Welcome to the Waves, Slates Podcast about gender, feminism, and the wolves knocking

at the door.

Every episode you get a new feminist to talk about the thing we can't get off our mind.

And today you've got me, Shayna Roth, a senior producer here at Slate.

A little girl needs to take some goodies to her grandmother.

Her mother wraps her in a red cloak, kisses her on the forehead, and sends her off into

the woods with a warning.

Make sure you stay on the trail.

She veers off the path, and then she meets a wolf.

We know the rest.

My what big eyes you have, my what big ears you have.

We know this story, we've heard it in so many different iterations, starting in childhood.

I think about fear a lot.

I'm a true crime author in my spare time, and fear sort of comes with the territory.

But it wasn't until I came across Erica Berry's new book, Wolfish, that I realized how ingrained

in our psyche's fear really is, especially for women.

We've basically been telling the story of what happens when a girl goes out alone or

an old woman opens the door to a stranger for years.

And it doesn't end well.

The wolf gets her.

Well, unless a nice huntsman happens to wander by.

There's a lot to unpack here.

...