The Bonus Room

Hey, I'm just going through your back catalogue because this while podcast is soothing during this constant state of anxiety. I just wanted to say that this wry, witty, but still sincere tone exemplified by this post is one of the reasons I love this whole project.

I used to live in a house we named The Bonus Room! It had a huge space in the back that was kind of a garage/covered yard that had obviously been a speakeasy in the 80's and 90's. We tore it down and made it into a real yard with a garden and stuff, but we felt bad about taking down local history. We were ill-equipped for running a speakeasy though.

I think bonus rooms don't have egress windows and/or closets (depending on local rules) .

Montpelier and Pierre... Any other state capitals’ names derived from French (and then butchered)?

My American friend was looking for a flat in Washington DC and told me about "English apartments" which I think means they're in the basement. I hadn't realised that we all live underground but here in the UK we call them "garden flats". My favourite is "impressively spacious" meaning small.

Mike: why did you choose to do your deep dive on the Jessica Simpson book. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved it. But it definitely seems a bit off brand for you. No senate hearings or 100 page committee reports lol. What drew you to Jessica?

Would welcome an episode about Micro lending. Surely Michael has read about Muhammad Yunus's work and his Nobel Prize. Most interesting would be Sara's confrontation/insights to this grass roots capitalism. Also her musings on the basic human drive towards mercantilism that isn't necessarily a "Newsies-style union building model would be no doubt, thoughful. To get really sophisticated, wrapping the fact that the Chinese National Party has lifted more humans out of poverty than any government in history would be worthy. In times like these where the traditional capitalism model fails, a topic like this has great relevance to economic ideas like a universal wage, reparations and being paid for your data sold by 3rd parties.

Yes, I second a show in Dublin! Live the podcast guys, it’s the highlight of my week! Should I be admitting that?! 🤣

When this pandemic madness is over, are you going on tour? You could do a show here in Dublin at Vicar Street (hint hint).

Britney Spears

Hi Michael and Sarah! Michael - whatever happened to the teenager who was hanging out in your boyfriend’s café?

Hi Mike and Sarah! Knowing y'all are into holiday themes, I wanted to throw an episode rec into the ring: the War on Christmas. Sarah Palin's "Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas" is, as you say, a RICH TEXT.

Hi Mike and Sarah. Love, love your show. Can you give some advice on how a non-professional journalist can "vet" information sources, especially memoirs and personal accounts? I think that your inclusion of your subjects voices is critical in building empathy and finding humanity in many of these stories, and it's what makes your podcast so special. But my natural skepticism makes me resist reading these things on my own when there is so much incentive to spin the truth for personal gain. I also don't want to expose myself to stories that are unlikely to be true, as we know that the first version of the story that we hear is the one we are likely to remember. (This is only slightly related to my quandry of whether to read Mary Trump's new book...)

You have brought up Pam Smart many times over the years and I’d like you to deliver on that one, please. You keep teasing us!

This could very well be too late for the Q&A episode you're recording this week, but would you consider accepting a THIRD theme song option that COMBINES the original and the new theme music? I dig the new sound, but the original bass, drum, and synth sting is buried deep inside my bones and I love it so much. I think they could work well together if the right person took a shot... brb gonna go record some stuff!

I would be so along for the ride for as much of a "Sarah deep dives Dune" ride as you felt like doing, though I'm aware it's not the general content.

I think a good topic for an election-themed ep would be Sister Souljah and the "Sister Souljah moment." I found her response speech very moving.

Two thoughts: I would love to see you cover Octomom. Also: it's 100% OK if you quit Nancy Grace's book.

I’m so happy to be a new Patreon member! This is going to come out like a rant but I NEED your thoughts on the weird phenomenon that has become my quarantine binge: Welcome to Plathville. The show is unremarkable in most ways, but it belongs to the fascinating genre of... families having a huge litter of kids and then profiting off of that! I’m talking John and Kate +8, Octomom, the Duggars, Plathville...so many TV shows and Youtube videos and magazine covers about sextuplets and families procreating endlessly... There was even that Youtube mom who adopted a boy, used him on her Instagram for 3 years and then gave him up. *facepalm* I’m rambling. I think the matriarchs of these families are interesting characters, and it’s a character that I remember having existed in media from when I was growing up. They are profiting off their kids and we super hate that but super love watching them? I don’t get it. It seems to be a pervasive cultural obsession beyond the theological, even though many of the families are religious. WTF is going on with that and why have I felt compelled to watch 4 episodes of Welcome to Plathville on Hulu?!

I would love to hear you talk about how you decide on a topic to do for the podcast, especially if you can compare what it's like pitching each other versus pitching a story for a newspaper/magazine.

Sarah, I don't have a question but I just wanted to say how nice it was to hear someone else validate my feelings that I am irrevocably worse off for having seen Cannibal Holocaust. I watched it in college with a boy I thought was cute (not sure why he thought showing me this movie was a strong move), left and immediately called my mother who thankfully had also seen it, and then spent the next month trying to exert mental discipline over myself to keep my brain from wondering over and dwelling on certain images. If I could unsee that movie, I would.

I love the coverage of the 1990s-era stories on this podcast. I started that decade as a third-grader and have now come to understand that women were treated terribly then. My question for the Bonus Room: are there other decades you want to explore on You’re Wrong About?

Hi Sarah and Mike! So here's a heavy one. I've been listening to back episodes, and I just finished the one about snuff films. Michael's thoughts on avoiding horrible images are exactly like my own-- I strenuously avoid seeing any depictions of violence and abuse (real or fake), because I know they'll haunt me forever. This includes almost all of the bystander videos of police killings that have been published over the last several years. I feel some guilt about turning away from these things, so I'd be very interested to learn if Michael has similar feelings, and how he weighs whether to watch the videos or not. Thanks for all the time and work you put into the show!

Sarah/Mike- I’m curious if what your editing procedure is like. Namely, do you edit down a lot of mis-timed quips, or does Sarah actually sound like a 128 bar guitar solo when she speaks on topics she’s well-versed in?

@Sarah you may want to check out the book "Sex and Real Estate: Why We Love Houses" for titillating descriptions of housing

Sarah & Mike, I love your podcast so much & am so excited to be part of the patreon group now! I’d love to hear an episode about the AIDS “epidemic” in the US, partly because I really appreciate the way you talk about Reagan & his policies. Plus, one of my most vivid high school memories (private Christian school in Texas) is my AP government teacher spending a whole lecture about why “gay people get AIDS” and the NEA was awful for giving Robert Mapplethorpe a grant to continue his “gay porn.” PS, one thing I always wanted to tell you Sarah, I don’t even have the words to express how much your statement of privilege meant to me at the end of your obesity episode. Eating disorders and body dysmorphia have been part of my life since I can remember, and I am still incredibly privileged to have access to resources that have helped me with those issues. Everything you said reflected what I want people to understand about disordered eating (and more). Please keep being your amazing selves!

Are there any episodes you wish you could re-do or possibly expand?

I have more of a question for Michael: What, if anything, did you uncover about the systems of support in Bellingham failing to identify that Lee Boyd Malvo was in such an extremely bad situation for a kid during the research for the DC sniper episodes? For reference, I was in middle school when the DC snipers stuff happened in Bellingham at one of the feeder schools for Bellingham High School...everyone was talking abut the snipers and as soon as it turned out they had Bellingham connections, everyone stopped talking about it (except my mom, who is truly the OG “you’re wrong about” in my life, and reminded us of it whenever we’d drive by Joint Base Lewis-McCord on road trips)

How has your approach to understanding current events changed after so many deep dives into what we have collectively misunderstood in the past?

I just wanted to let you know that the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill is one of my favorite episodes! The "fisherpeople" callback reminded me of the last callback referencing the episode's apparent unpopularity.

I have nothing specific to add other than I am so glad I found this podcast and I think you are both amazing.

In the FB group, I'm half joking/half seriously working through my feelings about the new theme song (it's great, I just take time to adjust to change), but someone asked where the ORIGINAL theme song came from, and I am very curious about this as well. Where did you get the original theme from, and what was the thought process behind either theme tune?

I'd love to see a followup to The Satanic Panic. If the only thing you knew about that time was the McMartin trial you could be forgiven for thinking it wasn't that bad--at least nobody ended up convicted. But the McMartin trial was really just the beginning of a wave of several infamous cases. The one I'm most familiar with is Fells Acres, where Gerald Amirault spent 18 years in jail and even had a parole board--who are generally never sympathetic to prisoners who protest their innocence--vote 5-0 to commute his sentence (the acting governor rejected their recommendation and Gerald was in jail a few years longer). The WSJ reporter Dorothy Rabinowitz got a Pulitzer, in part, for her coverage of that case. There is some really amazing stuff in her reporting and in her book.

Like you, Sarah, I love the film Titanic (during a depressive episode when I was twelve I watched it 34 times). Titanic was wildly successful when it came out in 1997, including at the Oscars, but I feel like it is generally seen as saccharine these days. Despite being an anxious pessimist, or perhaps because of it, I appreciate sentimental movies. I guess I'm wondering when did we en masse decide that being edgy and contrarian, perhaps indiscriminately, makes someone seem intellectually superior? Sometimes you just want to see a wedding on a sunken ship in heaven, ammiright? Not sure this warrants an episode but I'd be very interested to hear more on Titanic from you.

I would *love* an episode on Megan Fox - the way she was treated by the press in 2007/8/9 almost feels like the "end of an era" (in a good way, for the record). It's hard to imagine that all of the sexist horror that happened to her would've been tolerated if she'd become famous even three or four years later. The great tragedy is that she suffered and dropped out of the industry right before feminism was revitalized enough to question her treatment and advocate for her. (Oh, also, that "teen pregnancy pact" that got a lifetime movie about it with the girl from High School Musical in 2009.)

Would love to hear an episode on Joanne Lee's as it's being highlighted in Australia again after some years. I trust nothing the Australian media corp says so I'd love to hear a deep dive from you guys on that situation

Where are you looking? Because I have a house that needs a tenant.

1) What has been your most eyeopening "I was wrong about that"? 2) You can correct the world about one thing forever! The world believes! Fiat, if you will! What myth do you clear up (and it must be specific... Michael can't just say "moral panics")?

I'm interested to know how long it takes to prepare each episode. The book deep dives are probably less intensive, but most of the episodes seem like you've read multiple books and academic articles to get the fullest story, and it must take forever to accrue all that knowledge and then turn it into an hour of edutainment for me to cherish. I'd also love to know what some of your favorites were to work on! (I've got a soft spot for the ones named after women, myself.)

There's so much I want to know! I adore this show and everything and everyone its led me to discover. The thing I'm the most curious about is what first took Sarah down the path of debunking psychopathy, or the idea that evil is embodied in dudes like Bundy? This concept has been revolutionary for me. I did my dissertation on paychopathy and I've struggled with shifting my own perspectives on this and associated concepts in research over the years since that time.

You guys are the best! I eagerly await every installment. Thank you for not canceling KoKo BTW! I am a fan of the new merch too. I've recieved lots of comments about my "Aww Sweetie No" mug to which I reply a long story about my favorite podcast. Episode idea: Teen suicide pacts. There was one about 10 years ago in Southern Oregon...K Falls I think? I remember the concept of the "suicide pact" wasn't quite a panic, but it was it was in the news quite a bit for a while.

This is not a suggestion as much as an interesting tidbit re: AAVE/Ebonics episode: the verb construction “it do be” “he do be” or “they do be” is a grammatical feature you also see Ireland’s spoken English, because that construction is the Irish language/Gaeilge (it is NOT called Gaelic that is not the name!! Do not call our language “Gaelic” it pisses us off) Irish has a present continuous “be” verb, Bíonn/Bím. It’s used for things that you do regularly (Bím ag gearradh an fhéir gach lá= I cut the grass every day) One way you can translate Bí is “do be”, and a lot of Irish people would say “I do be cutting the grass” instead of “I cut the grass every day” because the former is a more direct translation of the Irish language! Sorry, bit of a long winded explanation but thought you’d be interested to see!

Thank you both so much for the content!! Sarah, my partner and I can't wait for your book. Michael, you single-handedly have me becoming a regular Huffington Post reader (and I'm better for it). Though perhaps too dry - the Financial Crisis episode, which I loved, led me to think of it - I think an episode on "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli would be rather entertaining! The transcripts from jury selection alone are a riot. (P.S. I really hope it goes without saying that Shkreli himself is not what I had in mind for the "You're Wrong About" part. He is, without question or qualification, a d*ck.)

The history of incels. I know the idea of "involuntary celibates" was created by a woman who was unable to find a romantic partner. If I'm not mistaken, it used to be a fairly supportive online community. What series of events caused it to devolve so insanely?

This would go back into the early 1980's... What ever happened to the global campaign for population control? As I was growing up in the 1960's and '70's population control was huge, important and much talked about. I don't remember anybody opposing it. What happened? (Hint: the Reagan administration... Bwahahahaha, laughs the ghost of Lee Atwater.)

I'd love to get an addendum to the Courtney Love episode about her warnings about Weinstein years and years ago. And when the news about Mary Katherine Letourneau's passing came yesterday, my first thought was that I wanted to hear a YWA about her! (Apologies if these aren't new suggestions -- didn't want to wade through 100+ previous comments.) Thanks Michael and Sarah! xo

Speaking of 90s topics, what about Napster and P2P file sharing? This seems (to me) to have been the start of “you no longer own anything, it is all licensed from corporations”

I love you guys so much! curious if anyone discussed on the show has heard their eps and reached out to you. Paula Barbieri? Marcia Clark? Jessica Simpson? I hope so. Thank you for all you do. Much love.

