48. Elon, Elon, Elon

Twitter seemed so simple at first. Both of us joined in 2009, and Nancy loved the economy of form, though Sarah was confused by the purpose and character count. She wound up live-tweeting things like, “Her hat is weird.” Thirteen years later, Twitter is the white-hot center of a cultural debate over politics, civility, and the future of journalism. Elon Musk is trying to build the plane while he flies it, and it’s unclear whether that plane is finding new altitude, or crashing into a mountainside.

We discuss former head of Trust & Safety Yoel Roth, ambitious world-builder/left-wing pariah Bari Weiss, and of course Musk himself, who has become #1 hero and public enemy. (This was recorded before Musk polled Twitter users to ask if he should step down. They voted yes, by the way.) Nobody knows where this wild ride is heading, but Sarah cautions against what folks in AA call, “Contempt prior to investigation.” Nancy agrees, with a parable about how she actually does like eggplant.

In the paid-subscriber-only content: Sex sells, but who’s the customer? Not Nancy, who has zero interest in hearing about other people’s sex lives (or discussing her own). Not so fast, says Sarah. Sex is an expression of character, one of the deepest connections you can find with another human, and the problem is not sex writing but the shallow, performative way it’s written.

Also: MILF Manor! TLC is launching a new reality show ripped straight from 30 Rock, and Nancy squirms just explaining what that acronym stands for, while Sarah programs her calendar for the release date. Do the ladies discuss the places on their body that make them gasp when touched? Mmhm.

Episode Notes:

“The Childish Drama of Elon Musk,” by Tom Nichols (The Atlantic)

“Elon Musk Bans Several Journalists From Twitter After Reinstating Literal Nazis,” by Matt Novak (Gizmodo)

“Newsrooms are scrambling to counter Elon Musk's bans,” by Max Tani (Semafor)

“Our Reporting at Twitter,” by Bari Weiss (The Free Press)

“All Told,” a profile about Rachel Cusk and her novel Outline, a book Sarah admired deeply but didn’t really like (The New Yorker)

The tweet that got Yoel Roth dragged:

Yoel Roth @yoyoel

Can high school students ever meaningfully consent to sex with their teachers? http://bit.ly/bbpH68

And the story linked in that tweet, by Sarah’s friend and former colleague: “Student-teacher sex: When is it OK?,” by Tracy Clark-Flory (Salon)

“Taking My Ex Back for His Own Good,” by Nancy Rommelmann (New York Times)

“The Things I’m Afraid to Write About,” by Sarah Hepola (Atlantic)

“Salon Shouldn’t Have Unpublished Its Article by a Pedophile Author,” by Jesse Singal (The Cut)

First and far from last meal in Tel Aviv, with Jesse Singal and Yael Bar Tur

Twitter Files tranche #6:

Matt Taibbi @mtaibbi

COMING at 4 est: TWITTER: THE FBI SUBSIDIARY

Bari Weiss’s response to Musk’s tweeted question, “What should the consequence of doxxing someone’s real-time, exact location be? Assume your child is at that location, as mine was.”

Bari Weiss @bariweiss

@elonmusk @thehonestlypod @RoKhanna If someone messed with my baby or my family I’m sure I’d change the rules and ban the jet account, too. But last month you said you were leaving it up to show your commitment to free speech. So doesn’t it make sense that people would be confused?

“The Sliming of Bari Weiss,” by David French (National Review)

Nancy sings “My Way” for her dad.

Nancy Rommelmann @NancyRomm

He put himself through school, basketball scholarship, wound up a partner at Neuberger Berman, I don't think he ever thought he was entitled to any of this, but he wanted me to be, to think, you know what? You get to be here, learn the words.