Episode 576: Borrow a Cup of Death

2 comments on Episode 576: Borrow a Cup of Death

  1. Shalynn says:

    Hi! Loved the episode and absolutely agree with you about the death penalty, but I have a bit of a bone to pick with one thing you said. I realize this is somewhat petty and I hate to be THAT girl (lol, no I don’t) but at about 44:50 Tom says that people in the Innocence Project “have to work their balls off” to get new evidence looked at. I’m sorry (not sorry) to be petty about this, but I am someone who feels that language matters, and as a woman I’m always disappointed when men whose opinions matter to me erase the work of women, most of whom do not have balls. Women not only work in the Innocence Project, but they make up the VAST majority of the staff, and a woman, Christina Swarns, is the executive director. I went and had a look, and there are 64 women listed on the Innocence Project’s staff page. Compare that to 20 men listed (and 3 people who didn’t have gender identifying language in their bios–I based gender on the use of his/hers, he/she, Mr./Ms. or Mrs. used in their bios). So the assumption that the people doing the hard and thankless work of saving lives in the Innocence Project are people with balls (who are mostly men) is more than just annoying, it’s plain wrong and it erases the work of the majority of the staff, giving the credit for that work to the men who make up less than half of the staff. I recognize that you’re being facetious and playing around by saying that they “work their balls off” but in a society where women’s work is not just erased, and where women’s contributions to the world have largely been erased in the past, but where it is assumed that “women’s work” is lesser than or easier than “men’s work” I do think it’s valuable to look at the language we use when we talk about the work and effort of others. So, since the majority of the staff at the Innocence Project are women, and since we are using broad strokes, it should be assumed that the people doing the work are female and the phrase should be that they “have to work their tits off” or something similar (or, better yet, language that doesn’t assume a gender binary). Thanks, and I still love the podcast. I’ve been listening to you since about 2015 and I don’t plan on stopping. Keep up the great work because some of us depend on you and those like you to keep us sane.

  2. Guys, this has nothing to do with the current episode, and in fact it’s something I should have shared with you back months ago when it was cold.

    I just wanted to recommend a kind of drink that used to be very popular, but isn’t well known now: a rum flip. This is what eggnog can only dream of being:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S04mZtUjTyA&ab_channel=Townsends

    I followed this guy’s recipe (though using a stove rather than a fireplace) and it was honestly one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted. Also, it’s the equivalent of four drinks at once, so do it when you don’t have to go anywhere.

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