Alt-country hasn’t every really been recognized by the Good Ol Boys billboard version has it? I mean the women you mention above and the likes of Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown, Lucinda Williams, Son Volt et al really fall into this Limbo where they rarely, with some exceptions (e.g. Wilco), get the recognition they…

Wellbutrin plays well with others. I have taken it in conjunction with other psych meds and had success, so possibilities! It sounds like you've had a bit of a rough go, so take care if yourself, okay?

I have a half arm sleeve, half calf sleeve, and multiple randoms. Definitely plan to get at least one you regret. ;) My “regret tattoo” is a 4 inch pink unicorn with the word “friends” (instead of “best friends”) on my ankle that I got with a friend of mine, who shared my feelings on the concept of besties as adults,…

My depression has been so, so awful the last week. Mr. Yacht and I got into a nasty fight on Monday (he had a momentary lapse of good judgment and thought we should break up because he had an imaginary conversation with me in his head that he then translated to our actual relationship and then felt REAL stupid when he…

I'd claim the Male artists on Billboard's Country Charts aren't even Country.  The industry rediscovered 70s style corporate rock schlock and it's all went to hell since.

Try to remember that it wouldn’t have been great, specifically because he doesn’t have a spine. Someone who was going to let that be the end of your relationship would never have given you the life you deserve- you deserve someone who would defend you.

About 9 years ago my boyfriend broke up with me because his family didn’t approve of his black girlfriend. We’d been together for 5 years. He married an appropriate woman and started a family.

Hot country is for idiots. That's why men dominate it. It's also shitty music. Which is why you don't find the likes of emmylou Harris or Gillian Welch there. As Tom petty said, "shitty rock and roll with fiddles."

They are breeders for the cult. Duh. 

Failing to establish a link between Russian interference and Donald Trump doesn’t mean the interference didn’t happen. We’ve known THAT since the election!

well, of course you wouldn’t do those things when they’re around!

there’s no basement at the alamo!

ANNA MERLAN, YOU WROTE A BOOK! I AM SO HAPPY AND PROUD.

One thing I always wonder (and perhaps I can find out in your book!) is how often the originators or some early “adopters” of theories know they’re total bullshit. Like how much of the start/spread is someone fabricating/spinning a theory because they know it will fall on fertile ground and achieve some end vs.…

I’ve lost track of how many Christian kids have attended Friday night Shabbat services at our Temple who were surprised we didn’t bake matzoh with Christian blood or that we didn’t have well-concealed horns.

Endlessly fascinating, yet endlessly frustrating. You want to grab these people by the scruff of the neck and shake some sense into them, but fighting this stuff is like fighting water. It just never goes away. One string of theories like satanic day care centers fades away and something else just takes its place. 

Fuck, this shit hits close to home. The Satanic Panic figured largely in my childhood (it actually started in the 70s, but really came to a head in the 80s). Close family members were sucked into it after becoming “born-again” (which is absolutely a cult). This filled my childhood with a great deal of fear, which took…

Good to see you zeroing in on the important things. 

Anna, I have been a HUGE fan of your long form reporting for years now and I just want to tell you how pumped I am about this book. Congrats! Can’t wait to read it. 

I find this stuff endlessly fascinating and look forward to reading the book!