Alison Bechdel On Menopause, Mortality and Punching Pennies

Alison Bechdel On Menopause, Mortality and Punching Pennies

Alison Bechdel went through menopause 10 years ago, when she was 50. I know this because she writes about it in her latest graphic memoir, called The Secret To Superhuman Strength. "I just felt crazy," Alison told me about that time in her life. "It was kind of like having really bad PMS for extended periods. I just know I felt nuts." Alison's observations about her outer physical life and inner emotional life are at the center of her new book—which follows two works that are largely about her parents: her 2012 graphic novel Are You My Mother? and her acclaimed 2006 graphic novel-turned-musical Fun Home. Alison's parents and their influences on her are present in her new book, but it follows Alison's own life progression—and exercise obsessions—decade by decade. "I so much wanted to be a big strong guy," Alison told me about herself as a young girl. "I think what the real lure for me was this idea of being self-sufficient, that I wouldn't need anyone else's care or protection. I wanted to be that powerful."

Episoder(150)

Living Alone and Liking It. Sometimes.

Living Alone and Liking It. Sometimes.

Living alone has its perks. You can eat what you want, wear what you want, and listen to show tunes as loud as you want. You can let your dishes pile up for days—or you can be a total neat freak. Ther...

2 Des 202025min

Miguel Gutierrez's Strongly Worded Emails About Art and Money

Miguel Gutierrez's Strongly Worded Emails About Art and Money

This past March, choreographer Miguel Gutierrez posted a call on his Instagram. It asked performing arts institutions to honor their commitments to artists like him, who were no longer able to perform...

25 Nov 202031min

I Killed Someone. Now I Study Police Violence.

I Killed Someone. Now I Study Police Violence.

Tom Baker is getting his PhD in criminology, and as part of his research he's spent hours watching and studying police shootings. "The goal is to identify...things that police are doing that could be ...

18 Nov 202039min

51 Years Loving A Man Named Sissy

51 Years Loving A Man Named Sissy

Last year, we met Sissy and Vickie Goodwin, a Wyoming couple who had been married for 50 years. Around the time they started their lives together, Vickie learned of a secret Sissy had been harboring s...

11 Nov 202038min

What’s Going On In Your Immigrant Family's Group Chat?

What’s Going On In Your Immigrant Family's Group Chat?

This past summer, as protests were erupting across the U.S. in response to George Floyd's death, racism and police brutality, producer Afi Yellow-Duke and I started talking about the conversations she...

28 Okt 202040min

Alice Wong On Ruckuses, Rage And Medicaid

Alice Wong On Ruckuses, Rage And Medicaid

Growing up near Indianapolis in the '80s and '90s, Alice Wong wanted to leave. "I knew life was going to be so much better once I got into college," she said. Alice grew up in an immigrant household, ...

21 Okt 202043min

Audio We Love Fest: California Love

Audio We Love Fest: California Love

Interviewing people is hard. Interviewing a parent...is harder. But that's exactly what writer Walter Thompson-Hernández does in the final episode of his new podcast California Love from LAist Studios...

15 Okt 202046min

Audio We Love Fest: Constellation Prize

Audio We Love Fest: Constellation Prize

When producer Bianca Giaever found herself feeling especially lonely, she decided to look for a stranger who was feeling lonely, too. In the basement of a Brooklyn church, she met Sophia, a former pro...

14 Okt 202054min

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