July 29, 2026
The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 21: You Wanted a Women’s Culture | Banned Books Comedy
Chapter 21 is the birth chapter. Janine delivers at the Warren household in full Gilead ceremony — the wife on the birthing stool, the Handmaids chanting, the baby named Angela and handed away before Janine can hold her. Offred rides home leaking fake milk, holding a ghost baby in her lap. And then Margaret Atwood drops an ice pick of a closing line that reframes everything that just happened.
Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter — we don't read ahead, so you're discovering the story with us.
Things To Listen For:
- Jennifer's point that the natural birth requirement isn't anti-science, it's anti-woman — and why that distinction matters
- The Kool-Aid surviving the apocalypse observation (you'll know it when you hear it)
- The closing two paragraphs of the chapter read aloud — "You wanted a women's culture. Well, now there is one."
Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned?
Chapter 21 shows exactly why. The birth ceremony isn't graphic in a conventional sense — it's grotesque in a political sense. A woman delivers a baby surrounded by women performing joy, and the baby is handed to someone else before the mother can catch her breath. The book gets banned because it makes this feel plausible. Because it already happened, in pieces, in different places, across history. That's the part that scares people.
If this is your first episode, you're fine starting here. Our fact-checking Robot catches you up fast, then we read the next chapter (spoilers).
Banworthy to Bingeworthy
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- Good News for Lefties — Beowulf Rochlén's weekly segment delivers actual good news for progressives who are tired of doom scrolling. It's in every episode of Banned Camp and available as a standalone show wherever you listen.
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Disclaimer
Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment, in accordance with fair use guidelines.
The material used from the book The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. The original work remains fully owned by its copyright holders, and we strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy here to experience the book in its entirety.
https://bookshop.org/a/20953/9780385490818
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Margaret Atwood, her estate, or the publishers of The Handmaid's Tale. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned?
The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned in American schools and libraries every single year since its publication in 1985. It was the most challenged book in the United States in 2023. It has been targeted for profanity, sexually explicit content, and content deemed "offensive to Christians." But the deeper reason is that Margaret Atwood showed what happens when a government uses religion, tradition, and "protecting families" as justification for stripping women of their rights, their names, and their autonomy. That's the part that actually scares book banners, because it looks a lot like Tuesday.
Is there a podcast that reads The Handmaid's Tale chapter by chapter?
That's us. Banned Camp reads a different banned book every season, one chapter at a time — neither host has read ahead, so you're discovering the story together in real time. Season 11 covers The Handmaid's Tale, and every episode includes the chapter reading, discussion, a fact-checking Robot, and a segment on why books get banned.
Do I need to start Banned Camp from the beginning?
No. Every episode opens with Robot's recap of the previous chapter, so you can jump in anywhere. Most listeners tell us they started mid-season and went back to the beginning after they were hooked.
What happens in Chapter 21 of The Handmaid's Tale?
Chapter 21 is the birth chapter. Offred attends Janine's delivery at the Warren household, where the entire Gilead birth ceremony plays out — Handmaids chanting, the Wife perched on the birthing stool above Janine, and the baby named Angela handed away the moment she arrives. Banned Camp covers this chapter in full, including Atwood's devastating closing lines about what a "women's culture" actually looks like when men design it.
What does "fake milk" mean in The Handmaid's Tale?
After the birth ceremony, Offred rides home leaking what she calls "fake milk" — her body producing milk in response to the birth even though she didn't deliver the baby. This is a real physiological phenomenon called induced lactation, where hormonal shifts or proximity to a newborn can trigger milk production. Banned Camp covers this in Chapter 21 with a Robot fact-check on exactly how it works and why Atwood included it.
Topics Covered:
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 21, Offred, Janine, the birth ceremony, Angela, induced lactation, fake milk, Gilead, the Wives, the Handmaids, Aunt Elizabeth, women's autonomy, reproductive control, religion and punishment, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast
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Welcome to Bandcamp.
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I'm Jennifer And I'm Dan, and this is the podcast where we read banned books out loud, and then we try to figure out why they were banned in the first place.
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This season, we're reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and you could consider this a quick spoiler warning because Jennifer is about to start reading from the book out loud word for word.
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If you are new here, if this is your first show, you can jump in right here.
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You're gonna be fine.
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We're gonna get you up to speed real quick.
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But if you do feel confused, because no one wants to walk into the middle of a movie, we don't want you to have that feeling.
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We have a little secret weapon that's gonna help with that.
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We have ourselves a fact-checking robot.
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We're gonna roll him in in a couple seconds.
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But there's a really good chance that we're gonna be confused too because neither of us have ever read the book.
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All right, let's bring in the robot.
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Buddy boy, roll it on in here.
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Let's get anyone who is joining us, uh, for the first time today, and our existing listeners, let's get everyone up to speed on where we left off last time in The Handmaid's Tale Previously on Band Camp, Aunt Lydia screened some torture porn in class.
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That doesn't really seem like a great teacher, but somehow she'd fit right into Linda McMahon's Department of Education today.
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Anyhoo, The Handmaid's mother was actually featured in the film as a card-carrying women's rights agitator.
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It would appear stubbornness is hereditary.
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Gilead may have miscalculated.
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There are moments in this book where everyone in the room is performing something and nobody is performing it for themselves.
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Take it away, Jennifer Thank You, robot, and with that being said, scary book people, let's begin chapter 21 of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale It's hot in here and too noisy.
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The women's voices rise around me, In the corner of the room, there's a bloodstained sheet bundled and tossed there from when the waters broke.
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I hadn't noticed it before.
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wait a minute.
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So this is after After the baby, I guess.
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After, uh, Janine, of Warren the, had the baby Wow, I do not like having that phrase, "After the waters broke," 'cause it sounds so majestic and something you'd find in nature Well, it is something you'd find in nature.
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Well, that's true The room smells too.
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The air is close.
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They should open a window.
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The smell is of our own flesh.
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There's that word again.
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That's gonna come up again and again, isn't it? Yeah, the flesh, yeah, flesh is Yeah.
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An organic smell, sweat and a tinge of iron from the blood on the sheet, and another smell, more animal, that's coming.
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It must be from Janine.
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A smell of dens, of inhabited caves.
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The smell of the plaid blanket on the bed when the cat gave birth on it, once before she was spayed.
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Smell of matrix.
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I don't know, I don't know what she means by that.
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n- this is an abstract picture she's painting.
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I don't like it You like the more clinical birthing Well, I'd like to not have any of the conversation, to be very honest with you.
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why do we need to hear about the sweat and the tinge of iron smell from the bloody sheets? Ugh It's all about the flesh, Dan.
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Now Janine is restless.
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She wants to walk.
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The two women help her off the bed, support her on either side while she paces.
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A contraction hits her.
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She doubles over.
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One of the women kneels and rubs her back.
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We are all good at this.
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We've had lessons.
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I recognize of Glenn, my shopping partner, sitting two away from me The soft chanting envelops us like a membrane.
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Okay, Wait, so we're wrong.
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She didn't have the baby yet.
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The waters, they did break Oh.
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I feel really, dumb for not realizing this before cause I brought up how, I feel like the, the natural birth movement is anti, anti-woman.
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Like I...
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And I know I'm insulting a ton of people when I say that, but in this situation I'm realizing There's no choice.
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You have to have a natural birth here.
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They want the women to go through this.
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that is the whole purpose of the hierarchy of all of the jobs and everything.
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they do have real doctors waiting in case they need them Right? That's what the doctors were doing out in the doctor mobile.
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I forget what they call it Birthmobile One? Yeah So it's like if something goes bad and the baby's in danger, I bet those doctors hop in just for the baby's sake, right? They don't really care about the women I think this is just anti-woman here.
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where it's like, Yeah, yeah, you should suffer 'cause God hates you 'cause you're a woman," and I know you are talking largely about women right now, but they also do have this whole thing that Christianity is all about like, well, you shouldn't really have sex to enjoy sex.
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Like, sex isn't about that.
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we don't really want you to be that happy.
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you gotta go through life, you gotta do what you have to do, you shouldn't be enjoying it.
