Lena Dunham

Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky

Prufrock LLC

Self-improvement, Society & Culture, Education

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2026

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Writer, director, and creator of the groundbreaking HBO series Girls, Lena Dunham joins Monica this week on Reclaiming for a candid, profoundly self-aware conversation about surviving public scrutiny, turning pain into art, and the radical act of reclaiming your own story. Lena retraces her path from becoming the “voice of a generation” at 24 to enduring a decade of public dissection, and ultimately to consciously building a quieter, more protected life as a writer and director. She reflects on the surreal experience of Girls being re-evaluated by a new generation and reveals why now felt like the right time to write about the physical and emotional costs of fame in her new memoir, Famesick. Along the way, Monica and Lena forge a powerful connection over their shared experience of becoming global symbols of female controversy—having their bodies and sexualities treated as public property—and the long, difficult work of taking back the pen to write their next chapter. Expect a conversation brimming with unflinching honesty, confrontational humor, and a powerful lesson in what it means to find your voice, lose it under the weight of public opinion, and rebuild it stronger on your own terms. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm watching a TV show I like, and then I'm a punchline in the TV show, and suddenly a comedian I like is making jokes about me and him going, I watch this show. There's this girl. She's the ugliest little girl in the world. Why are we watching this little fat girl? And being like, okay, there it is. Like, there it is. And I felt like my parents had given me this name with so much care and consideration, and there it wasn't. It was just a joke.
0:25.4	And I had to find a way to be like, yes, I'm, my name is Lena Dunham.
0:26.5	And that is okay. Lena.
0:40.2	I'm so thrilled to welcome you to reclaiming.
0:45.5	Thank you.
0:46.3	I was thinking this feels like getting a box of Seas Candy.
0:49.9	You're like, what do I start with first?
0:52.5	That is firstly, I love that reference. And when I first got to LA, I was like, seize candy is, it's true. You as a native Los Angeles. Oh, yeah. But when I first discovered it, but I just want to say, before I say anything else, that it's a real honor to be here with you. And you've, you know, meant something in my life for a very long time. And I love so much that you've created this space and that you've welcomed me into this space. And so I just want to say it's very moving. This morning you very kindly allowed us to switch up our time. And I said to my publicist, I said, right now I'm not making enough words to talk to the Monica Lewinsky. Oh my gosh. So. Please. I hope I don't disappoint you. But already not. Thank you. You walked in that pink skirt and I went, we're done here. It's perfect. This was sort of a, this was one of those purchases when I was a way, I was in Carmel. One of my best friends lives there, and we went to a store.
1:44.6	And I was like, I'm going to buy this skirt.
1:46.8	And I actually weren't.
1:48.4	I could be that woman. I could be that woman. And you are.
1:49.9	I am that woman.
1:50.6	Yeah. And I love it. I love it.
1:52.6	Wink, wink.
1:56.4	Okay. I don't know if you remember. I think the first time we might have met in person was this, was it a Hollywood reporter?
2:05.3	Yes, it was.
2:05.9	Mentory thingy breakfast.
2:07.8	Okay.
2:08.2	Yep.
2:08.5	And we met briefly, and I remember being so excited, nervous, thrilled.
2:14.7	I mean, I.
2:15.5	Oh, my gosh, Lena.
	...

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