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 quar...
Aug 06, 2020•2 hr 30 min
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 mad...
Jul 30, 2020•2 hr 36 min
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 exhort...
Jul 23, 2020•1 hr 16 min
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...
Jul 16, 2020•2 hr 40 min
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 i...
Jul 09, 2020•1 hr 26 min
Abigail Shrier, author of Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, sits down with Bridget for a fascinating, in-depth and controversial conversation about the wave of transgender-identifying females sweeping various countries around the world. For the first time in history the predominant demographic of people identifying as “transgender” is teenage girls with no childhood history of gender dysphoria. Abigail and Bridget discuss how we got here, where this came from, an...
Jul 02, 2020•2 hr
In 2018 Nikki Mark’s 12-year old son, Tommy, went to sleep one night and never woke up. In an inspiring and heartbreaking conversation with Bridget shares her immediate reaction, what she’s learned, why she said yes to everything that came her way, the project she channeled her grief into, her family’s bond, and the incredible outpouring of support they received from their community. She and Bridget discuss how we’re not taught to deal with death or support someone who is struggling with tragedy...
Jun 25, 2020•1 hr 13 min
Yesha Callahan (Essence Magazine) and Bridget bond over their shared fear of being trampled in a crowd, their mutual disdain for agents, and marvel at the spectacular idiocy of people behaving badly in public in the age of camera phones. Yesha covers growing up poor in a house full of extended family, what led her to a career in HR, and how she jumped into a career as a writer on a late night talk show. She shares her darkest moments after being laid off and struggling to support her son, workin...
Jun 18, 2020•2 hr 40 min
Andrew Heaton (comedian, author, political satirist, podcast host) drops by for a fun and wide-ranging conversation covering everything from dogs vs. cats, why he wants to live on a compound, why comics make the worst audience members, the over-sensitization of language, and the thankless task of being a voice of reason in a tribal world. He and Bridget discuss their fear of living alone for too long and the worry that their weird habits will calcify, why living in New York City only works if yo...
Jun 11, 2020•2 hr 58 min
Coach Tea is back for a frank conversation with Bridget about George Floyd, the protests, the riots, the looting, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the concept of white privilege. They discuss the frustration that a real issue has become a Trojan horse for all sorts of other agendas, how the movement has been co-opted, why solutions need to be personal and not legislated, and the problem with the argument “if you’re silent, you’re part of the problem.” They cover how capitalism fights racism,...
Jun 05, 2020•2 hr 18 min
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. He returns to the podcast to discuss the impact of the global pandemic on rhino poaching, what it will mean for the immediate future, and how you can help support their efforts to protect African wildlife. They ...
May 28, 2020•1 hr 11 min
Sam Harris (author, philosopher, neuroscientist) has a fascinating conversation with Bridget about meditation, consciousness, mindfulness, and awareness. They discuss what brought Sam to meditation (drugs, initially), and the decade he spent traveling and diving into Eastern philosophy, mindfulness practices, and silent retreats, until ultimately he went back to college and eventually got a PhD in cognitive neuroscience. He and Bridget cover mediation and psychological resilience, being a hostag...
May 21, 2020•2 hr 45 min
Jeren Montgomery recently completed an MA in clinical psychology and is working towards becoming a marriage and family therapist. He is also working on the “front lines” of the pandemic in a nautical-themed grocery store. He talks about the adjustments everyone had to make to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak and why he’s uncomfortable with people thanking him for “his service.” He and Bridget discuss his long journey towards psychology, overcoming addiction, becoming sober, and how often their br...
May 15, 2020•2 hr 38 min
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: WiW78-StoryHour5-Transcript Because Bridget’s globe-trotting wanderings are too much to cover in just one Story Hour, here’s part 1 of her international travels. Covering the first time she ever left the country and why she had to spend the whole trip with Desitin all over her face, traveling through Canada in the t...
May 07, 2020•1 hr 13 min
Dave Rubin joins Bridget for his second appearance on the podcast. They talk the long-term effects and changes brought about by social distancing, staying in touch with friends and family now more than ever, no longer looking at the world through a political party lens, how to support small businesses during the shut down, and wonder if the government can’t help people in a time like this, what’s the point of government. They share their small successes, like Dave’s new garden and Bridget’s perf...
Apr 30, 2020•2 hr 35 min
Samantha Shahi (aka Sammy Flap-n-Folds to the Dumpster Fire crowd) finally, finally sits down with Bridget to discuss her journey from Texas to LA, being a marching band nerd, how she fell in love with producing, and the shocking secret reason she minored in Women’s Studies. They cover the litany of jobs Sam’s had since she moved here, what she’s learned along the way, where her true passion lies, and Bridget makes Sam tell the story that demonstrates how Type A she actually is. What do you do w...
Apr 24, 2020•2 hr 54 min
Misty M (If They Have to Behave for You To Be Okay, You’re Screwed) and Bridget discuss the pros and cons of virtual 12 Step meetings in the time of quarantine. They cover why people in recovery might be uniquely qualified to handle the ongoing global crisis, avoiding using the pandemic as an excuse to relapse, trying to feel sane in insane times, and Misty’s optimistic prediction about when we will get back to normal. They talk about everything from practicing intimacy with yourself without run...
Apr 16, 2020•1 hr 23 min
Michael Shermer (Skeptic Magazine, Science Salon Podcast, Scientific American) dropped by before quarantine went into effect to discuss skepticism, religion, debunking conspiracy theories, scientific attempts to achieve immortality, and why “I don’t know” are the three most powerful words you can utter. He and Bridget cover everything from why neither one of them would want to live forever, to why Heaven sounds really boring, how liberals used to be the defenders of free speech and when it all c...
