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Welcome to the Double X Gap Fest for Thursday, February 22nd.

The Will Porn Be Band in the Matriarchy Edition?

I'm Hannah Rosen, a host of NPR's Invisibilia.

In the New York studios, we have June Thomas, a managing producer of Slate Podcasts. Hi, June. Hey, Hannah. And Noreen

Malone of New York Magazine. Hi, Noreen. Before we get started today, I just want to thank you for all

your skincare tips and suggestions. There were people, listeners throwing out, like, tips for June because she's not into skin care and just like sisterly patting Noreen on the back.

Like you don't have to wash your face. It's totally good. It was amazing. And then we had one listener who was like, this is the most boring segment that I've ever heard. But most of you were really into skincare. So thank you for sharing.

Didn't you guys appreciate getting little tips in your inbox every day from our listeners?

I did. And I also didn't mind being nagged either because I think, okay, yeah, treats us me and keep us keen.

Yeah.

Oh, British expressions. Okay. So our three topics today. First, the latest abuse scandal at the White House. Second, boys and porn. And finally, Lena Dunham writes about her hysterectomy. We reluctantly discuss. And for our Slate Plus segment, June, do you want to lead us in?

Yes. Very exciting Slate Plus segment this week, which is whether

ladies figure skating is sexist. If you want to hear that segment and I'll get all of the

great extras that Slate Plus members get while they are supporting Slate's journalism, sign up for a two-week

free trial at slate.com slash XX plus. All right. Our first topic, the abuse scandal at the

White House. Wow, it's just coming fast and for a long time this one. First, its staff secretary

Rob Porter, resigns after it's discovered that he'd been accused by two of his ex-wives of domestic

abuse and that the White House, or at least the White House chief of staff, probably knew about it months ago. Then it looked like a speechwriter also had the same issue and wasn't getting his security clearance. Then it's discovered that Trump's lawyer paid a porn actress hush money to cover up the affair with Trump. So I'm sure you guys are with me. It's not like it's totally surprising and you were like, OMG, I can't believe this kind of thing happened at the White House. But what is kind of alarming and different is that there is this whole infrastructure working to cover up bad behavior and sweep it under the rug. And so it feels different. And I feel like the Republicans are responding to it in a different way. So let's talk about that. First is, like, the one thing that I noticed that was unusual was just how long it lasted.

Like Rob Porter resigned a few days ago and the scandal just keeps going and going. Do you guys have a theory about why this one seems to have lasted longer than others?

I mean, I think clearly there are several factors.

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