You Didn't Hear This From Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender discrimination and physical abuse.

McKinney is an American journalist, essayist, and podcast host known for her sharp cultural commentary, accessible writing style, and nuanced understanding of social dynamics. She is a co-founder of Defector Media, a worker-owned sports and culture website launched by former Deadspin staffers, where she regularly writes about politics, media, religion, and internet culture. McKinney’s work has also appeared in New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, and BuzzFeed, among other outlets, and she often tackles the intersection of personal identity, institutional power, and informal networks of communication. 

In addition to her writing career, McKinney is the creator and host of the podcast Normal Gossip, which tells listener-submitted stories featuring anonymous social drama. The show has been widely praised for its wit, warmth, and ethical handling of gossip, and the show’s structure and focus also reinforces McKinney’s ability to explore the emotional and social texture of informal communication without resorting to cruelty or voyeurism. Her experience with hosting Normal Gossip has given her a unique platform to study how gossip operates across different communities and shapes moral frameworks in many different contexts.