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The following podcast contains explicit language.

Welcome to the Double X Gap Fest for Thursday, January 8th, the Bright Young Things Edition.

I'm Hannah Rosen, a writer for Slate, talking to you from D.C., and I'm joined in New York

by June Thomas, editor of Outward Slate's LGBTQ blog. Hi, June. Hello, Hannah. Well done.

Thank you. And hi, Noreen. Noreen of New York Magazine, that is. Hi, Noreen, hi, Noreen. Hi.

Actually, Noreen, I have to thank you because over the break, I got Elena Ferranti's

trilogy about friendship for as a present.

Oh, my God.

It is unbelievable how good it is.

I mean, how just, you know, ordinary life is like full of drama and despair.

For those of you listening, it's My Brilliant Friend is the first book. And she's an Italian writer who's been translated into English. Noreen recommended her a couple of shows back. And she's amazing. And the other thing is completely mysterious. You read about her and it's like it's not her real name. She's never been interviewed in the press. She doesn't show up to pick up awards. I love this woman. I love her. So great. And the thing that makes me mad

is the speculation that she might be a man. Now that you've read it, like there's no way it's

a man. No way. Absolutely no way. I mean, the way she writes about domestic life and the kind of

violence behind it, not violence like in a political sense, just the day-to-day kind of

resentments and violence and shifts of emotions.

Sorry, dudes, no way. No way. Okay. June, before we go into our first topic, you have something to

tell us. Yes. So on Tuesday, February 3rd at City Winery on Varick Street in New York City,

outward, which is, as Hannah always likes to say at the top of the show,

so it's LGBTQ blog, is having a special live show. I'll be there as Will Brian Lauder and Mark Joseph Stern.

And we're going to have a very special guest to, I can't quite announce just yet, but oh my God,

it's going to be so fantastic. So if you would like to get tickets, they are available at the

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