

Make Your Damn Bed
Julie Merica
@MYDBpodcast is a bite sized, real talk, daily motivation podcast to play while you make your bed every morning. Build momentum - better your life.Each episode is around 10 minutes and intended to encourage, motivate, and inspire you to get out of bed - so you can start making it! Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.All content, including text, graphics, images and information, is for general information purposes only. This content is presented on an "as-is" basis.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 3, 2025 • 10min
1408 || tear gas protocol
Remember, if you stay prepared, you don't have to get prepared. If you're tear gassed: Get out of the cloud of tear gas and away from the general area as soon as you can. Seek high ground. Walk, don’t run. Running may cause you to breath more heavily, filling your lungs with more tear gas. Try to keep breathing even.If your eyes have been exposed and are burning or blurry, flush them with water immediately. Try not to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. Use water from your water bottle to flush. If you can find an open drinking fountain or sink in a public restroom, flush your eyes with water for 10 to 15 minutes.There is no evidence that baking soda or milk is better than cool water alone. There is one small randomized controlled trial that found that baby shampoo is no better than water. Using baby wipes or makeup wipes if water is not immediately available may cause increased irritation.If possible, and you are not affected yourself, help others by moving them to a clean and ventilated area.Do not try to remove the tear gas canisters, as doing so may put you at an increased risk for further harm and injury.Protest Preparedness: https://www.hrc.org/resources/tips-for-preparedness-peaceful-protesting-and-safetyKnow Your Rights: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights Digital Security Checkup: https://securityinabox.org/en/Tear Gas Protocol: https://phr.org/our-work/resources/preparing-for-protecting-against-and-treating-tear-gas-and-other-chemical-irritant-exposure-a-protesters-guide/DONATE:www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 2, 2025 • 10min
1407 || protest preparedness
Before the Protest:Burner Phone: Ditch smartphones (or remove batteries, use Faraday bags). Use encrypted apps (Signal, but assume it’s compromised).Buddy System: Assign check-in times with someone not at the protest. Share arrest plans (e.g., lawyer’s contact).Write Emergency Contacts on Skin: In Sharpie, under clothing. Cops tend to confiscate bags/phones.During the Protest:Masks & No Distinctive Clothing: Cover tattoos, wear generic attire. Hands Visible, No Sudden Moves: Assume any interaction with police could escalate. Locate Medics: Find them early. Know basic first aid for tear gas (cool, clean water works best).If Arrested:Say ONLY: “I want a lawyer.” Never talk to cops.Expect Isolation: Authorities aren't the good guys, designate an external person to sound alarms if you're arrested.Protest Preparedness: https://www.hrc.org/resources/tips-for-preparedness-peaceful-protesting-and-safetyKnow Your Rights: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights Digital Security Checkup: https://securityinabox.org/en/Tear Gas Protocol: https://phr.org/our-work/resources/preparing-for-protecting-against-and-treating-tear-gas-and-other-chemical-irritant-exposure-a-protesters-guide/DONATE:www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 1, 2025 • 10min
1406 || whimsy and humor as resistance
"There are no exact guidelines. There are probably no guidelines at all. The only thing I can recommend at this stage is a sense of humor, an ability to see things in their ridiculous and absurd dimensions, to laugh at others and at ourselves, a sense of irony regarding everything that calls out for parody in this world. In other words, I can only recommend perspective and distance. Awareness of all the most dangerous kinds of vanity, both in others and in ourselves. A good mind. A modest certainty about the meaning of things. Gratitude for the gift of life and the courage to take responsibility for it." - Václav Havel “Nothing can burst the balloon of pomposity and dictatorial rhetoric better than comedy. Comedy brings religious persecutors, dictators and tyrants to their knees faster than any other weapon.” - Mel BrooksTHE RESOURCES: Mel Brooks Interview: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/podcast/comedy-writer-mel-brooks/The Politics of Humor: https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/whose-laughter-which-comedyTheories of Humor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humorManifesto: Mad Farmer Liberation Front: https://cales.arizona.edu/~steidl/Liberation.htmlVáclav Havel: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_HavelWhimsy in the Face of Fascism: https://pshares.org/blog/domestic-whimsy-in-the-face-of-fascism/Humor against Hitler: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190829-how-britain-fought-hitler-with-humourGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 31, 2025 • 9min
1405 || manufacturing consent
