Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy

Yasmine Mohammed, author of Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam, shares her story of growing up in a fundamentalist Islamic home in Canada. At 13, when she tried to report the abuse she suffered at the hands of her step-father, she was told by a judge “you come from a different culture, and that’s how your family chooses to discipline you, so we just have to accept that.” And here lies the inherent contradiction in the way in which the West views fundamentalist Islam versus other fundamentalist religions, and turns a blind eye to the abuse and suffering of millions of girls and women. She and Bridget discuss how alienating that is, the message those girls receive is “we don’t care about you, you are ‘other.'” They cover the escalation of rape culture, sexual harassment, the problems with celebrating the hijab, the indoctrination of attitudes towards girls and women in Muslim culture, and being called Islamophobic for criticizing a tool and system of oppression. They bond over shared traumatic experiences and discuss their belief that if you can use your own trauma to help others, it has not happened in vain. If you only ever listen to one episode of Walk-Ins Welcome, this is the episode.Full transcript available here: WiW53-YasmineMohammed-Transcript 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 finally convinced Cousin Maggie to share her story, from a rather idyllic childhood in a small town in Rhode Island, to being raised in a stable environment with active, involved parents, to having a certain expectation about the track her life would follow, until she was completely derailed by depression in college. They discuss the little known realities of suicidal depression, picking up the pieces, the journey back to “normal” and how falling apart wound up being completely freeing. Maggie talks about the warning signs she has to be aware of when she’s sliding into a dark place, how to counteract the slow creep of depression, and how she found her way to LA. They also cover the importance of setting boundaries in your life, the value of life coaches (even though the name is ridiculous), the battle against laziness, and the absolute necessity of maintaining a sense of humor about it all.Full transcript available here: WiW52-CousinMaggie-Transcript 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

Jamie Kilstein, stand-up comic and podcast host, sits down with Bridget to discuss his conversion from a woke, SJW, male feminist to a humbler and healthier version of himself. He shares the scars of being falsely accused of sexual misconduct, the fallout to his career and life, being suicidally depressed, and why he was basically taken down for being a self-righteous a**hole who everyone was willing to turn on. They cover being addicted to validation, being crazy in relationships, people who have teams and not principles, the importance of healthy male role models, and the struggles of losing friends to suicide. Jamie wonders when Republicans became funnier than Liberals, examines why he stays in toxic relationships so long, credits his improved mental health to no longer fighting with strangers online, and points out when you don’t offer people a path to redemption, you offer them a path to radicalization.Full transcript available here: WiW51-JamieKilstein-Transcript 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

Helen Pluckrose, one of the three authors of the Grievance Studies and editor-in-chief of Aero magazine, sits with Bridget to discuss the much richer role for women in history than the lenses by which we’re viewing them today, the contradictions in feminism and social justice activism, the argument against post-modernism, and the inherent problems with intersectionality. Helen talks about her own journey from a care assistant in hospitals, to getting a Masters in Early Modern Literature with a focus on religious writing by and about women, her conversion from a Christian to an atheist, and how she met James Lindsay and became involved in the Grievance Studies. It’s a fascinating conversation covering complex topics with a true master of critical theory. Helen helps breakdown the fundamental contradictions within intersectionality and offers Bridget a way to formulate a compassionate and rational response to the intersectional argument.Full transcript available here: WiW50-HelenPluckrose-Transcript 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

Comedian and actor Jim Gaffigan stops by to discuss the long and painful journey to a career in the entertainment industry, from studying finance at Georgetown, to taking improv classes so he can overcome his fear of speaking in meetings at the advertising agency where he worked, to falling in love with stand-up and watching everyone else in his comedy class find success before he did. Jim talks why failure is such a great teacher, getting lost in other people’s expectations, the creepy thing about doing press, and why he doesn’t want power. In his new movie, American Dreamer, he gets the chance to play against type with a complex character in a disturbing thriller, and he shares how he could relate to the delusions of his character, the American fantasy of the “quick fix,” and the rewards of being able to explore a dark character. He and Bridget marvel at Joe Rogan’s abilities, commiserate over the repressed rage of comedians, and reflect that more dangerous than cancel culture, is the growing trend of leaving people out of the discussion altogether.Full transcript available here: WiW49-JimGaffigan-Transcript  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 and Peter Boghossian have a conversation under the Colorado stars about the search for ultimate meaning in life, the denigration of reason, the loss of being able to wonder publicly, figuring out the best type of life to lead, and teaching people how to value the right things. Peter explains how bales of hay, lifting weights, and prison inmates got him started on his career path and led him to question whether you can fundamentally change the way people think about problems and the way they view morality. They cover street epistemology, the truth about “pecking orders,” the difference between rationalizing and reasoning, and the glorification of violence in our society. His book, How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide, co-written with James Lindsay, is a distillation of decades of study and offers the best ways to approach and have conversations with people who have different opinions and foster a climate of civility.Full transcript available here: WiW-PeterBoghossian-Transcript 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

