The C-Word
Episodes
Sulli
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Sulli was a major K-pop star, singer, and actress, known as “the Kim Kardashian of South Korea.” Her pivot away from her initial “baby girl” p...
Welcome to Becoming You with Suzy Welch
30 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve been on this journey with us, you know that Alissa and Lena are obsessed with sharp, witty, decisive women. Today, we’re stepping out of...
Sondra Locke
26 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Although Sondra Locke’s work as an actress & director garnered critical praise and an Academy Award nomination, she was perhaps best known for her 1...
Gia Carangi
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Gia Carangi, considered by many to be the world’s first supermodel, was once so renowned she was known simply as GIA. Her stunning rise from a troub...
Luisa Casati
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Lena and Alissa welcome the new year with an iconic early 20th-century party girl: La Marchesa Luisa Casati. They delve into Luisa’s obsession with ...
Brittany Murphy, Part 2
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In Part 2, Lena and Alissa resume their discussion on Brittany Murphy. By the late 2000s, Brittany’s career was stagnant and rumors about her err...
Brittany Murphy, Part 1
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Brittany Murphy of the 90s won our affection with her talent, iconic laugh, and breakout role as goofy but lovable Tai in Clueless. But the ...
Yolanda Saldivar
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Lena and Alissa discuss a different kind of c-word subject: Yolanda Saldívar. She became known for robbing the world of beloved Tejano music star Sel...
Anna Nicole Smith PT 2
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In part 2, Lena and Alissa discuss the latter half of Anna Nicole’s life. By 2002, she had become one of the first E! reality television celebrities...
Anna Nicole Smith PT 1
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Model and reality TV superstar Anna Nicole Smith assumed several roles in America’s public consciousness. In the 90s she was branded as as a sex sym...
Wendi Deng
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Wendi Deng was the third wife of media magnate and billionaire, Rupert Murdoch. The public was quick to call her a gold digger, latching onto the 38-y...
Whitney Houston Part 2
22 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Lena and Alissa pick up where they last left Whitney Houston in Part 1. In the second half of Whitney’s career, her reputation as America’s pop sw...
Whitney Houston, Part 1
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Whitney Houston: “The Voice,” the myth, the legend. She sang her way into the hearts of America, moving a nation and bearing the weight of its att...
Yoko Ono
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Yoko Ono: The woman whose name for decades was a codeword for "Somebody who ruins things." Beatles fans called her a villain, obscuring who she really...
Mary Shelley
03 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Mary Shelley is known as the mother of the science fiction genre for her groundbreaking novel, Frankenstein. But beyond the page, she faced a li...
Daul Kim
26 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Daul Kim, it-girl and Chanel muse, was one of the most iconic models of the 2000’s. As she came to prominence in her late teens, she gained a cult f...
Jessica Savitch
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jessica Savitch: the original anchorwoman. An NBC mainstay, Jessica was an audience favorite, but despite trailblazing and receiving public praise, th...
Dare Wright
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dare Wright, the author, photographer, and model best known for writing The Lonely Doll, had a lot in common with her titular character. In t...
Paula Yates
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Paula Yates was a TV presenter and icon of British pop culture in the 80s and 90s. Her life with England’s beloved Bob Geldof seemed perfect until m...
Paula Goodspeed
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Paula Goodspeed was best known for being a Paula Abdul-obsessed singer whose act left her ridiculed on the national stage. In this episode, Lena an...
Lourdes Gruart
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lena and Alissa discuss Lourdes Gruart, the Cuban-American former model who vanished under mysterious circumstances. They take you through her days...
Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lena and Alissa unpack the persona of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, multihyphenate artist and one third of the R&B group TLC. In Lopes’ life her immens...
Presenting unPAUSED with Dr. Mary Claire Haver
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to unPAUSED, the podcast where bold, unfiltered conversations take place about what it really takes for women to thrive in the second half of ...
Judy Garland, Part 2
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“If I am a legend, then why am I so lonely?” When we last left Judy Garland in part one of this deep dive into her rise and fall, she’d just ...
Judy Garland, Part 1 (with Andrew Rannells)
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Legend Judy Garland has been called a Hollywood icon and the greatest entertainer of all time. She’s also been called “crazy” for behind-the-...
Jocelyn Wildenstein
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You may know Jocelyn Wildenstein from those clickbait “PLASTIC SURGERY GONE WRONG” articles, but her story is deeper—and weirder—than you can ...
Kiersten Rickenbach Cerveny
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The world learned about Kiersten Rickenbach Cerveny in October 2015 when she was found dead in an East Village apartment. A wealthy Long Island dermat...
Lady Rosemary Aberdour
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rosemary Aberdour seemed to most like a shy, awkward wallflower, but underneath her drab exterior lurked an appetite for jewels, parties, and larce...
Barbara Hutton
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Barbara Hutton, the "quintessential poor little rich girl,” was an American socialite and heiress to the Woolworth dime-store fortune. Tabloids ridi...
Sean Young
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sean Young got her big break when she was cast in Blade Runner at 22-years old. But after rumblings that she was “difficult to work with,” and tro...
Maryam Haley
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Maryam Irene Haley was known as adult actress Haley Paige. She engaged with intense online scrutiny before her death at age 25. Lena and Alissa discus...
Miranda Grosnevor (with Sia)
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lena and Alissa dive into the story of legendary love-scammer Miranda Grosvenor, a woman who anonymously enchanted Hollywood’s most famous men over ...
Jean Seberg
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jean Seberg was a French New Wave actress and pixie cut icon. She was also an active supporter of the Black Panthers Party. As her career floundered a...
The Han Twins (with Margaret Cho)
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Margaret Cho joins Lena and Alissa to discuss The Han Twins. Sunny and Gina Han were twin sisters and best friends. They were even joint valedictorian...
Lizzie Siddal
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lizzie Siddal was an iconic Victorian-era model, muse, and poet. Lena and Alissa discuss her tumultuous relationship with painter Dante Gabriel Rosset...
Tania Head
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tania Head’s 9/11 survival story was one of the most tragic accounts of the attack. She became the face of 9/11 and the President of the Survivors’...
Mariah Carey
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 2000, Mariah Carey was the world’s biggest pop star. By the end of 2001, she was a national joke. Why? A little movie called Glitter. Lena and Al...
Lisa Nowak
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 2007, astronaut Lisa Nowak became a national punchline after (maybe) donning adult diapers to facilitate her violent pursuit of a romantic rival. L...
Robin Givens
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Actress and model Robin Givens was called “the most hated woman in America” during her 1989 divorce proceedings from Mike Tyson. America called he...
Casey Johnson
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Heiress to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, Casey was a 2000s tabloid staple known for her wild partying, badly-behaved pets, and tumultuous relationshi...
Re-Introducing The C-Word
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After years behind a paywall, Lena Dunham and historian of bad behavior Alissa Bennett are breaking The C-Word out of the vault and into your hearts. ...