ICYMI - The Personal Essay Is Back. The Internet Isn't Ready.

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by author Leigh Stein, who landed her first book deal in the 2010s personal essay boom. With new memoirs from Lindy West and Lena Dunham, it feels like confessional writing is getting a 2020s rebirth. However, reactions to viral personal essays, like those in The Cut, prove social media has become a much different beast. Now, writing a personal essay is not only much more fraught, but can be downright dangerous. Did the personal essay change, or did we? This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can listen to ICYMI - The Personal Essay Is Back. The Internet Isn't Ready. online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

ICYMI - The Personal Essay Is Back. The Internet Isn't Ready. is an episode from Culture Gabfest.

This episode is 32:28 long.

This episode was published on May 2, 2026.

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