Good World

I had some free time over the holiday weekend, so I adapted a John Haskell short story that has been making me cry since 2004.

Here’s the audio:

 

Here’s John’s book, which is wonderful.

And here’s a video I made based on another one of his stories.

 

Roe v. Wade

Special guest Megan Burbank tells us about the history, limitations and loopholes of a landmark court ruling. Digressions include Betty Ford, “Maude” and naming conventions for anonymous defendants. The glories of Washington State politics are examined in depth.

Links!

• Megan is on Twitter and the internet
• The article that resulted from Megan’s trips to all those pregnancy crisis centers
• Megan’s Seattle Times coverage of abortion, adult ballet and Seattle rain
• Megan in Teen Vogue talking about states’ diverging abortion restrictions
• A look back at “Maude’s Dilemma”

 

The Duke Lacrosse Rape Case

Mike tells Sarah how a false rape allegation became a right-wing rallying cry and a left-wing conspiracy theory. Digressions include JonBenet Ramsay, “24” and “The Vagina Monologues.” Mike regrets not commenting on the metaphorical significance of being trapped in the closet throughout the episode.

Links!

• The North Carolina Attorney General’s summary report
• A 2007 American Journalism Review article on the media’s role
• Durham in Wonderland, the excruciatingly detailed blog that chronicled the case in real time
• The credulous New York Times story from August 2006
• An interesting law review article on the case from 2007
• A typology of false rape allegations
• A scathing review of William D. Cohan’s terrible book

 

 

Lorena Bobbitt

Sarah tells Mike how a case of marital rape and spontaneous mutilation became a national punchline. Digressions include Ron Jeremy, Alan Dershowitz, Motörhead and the tortures of self-reflection. Sarah reviews John Wayne Bobbitt’s later works.

Links! 

• Lili Anolik’s Vanity Fair retrospective 
• A clip from “John Wayne Bobbitt Uncut”
• “His Wife Seized His Prize and Cut It to Size”: Folk and Popular Commentary on Lorena Bobbitt
• CNN coverage of Lorena Bobbitt’s trial
• John Wayne Bobbitt on Howard Stern’s New Years Rotten Eve Pageant 1994