Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Thank you.
Welcome back to Write Answers Mostly, a podcast on what you didn't learn in history class, but you really wanted to. My name's Claire Donald. And my name is Tess Belomo. And welcome to what our podcast is really all about, Women's History Month. We have made it. We are transitioning. We're doing a very intense transition. Transitioning out of Kennedy's month has been tough.
But like, I do feel like we're craving a little bit of softness, a little feminine energy. Yeah. And this is a really nice way to start the month. So we have some really amazing women to talk about this month and we are kicking it off with none other than Joan Didion herself. I'm so excited because I know literally nothing about her life.
A place that we always love to start off is starting from scratch. So, okay, nothing. I'm like, am I a fool? Because I truly, like, I think, when I think of Joan Diddy, I think of you. Wow. Because, like, you have her books. If you're watching on YouTube, look at Claire's beautiful collection. Yeah, we really zhuzhed up the studio today. We did. We're going to continue doing that.
So please send us some stuff. Yes. Send us some artwork. I think some people are in, it's in the works. Well, we have one of our Ramy's artwork right here because one of our Ramy's drew me a hummingbird. If you're new here, there was a hummingbird that made a nest outside of my window this past summer and it became my whole personality. I mean, it was special.
And hummingbirds are very representative of good things. They were. And you know what? I was going through something, okay? You were like, I need this hummingbird more than you know. No, like actually. And I decided to name her Joan Didion. So Joan Didion is like our third co-host. And one of our Rammies drew her. So she's up in the studio. Gorgeous.
But yeah, I really, I couldn't even tell you a fact because I'm just like, who is this woman? I know she's chic. Talk about the ultimate California cool girl. Is she like Joni Mitchell adjacent? Well, she's not, she was in California at the same time as her. Okay. Cause that's like a connotation I have. And I'm like, I don't know if that's accurate.
Well, both writers, both women in LA at the time. We love that.
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Chapter 2: What early experiences shaped Joan Didion's writing career?
Yeah, we do. So like kind of. Okay. Well, yeah. That's where I'm at. Okay, great. Well, Tess, we're going to get into Joan Didion, why she is significant, what she means to us. There's so much Ram crossover in this episode, by the way. I was just like, wow, she is so Ram-coded. Oh, well, we love that. We do. Okay, so let's get into our girl, Joan Didion.
So, Tess, Joan Didion, since you're starting from scratch, I won't make you guess her astrological sign unless you want to give it a go. I thought two things last night before I went to bed. Either Cancer or Aquarius? No. No. I like the fact that she's not an Aquarius to me is crazy. Such a good guess. Joan Didion was born in Sacramento, California on December 5th, 1934. Oh, she's a key.
She's a Sag. Oh, I was like, not Capricorn. Not a Capricorn. She's a Sag. She's a Sag. Okay. Well, she's out and about. She's doing her thing. I looked up her chart and I believe she's also a Sag moon. So she's got a lot of fire. And like an extrovert? No, not at all, which is so interesting. I know. She is quite opposite of that.
Something that is such a theme in Joan's life is that she was the observer. Like, she wasn't the center of attention, but she was always watching what was going on. Well, I mean, that's a good trait to have. Yeah, especially if you're a journalist. That's true. It is. So her parents were Udine and Frank Didion.
Her dad was a finance officer in the army, and then he eventually started selling insurance. He took up gambling. Yeah. Oh, well, God, don't they all? This has just been the theme of 2026. It's like a man, he was drunk and gambling. It's like it's just fathers in history. I guess so. Yeah. And he eventually started working as a real estate developer.
But when he was in the army, the family was constantly moving and she was an army brat. And her father was quite depressed when she was growing up. And she said she didn't even realize that he was depressed because it was just so the M.O.,
until she got older and she was like wow that is depression wow god that is sad really tough and i'm sure with her father being like this and with her family moving so much as a kid joan was really shy she was a deeply anxious girly hear that and she was hyper observant and she later said that moving frequently as a child made her feel permanently displaced and like a perpetual outsider
I truly can't imagine. Like, I really can't imagine. I know so many people go through that. Just like different school districts, different cities. I lived in the same – my mom lived in the same house for like 31 years. That's crazy. I moved like houses quite a bit. I think I moved like maybe eight times as a kid. And even that for me, like – I mean, you can imagine.
Mental breakdown every time. Even if it was four blocks away. Like, how could you do this to me? You're talking to earth signs right here. Oh, my God. It was like devastating. So I truly have so much like empathy for –
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Chapter 3: How did Joan Didion's writing reflect California's cultural landscape?
Yeah, well, Tess, that didn't actually come out of nowhere. Her dad was very depressed. Her mom was the one that was more vocal and would, like, tell Joan and her brother Jim all of these stories. And one of the stories was how their family arrived in California. Her family traveled with the Donner Party. To California. Stop it right now. What are the odds? No, that's what I'm saying.
Guys, listen to our Donner Party episode. It's one of our best OG episodes ever. Like, you will laugh the entire... Were we high for that episode? We were not. No? We felt like it, maybe. Which, yes, the Donner Party is an episode about cannibalism, but we did laugh. Of course, because you have to find the humor in the darkest things. The darkest things. It seems like Joan maybe did that as well.
Yeah, so her mom... So her family traveled with the Donner Party, but they parted ways when the Donners insisted on taking the uncharted shortcuts. They were like, fuck no. They're like, you guys are crazy. You guys are wild for that one. So Joan's family, thank God, carried on and they eventually made it to California. But her mom would tell her these stories when she was younger.
So then she is like, death. She's like, let's talk about hypothermia.
So my family went through so much.
Went through so much. So she is a true California girly. Like her family has been around in California since the Donners. Well, you know, I love that. Yeah, I know. That's why I feel like you're going to feel connected to her. Oh, I already do. She was very into reading and writing when she was younger, and she would type out Ernest Hemingway's work to learn how his sentence structures worked.
That's intense to go through. Well, I also was like, wow, that's amazing. What I could get done if I didn't watch TikTok as I log on to TikTok. I know, but you're doing a bunch of creative stuff right now, so don't even say that. I guess that's true, but I'm definitely not writing out Ernest Hemingway's sentences. Well, who has the time?
He's actually her only cited source of inspiration for literary work. Really? God. I know. I'm like, him? Out of all people, I actually don't know much about him, but I don't know if I, with love and light, I don't know if I want to. I think he's Was kind of the worst. Can you imagine?
But also, you know, a bunch of white men are going to be new to this podcast and hear us say that and be like, I can't believe David Shadad. We are excited for the comments that we're about to receive. Hello, YouTube. We've been watching you guys. We've been watching you. You got an attitude, but we still love you. So anyways, one day when she was younger, they were snowed in.
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Chapter 4: What was the significance of Joan Didion's essay 'Self-Respect'?
I know. One of the biggest parties that they ever had, people were just like getting their cars stolen left and right at that party. And then Joan said that she went up to Quintana's room to check and make sure everything was okay. Okay. And there was drugs all over the floor of her daughter's room.
And she was like, I was horrified to think that someone would ever go into my daughter's room and do drugs. And I'm still not clear if Quintana was in her room or if she was gone. That's so scary. So scary. Like just so dark. Truly, when you get to the point where you're like, yeah, I'm going to do whatever you're doing, whatever drug.
with like a crib next to you you might want to check yourself and that's all we need to say for the rest of this episode go to the bathroom like my god bring it back to just a classic line in the bathroom yeah like what what's wrong with that you know if it ain't broke don't fix it jesus christ yeah there were just drugs everywhere like again it is the 60s yeah
So when she's living in Los Angeles, this magazine that she was writing for was in New York. So she was reporting on a lot of stuff that they weren't seeing. Because again, we have to put ourselves back in this time. We don't have social media. You can't see what's going on in the world everywhere. So she gets assigned to do a piece on Haight-Ashbury. Ah, love. Back when Haight was cool.
