Call Your Girlfriend

We say goodbye, in the final episode of Call Your Girlfriend. In typical fashion, we're going out talking about how friends have been helping us get through the pandemic, the never-ending furor over Joe Rogan, and what podcasts we're loving. If you're looking to subscribe to something new, check out Do You Know Mordechai, Sweet Bobby, and Like a Virgin. Plus, what we're going to do next, and some of your voicemails. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 11 February 2022

We're not dead yet! Aminatou talks with legendary podcast, poet and essayist Nichole Perkins about navigating relationships as a Black woman, desire, boundaries, longing, and much more as we chat about her new book, Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 17 December 2021

Is there anything you miss from before the internet? Reading, focus, getting lost, filing cabinets, are just a few of the things New York Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul discusses with us. Her new book is 100 Things We've Lost to the Internet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 10 December 2021

A different kind of newsy episode with Aminatou, Ann and Gina.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 3 December 2021

We talk with one of our favorite writers, The New Yorker's Ariel Levy, about dynastic wealth, how we experience grief, and big surprises in life, including the joys of getting older and having children. Her podcast that chronicles maternity wear icon Liz Lange, of the New York Steinbergs is The Just Enough Family. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 26 November 2021

Can’t be that hard, right? We pass the mic to Nereya Otieno, one of Ann’s 2021 writing fellows, who sits down with two women who have started initiatives to improve the lives of a select few in hopes that it can spark a radical shift. Tia Korpe is the founder of Future Female Sounds, a nonprofit organization based in Copenhagen that aims to make DJing accessible to women and gender-minorities everywhere. Cybille St. Aude-Tate is a chef and children’s book author and the co-founder of Honeysuckle Projects, a multifaceted endeavor to engage community and lineage through nourishment with Afrocentric ideologies at the center. And Nereya is in the process of starting Rising Artist Foundation, an organization to give grants to musicians who typically fall outside the existing funding system. They all redefine the idea of entrepreneurship as an act in service of community.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 19 November 2021

We talk with Mayukh Sen about seven immigrant women who remade American cuisine and his new book, Taste Makers. Plus, racism in the worlds of food writing and publishing and who gets to break out.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 12 November 2021

Women over 50 are too often erased, including on this very podcast. Grace Bonney has been collecting inspiration and advice from women of more advanced experience in her new book, Collective Wisdom. She's gathered interviews and intergenerational conversations with over 100 trailblazing women, who describe the ups, downs, and lessons learned while forging their unique paths. Grace Bonney founded Design*Sponge, a daily website dedicated to the creative community, and Good Company, a print magazine at the intersection of creativity and business. In 2019, she shuttered both of these publications to focus more on in-person community, and she’s currently in graduate school training to become a therapist. She is the author of In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from Over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 5 November 2021

Grief can come in so many forms and impact us in unexpected ways. Illustrator and designer Ngaio Parr knows all too well, having lost four family members in four years. Retreating from family and friends? Strange physical symptoms? Suddenly seeing things everywhere that echo a lost loved one? All these normal forms of grieving can be confusing in a world that's all too ready to have you move on. To help, Ngaio has designed and illustrated The Grief Companion, a deck of cards with beautiful abstract watercolor images with prompts, insights and actions, for the moments when you can only do a little bit at a time. Plus, we discuss how to be there for friends who are grieving. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 29 October 2021

Yasi Salek's podcast Bandsplain has us listening to music like teens again, with obsessive curiosity about whole albums and the quirks and life stories that draw us into the artists we come to love, or learn more about canonical artists we never understood.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 22 October 2021

George McCalman is an artist, a writer, an illustrator, and a designer. This man does it ALL. He spent many years as a magazine creative director, shaping the look and feel of publications such as Mother Jones, Readymade, Afar. Then he opened up his own studio, McCalman Co, where he collaborates on branding, design, and editorial projects. This year his work was nominated for a National Design Award for communication design. He’s a writer. He shows his fine art in galleries. He created the Observed column for the San Francisco Chronicle, in which he illustrated his observations of the city’s cultural life. Recently, he worked on chef Bryant Terry’s new book, Black Food, which is a gorgeous tribute to the foodways of the African diaspora and is out next week. George is also deep in the work of creating Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen, which will be out next year. LINKS McCalman.co Return to Sender / Tell Me Three Things I Can Do Illustrated Black History Black FoodSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 15 October 2021

