Afleveringen
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The first half of my conversation with Rev. Dr. Andrew Blumeâthe rector of Saint Ignatius of Antioch in New York Cityâabout what itâs like to be part of a church community grounded in traditional worship while also having an inclusive, open-door policyâand how angry that makes the tradcath trolls online.
Also discussed: Francesca forsakes frivolity for more serious concerns, defining Anglo-Catholicism, a Jewish parentâs worst nightmare (their only child becoming a Christian priest), âdonât let anyone tell you that prayer in school doesnât matter,â Anglican intellectual warmth, âyou grow in life as you grow in ministry,â Vatican II, aesthetics as an inroad to faith, nothing is more scary to city kids than the suburbs, the English reformation as the first Brexit, sympathy for Henry VIII, out Roman-Catholic-ing the Roman Catholics, Father Blume: âI wanted to gather a community around the Eucharist so we could all make meaning of our lives,â and Francescaâs eternal question: should women be priests?
https://www.saintignatiusnyc.org/index.html
Instagram: @saintignatiusnyc
The first half of every episode of CBT is free, wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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The first half of my conversation with guest Zoe Dubnoâauthor of the novel Happiness & Loveâon her recent article for NY Mag about whether weâve gone too far in celebrating plastic surgery & extreme beauty routines.
Also discussed: there's nothing new under the sun, corporate slop gyms, parents who force their ED on their kids, being allergic to cheap things vs being a snob, the obvious benefit to being more attractive as a woman, plastic surgery creating a paucity of beauty, the benefits of literally touching grass, Francesca reads the bible (again), the prison of self-obsession, being so hot itâs a problem, there are no attractive people on the UWS, searching for the illusion of purity, the depth of Francescaâs vanity, and the immortal question: is it good to get exactly what you want?
Referenced:
âI Spray Myself with Magnesium and Read Under a Chicken Lightâ - by Zoe Dubno, New York Magazine
"The Year All My Friends Got Botox" - by Emmeline Clein, New York Magazine
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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My conversation with porn historian Noelle Perdue on the censorious attempt to regulate pornography todayâand our heated debate about what a moral society owes its citizens.
Also discussed: âpornography is neutral but our sexual culture is not,â box dye heritage, wanting to see things you can never unsee, âThe Entertainmentâ in Infinite Jest, choking in porn is now illegal in the UK (!), vibes-based legislation, our sexual culture, the overlap between anti-trans and anti-porn rhetoric, Francesca just wants everyone to have good sex, the âporn industryâ doesnât exist as such, stalking the halls of the Bellagio, the feature of SESTA/FOSTA is to harm sex workersâitâs not a bug, the fallacy of the Nordic Model, and how âkeeping people isolated is profitable business.â
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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A wide-ranging conversation with writer and filmmaker Sean Wilsey about literature, the left, and his film IXXI thatâs premiering at Tribeca this week. We discuss how hard it is to hold on to your values, orthodoxy as a means to protect yourself, and how radicals have lost the ability to cooperate.
Also discussed: translations that are funnier than the original, âitâs really easy to throw people under whatever bus you want to keep moving,â Italyâs reputation as frivolous, The Nation doesnât want anyone to have a good time, adorning prostitutes with flowers in Czechoslovakia, fun is a problem for political orthodoxies, profound moral alterations brought on by a work of literature, nostalgia for the worst times of oneâs life, Republicans are a better hang these days, suffering without redemption is true perversion, everyone has a Southern accent at NASA, the jet-setting lifestyle of the last international magazine feature writer (Sean), weâre becoming a country of scammers and liars, and the unresolved question: did all Gen X ideas come from Woody Guthrie?
Link to Seanâs film IXXI at Tribeca, almost sold out:
https://tribecafilm.com/films/ix-xi-2026
Articles referenced:
The Nation - âLuigi Pirandelloâs Broken Menâ by Gus OâConnor
GQ - âThe Next Giant Leapâ by Sean Wilsey
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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The first half of my conversation with health and wellness journalist Leigh Weingus about GLP-1âsâand what it means for Americans to empty themselves of desire in pursuit of a fix-all miracle drug.
Also discussed: optimization culture, Francescaâs time as a fat girl, how our food system is set up to be addictive, drug use in the UC system, thriving in moderation (Leigh is the human GLP-1), a hard pitch for intuitive eating, the drug-addictification of America, âbeing fat was good for my personality,â the finite nature of will power, how dieting itself creates obesity, marriage is a business transaction where putting out is part of the contract, GLP-1âs as another numbing tool, Ozempic face, everything is a treatment for pre-death these days, and the perennial question: would you take a drug if it made your everything in your life perfect?
Articles referenced:
"Life in Beige" - NY Mag
"How Weight-Loss Drugs Can Upend a Marriage" - NY Times
"The Ozempic Economy Is Here: Are We Entering A Workplace Doping Era?" - Forbes
(Fact check on 40% of GLP-1 weight loss is from lean muscle mass â there seems to be conflicting research, but see here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12322565/ )
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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Native New Yorker Alex Brook Lynn comes on the show to talk about the city in the 90âsâand whatâs lost when only the rich can afford to live and work in NYC. We discuss the demise of rent controlled apartments, marking art when the stakes arenât high, and how close to life Larry Clarkâs Kids was (pretty close).