I love your show so much! This is by far not the most important question but I was just wondering what did Courtney Love inject into Kurts testicles to bring him out of an overdose? Is this a medical technique or something Courtney made up just for Kurt and if so how did she discover it? Was he just passed out one evening and she was like well might as well inject his balls.

What drew you to read Jessica Simpson’s book in the first place? I have to confess when I saw the first episode of that series, I rolled my eyes and was surprised at your chosen topic. But it was fantastic! A perfect YWA story that I didn’t see coming. How did it end up on your radar? My husband and I are obsessed with your show, and he was beside himself about Jessica’s story. Imagine my surprise at my muscular, bald, covered in tattoos military veteran husband raging at what a dick John Mayer was to Jessica Simpson...two celebrates I don’t think he has ever thought about. He said “awww sweetie no” more times than you while listening. Your story telling and commentary are clearly mesmerizing.

You're Wrong about.... rubber bullets (as an ER nurse, I've recently learned what they ACTUALLY are/do, I'm sure the history is fascinating)

I've been researching police abolition in the past few weeks. A couple of possible stories come immediately to mind. One is - how good are the police at solving crimes? Judging by some of the stories you and other podcasts have run, not very. The other is - do police keep women safe? The data on domestic violence and sexual abuse by cops suggest that both at home and on the job, they may be more of a menace than a solution. Thank you!

Love your show! The only question I can think of right now, is how often do you start researching a topic only to discover it’s not as interesting as you thought, and ditch it for something else?

I feel like a trolly troll to suggest this, but after just seeing the news that Mary Kay Letourneau passed away from cancer at the age of 58, please? https://people.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau-died-of-cancer/

Hi! I'm the one who keeps tweeting at Sarah about Buffy and Cabbage Patch Dolls, I'm so sorry. I just wanted to say thanks. The only reason I haven't gone entirely mad through lockdown in Australia (and will keep me going through the new, shiny, Melbourne only one through the next six weeks) is this podcast. It's my safe, warm, cuddly place far away from 2020. It's my giant stuffed trout.

I've never seen "Fame," but I love that there was a black kid tuning out the rest of the world, with a really big sci-fi book. He's not even thinking about all the stereotypes he's challenging. And I do have one question for you. I asked the same question of the Smithsonian's podcast, Sidedoor. Back in the mid 1960s, I visited the earlier Air and Space Museum, on the Washington Mall. They had what I think was the first Mercury mission capsule on display. There was a set of stairs, so even a 10-year-old kid could look through one of the cockpit windows. On the instrument panel was a piece of paper, about 3 or 4 inches wide, and a bit longer, taped in place. On it were a series of typed, numbered instructions. That little piece of paper said so much about our space program, how we wer racing the Soviets, and didn't have time to smooth everything out, completely. I visited that same capsule, in the same museum, decades later, and that piece of paper was gone. If they had to conserve the original, fine. But they should have put up another piece of paper, as identical as possible, right down to being typed, not printed. I think the Smithsonian tidied up history, and I think we're all poorer for that. As I said, I've left phone messages with Sidedoor, twice, and they've given no indication, in a year of podcast episodes, that they'll ever deal with this. How about you? I think there's some "You're wrong about" - for all the people who have look through that capsule window, and not seen that paper.

Sara and Mike, Thank you. Perhaps its because Sara is in Portland and Mike in Seattle and bracket the age of my two kids that I find the show very entertaining warts and all. In my mind a bonus room is where you can get bonus material. A follow up discussion or insights on particular episodes of interest in a town hall format would be awesome. Zooming with Sarah and Mike!. I find myself wanting to engage directly with y'all on the events of the day and how these people and events from recent history have shaped where we are today. For instance one legacy of the OJ trial was the birth of reality TV and led directly to Kylie Jenner becoming the 1st "self made" gozillianair of her generation. in particular. I believe that this time in history is critical to our democracy and our humanity and what equity really means. We didn't get here by accident. After all, history and pop culture show us where our humanity has been, and give us clues to our future. Mixing the two from time to time would be very entertaining.

The Challenger episode on Richard Feynman could use a correction about how much fun he made physics for women? Apparently, not very much at all. Also, you do a lot of really cool podcasting techniques like signposting the episode structure or describing photos for listeners - I would love to know whether/how writing has helped you be better podcasters and whether/how podcasting has helped you be better writers. Also, which news stories of the past couple of years do you think will produce the most material for future YWA episodes?

Sarah & Mike, thank you so much for your podcast! I love it so dearly- new episodes are the highlight of my week. One 90s mystery that I would be forever grateful to have explained/talked about is: Tickle Me Elmo! What the heck happened there and how did it become the toy to cause mass chaos across the country? Obviously, this would be a slight diversion from setting the record straight on important events in history, but perhaps there's some shady capitalism to expose... Regardless, it's such a weird yet defining cultural moment that I would love to hear your take on. Thank you guys for opening up to considerations - can't wait to hear what's next!

