The Bitchuation Room

George Floyd's murder re-ignited the movement against police brutality and for black lives. Francesca Fiorentini and comedian Nato Green welcome Maurice Mitchell of Working Families Party and Movement 4 Black Lives into The Bitchuation Room to discuss everything from capitalism and anti-racism to the "Flu Klux Klan" and Riverdance. Plus SpaceX's launch and a Nazi-collaborating alligator dies in Mo...

Taking stock of Anti-Asian racism amidst a resurgence of hate crimes, and why identity politics still matter with author and journalist Jeff Chang. Plus co-hosts Francesca Fiorentini and Nato Green debut a brand new segment "This Week in Karen", why Diehard 3 makes little sense and Francesca's beef with Andrew Cuomo. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Science! Think about it. The Bitchuation Room with Francesca Fiorentini returns as a shelter in place livestream. At her side is comedian, labor organizer and wannabe mixologist Nato Green. This week, clinical lab scientist Veronica Huerta joins to explain Covid-19 testing and why it is that we're so bad at it. Plus, Nato wants sourdough starters forever and Francesca wants to bring back the bush....

Are you working to win power, guy listening to podcast in traffic? The Bitchuation Room LIVE! is back with the smart, no BS union organizer Jane McAlevey. Francesca is joined by comic Nato Green to talk about Jane's new book "A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy" and how the left can get serious about taking economic power. Plus your Nato and Francesca tell some ne...

How Robert Mueller didn't indict the President or (more of) his grifters based on this report is ridonkulous. Francesca goes over the juiciest details of the Mueller report, and offers up impressions, tidbits, sweeping generalizations. Joined by comedian and sweetheart Matt Lieb (FilmDrunk), Francesca digs into it all including a very a fun edition of Mad Libs with the most redacted section. Enjoy...

Is the President a witting, unwitting, or nit-witting Russian puppet? Francesca gives her take on the not-yet-released Mueller report while trying to avoid tribalist political sand traps. Also, why does the "left" insist on Tulsi Gabbard for president when her foreign policy is so inconsistently hawkish and Islamophobic? To talk about it in The Bitchuation Room is national social justice organizer...

The Beto bubble is bursting early while Biden is the spaghetti and meatballs of political imagination. To discuss the centrists jumping into the 2020 fire is comedian Johan Miranda (Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy) and DSA organizer Brandon Ramirez. Plus how Democrats have no real plan to fix immigration and if they did, what would it look like? And the college tuition bribery scandal bri...

In American politics there's only one right way to criticize Israel. Don't. But progressive congresspeople like Ilhan Omar aren't following suit, criticizing occupation and the Israeli lobby and being called antisemitic for it. This time however grassroots pressure is changing the narrative in the Democratic Party, and forcing Congress to have a good long think about its priorities. Francesca is j...

There's one movement at the crossroads of the crisis of workers rights, immigration reform, racial inequality, and even feminist politics: the movement of domestic workers.  Thankfully organizers like Jess Morales Rocketto are helping housecleaners, caregivers and nannies gain power and win rights with the National Domestic Workers Alliance. She joins Francesca along with comedian and actor Jenny...

Why is criticizing the Israeli occupation antisemitic but Marvelous Mrs. Maisel can say 'brisket' ten times without repercussions? Three Jews and a gentile discuss the fallout of Rep. Ilhan Omar's tweets on the Israeli lobby, the hypocrisy of the right on antisemitism, and how the military industrial complex will ensure Congress' undying loyalty to our human rights-violating ally. Francesca and co...

Baited by the far right, Trump declares a national emergency with the same cadence that an eight year old explains the Lego movie. Plus former Starbucks CEO and presidential hopeful Howard Schultz (i.e. "HowSchu") flexes his Venti-sized elitism in a CNN town hall by declaring that he "doesn't see color." Grassroots organizer Joshua Kahn (Wildfire Project) and stand-up comedian Paco Romane (Sup Doc...

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to save the planet AND the middle class? Not before Nancy Pelosi tinkles all over it. Francesca welcomes Crooked Media's Erin Gloria Ryan and The Young Turk's Brett Erlich to assess whether centrist shade has been thrown, and what the Green New Deal could mean for American politics and our future. Also why was there a war hype-man in the Capitol building during the S...

