Monica Lewinsky has a podcast called "Reclaiming." In a vast sea of podcasts, hers stood out at the right time as she and the political world hit upon the same general topic: women's fertility.
The White House press secretary recently appeared on Lewinsky's podcast. Well, the TV version of the press secretary, at least — Allison Janney, who played that role on "The West Wing." Karoline Leavitt, Donald Trump's real-life — or what passes for it in this administration — press secretary, recently announced she is stepping down to spend more time with her two young children. And, at the same time, a certain left-wing congressperson who may harbor presidential ambitions was sharing details of her experience with the egg-freezing process on social media. As Lewinsky and Janney talk about on the podcast, we often don't know as much as we should about the most fundamental, intimate things that impact us the most. And that's not all fertility-related, of course.
I, for one, was happy to hear Lewinsky and Janney discussing religion, even if the story Janney told was distressing: She remembered having been told by an instructor that God was on the other side of a brick wall and it is her job to knock down the wall. Yikes. Imagine hearing that as a young person. God would look mean and unreachable. It's no wonder that the actress pursued a less traditional and more vibes-based spirituality, as she went on to discuss.
But "Reclaimed" is in the news because Janney and Lewinsky discussed fertility, and, of course, because Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) made a political news story and social media hay out of her decision to freeze her eggs.
But the Lewinsky-Janney conversation is helpful because neither of them is an ambitious politician. The host might understandably spend her entire life avoiding anything related to the White House — she even admitted that she only watched "The West Wing" once she got to be friendly with Janney, for fear of intern jokes and, well, memories of that presidential culture.
Janney and Lewinsky also discussed religion and the basic human longing to return to the eternal from which we were created. We learn about a Scientology info session (Lewinsky — and it was really for a friend) and doctor-assisted ketamine therapy (Janney), and a joint desire for a silent weekend retreat (more like Monica will do it if Allison finds one — and I do have ideas for them! Probably more traditionally Christian than they are thinking, but it sounds like they have open minds).
That's probably the best thing about podcasts. We're on our phones constantly, and sometimes we just happen upon people talking about something important, something that we may have been thinking about in our reflective moments — or hearing less reflective people argue about on social media. Sometimes, we find deep meaning and ideas that unite us in unexpected places — even from celebrities on podcasts.
Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review magazine and author of the new book "A Year With the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living." She is also chair of Cardinal Dolans pro-life commission in New York and is on the board of the University of Mary. She can be contacted at klopez@nationalreview.com.
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