I would cry fat salty tears for a "You're Wrong About.... You're Wrong About" where you guys walked through the epistemology and process of the show. It would help us consider how you get to counter-intuitive thinking, rather than simply contrarian posturing (of the Bari Weiss / David Brooks / Bret Stephens champagne outcast variety).

Mike recently mentioned an episode about Johnny Carson, which I really want to hear! Any possibility of transcripts of the show in the future (in a book, with references)? Maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part

Hey, I've been seeing you guys around being mentioned as a hot new podcast. Pshaw, I've been a fan from the beginning! I hope that Sarah's satanic panic research leads to more shows about that subject. I'm listening to the CBC podcast Uncover about the Saskatoon case. I was trying to explain it to my daughter, who is 27 yesterday, and she didn't have a clue. She had the same question I still have, "why?' Why the hell did this happen? Can't wait for the book!

More secret Eugenics links please! Also, big fan of the maligned women series, keep'em coming. and side note- every time Michael says "lean in," an involuntary "Fuck You Cheryl Sandberg" comes flying out of me. You two are doing the lord's work, R'Amen!

It's probably a short YWA, but when did the left-brain=analytical right-brain=creative stuff break big in pop culture? My brother got a PhD in neuroscience and it bugs the heck out of him when people tak about being left-brained or whatever. He says it's totally made up, so I'm assuming some PR person go a hold of a scientific study they didn't understand and ran with it. Anyway, it would be interesting to know!

I would love it if you did a grab bag episode - like a bunch of mini YWAs that don't each have enough material for their own episode.

I'd love to hear more about the podcast production process- How do you decide on topics? How much of your conversation do you cut out? Who does the editing? Do you edit for length, or content, or both?

Not that the Serial Killer Industrial Complex needs any more material, but would you consider doing an episode on Ted Bundt? I only ask since I really love Sarah’s essay in The Believer about him. It’s a beautiful piece of writing and the depth of feeling and empathy in there is really getting me through quarantine. I think I’ve read it four or five times since March. Or, what are some of y’all’s pet interests that you never really get to talk about, or aren’t long enough for an episode? Or maybe an episode about how pretty much everything we’re taught about American history is wrong, and why we’re taught it? And please, let us know some recommendations for books or movies? Maybe also the media that had a really big impact on you as a kid or young adult?

hey you two lovely people! this question is slightly selfish and comes all the way from Germany - are there any plans for future episodes about things outside of the US? i can only think of the dingo-ate-my-baby one + those that were more global, like the Y2K episode. a topic i'm super interested in (and that's potentially interesting for lots of others) is the myth of post WW2 "Entnazifizierung" in Germany - the myth that there was some big process of getting rid of nazis and nazi ideology after 1945. in reality, things were VERY different, and i'd love to hear you two talk about it! cheers, kia sehrys

I enjoyed hearing you guys talk about Alexander Graham Bell's support for oralism in the Deaf community, and I'd love to know what you think about the impact it might've had on his wife and mother, who were both deaf. Obviously society's view of deaf people was very different back then, but I can't imagine what it must have been like for them to know that he very openly considered them inferior and advocated for the elimination of the "deaf race".

Much like other commenters, new episode release days are the highlight of my week! Absolute favorite podcast... That being said, have you seen the show Drunk History on Comedy Central? Would love to hear an episode like that, which was a mashup of your more unbridled synopses for topics that didn’t make the full podcast cut. Also, what’s the process for finding/selecting debunk-mate guests? And lastly (for now), will this new Patreon subscriber perk finally help Michael to feel less guilty about telling us how we can support our favorite podcast hosts?! 🙃

There are so many good ideas and questions! I was thinking a You're Wrong About-The Black Panthers. It could be interesting to explore all the misinformation about the Panthers plus the lengths the FBI took to dismantle the organization.

I’d love to know topics that have gotten axed off the potential episode list - for whatever reason! What won’t work as an episode as YWA?

I'd listen to you all order lunch, but as far as the idea of loose threads from previous podcasts - I'd love to hear whatever interesting tidbits you like but couldn't work into the main podcast. And the research process would be interesting too. As far as what you've gotten wrong - ok, I'm a therapist and while I can't speak to the laws and ethics of British Columbia in the 70s, Pazder getting involved with his client is WILDLY unethical and he would lose his license for that now. Regardless of legal codes around it, it's hugely exploitative. We aren't even allowed to be friends with our clients. So, in this case, we can judge the hell out of this relationship.

Also an episode idea: Ed Muskie "Crying" speech (and the taboo of male vulnerability in American politics).

