Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy

Mahri Irvine and Lauren Adams work for the Women's Liberation Front (WoLF). And they join Bridget to discuss their lawsuit against the state of California to protect single sex prisons and fight Senate Bill 132 which allows incarcerated men to be housed in women’s correctional facilities based on self-declared “gender identity.” They cover why women deserve and need single-sex spaces, the cultural ideology that got us here, why there's a disproportionate amount of anger being directed at women for trying to defend the legal definition of "women," how we're being asked to participate in a mass delusion in our society right now because people are worried about what other people will think of them, what the term "cotton ceiling" means, and the insanity that male sex offenders are currently eligible to transfer into women's prisons. To learn more about the lawsuit or to donate go here: https://www.womensliberationfront.org/chandler-v-cdcr 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

Michael Shellenberger, author of San Fransicko & Apocalypse Never, stops in to discuss the humanitarian crisis of addiction, mental illness, and homelessness happening in California right now. He and Bridget talk about how state-facilitated addiction camps are destroying the fabric of our cities, how supervised drug consumption sites work in other countries, how Fentanyl is crucifying a generation, what harm reduction actually means, why some people need to face jail time in order to get the help and independence they need, Michael's plan for policing, psychiatry & probation as an alternative to massive incarceration and massive homelessness, and why there's no reason California couldn't be a model for the world in terms of rehab programs and centers. Between the initial interview and its release Michael has announced that he is running for Governor of California to address these problems, and returns for a quick follow-up interview about his strategies to address the multitude of issues facing the state. Learn more about Michael's campaign here: https://www.shellenbergerforgovernor.com/join-now/ 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

Mónica Guzmán stops in to discuss her new book, I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times . She and Bridget discuss how whenever there are lots of people who stand on opposite sides of an issue that division has a reason for being there and we should strive to understand it, why belonging is the number one concern for most people, the tension between understanding and judgment, and why we should all just start with the baseline assumption of, "I'm probably wrong." They also cover finding common ground with people on a personal level, how severing ties amongst family members has a societal cost, how changing our mind about something big is almost like a death, therefore it can take a long time for our opinions to change about something big, learning how to be wrong, and small steps that people can take in their everyday lives to start having their own fearlessly curious conversations. 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

Corinne Fisher & Krystyna Hutchinson (Guys We F*cked: The Anti Slut-Shaming podcast ) drop in to discuss what they've learned about women and sexuality in the last 8 years doing their show. They share how Corinne's on a hunt for the truth, whether it will hurt her or not, and Krystyna's on the hunt for aliens and ghosts, why women are constantly throwing away their lives and acting like dumb bitches for trashy men, and how they deal with the second-hand trauma of reading countless sexual assault stories from their audience. They also cover the emergence of cancel culture, comedians being held to higher standards than politicians, a culture of fake apologies, how labels can be both freeing and prisons, and how feminism was sorely missing a sense of humor. Check out their debut special Our Special Day on their YouTube channel. 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

Johann Hari, author of Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention, is back to discuss the collapse of our ability to pay attention and the 12 factors that are causing it. He and Bridget discuss how being chronically distracted is twice as bad for your intelligence than being stoned, living in a perfect storm of cognitive degradation, the loss of our ability to focus on deep things, the privilege of being able to disconnect, and why it's not a coincidence that our attention has collapsed at the same time we're finding it impossible to solve our problems as a society. They also cover how to get into a flow state, what's going to happen 20 or 30 years from now if we don't restore children's attention, the pleasures of reconnecting, how social media was designed to destroy your attention and why it does not have to work the way it does right now, the way the incentives change when the business model changes, and why Johann thinks Bridget owes Brad Pitt an apology. Learn more about Johann at johannhari.com.   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

Ian Higgins, comedian, television host, one half of The Grade Cricketer, and representativ e of Australia, joins Bridget to discuss the severity of Australia's lockdowns and mandates. They cover the "island mentality," Australia's isolationist tendencies, the succession movement in Western Australia, why Australians are much more trusting of their government than Americans, and why most of the population supports the Covid measures put in place. They also discuss the politicization of the vaccine, the long term effects of the lockdowns on people and kids in particular, missing crucial years of your life when transitioning into adulthood, Novak Djokovic being kicked out of Australia, and why Aussies are mentally ill.  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

Meghan Murphy, journalist, and founder of Feminist Current, a feminist web site and podcast, sits down with Bridget to discuss the real world consequences of speaking out about gender identity, ideology & legislation, specifically as they pertain to women's rights, and the loss of safe spaces for women in our society. Meghan talks about being deplatformed, receiving death threats, not being published, losing friends, and ultimately moving to Mexico from Canada as a result of her public stance on this issue. They cover why gender roles and stereotypes do matter, taking feminism for granted, defending women's basic sex-based rights and protections, how women are being silenced and shunned for speaking up and men are being lauded and building audiences discussing the same topic, and how many feminists have been tricked into believing "women" is a dirty word.  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

Jenn Lyon (Claws, Justified) sits down with Bridget to discuss her path to acting, how being a preacher's daughter always made her feel like public property, getting kicked out of the first college she went to, her battle with an eating disorder, why she finally sought treatment, and her fear that being healthy would impede her ability to ever book another job. They discuss her role on Claws, why it's the best job she's ever had, why she embraces body neutrality over body positivity, their issues with intimacy, anxiety as a habit, how social media engenders despair, womens' universal struggle with shame and their bodies, and why we are terrible predictors of our own happiness and success. 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

Amanda Knox (exoneree, journalist & podcaster) is on a mission to reclaim her identity. She sits down with Bridget for a thoughtful and introspective conversation about how her identity, face, and name have come to define her in ways that were not in her control, and how she's defining her own world moving forward. They discuss how embracing complicated emotions allows you to have a better perspective, how she dealt with the stress and waiting during her trial process and jail time, what we do to cope, being turned into a symbol, and why we as a society should be better about allowing people to admit that they're wrong. They cover how entitled people feel to judge when they see someone going through something bad, the loss of the sense of humor and the ability to laugh at terrible things, returning to reality and getting reacclimated after prison, the absolute loss of control of being pregnant, and feeling like everything could be taken from her again. Check out her podcast Labyrinths with husband Christopher Robinson. 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

Kathleen Madigan has been a comic for more than 30 years. She takes a break from her Do You Have Any Ranch tour to sit down with Bridget and discuss their similar upbringings in large Irish Catholic families - which is basically like growing up in a roast battle - wondering what was wrong with small families and people who don't have cousins in every city, the fine art of speed eating, and why Kathleen is the expendable one in her family because she doesn't have kids. They cover when your Twitter account renders you unemployable, why TikTok feels like a bunch of coke heads, why you shouldn't be getting medical advice from comedians, and at what age you should kill your parents. For more information about Kathleen's tour schedule and her podcast, Madigans Pubcast, visit her website - kathleenmadigan.com.  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