Story Hour with Bridget Phetasy is a segment where Bridget reminisces with cousin Maggie and tells stories explaining who she is and how she got here. Full transcript available here: WiW47-AccidentalPundit-TranscriptThis week Bridget covers how she went from being the Playboy Advisor to an accidental pundit on Ben Shapiro’s Election Special. She can trace every opportunity she’s had since leaving waitressing behind to one thing – Twitter. The realization that Twitter is just like high school, with its cool kids and its cliques helped her understand it and how to use it to her advantage. She discusses using it to hone her writing and her wit, being blocked by Demi Moore, the wrath of Dane Cook and her first mobbing (you can read the essay here), and how Twitter helped her get sober. Hear about her first taste of virality with her essay Bill Cosby Raped Me… Kind Of, how she built her following and created her own community of people who offer support in some of her darkest moments. Her journey from Playboy to the Federalist was a direct result of the paradigm shift that occurred after Trump won the election. She honestly had no idea what she was getting into when it came to political commentary and being caught in the crossfire of the culture war. She wonders as much as anyone “How did I get 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

Glenn Beck is a conservative political commentator, radio host and television producer. He and Bridget discuss the early evolution of his career, his love affair with radio, the transition from CNN to Fox News, attending Yale at age 30, and mistakes he’s made along the way. They delve into the value of struggle and overcoming hardship, the cultural celebration of “victimhood,” how tribalism and the culture wars trick people into thinking that the problem is outside themselves, and the dangers of buying into your own fame. They explore the importance of being able to say “I don’t know,” the loss of compassion that occurs when we stop seeing the humanity of the people we disagree with, Glenn’s surprising conversion to Mormonism, and what he found in the depths of his most recent dark night of the soul.Full transcript available here: WiW46-GlennBeck-Transcript 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

Noah Rothman is an MSNBC and NBC New contributor, Associate Editor of Commentary Magazine, and author of the book Unjust: Social Justice and the Unmaking of America. He and Bridget have a fascinating conversation about the origins of the social justice movement, the fact that “social justice” as a term defies definition, the paradox of treating individuals unequally in order to achieve equality, and whether or not it’s just tribalism with a fancy name. They cover Noah’s early career in radio, how he got started as a writer, advice to writers seeking to make a career for themselves, dealing with imposter syndrome, and the ridiculousness of the office air conditioning sexism debate. They discuss the “outrage economy” cultural politics, bad faith interpretations of common idioms like “real man,” and how a self-destructive movement can do a lot of damage before it self-destructs.Full transcript available here: WiW45-NoahRothman-Transcript 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 is a stand-up comedian, co-host of popular podcast Guys We F@#ked, and co-author of the book F*cked: Being Sexually Explorative and Self-Confident in a World That’s Screwed, with creative partner, Krystyna Hutchinson. She and Bridget have a conversation that is surprisingly not all about sex, though that’s certainly covered. They also talk the small world of stand-up comedy, the joys of bombing during a stand-up set and the hidden skill involved, the impetus for the podcast and how it evolved into its anti slut-shaming message, what Donald Trump’s podcast would be like if he had one, the lunacy of “post-comedy”, and Corinne’s rule about cutting any joke from a set that gets more “clappter” than actual laughs. They delve into body dysmorphia, shame, society’s view of women in their 40s, experiencing second-hand trauma, and the dangers of the body positivity movement. Find out why Corinne is the Jane Curtain of sexuality and how the words “I’ll try anything once…” have led Bridget astray. 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