Great news, really looking forward to this!

How about the myth (?) that when cake mixes were invented, they first made them “just add water” and according to lore, women refused to buy them because “it wasn’t enough work to show their families they love them?” I’m pretty sure that’s bs - I think the real reason that they didn’t sell as well as the kind that you had to add the egg was that that the powdered egg made the texture weird or it didn’t rise as well. But I can’t find definitive proof on it.

So I love silent film and there are a couple of big myths I'd LOVE to see you cover. Of course, the classic myth that most silent film stars had their careers ruined when talkies came out because, well, they couldn't "talk right." There is so, so much more to the story, and it's actually a lot worse in some cases than most people know. Scandal! Death! Hollywood politics! And just good old disinformation from folks who gloss over film history. Oh, and "Singing in the Rain" of course; an absolute amazing classic, but it perpetuated this myth and is often the reason most people think this was how it went down. ANOTHER suggestion: scandals of the silent era and how sensationalist journalism has shaped our knowledge of these legendary tales. See, Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, Mary Miles Minter, and the death of Thomas H. Ince (which is one of the most fascinating mythical stories ever, and ACTUALLY involves William Randolph Hearst, a huge perpetrator of sensationalist journalism). Also, just want to add that I love this show so much. Your thoughtful views about the criminal justice system are what spoke to me initially, and also validated my blinding rage whenever I hear an investigator on Forensic Files say "Well, he did it because he was just PURE EVIL." You're the best!

I'd like to throw my hat in the ring for an episode idea: it's common lore that the porn industry helped VHS win the big VHS vs. Betamax format war of the 1980s. Later in life, though, I heard that was a big myth but never really learned why. Any chance that could be an episode topic? How that particular format war was won and why there's misconception that the porn industry is what settled it?

Given that currently JKR is trying to start or maybe just recharge a moral panic about transgender kids, maybe you’re wrong about gender or transitioning or something along those lines.

I'm curious to know from you two how your writing has been going during quarantine/lockdown. How well? How frustrating? How inspired? How I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it? How proliferate? Love you guys!

I would love a Sinéad O’Connor episode! I feel like she may be one of those incredibly maligned women of the 90s who continues to get shit from everyone while trying to do what she thinks is best.

Sorry in advance if you're looking more for quick questions than topic ideas, but there's a particular topic I've considered which still seems to be surrounded by hedge mazes of misconception and stigma: addiction. It's a broad, difficult topic, but this is the team I trust to do a thoroughly-researched (with allusions to current knowledge gaps), compassionate, grounded mini-series on this subject. Many of us already have some basic ideas, like that addiction functions like the stages of a disease, that for-profit rehab centers are venal and often ineffective, and that 12-Step Programs work for some, but not all; however, I'd appreciate a deep-dive into the current science on various treatments for various types of addiction, the obvious economic barriers to the former, and maybe even some myths about intervention and the idea of the "enabler."

This is great, I don't actually have a question for the show, but two technical ones: 1) How will we access the bonus episodes? A separate RSS feed would be great 2) Do we need a specific subscriber level to access the bonus episodes?

Do you have any advice for cultivating a 'you're wrong about mindset'? Bringing the kind of criticality and empathy you guys bring to these conversations to our everyday lives

Here's a question: how has creating and keeping up your own podcast changed your relationship with podcasts as a listener? Were you both big listeners before? Do you have to stay away from listening to ones that are too similar? Or does knowing how the sausage gets made make you enjoy it less? Just curious!

Process question -- Have you had topics you started researching for the podcast, then scrapped for one reason or another? What topics didn't work and why?

Crazy idea: can you two give a masterclass on how you go about researching and familiarising yourselves with a subject enought to debunk it. And then any over eager patrons could research and pitch their own YWA episodes to you (shorter versions) to be included in a Christmas/Easter/any other pagan festival special? 😋 Or am I trying too hard 🤣🙃😋

I am doing my PhD in cognitive neuroscience, and I loved that you covered some topics related to my research in the Koko episode! There are a lot of bad ideas in brain/behavioural sciences that seem to stick around like a bad hangover (e.g., learning types). One problem area that you touched upon that made me happy (or was that despair?) was the profound link between major concepts in psychology and eugenics and colonialism. I research timing in movement (think speech rhythm) and how our motor cognition is instrumental to so-called "higher" faculties that we think of as very abstract, like language. How various skills and ingenuities are scientifically arranged in a hierarchical fashion sometimes reflect Greek philosophy, the Enlightenment, and imperialism more than any kind of data-driven model of how the world works. Unfortunately, the body and basically everything white people suck at (again, rhythm) have suffered due to the resultantly misguided and baseless ideas about intelligence, creativity, and humanity that are, at least, slowly being overturned. I also have one more fun anecdote to follow up on your brief tangent about controlling our breathing and being able to speak, which from a neuroscience perspective is actually pretty amazing: we know from the fossil record that we developed the nerve control to do this sometime in the last 1.3 million years, but so did neanderthals! You're wrong about neanderthals!

I am one of your Canadian subscribers and love your podcast. Your last show on Koko was amazing. It made me think about the astonishing book Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis. In that book, two Greek gods Hermes and Apollo, are having drinks at a bar in Toronto (as they do), and they decide to bestow human consciousness and language on the dogs in a neighboring shelter to see if they are happier or not. This is not a Disney book for children (be forewarned). There were many themes in that book about human values placed on animal behaviour.... You brought up some similar themes in your podcast! thanks,

Sarah - what's your relationship with fibre arts?

In our house, we (very lovingly) have a game - drink every time Sarah or Michael brings up the concept of "agency"! Also - what about an episode on the Rat Pack?

When you listen to other podcasts, do you ever come across a reference to something you've debunked? Something they are, in fact, Wrong About? Occasionally in other podcasts I listen to, particularly true crime podcasts, I'll hear the hosts discussing criminal justice concepts (such as victims' rights) that you've covered and want to yell YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT -- ! Does this happen to you?

OH also maybe how realestate works in this country it seems really fucking shady.

Things that we greatly misunderstand in this day and age are learning disabilities and neurodiversity in general. I think the idea of looking at philanthropy might be good. Looking at people that were historically maligned or persecuted for having views that were against the norm. Like Emma Goldman, Margaret Sanger, Ida B. Wells. It might also be interesting to look at how Journalism dealt with previously difficult time periods like Hearst and Pulitzer. I think also looking at racist tropes like welfare queens and the absent black father and the role that public housing in creating these harmful stereotypes. Do you have a one false reporting for sexual assault? Maybe also one about trauma in general and how wrong everyone was about that. Ooh! And Autism and vaccines. Oh! You're wrong about evolution, so many people misunderstand evolution. And now we know that nature v nurture isn't really a thing but that it's both, and we know about epigenetics (though it is really early). Or social Darwinism and capitalism. How public education works in this country. Oh! Government third party contracts for things like social work that turns it into a capitalistic endeavor. Iran Contra...maybe an episode that follows all the fucked upness of the first Bush and his long and fucked up career.

What do you think are the best ways to help the public at large not get swept up in moral panics that can't just be swept aside as "a different, equally valid opinion that needs to be fully weighed against the panic"?

Episode on Dolly Parton.

Episode on Oprah.

Pop culture topics have been so refreshing in the midst of chaos. Please do a Whitney Houston ep! (or a few)

It's not quite a question, but what about a guest episode with Q and Blair from BraverMountain? I originally found the podcast from following them, and I bet there are some real cool topics the 4 of you could talk about!

Much love!! Potebtial topics smorgasbord: Quicksand - you mentioned but it's interesting that it 'gripped' our imagination around the Vietnam time and it was a plot device all over then it disappeared, I was worried about quicksand as a kid! Or: Drug abuse/drug war-type political reations and someone like Billie Holiday or any laudnum user or... Or: The longest occuparion of a govt building in history by disability civil rights protesters aided by Black Panthers, Or: The Joy of Sex or I'm OK Youre OK or self-help as a cultural phenomenon, Or: the evolvution of magazine and/or video porn industry, Or: the cultural effects of kids staying indoors in droves after stranger danger. Also, urban myths (?) about animals! Like remember cats stealing babys breath?

I had some vague thoughts come to mind (Baby Jessica, Canadian Health Care, Why does Portland Smell?, etc), but honestly I'd love a more freeform podcast where you talk about the process of researching. Maybe sneak previews of information snippets on podcasts to come?

can you start sharing what both of you are currently reading as an ongoing books-u-like sorta deal?

Q Anon as a continuation of the Satanic Panic

i discovered your podcast via Jason Kottke back in the day and it has now become my favorite. Have listened to every episode, and it would be difficult to name a favorite. I'm saving KoKo for when my husband gets home from work so we can listen together. You might need to add "PIERCED LABIA!" on your swag lineup lol. I’ve been wanting to ask if anyone else has suggested the Lindbergh baby kidnapping? I always connect that kidnapping with the Daisy Armstrong case in 'Murder On The Orient Express' for some reason. I’d love to hear both of you take us back on this on. I've read a popular quote at several weddings from Ann Morrow Lindbergh's 'A Gift from the Sea' about "Security in a relationship..." and I'm like, wait, she was a Nazi sympathizer. But seriously, LOVE your podcast. Both of you are just wonderful people. We’re happy to help support via Patreon and try to spread the word for you. See you on twitter @misterslaw!

