The Marriage Myth (Pt 1): When Newsweek Struck Panic in Single Women Everywhere

It was a 1986 cover story with a claim that spread like wildfire: A single woman over 40 was “more likely to be killed by a terrorist” than to get married. Jess and Susie unravel the origin of that salacious report — later retracted — and dissect how such a line went from reporter’s notebook to reference point in films such as “Sleepless in Seattle” and “When Harry Met Sally.” Plus: How that Newsweek story inspired Susan Faludi to write her blockbuster feminist classic, Backlash. Guests: • E. Jean Carroll, journalist, longtime Elle advice columnist and author of “ What Do We Need Men For? • ” • Susan Douglas, professor of media studies at the University of Michigan and author of “ Enlightened Sexism • ” FOR MORE: Single, Female, and Desperate No More • (NY Times, 2006) Revisiting Newsweek’s ‘More Likely To Be Killed By a Terrorist’ Story • (The Atlantic, 2016) Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women • by Susan Faludi (1991) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.