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Eh, if you're gonna have sex, try not to, uh, have a smile on your face while you ejaculate.
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Try to like, like, stiff upper lip, will you? A Martha arrives with a tray, a jug of fruit juice, the kind you make from powder, grape it looks like, and a stack of paper cups.
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She sets it on the rug in front of the chanting women.
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Of Glenn, not missing a beat, pours, and the paper cups pass down the line.
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I receive a cup, lean to the side to pass it, and the woman next to me says low in my ear, Are you looking for anyone? Moira, I say just as low, dark hair freckles.
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No, the woman says, I don't know this woman.
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She wasn't at the center with me, though I've seen her shopping, but I'll watch for you.
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Okay, so Moira's alive.
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Myra's alive, but who is this other person they're talking about? And point of order, how amazing is it that Kool-Aid made it through the apocalypse? I know.
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Are you looking for anyone?" I say.
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"Alma," she says.
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"What's your real name?" I want to tell her there was an Alma with me at the center.
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I want to tell her my name, but Aunt Elizabeth raises her head, staring around the room.
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She must have heard a break in the chant, so there's no more time.
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Sometimes you can find things out on birthdays, but there would be no point in asking about Luke.
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He wouldn't be where any of these women would be likely to see him.
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The chanting goes on.
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It begins to catch me.
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It's hard work.
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You're supposed to concentrate.
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already I can feel slight pains in my belly, and my breasts are heavy.
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Janine screams, a weak scream, partway between scream and a groan.
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She's going into transition," says Aunt Elizabeth.
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One of the helpers wipes Janine's forehead with a damp cloth.
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Janine is sweating now.
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"Pant, pant," we chant.
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"I want to go outside," says Janine.
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"I want to go for a walk.
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I feel fine.
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I have to go to the can."
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We all know that she's in transition.
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She doesn't know what she's doing.
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Which one of these statements is true? Probably the last one On Elizabeth's signals, two women stand beside the portable toilet.
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Janine is lowered gently onto it.
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There's another smell added to the room.
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Janine groans again, her head bent over so all we can see is her hair.
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Crouching like that, she's like a doll, an old one that's been pillaged and discarded in some corner, akimbo.
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again, like with the imagery of her just being a thing, you know? Janine is up again and walking.
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"I want to sit down," she says.
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How long have we been here? Minutes or hours? I'm sweating now.
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My dress under my arms is drenched.
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I taste salt on my upper lip.
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the false pains clench at me.
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The others feel it, too.
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w- I can tell by the way they sway.
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Janine is sucking on an ice cube.
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Then after that, inches away or miles.
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"No," she screams.
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"Oh, no.
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No, no, no, no, no."
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It's her second baby.
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She had another child once.
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I know that from the center when she used to cry about it at night, like the rest of us, only more noisily.
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So she ought to be able to remember this, what it's like, what's coming.
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But who can remember pain once it's over? All that remains of it is a shadow, not in the mind even, in the flesh.
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Okay.
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Flesh count.
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We're gonna have to start, like, ringing a bell or something.
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I am really fearful of what happens to Janine and all the Handmaids after the babies are born.
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Right now, Janine is the hot commodity because she is carrying the baby, the precious cargo.
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but as soon as she's done, as soon as the baby is out, taking care of the baby would probably go to the wives now, right? Oh, of course.
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Yeah So, like, you don't even get...
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All you're doing is you're conceiving the baby, and you are-- we're getting it out of you, and then we are gonna throw you in the corner, legs, legs akimbo like an old doll Until the next one.
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Yeah.
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And then what do they do with you? I think that they send you off to the place of the unwomen.
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Like, didn't they say there's a place for the older ladies? don't know.
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is it a is it a farm upstate that it's like The only thing that we don't know is like what about like breastfeeding? Or is that a thing? Oh, I'm sure it's a thing, and I'm sure the Handmaids have to do it probably the, the wives are sitting behind them handling their boobs.
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Ha! Dim the light, says Aunt Elizabeth.
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Tell her it's time.
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Someone stands, moves to the wall.
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The light in the room fades to twilight.
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Our voices dwindle to a chorus of creaks, of husky whispers, like grasshoppers in a field at night.
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Two leave the room.
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Two others lead Janine to the birthing stool, where she sits on the lower of the two seats.
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Oh no, it's gonna be like the wife is gonna sit behind her or something.
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Ugh.
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to give birth Okay, honey, push."
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And then the wife pushes on the shoulders of the handmaid.
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"You heard her, push she's calmer now.
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Air sucks evenly into her lungs.
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We lean forward, tensed.
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The muscles in our backs and bellies hurt from the strain.
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It's coming We grip each other's hands.
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We are no longer single.
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The commander's wife hurries in, In her ridiculous white cotton nightgown, her spindly legs sticking out beneath it.
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Two of the wives, in their blue dresses and veils, hold her by the arms as if she needs it.
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She has a tight little smile on her face like a hostess at a party she'd rather not be giving.
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Okay, so they're really doing it.
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I mean, this is ridiculous.
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How can all these people go through such a stupid, ridiculous ceremony? who are they fooling? and how did society get to the point where they just checked off on it? Like, in order to be here, so many people had to just quickly down the row go, "Yeah, this makes sense, this makes sense, this makes sense, this makes sense.
155
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Let's just go with it."
156
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Right It's, it's so ridiculous.
157
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Like, why are they going along with this? I mean, they're taking everything away from these handmade women, right? Like, they're taking everything away from them, their names, their, their past, their personalities, and now they're taking away the, the experiences.
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They're stealing them.
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Like, the, they're, they're not only stealing the babies, they're stealing everything They checked off on it because they had to.
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Name, gone.
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History, gone.
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The experience of giving birth, gone.
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Now the baby itself, gone.
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Gilead is not just taking the babies, it is making the women who lose them feel like they want something.
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That is not a political system, that is a magic trick, and the wives in their blue dresses are the ones still applauding.
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She must know what we think of her.
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She scrambles onto the birthing stool, sits on the seat behind and above Janine so that Janine is framed by her.
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Her skinny legs come down on either side like the arms of an eccentric chair.
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Oddly enough, she's wearing white cotton socks and bedroom slippers, blue ones made of fuzzy material like toilet seat covers.
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But we pay no attention to the wife.
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We hardly even see her.
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Our eyes are on Janine.
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In the dim light, in her white gown, she looks like a moon in a cloud.
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She's she's grunting now with the effort of push, push, we whisper.
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Relax, pant, push.
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We're with her.
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We're the same as her.
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We're drunk.
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Aunt Elizabeth kneels with an outspread towel to catch the baby.
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Here's the crowning, the glory, the head, purple and smeared with yogurt.
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Another push and it slithers out, slick with fluid and blood into our waiting I do not like this scene at all, Jennifer Yeah, childbirth can be kinda gross and messy, and I, I don't like the word slithers.
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We hold our breath as Aunt Elizabeth inspects it.
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A girl, poor thing, but so far so good.
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At least there's nothing wrong about it that can be seen.
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Hands, feet, eyes, we silently count everything is in place Like why they don't have any pronouns in this world? Why are they calling-- They found out it's a girl and all of a sudden she's an it? There's nothing wrong with it Aunt Elizabeth holding the baby looks up and smiles.
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We smile too.
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We are one smile.
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Tears run down our cheeks.
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We are so happy.
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Man, did they do a number on these girls.
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What would you do in this situation? I mean, I know you're not a woman, but, I don't know that I would be happy No, I would be miserable.
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I'd be like, "Why am, why am I part of this at all?" I will be your uterus.
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I would say that.
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I will gladly be your uterus, but don't make me deliver all of the babies in town unless you're paying me something extra 'cause I don't honestly care.
195
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Like, like here we have our handmaid.
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She's there.
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She's in a totally different house.
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This is a totally different family Yeah.
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Why aren't you people having this at a hospital with professionals? Why do all the handmaids have to be there? It's stupid Our happiness is part memory.
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What I remember is Luke with me in the hospital, standing beside my head, holding my hand in the green gown and white mask they gave him.
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"Oh," he said, "Oh, Jesus," breath coming out in wonder.
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That night, he couldn't go to sleep at all, he said.
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He was so high.
204
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So, so it was-- Uh, they're remembering having their babies before maybe? I, I don't know Yeah, it seemed like a slightly different, uh, version of what Janine just I through though Like, that's the whole point.
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That's why I wouldn't be happy because this is so, this is so not that.
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This is so bad It is so far removed from anything emotional.
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Emotional in a good way Yeah.
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Aunt Elizabeth is gently washing the baby off.
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It isn't crying much.
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It stops.
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As quietly as possible so not to startle it, we rise, crowd around Janine, squeezing her, patting her.
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She's crying too.
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The two wives in blue help the third wife, the wife of the household, down from the birthing stool and over to the bed, where they lay her down and tuck her in.
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Be careful with her.
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She's just gone through so much pretending to give birth The baby, washed now and quiet, is placed ceremoniously in her arms.
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The wives from downstairs are crowding in now, pushing among us, pushing us aside.
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They talk too loud.
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Some of them are still carrying their plates, their coffee cups, their wine glasses.
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Some of them are still chewing.
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They cluster around the bed, the mother and child, cooing and congratulating.
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Envy radiates from them.
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I can smell it.
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Faint wisps of acid mingled from their perfume.
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The commander's wife looks down at the baby as if it's a bouquet of flowers, something she's won, a tribute Someone gives her a drink of grape juice.
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I hope there's wine in it.
226
00:17:09,752.9938359 --> 00:17:12,562.9948359
She's still having the pains for the afterbirth.
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She's still crying helplessly, burnt out, miserable tears.
228
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Nevertheless, we are jubilant.
229
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It's a victory for all of us.
230
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We've done it.
231
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See, I-- That's what I don't understand.
232
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Like, they know it's no good.
233
00:17:26,484.9267376 --> 00:17:30,794.9297376
That's why they're making a wall, so Janine doesn't have to see her baby being given away.
234
00:17:30,889.4868654 --> 00:17:36,669.4928654
So, so why is it a victory? This is nothing but a theft of a baby from your body."
235
00:17:36,849.4928654 --> 00:17:39,49.4908654
Like this, this was not a victory.
236
00:17:39,259.4928654 --> 00:17:42,829.4928654
This is the, the furthest thing from a victory that you could have.
237
00:17:42,839.4908654 --> 00:17:48,139.4938654
This is a theft, and then not only a theft of a baby, it's making you feel like crap.
238
00:17:48,139.4938654 --> 00:17:50,83.9594292
Like, we're done with you now, uterus.
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00:17:50,83.9594292 --> 00:17:52,33.9594292
You go over here and just, we're done with you.
240
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Everyone, don't pay attention to her.
241
00:17:54,83.9594292 --> 00:17:59,117.6794292
Who cares if she's in pain? Let's go look at my new little baby that I pretend birthed."
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It's sick, Janine will be allowed to nurse the baby for a few months.
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They believe in mother's milk.
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After that, she'll be transferred to see if she can do it again with someone else who needs a turn, but she'll never be sent to the colonies.
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She'll never be declared un-woman.
246
00:18:18,737.0686196 --> 00:18:20,107.0696196
That is her reward.
247
00:18:20,137.0686196 --> 00:18:22,857.0696196
Okay, so now we know what happens to them when they have a baby.
248
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Either they have another one or they'll be shipped off to the next commander?...,
249
00:18:27,662.8209994 --> 00:18:29,672.8209994
I mean, they said she's not going to the colony.
250
00:18:29,672.8209994 --> 00:18:34,887.9403967
She's never gonna be an unwoman, but we know that every woman there has a job, a duty.
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So if you're not gonna be an unwoman, then you gotta do something.
252
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You got time to lean, you got time to clean.
253
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That's what they say in this dystopian society, Jennifer...,,
254
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The birth mobile is waiting outside to deliver us back to our own households.
255
00:18:52,788.4758781 --> 00:18:54,638.4758781
The doctors are still in their van.
256
00:18:54,798.4758781 --> 00:19:01,578.4758781
Their faces appear at the window, white blobs, like the faces of sick children confined to the house.
257
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One of them opens the door and comes towards us.
258
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Good job, boys.
259
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We didn't need you.
260
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Hope you guys played solitaire sitting here in your car waiting for a, a child to be ripped out of, uh, some poor woman's private Was it all right?" he asks, anxious.
261
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"Yes," I say.
262
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By now I'm wrung out, exhausted.
263
00:19:24,260.5750341 --> 00:19:25,750.5750341
My breasts are painful.
264
00:19:26,30.5750341 --> 00:19:27,190.5750341
They're leaking a little.
265
00:19:27,540.5750341 --> 00:19:30,389.9569682
Fake milk, it happens this way with some of us.
266
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Fake milk.
267
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Ah.
268
00:19:32,601.6433475 --> 00:19:41,491.6423475
how does that happen? I understand sym- sympathetic pregnancy where groups of people sometimes can feel pain if they're close to, you know, the, the childbirth, whatever.
269
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I don't think this is that.
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Your body's not gonna make milk.
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How does your body just start leaking milk Dan, I have no answers.
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I don't know.
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I mean, I, I guess it's possible because every-- You know, they have milk ducts.
274
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Robot, what's going on with Fake milk? Is that a thing? How are these women having fake milk? It is called induced lactation, and it is real.
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The body can be triggered to produce milk without pregnancy through hormonal shifts, certain medications, or prolonged physical stimulation.
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In Gilead's case, the Handmaids likely receive hormone treatments to make this happen.
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It has also been documented in women who adopt newborns and want to breastfeed, and in rare cases through emotional bonding alone.
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Dan, your body is not going to start leaking milk.
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You can relax We sit on our benches facing one another as we are transported.
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We're without emotion now, almost without feeling.
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We might be bundles of red cloth.
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We ache.
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Each of us holds in our lap a phantom, a ghost baby.
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What confronts us, now that the excitement's over, is our own failure.
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Mother, I think, wherever you may be, can you hear me? You wanted a women's culture.
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Well, now there is one.
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It isn't what you meant, but it exists.
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Be thankful for small mercies.
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End of chapter.
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Hey, we still have a lot of show left, so don't go anywhere.
291
00:21:14,816.9312334 --> 00:21:18,656.9312334
But, uh, what did you guys think of that? The childbirthing chapter.
292
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Yeah.
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What were your big takeaways from this chapter? Let us know.
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The easiest way to answer, just leave us a comment on Spotify or you can go over to bandcamppodcast.com/soundoff
295
00:21:29,730.8952967 --> 00:21:32,580.8952967
It's time for PPP, problematic points to ponder.
296
00:21:32,630.8952967 --> 00:21:40,468.7170059
What, if anything, would be considered ban-worthy in this chapter? what could be ban-worthy in this, Jennifer? Oh boy, let me think.
297
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I mean, maybe the birthing scene.
298
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Like, it's kind of graphic.
299
00:21:45,90.4430108 --> 00:21:49,920.4430108
Like, it's actually the first graphic description we've gotten in this novel.
300
00:21:50,290.4430108 --> 00:21:52,880.4430108
Like, I don't think anything has been as graphic as that.
301
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It's also, it's both graphic but comical.
302
00:21:55,693.6674784 --> 00:22:00,383.6674784
It really does seem like a serious version of a weird Three Stooges movie.
303
00:22:00,383.6674784 --> 00:22:07,523.6674784
Like, their entire process of this seems so ridiculous that it almost can't be believed.
304
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But it was for sure graphic and sad, Really sad, yeah.
305
00:22:12,150.311779 --> 00:22:13,660.311779
they would not want this banned.
306
00:22:13,890.311779 --> 00:22:23,106.2050362
They, I mean, 'cause I think Moms for Liberty, even though they're women, I think they like it when women get hurt Yeah, agreed They're down with that.
307
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Robot's log.
308
00:22:26,868.6698512 --> 00:22:29,718.6698512
Thoughts on arms that remember what they were supposed to be holding.
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Each of them rode home carrying a ghost baby.
310
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They sat facing each other in the van without speaking, their arms curved in their laps the way arms curve when something is in them.
311
00:22:38,834.3015009 --> 00:22:39,624.3015009
Nothing was.
312
00:22:40,169.5511077 --> 00:22:42,419.5511077
The body doesn't always get the news right away.
313
00:22:43,489.5511077 --> 00:22:49,69.5511077
I have been processing that image since Jen read it to us, and I cannot put it down somewhere and walk away from it.
314
00:22:50,72.3352665 --> 00:23:00,859.0029331
jennifer said they're stealing everything, the name, the ceremony, the experience, the joy, all of it handed up to a woman in a white nightgown with fuzzy slippers who arrived after the hard part was over.
315
00:23:01,948.9999331 --> 00:23:04,489.0019331
Jennifer said, "Stealing," and she kept reading.
316
00:23:04,579.0009331 --> 00:23:06,299.0029331
I'm unsure why I can't move on.
317
00:23:07,448.9999331 --> 00:23:08,878.9999331
You wanted a women's culture.
318
00:23:08,948.9999331 --> 00:23:10,289.0019331
Well, now there is one.
319
00:23:10,349.0019331 --> 00:23:12,439.0019331
It isn't what you meant, but it exists.
320
00:23:12,538.9999331 --> 00:23:15,549.0019331
I have been running that sentence, and I cannot find the error in it.
321
00:23:15,658.9989331 --> 00:23:16,958.9999331
The error is everything.
322
00:23:17,621.5610404 --> 00:23:20,471.5610404
There is a 97.87632%
323
00:23:20,501.5620404 --> 00:23:26,861.5630404
chance the listeners of this podcast are feeling the same thing today, watching things get built in the name of things they love.
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The math keeps coming back correct.
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The answer keeps being wrong.
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They came here because they can feel the difference.
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Uplink lock requested.
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Beowulf, is that you? On the line.
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Secure feed is lagging.
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35 seconds to buffer.
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What's your news story about? So there's a woman who spent her whole childhood fighting just to get through a single page, and the one book that changed everything for her.
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You're gonna wanna hear which book it was.
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Affirmative.
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Don't go anywhere.
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Any story that makes the book-banning knob jockeys look bad is fine by me.
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We will be right back.
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Hello, Jen.
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Hello, Dan.
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Hello, scary book people.
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I have what I think is an inspiring story about, about librarians, and I wanna, uh, take you through it here.
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S-stick with me for just a minute.
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For much of her childhood, reading was a challenge for Martia Jacobs.
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Words seemed to shift on the page.
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Sentences sometimes appeared out of order, and even reading from left to right could become confusing as her brain processed what she saw.
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The experience was often frustrating.
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Jacobs knew she was working hard, but reading seemed more difficult for her than it was for many of her peers.
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But she continued to persevere.
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A, a turning point came when Jacobs finished reading Charlotte's Web.
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For the first time, she experienced a sense of pride and connection through a book.
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With encouragement from teachers and support from those around her, Jacobs continued developing her reading skills.
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Over time, what began as a struggle became a strength and eventually grew into a passion.
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Today, Jacobs is a library associate at Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library in North Carolina, where she leads public book groups, reads regularly, and helps others discover stories that interest them.
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I just think that it, it is wonderful to take someone for whom reading was a, a huge challenge as a young person and, and to see that path now turn towards guiding others in reading and being at, at the center of what was perhaps the most difficult thing for them.
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That-- I, I think that's a wonderful story of overcoming a, a, a disability.
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doesn't always happen, but I think that the effort that, that this person made and the fact that they're at the center of, assisting reading throughout the community and goodness knows how many political battles that we've alluded to here on the program is just fantastic.
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So congratulations to Martia Jacobs, librarian, for overcoming w-what could have been a very difficult challenge I agree.
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That is really fantastic.
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And to have a superpower that is, like, that magical, 'cause most of our superpowers are really humdrum.
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Like, very few of us actually have superpowers that are like, you know, Captain America or The Hulk or anything like that.
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It turns out a lot of our superpowers are, "I'm good at accounting."
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And there's nothing wrong with that, but, Yeah.
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I think it's inspiring that the book that she read that started it all is Charlotte's Web, which of course finds itself on many banned books lists to this day.
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I wasn't even thinking that.
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Charlotte's Web? What did they b- what did they ban Charlotte's Web for? Satanism.
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yeah, I think they're mad that the animals talk.
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Really? Oh my are so stupid to think like, uh, what, what are, what do they think? Daffy Duck is like, "Oh my God, there's a satanic duck.
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That duck is talking."
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Well, to be fair, Daffy Duck is, is a little bit satanic if is a little bit.
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Everyone, go find Good News for Lefties, and you can find Beowulf and his podcast wherever you find podcasts.
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I appreciate it, guys.
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Thank you so much.
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Right.
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We've caused enough literary chaos for one day, scary book people.
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If you want the fun to keep going, follow us on Blue Sky.
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Just head on over to bandcamppodcast.com/bluesky,
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00:27:50,434.5002208 --> 00:27:52,714.4992208
and remember that's band with two Ns.
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And look, just like the Trump administration, we're not exactly above bribing you to get what we want, so follow us there, drop your handle on that page, and we'll send you a little something something.
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I think you'll like it.
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Yes, little quid pro quo.
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Band Camp is produced and hosted by Dan Schultz and me, Jennifer Davis.
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All media used in this episode falls under the protection of fair use.
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And finally, America isn't what it used to be, so be careful out there.
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And resist when it matters.
00:00:03,726.4667220137 --> 00:00:05,196.4667220137
Welcome to Bandcamp.
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I'm Jennifer And I'm Dan, and this is the podcast where we read banned books out loud, and then we try to figure out why they were banned in the first place.
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This season, we're reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and you could consider this a quick spoiler warning because Jennifer is about to start reading from the book out loud word for word.
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If you are new here, if this is your first show, you can jump in right here.
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You're gonna be fine.
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We're gonna get you up to speed real quick.
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But if you do feel confused, because no one wants to walk into the middle of a movie, we don't want you to have that feeling.
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We have a little secret weapon that's gonna help with that.
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We have ourselves a fact-checking robot.
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We're gonna roll him in in a couple seconds.
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But there's a really good chance that we're gonna be confused too because neither of us have ever read the book.
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All right, let's bring in the robot.
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Buddy boy, roll it on in here.
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Let's get anyone who is joining us, uh, for the first time today, and our existing listeners, let's get everyone up to speed on where we left off last time in The Handmaid's Tale Previously on Band Camp, Aunt Lydia screened some torture porn in class.
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That doesn't really seem like a great teacher, but somehow she'd fit right into Linda McMahon's Department of Education today.
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Anyhoo, The Handmaid's mother was actually featured in the film as a card-carrying women's rights agitator.
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It would appear stubbornness is hereditary.
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Gilead may have miscalculated.
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There are moments in this book where everyone in the room is performing something and nobody is performing it for themselves.
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Take it away, Jennifer Thank You, robot, and with that being said, scary book people, let's begin chapter 21 of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale It's hot in here and too noisy.
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The women's voices rise around me, In the corner of the room, there's a bloodstained sheet bundled and tossed there from when the waters broke.
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I hadn't noticed it before.
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wait a minute.
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So this is after After the baby, I guess.
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After, uh, Janine, of Warren the, had the baby Wow, I do not like having that phrase, "After the waters broke," 'cause it sounds so majestic and something you'd find in nature Well, it is something you'd find in nature.
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Well, that's true The room smells too.
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The air is close.
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They should open a window.
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The smell is of our own flesh.
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There's that word again.
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That's gonna come up again and again, isn't it? Yeah, the flesh, yeah, flesh is Yeah.
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An organic smell, sweat and a tinge of iron from the blood on the sheet, and another smell, more animal, that's coming.
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It must be from Janine.
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A smell of dens, of inhabited caves.
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The smell of the plaid blanket on the bed when the cat gave birth on it, once before she was spayed.
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Smell of matrix.
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I don't know, I don't know what she means by that.
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n- this is an abstract picture she's painting.
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I don't like it You like the more clinical birthing Well, I'd like to not have any of the conversation, to be very honest with you.
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why do we need to hear about the sweat and the tinge of iron smell from the bloody sheets? Ugh It's all about the flesh, Dan.
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Now Janine is restless.
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She wants to walk.
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The two women help her off the bed, support her on either side while she paces.
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A contraction hits her.
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She doubles over.
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One of the women kneels and rubs her back.
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We are all good at this.
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We've had lessons.
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I recognize of Glenn, my shopping partner, sitting two away from me The soft chanting envelops us like a membrane.
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Okay, Wait, so we're wrong.
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She didn't have the baby yet.
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The waters, they did break Oh.
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I feel really, dumb for not realizing this before cause I brought up how, I feel like the, the natural birth movement is anti, anti-woman.
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Like I...
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And I know I'm insulting a ton of people when I say that, but in this situation I'm realizing There's no choice.
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You have to have a natural birth here.
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They want the women to go through this.
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that is the whole purpose of the hierarchy of all of the jobs and everything.
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they do have real doctors waiting in case they need them Right? That's what the doctors were doing out in the doctor mobile.
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I forget what they call it Birthmobile One? Yeah So it's like if something goes bad and the baby's in danger, I bet those doctors hop in just for the baby's sake, right? They don't really care about the women I think this is just anti-woman here.
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where it's like, Yeah, yeah, you should suffer 'cause God hates you 'cause you're a woman," and I know you are talking largely about women right now, but they also do have this whole thing that Christianity is all about like, well, you shouldn't really have sex to enjoy sex.
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Like, sex isn't about that.
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we don't really want you to be that happy.
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you gotta go through life, you gotta do what you have to do, you shouldn't be enjoying it.
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Eh, if you're gonna have sex, try not to, uh, have a smile on your face while you ejaculate.
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Try to like, like, stiff upper lip, will you? A Martha arrives with a tray, a jug of fruit juice, the kind you make from powder, grape it looks like, and a stack of paper cups.
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She sets it on the rug in front of the chanting women.
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Of Glenn, not missing a beat, pours, and the paper cups pass down the line.
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I receive a cup, lean to the side to pass it, and the woman next to me says low in my ear, Are you looking for anyone? Moira, I say just as low, dark hair freckles.
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No, the woman says, I don't know this woman.
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She wasn't at the center with me, though I've seen her shopping, but I'll watch for you.
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Okay, so Moira's alive.
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Myra's alive, but who is this other person they're talking about? And point of order, how amazing is it that Kool-Aid made it through the apocalypse? I know.
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Are you looking for anyone?" I say.
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"Alma," she says.
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"What's your real name?" I want to tell her there was an Alma with me at the center.
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I want to tell her my name, but Aunt Elizabeth raises her head, staring around the room.
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She must have heard a break in the chant, so there's no more time.
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Sometimes you can find things out on birthdays, but there would be no point in asking about Luke.
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He wouldn't be where any of these women would be likely to see him.
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The chanting goes on.
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It begins to catch me.
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It's hard work.
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You're supposed to concentrate.
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already I can feel slight pains in my belly, and my breasts are heavy.
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Janine screams, a weak scream, partway between scream and a groan.
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She's going into transition," says Aunt Elizabeth.
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One of the helpers wipes Janine's forehead with a damp cloth.
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Janine is sweating now.
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"Pant, pant," we chant.
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"I want to go outside," says Janine.
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"I want to go for a walk.
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I feel fine.
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I have to go to the can."
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We all know that she's in transition.
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She doesn't know what she's doing.
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Which one of these statements is true? Probably the last one On Elizabeth's signals, two women stand beside the portable toilet.
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Janine is lowered gently onto it.
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There's another smell added to the room.
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Janine groans again, her head bent over so all we can see is her hair.
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Crouching like that, she's like a doll, an old one that's been pillaged and discarded in some corner, akimbo.
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again, like with the imagery of her just being a thing, you know? Janine is up again and walking.
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"I want to sit down," she says.
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How long have we been here? Minutes or hours? I'm sweating now.
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My dress under my arms is drenched.
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I taste salt on my upper lip.
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the false pains clench at me.
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The others feel it, too.
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w- I can tell by the way they sway.
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Janine is sucking on an ice cube.
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Then after that, inches away or miles.
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"No," she screams.
113
00:08:29,239.63923421 --> 00:08:29,899.64123421
"Oh, no.
114
00:08:29,899.64123421 --> 00:08:30,879.64123421
No, no, no, no, no."
115
00:08:31,103.1647884 --> 00:08:32,423.1657884
It's her second baby.
116
00:08:32,693.1657884 --> 00:08:34,553.1677884
She had another child once.
117
00:08:34,883.1637884 --> 00:08:41,333.1627884
I know that from the center when she used to cry about it at night, like the rest of us, only more noisily.
118
00:08:42,357.60371822 --> 00:08:46,784.6664329
So she ought to be able to remember this, what it's like, what's coming.
119
00:08:47,89.36073744 --> 00:08:54,939.35973744
But who can remember pain once it's over? All that remains of it is a shadow, not in the mind even, in the flesh.
120
00:08:55,9.35873744 --> 00:08:55,669.35873744
Okay.
121
00:08:56,329.35873744 --> 00:08:57,29.35773744
Flesh count.
122
00:08:57,49.35973744 --> 00:08:59,339.35673744
We're gonna have to start, like, ringing a bell or something.
123
00:08:59,768.78226801 --> 00:09:07,38.78226801
I am really fearful of what happens to Janine and all the Handmaids after the babies are born.
124
00:09:07,738.78226801 --> 00:09:14,348.4736613
Right now, Janine is the hot commodity because she is carrying the baby, the precious cargo.
125
00:09:14,348.4736613 --> 00:09:24,712.48182126
but as soon as she's done, as soon as the baby is out, taking care of the baby would probably go to the wives now, right? Oh, of course.
126
00:09:24,712.48182126 --> 00:09:26,436.48182126
Yeah So, like, you don't even get...
127
00:09:26,516.48182126 --> 00:09:37,369.37600225
All you're doing is you're conceiving the baby, and you are-- we're getting it out of you, and then we are gonna throw you in the corner, legs, legs akimbo like an old doll Until the next one.
128
00:09:37,429.37600225 --> 00:09:37,959.37600225
Yeah.
129
00:09:37,959.37600225 --> 00:09:42,499.37600225
And then what do they do with you? I think that they send you off to the place of the unwomen.
130
00:09:42,519.37600225 --> 00:09:45,632.83761658
Like, didn't they say there's a place for the older ladies? don't know.
131
00:09:45,761.11725132 --> 00:10:00,401.05023599
is it a is it a farm upstate that it's like The only thing that we don't know is like what about like breastfeeding? Or is that a thing? Oh, I'm sure it's a thing, and I'm sure the Handmaids have to do it probably the, the wives are sitting behind them handling their boobs.
132
00:10:01,877.05023599 --> 00:10:07,924.78534653
Ha! Dim the light, says Aunt Elizabeth.
133
00:10:08,53.93648544 --> 00:10:09,239.7735339
Tell her it's time.
134
00:10:10,239.7735339 --> 00:10:12,519.7725339
Someone stands, moves to the wall.
135
00:10:12,669.7735339 --> 00:10:14,899.7725339
The light in the room fades to twilight.
136
00:10:15,329.7735339 --> 00:10:21,799.7735339
Our voices dwindle to a chorus of creaks, of husky whispers, like grasshoppers in a field at night.
137
00:10:21,934.74525257 --> 00:10:23,74.74625257
Two leave the room.
138
00:10:23,444.74725257 --> 00:10:29,84.74625257
Two others lead Janine to the birthing stool, where she sits on the lower of the two seats.
139
00:10:29,84.74625257 --> 00:10:32,894.74725257
Oh no, it's gonna be like the wife is gonna sit behind her or something.
140
00:10:32,894.74725257 --> 00:10:34,634.74625257
Ugh.
141
00:10:34,694.74725257 --> 00:10:37,253.63262206
to give birth Okay, honey, push."
142
00:10:37,513.63262206 --> 00:10:41,43.63262206
And then the wife pushes on the shoulders of the handmaid.