Yay!! Is it true that kids are hitting puberty/developmental milestones earlier than ever? The rumor is that it’s all those “hormones in our food”. I have a ten year old and it’s been on my mind as it is looming in her future. Thanks!

Love you guys. Do you record together in the same room? How long is an unedited recording before you edit it down? What about an episode about those inappropriate little nuggets allegedly hidden into Disney movies (like “take off your clothes”) and the videos allegedly shipped with a snippet of a porno on them? Somehow that seemed like the biggest conspiracy of my youth. There is also a lot of black history that has been whitewashed or misrepresented that would be interesting to learn about.

What’s the most interesting thing(s) you learned about a topic after you had covered it? Broad, I know!

Do you have tips about note taking? How do you organize your spreadsheets? What’s your editing process? How do you know the episode is ready?

You said at the end of the Michelle Remembers you would share what you think really happened. Would love to hear that theory!

*Nerd alert* Would you give more insight into your process? What sources do you go to first? How long do you typically spend researching? What subscription-based services do you find most helpful? How do you pick topics?

Sorry sweeties, this might be putting on y'all some REALLY ridiculous expectations, but I just have to ask: I love this podcast because you refuse easy answers, and you ask "but why?" a million times. And you do it with care and respect. To people and to truth. BUT on some cases I saw that maybe you were lacking perspective/understanding. The comments about Jamaican gender/economics dynamics for example, were a bit too simple and touristy. I am sorry, can I say again that I LOVE the work that you do? It would be impossible for any person to know everything, and you are the tastiest and healthiest part of my media diet. But the question is: how do you feel about blind spots? Especially when it comes to class/wealth differences, especially especially between different countries.

OOh! I'd love to hear a debunk of some famous "frivolous lawsuits" like the woman who sued over the coffee spilled in her lap at Mc Donalds or the kid whose parents sued because he got a wedgie. Also, if the two of you had a bonus room- and an unlimited budget to spend on the bonus room- what would your bonus room contain?

this feels like one of those classes where the professor says, hey everyone we are going to go outside today for class and I'm going to have you collaborate with me on the syllabus! JK. I wish I had better questions I mostly like to hear you talk. I'd love to hear a bit more on your ideas how journalism works well maybe? Really, i shouldn't be writing the syllabus.

My question is a two parter: Do you guys know that you are so awesome? And, how does it feel to be so awesome?

Hello! Thank you for such a wonderful podcast! I would love an episode or quick clip on Britney Spears, within the larger context of the portrayal of mental health in the mid 2000s as fueled by paparazzi, gossip magazines like US weekly, and reality TV as well as the idea of conservatorship.

Q: Book recommendations, please? Maybe one fiction, one non-fiction? Edit: Oooh wait I have a better question... what’s a good place to start when learning to interview people? You both do a great job of drawing emotions and details from each other.

What's your "dream dinner party" arrangement, where you can invite absolutely anybody, living or dead

What are some things that you’ve been wrong about that are a struggle for you to believe? Sometimes even if we have the facts, it can still be difficult to understand how they can be true. The episode on child/sex trafficking is an example that comes to mind for me personally.

Can you please please do an episode on princess Diana? She deserves to be elevated and understood.

Q: Do you two think there is a better alternative to capitalism out there?

Q: What does Sarah think she will write (book wise) after the satanic panic book?

Q: What kind of human rights work did Michael do?

Brexit, please. I live in Scotland and I need to understand this mess. While you are at it... Scottish, Welsh and Cornish cases for independence 😋 sorry these are more episode requests...

I'd like to hear from each of you which episode so far has changed your mind the most. To wit, what were YOU wrong about?

This is a recommendation, not a question: terriblerealestateagentphotos.com

The diamond industry! Michael’s knowledge of the menstrual cycle x2 Jared from Subway Jon Benet Ramsay Who, and why is Barbie

What do you think of the historic episode of the Red Shoe Diaries with Paula Barbieri in it?

First - You two are great. A friend suggested the podcast and I can't get enough. This might be less of a bonus room request and more an episode request. This isn't US-centred (I am South African), but I think an episode on Winnie Mandela would be great. I think she will tick a lot of your boxes - maligned women of the 90s (and 80s and 2000s), deeply flawed, deeply compassionate ... all of the things really, happening in the shadow of her husband. I'll try and think of more bonus room-ish questions.

You're wrong about Downton Abbey. I think it's an excuse for viewers to have aristocratic fantasies without actually challenging the suffering caused by caste systems.

What DOES Michael know about the menstrual cycle?