Media Failing
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New York placed Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi “on leave” after the magazine Washington correspondent admitted to an inappropriate relationship with former presidential candidate RFK Jr.—sexting while covering the 2024 campaign.
This week, Katelyn and Christine discuss the unfolding media scandal with equal parts humor and smart analysis, drawing from each of their experiences as Washington reporters themselves. They turn their criticism to the media gatekeepers—WTF is wrong with all of the prominent journalists caping for Nuzzi with the enthusiasm she’s poured into tradfascs in her coverage and on the website formerly known as Twitter?
After recording, Nuzzi asserted in a court filing that her ex-fiancé, Ryan Lizza, former alleged New Yorker sex pest turned Politico bigwig, engaged in a blackmail campaign against her, allegedly exposing her online affair to New York leadership. Lizza has since been suspended by Politico, pending an investigation.
In non-sexting news: We announce our new partnership with the brand-new feminist publication The Flytrap, of which Katelyn, Christine, and eight other talented writers and artists are co-founders! Please support The Flytrap’s Kickstarter here.
Links:
Vanity Fair: "The Reported RFK Jr.–Olivia Nuzzi “Relationship” Casts New Scrutiny on All Journalists"
New York Post: "‘Obsessed’ Olivia Nuzzi pursued RFK Jr. ‘aggressively,’ pol had to block her repeatedly: source"
New York Post: "RFK Jr. and star journalist Olivia Nuzzi had ‘incredible’ FaceTime sex, said they loved each other: sources"
New York Times: "Ryan Lizza Fired by The New Yorker Over Sexual Misconduct Allegation"
SEMAFOR: Ben Smith newsletter, September 23, 2024
Christie Smythe: Tweet (we’ll never call it an X post)
Marin Cogan for The New Republic: House of Cads: The psycho-sexual ordeal of reporting in Washington
Tumblr: Said to LadyJournos, a mid-2010s Tumblr that compiled journalists’ anonymous submissions about their experiences with sexual harassment on the job
Moira Donegan (former Cancel Me, Daddy guest!) for The Guardian: "The real victims of Olivia Nuzzi’s affair with RFK Jr are other female journalists"
Christine Grimaldi: Tweets here and here about NPR Supreme Court correspondent Nina Totenberg’s conflict of interest-ridden friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Washingtonian: “My First: That Time Olivia Nuzzi Wrote About Anthony Weiner and Got Called a ‘Slutbag’”
The -30- newsletter: “A Q&A with Olivia Nuzzi of New York magazine on her career, covering Trump and access journalism”
Disclaimer: Katelyn once worked as a part-time political writer for Vox Media, the parent company of New York.
Support Cancel Me, Daddy by supporting the Kickstarter for The Flytrap!
Cancel Me, Daddy is a Flytrap Media production. Edited by Maria Paleologos. Graphics by Eden M-W, music by D Peterschmidt.
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This week we are pleased to welcome freelance journalist Christine Grimaldi for her debut as the new permanent co-host of Cancel Me, Daddy! Together, we also welcome the co-founder and CEO of the American Sunlight Project and disinformation expert Nina Jankowicz for an in depth discussion about last week's indictments involving conservative influencer group Tenet Media.
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This week Katelyn speaks with Mikhail Klimentov, former head of the Washington Post's gaming vertical and writer of the Substack ReaderGrev, to talk about the streamer Guy Beahm, more commonly known as Dr. Disrespect. Several weeks ago, Beahm's career essentially ended after it was revealed that he had messaged inappropriately with a minor.
Link to Klimentov's blog post mentioned in the episode: https://www.readergrev.com/p/dr-disrespect-is-allegedly-not-like-us
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This week, Katelyn talks with Miles Klee of Rolling Stone about the annoyingly pernicious "p*ssy in bio" bots that have taken over Twitter lately before coming a popular meme format on the site. The bots have become the latest evidence that the social media site, and even the internet at large may be becoming worse. We talk all of that and more (along with the best out of context cancellations segment since Oliver left).Links:Why Porn Bots Have Taken Over Your Twitter Feed - Rolling StoneMiles Klee TwitterMiles Klee BlueSky
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This week, Katelyn talks with legendary trans author and activist Julia Serano, who is coming out with a third edition of her trans feminist book Whipping Girl (March 30). This episode we talk a lot about how the internet has shaped both the trans and anti-trans movements and how trans people can help protect ourselves from the obsessed weirdos that have been radicalized by our existences.