How fixed are we in our ways of being and doing things? We're always confronting change, but how much can we choose it? These are some of the big ideas through small moments Jade Chang tackles in her Audible Original, You've Already Changed Your Life: A Recipe for a Revelation. Jade is a friend of the podcast, deep thinker, and author of the excellent novel, The Wangs vs. The World.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 8 October 2021

In a special episode brought to you by Rewire News Group, we go deep on the conservative push to regulate and ban abortion in Texas and Mississippi with Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo of the Boom Lawyered podcast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 5 October 2021

Emily Ladau and Kelly Dawson return to dispel dull narratives around disability and go beyond the 101. How coping with fragility creates resilience. How friendships deepen with the knowing and trust that disabled people share. What allyship looks like to them as physically disabled women. The hypocrisies of non-disabled people's reactions to COVID, and, in its wake, how we can all look more closely at what it means to live a full life. LINKS: Kelly Dawson Emily Ladau Emily’s new book, Demystifying Disability  Demystifying Disability, Emily and Kelly’s 2019 conversation for CYG On becoming friends with a non-disabled person - Cup of Jo What is disabled motherhood like? - Cup of JoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 1 October 2021

Dr. Anita Hill made history in 1991 when she testified to the Senate Judiciary committee about the sexual harassment perpetrated against her by Clarence Thomas. After the all-white, all-male committee led by then-Senator Joe Biden heard Dr. Hill's testimony, Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the US Supreme Court.  In the 30 years since, Anita Hill has spent her career as a law professor hearing from survivors of gender-based violence, ranging from harassment (which she expected) to assault. In her new book, Believing, she connects the dots between the systems that empower abuse and minimize vulnerable people, and the culture that keeps us as bystanders. From that history, she tackles the policy solutions we'll need to reform the system from the inside and the social courage we'll need to muster to transform it.  As Dr. Hill's book focuses on gender-based violence and discrimination, there is factual discussion in this episode about the existence of sexual harassment, assault and abuse. Survivors, please take good care when listening.  Links: Believing Anita Hill’s opening statement in her 1991 testimony Biden expresses regret to Anita Hill From the CYG archive: Joe Biden ProblemsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 24 September 2021

A simple question with loaded answers.  On today's episode, we unravel a few of those knots with Courtney Martin and Dr. Dena Simmons, whose interracial friendship has weathered distance, accountability, academic rigor, heartbreak, and mutual support. They met over a decade ago when Courtney profiled Dena for her book about young activists, Do It Anyway. At the time, Dena was a classroom teacher. Since then she has earned her PhD and is writing her own book about breaking up with whiteness, the forthcoming White Rules for Black People. Dena also gave Courtney notes on a subsequent book, Learning in Public, about Courtney's decision to send her white child to her neighborhood school in Oakland, rather than seeking a private school or other public school that centered whiteness. Dena's notes and questions to Courtney are included in footnotes and strikeouts in the main text.  This is a conversation about building better schools, deeper community, and how friendship can be at the heart of our activism.  Learning in Public by Courtney Martin Dena's website Courtney's websiteSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 17 September 2021

Don't today's conspiracy theories make UFOs and JFK conspiracy theories seem quaint, almost sweet? Dr. Stacy Wood breaks down how independent communities of belief have accelerated online. It's not only the fault of social media, but as we reorganize how we search and find information, Facebook, YouTube, Google, and others are all part of how we have become so entrenched in our beliefs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 10 September 2021

Comedy and art criticism don't exactly sound like parallel career paths. But after bouncing from a freelance hustle to a fancy art world job to improv classes, Christina Catherine Martinez realized she wanted to do both. We talk about how she navigates making a life and a career as an intellectual and a comedian, how alike those performances are on social media, and how power and money infect everything. One place she is sharing her voice is in her book, Aesthetical Relations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 3 September 2021

As OnlyFans flips and flops on the sex workers that built its platform, we revisit our interview with Lorelei Lee on the history of sex work legislation. Lorelei is a writer and performer who discusses how sex work is neither purely exploitative nor purely empowering. Instead, like all work, it's complicated.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 27 August 2021

Miranda Bennett has long been one of our favorite designers. We discuss how she got started making and selling clothes, how she balances running a sustainable business with keeping the lights on, and tips for shopping sustainably (even though we know there is no ethical consumption under capitalism).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 20 August 2021

