
American Fever Dream
From under the desk to in your ears, V. Spehar joins Betches Media in a new podcast dedicated to curing the collective malaise brought on by our chaotic political environment. Every week, Spehar and co-host Sami Sage will tenderly guide you through the biggest moments in politics and pop culture with a healing dose of perspective and humor. Rather than spiral over the latest unprecedented event, the hosts dig for the 2024 political tea you *really* want to hear while offering all the information you need to be an empowered citizen, without the side of despair to keep you up at night.For constant news updates, sign up for the Sup email newsletter at betches.com/newsletters and follow us on Instagram at @betches_news. And follow V on TikTok and Instagram @underthedesknews.Watch American Fever Dream On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebetchesnews
Latest episodes

Jan 19, 2023 • 43min
#823 Jacinda Ardern’s Radical Resignation
Hosts: Amanda, Milly, and AliseTopics:
Alec Baldwin and crew members on “Rust” are charged with involuntary manslaughter. How might this change incentives for filmmakers who cut corners?
George Santos’ other life as a drag performer in Brazil. How far will his denials go?
Jacinda Ardern announces her resignation and we reflect on how she embodied a new kind of empowered feminism, and why more politicians should step down when they’re tired
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Jan 18, 2023 • 35min
#822 The Blue State In Its Flop Era
Hosts: Amanda, Sami, KaitlinTopics:
A failed Republican candidate for state government orchestrated shootings at Democrats’ houses. No one died, but we explain the real tragedy.
Why people are mad about Governor Kathy Hochul’s controversial judge nomination in New York
Why is Eric Adams at the border wall?
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Jan 17, 2023 • 42min
#821 The (Wrong) Way Of Water?
Hosts: Amanda, MillyTopics:
Weekend catch-up and empty Republican statements on MLK Day
Reflecting on the depictions of colonization in “Avatar: The Way Of Water” as the film nears $2 billion in global earnings
Unpacking James Camerons’ 2009 comments that Native American tribes could have “fought harder” to resist
What to know about this week’s debt ceiling showdown and the unusual ways Biden can get around it
Can Janet Yellin mint a $2 trillion coin?
Check out our latest promo codes here: https://betches.com/promos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 16, 2023 • 38min
#820 The Anti-Abortion-Extremist-To-Insurrectionist Pipeline
Hosts: Amanda, Lizz Winstead, co-creator of “The Daily Show,” Abortion Access Front, and Feminist Buzzkills Live! podcastTopics:
Republicans are on a mission to rescue the nation’s most vulnerable kitchen appliance
Abortion Access Front’s revolutionary approach to expanding reproductive justice
How keeping track of abortion extremists led them to expose January 6 insurrectionists
The deep cruelty of the House GOP’s first anti-abortion rights legislation
Missouri spends its first day of government discussing… what?!
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Jan 12, 2023 • 50min
#819 Appropriation Station
Hosts: Amanda, Milly, AliseTopics:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s bizarre first order of business as Governor of Arkansas
How “Mike’s” are running Congress
Gwen Stefani gives a painful interview to Allure identifying as Japanese
The popularity of Black hair products among white women raises questions about appreciating a product vs. restricting access for those it was made for
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Jan 11, 2023 • 43min
#818 Classified Documents Back In The Spotlight
Hosts: Amanda, Kaitlin, SamiTopics:
Jim Jordan’s fulls his anti-FBI fantasy with an alarming new House subcommittee
Reacting to the timing of Rep. Katie Porter’s announcement for Senate
How to explain why Joe Biden’s classified document’s issue is not the same as Trump’s
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Jan 10, 2023 • 40min
#817 Rules Of Disengagement
Hosts: Amanda, Milly, Nelini StampTopics:
The latest investigations into George Santos’ latest scams. Is the clock ticking on his time in Congress?
Unpacking Republicans’ new employee handbook
Why is Marjorie Taylor Greene choosing now to distance herself from QANON?
Reacting to a real housewife’s six-year prison sentence
The early 2023 elections to watch
Nelini Stamp is the national director of strategy for the Working Families PartyCheck out our latest promo codes here: https://betches.com/promos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 9, 2023 • 45min
#816 CSPAN Meets Fight Club
Hosts: Amanda, Sami, AliseTopics:
Recapping the final, explosive day of voting for the Speaker of the House on Congress
How close were grown men from *really* coming to blows?
How voters will react to the GOP’s botched first week on the job
Prince Harry’s memoir: radical transparency, or oversharing?
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Jan 5, 2023 • 56min
#815 America, Unplugged
Hosts: Amanda, Milly, AliseTopics:
Why it’s so emotionally gratifying to watch a prolonged Republican humiliation
Discussing the fate of the House Speakership as we watch Kevin McCarthy lose his seventh vote
Unpacking the intense fight between Prince Harry and his brother William. Plus, our reactions to the Meghan and Harry documentary.
Then, Congressman Jimmy Gomez joins with his fourth-month-old son Hodge to share being a new dad in Congress, when parenting schedules go awry, and how this week’s events highlight the contrast between the parties.Check out our latest promo codes here: https://betches.com/promos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 4, 2023 • 30min
#814 We Need To Talk About Kevin
Hosts: Amanda, Kaitlin, SamiTopics:
Reacting to the many rounds of historic humiliation for Kevin McCarthy and why his dream of Speaker of the House is very likely doomed
What the disarray signals about the next two years of GOP House “leadership”
Check out our latest promo codes here: https://betches.com/promos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices