Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.
Episode Summary
Novelist Boris Fishman talks about The Unwanted, a novel of migration, betrayal, and survival set in an unnamed, war-torn country. Fishman explores how lies—meant to protect—can fracture a family even in the face of collective trauma. It’s a moving portrait of a child’s resilience, a father’s compromise, and a mother’s reckoning, all raising one urgent question: What would you do to survive?
“There’s an implicit question in the novel: what would you do, you, person living in comfort and privilege?” – Boris Fishman
Then, journalist Sophie Gilbert joins us to discuss Girl on Girl, a searing critique of how pop culture has shaped—and often undermined—feminist progress. Gilbert analyzes the commodification of “girl power,” the rise of reality TV, and the mainstreaming of misogyny through media and porn. Through sharp insight and personal reflection, she maps the cultural backlash against women and explores how we might reclaim agency and rewrite our story.
“Porn kept showing up in my research. It was always there, shaping the messaging.” — Sophie Gilbert
Connect with WV:
Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast
You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!
Key Words: Boris Fishman The Unwanted, Sophie Gilbert Girl on Girl, Feminism and pop culture, misogyny in pop culture, emigration narratives, porn and backlash to feminism
You Might Also Like: Boris Fishman, A REPLACEMENT LIFE
Segment One: Boris Fishman, THE UNWANTED
What does it take to humanize the faceless headlines? Novelist Boris Fishman talks about The Unwanted, his powerful new novel about a family forced to flee a waitron country. With stunning insight, he explores moral compromise, identity, and the price of survival.
Key Topics
- Refugee crisis and displacement
- The ethics of storytelling and writing outside one’s identity
- Family dynamics under the strain of war and exile
- Empathy through fiction
Segment Two: Sophie Gilbert, GIRL ON GIRL
Girl On Girl is a deep dive into three decades of pop culture and its influence on women’s self-perception. Gilbert’s book tracks the shift from feminist art and Riot Grrrl to commodified girl power, while exploring the rise of misogyny and the ongoing cultural backlash against feminism.
Key Topics
- Cultural backlash to feminism
- Pornography and the mainstreaming of misogyny
- Reality TV, social media, and branding the self
- Celebrity culture and the politics of visibility
- Intersections of race, gender, and commodification in pop culture