This month's patreon episode is about: Raw milk, Instagram Face, and Manufactured Consent: The relationship between the rise in homogeny, purity culture, and conservatism; and how we can reclaim our agency. The culture of “anti-cringe”, leads to a fear of standing out, which pushes us towards not just one type of look, but one type of ideology as well.This pipeline, which mass-produces conformity, is exactly what authoritarian systems crave. Purity politics and rising conservatism aren’t just eroding individuality—they’re manufacturing consent for control. When we dress, look, crave, and think the same, we become self-policing agents of the authoritarian state. They don’t need to enforce rules; we do it for them. And when we do the work for them, we become much easier to control. “THE MASS MEDIA SERVE AS A SYSTEM FOR COMMUNICATING messages and symbols to the general populace. It is their function to amuse, entertain, and inform, and to inculcate individuals with the values, beliefs, and codes of behavior that will integrate them into the institutional structures of the larger society. In a world of concentrated wealth and major conflicts of class interest, to fulfil this role requires systematic propaganda.”These 5 filters (ownership, revenue, sourcing, flak, and fear) ensure that the media marginalizes alternative viewpoints and reinforces the status quo and though they were talking about television media, news, advertisements, and movies, much of the same implications can be applied to the media we consume on the internet. In a lot of ways, the internet didn’t just continue the propaganda model—it optimized it.Edward S. Herman + Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent: https://chomsky.info/consent02/Wiki for Manufacturing Consent: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_ConsentBuy the book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/78912/manufacturing-consent-by-edward-s-herman-and-noam-chomsky/Olivia Petter's article: Are we all going to end up with the same face? https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/beauty-features-same-face-instagram-b2534111.htmlGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 30, 2025 • 7min
1404 || sour grapes
There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach. - aesop's fables The Fable: https://read.gov/aesop/005.htmlThe Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_GrapesA post about it: https://medium.com/@alankay/sour-grapes-cognitive-dissonance-e21245597cb6The Study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103119305967DONATE:www.pcrf.netGet Involved:Operation Olive Branch: Spreadsheets + LinksGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 29, 2025 • 9min
1403 || the asch conformity experiments
Would you go along with the group consensus, even if you knew they were wrong? Psychologist Solomon Asch wanted to find this out (in an experiment on college boys) and the findings were enlightening, to say the least. The source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asch_conformity_experimentsThe other source: https://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html#Factors-Affecting-ConformityDONATE:www.pcrf.netGet Involved:Operation Olive Branch: Spreadsheets + LinksGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 27, 2025 • 9min
1402 || library boards
We all love the public library, so today we dig into how we can protect them given the current attacks.The Source:For the People: Libraries 101: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64063be39637e16c30d774ef/t/67303df9932af1200bf3aeef/1731214855888/Public+Libraries+101+v2+%28digital%29.pdfAddiitional FTP Resources: https://www.librariesforthepeople.org/resourcesGet involved in libraries: https://substack.com/home/post/p-153870103DONATE:www.pcrf.netGet Involved:Operation Olive Branch: Spreadsheets + LinksGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 26, 2025 • 10min
1401 || history of the US public library
We all love the public library, so let's dig into the history of it here in America so we can continue to preserve this valuable institution. The Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-19/how-american-cities-got-their-librariesDONATE:www.pcrf.netGet Involved:Operation Olive Branch: Spreadsheets + LinksGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 25, 2025 • 11min
1400 || on tyranny (do not obey in advance)
“Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.” - Timothy SnyderTimothy Snyder's website: https://timothysnyder.org/By the book: On Tyranny: https://timothysnyder.org/on-tyranny/DONATE:www.pcrf.netGet Involved:Operation Olive Branch: Spreadsheets + LinksGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 24, 2025 • 11min
1399 || purity culture
Today we’re talking about purity culture, homogeneity, and surveillance capitalism, which pushes us towards authoritarian control, which works to erode our individuality and agency.Purity Culture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purity_culture DONATE:www.pcrf.netGet Involved:Operation Olive Branch: Spreadsheets + LinksGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.