You know the story: Eve came from Adam's rib--a variation on a theme. Science has believed some version of that for centuries, treating the female body as simply a lesser version of the male body.

The belief in this story means researchers have long excluded female bodies from studies because hormones make the data "messier”--and besides, the thinking goes, bodies are bodies, regardless of gender. The result is a massive blind spot in medicine, built on the assumption that male-as-default was good enough.

Turns out it's not that simple. It's not even close.

In this episode, Cat Bohannon, author of Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Evolution joins us to explain how the female body evolved as its own ingenious system, not as a variation on the male one.

Cat is gifted at explaining complicated science in a way that anyone can understand, and she makes a compelling case for embracing research into diverse bodies because it will benefit us all.

REFERENCES:

Once again, Kate Manne’s Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny comes up in conversation.

There is also a teen version of Cat Bohannon’s book: Eve (Adapted for Young Adults): How the Female Body Shaped Human Evolution

Here is a link to Cat Bohannon’s appearance on The Daily Show.

In Part 2 of our analysis of John Steinbeck’s EAST OF EDEN, we look at the third and fourth parts of the novel. Adam Trask makes Cathy his Eve. Sadly for Adam, John Steinbeck openly said he made Cathy "Satan."

And yet, regardless of how things started, was Steinbeck able to sustain Satanic Cathy/Kate for 600 pages?

Yes…and no.

If you are wondering how Netflix can build a whole series focusing on Cathy, this is the part of the book that makes it possible, and it's fascinating.

Along the way, Sonja learns how to start a Model T and Vanessa gleefully describes some bloody documents.

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Here is the trailer/teaser for Netflix's EAST OF EDEN series coming out this fall.

If you are looking for the episode covering the first part of the book, the Spotify link is this: 81. Made in the USA: Steinbeck's EAST OF EDEN It is also available on Apple, Amazon, and Goodpods.

Kate Manne Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny

In this 600+ page, semi-autobiographical epic by John Steinbeck, the Genesis story unfolds a little in Connecticut and a little in the Salinas Valley in California.

Adam (Steinbeck's not subtle) meets a beautiful woman with a complicated but mysterious past...and he instantly makes her into the woman he wants her to be: his Eve.

What could go wrong?

REFERENCES:

Kate Manne Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny

The Kurt Vonnegut story mentioned is “Adam” from his 1968 collection Welcome to the Monkey House