Our summer of friendship continues with Kate Spencer and Doree Shafrir, hosts of the podcast Forever35. While we love their conversations about serums and budget-friendly makeup tips, we come and stay for their deep friendship, which started on the internet and was partly cemented at a CYG live show. Doree and Kate are both writers. Doree's memoir is Thanks for Waiting: The Joy (& Weirdness) of Being a Late Bloomer. Kate's book is The Dead Moms Club: A Memoir about Death, Grief, and Surviving the Mother of All Losses.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 13 August 2021

From Matt Damon to Andrew Cuomo to gender testing at the Olympics, we do a quick survey of men in the news behaving badly. Links Matt Damon and the "f-slur" / original headline Amanda Knox on Damon’s Stillwater Cuomo is the worst Rebecca Traister told us! Weightlifter Laura Mariel on trans Olympians Gender testing track and field athletes Anti-trans sports bills at the state level See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 6 August 2021

We talk about finding and maintaining boundaries, why the world makes it easier for some people than others, how boundaries help us be in community with others, and how grateful we are for boundary possibility models like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 29 July 2021

More from our Summer of Friendship series, where a few of our favorite podcasters tell us how they met, times their friendship has been stretched, and how they grow together. This week, dear pals Camilla Blackett and Priyanka Mattoo of the Foxy Browns podcast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 23 July 2021

As we continue our Summer of Friendship series, a few of our favorite podcasters tell us how they met, times their friendship has been stretched, and how they grow together. This week, Idelisse Malavé and Joanne Sandler aka Two Old Bitches!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2021

As part of our Summer of Friendship series, a few of our favorite podcasters tell us how they met, times their friendship has been stretched, and how their off-air and on-air friendship is different. This week, iconic bestie entrepreneurs Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo of A Thing or Two.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 9 July 2021

Aminatou and Ann's book Big Friendship is available in paperback July 6, so to celebrate we're doing our second Summer of Friendship series. We catch up and kick off chatting through our recent forays back into the world, which friends we're seeing, how we work through the emotional distance with close friends and acquaintances, and how we're approaching boundaries and travel while it seems possible. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2021

Jordan and Gina round out Pride with a followup to our Bi Bi Bi episode from 2018. We hear from Divinity (@officiallydivinity) who identifies as bisexual, gray ace, and aromantic and how those labels coalesce for her. Divinity has amazing things to share about friendship. love, sex, connection, and becoming your brightest, fullest self. For those who are struggling to come out or are feeling like their bi identity is invisible in their relationships, we see and love you.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 25 June 2021

Queer women aren't exclusively looking for longterm monogamous love - but some are! As part of our Pride series, a lockdown lesbian love story featuring musician Abby Diamond and actor and director Rachel Cora Wood. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 18 June 2021

We talk with Torrey Peters about her breakout novel, Detransition, Baby, full of queer characters finding and defining family, and why she dedicated it to divorced cis women. Plus, a bunch of great reading recommendations for books by trans authors.  Reading List: Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters An Unkindness of Ghosts by River Solomon Lote by Shola Von Reinhold Time is the Thing a Body Moves Through by T Fleischmann Poetry by Joss Barton  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 11 June 2021

On this month's agenda: exploring queer identities with CYG producers Gina Delvac and Jordan Bailey. First up, we hear from queer sex therapist Casey Tanner about questioning your sexuality or gender identity, coming out, and dating when you're first exploring a queer identity. This is a great episode to share with anyone who is excited about a new attraction or label, but scared about being new or taking up too much space. Welcome; there's room for you in our queer family. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 4 June 2021

As more of us can step back into the world and look at art in person, we discuss the role (and responsibility) of an art curator with Helen Molesworth, formerly of MOCA in Los Angeles, and host of the podcast Recording Artists.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 28 May 2021

You know that friend you can get real with about therapy, shedding the hard parts of your childhood, and how to take the next steps in your life? Ashley C. Ford is that and more to so many, in how shares of herself online, in her podcasts, and now her new memoir, Somebody's Daughter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 21 May 2021

As we emerge back into the world, how long will we live with COVID? Will it be like HIV/AIDS? We talk to people who have been closely involved in AIDS activism and responding to the coronavirus: Mathew Rodriguez and Leisha McKinley-Beach. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 14 May 2021

Death, sex, money, family and identity. How do we start and receive the hardest conversations that emerge in our lives? The one-and-only Anna Sale of Death, Sex and Money is here to talk us though it and her new book, Let's Talk About Hard Things.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2021