And so the madness begins. Not with a bang but with meaningless polling data. Two more unqualified comedians Kiran Deol (Crooked Media's "Hysteria" Podcast) and Matt Lieb (Newsbroke, Filmdrunk Podcast) join Francesca to separate centrist from progressive, shill from shrill, ego from id. We talk Cory Booker's big donors, Kamala Harris as the best on-screen President, Gillibrand, Biden, Bloomberg, B...

Mike Pence speaks Spanish for one reason and one reason only: Venezuelan oil money. Plus another Scooby Doo moment in the Mueller investigation nabs yet another mediocre Trump crook who wasn't gonna get away with it, Roger Stone. Badass feminist organizer Blanca Missé and comedian Kevin Camia join Francesca to bitch about where real regime change is needed and how Marie Kondo would organize all of...

Teachers are organizing en masse around the country and four people are running for President whose names aren't Bernie Sanders. Comedian Joyelle Nicole Johnson (Patriot Act with Hasan Minaj, Broad City) and racial justice organizer N'Tanya Lee (Left Roots) join Francesca and Nato Green to talk about the teacher's strike, Bernie Sanders and that illusive seemingly monolithic 'black vote' and why t...

R Kelly and Donald Trump have a striking amount of trash in common. Francesca welcomes comedian and writer Dewayne Perkins (The Break with Michelle Wolf) and journalist Paula Neudorf (YR Media & Viceland) to The Bitchuation Room to discuss how the president gets lost in his own hyperbole, the time Paula most likely met with Russian DNC hackers, and how R Kelly may actually be a skilled white supre...

A new year means the same ole you but a new Congress! For the first time Democrats in the House will hold hearings on Medicare for All to build support for what's shaping up to be the defining issue come 2020. Helping to doctor-splain it all is Paul Song, an oncologist and president of Physicians for a National Health Program California which advocates for a single-payer Medicare for All healthcar...

It's a libertarian's dream come true as the government grinds to a halt over a border wall. Francesca is joined by Feminist Frequency's Anita Sarkeesian and comedians Atsuko Okatsuka and Matt Lieb to assess the current state of the nation and to put 2018 to bed once and for all. They discuss Kevin Spacey's nonconsensual stocking stuffer, the MeToo movement one year later, and Francesca divulges he...

Why are Americans taking an interest in democratic socialism? What led to the radical left movements of the 60s and 70s in the United States and which vintage shop can we get some at? In the second live episode of The Bitchuation Room, Francesca and co-host comedian Nato Green are joined by activist and author Max Elbaum to talk about the work cut out for revolutionaries in America. Also joining t...

It's that time of year when we gather as family and look at the US-Mexico border and think "How the fuck has it come to this?!" The death of a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl in border patrol custody and the Department of Homeland Security's 'not my problem bro' response seem to be waging the real war on the Christmas spirit. Joining Francesca to bitch about the border, government shutdowns and beyond...

As the freak show of white collar crime continues in the White House, Francesca is joined by The Young Turk's John Iadarola and comedian Jena Friedman to talk of other things. Like sore Republican losers in the midwest booby-trapping their governments against Democrats and whether liking fascism is a question of nurture or nature. Plus the apology that Kevin Hart simply could not muster, Golden Gl...

Trump's 'very cool and very legal' business dealings with a foreign power that tampered in US elections are everything but. To discuss what recent Russia revelations might amount to, Francesca is joined by former Fusion host Nando Villa and comedian and Newsbroke homie Matt Lieb. Plus, the centrist spin-job on George HW Bush's legacy, the difficulty of asserting progressive foreign policy in the T...

Even plastic bags get more love than Republicans in California, after a blue tsunami flipped 6 of 7 contested seats for the Democrats. To eulogize the Grand Old Party and talk about what it means for progressives, Francesca is joined by comedians Nato Green, Kevin Avery (The Jim Jeffries Show), and newly elected SF district 6 supervisor Matt Haney. They also talk about the allegations against Don...

Facebook betrays us again but we still can't quit. Like an abusive partner you keep going back to for those dank memes. Meanwhile the Israeli military somehow needs more money because occupation is expensive and Pharrell Williams is "Happy" to oblige. Plus a takedown of Amazon's HQ2, the diamond industry, and whether eating Poke is like eating the sea's grandparents. Comic Imran G. and labor organ...

Democracy ain't dead. Days after Democrats take back the house with historic turnout and a record number of women winning congressional seats, Francesca makes sense of the midterms along with comedian Jessica Sele and radio producer Sam Greenspan. They talk climate apocalypse, what new attorney general could mean for the Russia investigation, and whether 'deep kissing' can cause an orgasm. Plus an...