Sarah Marshall is an American writer and podcaster known for her piece Remote Control: Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan, and the Spectacles of Female Power and Pain as well as her focus on telling the stories of maligned women throughout history, including many episodes on the topic in her podcast You're Wrong About, previously cohosted by journalist and writer Michael Hobbes. Marshall has also had a long-running history of writing about serial killers.
Education and career
Marshall received her undergraduate education, as well as her MFA, at Portland State University before continuing to teach at the same university.
Tonya Harding
In 2014, Marshall published Remote Control in The Believer, an 11,000-word essay positing that Tonya Harding was "unfairly vilified" by the media in order to better shape and sell a story. Marshall's piece was widely recognized by media companies including a feature by Time, and her piece is oft-referred to as a defense of a misunderstood woman in history.
Marshall has said in interviews that she has never met Harding, a fellow Oregonian and Pacific Northwesterner, despite being in talks with Harding's manager at one point. She stated that meeting Harding is not something she feels is necessary, noting "I don't think [Tonya Harding] would want to meet some woman who has all these thoughts about her career. She seems happy."
Podcasts
Late Night Love Affair
Marshall cohosted the series Late Night Love Affair in 2015 with Candace Opper. They discussed various literary topics, including a book review of Manson family member and convicted murderer Susan Atkins' Child of Satan, Child of God.
You're Wrong About
After her work on the Tonya Harding piece, Marshall was contacted twice by Michael Hobbes, first anonymously via fan-letter while working for a human-rights organization, and later while he worked at The Huffington Post when he wanted to collaborate with Marshall on misunderstood history.
Starting in 2018, Marshall and Hobbes co-hosted the podcast You're Wrong About where they discussed misunderstood or misinterpreted events from history. Hobbes later left the podcast with Marshall continuing as a solo host, despite having feelings of daunt when considering recording episodes alone.
The Satanic panic
Marshall has often discussed the topic of the Satanic panic, a massive collection of unsubstantiated allegations of child sexual abuse rooted in satanic ritual abuse. She has, at times, discussed the possibility of writing a book on the matter of the Satanic panic, but thus far has not published anything.
The Satanic panic has frequently been referenced in many episodes of You're Wrong About specifically as a means of comparison to absurd or ridiculous events.
Additional projects
While Marshall has an array of essays and other journalistic pieces, she has also worked on other media ventures including a podcast called You Are Good (originally titled Why Are Dads?) with Alex Steed as a cohost.
Personal life
Marshall has lived most of her life in Portland, Oregon and has talked about the city being one of her favorite places, comparing it to an old friend.
References
Living people
21st-century American women writers
The Believer (magazine) people
Writers from Portland, Oregon
American women podcasters
American podcasters
Year of birth missing (living people) Portland State University alumni People from Portland, Oregon