What makes us competitive, and is it a healthy impulse? The girls discuss what makes for healthy, and unhealthy competition- and why American society praises the latter. Guess what, Virginia is talking about Alfred Adler again. A nice moment of vulnerability between sisters as Laura complains about shit Virginia did forty years ago.
Will p0rn make you an incel? Well, it might not, but why would you risk it? The girls talk about why Cindy Gallop is their hero, and why we should try to stay connected to each other.
References:
Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality:Gail Dines
Make Love, Not Porn: Cindy Gallop
Porn Sex vs Real Sex: The Differences Explained With Food
Adolescents, Porn, and Mental Health: Understanding the Dangerous Effects of Porn on Developing Minds: culture reframed
10 Negative Effects of Porn on Your Brain, Body, Relationships, and Society
Is Porn Bad For You? Integrative Life Center
“I Don’t Hate All Women, Just Those Stuck-Up Bitches”: How Incels and Mainstream Pornography Speak the Same Extreme Language of Misogyny/Violence Against Women: Alessia Tranchese and Lisa Sugiura
“I Don’t Hate All Women, Just Those Stuck-Up Bitches”: How Incels and Mainstream Pornography Speak the Same Extreme Language of Misogyny/Violence Against Women: Alessia Tranchese and Lisa Sugiura
Listener Rachel asks- Why aren't we ok as we are? We explore the origin of the Beauty Myth and why it just gets stronger with time.
References:
The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf
We thought it was gonna be climate warming, but it looks like the human race is going to chatbot itself to death! How did movies like Her and Blade Runner 2049 try to tell us it was coming? Why does that weird kid have a crossbow? What does Laura's boyfriend Kirk think of all of this? Find out now!
Can you tell the difference between fear and lust? Between excitement and anxiety? And is make up sex the best thing since Adam and Eve? Find out today!
References:
Misattribution of Arousal-
Schacter and Singer, 1962
David Ludden Ph.D.
The Psychology of Makeup Sex
What's Laura's beef with Charlize Theron? Why doesn't Virginia get traffic tickets? These and many more questions answered in this discussion on pretty privilege!
References:
Smartless Podcast: Episode 123: Charlize Theron
Smartless Podcast: Episode 266: Jason Momoa
A Psychologist Explains The ‘Pretty Privilege’ Paradox: Mark Travers
Beauty is in the eye of the employer: Labor market discrimination of accountants
Offer Moshe Shapir, Zeev Shtudiner
The impact of attractiveness on employability: Gender differences in peer effects: Zeev Shtudiner
The Effects of Physical Attractiveness in the Health Care Industry: Richard Shane Westfall
Student beauty and grades under in-person and remote teaching: Adrian Mehic
Pretty People Really Do Have It Better: Sable Yong
How did Winston Churchill ruin Laura's life, and why do we hold onto cruel shoes? How the sunk cost fallacy affects jobs, relationships, and even what we wear.
References:
Why are we likely to continue with an investment even if it would be rational to give it up?
The Decision Lab
Sunk cost fallacy: behavioraleconomics.com
Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why We Can’t Let Go: Jeremy Sutton, Ph.D.
It's been a minute since the girls had a real man-hater episode, but we're back! The topic is: when a groom smashes cake into his bride's face, is it a) funny or b) cause for annulment? On the way, we discuss Jake and Logan Paul, John Gottman, and, of course, our Dad.
The girls diagnose Big and Little Edie, from the documentary classic Grey Gardens. On the way, they discuss Young Ones, both their grandmas, and quote Morrissey, like usual.
References:
DSM 5
Puzzling Facts About Edith “Big Edie” Bouvier Beale, The Reclusive Socialite: Factinate
Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing The Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers: Karyl McBride
Mayo Clinic: Schizotypal Personality Disorder
A Debutante Delayed: Little Edie Beale's Life After Grey Gardens: Adrienne Gaffney
Center Theater Group: THE EDIES AFTER 'GREY GARDENS'
In which Virginia invents a new word for what chiropractors do, Laura talks about flip flops and they both talk about what Enclothed Cognition means.
Special guest Courtney Orlando comes on to talk STRESS! Where does it come from? What can we do about it? Find her at https://www.nodalpointenergyworks.com/
References: What Are the Impacts of Stress on the Body and Mind?: University of Florida College of Medicine
More than a quarter of U.S. adults say they’re so stressed they can’t function: APA
Stress in America Is Escalating
Rita Watson, MPH (master of public health)
Most & Least Stressed Cities in America (2025)
Adam McCann
Does being famous make you an a-hole, or does being an a-hole make you famous? Virginia bemoans the failures of Neil Gaiman, Bill Cosby, and Armie Hammer.
References: A third of male university students say they would rape a woman if there no were no consequences: Jon Stone
How to disappoint others and why it's important! The philosophy of The We Do Not Care Club, The Big Lebowski, and The Former Airport Chauffeur. Sponsored by Function Health! Function Health- Give us your blood!
References:
Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward: by Gemma Hartley
Dr. Laurie Santos on The Happiness Lab podcast
Merriam-Webster
Learning to disappoint people: Emily Ley
Self-Silencing Is Making Women Sick: Maytal Eyal, PhD
Don’t let me down: how to get over a fear of disappointing others: Elizabeth Perry
When You Have a Fear of Disappointing Others: Kate O’Brien, LCAT
Are you your own worst enemy? Learn all the different ways you can trip yourself up- and how to set yourself up for success!
Is gossip all bad? What gave it a bad reputation? Why wouldn't Virginia go back to the 19th century? What's the best gossip from your hometown?
Why You Were Born to Gossip: David Ludden, PhD
Explaining the evolution of gossip: Michele J. Gelfand
THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE WORD GOSSIP
Written By Sanne Cheney-Steijger
How the Demonization of “Gossip” Is Used to Break Women’s Solidarity: SILVIA FEDERICI
This week, the girls talk over Little Orphan Annie impersonators, the legality of dome lights, and why parents lie to their children every dang day of the year!
Virginia and Laura talk about a disturbing new corporate trend, Morrissey and KDGE, and why they don't want cutesey phrases written on their Starbucks cups.
References:
‘Forced Joy’ Is a Miserable Corporate Trend: Beth Kowitt
Japan supermarket chain uses AI to gauge staff smiles, speech tones in quality service push: Fran Lu
Tiffany Workers Mock Forced 'Joy' That Exacerbated Staff Exits: Bloomberg
Are You Happy Yet? The Dysfunction Of Forced Joy And Toxic Positivity: Vibhas Ratanjee
This smells like....a cult? This week, we discuss religious cults, and whether or not MAGA qualifies as a cult. On the way, we talk about bikini coffee places, Saturday's Warrior, and how to deprogram someone on the cheap.
Steven Hassan's BITE Model
Solution to Our Political Cults | Public Square Magazine
Explaining the Trump loyalty cult phenomenon
Saturday's Warrior
Does it matter how much Democrats and Republicans hate each other? Yes, it does- David Andreatta
Carnegie Endowment for Political peace- Polarization
A listener asks: when should I stop trying to save everyone? Is it OK to look for friends that have also tried to improve themselves? And the sisters ask, where did that bottle of peppermint schnapps go, is it under the bathroom sink?
Look out, Virginia's reading a book about Socrates. Let's talk about it. Why are we so stubborn about schedules? Why were Summers longer when you were little? What is Cher's life philosophy? What were Joseph Smith's last words? Find out now!
References:
Open Socrates- Agnes Callard
Freeing Your Child From Anxiety-Tamar Chansky, PhD