Problem with Everything

My Journey Through the New Culture Wars

By: Meghan Daum

Narrated by: Meghan Daum

“[A]ffectingly personal, achingly earnest, and something close to necessary.” —Vogue
“Personal, convincing, unflinching.” —Tablet

From an author who’s been called “one of the most emotionally exacting, mercilessly candid, deeply funny, and intellectually rigorous writers of our time” (Cheryl Strayed, #1 New York Times bestselling author) comes a seminal book that reaches surprising truths about feminism, the Trump era, and the Resistance movement. You won’t be able to stop thinking and talking about it.

In this gripping work, Meghan Daum examines our country’s most intractable problems with clear-eyed honesty instead of exaggerated outrage. With passion, humor, and personal reflection, she tries to make sense of the current landscape—from Donald Trump’s presidency to the #MeToo movement and beyond. In the process, she wades into the waters of identity politics and intersectionality, thinks deeply about campus politics and notions of personal resilience, and tests a theory about the divide between Gen Xers and millennials.

This signature work may well be the first book to capture the essence of this era in all its nuances and contradictions. No matter where you stand on its issues, this book will strike a chord.

Critic reviews

"Author/narrator Meghan Daum grapples with big questions in this brief exploration of contemporary American feminism and the increasing trend of public shaming amid social media culture. She is direct and firm in her contemplation of the competing forces that come together in the culture wars. In doing so, Daum establishes an intimate tone somewhere between university lecture and angst-ridden rant. The result is the feeling that we are having coffee with a smart friend who has interesting views. Listeners who are trying to make sense of current political and social events in the U.S. will find themselves nodding along. Delivered at a swift pace, these eight chapters speed by, leaving the listener with much to consider."

She Nails Gen X

If you’re a child of the 70s and 80s and are a bit confused about the fragility of millennials, perhaps even your own kids, you’ll love this book. It’s filled with gems that will resonate.

We valued resilience. Todays youth values fairness. We got on licenses the day we turned 16. These kids don’t mind being dropped off by mommy. We actually had a cool kind of gender equity and acceptance. They focus on imagined differences. Most important we grew up on “sticks and stones break our bones but words can never hurt me.”

Great stuff. It’s almost like there’s a non-crazy center forming in elite intellectual life. We can only hope.

Review

Didn't know of the author before reading this book. Took a few paragraphs into the first chapter to get fully settled with her style, but she's really good.

Finally a book for these times that I relate to.

Thank you, Meghan Daum, for corroborating most of my thoughts over the last three years with facts and spot-on commentary. I don't feel so alone. This book is so well done I am recommending it to anyone I know who has been scratching their heads and asking, "What is going on?"

I’m a hardcore fangirl (fanwomynx?) ;)

Disclaimer - I love pretty much everything Meghan Daum has to say, and am convinced that if I could get her to go get drinks with me we would be best Gen X friends. 😂

That disclaimer aside, this is a fantastic book and a wonderful listen. This is the book that I wish I could write – the one that encapsulates most of my thoughts about most of the problems in our ridiculous current culture. Reading it made me feel like I wasn’t alone.

I appreciate Megan so much – for her courage, for her nuance, for her thoughtful and intelligent ability to articulate what, exactly, is going on. And I love her especially for being a bad-ass Gen X b*** like myself (OK, that’s an inside joke for those who have read the book, but that is basically how I actually think of her).

If you are a historically liberal person who no longer recognizes your own tribe or your place within it anymore, read this book to feel less alone. You won’t regret it!

Meghan, if you’re reading this, just… Thank you. Thank you for The Unspeakable, for A Special Place in Hell, for this book, and for all your writing. You are a gem!!!

Very entertaining and an interesting take on our modern world

Witty! Meghan does a great job explaining our very complicated social narrative. Her take on social issues is a breath of fresh air.