Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy

Konstantin Kisin (Triggernometry) sits down with Bridget to discuss his new book, An Immigrant's Love Letter To The West . They have a fascinating conversation about their jobs as culture war commentators, how it affects them, how to push back thoughtfully and not wind up in a crazy place, how he processes Ukraine since he has family both there and in Russia, trying to explain to people in the West how people not in the West are thinking, and how to communicate a message that's easier for people to hear. They also cover the best way to be productive, the joys of Substack, where distrust of mainstream media can lead people, why real privilege is 21st century privilege, and countering narratives that are fundamentally destructive to Western civilization.  This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.phetasy.com/subscribeSupport the show

Bridget sits down with Grace Lidinsky-Smith, a detransitioned woman, to talk about her experience getting top surgery and then regretting it, the danger of always thinking about everything through the lens of gender, how knitting saved her, and her hard won knowledge that with time and patience things can actually improve. They discuss Grace's wish that therapy had advocated for her to slow down and do some more assessment of her situation, how people with gender dysphoria are being sold a bill of false goods that extreme measures are the solution to complex issues, the huge marketing machine around trans surgeries, and how you can't escape awkwardness when it comes to sex and sexuality no matter how hard you might try. Read Grace's writing on her substack Hormone Hangover.   This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.phetasy.com/subscribeSupport the show

Lenore Skenazy, co-founder and president of the Let Grow Project, joins Bridget to talk about the crisis of anxiety, depression, and passivity in kids today. Let Grow is devoted to giving kids back the independence they used to have before we had the ability to track their every move via an app. They discuss today's trend of rewriting all of childhood as if the kid is in extreme danger, why we have to recalibrate what we think kids can do, how the milk carton kids of the 80s warped the vision of childhood in America, and the incorrect idea that if you're always with your children or always supervising them then nothing bad can happen to them. They also cover the importance of free play in a child's development, kids feeling insulted, fragile, hurt and unsafe when they are simply uncomfortable and unused to dealing with these feelings, magical thinking vs. tragical thinking, the weird paradox of being entitled and infantalized at the same time, and the fact that when adults step back, kids step up. To learn more about the Let Grow homework projects, if you would like your school to implement the Let Grow Project or Play Club, and to find out about their speaking engagements, click the links below:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHqU9r3f4NE&t=4s https://letgrow.org/program/educational-resources/ https://letgrow.org/program/have-us-speak/ This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.phetasy.com/subscribeSupport the show

Rikki Schlott, co-host of the Lost Debate podcast, joins Bridget as a representative of Gen Z. They discuss coming of age during the Trump years - a time when political polarization reached a fever pitch - and then how a pandemic changed the established norms on them. They cover Rikki's path after leaving college due to the pandemic, how she wants to bring a voice to the centrist Gen-Z perspective that exists but isn't reflected at all in media or social media, her worries about her generation's hostility to different vantage points and opinions, how her dad keeps her connected to a broader sense of history, her disillusionment with both the left and the right, and how the pandemic liberated a lot of young people from the achievement loop that they were stuck in, but also robbed them of very formative experiences in their lives. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.phetasy.com/subscribeSupport the show

Arielle Isaac Norman is a comic and podcaster who sits down with Bridget to talk about what being a "gold star" lesbian means in today's shifting landscape of gender fluidity. They discuss feeling like males in female bodies, how prioritizing the concept of gender identity over biological reality in women's sports doesn't make sense, why we should all be taking lessons from birds, and how Arielle has been threatened with ostracization from the queer community for voicing her opinions. They also cover Joe Rogan as a force of nature, cancelling the word "gypsy," how certain people learn the new rules of language before everyone else, Arielle being told she should be okay with dick, and why baby headbands might be the downfall of Bridget's marriage. Check out Arielle's podcast Politically Non-Binary .  This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.phetasy.com/subscribeSupport the show

Douglas Murray, author and associate editor of The Spectator, sits down with Bridget to talk about his latest book The War on The West. He and Bridget discuss how we're basically living through an assault on the principles of the Western tradition of the Enlightenment that were fundamental in our society, how our media landscape rewards the highly ignorant, the incredibly ugly race debate we're being lured into, why resentment doesn't get us anywhere, the difference between resentment and injustice, and how to stay off the crazy bus. They also cover the race debate around math, science and tests, why they dislike identity politics, permissable bigotries, why the unknowability of other people is a very important thing to keep in mind, how the answer to resentment is gratitude, and everything we have to be grateful for in our modern world. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.phetasy.com/subscribeSupport the show

Jessica Keenan is a stand-up comic who's pregnant with identical twins. She and Bridget sit down to discuss their shared breathing problems, Jessica's concern that she won't be able to tell her sons apart, being pregnant "old ladies" and what that means for raising their kids, the realization that worrying about the baby is never going away, the lifelong commitment of parenthood, and how feeling at war with themselves is one of the the hardest parts of pregnancy. They also cover Jessica's experience growing up in Vegas, how she got into comedy, how people who become comics obviously don't think that decision through, being desperate to be one of the "cool kids," their own expectations for their lives and how they both had to come to terms with settling down and stability after being so free. Check out Jessica's comedy special on HBO Max, Entre Nos: What She Said .  This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.phetasy.com/subscribeSupport the show

Bridget sits down with Dr. Sally Satel for a conversation about political correctness in medicine and what it's doing to doctors and patient care. They discuss the premise that a doctor of a different race can't understand you, what it means in medicine when every difference in outcome is inevitably attributed to systemic racism, how implicit bias does not translate into how people interact with each other, and how political correctness as an orthodoxy is intended to maintain a victim status. They cover the opioid crisis, addiction, recovery, how it's a miracle anyone ever gets sober, categorizing addiction as a disease, focusing on stupid cosmetic stuff in the face of overwhelming problems, why addict patients must take an active role in their own care and recovery, and what information and knowledge is being displaced by CRT training in medical schools. Learn more about Sally here.  This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.phetasy.com/subscribeSupport the show

The Lost Debate team, Ravi Gupta, Cory Bradford & Rikki Schlott, sit down with Bridget to discuss the mission behind The Lost Debate podcast program and the intention to create a space and media company that brings different people together to have conversations. They discuss how they all wound up working together, why they try not to speak to their audience's biases, the rise of the phrase "I don't agree with everything you say," reaching people outside of their silos, trying to present nuance while trying to be real at the same time, going international, and taking their responsibility to sift through the evidence and give as accurate a report as possible seriously. They also cover sticking to satire and not insult, how intolerant people are becoming of differing views, how the duopoly does not represent the younger generation of Americans who are increasingly very purple, their rule about the "both sides" argument, and trying to capture the youth before they get radicalized. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.phetasy.com/subscribeSupport the show

Clifton Duncan (actor, writer & podcaster) stops in to discuss his path to culture war commentator, much the same as Bridget's. They discuss why you have to be kind of crazy to be an actor, the problems within the entertainment industry, how artists seem to be more worried about appeasing their peers than reaching broader audience, and why people shouldn't be condescended to and called bigots and Nazis simply because they have different opinions. They also cover the arrogance of our society and its reliance on the technology we wield, how art can serve the same role as God - nourishing the spirit and touching the soul, how there's nothing beautiful or aspirational about the culture wars, why he doesn't need white progressives to be offended on his behalf, and how so many people shit on the working class and regular working people. Check out The Clifton Duncan Podcast or Clifton's substack Musings From The Apocalypse.  This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.phetasy.com/subscribeSupport the show