Usha Vance, Rama Duwaji, & the Tragedy of Heterosexuality
Sun Feb 08 2026
Little bit of a heterosexual smackdown taking place today!
But first, some housekeeping:
As a reminder: Caro’s debut novel, YESTERYEAR, is coming out this spring (April 7th, to be exact), and she would love to see you all at the evening launch event in NYC. One can reasonably assume there will be laughter, tears, a book signing, and Caro on a stage looking incredibly sweaty while she talks about all things America, womanhood, tradwives, writing sex scenes in fiction, etc. She’ll be joined on stage by the famed pod duo Claire Parker and Ashley Hamilton as moderators for the evening, which essentially means we have finagled this book launch into a pseudo Good Noticings/Diabolical Lies crossover event. Ur welcome.
Also, we’d be so grateful if you humored us with a little anthropological insight by letting us know how you found the pod. Quick survey here.
Now, onto the show notes.
The Usha-Verse
“What Is Usha Vance Thinking?,” by Irin Carmon for The Cut
“From Yale to Newsmax, Usha Vance Has Helped J.D. Vance Chart His Path,” by Joseph Bernstein and Katherine Rosman for The New York Times
“Usha Vance Tries to Defend her Husband’s ‘Childless Cat Ladies’ Comment,” by Eric McDaniel for NPR
“The One Thing You Need to Know to Understand Usha Vance,” by Susan Matthews for Slate
…and of course, If Books Could Kill’s Coverage of Hillbilly Elegy
The Rama-Verse
“The Artist in Gracie Mansion,” by Danya Issawi for The Cut
“Artist Spotlight of Rama Duwaji,” by Nasri Atallah for YUNG
“Mamdani Names an All-Woman Transition Team,” by Nandika Chatterjee for TIME
The Tragedy of Heterosexuality
Read the book
“The invention of ‘heterosexuality’,” by Brandon Ambrosino for the BBC
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.diabolicalliespod.com/subscribe
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Little bit of a heterosexual smackdown taking place today! But first, some housekeeping: As a reminder: Caro’s debut novel, YESTERYEAR, is coming out this spring (April 7th, to be exact), and she would love to see you all at the evening launch event in NYC. One can reasonably assume there will be laughter, tears, a book signing, and Caro on a stage looking incredibly sweaty while she talks about all things America, womanhood, tradwives, writing sex scenes in fiction, etc. She’ll be joined on stage by the famed pod duo Claire Parker and Ashley Hamilton as moderators for the evening, which essentially means we have finagled this book launch into a pseudo Good Noticings/Diabolical Lies crossover event. Ur welcome. Also, we’d be so grateful if you humored us with a little anthropological insight by letting us know how you found the pod. Quick survey here. Now, onto the show notes. The Usha-Verse “What Is Usha Vance Thinking?,” by Irin Carmon for The Cut “From Yale to Newsmax, Usha Vance Has Helped J.D. Vance Chart His Path,” by Joseph Bernstein and Katherine Rosman for The New York Times “Usha Vance Tries to Defend her Husband’s ‘Childless Cat Ladies’ Comment,” by Eric McDaniel for NPR “The One Thing You Need to Know to Understand Usha Vance,” by Susan Matthews for Slate …and of course, If Books Could Kill’s Coverage of Hillbilly Elegy The Rama-Verse “The Artist in Gracie Mansion,” by Danya Issawi for The Cut “Artist Spotlight of Rama Duwaji,” by Nasri Atallah for YUNG “Mamdani Names an All-Woman Transition Team,” by Nandika Chatterjee for TIME The Tragedy of Heterosexuality Read the book “The invention of ‘heterosexuality’,” by Brandon Ambrosino for the BBC This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.diabolicalliespod.com/subscribe