Rape culture & accountability

The Cornell Case, the Group Chat, and the Rape Culture That Made It Possible

October 5, 2026

This episode is for you if you’ve ever stayed quiet in a group chat when someone said something gross. Or if you’re tired of campus warnings telling women to stay home instead of telling men not to rape.

Becky and Taina unpack the alleged Cornell sexual assault case, the group chat of 50-plus men who joked about it, and the rape culture that made it possible. They get into what to call it (and why “rapist” sounds like a job title), fraternity culture and hazing, why consent under duress isn’t consent, and Kendall Francis speaking out at LSU.

From there, it’s a conversation about complicity: why staying silent when your friends say harmful things makes you part of it, why the getaway driver is just as culpable, and why men need to stop talking about “training their daughters” and start calling out their friends. They also talk about how misogyny hurts men too, why willful ignorance is violence, and why “no one’s paying me to learn” is an excuse. Plus, before all that: Taina’s trip to Iceland for the Wicker premiere and a quick, calm take on the plague case in Russia.

“The point is not for you to train your daughter. The point is for you to train your son and to call out your f***ing friends when they say shit that’s wrong.”

— Taina Brown

In This Episode, We Get Into:

• Taina’s trip to Iceland for the Wicker premiere, and why the film’s nameless characters make it a feminist fable without being Barbie-style feminism
• The pneumonic plague case in Russia: why panic isn’t the answer, and why access to antibiotics should be universal
• The Cornell case: what to call it, and why “rapist” sounds like a job title
• Fraternity culture, hazing, and why consent under duress isn’t consent
• Kendall Francis speaking out at LSU, and campus-wide warnings to “stay home” instead of telling men not to rape
• Why men need to stop talking about “training their daughters” and start calling out their friends
• How misogyny hurts men: male sexual assault, shame, and the cycle of harm
• The group chat as a permission structure, and complicity in the Nolan Wells case
• Asking vs. demanding: liberal feminism, “hearts and minds,” and why willful ignorance is violence
• White educators, unconscious bias, and why “no one’s paying me to learn” is an excuse

Timestamps

• 00:00 – Taina’s back from Iceland: the Wicker premiere at the Reykjavik International Film Festival
• 07:01 – Pneumonic plague in Russia: why we’ll (probably) be okay
• 15:20 – The Cornell case and what to call it (content warning)
• 21:13 – Fraternity culture, hazing, and consent under duress
• 24:09 – Kendall Francis and the LSU case
• 27:05 – Victim blaming: she’s allowed to drink, and she’s allowed to say no
• 31:35 – Misogyny hurts men: sexual assault, shame, and silence
• 37:15 – The 50 in the group chat: permission structures
• 41:08 – Nolan Wells and why the getaway driver is complicit
• 44:53 – Asking vs. demanding: MLK, Malcolm X, and liberal feminism
• 51:38 – White educators and unconscious bias
• 53:51 – Why we keep having heavy conversations (and a note on consent from the Hasan Piker episode)
• 55:19 – Join us: the Messy Liberation Circle

Resources Mentioned

• More Salt Than Diamond by Aline Mello, a debut poetry collection
• Previous episode: “Is Violence Part of Liberation? Breaking Down Hasan Piker, MSNow, and Palestine”
• Messy Liberation Circle (the Oct. 15 event with Aline Mello mentioned in the episode has passed, but you can still join)
• RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-4673