Apr 09, 2020•2 hr 36 min
Paul Shirley (former NBA player, published author, and founder of Writers Blok) is back to discuss the human condition in this time of social distancing, quarantine, and uncertainty. He and Bridget talk about making deals with your brain, being disconnected from our purpose, how easy it is to forget that life is fragile in modern society, and having to face ourselves when all the things we have been chasing lead us nowhere. They share tips for discipline and productivity as professional authors,...
Mar 26, 2020•1 hr 19 min
Bridget and Cousin Maggie share their tips for working from home, and for dealing with the depression and anxiety that might be ratcheting up as we face the unknowns Covid-19 is bringing to our lives and society. They discuss why you should be choosy about the media you consume, how sharing your emotional load with friends can help and allow other people to be of service to you, finding the small silver linings and bright sides of this situation, and why you shouldn’t be like Jared Leto. Ever. T...
Mar 19, 2020•56 min
Gigi Levangie, author and screenwriter, drops by for a chat that covers everything, including Swedish Death Cleaning, the Erehwon Phenomenon, aging in LA, the difference between a collector and a hoarder, and growing up “the crazy white b*tch down the street.” She and Bridget discuss why participation trophies are detrimental to children’s progress into adulthood, the impracticalities of college, why you shouldn’t give all your energy to who is in the White House, and how being a blank slate all...
Mar 12, 2020•2 hr 15 min
Mark Halperin, author of How to Beat Trump: America’s Top Political Strategists on What it Will Take, stops in to discuss the pool of Democratic candidates running for President and whether any of them have what it takes to beat Trump in November. He and Bridget discuss how the media bias against Trump will help him win, what makes Trump so compelling, and why he’s great business for the liberal media outlets who revile him. They cover the tactics that the Democratic candidates should be deployi...
Mar 05, 2020•2 hr 34 min
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’s back for round two where he and Bridget cover the insanity of attempting to subvert democracy in order to preserve it, the humorlessness of passionate protestors (and how hilarious Andrew finds them), infantalizing women while claiming to advocate for them, and t...
Feb 27, 2020•1 hr 22 min
From the ages of 11 to 16 Jacob Bresler survived five years of ghettos and concentration camps during World War II. He credits his inventiveness, his stubbornness, his resilience, and his will to survive as the reasons he made it through the war and created a new life for himself in America. He is a humanist. He does not hate. He has no enemies. He remains optimistic about the future, and believes that communication is the only way to combat ignorance and pierce the ideological bubbles we’ve seg...
Feb 20, 2020•2 hr 56 min
Jonah Goldberg is a syndicated conservative columnist, political analyst, commentator, podcast host, and author of Bridget’s Bible: Suicide of the West. Jonah shares how his upbringing in a media and politics-heavy household shaped his future, and gave him a realistic perspective about politics and the media that most people don’t have. He and Bridget discuss the dangers a generation of children pose when they’ve been raised to believe that their feelings are the only source of authority they ne...
Feb 13, 2020•1 hr 22 min
Meghan Daum is the author of The Problem with Everything: My Journey Through the New Culture Wars, in which she examines her own cognitive dissonance as a liberal and a feminist, and her feeling of alienation in today's cultural climate. She and Bridget discuss how society has changed dramatically in the last 10 years, the gulf between Gen X and Millennials, coming of age in a culture where there's a conversational chokehold happening and what the effects might be, and the death of cul...
Feb 06, 2020•2 hr 34 min
Scott Zakarin, writer, director and producer, stops by to discuss his new project Digital Sky, a fictional anthology podcast series about our social media obsession and the apps that run our lives. He and Bridget cover a wide array of topics from dad bods, to beauty standards, the freedom which new media offers to creators, the best shows they've ever binged, and the last time they cried. Bridget opens up about her love for Michael Bay movies, Scott discusses capturing inspiration via diffe...
Jan 30, 2020•2 hr 42 min
Zuby, rapper, musician, podcaster and author, stops by during his whirlwind tour of the United States. Son of Nigerian immigrants, he talks about his upbringing in Saudi Arabia and the UK, and the perspective on the world it offered him. He and Bridget cover the role of masculinity in today’s society, why the concept of “thought crimes” is so chilling, the rise of secular religions like “wokism” and climate change activism, and the idea of a moral panic void that must always be filled. They disc...
Jan 24, 2020•1 hr 22 min
Jessica Michelle Singleton, stand-up comedian, bonds with Bridget over their mutually dysfunctional upbringings. They compare notes about raised by parents with borderline or narcissistic personalities, processing trauma with dark humor, overcoming abandonment issues, and the disassociation that makes them feel like robots or aliens – observing people who miss their families is very odd to them. In a frank and hilarious conversation, Jessica shares her story of moving to Alaska from Mississippi ...
Jan 16, 2020•2 hr 53 min
Michael Malice, author of The New Right, returns for a wild discussion covering everything from Americans’ naive ideas about people in power, why he blocks his fans on Twitter, his vision of the future, and the etymology of the term “c*m gutters”. He and Bridget debate whether Trump radiates BDE or suffers from a SDE inferiority complex, marvel at how many people have jumped on the “burn it all down” train, share their addiction to watching people get outraged, and muse about whether they are in...
Jan 09, 2020•1 hr 15 min