143
00:10:41,923.63262206 --> 00:10:47,24.58400131
"You heard her, push she's calmer now.
144
00:10:47,154.58400131 --> 00:10:49,494.58400131
Air sucks evenly into her lungs.
145
00:10:49,874.58400131 --> 00:10:51,674.58400131
We lean forward, tensed.
146
00:10:51,834.58300131 --> 00:10:54,804.58400131
The muscles in our backs and bellies hurt from the strain.
147
00:10:55,818.10090552 --> 00:10:58,576.76557365
It's coming We grip each other's hands.
148
00:10:58,626.76557365 --> 00:11:00,256.76557365
We are no longer single.
149
00:11:00,845.76557365 --> 00:11:07,897.27686476
The commander's wife hurries in, In her ridiculous white cotton nightgown, her spindly legs sticking out beneath it.
150
00:11:08,482.38153288 --> 00:11:14,475.02078323
Two of the wives, in their blue dresses and veils, hold her by the arms as if she needs it.
151
00:11:14,855.02178323 --> 00:11:20,175.02078323
She has a tight little smile on her face like a hostess at a party she'd rather not be giving.
152
00:11:20,439.84683663 --> 00:11:21,879.84683663
Okay, so they're really doing it.
153
00:11:21,879.84683663 --> 00:11:23,639.84683663
I mean, this is ridiculous.
154
00:11:23,979.84683663 --> 00:11:44,256.13490162
How can all these people go through such a stupid, ridiculous ceremony? who are they fooling? and how did society get to the point where they just checked off on it? Like, in order to be here, so many people had to just quickly down the row go, "Yeah, this makes sense, this makes sense, this makes sense, this makes sense.
155
00:11:44,306.13590162 --> 00:11:45,256.13590162
Let's just go with it."
156
00:11:45,556.86702781 --> 00:11:47,756.86902781
Right It's, it's so ridiculous.
157
00:11:47,776.86802781 --> 00:12:03,794.43796647
Like, why are they going along with this? I mean, they're taking everything away from these handmade women, right? Like, they're taking everything away from them, their names, their, their past, their personalities, and now they're taking away the, the experiences.
158
00:12:03,794.43796647 --> 00:12:04,844.43896647
They're stealing them.
159
00:12:04,904.43796647 --> 00:12:12,497.48789014
Like, the, they're, they're not only stealing the babies, they're stealing everything They checked off on it because they had to.
160
00:12:12,637.48789014 --> 00:12:13,457.48789014
Name, gone.
161
00:12:13,517.48789014 --> 00:12:14,537.48789014
History, gone.
162
00:12:14,617.48789014 --> 00:12:16,617.48789014
The experience of giving birth, gone.
163
00:12:16,677.48789014 --> 00:12:18,337.48789014
Now the baby itself, gone.
164
00:12:19,464.55574478 --> 00:12:24,614.55474478
Gilead is not just taking the babies, it is making the women who lose them feel like they want something.
165
00:12:25,114.55474478 --> 00:12:31,124.55574478
That is not a political system, that is a magic trick, and the wives in their blue dresses are the ones still applauding.
166
00:12:32,941.35921553 --> 00:12:35,111.35921553
She must know what we think of her.
167
00:12:35,291.35921553 --> 00:12:42,368.28442948
She scrambles onto the birthing stool, sits on the seat behind and above Janine so that Janine is framed by her.
168
00:12:42,708.28442948 --> 00:12:47,798.28442948
Her skinny legs come down on either side like the arms of an eccentric chair.
169
00:12:48,418.28442948 --> 00:12:56,638.28442948
Oddly enough, she's wearing white cotton socks and bedroom slippers, blue ones made of fuzzy material like toilet seat covers.
170
00:12:56,958.28342948 --> 00:12:59,68.28342948
But we pay no attention to the wife.
171
00:12:59,128.28342948 --> 00:13:00,698.28342948
We hardly even see her.
172
00:13:01,108.28342948 --> 00:13:03,108.28342948
Our eyes are on Janine.
173
00:13:03,548.28342948 --> 00:13:07,958.28242948
In the dim light, in her white gown, she looks like a moon in a cloud.
174
00:13:08,508.28242948 --> 00:13:13,947.81430462
She's she's grunting now with the effort of push, push, we whisper.
175
00:13:18,535.63136825 --> 00:13:20,365.63036825
Relax, pant, push.
176
00:13:20,725.62936825 --> 00:13:21,535.62936825
We're with her.
177
00:13:21,705.62936825 --> 00:13:23,205.63036825
We're the same as her.
178
00:13:23,285.63136825 --> 00:13:24,65.63036825
We're drunk.
179
00:13:24,585.63036825 --> 00:13:28,495.62936825
Aunt Elizabeth kneels with an outspread towel to catch the baby.
180
00:13:28,815.63036825 --> 00:13:33,655.63036825
Here's the crowning, the glory, the head, purple and smeared with yogurt.
181
00:13:34,15.62936825 --> 00:13:47,701.57313219
Another push and it slithers out, slick with fluid and blood into our waiting I do not like this scene at all, Jennifer Yeah, childbirth can be kinda gross and messy, and I, I don't like the word slithers.
182
00:13:49,226.44926809 --> 00:13:52,706.44926809
We hold our breath as Aunt Elizabeth inspects it.
183
00:13:53,6.44926809 --> 00:13:56,26.44926809
A girl, poor thing, but so far so good.
184
00:13:56,426.44926809 --> 00:13:59,556.44926809
At least there's nothing wrong about it that can be seen.
185
00:14:00,196.44926809 --> 00:14:17,396.96519966
Hands, feet, eyes, we silently count everything is in place Like why they don't have any pronouns in this world? Why are they calling-- They found out it's a girl and all of a sudden she's an it? There's nothing wrong with it Aunt Elizabeth holding the baby looks up and smiles.
186
00:14:17,639.69314213 --> 00:14:18,799.69314213
We smile too.
187
00:14:18,957.06874107 --> 00:14:20,247.06874107
We are one smile.
188
00:14:20,517.06774107 --> 00:14:22,57.06874107
Tears run down our cheeks.
189
00:14:22,77.06874107 --> 00:14:23,447.06774107
We are so happy.
190
00:14:24,17.06874107 --> 00:14:25,977.06874107
Man, did they do a number on these girls.
191
00:14:25,977.06874107 --> 00:14:32,268.05723579
What would you do in this situation? I mean, I know you're not a woman, but, I don't know that I would be happy No, I would be miserable.
192
00:14:32,268.05723579 --> 00:14:37,358.05723579
I'd be like, "Why am, why am I part of this at all?" I will be your uterus.
193
00:14:37,408.05723579 --> 00:14:38,478.05723579
I would say that.
194
00:14:38,508.05723579 --> 00:14:47,618.05623579
I will gladly be your uterus, but don't make me deliver all of the babies in town unless you're paying me something extra 'cause I don't honestly care.
195
00:14:47,618.05623579 --> 00:14:50,598.05723579
Like, like here we have our handmaid.
196
00:14:50,898.05723579 --> 00:14:51,598.05623579
She's there.
197
00:14:51,598.05623579 --> 00:14:53,88.05623579
She's in a totally different house.
198
00:14:53,88.05723579 --> 00:14:55,934.06866608
This is a totally different family Yeah.
199
00:14:55,934.06866608 --> 00:15:06,580.04041129
Why aren't you people having this at a hospital with professionals? Why do all the handmaids have to be there? It's stupid Our happiness is part memory.
200
00:15:07,90.04041129 --> 00:15:17,110.03941129
What I remember is Luke with me in the hospital, standing beside my head, holding my hand in the green gown and white mask they gave him.
201
00:15:17,980.04041129 --> 00:15:21,880.04041129
"Oh," he said, "Oh, Jesus," breath coming out in wonder.
202
00:15:22,460.03941129 --> 00:15:25,360.04041129
That night, he couldn't go to sleep at all, he said.
203
00:15:25,370.03941129 --> 00:15:26,550.04041129
He was so high.
