36: BARBIE Book club with George Hahn & M.G. Lord

36: BARBIE Book club with George Hahn & M.G. Lord

Author: Jennifer Taub & Politicon LLC July 30, 2023 Duration: 1:07:47
Today is all about BARBIE. The new film, the doll, the legend. Too much hype? No, not enough. This month’s new blockbuster film directed by Greta Gurwig starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling has more than just the best one-liners “She’s everything. He’s just Ken.” It also provides theater audiences the opportunity to share howls of laughter delight about the humorous send up of the patriarchy, and also sob openly about what our lives could have been if more girl’s imaginations were able to flourish as grown women, instead of us becoming accessories, enlisted in service of the ambitions of powerful men.

Because Booked Up centers on books, our Barbie Book Club members today include M.G. Lord  author of Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll, originally published in 1994. Plus, M.G. has a fresh 3-part podcast series out now called  "LA Made: The Barbie Tapes” which includes audio from her one-on-one interviews with Barbie inventor and Mattel founder, Ruth Handler, among others. We’ll get into that. M.G. has written for numerous publications including the New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. She is an Associate Professor of the Practice of English at the University of Southern California.

Also joining the Barbie Book Club today is George Hahn. Cuter than a Ken Doll, more awesome than Allan, there is no better example of how to live an urban bon vivant life while on a bicycle than George Hahn. George – in his own witty words – “ is a self-made thousandaire playboy who wears tailored clothing, drinks coffee, talks on podcasts and occasionally writes and does TV.” You may know George from his screen roles in  “Sex and the City,” “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” and Miramax’s “Kate & Leopold.” He also has a new podcast called Hahn: Solo and website GeorgeHahn.com that’s spelled H-A-H-N that features menswear, grooming, lifestyle essays and advice.


Contact Booked Up:
You can email Jen & the Booked Up team at: BOOKEDUP@POLITICON.COM or by writing to: 

BOOKED UP 
P.O. BOX 147
NORTHAMPTON, MA 01061

Get More from M.G. Lord:
Podcast | Website| Author of FOREVER BARBIE and several other books

Get More from George Hahn:
Twitter | Website| Podcast Hahn: Solo

Get More from Jen Taub:
taubjen on Threads| Money & Gossip  Substack | Author of BIG DIRTY MONEY 



For anyone who’s ever finished a great book and immediately wanted to dissect it with a smart friend, Booked Up with Jen Taub is that conversation. Hosted by author and legal commentator Jennifer Taub, this podcast digs into the ideas, arguments, and narratives shaping our world, all through the lens of what we’re reading. It’s less a formal book review and more a lively, critical exploration. Episodes weave together themes from politics, culture, and current events, treating books as vital source material for understanding the bigger picture. You’ll hear Taub’s insightful commentary and analysis, often drawing connections between an author’s work and the real-world issues it illuminates. The discussion feels urgent and relevant, whether tackling a new release or a classic with renewed significance. Listening to this podcast is like joining a book club where the conversation is always sharp, informed, and unafraid to challenge conventional wisdom. It’s for readers, thinkers, and anyone curious about the power of stories to explain our complicated present.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 59

Booked Up with Jen Taub
Podcast Episodes
49: ENOUGH by Cassidy Hutchinson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:51
Today for the October book club, Jen Taub’s friends, authors Jennifer Rubin and Brian Karem discuss Cassidy Hutchinson’s new best-selling memoir, ENOUGH. Is Cassidy Hutchinson a heroic champion of the truth or just anoth…
48: TRAE CROWDER & COREY RYAN FORRESTER on Round Here And Over Yonder [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:48
The hilarious self-named “progressive hillbilly” comedians Trae Crowder and Corey Ryan Forrester are Jen’s guests today. They co-authored the super-funny book Round Here and Over Yonder. I’m just going to steal their bio…
47:  ZEKE FAUX on NUMBER GO UP [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:14
Zeke Faux, author of the new bestseller, Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall is Jen’s guest today. Of all the books, and scholarly articles, and news stories, and blog posts, and legal complaints…
46: MICHAEL LEWIS on Going Infinite [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:19
Author Michael Lewis joins Jen Taub today to talk about Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, his new book that focuses on Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto-wunderkind who is now on trial on federal criminal cha…
45: WOMEN IN INTELLIGENCE with Helen Fry [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:42
We are extraordinarily grateful that historian and biographer Dr. Helen Fry made time for us right as her latest book Women in Intelligence: The Hidden History of Two World Wars was released in the UK and is poised to la…
44: TUCKER with Rick Wilson and Martin Pengelly [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:10
Believe or not, this month’s Booked Up Book Club is TUCKER, the book, the man, the walking grievance machine. It’s true, Jen read Chadwick Moore’s authorized biography of Tucker Carlson. And joining her are Rick Wilson a…
43: ALI VELSHI: Banned Book Club [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:25
Ali Velshi is Jen’s guest today. You know him as an anchor and business correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. His show Velshi appears every Saturday and Sunday from 10 - noon. Ali is also the host of the podcast Velshi B…
42: Hadley Vlahos, THE IN-BETWEEN [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:31
Hadley Vlahos is the author of the bestelling new book The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments. She is a hospice registered nurse, mother, and wife. Hadley’s husband Chris also works in the m…
41:  LAWYER, JAILER, ALLY, FOE with Eric Muller [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:41
In this haunting new book, LAWYER, JAILER, ALLY, FOE, Eric L. Muller brings into vivid color a world that is largely forgotten paper records. It’s no wonder that his book caught the attention of novelist John Grisham who…
40: Trump Booked Up Club with Jill Wine-Banks and Morgan Cloud [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:21
Donald Trump is the subject of our book club today. Trump is not known to be a big reader or even an author – his most popular book Art of the Deal, was ghost written by Tony Schwarz, as you probably know. Nevertheless,…