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Landline with Mary Mahoney

Landline with Mary Mahoney

Written by: Mary Mahoney
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Landline is the podcast where pop culture gets some context. Hosted by historian Mary Mahoney—your millennial friend with too many interests and not enough friends willing to talk on the phone—each episode calls up guests to connect today’s celebrity culture, internet trends, TV, music, and movies to the histories that explain why it all feels so familiar.


Blending non-boring history, sharp cultural analysis, and the intimacy of a private phone call, Landline helps listeners make sense of the present by dialing into the past.


Want more Landline? Join the patreon. You’ll get a weekly newsletter and bi-weekly episodes delivered to you all for free. For $5 a month, you can get a bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of links and recommendations, chat with other listeners about all things pop culture and history, suggest topics for future episodes, and more! You can find the Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary Mahoney Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • The New Guys: The Class That Broke the Space Ceiling with Meredith Bagby

    The New Guys: The Class That Broke the Space Ceiling with Meredith Bagby
    May 12 2026
    This week, I'm talking with author and producer Meredith Bagby about her book The New Guys, which follows the NASA astronaut class of 1978, the first to include women and people of color. We get into Sally Ride's complicated legacy (first American woman in space, closeted gay icon, accidental hero of the Challenger investigation), the very real dangers of flying on a shuttle whose O-rings had failed a dozen times before anyone died, and what it means to celebrate diversity milestones when the culture is actively trying to erase them. Also: Ron McNair playing saxophone in space, Shannon Lucid befriending a canary in a freezing Russian apartment, and Judy Resnick telling Tom Brokaw where he could stick his roses. Kristen Stewart is playing Sally Ride in the Amazon series adaptation, and I genuinely cannot wait.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps00:00 Intro & Patreon updates01:20 Why Mary ended up reading a space book (thanks, Taylor Jenkins Reid)03:12 Meredith watched Challenger explode live as a kid — and never forgot it05:12 The class of '78: the first astronauts who didn't all look the same07:38 Sally Ride's hero's journey: lost friends, investigated her bosses, kept a secret13:58 The Challenger investigation — O-rings, cover-ups, and a document slipped to Sally18:21 How the women in the class handled the media, the sexism, and each other24:47 Ron McNair: physicist, jazz saxophonist, one of the greats27:42 Military pilots vs. Berkeley scientists — the culture clash inside NASA31:52 Anna Fisher: surgeon, astronaut, first mom in space34:00 Shannon Lucid: hid her pregnancies, aced a final two days after giving birth, lived alone in Russia with a canary42:00 How politics and budgets shaped the Challenger disaster48:00 What this history means now — DEI rollbacks, erasure, and why these stories still matter55:30 The Amazon series, Kristen Stewart as Sally, and new Challenger revelations57:30 Outro — Patreon, Instagram, and Jessica Fletcher memesTranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sJYZv8iwMI4BvEcFbyi8xZ5osq7KINYVpglZbcqkIUk/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: MaryMargaret.Mahoney@gmail.comConnect with Meredith Bagby:Website: https://www.meredithebagby.com/ Twitter/X: https://www.tiktok.com/@merbagby Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merbagby/ Book: The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space TravelLove the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline.Sponsor Message: Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb ) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    59 mins
  • The WNBA as A Living Fashion Archive with Hypatia Sorunke

