Backtalk

This week, Dahlia and Amy reflect on the past years of pop culture, feminism, and rageful conversations. Backtalk couldn’t have happened without its listeners and all of the thoughtful feedback that have sparked convos in each episode. We’ve giggled, we’ve cried, and we’ve learned so much along the way. Thanks so much for all of the support. 

Always and forever, your rage cheerleaders!   You can follow Amy at:  https://twitter.com/amyadoyzie https://www.instagram.com/amylamjam byamylam.com   You can follow Dahlia at:  https://twitter.com/salvadordahlia https://www.instagram.com/dahliabalcazar https://www.salvadordahlia.com

This week, Dahlia and Amy discuss comments made by Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer, Donna Rotunno, insisting that women could avoid sexual assault by not placing themselves in risky situations. Plus we read some great listener notes that start conversations.    READ  “Ceremonials” by Katharine Coldiron is a twelve-part lyric novella inspired by Florence + the Machine's 2011 album of the same name. Between prose and poetry, it’s about two girls who fall in love at boarding school and the ghosts that follow.   WATCH  Netflix’s “Next in Fashion” features amazing designers and garments, with a behind-the-scenes look at their creative process.    LISTEN  “Sullen Girl” by Fiona Apple

This week, Dahlia and Amy get into the controversy over the publishing industry and the book that’s too big to fail. “American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins, and her publisher, Flatiron Books, have been at the center of discussions about how the industry decides who deserves huge advances and to have their books championed, and what writers get left behind. Will this literary drama change the publishing landscape?   READ “I Know What I Am: The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi” by Gina Siciliano is a gorgeous look at the life of the seventeenth-century painter.   WATCH “Gloria Bell” stars Julianne Moore as a middle-aged woman living her ordinary life in this tender film.   LISTEN “religion (u can lay your hands on me)” by Shura

This week Dahlia and Amy talk about the beginning of the trial against Harvey Weinstein in New York. Weinstein was first exposed in 2017 in part due to the investigative reporting by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey at the “New York Times.” The story of that investigation is documented in their book, “She Said,” and reveals all of the work that went into their story.    WATCH “Watchmen” is a multivalent exploration of justice and corruption. Plus superheroes and great acting.    READ “The Friend” by Sigrid Nunez explores grief, canine companionship, and writing life. 
   LISTEN “Hit Reset” by The Julie Ruin

Dahlia and Amy ring in the new year (yay!) talking about how the world is burning down (boo!). The beginning of this decade can feel hopeless, but all hope is not lost: stay informed, organize, and create change.  WATCH Not to be confused with “Celebrity Couples Therapy,” “Couples Therapy” on Showtime is a really interesting look at the work of being a therapist. There’s also a very strange and engaging new “Dracula” miniseries on Netflix.  READ “Severance” by Ling Ma is the apocalyptic dystopian consumerist novel of our times.  LISTEN “Fresh Blood” by Eels

This week, Dahlia and Amy talk about the latest in the impeachment inquiry and whether it means we’ll finally kick Trump out of office. A whole crew of former and current government officials have appeared to testify as to whether Trump engaged in a quid pro quo with the Ukrainian president. The testimonies have revealed a Trumpian shitshow that points directly at that quid pro quo—but will it be enough to dethrone him?   WATCH “Parasite” by director Bong Joon-ho is a film for our times. Bong shows us how capitalism has failed us all in this smart, funny, and anxiety-inducing film.   READ “The Beautiful Ones,” a memoir that Prince was working on before his death, was meant to "be a handbook for the brilliant community," "a radical call for collective ownership, for black creativity," and “a book about freedom.” Featuring Prince’s own handwritten memoir pages, the book is also filled with photos, letters, and other rad Prince ephemera.   LISTEN “Rich Man’s World 1%” by Immortal Technique

This week, Dahlia and Amy talk about the meme that’s the perfect digital eye roll. “OK Boomer” is the millennial and Gen Z clapback that has some people clutching their pearls. But what does this meme say about calling out people in power and starting a conversation about what young people stand to inherit?    WATCH Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’s “Eat Shit, Bob Murray” episode is a perfect middle finger to a wretched coal baron who silences critics with frivolous, expensive lawsuits.    READ "In the Dream House" by Carmen Maria Machado LISTEN The Muffs “Sad Tomorrow”

This week, Dahlia and Amy talk Facebook’s bid for world domination and what Mark Zuckerberg’s latest appearance before Congress revealed. Ahead of the 2020 elections and in the wake of influence campaigns that have led to violence around the world, it’s been asked if the social-media giant is capable of growing responsibly. (Hint: nope).    Extra reading: I’m the Comedian Who Just Confronted Harvey Weinstein. Here’s Why I Spoke Up. [New York Times]   READ  “Fake Like Me” by Barbara Bourland is part art-world exposé, part murder-mystery, and all-engrossing.    WATCH  Jenny Slate’s Netflix Special “Stage Fright” is a quirky mix of her stand-up and documentary footage with her family.    LISTEN  “Which Witch” by Florence + The Machine

This week, Dahlia and Amy get into the recent campus conflict when white students with hurt feelings thought it’d be a good idea to burn books written by a visiting author. Jennine Capó Crucet was invited to Georgia Southern University to speak about her novel, which was required reading for some freshmen students at the school. Students confronted her during the Q&A and burned her novel after Capó Crucet’s lecture! Plus, we celebrate Indigenous People's Day and what it means to decolonize a federal holiday.    READ  In “Molly Fox’s Birthday” by Deirdre Madden, an unnamed narrator spends the day in her friend’s home. Molly is an actress visiting London, and the narrator, a playwright inhabiting Molly’s Irish cottage on her birthday, reflects on their friendship and the crafts of writing and acting.    WATCH  “Doubt,” starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and the incomparable Viola Davis was released in 2008 and worth a re-watch in this #MeToo moment.    LISTEN “Aute Couture” by Rosalia

This week, Dahlia and Amy get into the impeachment inquiry. Hold the balloons and streamers, it’s a long road ahead to remove Trump from office. How did we arrive at this specific moment when so many outspoken politicians, especially women of color Democrats, have been calling for his removal for years?    READ  “Freshwater” by Akwaeke Emezi is a gorgeous and surreal exploration of fractured identity. WATCH Netflix’s “Unbelievable,” based on a true events, is a necessary look at how law enforcement can support rape survivors without inflicting more harm.    LISTEN  “Cities in Dust” by Siouxsie and the Banshees