Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em Podcast
Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em Podcast
124. Spicy Chicken Sandwich With a Side of Culture War
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124. Spicy Chicken Sandwich With a Side of Culture War

An essay in the Atlantic kicks off Chick-Fil-A-Gate: Michael Hobbes vs. Jesse Singal, Nikole Hannah-Jones vs. Facts. Plus: Shane Gillis sighting, Kurt Vonnegut doc, and a chicken sandwich throw-down
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“I Was a Heretic at the New York Times,” an Atlantic essay by Adam Rubinstein, exploded on the old Twitter/X/Hate Machine. The story opens at a staff orientation where Rubinstein expresses love for Chick-Fil-A’s spicy chicken sandwich and gets rebuked. Did it happen? Can we know? What sauce goes best with a spicy chicken sandwich ? That one we know: Honey-roasted BBQ.

So what is this journo-kerfuffle about? Why should we care? Nancy and Sarah get down and dirty about this week’s lightning-rod essay, and along the way …

  • Nancy goes viral

  • We’re hawking Fifth Column merch, because Nancy needs closet space

  • Shane Gillis sighting! Shane Gillis hug!

  • Throwdown! Chick-Fil-A vs. Shake Shack

  • “Running this puts Black @NYTstaffers in danger.”

  • Sarah takes out her personal-essay scalpel, slices carefully

  • Who is Michael Hobbes, and why did he block you?

  • Southern writers are like chicken sandwiches (we swear)

  • Nikole Hannah-Jones = untouchable?

  • Jesse Singal = always hungry

  • Why are people fighting so hard over this?

Plus: Do French fries need ketchup? Does Nancy’s face look and different after the treatment she got yesterday? Should we sell merch?

Nancy mocked up a T-shirt for SMOKE EM, to which Sarah responded: Wrong typeface, wrong font size, wrong color, wrong tank, but otherwise — a good start!

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REMINDER! Zoom hang this Sunday, March 3! 5pm PT/8pm ET. Nancy swears she’ll be there. Bring a suggestion for group movie watch. Nancy insists you wear shoes; Sarah insists you go barefoot. YOU DECIDE. Paid subscribers get Zoom link day-of.

Faster than the line at Chick-Fil-A and spicier than the Original Chicken Shack sandwich. Become a paid subscriber, no napkins needed.

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