Meghan Daum was never a fan of Donald Trump’s. But she was never a fan of pussy hats either.
In fact, Trump’s political ascendancy only accelerated the social and cultural trends Meghan was among the first to identify in major institutions. People were less receptive to her opinion columns at Los Angeles Times, where she had written for years. She also noticed that women with strong political and social views, who tend to go against the grain, felt timid about voicing their opinions publicly. That’s when Meghan had the idea to launch what she refers to as a “women’s shelter for the politically homeless.”
Meghan founded The Unspeakeasy in 2022 so women across the political spectrum can get together and share their ideas, thoughts and opinions without being treated like pariahs. She is also the host of The Unspeakable Podcast and runs The Unspeakable with Meghan Daum on Substack.
Meghan has written six books, most recently The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through The New Culture Wars. Her collection of original essays, The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion, won the 2015 Pen Center USA Award for creative nonfiction.
A Los Angeles Times opinion columnist from 2005 to 2016, she has written for numerous magazines, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, and Vogue. Meghan is the recipient of a 2015 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 2016 National Endowment for the Arts grant. She has been on the adjunct faculty of the Writing Division at Columbia University’s School of the Arts and also teaches private workshops in personal essay, memoir, and op-ed. Her new collection of essays, The Catastrophe Hour, will be published in April 2025.
Find Meghan:
TWITTER | THE UNSPEAKABLE | MEGHAN DAUM WEBSITE | THE UNSPEAKEASY
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