Well, exactly. So everyone is saying this is the heart of the counterculture movement and Free love. And so Joan gets assigned to go do a piece there and she gets there and realizes quickly that this is not what that is. This is not free love and like everything's all good. These are kids who have lost faith in everything that they were supposed to believe in. These are runaways.
These are children who are in like very dangerous situations. And sometimes Joan would get an assignment for a magazine piece and she was like, I just feel like there's so much more that I need to write that's longer than a piece. Like I need to write a book on what I am seeing here.
And so she starts thinking about doing a book and she starts working on a book of essays that will eventually be called
slouching towards Bethlehem wow and so slouching towards Bethlehem is this commentary of counterculture and hippies and everything that was going on and so she goes and she just emerges herself in the lives of these kids and she follows them around reporting on it she was with runaways teenagers on LSD girls who were 14 years old who were high in dirty apartments and then in the book she was introduced to this group and taken to where they live and here's a little part from the book
When I finally find Otto, he says, I got something at my place that will blow your mind. And when I get there, I see a child on the living room floor wearing a reefer coat, reading a comic book. She keeps licking her lips in concentration. And the only off thing about her is that she's wearing white lipstick. Five years old, Otto says, on acid. Oh, that makes me like feel sick. So sick.
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Chapter 5: How did Joan Didion's personal life influence her writing?
You can take it all, but don't touch this. No touchy. No touchy. We're going to do something even cooler. Yeah, exactly. With love and light. Oh, I'm excited about this. Same. Love that. So it's a huge success for her. And at this time, they end up moving to Malibu. Oh. But it's not the Malibu that we know today. It's not Yolanda Hadid in Malibu. With all the lemons. With all the lemons.
No, it is like- The cleanse. It's surfers. It's shacks. It's that kind of vibe. Hot. Sexy. Exactly. But they do live in a really great house in Malibu. In fact- Harrison Ford was a carpenter at the time, and he built Joan and John's house in Malibu. What episode did we talk about Harrison Ford on Ram that he was a carpenter? Natalie Wood? Yes, it was Natalie Wood. Okay, yes.
I mean, yeah, I'm picturing it. I'm picturing Harrison Ford chopping some wood for-
for joan can you imagine well first of all you're a carpenter being that hot like a young harrison ford my god coming in with like jeans and a white t-shirt being like so let's start right here what's that made of we got some maple wood that we're gonna make this deck for you i'd be like i don't know why i gave harrison ford that accent but all men have this accent away when they're tapping wood yes and so he would spin so you know so to speak and he would spend like so much time
with Joan and John. He ended up spending like Easter with Joan and John. He was also interviewed in the doc. Did she love him? Not like romantic love. Okay. How could you not? That's what I'm saying. Imagine that your carpenter's that hot and then one day you're like going to the movies and Harrison Ford's in Star Wars. Wow. Because he got famous later in life, right? He did.
He was like mid-30s or something? Apparently, like he was a carpenter. This isn't a Harrison Ford episode and we're right answers mostly. But I think he was working on a casting director's house. And then she sent him in for an audition that I think got him Star Wars. She was like, I know the Raz when I see it. And you better get in there. And you, sir, have the Raz. Wow.
So he was their carpenter in Malibu. And their Malibu house was like their Hollywood house where they would have dinner parties. It was the party house to go to. Everyone showed up. Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Warren Beatty. The original Sunday night dinners. In Malibu. In Malibu. Talk about it, Tess. We can't, but we talk about it on Premium sometimes. On Premium.
Courtney Cox's Malibu Dinners, I'll say it. Claire's been. Yeah. That's cool, you guys. That's a real fucking legacy. But that's for Premium, so join $7.99, three bonus episodes a month. In the show notes. Well, apparently Warren Beatty had a huge crush on Joan. Oh, really? And it was very open.
He would ask to sit by her at the table, at the dinner table in front of John, but John found it very amusing. Well, he was just doing everyone left and right. This is before Annette Bening or probably still with Annette Bening. I feel like she was not a faithful man. I think this was in the 70s, so I think this was before Annette Bening. Yep. Good for her. What an honor. Exactly.
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