Citations:Julia's website: juliaserano.com
Julia's book pre-order link: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/julia-serano/whipping-girl/9781541604520/
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Hello Cancelers!It feels like Taylor Swift is everywhere this year. She just broke a record at last weekend's Grammy's and this weekend we're likely to see numerous camera shots of her at the Super Bowl as her boyfriend Travis Kelce takes the field. Katelyn spoke with independent journalist Frankie de la Cretaz about everything Taylor, from the relationship, to Gaylors, and the roots of the weird right wing conspiracy theories that have popped up around her.Show links:Cosmo: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a44903791/taylor-swift-queer-theories-camp-gaylore/
NYT Gaylor piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/opinion/taylor-swift-queer.html
NYT article how Travis Kelce got famous https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/02/style/travis-kelce-managers-agent.html
Beckham documentary https://www.netflix.com/title/81223488
WaPo concussion report https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/the-broken-promises-of-the-nfls-concussion-settlement/
Cosmo bachelorette party piece https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a57490/almost-no-one-came-to-my-bridal-shower/
Frankie substack https://thefrankiedlc.substack.com/
Support Cancel Me, Daddy on Patreon: patreon.com/cancelmedaddy
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Hey Cancelers!This week Katelyn sits down for a discussion with Leanna Garfield, Social Media Safety Program Manager at GLAAD, about how social media companies like Meta and Twitter are profiting from encouraging hate speech online. LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD has been at the forefront of lobbying these companies to take steps towards cracking down on those who spread hate against queer and trans people online.Links:2023 GLAAD Social Media Safety Index (SMSI) & Platform Scorecard
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Follow Cancel Me, Daddy on Twitter
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Over the last several months a concentrated media campaign to oust the president of Harvard, Claudine Gay, found success. But in the last several weeks, one of its primary figureheads, Bill Ackman, has come into focus on social media.Returning guest Parker Molloy joins us to break it all down and get into some of the underlying power dynamics behind the controversy.
If you liked this episode, consider supporting us on Patreon!
Links:
Bill Ackman's celebrity academic wife Neri Oxman's dissertation is marred by plagiarism - Business InsiderAckman Escalates Attack On Business Insider—And Musk Eggs Him On - ForbesGoogle search of New York Times Harvard President articles - GoogleBill Ackman addresses wife Neri Oxman’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Brad Pitt - New York Post (sorry for Murdoch-posting)Parker Molloy links: The Present Age, Social Media links
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Last week, an hbomberguy YouTube video about plagiarism swept across social media and Katelyn found herself right in the middle of the discourse. This week we welcome back guest Michael Hobbes (If Books Could Kill, Maintenance Phase, formerly You're Wrong About) to talk about YouTuber and plagiarist James Somerton's plagiarism and the larger systemic issues that enabled it all.
If you appreciated this episode please consider supporting us on Patreon.
Citations:Plagiarism and You(Tube) - hbomberguy video
I Fact-Checked The Worst Video Essayist On YouTube - Todd in the Shadows video
J.K. Rowling’s transphobia is a product of British culture - Katelyn's article that was plagiarized by Somerton
(All James Somerton videos have been taken down from his channel)
Reddit post documenting the plagiarism of the Vox article
Michael Hobbes links:
If Books Could Kill podcast, Maintenance Phase podcast
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Know it's been awhile since you're heard from us! That's because Oliver is leaving the show, and Katelyn's been working hard to figure out what's next. In this episode, we discuss the change decision, what's next, the secret behind the name "Cancel Me, Daddy," and so much more.
Spoiler from Oliver: the next era of Cancel Me, Daddy is gonna slap.
You can submit your requests for out of context cancellations, support our work and join our community by visiting www.patreon.com/CancelMeDaddy.
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A bunch of cancellers asked us what we thought about the allegations against Lizzo, so Katelyn and Oliver decided to dive into the fraught conversation. The two of us talk about the power of celebrity, marginalized people in the public eye facing more scrutiny than more privileged counterparts, fatphobia and cultures of abuse and exploitation.
A very special thanks to our Cancellation List and above Patreons Megg, I Beauregard, Leslie, Matt, Adrienne, Diego and Siobhan for making this episode possible.
You can submit your requests for out of context cancellations, support our work and join our community by visiting www.patreon.com/CancelMeDaddy.
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This week Katelyn and Oliver sit down with the twitch streamer Bennie, who recently quit her show at The Young Turks news network because of growing transphobia. The three of us discuss navigating hostile media environments as a trans person, disinformation, cis fragility and so much more.
A very special thanks to our Cancellation List and above Patreons Megg, I Beauregard, Leslie, Matt Adrienne, Diego and Siobhan for making this episode possible.
You can submit your requests for out of context cancellations, support our work and join our community by visiting www.patreon.com/CancelMeDaddy.
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Tired of the doom and gloom and despair about the world? Good news is we're bringing you an extra special show today about the onslaught of disinformation and hopeless news and and how to recenter our selves and find hope in this dark time. It's a colorful conversation with a brilliant guest, Bridget Todd, host of There Are No Girls On The Internet.
A very special thanks to our Cancellation List and above Patreons Megg, I Beauregard, Leslie, Adrienne, Diego and Siobhan for making this episode possible.
You can submit your requests for out of context cancellations, support our work and join our community by visiting www.patreon.com/CancelMeDaddy.
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This week Katelyn and Oliver sit down to talk about Titty-gate. The two of us have fairly different perspectives surrounding Rosa Montoya being banned from the White House for posting a video where she was briefly topless at the President's Pride celebration on social media. But at the end of the day, we both agree: how can you be that mad about titties?
A very special thanks to our Cancellation List and above Patreons Megg, I Beauregard, Leslie, Adrienne, Diego and Siobhan for making this episode possible.
You can submit your requests for out of context cancellations, support our work and join our community by visiting www.patreon.com/CancelMeDaddy.
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