The Personal Essay Is Back. The Internet Isn't Ready.

About this episode

The episode discusses the resurgence of personal essays in the 2020s and the changing landscape of confessional writing in the age of social media.

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by author Leigh Stein, who landed her first book deal in the 2010s personal essay boom. With new memoirs from Lindy West and Lena Dunham, it feels like confessional writing is getting a 2020s rebirth. However, reactions to viral personal essays, like those in The Cut, prove social media has become a much different beast. Now, writing a personal essay is not only much more fraught, but can be downright dangerous. Did the personal essay change, or did we? This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Kate Lindsay

Guest: Leigh Stein

Topics covered

• personal essay
• memoir
• social media
• confessional writing
• cultural commentary

Keywords

• personal essay
• memoir
• Lindy West
• Lena Dunham
• social media
• confessional writing
• cultural commentary

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Cut, Slate Podcasts

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