    The WNBA as A Living Fashion Archive with Hypatia Sorunke
    Apr 28 2026
    What does it mean to be a WNBA fan, and can we find the answer in fashion? I talked with digital media artist and archivist Hypatia Sorunke about A Women’s Basketball Fashion Archive, a project focused on documenting the expression of the global community of people who love women’s basketball. The premier project, “The Fitted W,” chronicled 1500+ archival film photos at 50+ games in 12 major cities across the United States. We get into queer community, the politics of visibility, how fandom cultures evolve, and why that jean jacket covered in defunct team patches found in Connecticut is basically a primary source. What are the best-dressed WNBA cities? The Worst? Yes, we get into it. I also share my feelings about the CT Sun moving to Houston, which I'm handling totally fine.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Members get access to a monthly bonus episode + ad-free episodes! Timestamps0:00 — Patreon announcements1:30 — Intro to WNBA fandom and what you'll see at a game7:39 — What is the A Women’s Basketball Fashion Archive and The Fitted W 10:15 — From the Great Migration to the WNBA: the research origin story15:33 — What makes WNBA fan spaces different17:26 — What Hypatia found traveling to 12 cities in 202421:17 — Fan fashion: homemade merch, vintage jerseys, and the fangirl vs. fashion spectrum27:28 — Gatekeeping, the Caitlin Clark effect, and the Don't Be a Cheryl shirt38:17 — The politics of team ownership, Indiana, and racialized history41:39 — Connecticut Sun feelings (mine, specifically)48:55 — Can fan culture keep the W from going fully corporate?54:13 — Best and worst dressed cities (we went there)1:05:40 — What this project is really about: documenting marginalized joy1:08:31 — The Fitted W as book: why Hypatia refused to just make a photo dumpTranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TB_xImPdbGFGx9JEffdfV8kwiSoDY9pRXin3HcWnbI8/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: MaryMargaret.Mahoney@gmail.comConnect with guest Hypatia Sorunke — digital media artist and archivistA Women’s Basketball Fashion Archive: https://www.awomensbasketballfashionarchive.com/info The Fitted W (lookbook) — https://notesofhype.bigcartel.com/product/the-fitted-w Hypatia's Vogue piece on the 2024 WNBA Finals — https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/i-traveled-to-40-liberty-games-this-season Hypatia's essay via Barnard —https://zines.barnard.edu/news/sport-organizing-black-action-heroine-hypatia-sorunke Hypatia on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/itshypatia/ Follow the FittedW:https://www.instagram.com/fittedwbb/ Love the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other pop culture and history lovers find Landline.Sponsor Message: Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb ) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Is this a breakdown or a breakthrough? A history of turning 40 and the midlife crisis with Corinne Fay

    Is this a breakdown or a breakthrough? A history of turning 40 and the midlife crisis with Corinne Fay
    Apr 14 2026
    Is turning 40 a big deal? Am I headed for a midlife crisis? This week I'm joined by the brilliant Corinne Fay of Big Undies to dig into the actual history behind the midlife crisis (spoiler: it was invented in 1965, mostly about men, and honestly feels like a Mad Men episode). We trace the significance of "40" from Biblical floods to actuarial science to Gail Sheehy's hugely influential 1976 book Passages, and ask whether any of this is even real. We also review some truly unhinged celebrity 40th-birthday celebrations, including one that features a hologram of a dead father (!), and draft our personal role models for this stage of life. Angela Lansbury, Nicole Kidman's divorce photo, and Corinne's nephew all make the list. Perimenopause, Saturn's return, and Justin Timberlake's DWI also come up, because of course they do.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps00:00 – Intro & Patreon shoutout (Divas Live bonus episode, zine workshop)01:11 – Meet Corinne Fay: Big Undies newsletter, Burnt Toast podcast, and freshly 4002:47 – Moving to Patreon: what they love, what they miss about Substack05:46 – Astrology check-in: Capricorn, Leo, Saturn's return, and what it all means08:10 – Mary's turning 40 a week after her son turns one10:30 – How Corinne celebrated her 40th (a solo trip to Marfa, Texas)16:38 – Why did 40 become a milestone? The history begins20:07 – The number 40 in the Bible, the Middle Ages, and actuarial science23:20 – Freud, Jung, and psychology's role in defining midlife25:04 – Elliott Jacques coins "midlife crisis" in 1965 (spoiler: it's mostly about men)27:16 – Perimenopause enters the chat37:24 – Gail Sheehy's Passages and "the deadline decade"43:17 – Celebrity 40th birthday review: Oprah, Elizabeth Taylor, Kate Moss52:09 – Kim Kardashian's pandemic island birthday and the hologram gift59:26 – Draft: role models for turning 40 (Nicole Kidman, Angela Lansbury, Queen Latifah)1:07:06 – Who NOT to be like at 40 (Justin Timberlake, Don Draper, Gwen Stefani)1:09:45 – Closing wisdom and advice for turning 40Full episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Rl5nBjcfgmEqUZTRPi2p22AYMQkV3KG_W43xKYNtOE/edit?usp=sharing Love the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline.Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: MaryMargaret.Mahoney@gmail.comConnect with Corinne:Subscribe to Big Undies!: https://www.patreon.com/cw/BigUndies TikTok: @SelfieFayInstagram: @SelfieFayListen to Burnt Toast: https://www.patreon.com/cw/virginiasolesmith Want even more resources, deep dives, and behind-the-scenes context on this episode's topics? Patreon members get access to my exclusive newsletter with extended research, additional links, and insights that didn't make it into the show. You can get the weekly newsletter when you join for free. Paid members get a monthly bonus episode and a weekly newsletter of things I'm loving in pop culture.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Sponsor Message: Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb ) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr and 14 mins
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