We have all had to find different ways to cope, and for those with creative practices, they are often evolving. For friend of the podcast and artist Kenesha Sneed, that has meant moving among media and the many different roles her art has played in her life - from joyful personal expression to income-generating job to outlet for grief. You may know her design work, her paintings, or her work in clay. Now Kenesha has written and illustrated a children's book, Many Shapes of Clay: A Story of Healing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2021

Home cook and author Julia Turshen joins us to discuss pandemic cooking fatigue, why the stories behind recipes matter, and how she learned to love cooking and eating. Her latest cookbook is Simply Julia: 110 Easy Recipes for Healthy Comfort Food. LINKS Simply Julia: 110 Easy Recipes for Healthy Comfort Food / Get a signed copy from Oblong Books Julia’s go-to cookbook: Snacking Cakes Keep Calm and Cook On podcast JuliaTurshen.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2021

We're easing our way back from our break with Bolu Babalola, author of the delightful collection of romantic stories that center Black women, Love in Color. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2021

Taxes are scary but getting free money from the government is great. CYG's accountant and the force behind Taxes for Artists, Claudia Yi León returns to tell us all about how to deal with the wild year of unemployment and (non)income that was 2020. From PPP loans (freelancers, you can still get one) to extended filing deadlines (May 17) to claiming your stimulus payment if you didn't file 2019 taxes, this episode is packed with info. Cross-reference our notes at callyourgirlfriend.com and follow @taxesforartists for all the latest.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 9 April 2021

What better time to be lifting up the people we love and growing together? Brooke Baldwin of CNN joins us to discuss the groups of women - or huddles - that make collective change happen at work, in activism, sports, and our personal lives. And we revisit our own notion of Shine Theory. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 2 April 2021

You should never pee when you laugh. You can see a midwife for non-pregnancy health exams like pap smears. And you can even insert your own speculum at the gynecologist if that makes you more comfortable. We revisit all the things we learned about pelvic health from our Pelvic Power episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 26 March 2021

Samantha Power served as the US ambassador to the United Nations in the Obama administration and has been nominated by President Biden to serve as administrator to USAID. We revisit our 2019 interview full of hard and candid truths about what she was and wasn't able to accomplish, especially in Syria.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2021

It doesn't feel like a great time for pleasure, but that's exactly why we need it, right now. We revisit our interview with adrienne maree brown, author of Pleasure Activism, Emergent Strategy, and most recently, We Will Not Cancel Us.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2021

Getting real about recognizing burnout, how it's different from similar feelings like depression, and how ambition means more than working constantly.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 5 March 2021

A planned tar sands pipeline through Northern Minnesota crosses tribal land and would disrupt waterways and wild rice cultivation. Tara Houska is Ojibwe, an attorney, an environmental and indigenous rights advocate, and has a long history on the land Line 3 would travel through.  Links: Stop Line 3 Tara Houska on Twitter Giniw Collective on Twitter Tara Houska TED TalkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2021

Poet, artist and activist Cleo Wade feels deeply and writes movingly about growing up, finding ourselves, and having good boundaries with the people in our lives and our social feeds.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2021

The NYT's Caity Weaver joins us to discuss her love of Santa Fe, television, pronouncing words correctly, and how her insatiable curiosity compels her to find out how glitter is made. Plus, in her many celebrity profiles: who tried to pick up the check, who was beautiful in person, and who smells amazing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 12 February 2021

This episode is all about comfort in challenging times and staying true to yourself. We talk with a paragon of creating cozy feelings, Jenny Han, the author behind the book and Netflix series To All the Boys I've Loved Before. How to decide what to say yes to? How do you take time for yourself? How do you deal with gatekeepers (usually white) who want to see characters of color grappling more directly with their racial identity? What can we expect from the final To All the Boys movie? Which Little Women character are you? All this AND Aminatou confesses that she is squeamish about romances like Pride and Prejudice and Bridgerton. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 5 February 2021

Is it childish to call people Best Friends? Who holds the various keys to our hearts and identities? And what dreams of the past and future are getting us through the pandemic? Aminatou discusses travel, religion, finding ourselves and how we use coded language to find our people with Jedidiah Jenkins. His new book Like Streams to the Ocean is out Feb 2. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 29 January 2021

We discuss the inauguration celebrity parade, the fallacy of calls for "unity," Melania's caftan, Bernie's mittens, and "We will be back in some form."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 22 January 2021