Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy

Matt Taibbi, author and journalist, drops in to discuss the state of modern journalism, why it's increasingly difficult to source news you trust, "soft" censorship, link rot and stories that disappear, the instinct to conformity that is an epidemic in newsrooms right now, and why eventually the mob will always come for you. They cover Matt's background, how he comes from a fami...

Zak Williams is CEO and founder of neurotransmitter health company PYM , and is passionate about developing products for supporting optimal mental wellness and alleviating anxiety. He and Bridget sit down to talk about the concept of mental hygiene vs. mental health, dealing with the suicide of a loved one, not knowing how to manage depression and anxiety, discovering mental health advocacy, reali...

Noam Blum, Chief Technology Officer at Tablet magazine, sits down with Bridget for a conversation about Twitter and the online space. Known on Twitter as @neontaster, Noam talks about having his identity revealed, the different versions of online anonymity, and the consequences of not revealing himself on his own terms. They discuss online activism, how Twitter is a concentrated version of the dil...

Heather Pasternak, stand-up comic and old friend of Bridget's, stops in to talk about her new comedy special Slay At Home Mom . She and Bridget discuss being new moms, being neurotic and having a child, feeling both terrible and magical when you're pregnant, how being a parent is a double edged sword, the pressure in the Mommy World - particularly on Instagram, and why getting back to wo...

Rina Raphael is a journalist and author who covers health, wellness, and women's issues. She sits down with Bridget to discuss her new book The Gospel of Wellness , where she looks at the recent explosion of the wellness industry, the fads, the gimmicks, the marketing strategies, and what lies underneath it all. Rina is a reformed wellness addict herself, and became aware of the dark side of...

Tara Henley, journalist and author of Lean Out: A Meditation on the Madness of Modern Life , joins Bridget for a free ranging conversation about starting her career as a hip-hop critic, the transcendence of music and live music in particular, how quickly humans can adapt to anything, and how having colon cancer in her 20s taught her at a fundamental level that life is out of our control. They disc...

Jennifer Briney, host of the Congressional Dish podcast, sits down with Bridget to talk about her mission to read the bills and laws passed by Congress, to find out what is being done with our taxes, explain what is hidden in bills over 1000 pages long, and to create a community of people who were interested in Congress’s effect on our lives. They cover how living abroad during the US invasion of...

Chris Williamson, host of the Modern Wisdom podcast, sits down with Bridget to talk about how he got where he is. They cover his start as a nightclub owner, model, and reality TV star, why he always tried to get himself into a position where people needed him for something, how he didn't think he was worth that much unless he was offering people something else in return, and the existential c...

Bridget sits down with Sarah Haider, writer, activist and podcaster, for a wide ranging conversation covering Sarah's thoughts as an ex-Muslim on the reaction of the Progressive left when you criticize Islam, how little the lived experiences of those who disagree with the woke orthodoxy matters, why she thinks Western feminism died a while back, her experience immigrating from Pakistan as a c...

Ariel Pink is an American musician, singer, songwriter and indie rock icon. However, his attendance at the January 6th Trump rally at the White House - an event he would like made very clear in its distinction from the violence at the Capitol hours later - led to his subsequent cancellation among fellow musicians and fans alike, being dropped from his music label, and left him looking around bewil...

Mediated Series - Part 4: Published in 2005, Mediated: How the Media Shapes Your World and the Way You Live In It , became Bridget's bible for understanding the changing media landscape and how it is affecting our society and behavior. Now she sits down with author Thomas de Zengotita for a multi-part series discussing the book chapter by chapter.  In Part 4 Bridget and Thomas discuss the ext...

Bridget and Cousin Maggie sit down to celebrate the 200th episode of Walk-Ins Welcome . They marvel at the fact that they've been consistent with a project for 4 years, take stock and look back on how far they've come, reminisce about the Days of Soup and Toast and why turning down $10k at her brokest was a good lesson for Bridget, and ponder the invisibility cloak that seems to surround...

