Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy

Corey DeAngelis is the director of School Choice at Reason Foundation and the Executive Director at Educational Freedom Institute. Corey and Bridget discuss school choice, which would mean allowing a tax payer’s education dollars to follow their child to wherever they’re getting their education – public school, private school, or charter school – rather than automatically being paid to their local school district. They delve into the effects of Covid and how families are seeing their school system leaving them high and dry while still getting their children’s education dollars, why school choice would be good for individual teachers, and where the money being poured into the school system is actually going. They also cover why this shouldn’t be a partisan issue since it’s a market-based reform in education and an equalizer in society, and they explore some of the arguments against school choice. Don’t miss Corey’s book School Choice Myths: Setting the Record Straight on Education Freedom. 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

Doug Schoen (author & campaign consultant) drops in to discuss his most recent book The End of Democracy?: Russia and China on the Rise, America in Retreat. He and Bridget have a frank conversation about the fact that we are so divided in this country we are failing to pay attention to the larger threats of Russian and Chinese influence in the world. They cover how a lack of common purpose and a failure to recognize the challenges we face in America puts us at risk, the damage caused by putting politics ahead of the greater good of the country, and the fact that if the US abandons the global stage, other countries will turn to Russia and China who are only too happy to intervene in ways that put our country’s interests at risk. They acknowledge how helpless individuals can feel in the face of such large-scale problems and how we must unite as a country behind some of our core principles, such as liberty and freedom of speech, if we are to have a hope of maintaining national resilience and international influence. 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

Karol Markowicz (New York Post, Spectator USA, Time) and Bridget discuss the effect of the pandemic in NYC, how nobody in California seems to be able to connect policies they hate and the people they’re voting for, why large portions of immigrant communities love Trump, looking back and seeing their own blindspots going into 2016, and the best and worst case scenarios for how the 2020 election might go. They cover the future of the Democratic party, why Karol tries to bring up the fact that she’s a conservative very early in a conversation with a new person, whether she fears for her safety being an outspoken conservative in a liberal place, and why she doesn’t worry about what she’s going to tell her grandchildren about who she voted for. 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 & Maggie reminisce about 100 episodes of Walk-Ins Welcome. What they love, what they’ve learned, favorite episodes, and they marvel at their unprecedented consistency. They explore Bridget’s gift of gab and her genuine love for talking to people (inherited from their grandmother), discuss the need for a Hero’s Journey and how lost we can become without one, and plan for the future and what they’d like to see happen for the podcast and Phetasy. Become a subscriber at phetasy.com or make a donation and support another 100 episodes! 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

David French (The Dispatch, Time) stops in to talk about his latest book Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. He and Bridget cover how he sources his news, the liberation of shedding the partisan mindset and meeting in the wasteland of the center, the rise of journavism, being expelled from your tribe, taking precautions against being “swatted” by online trolls, and the times they wonder if it’s worth it. They discuss the differences between this election and 2016, take issue with the idea of voting for “the lesser of two evils” when the response should be “don’t vote for evil,” examine how our rage and hatred are what will destroy our country, and ask the question, what kind of country do we aspire to and how should I behave as a human being to try and reach this aspiration? 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

Colin Quinn (stand-up comic, actor, writer, Saturday Night Live alum) stops in to talk about his book Overstated – A Coast-to-Coast Roast of All 50 States, and he and Bridget manage to cover, the election, why Bridget should be a criminal profiler and write a book about U-Haul rentals, Colin’s plans for modern-day Constitutional Conventions, the fact that everybody’s crazy now and nobody seems to notice, and they compare psychic experiences (Colin’s involves OJ Simpson). They discuss how odd it is that our society has reached a place where people on the extreme left and right give people in the middle sh*t rather than vice versa, Colin’s elaborate plan to become best friends with Jeff Bezos, how he almost starred in Crocodile Dundee 2, why giving your opinion can be very expensive, and learning the meaning of the word “consequences.” 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

Felecia Killings is the founder and visionary of the Conscious Conservative Movement which wants to empower people who are looking to expand the authentic conservative space, and to go back to the principles of conservatism and spiritual understanding. She and Bridget delve into the complex topic of Black Conservatism, what it looks like today, why Felecia was primarily getting attacked by black conservative influencers, the fact that the black community is not a monolith, and that a lot of people in that community are politically homeless at the moment. They discuss the history of the Republican Party and black voters, where Felecia thinks opportunities are being missed to reach black communities, why fellowship, knowing history, and asking questions that leave aside the talking points is a better way to do things than the current strategies, and why people on the fringes of both parties are the ones that get the attention and the platforms. Learn more about the movement and Felecia’s body of work at feleciakillings.org. 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

In some sense the United States was an innovation, a bold experiment that turned into a spectacular success. According to Bret Weinstein, this success is proof of concept, and the system devised has been wildly successful at producing well-being, though unfairly distributed to certain population groups. The solution is not to un-invent the system, it’s to figure out how to correct the unfairness. The system needs an adjustment. Bret believes that Unity 2020 is our way to break the corrupt duopoly holding this country in gridlock and sowing division between Democrats and Republicans. A biologist and evolutionary theorist, Bret’s background is in studying complex systems and the evolution of humans in particular. He outlines his innovative and bold plan to galvanize disaffected voters, force both parties to meet in the middle and affect a lasting change in the way this country is governed. Will it work in 2020? Is there time? If not, what can we hope for in the future? 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

Katie Herzog (podcast host Blocked and Reported) and Bridget have a hilarious conversation that covers everything from Katie’s multiple drunken bicycle accidents, to Bridget’s being put on male-restriction when she was in rehab for heroin. They talk addiction, alcoholism, their first exposure to gender pronouns, teaching yoga in Sri Lanka, The Babes of NPR, and how your darkest moments can lead to new opportunities. Katie shares her many failures in holding down a job before working her way into freelance writing, and how an article on Detransitioning in The Stranger made her one of the most hated people in Seattle. 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

Ben Shapiro (editor-in-chief for The Daily Wire, host of The Ben Shapiro Show) and Bridget discuss going viral for stupid reasons, how Republicans don’t fight on a cultural level and Democrats do, their impressions of Hamilton, why the book White Fragility is biggest load of horsesh*t in the history of the world, why you should never cross Beyoncé fans, and what led him to write his latest book How to Destroy America In Three Easy Steps. They cover who his pick for president would be if Trump wasn’t running, the dangers inherent in the fact that people think the status quo will never change, why being too secure in your career is a big mistake, Ben’s predictions for what will happen if Trump wins or loses, and his burgeoning career as rap artist B. Shap. 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