Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy

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

Buck Angel is a 58 year-old trans man who is speaking out against the mob mentality that has taken over the trans community. He and Bridget discuss his life before his transition, how he was essentially a human “guinea pig” in the early days of his transition, the long road and struggle for acceptance, and how the trans movement of today has developed something of a “cult-like” ideology where if you don’t speak and think in a specific way, they don’t want you as a member. He and Bridget discuss the “trans trenders,” the rewriting of factual information, why the label “cis” feels derogatory, how there’s no oversight and no system in allowing young people to self-diagnose as “trans,” being attacked by his own community, and why we should follow the money on the sudden push to enable sexual reassignment surgeries. As an elderly trans person whose own transition saved his life, Buck is passionate about the dangers he sees in the community today, and the fact that this push to transition will kill 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

Allie Beth Stuckey stops in to talk about her book, You’re Not Enough (& That’s Okay) – Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love. She and Bridget have a frank conversation about God, Christianity, and why she believes that the idea you have to love yourself in order to love other people is a fallacy infecting people’s minds. They discuss the tough road through college, the partying, the unhealthy lifestyle, and the struggle with an eating disorder that forced her to the realization that she would die if she didn’t change things. She and Bridget discuss their personal faith and beliefs, where they are similar, and where they differ. It’s an incredibly warm and open conversation between two women who don’t necessarily agree on everything, but respect each other’s beliefs and opinions, and are willing to share and learn from 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

Joe List, standup comedian and podcast host, stops by for a chat about what he loves about podcasts, how Bruce Springsteen played a role in shaping his life, and the fact that he chose to go into standup because all the adults around him when he was a kid seemed extremely unhappy about their jobs, so he decided not to have one. He and Bridget cover imposter syndrome, hypochondria, anxiety, and their love for Sam Harris’s meditation app. They discuss sobriety, how they’re staying busy during quarantine, the grind of standup, and why you should never go to the bar Coyote Ugly if you’re newly sober. Be sure to catch Joe’s comedy special I Hate Myself, on Comedy Central’s YouTube channel – premiering August 6th, 2020. 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 Wood Jr. comes by to talk about Braver Angels, the largest grassroots bipartisan organization in America, focused on the work of political de-polarization. Along the way he and Bridget have a fascinating conversation about his experience being raised by a mother who’s a liberal black Democrat from inner city LA and father who’s a conservative white Republican from Tennessee, and how his white father emphasized the greatness of black culture in the context of the greatness of America and made him proud of being a black man.  He and Bridget bond over their similar experiences dealing with their parents’ divorces. They cover how you can engage conflict without suffering the debilitating impact of hatred in your own psychology, being chameleons growing up and learning to integrate all the different parts of themselves as they grew older, how important it is to see the human behind the opinion – especially when it’s one you don’t agree with,  what’s truly noble and redeemable in all of our American traditions, and whether Trump is actually racist. 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

Yascha Mounk is the founder of Persuasion, an online community and publication for people who believe in the importance of the social practice of persuasion, and are determined to defend free speech and free inquiry against all its enemies. They seek to persuade people who disagree with them, rather than to mock or troll them. He and Bridget discuss the rise of the populism, why status anxiety is the strongest predictor of populist movement in society, the idea of white fragility, and why exhorting whites in the US to take on a strong collective racial identity is not the way to build a fair, multi-ethnic democracy in this country. They look at how many authoritarian leaders have come to power in the last 20 years, share their hope for the future, and examine the idea that many Americans don’t want to win the culture war, they want the culture war to go away.  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

Thomas Chatterton Williams (Losing My Cool, Self-Portrait In Black and White) talks with Bridget from France and discusses the view of America from another country, the European response to Covid-19 vs. the US’s, and why the Unites States plays a central role in the imagination of the whole world. Thomas explains how he wound up “accidentally” writing a memoir about the difference between the black culture his dad grew up in from the one he grew up in, America’s historic attitude about race, and how his having his daughter who “looks like a Swedish child” led him to reassess what he’d previously written and his thoughts about the “construct” of race. He and Bridget cover why the hyper focus on racial difference is not the way to get past our divisions, the narcissism in the idea that whiteness in itself is responsible for all that’s wrong, why emigrating to another country was the hardest thing he’s ever done, and what he misses most about America.Full transcript available here: WiW88-ThomasChattertonWilliams-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

Chloé Valdary (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic) returns to discuss her new course Theory of Enchantment an innovative social-emotional, learning course that teaches character development, resilience and love. Her background in international diplomacy and conflict resolution led her to want to create a framework that teaches people how to love each other. The aspirational course blends pop culture and ancient wisdom to teach social and emotional learning and Chloé felt it was necessary as an antidote to the deconstructive ideology that’s permeating our culture right now. She and Bridget discuss why having no reverence for the past leaves us with no way to measure our progress, why we should see suffering as a gift, how people stereotyping others means they also stereotype themselves, and why the world is ending when people no longer dance with each other.Full transcript available here: WiW87-ChloeValdary-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