2026 Update: Julia
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Pushkin.
Hi.
Hello.
We're back again in the studio.
Yes, and in your earbuds. Yep. Who do we have on the docket today?
This one, her name's Julia.
Okay, this episode is the first one that I ever did with a stranger.
Yeah.
Like someone that wasn't a friend or a family, and it was a little scary. It was a little intimidating. Julia's a journalist, and I needed to, like, step up.
It's a great episode.
Partly because of Julia kept me on the straight and narrow.
Yeah. No, I was going to say it's great not because of us, but because of Julia and spoiler alert, another woman we talked to.
If you stick around at the end of the episode, I talk again with Julia. And what was really very gratifying to me was how the episode really did have an important impact on her life.
All right. Well, I'm looking forward to listening to this one again.
Yes.
What experiences shaped Julia's childhood and led to her changing schools?
Let's both sit down. I'm already seated. And silence. All right. Do you have any snacks?
No, I can't eat a snack silently.
It was a trick question.
Oh, did I pass?
Yes, you did. Thank God. All right. And here we go. Oh, but first. We're going to pay those bills. Going to pay my automobile bills. With a word from our sponsor.
This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
Hey, everyone. When Heavyweight returned last year, we were so encouraged by the heartfelt messages from you, our dear listeners. I can safely say that without you, Heavyweight wouldn't exist today. So, thank you. And if you want to take your valuable support to an even higher invaluable level, consider signing up for Pushkin Plus. It makes us look good to our bosses, and you'll get to listen to Heavyweight ad-free. Hello? Hello? Happy birthday, birthday girl. Are you going out for dinner tonight with Rick or anything? What?
It's not my birthday for another seven months.
Hang on a second.
Hang on. I'm hanging. I'm hanging. I'm in traffic, so it's perfect for you.
Well, according to my calendar alert, it is your birthday.
It's not my birthday. Are you sure? Can you stop?
You're 100% sure?
Because I don't know how many times I'm going to say it's not my birthday and how many times you're going to repeat that it is my birthday. Okay. This year you forgot to call me on my birthday. Not even an email. Nothing.
Okay. Okay, what about that time you got me an ice cream cake for my birthday, knowing I'm lactose sensitive? Do you remember? The man at the roller rink kept on knocking on the bathroom door.
Oh, that's good. Are you kidding me?
From Gimlet Media, I'm Jonathan Goldstein, and this is Heavyweight. Today's episode, Julia.
Julia is a journalist, and she's endlessly curious about the world around her. Once, on assignment for the New York Times, she investigated the benefits of bacteria, and as a part of her research, she didn't bathe for a month. She's done political stories, too, where she's kept after a source or a story for years. Which is what makes her reluctance to seek out the answer to a question that's been dogging her for over two decades all the more curious.
I think the story begins on a Monday. I'm pretty sure it's a Monday. And I was 14 years old.
This is Julia. And the question she can't stop thinking about revolves around a moment from her own life. It all began 21 years ago, in the eighth grade, at one of the fanciest all-girl schools in Montreal.
I remember wearing my itchy green kilt and
You have to wear a uniform there.
Yes. It's sort of a puke green uniform with a button down white shirt. And on Mondays we had to wear ties. We also had bloomers.
I don't think I ever understood what bloomers were.
It was just sort of like a balloon with holes in the bottom.
And were they ruffled? No.
No.
Cursed with a lifelong inability to distinguish between bloomers, culottes, pantalettes, pantaloons, drawers, and even knickerbockers, I was glad for the opportunity to finally sort it all out. But that's not why we're here. So after about 15 minutes of inquiry, I was ready to move on. Okay, sorry, yes, go on.
As I left morning assembly on Monday and walked into homeroom, I looked for my desk and I stopped and looked around and it was missing.
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