The remarkable dissonance between the public’s embrace of UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin Luigi Mangione and the mainstream media’s outward disdain for both Luigi and the public’s martyrization of him has been… bizarre. In a rare moment where the culture war has been traded in for the class war, billionaire-owned media corporations and politicians alike seem to be panicking. That panic should be a moment of clarity for everyday Americans.

Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon!

Listen to Taylor’s podcast, Power User. 

Subscribe to Taylor’s newsletter, User Mag.

Subscribe to Ken Klippenstein’s Substack.

Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at www.factormeals.com/fruity50. 

Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at www.rocketmoney.com/fruity. 

Me on Instagram.

A Bit Fruity on Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There was a time before Elon Musk was tweeting 60 times a day about trans people and the woke mind virus — and it wasn’t that long ago. As recently as 2018, Elon was boasting about Tesla scoring a 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate equality index and telling anyone who was bothered by that to “not buy our car.” So what happened? Today, Ryan Mac and Kate Conger, authors of Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter, unpack Elon’s personal and political midlife crisis — and the price we pay for it.

Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/mattbernstein

Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes: www.factormeals.com/fruity50 

Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity.

Me on Instagram.

A Bit Fruity on Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Bit Fruity was due for a good old-fashioned film analysis. Wicked is a kids movie that is actually for adults, holding up a mirror to our increasingly fascistic reality and asking us to question our struggle against it — or place within it. Glinda the Good Witch, thoughtfully delivered by Ariana Grande, is both easy to love and easy to hate. But while some characters’ politics are obvious (a fascist Wizard, a radical Elphaba), Glinda’s are harder to pinpoint. Today, we attempt just that.

Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon!

Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes: www.factormeals.com/fruity50.

Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity.

Me on Instagram.

A Bit Fruity on Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This was the first election where the online far-right radicalization of young boys and men revealed itself in exit polls. After years of being fed diet-incel podcasts, one thing is clear: Gen Z will not, by some inherent virtue of youth, save us. Today, Taylor Lorenz and I break down the “epidemic of male loneliness”, the influencers exploiting it, the conservative media machine that funds them, and why we can’t just make a “leftist Joe Rogan.”

Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon!

Listen to Taylor’s podcast, Power User. 

Protect yourself online, wherever you go. Get a discount on NordVPN at www.nordvpn.com/fruity. 

Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at www.rocketmoney.com/fruity. 

Me on Instagram.

A Bit Fruity on Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In America, the only thing standing between you and wealth beyond your wildest dreams is tying for fifth with a trans person. Today, media critic Ari Drennen takes us into the bizarre world of the 24-year-old whispering policy into Donald Trump’s ear.

Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon!

Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at www.rocketmoney.com/fruity. 

Follow Ari's Substack.

Me on Instagram.

A Bit Fruity on Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The slogan of YouTube’s most popular debate channel, Jubilee, is “provoke understanding & create human connection.” So why is all of its content a cesspool of bigotry, rage-bait, and pseudoscientific slop? 

Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon!

Huge thanks to the show's sponsors:

Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity.

Get an exclusive 60% on Incogni! https://incogni.com/fruity

Subscribe to Big Joel’s YouTube channel!

Me on Instagram.

A Bit Fruity on Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, I got Swiftied. As I sat there, sifting through ever more creative and graphic death threats, I wondered: is it time for a podcast episode? Today, Amanda Montell (of Sounds Like a Cult) takes us on an exploration of how online music fan culture co-opted the harassment tactics of the far right, which co-opted the social justice tactics of Black Twitter. Let’s go, girls.

Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon!

Huge thanks to the show's sponsors:

Protect yourself online, wherever you go. Get a discount on NordVPN at www.nordvpn.com/fruity.

Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity.

Me on Instagram.

A Bit Fruity on Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

H-O-T-T-O-G-O, Chappell Roan is someone we do not actually know. But what do we do with the (very real) feelings and relationships we form with the people on our screens? Today, Eliza of Binchtopia and I discuss fame — global fame and niche micro “fame” — to understand where we parasocially flew off the rails, and what the future of celebrity might look like with boundaries in place.

Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon!

Listen to Eliza's music.

Huge thanks to the show's sponsors:

Stay connected to the Internet wherever you're going (at a discount!) with Saily.

To uncover and cancel the unwanted expenses you’ve forgotten about, try Rockey Money.

Me on Instagram.

A Bit Fruity on Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does a harmless interest in yoga turn into a crusade against homosexuals in public schools? Specific though it seems, we’ve all seen it happen: a friend with a seemingly innocuous interest in wellness starts “doing their research”, and one year later, bam: QAnon. Sparked by some recent beauty influencer drama, Derek Beres of Conspirituality helps us identify the far right’s Goop-iest seduction tactic.

Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon!

Get an exclusive 60% on Incogni! https://incogni.com/fruity.

Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring today’s show. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity.

Me on Instagram.

A Bit Fruity on Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your gender is not determined by your anatomy, your chromosomes, your hormones, or even your internal sense of self. It is determined by J.K. Rowling. Today, Natalie Wynn (aka Contrapoints) and I unpack the harassment campaign against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and what it reveals about people who can “always tell.”

Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon!

Get an exclusive discount on NordVPN (that I wish I had when I first signed up for it, but hey): https://NordVPN.com/fruity.

Huge thanks to Blueland for sponsoring today’s show! Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity.

Me on Instagram.

A Bit Fruity on Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices