Maiden Mother Matriarch: BONUS Maiden Mother Matriarch with Louise Perry

Against Heteropessimism | Maiden Mother Matriarch 211

Louise Perry — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 18:01:03 GMT

There is a certain kind of caricature of women that pops up in cultural commentary right now. Modern women, we are told, are inundated with male attention at all times, and all of it is deeply unwelcome. According to this view, says Phoebe Maltz Bovy, “straight women merely put up with men’s advances because we don’t want them to murder us, or because w…

Are young adults actually poor?

Louise Perry — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 18:00:58 GMT

For this bonus episode, I spoke with Johann Kurtz about his viral essay 'Young adults are poor despite every metric which suggests otherwise', which was partly inspired by a previous MMM bonus episode.

The post-literate society | Maiden Mother Matriarch 210

Louise Perry — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 18:00:50 GMT

Samuel Johnson was one of his history’s great readers. He read constantly: while he walked, while he ate, while he socialised. He insisted that one ought to read for five hours a day, and to read on every subject one could. This was newly possible for eighteenth century people, who suddenly had access to affordable books.

But Johnson understood that he w…

'Woke 1' was crazy. 'Woke 2' will be crazier.

Louise Perry — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 18:02:04 GMT

In this bonus episode for paid subscribers, Rob Henderson and I discussed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's comments on "woke 1" and the shift towards a new kind of progressive politics that's currently underway.

Does populism end in disaster? | Maiden Mother Matriarch 209

Louise Perry — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:02:25 GMT

Something called ‘populism’ is on the rise across much of the world. It’s difficult to pin down exactly what the term means, but most of us have a sense that we know it when we see it. Trump in the United States, Farage in Britain, Hanson in Australia – all of these politicians have adopted a particular kind of posture towards the public and towards the…

Is it wrong to get botox?

Louise Perry — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:01:36 GMT

In this bonus episode, I spoke to former radical feminist (well, sort of) Meghan Murphy about beauty treatments. How should feminists think about, for instance, botox? How should individual women navigate this issue? And what have we, personally, had done?

The children divorcing their parents | Maiden Mother Matriarch 208

Louise Perry — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 18:00:25 GMT

Back in 2013, the Obama administration endorsed an ad campaign that came to be derisively known as the “pajama boy” campaign. “Pajama boy” was actually an adult man who encouraged young adults to make the case for Obamacare over Thanksgiving dinner with their relatives. “Wear pajamas. Drink hot chocolate. Talk about getting health insurance.” was the ta…

English rebels

Louise Perry — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 18:01:07 GMT

In this bonus episode, I spoke with Nina Power about the English village that is seeking independence from the UK in protest at a local asylum seeker accommodation centre. We discussed the issues with asylum policy, the growing spirit of rebellion in sleepy rural places, and whether the UK government is guilty of institutional misogyny.

Children should read fairytales | Maiden Mother Matriarch 207

Louise Perry — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 18:01:00 GMT

Humans love stories. Long before writing was developed, stories helped people to preserve knowledge, transmit moral ideas, warn against danger, and psychologically prepare for future ordeals. The most enduring stories are those that organise experience into meaningful patterns, communicating through symbolism that often operates on a subconscious level.…

Louise & Helen review 'Obsession'

Louise Perry — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 18:00:44 GMT

For this bonus episode I spoke with Helen Roy about the new cult horror movie ‘Obsession.’ Helen can found at Helen Roy Writes.

In Defence of Stay-at-Home Parents | Maiden Mother Matriarch 206

Louise Perry — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 18:01:38 GMT

Feminists have been arguing about the politics of homemaking for a long time. In her 1963 feminist classic, The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan famously compared the suburban American home to a “comfortable concentration camp”, arguing that homemaking was not just a waste of a woman’s talents, but a form of degradation.

Maternal feminists reject this ch…

The Lucky Country? | Maiden Mother Matriarch 205

Louise Perry — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 18:01:09 GMT

I’ve just moved to Australia. I wrote a column about our move in the Wall Street Journal, which was also published in The Australian, but I haven’t otherwise spoken about our reasoning, and a lot of listeners have been asking. So today’s episode is about Australia: the issues the country is facing right now, why British people are so often attracted to …

The loss of Ann Widdecombe

Louise Perry — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:02:03 GMT

In this bonus episode, Ed West and I discussed the apparent murder of Ann Widdecombe, the role that she played in British public life, and the responses to this atrocity.

The politics of the downwardly mobile class

Louise Perry — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 18:00:40 GMT

In this bonus episode, Rob Henderson and I discussed a recent viral article in The Cut titled ‘It’s Hard to See My Parents Live So Lavishly While We’re Struggling’ and the broader issue of wealth inequality within families. Is it really true that millennials have it harder than boomers? Are downwardly mobile younger generations right to feel resentful? …

Why we're still obsessed with the fall of Rome | Maiden Mother Matriarch 204

Louise Perry — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 18:00:57 GMT

The empire that once controlled all or part of forty modern European, Asian, and African countries no longer exists. Rome didn’t fall all at once, and it didn’t fall for any one simple reason. But it did fall. And people down the centuries have been drawn to the story of Rome’s decline and fall with a mixture of fear, curiosity, and an irresistible desi…

The demonisation of the working class | Maiden Mother Matriarch 203

Louise Perry — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 18:00:48 GMT

When ‘The Likes of Us’ was published almost twenty years ago, the book’s author Michael Collins was described by one critic as a “poetic hooligan.” Despite a fair bit of criticism along these lines, the book went on to win The Orwell Prize, Britain’s most prestigious prize for political writing. ‘The Likes of Us’ is a micro-history of Michael’s family, …

How Hitler replaced the Devil | Maiden Mother Matriarch 202

Louise Perry — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 20:57:22 GMT

Alec Ryrie argues that the age of Hitler is not the 1930s and 1940s, it is our own lifetimes. As the influence of Christianity receded from the 1960s onwards, the figure of Hitler stepped into the breach – the most potent possible symbol of evil, around whom the Western moral imagination was structured.

But as the Second World War recedes into history, t…

Who is to blame for the riots?

Louise Perry — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 18:00:57 GMT

In this bonus episode, Nina Power and I discussed recent events in Britain, including the announced ban on social media use for under 16s and last week's rioting in Belfast and elsewhere.

A Billion Years of Sex Differences | Maiden Mother Matriarch 201

Louise Perry — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 20:20:59 GMT

The science of sex differences is intensely political. Traditionalists tend to exaggerate the innate differences between men and women, while progressives tend to minimise them, arguing that the behavioural differences we see between the sexes are a product of nurture, rather than nature.

Steve Stewart-Williams wants to offer a more cautious assessment. …

Why Tradwives are hated

Louise Perry — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:01:13 GMT

In this bonus episode, I spoke with Helen Roy about Caro Claire Burke’s bestselling novel ‘Yesteryear’ and we tried to explain why the ‘tradwife’ phenomenon attracts such strength of feeling. Helen can found at Helen Roy Writes.