It was a 1986 cover story with a claim that spread like wildfire: A single woman over 40 was “more likely to be killed by a terrorist” than to get married. Jess and Susie unravel the origin of that salacious report — later retracted — and dissect how such a line went from reporter’s notebook to reference point in films such as “Sleepless in Seattle” and “When Harry Met Sally.” Plus: How that Newsweek story inspired Susan Faludi to write her blockbuster feminist classic, Backlash.

Guests:
E. Jean Carroll, journalist, longtime Elle advice columnist and author of “What Do We Need Men For?” 
Susan Douglas, professor of media studies at the University of Michigan and author of “Enlightened Sexism”

FOR MORE:
Single, Female, and Desperate No More (NY Times, 2006)
Revisiting Newsweek’s ‘More Likely To Be Killed By a Terrorist’ Story (The Atlantic, 2016)
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi (1991)

It was a 1986 cover story with a claim that spread like wildfire: A single woman over 40 was “more likely to be killed by a terrorist” than to get married. Jess and Susie unravel the origin of that salacious report — later retracted — and dissect how such a line went from reporter’s notebook to reference point in films such as “Sleepless in Seattle” and “When Harry Met Sally.” Plus: How that Newsweek story inspired Susan Faludi to write her blockbuster feminist classic, Backlash.
Guests:
<ul>
<li>E. Jean Carroll, journalist, longtime Elle advice columnist and author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Do-We-Need-Men/dp/1250215439">What Do We Need Men For?</a>” </li>
<li>Susan Douglas, professor of media studies at the University of Michigan and author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Enlightened-Sexism-Seductive-Message-Feminisms/dp/080508326X">Enlightened Sexism</a>”</li>
</ul>
FOR MORE:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/weekinreview/04yellin.html">Single, Female, and Desperate No More</a> (NY Times, 2006)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/06/more-likely-to-be-killed-by-a-terrorist-than-to-get-married/485171/">Revisiting Newsweek’s ‘More Likely To Be Killed By a Terrorist’ Story</a> (The Atlantic, 2016)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Backlash-Undeclared-Against-American-Women/dp/0307345424?nodl=1&amp;dplnkId=77d9af10-3ad8-4417-af70-5d4041c28efc">Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women</a> by Susan Faludi (1991)</li>
</ul>

Is there a cultural moment from your past that looks different in retrospect? Maybe it’s a scandalous tabloid story seared into your teenage brain or a political punchline that just feels wrong now. It might be a very specific red swimsuit that inspired a decade of plastic surgery (see: “Baywatch”) or the inescapable smell of an entire generation of prepubescent boys (Axe body spray, anyone?). Each week on IN RETROSPECT, Emmy-winning journalist Susie Banikarim and New York Times editor Jessica Bennett revisit a pop culture moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped them — to try to understand what it taught us about the world, and a woman’s place in it.

Talk to us at @inretropod, @susiebnyc and @jessicabennett on Instagram. New episodes each Friday.

Is there a cultural moment from your past that looks different in retrospect? Maybe it’s a scandalous tabloid story seared into your teenage brain or a political punchline that just feels wrong now. It might be a very specific red swimsuit that inspired a decade of plastic surgery (see: “Baywatch”) or the inescapable smell of an entire generation of prepubescent boys (Axe body spray, anyone?). Each week on IN RETROSPECT, Emmy-winning journalist Susie Banikarim and New York Times editor Jessica Bennett revisit a pop culture moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped them — to try to understand what it taught us about the world, and a woman’s place in it.
Talk to us at @inretropod, @susiebnyc and @jessicabennett on Instagram. New episodes each Friday.

In Retrospect with Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett

The Marriage Myth (Pt 1): When Newsweek Struck Panic in Single Women Everywhere

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f6c4ce2e-30bc-4bdc-a6b0-b0c200e12eaf/transcript