Right Answers Mostly

RE-RELEASE FOR PRIDE: This week's episode is on a fashion industry icon and trailblazer, André Leon Talley. From his early years growing up in the Jim Crow-era South to his rise to prominence as a fashion journalist and Vogue's first African-American male creative director. Join us as we dish on everything from his infamous caftans and his time at Vogue magazine to his juicy stories of Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld...we spill it all. TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussion of sexual assault and eating disorders Created and produced by Claire Donald and Tess Bellomo Go here to discover more about us, buy merch, and follow our socials Join Premium to access THREE bonus episodes a month for $7.99 Bellesa Link, EVERYONE who signs up wins a FREE toy or gift card!: https://www.bboutique.co/vibe/rightanswersmostly-podcast Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/RAM #rulapod new customers can use code RAM and get 20% off your first order at perelelhealth.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For most of human history, childbirth belonged to women. Midwives guided mothers through labor, cared for newborns, and held generations of medical knowledge within their communities. But over time, birth moved from homes to hospitals, and from the hands of women to the authority of male physicians. In this episode, we explore the hidden history of childbirth, the rise of modern gynecology, and the women whose bodies shaped the field but whose names were nearly erased from it. At the center of this story are three enslaved women in the 1840s American South: Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy. Suffering from a devastating childbirth injury, they were subjected to years of experimental surgeries by physician J. Marion Sims, procedures performed without anesthesia or the ability to consent. Sims would later be celebrated as the “father of modern gynecology,” but the medical advancements credited to him were built on the pain, endurance, and forced labor of these women. We also trace the overlooked legacy of Black midwives, who for generations were the backbone of maternal healthcare in the United States. Once trusted community leaders and healers, they were gradually pushed out of medicine as childbirth became increasingly medicalized and controlled by white male physicians. Trigger Warning: This section of the episode addresses scientific experimentation on enslaved women and violation of their bodies. Created and produced by Tess Bellomo and Claire Donald For more RAM, go here! If you're interested in our premium channel for THREE bonus episodes for $7.99/month. Get added to close friends, hear about pop culture, and get to know us more! You also get the last FULL history episode here! HAPPY WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before she was a pop girl, a tabloid headline, or the blueprint for millennial style, Hilary Duff was just a kid from Texas with a big dream and a head voice that would become weirdly controversial. This week on Right Answers Mostly, we’re diving into the full Hilary Duff story: from early auditions to becoming Disney Channel’s most relatable star on Lizzie McGuire. We talk about the cultural earthquake of Metamorphosis, the chaos of early 2000s tabloid culture, public breakups, and why she was constantly compared to women she was never trying to be. But more than that, we explore why Hilary always felt different. She wasn’t the strongest singer. She wasn’t the most provocative. She didn’t reinvent pop music. And yet...she endured. From A Cinderella Story to her pop reinventions, to quietly building a stable career in shows like Younger, Hilary carved out something radical: longevity without spectacle. While other young women were chewed up by fame, she chose steadiness. We unpack the sexism around her voice, the pressure on teen girls to be “effortlessly exceptional,” and why Hilary Duff’s greatest strength might be that she always let us see her trying. Not perfect, but just trying. Created and produced by Tess Bellomo & Claire Donald For more RAM, get to know us here If you like us and are interested in our premium channel in which you get THREE bonus episodes a month for $7.99 (many other perks included) go here Intersted in Tess's writing? Subscribe to her medium for pieces around feminism and pop culture! Sources include: The Twisted World of Hilary Duff Deep Dive, Wikipedia & People Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John and Jackie Kennedy weren’t just a couple, they were a brand. In this episode, we break down their upbringings, the expectations that shaped their marriage, and why Jackie Kennedy became the emotional and public backbone of Camelot. From JFK’s affairs to the carefully curated image America consumed, we explore how Jackie wasn’t living a fairytale, she was performing one. TW: Birthing trauma and child loss Produced and created by Tess Bellomo & Claire Donald For more RAM, go here! Main feed gets a preview but our premium subscribers get a full 90 minute episode which goes more into the affairs, Marilyn Monroe, and the end of Jackie's life. Please consider supporting our show here and purchasing for $7.99/month or save 13% when purchased annually! You get THREE bonus episodes, one of them being a full history. Sources include the following: Even the Rich Podcast, Vanity Fair, Wikipedia Town & Country, People Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“I’ve come to believe that it’s not what has happened to our family that has been cursed—it’s the fact that we’ve never been able to deal with it privately.” — Eunice Kennedy Shriver The idea of the “Kennedy Curse” has followed this family for generations, often explained away as bad luck or fate. But the truth is more complicated. In this episode, we explore how constant public scrutiny, enormous expectations, and a deep resistance to vulnerability shaped the Kennedy family’s most painful moments, especially in the case of Rosemary Kennedy, whose lobotomy reflects how fear, misunderstanding, and the pressure to protect an image could lead to irreversible decisions. Rather than a story about a doomed bloodline, this episode looks at how power, silence, and the denial of privacy shaped one of America’s most famous families, and why those choices continued to ripple outward long after they were made. This is The Kennedy Curse. Created and produced by Claire Donald and Tess Bellomo Follow us on social media, buy merch, and more⁠ HERE! ⁠ Join our premium channel for 3 bonus eps a month ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ and save 15% when you buy annually! Sources: American Dynasties: The Kennedys, People, Historyextra.com, Rosemary's Wiki, NPS.Gov, Kathleen's Wiki, Historytoday.com, Chappaquiddick Wiki, People article #2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Kennedys Month at Right Answers Mostly. We’re kicking things off at the very beginning: the building of the Kennedy dynasty and the man behind it all, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.. The Kennedy story begins with famine in Ireland, and a risky escape to Boston, Massachusetts. We unpack how Juicy Joe built his fortune, pulled the strings behind the scenes, and paved the way for his sons, most famously John F. Kennedy, to enter politics. Was it clean? Not exactly. Was it effective? Absolutely. From backroom deals to carefully crafted public images, this is the origin story of how the Kennedys didn’t just enter American politics, they conquered it, and sealed their place as American royalty. THIS IS THE KENNEDY DYNASTY! Created and produced by Claire Donald and Tess Bellomo Follow us on social media, buy merch, and more⁠ HERE! ⁠ Join our premium channel for 3 bonus eps a month ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ and save 15% when you buy annually! Sources: American Dynasties: The Kennedys , NPS.gov, Wikipedia, altaonline Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we’re joined by Katy from Queens Podcast, whose deep knowledge of royal history helps us unpack how Eleanor quietly (and sometimes not-so-quietly) shaped empires, fueled crusades, and influenced generations of rulers, all while being married to two very mediocre kings who consistently failed upward. From Louis VII to Henry II, we break down how Eleanor’s intelligence, wealth, and strategy built power structures that men happily claimed as their own. We explore Eleanor’s marriages, her imprisonment, her political savvy, and why history punished her for the same ambition it rewarded in men. Plus: feminist rage, royal divorce drama, and proof that the concept of “letting him think it was his idea” is much older than we thought. If you love powerful women, messy monarchies, and reclaiming history from underwhelming men ,this episode is for you. You can follow Katy and Nathan from Queens Podcast here for all of their episodes and follow them on instagram here. Created and produced by Tess Bellomo and Claire Donald For more RAM, go here! To join our premium subscription channel for THREE bonus episodes a month where you get to know us, go here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices