In Bed With The Right

Gabe Winant, a historian focused on gender and class dynamics, joins the conversation to discuss J.D. Vance's political trajectory and his controversial memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy.' They unravel the cultural implications of Vance's narrative, critiquing its stereotypes and its simplistic portrayal of the white working class. Winant examines Vance's rise in the populist far right, the impact of social media on his campaigns, and the evolving political narratives surrounding race and class. Gender dynamics in labor movements also take center stage, revealing deeper societal tensions.

Adrian and Moira return for another episode on the life and works of Richard Wagner, investigating the radical political/philosophical influences that led him to some of the good, the bad, and the downright racist tropes in his operas.

For this live show, Moira and Adrian blinking step into the big world and come face to face with other human beings! Specifically Sarah Marshall of the amazing “You’re Wrong About” podcast, and an audience of 60 lovely people on Stanford’s campus. Together they discuss the life and times of Anita Bryant, OG anti-gay crusader—and why we’re still living in an America she helped shape.

Moira walks Adrian through the strange, tragic, enraging life of RFK Jr.—vaccine skeptic, presidential candidate, and literal brain worm survivor. Along the way, your hosts touch on Kennedy masculinity, American aristocracy, and the fine art of styling yourself as an outsider while the whole world can't stop deferring to you.

Adrian leads Moira through the life and career of composer Richard Wagner—a not-so-great man with some of world history's worst fans. Aesthetics, politics, revolutionary zeal that curdles into something far more ominous! This one is—as befits its source material—epic!

Samuel Catlin, a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University at Buffalo, dives into the American perception of college campuses and their stark differences from reality. He discusses how these spaces symbolize national anxieties and elite privilege while also reflecting deeper societal tensions. The conversation touches on the complexities of student activism, shifts in literary education, and the struggles educators face in addressing diverse student needs. Catlin argues that campuses are battlegrounds of liberal ideals and conservative fears, needing greater public support for education.

Moira and Adrian speak to political scientist Jeff Dudas about his 2017 book Raised Right: Fatherhood in Modern American Conservatism. The conversation touches on campus panics, Clarence Thomas's many father figures, and neoconservative failsons.

In this episode, Moira and Adrian delve into Judith Butler's latest book -- about the worldwide movement against "gender" and the role it plays in right-wing politics.

Moira guides Adrian through the strange, troubling world of tradwifery -- the latest trend in butter-churning, vaguely religious gender conservatism that's taken over your Instagram feed. Come for Adrian's immediate discomfort, stay for Moira's grand unifying theory that links Phyllis Schlafly, the #Girlbosses of the 2010s and unnervingly peppy women currently hand-weaving their childrens' sweaters for social media clout!

Adrian takes Moira into the wild, wildly misogynist and deeply depressing world of Otto Weininger (1880-1903). A posterchild for all manner of fin-de-siècle neuroses, to say nothing for massive quantities of self-hatred, Weininger may be a footnote today -- but he was deeply and weirdly influential in his own time.