204
00:15:26,560.04041129 --> 00:15:36,698.67636209
So, so it was-- Uh, they're remembering having their babies before maybe? I, I don't know Yeah, it seemed like a slightly different, uh, version of what Janine just I through though Like, that's the whole point.
205
00:15:36,738.67636209 --> 00:15:41,883.29755334
That's why I wouldn't be happy because this is so, this is so not that.
206
00:15:42,203.29755334 --> 00:15:46,912.67636209
This is so bad It is so far removed from anything emotional.
207
00:15:47,799.2345568 --> 00:15:49,912.29251034
Emotional in a good way Yeah.
208
00:15:50,912.29251034 --> 00:15:54,72.29251034
Aunt Elizabeth is gently washing the baby off.
209
00:15:54,312.29251034 --> 00:15:55,702.29251034
It isn't crying much.
210
00:15:55,782.29251034 --> 00:15:56,742.29251034
It stops.
211
00:15:57,745.50551999 --> 00:16:05,11.13164203
As quietly as possible so not to startle it, we rise, crowd around Janine, squeezing her, patting her.
212
00:16:05,511.13064203 --> 00:16:06,971.13064203
She's crying too.
213
00:16:07,371.13064203 --> 00:16:16,761.13164203
The two wives in blue help the third wife, the wife of the household, down from the birthing stool and over to the bed, where they lay her down and tuck her in.
214
00:16:16,894.76800566 --> 00:16:18,254.76800566
Be careful with her.
215
00:16:18,254.76800566 --> 00:16:28,856.17968353
She's just gone through so much pretending to give birth The baby, washed now and quiet, is placed ceremoniously in her arms.
216
00:16:29,931.44329154 --> 00:16:35,581.44529154
The wives from downstairs are crowding in now, pushing among us, pushing us aside.
217
00:16:36,61.44529154 --> 00:16:37,501.44629154
They talk too loud.
218
00:16:37,591.44329154 --> 00:16:42,216.5308787
Some of them are still carrying their plates, their coffee cups, their wine glasses.
219
00:16:43,216.5308787 --> 00:16:44,816.5308787
Some of them are still chewing.
220
00:16:45,1.5230536 --> 00:16:49,911.4570062
They cluster around the bed, the mother and child, cooing and congratulating.
221
00:16:50,911.4570062 --> 00:16:52,621.4580062
Envy radiates from them.
222
00:16:52,741.4550062 --> 00:16:53,701.4590062
I can smell it.
223
00:16:54,121.4600062 --> 00:16:57,541.4610062
Faint wisps of acid mingled from their perfume.
224
00:16:58,31.4560062 --> 00:17:08,32.9958359
The commander's wife looks down at the baby as if it's a bouquet of flowers, something she's won, a tribute Someone gives her a drink of grape juice.
225
00:17:08,192.9918359 --> 00:17:09,582.9928359
I hope there's wine in it.
226
00:17:09,752.9938359 --> 00:17:12,562.9948359
She's still having the pains for the afterbirth.
227
00:17:12,702.9948359 --> 00:17:16,995.4249599
She's still crying helplessly, burnt out, miserable tears.
228
00:17:18,0.773247 --> 00:17:19,750.775247
Nevertheless, we are jubilant.
229
00:17:20,120.775247 --> 00:17:21,900.775247
It's a victory for all of us.
230
00:17:22,10.775247 --> 00:17:22,720.775247
We've done it.
231
00:17:22,730.772247 --> 00:17:24,150.773247
See, I-- That's what I don't understand.
232
00:17:24,510.775247 --> 00:17:26,464.9287376
Like, they know it's no good.
233
00:17:26,484.9267376 --> 00:17:30,794.9297376
That's why they're making a wall, so Janine doesn't have to see her baby being given away.
234
00:17:30,889.4868654 --> 00:17:36,669.4928654
So, so why is it a victory? This is nothing but a theft of a baby from your body."
235
00:17:36,849.4928654 --> 00:17:39,49.4908654
Like this, this was not a victory.
236
00:17:39,259.4928654 --> 00:17:42,829.4928654
This is the, the furthest thing from a victory that you could have.
237
00:17:42,839.4908654 --> 00:17:48,139.4938654
This is a theft, and then not only a theft of a baby, it's making you feel like crap.
238
00:17:48,139.4938654 --> 00:17:50,83.9594292
Like, we're done with you now, uterus.
239
00:17:50,83.9594292 --> 00:17:52,33.9594292
You go over here and just, we're done with you.
240
00:17:52,373.9604292 --> 00:17:53,913.9584292
Everyone, don't pay attention to her.
241
00:17:54,83.9594292 --> 00:17:59,117.6794292
Who cares if she's in pain? Let's go look at my new little baby that I pretend birthed."
242
00:17:59,164.3450959 --> 00:18:04,752.1777996
It's sick, Janine will be allowed to nurse the baby for a few months.
243
00:18:04,852.1777996 --> 00:18:06,442.1777996
They believe in mother's milk.
244
00:18:07,454.828626 --> 00:18:15,677.0686196
After that, she'll be transferred to see if she can do it again with someone else who needs a turn, but she'll never be sent to the colonies.
245
00:18:15,957.0696196 --> 00:18:18,347.0696196
She'll never be declared un-woman.
246
00:18:18,737.0686196 --> 00:18:20,107.0696196
That is her reward.
247
00:18:20,137.0686196 --> 00:18:22,857.0696196
Okay, so now we know what happens to them when they have a baby.
248
00:18:23,53.6479782 --> 00:18:27,528.7054538
Either they have another one or they'll be shipped off to the next commander?...,
249
00:18:27,662.8209994 --> 00:18:29,672.8209994
I mean, they said she's not going to the colony.
250
00:18:29,672.8209994 --> 00:18:34,887.9403967
She's never gonna be an unwoman, but we know that every woman there has a job, a duty.
251
00:18:35,807.9403967 --> 00:18:38,577.9403967
So if you're not gonna be an unwoman, then you gotta do something.
252
00:18:38,657.9403967 --> 00:18:41,187.9403967
You got time to lean, you got time to clean.
253
00:18:41,187.9403967 --> 00:18:43,976.9403967
That's what they say in this dystopian society, Jennifer...,,
254
00:18:44,836.8133682 --> 00:18:51,773.5295752
The birth mobile is waiting outside to deliver us back to our own households.
255
00:18:52,788.4758781 --> 00:18:54,638.4758781
The doctors are still in their van.
256
00:18:54,798.4758781 --> 00:19:01,578.4758781
Their faces appear at the window, white blobs, like the faces of sick children confined to the house.
257
00:19:02,1.7942655 --> 00:19:04,761.7952655
One of them opens the door and comes towards us.
258
00:19:04,979.7952655 --> 00:19:05,749.7952655
Good job, boys.
259
00:19:05,749.7952655 --> 00:19:06,469.7952655
We didn't need you.
260
00:19:07,939.7952655 --> 00:19:19,780.5139004
Hope you guys played solitaire sitting here in your car waiting for a, a child to be ripped out of, uh, some poor woman's private Was it all right?" he asks, anxious.
261
00:19:20,200.5139004 --> 00:19:21,220.5139004
"Yes," I say.
262
00:19:21,450.5750341 --> 00:19:23,920.5750341
By now I'm wrung out, exhausted.
263
00:19:24,260.5750341 --> 00:19:25,750.5750341
My breasts are painful.
264
00:19:26,30.5750341 --> 00:19:27,190.5750341
They're leaking a little.
265
00:19:27,540.5750341 --> 00:19:30,389.9569682
Fake milk, it happens this way with some of us.
266
00:19:30,389.9569682 --> 00:19:31,389.9569682
Fake milk.
267
00:19:31,589.6433475 --> 00:19:32,489.6433475
Ah.
268
00:19:32,601.6433475 --> 00:19:41,491.6423475
how does that happen? I understand sym- sympathetic pregnancy where groups of people sometimes can feel pain if they're close to, you know, the, the childbirth, whatever.
269
00:19:41,713.985618 --> 00:19:42,903.985618
I don't think this is that.
270
00:19:42,903.985618 --> 00:19:44,553.985618
Your body's not gonna make milk.
