In Bed With The Right

For this episode of In Bed with the Right, Adrian and Moira return to the year 1933. They continue the story of how Hitler seized power, what it did to society, what it felt like to live through it, and -- as always -- what role gender and sexuality played in events. Reminder: We're going month by month for these episodes. This second installment covers March 15 to April 15.

When it comes to the protagonists of MAGA world, they -- like Roxette circa 1990 -- have THE LOOK. You know the one: hair that rises and crests like a mountain range, lips that are strangely beige and eyes that really show off how dead the person is on the inside. How did this style come to define the modern conservative aesthetic? What are its influences? What are its messages? Jessica DeFino (of The Review of Beauty fame) stops by In Bed with the Right to help Moira and a very lost Adrian make some sense of these and other questions.

The discussion dives into Germany's tumultuous 1933, focusing on how Hitler seized power. The hosts explore the rapid collapse of the Weimar Republic and increasing political violence. They highlight the role of antisemitism and the elite miscalculations that facilitated Hitler's rise. The narrative touches on Hitler’s assurances to military leaders and the immediate suppression of opposition rights. They also examine gender dynamics, including how early repression disproportionately targeted men while women found subtle ways to resist.

Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri, co-hosts of If Books Could Kill, dive into the life and impact of journalist Pamela Paul. They tackle the rise of 'reactionary centrism' and the evolving challenges in media commentary, unpacking the flaws in contemporary discourse. The duo critiques Paul's anti-woke stance and its effects on political narratives, while also humorously discussing the art of blending humor with serious journalism. Their wit shines as they navigate the absurdities of op-eds and the complexities of identity in today's polarized environment.

Moira and Adrian welcome historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez (Jesus and John Wayne) to talk about what happens to conservative "preacher" masculinity in the age of swaggering, crass and often libertine sexuality.

Roland Meyer, a professor of digital cultures and arts, explores the curious allure of AI-generated imagery, particularly among right-wing groups. He discusses how these images shape cultural and political narratives, often blending aspirational aesthetics with reality. Meyer critiques the biases in AI models and connects the homogenization of beauty standards to historical eugenics. The conversation touches on race representation in AI, societal pressures on femininity, and even humorously looks at an AI-generated Pope Francis image, revealing complex cultural clashes.

Annika Brockschmidt, a German journalist focused on U.S. conservatism, dives into the recent German elections that saw a significant rise in far-right support. She discusses the complex impact this has on Germany's political future and the unsettling parallels to mid-century extremism. The conversation explores the influence of American figures, shifting voter sentiments, and the internal struggles of major parties like the CDU. Annika also highlights the role of younger voters in reshaping political alliances amid evolving ideologies.

TW: This episode is almost entirely about a horrifying case of sustained and organized rape. On December 19, 2024 a court in Avignon, France convicted Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men of rape. It was the conclusion to a spectacular case and trial that galvanized (parts of) France. The victim, Gisèle Pelicot, chose to allow the trial to be public, flipping the script on the way France had thus far metabolized #MeToo: "shame", as Gisèle Pelicot put it, "has changed sides." Philosopher Manon Garcia attended the proceedings in Avignon, and now speaks with Moira and Adrian about what the case says about patriarchy, misogyny, masculinity and collective memory.

Moira and Adrian delve into the career and political trajectory of Mark Zuckerberg. From Facemash to The Facebook to the Metaverse to putting on an absurd amount of sunscreen, they trace Mark Zuckerberg's (and Silicon Valley's) complicated relationship to gender. They explore how data, platforms, innovation and disruption, and guiding Silicon Valley figures like the genius and the drop-out are gendered, and how Zuckerberg's trajectory both reflects this gendered hierarchy and its breakdown. [You can find Adrian's book What Tech Calls Thinking here.]

Donald Trump is issuing executive orders faster than people seem to be able to metabolize what's happening. And many of them have to do with gender, sexuality and wokeness! So Moira and Adrian turn to an expert -- Slate.com's intrepid legal reporter Mark Joseph Stern -- to make sense of at least some of the ones we know about in this special emergency episode. Check out Mark's article on the bizarre (and since possibly rescinded) "spending freeze" at Slate here, Adrian's run-down of the EO on gender affirming care here, and Moira's more hopeful note on the opposition all this will run into here.