Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy

Nathan Edmondson is a writer and President of EDGE, an ambitious counter-poaching and conservation organization devoted to the innovative preservation of African wildlife. They bring new technologies and US special operations tactics and expertise to develop counter-poaching initiatives. Bridget and Nathan discuss media coverage of extinction events, how he became involved in the conservation movement, and why increased cancer rates in south-east Asia have led to an explosion in rhino horn poaching. He explains that there’s a ticking clock on rhino extinction, which is absurd because it’s a solvable problem, how EDGE is involving local communities on the ground, and what you can do to help. Nathan describes bringing African rangers to train in the US for the first time in history, how they were able to see their actions through the eyes of the world and experience people looking at them as heroes. He talks getting the next generation into a conservationist mindset, making animals ambassadors for their species, and tells the story of his most terrifying moment in Africa. You can support EDGE 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

Christina Hoff Sommers is a former philosophy professor and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. She’s one of the Femsplainers on the podcast Femsplainers and has a series called the Factual Feminist on YouTube in which she corrects feminist myths within women’s and gender studies with truth and solid research. She and Bridget cover the disturbing rise of contempt within contemporary feminism, the appeal of Jordan Peterson, the erosion of Americans’ desire to protect free speech and democratic processes, why lack of gratitude is such a problem in our society, and the perceived sense of persecution and contagion of hysteria that is being taught in liberal educational systems. They discuss the infantalization of college students, going from common humanity (humanism) to common enemy (tribalism), the attack on centrists, and the fact that history is one long lesson in the dangers of dogma mixed with moral zealotry, distortion and bad information – it leads to fanaticism. They also cover the gender debate, the power dynamics between girls and boys, and why Harvard should have known better. It’s a fascinating conversation and definitely one you shouldn’t miss! 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

Kassy Dillon is a staff writer for the Daily Wire and founder of Lone Conservative a small organization that teaches college students how to become writers and funnels them to media outlets. She discusses being one of two known Republicans at her small all-girls, liberal arts college, how she got into politics, and recording the infamous “Trigglypuff” video which created the face of the “campus crazy” movement. She talks about her trip to Iraq last year with a group including an Orthodox Jew and an Israeli Jew (who proceeded to pass out Israeli flags, which is illegal in Iraq), and she and Bridget compare their travel experiences in legitimate patriarchal societies and how oppressive they are to women. They cover Gen Z’s obsession with Ben Shapiro, how learning other languages forces you to think in different ways, and Kassy’s experience winning the ACU’s Ronald Reagan Award. 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

Andrew Doyle is the man behind satirical Twitter account Titania McGrath – a radical intersectionalist, feminist, and slam poet, who is constantly telling people how oppressed she is – and author of Woke: A Guide to Social Justice. He and Bridget have a fascinating and important conversation about the dangers of taking art and comedy literally, how smart people are becoming stupid because of woke ideology, why self-censorship is a slippery slope, and they wonder when the left became such pearl-clutchers. They discuss winning the culture war by winning people over, rather than locking them up or making certain types of speech illegal, the fact that there’s nothing more likely to help the far right to grow than the way the far left are behaving, the dangers of eroding the distinction between right wing and alt right, and the problems with The Faith of Intersectionality. Should the word “douchebag” be considered ableist? Where did the idea that “speech is violence” come from? What is it like being tribeless in an increasingly tribal world? What is the path forward? Find out on this not-to-be-missed episode. 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

Aaron Schmidt grew up a military brat and met his wife, Kara Dawn, freshman year of high school when they were assigned to be lab partners. He talks wanting to be a college football coach but being the student manager of the UVA football team cured him of that desire, being raised Catholic, becoming a 7th grade English teacher, and then getting married, selling everything and hightailing it to LA because he and Kara could see the next 10 years of their lives mapped out before them. A series of odd jobs and a series of personal losses left him at loose ends until he found a passion to pursue in Gorucks that ultimately led him to join the Army Reserves as a psychological operations specialist two years before the cutoff for enlistment. He and Bridget have an honest and revealing discussion about being mission-oriented, the hard work of a successful marriage, overcoming loss and aimlessness, and the 4 tenets of his personal ethos. 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

