Where Have All the Teen Magazines Gone?

The Waves: Gender, Relationships, Feminism

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate staff writers Rebecca Onion and Heather Schwedel dive into girls’ and women’s magazines. Many outlets like Sassy and CosmoGirl have been shuttered or moved to online-only editions. With the recent resurrection of teen magazine icon Atoosa Rubenstein in the media, Rebecca and Heather talk about what made these types of magazines pop and how problematic they were for their audience​​—especially the young girls. Then they dig into the lasting impact these relics have in the digital age.

Recommendations:

Rebecca: The 2016 PBS show Victoria and Nicola Griffith’s book Ammonite.

Heather: Listening to music, especially if you usually listen to podcasts.

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Susan Matthews and June Thomas.

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