243 Advice Q&A: Religious In-Laws, Letting Your Radical Activism Shine, Advice for 20-Somethings, and much more!

We answer a host of amazing listener questions this week; including how to make friends in a new city when you’re radical AF, complimenting women, and many more. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions!

In This Episode

No news or questions today as Nichole had to fly out to the East Coast at the crack of dawn; we just get right into our awesome listener questions!

Questions:

* Kelly (she/her)I was born and raised in SoCal (southern California) but in my 32 years my family has all either moved away or disowned my mother and therefore me by default (it was well earned by my mother, I don’t talk to her either). Because of all of this my main social group and place of support has become my in-laws.My wife as well as her family are Christian. When we got married I made clear that I do not, nor do I ever see a future where I would, identify as a Christian however my wife and her family accepted me in and love me regardless. 99% of the time they respect that I do not agree with them theologically.My problem is that when I find I am in need of support, my in-laws and to a lesser extent my wife will tell me that Jesus is the answer and that because I do not have “him” in my life I will not ever be able to truly be happy.I tried to communicate with her that it feels alienating and lonely when she throws “Jesus” at my problems instead of being supportive. My question is what would you say to someone who you love who throws “Jesus” at your problems?* Amanda (she/her)My question to you is how to start integrating your activism and or more radical views with your friends and family. I have found myself struggling how to deal with topics of conversation such of politics, human and animal rights, food waste etc without either getting ignored or pushed aside as invaluable. Any advice on how to stand your ground and know when to and not to continue the conversation * DanielWhat advice do you have for someone who is about to exit college or just for someone in their 20s like career wise, dream wise, living wise, etc.?* Natalia (she/her)I’m curious for you to do a media review on other podcasts. Particularly fitness-based ones. Or more generally your thoughts on health-based veganism. * Mohera (she/her)I have two questions… 1) How do you two feel about complimenting people (mostly women in particular) about their appearance? I remember you two discussing this on an episode one time, but I’m wondering how you feel about it now? Do you think it’s bad or anti-feminist to tell a woman that you love her hair or think her outfit is really cute? I’ve done some reading into body neutrality and I’m really on board with the idea, but I just really struggle with creating an atmosphere that places less importance on physical appearance while also just being like, “Hey girl I love what you did with your hair today!”2) I’m totally on board with anti-capitalism, but I want to hear more about anarchy and what that means to you two. Why do you feel that anarchy is a good idea/approach? It seems a little scary, but I want to hear what you two have to say before forming an opinion. I hear a lot about anti-capitalism on the show, but not a lot about anarchy and I just want to know more of why you both identify as anarchists.* Rose (she/her)How do you deal with lingering guilt? I don’t want to get into the details of it, but I still feel guilt about the worst abuser of my life. I broke off my friendship with her nearly 10 years ago for my own safety and sanity, but I still wonder how she is doing and hope that she is okay.She grew up in an abusive household and fell in with all the wrong crowds, leading to addiction of every kind you can think of. I was the only real “stable” (for lack of a better term) force in her life and despite all of ...