With the Woo Review, Bridget introduces her audience to all things New Age. From astrology, to tarot, to sound baths, to reiki, Bridget shares her hippie side with her listeners.This week’s guest, Anne, discusses her addiction to psychics and how over the course of two and a half years she spent an estimated $60,000 on psychic readings. Anne covers how she got started, why being in love with a musician kept her going back, how her psychic was a force for positive change, but ultimately how her addiction to psychics became a replacement for a higher power in her life. Bridget shares her own psychic abilities, how she learned to hide them young, the time she realized she was being haunted by a ghost dog, and her own spiritual journey of finding God when she went off Twitter for Lent. Both recovering alcoholics, they delve into a deep discussion about addiction in general, the bravery of people in 12 step programs who must confront harsh truths about themselves every day, self-actualization, owning your own story, and wrestling with the fact that even if you come from privilege it does not mean you’re not entitled to your pain – everyone’s pain is relevant and unique. 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: WiW27-StoryHour3-TranscriptThis story hour comes as a result of several requests. Bridget covers her history with the restaurant industry – across the country, in small towns and big cities. Find out why being a hostess isn’t as easy as one might think, why you should never go out to eat when you’re starving, and why Bridget loved being a busser (hint: you don’t have to talk to the customers). Tales told also include, losing her virginity to someone inappropriate, her brilliant strategy for skipping school and how it all came crashing down, which famous singer grabbed her ass at Sundance, and Bridget’s secret true passion in life. 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

Scotty Landes – TV comedy writer (Workaholics), horror movie writer (Ma), man about town – trades stories with Bridget about travel, odd jobs, and writing something weird enough to get a job offer out of it. They discuss the privilege of doing what you love for a living but the downside is that your muse becomes a mule, how to take notes on your writing, the escape of making up a world, and how Scotty’s retirement plan is to be an old man bartender with a Golden Girls kind of living situation. They cover how to talk about travel without sounding like a dick, Bridget’s moments of deep existential loneliness that always appear on the heels of unique moments of spectacular awe, recognizing the pivot points in life, the joys of road-tripping solo, and putting career before relationships. Chock full of inspiration for people following unconventional paths, Scotty offers advice, and encouragement, but is also realistic about the importance of setting deadlines when it comes to making dreams come true. 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

Josh Schollmeyer, co-founder, and editor of MEL magazine, talks with Bridget about the meaning of modern masculinity in a changing world, constructively channeling your rage, and how kids movies are more traumatizing for children than adult movies. They also cover Josh’s years working in a lumber yard to learn the value of hard work, how he got access to Hugh Hefner’s private scrapbook collection when he was in college, and how learning to be fine with being humiliated is a crucial part of success. Josh covers his years working for Playboy, how he tried to be an agent for change but was also complicit at a time when the brand was giving in to its worst impulses, and how the chip on his shoulder over the events that forced him out of Playboy became fuel for his drive to succeed. Now with MEL, Josh discusses figuring out how to talk to men in the wake of #metoo and that one of the big problems he sees is not just a battle of the sexes, but that men are not talking to each other. 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

Amy Alkon, Advice Goddess and author of “science-help book” Unf*ckology, drops in for a fascinating conversation with Bridget about living in the modern age with Stone Age brains, the evolutionary importance of social status and why “thirstiness” is such a turn-off, and how her career giving advice began as a joke when she stood on a street corner in New York holding a “Free Advice” sign and people began to line up. They cover the social importance of guilt and shame, getting comfortable with discomfort, that self-esteem is a monitoring system to help you figure out where you stand socially, and the fact that we’re living under mob rule and we don’t even realize it. Finally, don’t miss Amy’s theory that if you imagine the worst thing that can happen to you is your kitchen appliances coming to life at night and hacking you to death, you should be able to put small things like feeling awkward and looking stupid in social situations into perspective. 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