If it looks like a fuck boy, talks like a fuck boy, smells like a fuck boy.

Fucks like a fuck boy.

He might just be a fuck boy and maybe you should run.

Hi and welcome to Normal Gossip.

I'm Kelsey McKenney.

In each episode of this podcast, we're going to bring you an anonymous morsel of gossip from the real world.

Today we have Sam Sanders. Sam is a correspondent and host of its Beneminent for NPR.

Tell me, Sam, what is your relationship with gossip?

I love it. I grew up a church kid, so gossip was like next to Bible.

You know, I think that like a lot of people shit on gossip for a few reasons,

but I think that in actuality it serves a few distinct purposes that are necessary in functioning societies.

Particularly the smaller the group, you have to have a certain set of norms that are followed for the group to get along.

And I find that what gossip does is that it is a check on making sure that those norms are followed.

Like in many societies, if partners are always cheating all the time,

it's grew with cultural and social cohesion.

And so when people gossip about who might be cheating, yes, they're gossiping.

But also in this weird way, they are trying to maintain some sense of social order, right?

Right. Yeah.

And so I think that like gossip can go too far sometimes.

It can be mean, especially to women and young women.

But I think at its core, our human desire to gossip is our human desire to keep tabs on people on society

and make sure things run smoothly.

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