Anthony Comstock (1844-1915) would be nothing more than a footnote from an ugly, retrograde, and bygone period of American history, except that Dobbs made the laws that bear his name suddenly relevant again. But who was Comstock? What made him such a woman-hating weirdo? Why did he hold sway for so long, and how was Comstockery defeated? Amy Sohn, the author of “The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship & Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age,” talks to Greg Olear about all things Comstock: who he was; how he rose to power; what laws he enacted; how he’s similar to Leonard Leo, Donald Trump, and other current weirdos; and the remarkable women who were his adversaries.

Amy Sohn is the New York Times-bestselling author of 13 books, including the novels “Prospect Park West,” “Motherland,” and “The Actress”; the parodic parable “CBD!”; and “Brooklyn Bailey, the Missing Dog,” her first book for children. She has also written two screenplays, “Spin the Bottle” and “Pagans,” as well as “Avenue Amy,” one of the first original programs to air on Oxygen, in which she also starred. In 1996, a year after graduating from Brown University, she launched an autobiographical dating diary, “Female Trouble,” in the downtown weekly New York Press. She subsequently wrote a column at the New York Post and was a contributing editor at New York magazine. As a freelance journalist, she has written for the New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, Slate, Details, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Men’s Journal, Playboy, and many others. Her latest book, “The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship & Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age,” was published July 6, 2021 with Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Follow Amy:
https://x.com/amysohn

Buy “The man Who Hated Women”:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250174819/themanwhohatedwomen

Check out her other books:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Amy-Sohn/author/B004NA8V0E

More about Amy:
https://www.amysohn.com/bio/

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Subscribe to The Five 8:

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Check out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17

ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:

https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T

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Greg Olear talks to Stephanie Baker about her superb new book, “Punishing Putin: Inside the Global Economic War to Bring Down Russia,” on the West’s financial warfare against Putin after the invasion of Ukraine. They discuss the oligarchs and their complex relationships with Putin, the challenges of implementing economic sanctions on an economy as big as Russia’s, Boris Johnson’s role in the push for sanctions, the unintended consequences and byproducts of the economic warfare, the role of Telegram, and the potential consequences of Moscow’s nuclear weapons. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the future of Putin's regime and potential actions that could be taken to support Ukraine.

Stephanie Baker is an award-winning investigative reporter at Bloomberg News. She began her reporting career in Moscow during the 1990s. She received her master’s at the London School of Economics and her work has been recognized by the Gerald Loeb Awards, the Overseas Press Club, the UK Society of Editors, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, and the UK’s Foreign Press Association.

Follow Stephanie:
https://x.com/StephaniBaker

Buy the book:
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Punishing-Putin/Stephanie-Baker/9781668050583

Subscribe to The Five 8:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA

Check out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17

ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:

https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T

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In this far-ranging discussion, Greg Olear talks to the actress, director, podcast host, and activist Rosanna Arquette about: Kamala Harris, the DNC, and the new hope around U.S. politics; what to expect at the presidential debate; the deal with RFK Jr.; the time she met Trump; the time she met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; the Alexis Project and the fundraiser happening in LA this week; Me Too and opportunities for women in Hollywood; her acting career, from “Desperately Seeking Susan” to “Pulp Fiction” to “The L-Word” to “Succubus”; her directing style; and much, much more. Plus: nothing left to lose!

Rosanna on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/rosannaarquette/

Rosanna’s website:

https://www.rosannaarquette.com/about

The Alexis Project:

https://www.alexisproject.org/

The fundraiser:

https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/vip-community-mental-health-center-inc/the-alexis-project-copy-1

Radical Musings:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radical-musings-with-rosanna-arquette/id1550695064

Subscribe to The Five 8:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhA

Check out ROUGH BEAST, Greg’s new book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17

ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:

https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T

Would you like to tell us more about you?
http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short