Grifty

A conversation with Federal Advocacy Coordinator Aaron McCall. 

It's a new year!   Anything could happen 🤗 … Anything could happen 🤔 … Anything could happen 😨 We kick off our third season discussing post-election coping strategies, the New Right Tech Bro Overlords who are thrashing democracy to make their Optimized new world order happen, and the items got us through the liminal period before Inauguration. 

The Grifty crew was joined by Dr. Nini Munoz to talk about all things grifty. Dr. Nini is an electrical engineer and data scientist specializing in sensor design and integration. Her expertise ranges from inertial navigation systems to biosensors, and she integrates AI for pattern recognition and systems risk analysis. She completed her doctorate at Cornell University, where her research at the in...

GENERAL ELECTION–STATE OF PLAY The 2024 presidential debates have been unveiled  "The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday that the three 2024 presidential debates will be held next year on Sept. 16, Oct. 1 and Oct. 9. "( https://www.axios.com/2023/11/20/2024-election-debates-biden-trump-republicans ) Swing states that are expected to decide the 2024 presidential election "The titan...

On this episode, the gang is joined by the one and only Dr. Inna Kanevsky to discuss all types of grifty misinformation floating around online about pop psychology and science. Dr. Inna Kanevsky has over 1.1m followers on TikTok (@dr_inna) and her videos have garnered over 36 million views, which according to some estimates places her in the 99.75% percentile of U.S. Tiktokers. When she's not bein...

GENERAL ELECTION–STATE OF PLAY   States where abortion is on the ballot in the 2024 election "Voters in about a dozen states could decide the fate of abortion rights in November with constitutional amendments on the ballot in a pivotal election year — including in several battleground states that will be key to deciding the presidential race and which party controls Congress." ( https://www.washin...

She's just a girl, a girl in the world. Join Azi as she has a fun two part chat with Caroline Calloway about everything and nothing. Tune in for the second part of this interview next week.  Find us on all social media platforms @griftypod or visit www.grifty.org for more 

KING CAUCUS - On this episode of the Grifty Tribune, Azi, Sari and Taryn discuss the outcome of the Iowa Caucus where Trump won (with a lower turnout than previous years), reviewed the tick tock of Trump's busy 2024 trial schedule, and discussed how they'd characterize the 2024 electorate.and what exactly will motivate them to vote and save our democracy from the man who wants to be King. History...

Episode 1 of Season 2 features Taylor Lorenz discussing influencers and  Taylor Lorenz is a prominent journalist who has made a name for herself covering topics related to technology, internet culture, and social media. She has worked for major publications such as The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Her work covers the intersection of technology and society. Lorenz is known...

Episode 9 Grifty Tribune: The Grifty Old Party On this episode of Grifty,  we are kicking off our new ongoing series- The Grifty Tribune. In ancient Rome, the Tribune was a person who upheld or defended the rights of the people. And we plan to do the same with this ongoing series.  In this edition of the Grifty Tribune, Azi and Sari break down the latest in American politics with a focus on how th...

Grifty Pod Episode 8: Boys Don't Cry Boy's don't cry, and that is precisely the problem. On this episode of Grifty, all the gang is back in town for our back-to-school episode of exploring the Manosphere – an interconnected echo chamber of men and boys where the themes of toxic masculinity, misogyny, and homophobia are platformed and normalized in online forums, podcasts, and articles all over the...

Gather 'round as we delve into the world of life coaching. Apparently in these modern times, for the average person, craving a new life implies seeking the assistance of a so-called life coach. These self-proclaimed saviors promise to guide you towards a life of success, wealth, and popularity. But let's not be fooled for beneath their veneer of expertise there may be nothing more than a shameless...

Indictment Day: Part Deux Donald John Trump has been indicted and arraigned for a second time in three months, with at least two possible ones to come. (Insert clip of Kimberly Guilfoyle bellowing out "The Best is Yet To Come!"). Although Trump invited all of his fans to the Miami Federal Courthouse on his Arraignment Day aka Flag Day aka his 77th Birthday, there was reportedly more press than MAG...

Do you believe in magic? On this episode of Grifty, friends of the pod explore America's mass shooting problem thru the lens of the magical thinking that fuels both gun and wellness cultures, as well as discuss the latest news about GOP grifters Donald Trump and George Santos. The market for Toxic forms of wellness exists because people are feeling disempowered with their health and lack trust in...

The 2024 Presidential election is officially underway. Joe Biden Part 2 is in full effect. Dude is old, get over it. Ron DeSantis went and got himself sued by Disney and is running 30 points behind Trump. Tucker Carlson got himself fired from Fox News and now has to report from his basement bunker. RFK Jr. and Marianne Williamson bringing old-school wellness grifts back into politics. Azi and Sari...

On this episode, Friends of the Pod discuss the pseudoscience that can be chiropracty wacky backy quacky, which is the perfect place to trap gullible people looking for some relief.  Of course, like many wellness practices chiropractice care lives in the in-between of therapeutic health modalities that can be effective and can also become iffy when mixed with pseudoscience. At times the field has...

In this Episode, We are joined by our first guest, Sari Beth Rosenberg. Sari teaches U.S. History and A.P. U.S. history at a New York City Public high school, named The High School of Environmental Studies, with over 20 years of experience. In this episode, we talk about the historical aspect of how history and ideas are presented to us and where being biased plays a role in how it's told. We disc...

Take off them fabricated streams and them microwave memes, it's a real world outside. Welcome to the first episode of Grifty: a late-stage capitalism audio newsletter by and about false idols. Our conversations will be a little snarky, a little intellectual, a bit historical, a lot political, and ultimately  about how to survive late stage capitalism, take care of one's mental health, and engage i...