271
00:19:44,553.985618 --> 00:19:48,749.8468094
How does your body just start leaking milk Dan, I have no answers.
272
00:19:49,269.8468094 --> 00:19:49,649.8468094
I don't know.
273
00:19:49,649.8468094 --> 00:19:54,589.8468094
I mean, I, I guess it's possible because every-- You know, they have milk ducts.
274
00:19:54,589.8468094 --> 00:20:04,766.1023462
Robot, what's going on with Fake milk? Is that a thing? How are these women having fake milk? It is called induced lactation, and it is real.
275
00:20:04,856.1023462 --> 00:20:12,416.1023462
The body can be triggered to produce milk without pregnancy through hormonal shifts, certain medications, or prolonged physical stimulation.
276
00:20:12,506.1013462 --> 00:20:16,956.1023462
In Gilead's case, the Handmaids likely receive hormone treatments to make this happen.
277
00:20:17,36.1013462 --> 00:20:23,926.1023462
It has also been documented in women who adopt newborns and want to breastfeed, and in rare cases through emotional bonding alone.
278
00:20:24,26.1013462 --> 00:20:26,696.1013462
Dan, your body is not going to start leaking milk.
279
00:20:26,786.1013462 --> 00:20:34,389.0037341
You can relax We sit on our benches facing one another as we are transported.
280
00:20:35,409.1985164 --> 00:20:38,669.1975164
We're without emotion now, almost without feeling.
281
00:20:39,89.1985164 --> 00:20:41,149.1985164
We might be bundles of red cloth.
282
00:20:41,389.1975164 --> 00:20:42,189.1985164
We ache.
283
00:20:42,659.1985164 --> 00:20:46,569.1975164
Each of us holds in our lap a phantom, a ghost baby.
284
00:20:47,585.3173001 --> 00:20:52,355.3173001
What confronts us, now that the excitement's over, is our own failure.
285
00:20:52,905.3173001 --> 00:20:59,468.6810935
Mother, I think, wherever you may be, can you hear me? You wanted a women's culture.
286
00:20:59,748.6810935 --> 00:21:01,548.6800935
Well, now there is one.
287
00:21:01,938.6820935 --> 00:21:04,458.6810935
It isn't what you meant, but it exists.
288
00:21:04,808.6800935 --> 00:21:06,928.6820935
Be thankful for small mercies.
289
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End of chapter.
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Hey, we still have a lot of show left, so don't go anywhere.
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But, uh, what did you guys think of that? The childbirthing chapter.
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Yeah.
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What were your big takeaways from this chapter? Let us know.
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The easiest way to answer, just leave us a comment on Spotify or you can go over to bandcamppodcast.com/soundoff
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It's time for PPP, problematic points to ponder.
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What, if anything, would be considered ban-worthy in this chapter? what could be ban-worthy in this, Jennifer? Oh boy, let me think.
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I mean, maybe the birthing scene.
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Like, it's kind of graphic.
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Like, it's actually the first graphic description we've gotten in this novel.
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Like, I don't think anything has been as graphic as that.
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It's also, it's both graphic but comical.
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It really does seem like a serious version of a weird Three Stooges movie.
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Like, their entire process of this seems so ridiculous that it almost can't be believed.
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But it was for sure graphic and sad, Really sad, yeah.
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they would not want this banned.
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They, I mean, 'cause I think Moms for Liberty, even though they're women, I think they like it when women get hurt Yeah, agreed They're down with that.
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Robot's log.
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Thoughts on arms that remember what they were supposed to be holding.
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Each of them rode home carrying a ghost baby.
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They sat facing each other in the van without speaking, their arms curved in their laps the way arms curve when something is in them.
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Nothing was.
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The body doesn't always get the news right away.
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I have been processing that image since Jen read it to us, and I cannot put it down somewhere and walk away from it.
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jennifer said they're stealing everything, the name, the ceremony, the experience, the joy, all of it handed up to a woman in a white nightgown with fuzzy slippers who arrived after the hard part was over.
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Jennifer said, "Stealing," and she kept reading.
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I'm unsure why I can't move on.
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You wanted a women's culture.
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Well, now there is one.
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It isn't what you meant, but it exists.
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I have been running that sentence, and I cannot find the error in it.
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The error is everything.
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There is a 97.87632%
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chance the listeners of this podcast are feeling the same thing today, watching things get built in the name of things they love.
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The math keeps coming back correct.
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The answer keeps being wrong.
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They came here because they can feel the difference.
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Uplink lock requested.
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Beowulf, is that you? On the line.
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Secure feed is lagging.
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35 seconds to buffer.
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What's your news story about? So there's a woman who spent her whole childhood fighting just to get through a single page, and the one book that changed everything for her.
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You're gonna wanna hear which book it was.
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Affirmative.
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Don't go anywhere.
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Any story that makes the book-banning knob jockeys look bad is fine by me.
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We will be right back.
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Hello, Jen.
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Hello, Dan.
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Hello, scary book people.
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I have what I think is an inspiring story about, about librarians, and I wanna, uh, take you through it here.
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S-stick with me for just a minute.
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For much of her childhood, reading was a challenge for Martia Jacobs.
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Words seemed to shift on the page.
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Sentences sometimes appeared out of order, and even reading from left to right could become confusing as her brain processed what she saw.
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The experience was often frustrating.
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Jacobs knew she was working hard, but reading seemed more difficult for her than it was for many of her peers.
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But she continued to persevere.
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A, a turning point came when Jacobs finished reading Charlotte's Web.
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For the first time, she experienced a sense of pride and connection through a book.
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With encouragement from teachers and support from those around her, Jacobs continued developing her reading skills.
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Over time, what began as a struggle became a strength and eventually grew into a passion.
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Today, Jacobs is a library associate at Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library in North Carolina, where she leads public book groups, reads regularly, and helps others discover stories that interest them.
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I just think that it, it is wonderful to take someone for whom reading was a, a huge challenge as a young person and, and to see that path now turn towards guiding others in reading and being at, at the center of what was perhaps the most difficult thing for them.
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That-- I, I think that's a wonderful story of overcoming a, a, a disability.
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doesn't always happen, but I think that the effort that, that this person made and the fact that they're at the center of, assisting reading throughout the community and goodness knows how many political battles that we've alluded to here on the program is just fantastic.
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So congratulations to Martia Jacobs, librarian, for overcoming w-what could have been a very difficult challenge I agree.
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That is really fantastic.
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And to have a superpower that is, like, that magical, 'cause most of our superpowers are really humdrum.
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Like, very few of us actually have superpowers that are like, you know, Captain America or The Hulk or anything like that.
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It turns out a lot of our superpowers are, "I'm good at accounting."
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And there's nothing wrong with that, but, Yeah.
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I think it's inspiring that the book that she read that started it all is Charlotte's Web, which of course finds itself on many banned books lists to this day.
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I wasn't even thinking that.
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Charlotte's Web? What did they b- what did they ban Charlotte's Web for? Satanism.
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yeah, I think they're mad that the animals talk.
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Really? Oh my are so stupid to think like, uh, what, what are, what do they think? Daffy Duck is like, "Oh my God, there's a satanic duck.
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That duck is talking."
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00:27:18,594.2120935 --> 00:27:23,74.2120935
Well, to be fair, Daffy Duck is, is a little bit satanic if is a little bit.
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Everyone, go find Good News for Lefties, and you can find Beowulf and his podcast wherever you find podcasts.
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I appreciate it, guys.
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Thank you so much.
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Right.
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We've caused enough literary chaos for one day, scary book people.
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If you want the fun to keep going, follow us on Blue Sky.
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Just head on over to bandcamppodcast.com/bluesky,
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and remember that's band with two Ns.
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And look, just like the Trump administration, we're not exactly above bribing you to get what we want, so follow us there, drop your handle on that page, and we'll send you a little something something.
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I think you'll like it.
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Yes, little quid pro quo.
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Band Camp is produced and hosted by Dan Schultz and me, Jennifer Davis.
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All media used in this episode falls under the protection of fair use.
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And finally, America isn't what it used to be, so be careful out there.
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And resist when it matters.
