Mad Men

Welcome back to another week in the wonderful world of Mad Men. One of the strangest episodes on record, "The Crash" was all about altered states, false identities, and hidden talents (we see you tap dancing, Ken Cosgrove!). Load up a "vitamin shot" and join us, won't you?

This picture is worth a thousand words about how nuts this episode was.

Welcome to another recap of Mad Men. This week, it's all about newness, and weirdness, and drunkenness, and margarine. Peggy returns to the hallowed halls of the former Sterling Cooper Draper Campbell, Ted Chaough reveals himself to be both an amusingly bacon-focused drunk and an ace small-plane pilot, and Bob Benson finally makes himself useful. In other news, that poor Kennedy boy gets shot.  Join us, won't you?

Welcome back to our weekly recap of Mad Men. This one had everything we love about the show—gripping office drama, hilarious fantasy sequences, righteously angry women, and Pete Campbell incurring bodily harm. Kelsey couldn't join us this week thanks to a wedding in Arizona, but we've got plenty to say regardless. So grab a drink—sorry, Bert, we don't have any spirits of elderflower—and settle in.

Well. That happened. And, as Bobby Draper might put it: "Jesus."

A lot has been said about Mad Men's Betty Draper, from her cold demeanor to her role as a lonely housewife, but love her or hate her, she is a complex character functioning within a system that leaves her dissatisfied.

In the early seasons of Mad Men, Betty has pretty much only one outlet to help her to cope with her unfulfilling life: horseback riding. What do horses give her that being a wife and mother cannot?

Sorry for the late recap, folks — some of us needed a little longer to process all the condiment-laced drama of this episode. And others of us had tickets to a Prince show and had to wait until Monday to take this episode in. But we all had thoughts. Read on for our musings on loyalty, competition, secrets—and, of course, ketchup.

Has it already been a week since the new season of Mad Men began? It has, and in last night's Jon Hamm–directed episode, the diffuse setups of the season premiere are focused on work, love, and war—and sometimes more than one at a time. Read on for our three-person recap of last night's show.

This season, Mad Men set in 1968, a time of powerful and exciting organizing in the U.S. feminist movement—while the fictional Madison Avenue advertising crew scribbles out new taglines for headphones, 1968 was the year feminists took to the streets to protest the Miss America pageant.  

It's that time again! Mad Men is back for another stylish, symbol-packed season, and your faithful recappers Kelsey, Andi, and Annalee are here to break it down and hash it out. For those of you new to our Mad Men recaps, be forewarned that these aren't linear summaries, but rather discussions of the key plot points and most compelling questions of each episode—and yes, you can be sure there are some spoilers, so proceed accordingly.

Last night's season premiere was a two-hour mood-setting piece that took us from Oahu at Christmas to the sunken living room of the Draper's New York pad on New Year's Eve. We know that 1968 is a big year, filled with civil-rights protests, the assassinations of both RFK and MLK, and the advent of the Nixon administration. But right now, all our friends in the world of Sterling Cooper Draper Price know is that it's a time when fondue pots are on sale at Bloomingdale's and everything smells like reefer.

Good morning! Here's the feminist news on our radar.

• Today, Arkansas might be the 36th state to ratify the ERA. Help show your support and spread the word. [ERA Action]

• April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center has lots of way that you can take action. [National Sexual Violence Resource Center]

• NPR interviewed Ari Seth Cohen, talking about his blog Advanced Style, which features the beautiful and stylish older women of NYC. [NPR, Advanced Style]

• We all know Rosa Parks, but she wasn't the first to refuse to give up her seat on the bus. Democracy Now interviews Claudette Colvin, who was just 15 when she was arrested for doing the same. [Democracy Now, NewBlackMan (in Exile)]

• The National Magazine Award nominees have been announced, and this year half of them are women! [Mother Jones]

• A six-year-old girl in Afghanistan was going to be sold into marriage to repay her father's debt, until an anonymous donor paid the debt. [New York Times]

• New York State Sen. Eric Adams has testified that the "stop and frisk" program was intended to intimidate minorities. [Raw Story]

• We're getting ready for this weekend's season premiere of Mad Men and are excited to see what social and feminist storylines might be on the horizon. [Women's Voices For Change]

• Speaking of Mad Men, John Hamm is getting really tired of people talking about his penis, and he's not the only one. [Tiger Beatdown]

• The Yeah Yeah Yeahs released a video for "Sacrilege" from their upcoming album, depicting slut shaming to the extreme. [Feminspire]

Is there anything I missed? Share what you're reading in the comments!