This week we're covering an oldie but a goodie: Luis Alberto Urrea's THE DEVIL'S HIGHWAY. Originally published in the early aughts, this book tells the story of a group of Mexican migrants who attempted to cross the unforgiving Arizona desert.

Season 1, Episode 4: Hood Feminism

Jul 4th, 2022 1h 22m

today we're discussing Mikki Kendall's Hood Feminism! Using Kendall's work, we dig deep into issues of white feminism: Namely, how centering middle class white women damages the feminist movement as a whole. We get into what "really counts" a

Season 1, Episode 3: Cultish

Jun 27th, 2022 1h 14m

In this episode, our intrepid hosts discuss Amanda Montell's Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism. As the title suggests, the book is about the linguistic techniques cults use to shut down critical thinking and encourage compliance. Groups as

Season 1, Episode 2: The Great Pretender

Jun 20th, 2022 1h 39m

In this episode, Clerika discuss Susannah Cahalan's The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness. The book covers the famous Rosenhan experiment, which took place in the late sixties and early seventies

Season 1, Episode 1: Ace

Jun 13th, 2022 1h 45m

Please Stay on Topic kicks off its first season with Angela Chen's Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex. This is a topic near and dear to cohost Erika, because she's demisexual. If you don't know what tha

Please Stay on Topic: Season 1 Teaser

Jun 7th, 2022 4m 21s

Learn all about the new series, Please Stay on Topic: A Social Justice Book Club. New episodes begin next Monday.

Catherine Howard Part 1

Feb 19th, 2021 1h 14m

Hey guys, we're back--but only with a re-upload of an older episode. Sorry, sad trombone noise, etc. Anyway, here's the first part of the story of Catherine Howard--Henry VIII's fifth and most-maligned queen. We'll be back in two weeks with

Season 1, Episode 11: White Fragility, Part 2

Jan 22nd, 2021 1h 57m

For this week, we re-recorded our episodes on Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility. DiAngelo's work focuses on the ways in which white supremacy protects itself by encouraging white people to throw absolute fits whenever confronted about racism.

Season 1, Episode 10: White Fragility, Part 1

Jan 22nd, 2021 1h 31m

Season 1, Episode 9: Hatshepsut

Jan 15th, 2021 1h 20m

It's our second-to-last episode of the season, and it's definitely cursed! This week, Clerika takes on the life of Hatshepsut--that barrier-breaking, gender-bending female king of ancient Egypt. Unfortunately, because of the paucity of avail

Season 1, Episode 8: Push Back, Part 2

Jan 8th, 2021 2h

It's time for part two of Push Back! But before we get to that, something...weird happened in the United States this Wednesday. Donald Trump threw himself an itsy bitsy wittle coup. You know, the kind of mistake that ANY fascist dictator mig

Season 1, Episode 7: Push Back, Part 1

Jan 1st, 2021 1h 40m

Happy New Year, nerds! It's a Social Justice Book Club week, and this time around, we're discussing Dr. Amy Tuteur's "Push Back: Guilt in the Age of Natural Parenting."Dr. Tuteur is a retired OBGYN who has become somewhat notorious in certai

Season 1, Episode 6: Christmas Minisode

Dec 25th, 2020 15m 34s

Hey guys, it's Christmas 2020! Erika is a practicing Christian, and Clare is an atheist who really enjoys presents, so we're audi today. However, we do have a minisode to tide you over until next week! When we were recording episode one, abo

Season 1, Episode 5: Cleopatra, Part 2

Dec 18th, 2020 56m 11s

It's time for the rest of Cleopatra VII's story! When we left off, she'd just lost her boyfriend Julius Caesar to assassination--and also assassinated her brother-husband as a housekeeping measure. In this episode, Cleopatra hooks up with her

Season 1, Episode 4: Cleopatra, Part 1

Dec 11th, 2020 53m 8s

This week, we're talking about one of the more maligned women in history: Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt! Cleopatra was the last pharaoh, but she was not an actual Egyptian: Her ancestor, Ptolemy I, was a Macedonian Greek who claimed the lan

Season 1, Episode 3: Hood Feminism

Dec 4th, 2020 1h 23m

It's a Social Justice Book Club week, and today we're discussing Mikki Kendall's Hood Feminism! Using Kendall's work, we dig deep into issues of white feminism: Namely, how centering middle class white women damages the feminist movement as a

Season 1, Episode 2: Rosemary Kennedy

Nov 20th, 2020 1h 40m

The theme of this season is royal women, and up first is Rosemary Kennedy! Rosemary was the oldest daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy, and sister to one president and two senators. Unfortunately for Rosemary, her birth was badly mishandled, and

Season 1, Episode 1: The Great Pretender

Nov 13th, 2020 1h 39m

Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide, graphic self-harm, and general discussion of mental illness.And we are BACK! We're going to a new season system so that Clare actually has time to research, and we're starting off with a Social Justice B

White Fragility, Part 1

Sep 26th, 2020 1h 14m

Introducing Social Justice Book Club!Every few weeks, Clerika is going to bring you a discussion of a necessary work on social justice. Because white supremacy has set the whole world on fire, we're starting with Robin DiAngelo's White Fragi

Harriet Jacobs, Part 2: Social Justice Golden Girls

Sep 18th, 2020 1h 38m

Hey nerds, let's talk Reconstruction! This is the second part of our two-part series on the life of author and activist Harriet Jacobs. Last week, we discussed her traumatic early life, which involved LITERALLY YEARS of sexual harassment by h

Harriet Jacobs, Part 1: I Really Hate American History

Sep 11th, 2020 1h 53m

Hey guys, it's a timely reminder that in the United States, you could legally own another human being up until 157 years ago!If you're having a hard time picturing how long ago that was, then imagine two 60 year olds and a 37 year old hanging

The Unthinkable

Sep 4th, 2020 1h 41m

Because September 11 is next week, we're reposting our series about the attacks.Original description:Aaaaaaaand we're back! In this episode, Erika and Clare discuss "The Unthinkable" by Amanda Ripley, which is about the way human beings beh

9/11 Part Two

Sep 4th, 2020 41m 35s

September 11 is next week, so we're reposting our series about what happened that day.Original description:The girls are back! This time with a multi-part series about what happened on September 11, 2001. The upside: You won't have to wait