Comedian and political commentator Lee Camp drops in for a conversation about his political awakening, why we should turn off all mainstream corporate media, working for RT America before it was shut down, seeing independent media and voices being purged from the internet, and what we do when the culture has lost faith in all news outlets. They also discuss where Lee gets his news, America's...

Comedian Nimesh Patel sits down with Bridget to talk about his new comedy special Thank You China , how he got started in comedy, how TikTok was vital to his career, how everyone's selling out everywhere they go, why a degree in finance did him no good, and his writing gig for Chris Rock at the Oscars. They also cover the grind of feeding the algorithm, learning to step away, why you have to...

Greg Lukianoff ( The Coddling of the American Mind , Unlearning Liberty ) sits down with Bridget for a conversation about free speech on college campuses, how social media sped everything up and created the trend of cancel culture, how much worse things have gotten since Coddling was published, and how people just lost their minds since Covid hit. They discuss how deeply messed up it is to tell pe...

Mediated Series - Part 3: Published in 2005, Mediated: How the Media Shapes Your World and the Way You Live in It , became Bridget's bible for understanding the changing media landscape and how it is affecting our society and behavior. Now she sits down with author Thomas de Zengotita for a multi-part series discussing the book chapter by chapter.  In Part 3 Bridget and Thomas discuss how the...

James Kirchick stops in to talk about his new book Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington . He and Bridget discuss his fascinating deep dive into the history of homosexuality in Washington D.C., his process for writing the book, how he researched it, what he uncovered, and which US President he considers the most homophobic. They also cover the Lavender Scare, writing a narrative histor...

Louise Perry, author of The Case Against the Sexual Revolution , sits down with Bridget to talk about the repercussions of the sexual revolution and why the claim that sex doesn't have a special status does not serve anyone's interests, particularly women's. They discuss how the people who are winning from this kind of culture are men who can get laid consequence free, sexual trauma...

Francis Foster and Konstantin Kisin of the Triggernometry Podcast stop in for a wide ranging and hilarious conversation with Bridget about their tour of America. They discuss why the doomsday narrative is very appealing to people, the risk they face as content creators of caving to audience capture, the importance of having integrity and not just doing what is easy, and the vanishing ability to ha...

Colin Wright is an evolutionary biologist and Founding Editor of Reality's Last Stand , a publication and newsletter exploring the biology of sex and gender ideology. In grad school he started noticing a lot of ideas about biological sex going heywire, in 2018 he wrote an article for Quillette called The New Evolution Deniers , and people went mad. He and Bridget discuss the fact that if we c...

Comedian Brittany Schmitt returns for a talk with Bridget about her new comedy special, From Ho To Housewife , what it actually takes to produce a comedy special, why being an artist means having to let go of the results, and how stand-up is essentially a solitary activity - it's just you and a mic, you don't need anyone's permission to do it. They also cover the letdown that can oc...

Comedian Dusty Slay stops in for a fun and freewheeling conversation with Bridget about the joys of new parenthood, being a road comedian during Covid, how people forgot how to act and travel in public during the pandemic, the worst spots they've ever done comedy, their issues with the term "geriatric pregnancy", and what they won't take advice about from rich people. They also...

Mediated Series - Part 2: Published in 2005, Mediated: How the Media Shapes Your World and the Way You Live in It , became Bridget's bible for understanding the changing media landscape and how it is affecting our society and behavior. Now she sits down with author Thomas de Zengotita for a multi-part series discussing the book chapter by chapter.  In Part 2 Thomas explains Justin's Helm...

Noah Rothman returns to discuss his new book, The Rise of the New Puritans: Fighting Back Against Progressives' War on Fun . He and Bridget discuss the cultural role reversal that he's documenting which is very new and still evolving, how being charitable to the other side doesn't sell anymore and you have to be totally convinced of the righteousness of your views, and why trying to...

Inez Stepman is a senior policy analyst at Independent Women's Forum, has over a decade of experience in education policy, and also handles issues related to the definition of sex in law and culture. She sits down with Bridget to discuss why you can't sit out the culture war in this day and age because it will come through your door, how we get a false sense of security from people who a...