What is PROVOKED Off-Script?
The conversations that happen after the article goes live.
Off-Script is the back office of PROVOKEDmagazine—where we end up after a long day of editing, when the real reactions start rolling in, the comments get weird, the emails surprise us, and someone finally says, “Okay, can we talk about what just happened?” This is where the polished version loosens its grip.
If PROVOKED is the magazine you read, Off-Script is the conversation you lean in for.
Why Off-Script exists
Because the most interesting part of any story usually comes after it’s published.
Off-Script is where me and my editor Abby talk about:
Why a piece almost didn’t run
Why one paragraph set people off
Why some women felt seen—and others felt exposed
What surprised us, unsettled us, or made us rethink our own stance
No PR voice. No polite wrap-up. Just: Here’s what actually went down.
What happens here
Every PROVOKED story is built to answer two questions: Why does this matter to a midlife woman—and why now? Off-Script is where we dig into questions underneath:
Why this reaction?
Why this moment?
Why are we still so uncomfortable talking about this out loud?
This is editorial judgment meeting real-world response. We braid lived experience, unapologetic opinion, and cultural pattern-spotting. This is storytelling with the edit marks still showing.
What this is not
This is not a softer version of PROVOKED.
It’s not a diary.
It’s not “content about content.”
Off-Script is sharper because it’s closer to the truth. We don’t clean up the mess—we look at it. We don’t perform certainty—we interrogate it. We don’t chase consensus—we stay curious.
Who this is for
Off-Script is for women who:
Know the best conversations never happen onstage
Have lived long enough to appreciate nuance and tension
Don’t need to be coddled, explained to, or managed
Want to understand why things land the way they do
You don’t have to agree with us. But we expect you to stay engaged.
About Susan
I’m Susan Dabbar, founder and editor-in-chief of PROVOKEDmagazine. I’ve spent decades building, editing, shaping, and defending ideas—in rooms where I was often the only woman, and later, the oldest one.
I didn’t create PROVOKED because I wanted to write about aging. I created it because I refused to age out of relevance, curiosity, or power.
Off-Script is where I stop pretending any of this is tidy.
What to expect
Off-Script posts are:
Faster
Looser
More opinionated
Less polished
Think:
Editor’s debriefs
Cultural gut-checks
Reader reactions we didn’t see coming
The sentence we cut—and why
If something here makes you think, Wait … yes. That’s it.
You’re in the right room.