Also discussed: middle class drug dealers, how the out-of-towners are the cityâs own migratory bird population, âgraft for the people,â we forget that Eric Adams was the Curtis Silwa candidate of 2020, when heroin addicts were good old-fashioned heroin addicts, the days when you could pee in Central Park, white kids using the n word, having a beeper, children buying hard drugs at bodegas, the moral stain of Rikerâs Island, âthe 90âs were cheap enough that you could be free,â and how a rent controlled apartment is itâs own kind of trust fund.
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
Articles referenced:
Jerry Saltzâs photos of 90âs New York:
https://www.vulture.com/article/jerry-saltz-new-york-art-world-1990s-slideshow.html
RealPage NYC Landlord price fixing:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/technology/realpage-doj-settlement.html
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My very fun and very discursive talk with Sam Adler-Bell, journalist and host of leftist podcast âKnow Your Enemy.â We discuss his recent viral article âThe Women Leaving the New Rightâ in New York Mag, liberalismâs lack of meaning, the (more) vile aspects of the New Rightâand how the left drove women into their arms in the first place.
Also discussed: âItâs China over here,â nebbish-maxxing, influencer-occupied government, social credit scores, serving two masters, the death drive of Israel, conflict between elites, Nick Fuentes keeping men small, Christopher Hitchens & cirrhosis, âyou can die or become part of the petite bourgeoisie,â Francescaâs journey to the One True God, bone-deep hatred of women, inculcating virtue, and the greatest political sin: being annoying.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/young-women-leaving-maga-new-right.html
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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A surrealist interview with sign-based comedian and beloved internet denizen Alan Wagner (@truewagner) about the critically reviled Ari Aster film Eddingtonâand how it exposes the berserk heart of America.
Also discussed: the (unofficial) Eddington Preservation Society, a direct plea to Donald J Trump, basketweaving, Eddington as lighthearted romp, unwitting consumption of art, the final word: algorithms are bad, when Antifa comes to town, how social media negatively effects the way people on the left communicate (duh), Austin Butler just wants to play weirdos, and the three givens: death, taxes, and True Wagner.
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo -
In commemoration of Earth Day, climate activist Matthew Menzies comes on the show to discuss his nonviolent protest and civil disobedience with the climate group Extinction Rebellionâand how we can avert climate crisis, build community, and envision a better life.
Also discussed: how climate change is not your fault, whether podcasts steal your soul, permaculture, how oil=corn=flesh, chimpanzee civil war, the benevolent dictatorship of parenthood, Eric Adams going where itâs warm (Albania, apparently), the true antidote to apathy, the Fed crackdown on peaceful protest and free speech, being on the domestic enemies list (Francesca says: pretty fab), martyrdom as the pinnacle of spiritual achievement, the normative vs pejorative state, Trump as scammer from Queens, and the age old question: can we be fruitful and multiply without oppression?
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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***This is our 50th episode***
The utterly delightful Monique Gabriel comes on the show to discuss the power of the bitchâwhich becomes a conversation about spiritual living and integrates into the timeless question: how can I be a spiritual bitch?
Also discussed: adult tantrums, competitive crafting, alphas who like to be alphaed, girls school aura, âa friend to all is a friend to no one,â animus and anima, how trump brings meth head energy to the White House, POV promotions, MBA degrees = art of the yap, manifestation as original sin, reverting to the old gods, being out there in your faun, the peace of fulfilling the bloodline, and we boldly ask the question: what is it going to take to bring glitter back to America? (Hint: another BeyoncĂ© album)
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo -
Novelist Andrew Ridker comes on the show to discuss the paradox of privilege and persecution at the heart of the Jewish-American experience (and literary canon)âand how itâs time to shift the plot.
Also discussed: Birthright sex romps, the cure for ambiguity, how the medium is the message in social media comment fights, the intellectual inconsistencies of Holocaust denialism, Portlandia passover seders, how Israel-Gaza is the psychic tear of the moral universe, the internetâs MO (nihilism), mogging as the law of the land, closeted DJs, and next year in Jerusalemâbut not literally.
Discussed:
Andrewâs NY Mag article: https://www.vulture.com/article/jewish-american-writers-literature-new-stories-gaza-israel.html
Peter Beinartâs - Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza
Prospect Writersâ Workshop: https://www.andrewridker.com/prospect-writers-workshop
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Political consultant and strategist Charlie Goldensohnâaka @chez.chuckâcomes on the show to discuss the Democratic Party and all its stumbling blocks.
Also discussed: innate SF degeneracy, dip preferences, Gavin Newsom (again), the gender wars, how we all become our parents, American gerontocracy, âthe people who are winning are populists,â the DL on Bidenâs White House mental state, whoâs really driving the male loneliness discourse, and the only egalitarian marriage in America (Charlieâs parentsâ).
*The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support. xo *
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LĂ©onie Weerakoonâhuman ecologist and founder of Kinetik Ventures, a bioeconomy investment firmâcomes on the show to discuss her work, sustainability, and how nature is the highest form of intelligence.
Also discussed: what itâs like to work for F1, living the globalist dream, extreme sports of sustainability, a hard pitch on moving to Luxembourg, nature as a peer, Francescaâs new conspiracy theory, how rubber led to the Industrial Revolutionâplus Francesca gets a 101 on how capitalism works.
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo -
Johnny Gaffneyâfounder of Senior Centertainment (https://seniorcentertainment.org) â comes on the show to talk about his work with seniors and how we all can be good neighbors â and finally do away with the modern illusion of self-sufficiency.
Also discussed: always hailing yellow, the value of scrumming around, growing our capacity for non-romantic intimacy, VHI Behind the Music as spiritually purifying, honoring the stranger by having toilet paper, male vanity, Grinch green attraction, what it means to be a yapper, the sex scene in Showgirls, carnival barking, and Johnnyâs shocking confession that he hasnât washed his hair since the Obama administration.
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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Author and journalist EJ Dickson comes on the show to discuss her new book One Bad Mother and the impossible trap American mothers are put inâbe they hot moms, influencer moms, MAHA moms or really any mom at all.
Also discussed: ER vacations, how the kids-on-airplanes discourse points to the erosion of Judeo-Christian values, therapy as emotional prostitution, what we owe each other as a communal species, the golden ticket in our society of a martyr complex plus a lack of shame, the sin of being annoying, Fauciâs karma (and romance novel), bringing back filial piety, and how everyone will fail you (even your mother).
The poem EJ references, âThis Be The Verseâ by Philip Larkinâ:
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one anotherâs throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And donât have any kids yourself.
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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Simon van Zuylen-Woodâjournalist and features writer at New York Magazineâcomes on the show to talk about the battle for the soul of American conservatism and the battleground of elite inboxes (ie the prodigious emailing of Jeffrey Epstein). Nota bene: first half of the episode we discuss Charlie Kirk and Nick Fuentes, Epstein in the second half. Candace floats throughout, as is her wont.
Also discussed: what breakfast choice makes you a free-trade globalist, if we should just let Trump have his tariffs, gay orgies vs Epstein island parties, sympathy for the devil, JD Vance as multiculturalist, Gen Z nihilism is the book of Ecclesiastes all over again, nepo truthers, the (embarrassing) cult of Fran Leibowitz, gentle authoritarian parenting, Nick Fuentes as Kid Chaos, and Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein.
âInside the Conservative Campus Revolutionâ by Simon van Zuyvlen-Wood in New York Mag
âThe Truth is Out Thereâ by Simon van Zuylen-Wood in New York Mag
âChildâs Playâ by Sam Kriss in Harperâs
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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Writer Nicole Treska comes on the show to talk about growing up in blue collar Boston under the aegis of the Winter Hill Gangâand how the left (maybe, if they stop being corporate sell outs) can win back the white working class.
Also discussed: boomer greed, the authoritarian personality, ancestral goat programming, how when people say they want to be rich what they mean is they want to be middle class in the 80âs, pandemic accelerationism, ruling like the right, how gang members just want to hang out like the rest of us, the time Francesca got neo-conned into voting for Kamala, Mamdani and dark woke, and yet again, we canât shut up about the dog sh*t.
https://nicoletreska.com
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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Cult comic and beloved online denizen Lauren Servideo comes on the show to discuss her favorite characters (hint: itâs like choosing your favorite child), old-hat internet, and what we talk about when we talk about influencers.
Also discussed: eldest daughter discourse, Billy Crystal and the female fear of death, crust punks with a TikTok presence, how men donât like to be propositioned to be a muse (by Francesca), MLM faux-pas, peptide propaganda, shmacting, and whether all Italians are funny.
The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
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The first half of every episode of CBT is free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
Brian Wood, founder of Panodime, comes on the show to discuss what the AI overlords really want (hint: itâs not to make your workflow more efficient) and what we need to do to ensure the AI future benefits all of us.
Discussed: tech CEO drug addicts, the problem with transhumanism, misreading Lord of the Rings, why maybe women shouldnât vote (bc theyâre making the world âunsafe for capitalismâ), AI or climate armageddon, Terminator vs elites framework, and Francescaâs theory that Peter Thiel wants to subjugate the divine feminine.
https://www.panodime.com
Instagram: @pano.dime
Tiktok: @panodime
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Nota bene: starting today, the first half of every episode of CBT will be free wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to become a subscriber and hear the second half, please go to www.patreon.com/criticalbabetheory. Thank you for your support xo
I talk with Reuben Barskyâraconteur & denizen of the diamond districtâabout the myth of the urban American male and pursuit of the good life.
Also discussed: what constitutes normal male behavior, whether all immigrants are criminals (muses immigrant-descendant-of-criminals Francesca), the art of the cold call, how to not bulk, the freedom to rot, prison face, and escaping the Freddo mindset.
Update about the 49ers electrical substation conspiracy theory: neither the Seahawks nor the Patriots will be using SF practice facilities, and Niners management will be investigating the correlation between the substation and injuries. So proud to be part of this conspiracy from the ground up!
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