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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com “I had started out determined to learn about Amanda, but as more people contacted me wanting to talk, it was Jason they wished to talk about.” - from To the Bridge, A True Story of Motherhood and Murder* This 7th installment of “The Sociopaths Among Us” is about the person who put me I mind to do the series in the first place. His name is Jason Smith, and he is the father of the two children his estranged wife, Amanda Stott-Smith, dropped from Portland’s Sellwood Bridge shortly after 1am on May 23, 2009. Amanda was arrested later that same day, a story I partially tell you in the audio (and fully in the book). Walking into a story like this, one knows nothing other than one’s own and others’ preconceived notions. In the case of a mother who kills a child, these notions run from evil to crazy and not much more. Neither answered for me why Amanda did what she did. It can also be the case, in stories like this, that the real story, or stories, reveal themselves slowly. You can charge directly at it all you like and you are not going to get it. But if you wait, and you listen… In the audio you will hear how people started coming to me with stories about Jason Smith, he was not the man he presented himself to be, they said; that he was very, very good at what he did, and what he did was practice deception. “He could sell ice to an Eskimo, he could sell you the dream,” I was told by the man who’d thought of Jason as his best friend, a thought the man had, by the time he called me, been thoroughly disabused of. I have written before of the sociopath’s terrific and terrible talent of being able make you feel as though you ‘get’ him as others do not. They spin webs of so, so, so many, lies that eventually catch up with them. They do not register the damage they leave in their wake, or not as something they should care about, and by the time people realize what has happened, the sociopath is onto the next person or situation from which he can gain sustenance. From To the Bridge: “We become grist for the sociopath’s mill, in other words; we become his fuel. Dr. Hervey Cleckley, in his seminal work on the psychopathic personality, The Mask of Sanity, posited that what sociopaths lack is ‘soul quality.’ Another work I came across called sociopaths “soul eaters of Psychophagic.’ Reading this, I pictured Goya’s painting Saturn Devouring His Son and considered the idea that sociopaths must feed on others because they lack souls of their own.” Consider what this consumption can do to others. I can understand someone wondering right about now why I do not have more sympathy for Jason Smith, who after all lost his four-year son. Read on… * To the Bridge is a"Kindle Exclusive Deal" this month. If you grab it, let me know what you think.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com “The Left has done itself a huge disservice by demonizing men,” says Sebastian Junger, while discussing his recent piece, “Young Men and How the Democrats Lost Them.” The post ran on his new Substack, named TRIBE, also the title of his 2016 book, though readers may know him best from his 1997 blockbuster, The Perfect Storm, about the sinking of the commercial fishing vessel Andrea Gail. More recently, Junger is the author of In My Time of Dying, a chronicle of a medical emergency that brought him within seconds of death. “And then my dead father appears above me to welcome me to help me cross over,” says Junger. Did it make sense that Junger, an atheist, would be visited at that moment by his father, who was “a physicist and an atheist, which is like atheist squared”? Or is that the wrong question? Had he come, as physicist Sir Author Eddington did 100 years ago, up against the essential nature of existence and concluded, “Something unknown is doing we don’t know what.” Nancy and Junger talk politics, publishing, the liberal publication that asked him to write a piece about what it means to be a man in today’s society and then spiked it because, as the editor wrote, “The science seems solid but the conclusions go against the prevailing political currents at this publication,” and the public capacity for collective resistance, viz. Minneapolis. “At the end of the day, our politics have to be calm and reasonable,” Junger says. “If they’re inflamed and angry, it leads to chaos and conflict.” Also discussed: * Sebastian Junger, flip-phone devotee * Substack is the new busking * On 95% of workplace and combat fatalities being male: “You can kill enormous numbers of men with almost no impact on the population. You kill the same number of women and the population crashes.” * “Megyn Kelly’s, in my opinion, almost sociopathic remarks…” * The deeply empathetic filmmaker Meg Smaker and the shame of the people who don’t want her work seen * Some love for National Review * Hemingway’s penchant for five-syllable titles * The sinking this week of another fishing boat off Gloucester Plus, Junger on Restrepo, the documentary he made with his late friend Tim Hetherington (“A human and experiential look at what it feels like to be a soldier in combat”); on WWI/WWII reporter Mary Heaton Vorse (“One of the most extraordinary voices in American literature”), the sexiness of a book that fits in the back pocket of your jeans, and much more! NOTE: Sarah’s schedule kept her from being on this podcast, but she will be back soon. This podcast sounds 95% sexier when you become a paid subscriber

