Episode Overview

Episode Title: Unabridged: I Hated It, Thanks for Asking with Nora McInerny
Podcast: The Stacks
Host: Traci Thomas
Guest: Nora McInerny
Date: December 19, 2025
Main Theme:
A special year-end “hater episode,” where Traci Thomas and Nora McInerny abandon best-of and favorites lists to air out their most memorable personal “hates” from 2025. The episode showcases their critical, often comedic venting style, both serious and lighthearted, centering on cultural annoyances, pop culture, and the personal gripes that didn’t make mainstream headlines.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Premise: "The Year in Hate"

• Personal Pet Peeves Over Big News:
  The duo intentionally skips over obvious, large-scale topics (e.g., political disasters, major scandals—see below) in favor of niche, more entertaining grievances.
  • Nora: “The most obvious things are not on this list. …We already know the worst parts of the world. …This is a list of things that we hated this year. They’re very niche, a lot of them. And hopefully a lot more entertaining…” (02:42)

Inspiration and Structure

• Origins of the Hate Roundup:
  Nora praises Traci’s “Show and Tell” newsletters for their smart blend of recommendations—and that juicy, always-paywalled “one thing I hate.”

  • Nora: “She’s as smart about what she hates as she is about what she loves. And that is what inspired this episode.” (02:01)

• Audience Engagement:
  Both encourage listeners to compose their own “hater lists,” inviting communal venting and solidarity.

  • Nora: “I want everybody out there to feel free to make their own [hater list].” (06:15)

On Embracing Thoughtful Hate

• Critical Thinking Hating:
  The difference between mean-spirited grumbling and intellectual critique is highlighted—“hating on a different level.”
  • Nora: “I saw a TikTok, which is how the worst conversations always start, that said, when I hate, it’s actually, you know, intellectual. I’m hating on a different level, okay? I’m hating in a…critical thinking kind of way.” (05:37)
  • Traci: “I’m never [petty].” (05:57)
• Hate as Community:
  Even when listeners disagree, Nora and Traci invite critiques: “You can hate our hate, but I don’t want to hear about it.” (06:19)

Main Hate Example: “Wicked” and Franchise Sequels

• Traci’s Big Hate #1:

  • Target: The two-part “Wicked” movie adaptations (especially Part 2).
  • Rationale:
    • Slicing a musical in half disrupts the story arc.
    • Act 2 relies on Act 1; making it standalone is “not possible”—likened to the excessive “Hobbit” trilogy.
    • Dislike of director Jon Chu’s approach; musical numbers chopped into pieces with dialogue or “interludes.”
    • Production critiques: “ugly” lighting, poor CGI, cheap-looking costumes.
  • Traci:
    • “I know the musical and I know that Act 2 of the musical is not its own story. It’s actually, in fact, part two of one whole thing. That’s how acts work in a play.” (06:39)
    • “If you break up the sex scene so that they can talk about how beautiful each other is…you’re ruining the song.” (08:43)
    • “I think the movies are ugly. I’m sorry? The lighting is ugly, the CGI is horrific…They look like Tom Ford knockoffs or whatever.” (09:15)

• Memorable Analogy:

  • Nora, on “The Hobbit” films: “Three movies. It was a novella.” (07:48)

The Creative Process Behind the Hater List

• Compiling Grievances:
  Traci admits sometimes the most challenging part of her newsletter is deciding “the hate”—she sometimes Googles “annoying things that happened this week.”
  • Traci: “Some weeks, I know the hate right away, and then some weeks, I write the entire thing, and I just sit there and I go, what did you hate? And I Google, like, annoying things that happened this week or, like, pop culture this week.” (04:49)

List Overload and Evolving Hates

• Traci’s Over-Preparation:
  • Traci: “You asked for five. I have 1, 2, 3… I have nine. And I just added one as we were talking.” (06:19–06:36)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Feeling Seen (and Read):
  • Traci: “The fact that people read show and tell is hilarious to me because I just feel like I’m writing into the void. …when people respond to things like pass the paywall… I’m always like, oh my God, people are really reading this.” (04:49)
• On Destroying a Musical:
  • Traci: “This isn’t a fucking interlude on a cd, my guy. This is a musical. The whole point is that people have to sing an entire song. That’s the way the show is written.” (08:24)
• On Soliciting Hate:
  • Nora: “Tell me what you hated about this year. Tell me what you hated about this episode, if you must.” (03:33)
• On the Joy of Shared Grievances:
  • Nora: “We always hate the same stuff, the same things.” (04:32)

Important Timestamps

• 1:27: Nora’s intro—Purpose and ethos of the “hater episode”
• 2:41: What’s not on the hate list, scope of complaint
• 4:31–5:58: Traci and Nora discuss compiling the "hate" segment and thoughtful critique vs. pettiness
• 6:15: Rules of engagement—make your own hater list
• 6:39–9:15: Traci’s #1 hate: “Wicked” movie adaptation (detailed critique)
• 7:48: “Hobbit” trilogy analogy

Tone & Style

• Conversational and deeply personal
• No-holds-barred honesty (“This isn’t a fucking interlude on a cd, my guy” – Traci)
• Self-aware humor about being “haters”
• Mixture of light sarcasm, pop-culture savvy, and cultural criticism

Final Thoughts

This episode of The Stacks flips the usual “best of” tradition on its head, giving Traci Thomas and Nora McInerny space to intellectually and comedically vent about pop culture and societal trends that irked them in 2025. It’s part therapy, part book-club gab, and wholly entertaining for listeners ready to laugh—and maybe scream—about the year’s biggest annoyances.
To hear the full hater list, listeners are encouraged to support via Patreon or Substack.