608. Women as Shields and Scapegoats: Talking Kate Middleton with Melissa Blue

Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

Mel Blue was my guest when we discussed Spare – which has become one of my most listened-to episodes – so I asked her back to talk about the narratives of PR, why the weird stories around Kate Middleton grabbed attention worldwide, and why so many people were and are paying attention.

On one level it’s a story that originated in gossip about rich and powerful people in an archaic power structure being weird. But it’s also a story of misinformation, propaganda, and a complicit media system, and we deal with that over here in the US, too.

This was recorded on Wednesday, March 20, and we did a follow up this week following the announcement late Friday, March 22, that Kate Middleton is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. So there are two parts to this episode.

A few content warnings: Discussion of self harm, disordered eating, suicidal ideation, and child abuse and exploitation.

Please visit the show page for all the resources used for this episode, including news articles, Instagram live recordings, and Twitter threads.

Music: Purple-planet.com

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