Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy

Sarah Shahi returns to the podcast to talk about her newest show Sex/Life on Netflix. She and Bridget discuss the cultural impact of the show, the resonance it's had with women, sex as a character on the show, female sexuality, how little room there is for women to be messy in our society, the importance of sex, trust and devotion in a relationship, and taking a chance on yourself. They cover the trials and tribulations of breastfeeding, the difficulties of shooting nude scenes, why women are so hard on each other, Kim Kardashian's support of the show, and Sarah's story of tanking the initial audition for the role of Billie.  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

Jordan Harbinger, host of The Jordan Harbinger Show podcast, talks about being one of the first people in the podcasting space way back in 2006. He shares how he went from a law firm intern, to a networking coach/body language expert, to a dating guru, which led to accidentally starting a company. He and Bridget discuss the art of interviewing, their relationship with their listeners, the desire to build something big and impact people, where he turns when he's struggling, the good and bad of working for yourself, and why you should always keep moving forward and maintain your momentum no matter what kind of drama people try to pull you into. They also cover faith & spirituality, why you should always work with people whose strengths complement your weaknesses, the importance of long form podcasts for getting to the truth beneath the sound bites, and why podcasts will save the 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

Antonio García Martínez, author of Chaos Monkeys, stops in to talk about the ever-evolving role of social media and technology in our lives. He and Bridget discuss how everyone in media is basically a lunatic, the dangers of kids knowing tech better than their parents, the days when the internet wasn't an all-consuming thing, the effect Sex/Life has had on marriages, tech billionaires and San Francisco school board recalls, the art of sitting down and reading a book, what TikTok is doing to kids, oral culture vs visual culture, and why Bridget hated Clubhouse. They also cover being addicted to fear, your brain on tribalism, the real life impact that Twitter has on the culture, Bridget's latest moment of shame, and they nerd out together over their love of the book Mediated. Keep up with Antonio on his substack.   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

Jimbo Williams and Aristotle Sanchez are the founders and creators of La Ropa, one of the most popular streetwear brands in the US. They sit down with Bridget to tell their story, from an art collective in Toronto, to couch surfing in New York, to the Great American Road Trip that brought them to LA. They describe operating a business while they were homeless, their lack of a Plan B, their endless ambition, and the their vision for the future of the company. They cover what older people get wrong about their generation, their desire to stay independent, how they learned to prioritize, the art of the hustle, Ralph Lauren, American stereotypes, the value of taking martial arts as children, breaking the 4th wall of fashion, and why La Ropa is always going to be an illustration of 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

John McWhorter, author of Nine Nasty Words: English In The Gutter - Then, Now and Forever , sits down for a fascinating and fun conversation with Bridget. They discuss the appeal of swear words, the evolution of language, the rise of "like" and "literally," the arc of curse words from blasphemy, to the body, to slurs, and evaluate Critical Race Theory from both sides of the argument. They examine the difference between teaching people to think and telling them what to think, how the term "racist" is now being used as a bludgeon to enforce a kind of ideological lockstep, why the victimization mindset has become so popular, share their stories of their first curse words, and discuss why you can't get what you want by calling people white supremacists on Twitter. Check out John's writing at johnmcwhorter.substack.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

Carol Roth is a leading business advisor, 'recovering' investment banker, and author of bestselling book The Entrepreneur Equation. She stops by to discuss her latest book, The War on Small Business: How the Government Used the Pandemic to Crush the Backbone of America . She and Bridget cover the effect of the pandemic on small businesses and what that means for our economy, what happens when you have such a consolidation of power, the nationalization of school debt, our economic relationship with China, inequality by government mandate, how the regulation on businesses is killing savers and retirees, when people are punished for being poor, and why the only people who have ever gotten rich off the government dole are politicians. Carol explains why good intentions don't always lead to good outcomes, why the legal system might be our saving grace, the interconnectedness within our systems, and that if you want to continue enjoying your freedoms, then it's your responsibility to protect them. 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

Former US Congressman, Justin Amash, gives us an inside look on the inner workings of Congress and the fact that people in Washington aren't actively trying to harm people, it's just that they mostly don't care. He and Bridget discuss the difficulty of having a free society when everyone's angry and hostile with each other, why the use of the word "defend" is problematic, the importance of focusing on process in government, why fixing the process is only going to happen from external pressure because all internal attempts to effect change have failed or fallen apart, why most politicians have no interest in upending the system so they just follow the leader, and why the Speaker of the House basically operates like a dictator. They cover term limits, decentralization, Libertarianism, how each side of the aisle has used their power in a dictatorial fashion, how media outlets continue to fail us, the credibility crisis in America, the insanity of spending bill votes, why government functionality depends on independent media, and why Washington is basically Hollywood for ugly people.  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

Jonathan Haidt (The Coddling of the American Mind , The Righteous Mind ) is a social psychologist who believes that we're currently suffering from Wisdom Deprivation Disorder. He and Bridget analyze how the "like" and "retweet" functions changed the face of social media - and eventually the mainstream media, why wokeness makes it impossible to do anything, the costs of speaking up with common sense, the warping of our entire information ecosystem, and why so many businesses are really leaving Silicon Valley. They discuss the difference between resilience and anti-fragility, the victimhood economy, why everyone should read the Stoics before they get on Twitter, the skyrocketing rates of depression and anxiety in Gen Z, what the loss of unsupervised free play does to children, why this is an incredibly interesting time to be a social scientist, and Jonathan's plan to help people flourish in an age of anxiety.   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

Bari Weiss is a journalist (New York Times, Wall Street Journal) and author of How to Fight Antisemitism. She and Bridget have an in-depth conversation about how full personhood is not possible on the internet, faux outrage and what it's doing to us, the explosion of independent media, the dangers of exploring TikTok, and why the end of Trump's presidency means you're suddenly you're allowed to say things that have never stopped being true. They discuss what to do when you notice you're self-censoring, the potential for being de-platformed, how quickly our brains deny the reality of something terrible happening, how Jews are the obvious victims of antisemitism but the wider victim is the society infected by it, intersectionality, race, the dangers of focusing on whiteness, and why Bari believes that the fight of our lifetimes is the fight against illiberalism. Don't miss Bari's new podcast Honestly . 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

Glenn Greenwald (No Place To Hide , Securing Democracy ) shares the journey that led him to Brazil, how he met his husband, what led him to the path he's on, and why tries to make sure he's always open to people who challenge his convictions. He and Bridget discuss their shared mistrust of authority, why the acceptance of gay marriage accelerated so rapidly, living outside of America and how it influenced his perspective & writing, the dangers of going against your audience's tastes, and why the impulse to appeal to an authority figure to fix everything is a bad thing. They cover Operation Car Wash, how not being wedded to an ideological dogma engenders trust, why the length of Joe Rogan's podcasts is important, when you don't even realize you're self-censoring, the mental health crisis in the West, the differences between the way China flexes and the US flexes, the joylessness that has arisen on the left, and where to find independant journalism these days.  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