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com It’s been a rough few weeks, especially in the city of Minneapolis, which saw two citizens engaged in protest gunned down in the streets. Nancy and Sarah talk about how much has gone wrong, including statements from federal officials that directly contradict video evidence, a hiring spree at ICE that seems to have left many without training, and creeping paranoia in Minnesota and beyond. As Trump begins to course-correct, following pushback from his own side, we wonder if Minneapolis can be a turning point for an administration that has gone too far. Also discussed: * How’s the snow? * 2020 protests versus 2026 protests * Nancy’s daughter forbids her from going to Minneapolis * “The city is a giant eyeball” * Bye-bye, Greg Bovino * Is Kristi Noem on her way out? * Sarah tells Nancy about watching Alex Honnold climb Taipei 101; Nancy spazzes out * Layoffs coming to WaPo, which, frankly, Nancy could be a little nicer about * Nancy and Sarah’s favorite Instagram-er reacts to Alex Honnold * Amanda Seyfried and her “moon-maiden eyes” * Holland, England, whatever * Lewis Pullman, flirty birdie Plus, the time Nancy shimmied up an elevator shaft, the time Sarah thought she might fall into an abyss while rock climbing, Nancy mixes up Hemingway titles, and much more! REMINDER: Monthly Zoom hang is this Sunday! 8pm ET/5pm PT. Link sent day-of. Nothing scary about becoming a paid subscriber.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Nancy and Sarah speak with Ellie Avishai, who offers an inside look at how the ambitious project to build a bold new university — based on liberalism and open dialogue — fell victim to some of the same censorious behavior it sought to oust. The University of Austin was announced in 2021 with big names attached, perhaps none bigger (or more controversial) than Bari Weiss. Touting itself as a “coalition of the sane” at a time when college campuses seemed to be veering off-course, UATX was an inspiration to many, including Avishai, who joined forces with UATX through her own project, the Mill Institute, to help educators foster more open dialogue in classrooms. As a recent Politico story lays out, things did not go as planned. We talk about why a modest social media post led to Avishai getting booted from UATX and how the dogma of woke is transforming into the dogma of anti-woke, not just at one university but throughout culture. Also discussed: * How education departments got flooded with reductive social justice ideas * The prescriptive, anti-meaning-making stuff that went on in the social justice movement… * “… to be clear, this wasn’t just Harvard.” * Also: Harvard is pretty awesome! * Intellectual “space spaces” versus psychological “safe spaces” * “If you can’t teach Plato in a college course, you’re out of your mind.” * #MeToo controversy at UATX * How do you prove the strength of your core ideas if you won’t let them be tested? * Where is Bari Weiss in all this? * When open dialogue is perceived as weak sauce * Cannibal-Americans? Plus, ‘70s football greatness, three books to read aloud in bed, the phenomenon that is Heated Rivalry, and much more!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Emily Zanotti is a writer, a Catholic, a political operative, a mother of three, and a professional chicken tender, which is a thing. Nancy and Sarah know her from Twitter, where she is a great follow, but they’re taking this relationship to the next level. Podcast guest! The three talk about the mental health benefits of putting hands in the dirt, how Emily came to define herself as conservative (and what happened when the conservative movement shifted from her), all those female troubles women rarely talk about, and the booming fertility-industrial complex. Also discussed: * Chickens and gunshots * “My goal is to not be a hypocrite” * The intellectual side of Catholicism * The beauty of having bees come to die in your garden * “2016 broke a lot of people.” * The Greeks identified endometriosis, but Western medicine didn’t come up with a treatment until… last year? * Infertility as a Catholic … * The mirage of egg freezing * Storage fees for zygotes * Endometrial tissue in women’s … brains?? * Clocking your kids’ personalities while they’re in utero * Is misogyny what drives laws that allow women to die on the floor of ERs from ectopic pregnancies, or nah? Plus, Japanese New Wave vinyl! Werewolf romance fiction! Forty years and we still haven’t gotten over David Bowie’s pants in Labyrinth! And much more. Start the year right. Become a paid subscriber.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com The end of 2025 is here, whether we like it or not. Nancy and Sarah celebrate with a year-end episode that includes a pop quiz, their favorite culture recommendations, and even a few resolutions. Have and attend more parties! Don’t pay attention to nonsense! It’s an annual look-back with cameo appearances by Paul Thomas Anderson, Sean Combs, Sydney Sweeney, Charlie Kirk, Billy Joel, Chappell Roan, old classic books, and the AI future that awaits us. Also discussed: * FaceTime doesn’t work in Australia? * Hard times for America’s bourbon industry * Nancy doesn’t flunk the pop quiz! * Sarah favorite 2025 pop song is actually from … * Nancy explains VistaVision; gets it wrong * Sarah’s love-hate thing with Yorgos Lanthimos * Olivia Colman gives an all-time performance * The time-weathered face of Ethan Hawke * American Studies is a bangin’ major * A John Travolta gifting story * Whoodoggie, did things get hot on the set of Cleopatra Plus, Sarah invents Drinking School, Nancy accidentally chugs weed lemonade, we all have Moby Dicks to climb, and much more!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com The great Kat Rosenfield, Free Press columnist and novelist, joins Nancy and Sarah for a very special Christmas-themed conversation that includes: a new holiday short story by Kat, the whole man-keeping/emotional labor debate, the role dirty socks can play in the unraveling of a marriage, and what it means to “get what you deserve.” Plus, each of the ladies builds her Mount Rushmore of Hotness, but only ONE MAN makes the cut on every woman’s list. Who will it be?? Also discussed: * Will people ever stop freaking out about Bari Weiss? * “I don’t want a birthday party!” * Sarah would like to man-keep, thanks * Kat and Nancy have thoughts on pie crust * Epstein: Is the media trying to make “fetch” happen? * Nobody likes the word “deserve.” * Crying in trees, sleeping in trees … * A totally unironic Leo DiCaprio calendar Plus, sorrow over Ben Sasse’s announcement that he has terminal cancer, animatronic milk in Connecticut, what Kat texted her husband after watching that scorching “Wuthering Heights” trailer, and much more! It’s Christmas and Kat has a special gift for you, if you’ll just step right into this post office, so cozy, so inviting, what could go wrong? All we want for Christmas …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Andy Mills, audio storyteller extraordinaire, joins Nancy and Sarah to talk about the “AI hinge moment” we’re living in, the subject of his new podcast “The Last Invention.” How scared should we be? Let’s discuss. They talk creative process, journalism’s inflection point and what was lost and gained in “the war of public shaming.” Plus: Books books books! Also discussed: * Gotta love a rotund tree * “The thing about when you’re making your sauna …” * The country mouse/city mouse ideal * Are we really living in “unprecedented times”? * The secrets of how Andy builds a podcast * The trend to exaggerate victim status is REALLY UNHEALTHY * Bringing down a deer with a bow-and-arrow is harder than you think * When pain comes your way, don’t add regret to it * The Wall Street Journal is crushing it * Make centricism sexy again! * One was joyous, one was meh: Apple vs. Free Press holiday parties * Andy explains frog embryology to Nancy * Andy and Sarah are Magnolia stans * Alexander Hamilton got what he deserved * Demon Copperhead: Even funnier than Moby Dick! * “There’s so much comfort in history.” * WANTED: Presidential biography recommendations Plus, three cheers for Bari Weiss and building new media, everyone loves Anna Karenina, “to be alive is to be heartbroken,” and much more! Give yourself the gift of deep conversation. Become a paid subscriber.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com This is a hot one! Pamela Paul — longtime editor of the New York Times Book Review, author of nine books, current writer-at-large for the Wall Street Journal — tells Nancy and Sarah about her unceremonious exit from the New York Times, where she had been an Opinion columnist. What happened? Well, it’s a long and juicy story, one that includes a J.K. Rowling column, a “lot of dishonesty and fear,” and an email dispatched in the middle of the night, a story that caused Nancy’s and Sarah’s jaws to literally drop. (It’s on video!) Paul joined the Opinion section in 2022 to “create space for liberal opinions that had been snuffed out,” the thorny topics most journalists in 2020 were afraid to write about — and might still be. “It’s really unsettling when an Opinion section is afraid of opinions,” says Paul. “You cannot pretend culture out of existence.” Also discussed: * How were things inside the New York Times in 2020? “Really awful.” * George Will, 2014: “Victimhood [as] a coveted status that confers privileges.” NYT 2020: “Hold my beer.” * “You’ve lost the room…” * We are not finished talking about the defenestrations of Times’ James Bennett, Bari Weiss, Donald McNeil Jr…. * New York Times readers are smarter than we give them credit for. * Props for Jesse Singal, Michael Powell, whoever Pamela’s editor was at Opinion, whose stand-up-ness makes Nancy tear up * “The truth is a m**********r.” Plus, tasty bits in the hotbox: a Disneyland for Netflix grown-ups, the 1000-page book about revenge and justice you should be reading, a new old-skool medical drama, and much more! Aren’t you tired of the paywall yet? Become a paid subscriber. we told you…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Going to Gacy: A Cross Country Journey to Shake the Devil’s Hand, tells the story of a drive I made cross-country with a pen pal of John Wayne Gacy’s, to visit the serial killer in prison in the weeks before his execution. I originally sold the piece -- my first feature -- to Details. I wrote a draft and faxed it to the editor - this was 1994 - who told…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Mary Katharine Ham is a journalist and political commentator who’s worked for both CNN and Fox. Her book End of Discussion: How the Left’s Outrage Industry Shuts Down Debate, Manipulates Voters, and Makes America Less Free (and Fun) came out in 2015 but basically predicts the next decade. A “natural contrarian,” Ham came to conservatism at a time when culture (and her Durham hometown) was dominated by liberals. It’s made her a rigorous and original thinker, clear-eyed and calm amid the political circus. She talks with Nancy and Sarah about why Trump isn’t a conservative, how her faith helped her endure the death of her first husband, and how that experience shaped her perspective on Erika Kirk’s role since her husband Charlie’s assassination, when Ham found herself playing “widow defense.” We also talk the Trump-Mamdani summit, motherhood, and the utility of political commentary. Also discussed: * It’s good to have a weirdo in the room. * Unintended lessons of a ‘90s public-school education * MKH early inspiration: Rachel Campos-Duffy from The Real World * “Politics is just not fun,” and yet… * What is conservatism? * What Obama and Trump have in common * The Russiagate delusion * Marjorie Taylor Greene folds * The Tetris movie: Go, capitalism! * “Charlie himself, as an example, was a bulwark against so many bad examples.” * Admiration for George W’s post-presidential ride into the sunset * The radical efficiency of freaking people out * The hunger to find hypocrisy among people of faith * A sunnier portrait of motherhood * “God is good no matter what.” * The necessary solace of Jeremiah 29:11 * Enthusiasm plus delusion is a very bad combination, and yes, we’re looking at you, Candace Owens * Mary Katherine to Nancy: “Get lifting.” * Sarah “resisted Apple TV for a heroic amount of time.” Plus, Kelsea Ballerini wonders what she missed, the over-selling of freezing one’s eggs, Usha Vance gives good advice, and much more! Thanksgiving is a day to be grateful. Perfect time to become a paid subscriber!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Nancy and Sarah discuss political writer Olivia Nuzzi, who became the main character on Twitter this week when an excerpt from her new memoir, published in Vanity Fair, coincided with a bombshell story by ex-fiancee Ryan Lizza. The scandal included cameos by broadcaster Keith Olbermann, politician Mark Sanford, and Livvy, a pop-music persona Nuzzi created at 16. Nuzzi is a talented journalist who’s appeared on this podcast. Last year, she lost her gig at New York magazine after news hit about an entanglement with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This sordid new chapter created a feeding frenzy among (many less talented) journalists, but Sarah and Nancy try to push past the schadenfreude to understand how we got here: the little girl drawn to the spotlight, fluent in the double-speak of politicians, and the ambitious young woman who lost both parents by 30. Also discussed: * That time Patty Hearst and the SLA hid out in Disneyland * The magic of the open road * “I like messy people.” * A political profile vs. a celebrity profile * Rule #1: Don’t sleep with your sources. * Rule #2: Do not look through your significant other’s stuff * The Keith Olbermann of it all * Vanity Fair and glamour of the 90s * Remember that time a governor from New Jersey was caught having sex with a dude, and it became a whole giant scandal? Yeah, us neither * More Monmouth Musings could use a better name … * Livvy, the “morally bankrupt” and “undeniably infectious” pop tartlet * The dirty-girl era of Ke$ha and Lady Gaga * The exhibitionism of the iPhone * Sarah will lay her chips on Nuzzi’s future Plus, Sarah can see alcoholism in people’s eyes, Nancy reconnects with a former flame, a nearly unbelievable story about a 38-year-old unopened letter from Ken Kesey and much more! Make your world bigger. Become a paid subscriber.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Nancy and Sarah discuss a viral essay from British Vogue, “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” The free-wheeling conversation touches on dating changes over the generations, the different ways women tell stories about their relationships online, and how women over the past half century have tried to balance independence and attachment. Also discussed: * First Kurt Rambis reference, for those who celebrate * Sarah gets her colors done, has hair problems * We need a producer! * Our email, for the record: [email protected] * Please, we beg you, no more videotaped marriage proposals * On men traveling alone: “Who did that guy kill?” * Influencer culture and the egg-freeze flex * Was the world built for “men’s comfort”? * Do men want to be protectors? Do women want them to be? A debate! * Having a boyfriend is… Republican? * Might we have a moratorium on quotes from content providers living in Dimes Square? * “I just want a spinach salad…” * The Hulu show that almost broke up your podcasters Plus, a flashback to an early 20th century Edith Wharton banger, the glory that is Sebastian Junger, and much more! The rich jewel box colors of fall will be yours when you become a paid subscriber

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Mike Pesca, host of the longtime daily news podcast “The Gist,” joins Nancy and Sarah to talk about sports betting scandal that threatens to destroy an entire industry. Marked cards, special contact lenses, the mafia: This is deep Scorsese territory. Sarah is so checked out on sports she didn’t know Pete Rose was dead, but she has questions about how betting went from taboo to industry goldmine. Pesca is Smoke’s resident “voice of men,” whether he likes it or not, so we also talk about his take on the Great Feminization (last week’s pod controversy) and women taking testoserone to boost their sex drive. Don’t miss the backstage drama on Pesca’s podcast interview with former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. He’s done thousands of celebrity interviews, and only spiked a few. This was one of them. Also discussed: * A burning UTI of a question! * Over-under and point spread, discussed * Eight Men Out, a good movie * When the mafia ruled porn … * Three cheers for the red, white and corrupt * Theo Von, Louis CK, Chris Rock, greatest sex addicts anonymous group ever? * Longing for a “she-pee” that plays “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor * Norm MacDonald, poster child for gambling addiction * But what is addiction? * Mike suggests Karine Jean-Pierre should have called her book Incoherent * Sarah’s parents were Cuomo-sexuals * Nancy tries to explain “boofing” * A tone-deaf article about harm reduction * Women, sex drive, and Nancy’s testosterone levels * Andrew Cuomo: “I’m not perverted. I’m Italian.” * “Get me off the Lady Testosterone ride!” * Ozempic kills the urge to gamble * Pesca’s wife has complaints * Sarah’s Ethnic Stereotypes Corner! Plus, Sarah reconsiders One Battle After Another, Nancy’s erotic gym-class epiphany, Mike explains how to read marked cards, and much more! REMINDER: First Sunday this Sunday! Come one, come all, link sent out day-out. 8pm ET/5pm PT. Nancy’s birthday is October 30, and a girl likes presents. You know what to do …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com Nancy and Sarah talk about “The Great Feminization,” a Compact essay that’s stirred the hornet’s nest of social media. The recent story, by Helen Andrews, argues that many recent cultural shifts — cancel culture, wokeness, safetyism — can be explained by the influence of women, who tend to prioritize empathy over rationality and cohesion over competition. Is it true? Is it offensive? Let’s discuss! Also discussed: * Compliment sandwiches * Twelve-year-old Nancy gets piled on by the older girls at camp * Dreamy Argentinian boys causing trouble * Spilling to a journalist = tattling to the teacher? * “Math is hard” * Male bosses versus female bosses * Mean-girl behavior * “I think” versus “I feel” * Am I allowed to get an orange soda? * Nancy equates cancel culture with communism; Sarah says, WTF? * No adults in the room * What is a “meta-textual performance? Is it a puppet show? * “Misogynist howlers” Plus, a true-crime documentary that exposes surveillance culture, Nancy on the chef whose recipes actually work — and more! Thank you to Andrew Wimsatt, who snatched our video from the jaws of defeat. It’s one battle after another with technology around here! As penance for being later than we’d like, please accept an image of the homemade lasagna Nancy is making, more on that in the hot box It’s a chunky lasagna of a time when you become a paid subscriber.