It’s just me today, and I need to talk about something that’s been on my mind all week.

At a congressional hearing, Senator Eric Schmitt tried to catch Jack Smith in a lie about being at an Atlanta Hawks game. He was actually at a Maryland vs. Iowa women’s game to see Caitlin Clark. The Hawkeyes, not the Hawks. It would be funny if it weren’t so telling. In this episode I dig into the layers of that moment: the disregard for the truth, the doubling down, and the fact that it never even crossed his mind that women play basketball.

Then I zoom out to a week of news that hit women from every angle: Title IX clawbacks, a Senate bill on college athletics, the Cornell case, and an LSU football player back on campus. And I bring it home to the question I always come back to as a parent. We’ve taught our daughters how to protect themselves. Have we taught our sons to step in?

What we talk about:

* Why every topic my Gen Z daughter and I pick ends up being about women

* The Hawks vs. Hawkeyes hearing moment, piece by piece

* How women’s sports get erased by the people claiming to protect them

* Title IX and the college sports bill

* The Cornell 57 and the LSU case

* Raising upstanders, not just “good guys”

* The uncomfortable conversations I had with my own kids, starting when they were little

* Punishment vs. consequences (more on this next time)

* What I’m watching: the new season of Ted Lasso

Content note: this episode discusses sexual assault.

Until next time, keep looking for the wonder in the weeds. And maybe you are the wonder.

Listen to Wonder in the Weeds wherever you get your podcasts. 🌿

Also on Substack: critzking.substack.com