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 Barsky—raconteur & denizen of the diamond district—about 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!

Actress and impresario Ruby McCollister and I discuss Camille Paglia’s Sexual Personae—the resurrection of the work post-Trump, Paglia’s thrilling/exhausting prose styling, the fundamental immorality and amorality of art, and the inherent tackiness of sexuality.

Also discussed: Ruby’s theory on how JFK started the culture war (with his hotness), safe spaces at Vogue, being an emotional slut, the NYC real estate that perverted Francesca’s lifestyle expectations, how Gen X ruined the world (and the grace due boomers), Howard Stern and the end of the shock jock era, whether large tubes of Aquafor are chic, and how sometimes in a room everyone has been inside Francesca.

Activist and comic Davidson Boswell returns and we discuss Venezuela, ICE and the murder of Renee Good. We debate material conditions vs the flawed nature of man, what follows post-white supremacy and the eschatological possibility of saving ICE agent’s souls.

Also discussed: Almond moms, socialist footwear, how Trump accidentally made Maduro look cool, Jonathan E Ross as the new Franz Ferdinand, post-materialism and how the Democrats have to embrace populism.

Comic and activist Davidson Boswell comes on the show to talk about his radicalization post October 7th and the mass marketing of revolution.

We discuss the sins of moderate liberals and Davidson's disruptions with Climate Defiance, including their interruption of the opening night of Carmen at the Met. Also discussed: how to get a pervert to put their dick away on the subway, the ego-wound of standing on principle, quibbles with Cuba, the glam of imperialism, Francesca’s common ground with Megyn Kelly, and much more. Also Francesca gives in to her worst instincts and reads her favorite poem.

Nota bene: this was recorded at the end of last year before Trump went Rambo on Maduro—we will discuss Venezuela & the ICE murder of an American citizen in depth on the next episode.

Friend of the pod Lauren Bille returns to the show and we attempt to talk about dating—but keep getting pulled into current events. The personal is political?

Also discussed: the hermeneutics of dating people too young for you, paralyzation of choice, Candace Owens blaming American foreign policy in Venezuela on “Zionists” (editor’s note: by that does she mean Stephen Miller?), the ideal male-female age gap (spoiler: it’s 20 years), what Derek Chauvin is up to, why Hobbes would support increasing marriage rates and how women are responsible for eternal bachelorhood. Also Francesca’ gives her merciless dating advice and confesses a blasphemy.

CBT welcomes in the new year with guest Dhananjay Jagannathan and a super-stoney discussion of what Christ really meant when he said he came with the sword (the Christian mandate for socialism, duh). We break down Phil Christman’s book Why Christians Should be Leftists, the semiotics of woke house style, the aesthetics needed to reach Christian moms and how Christ is a little too radical for the NYC petite bourgeoisie.

Also discussed: how sexy we like our thought leaders (very), Hilbert’s paradox as metaphor for the Trinity, the ethics of astrology, and much more. Plus Francesca asks the most serious question of all: can I really consider myself a Christian if I spend hella $$$ on nail art?

Read more of his work on Dhananjay's substack, Cultured Opinion: https://culturedopinion.substack.com

And his essay on the sins of private property:

https://comment.org/on-privacy-and-exclusion/

Guest Dhananjay Jagannathan returns to discuss his time as a professor at Columbia University post-October 7th and the ensuing protests and encampments. We discuss how the elite institutions of higher education are eating themselves alive—like it's 1968 all over again.

Also discussed: the lost pleasures of MapQuest, how Columbia University loves its grass (more than its students), and that Francesca never wears her glasses and thus lives in blissful ignorance.

This week's guest Dhananjay Jagannathan, essayist and Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College, comes on to discuss the value of education today—is it for the one percent? Is it for spiritual edification? Is it to perform well at cocktail parties?

Read more on Dhananjay's substack, Cultured Opinion: https://culturedopinion.substack.com

Atlantic article about how students don't read anymore: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/the-elite-college-students-who-cant-read-books/679945/

Francesca and guest host Lauren Bille discuss single motherhood (and why you shouldn't be one), the tepid response to pronatalism on the right, dating football players and much more.

You open your eyes at dawn and turn in the cool bedsheets. From outside, you can hear the California High-Speed Rail as it comes to a screeching halt. Your government issued Meta glasses deliver a Page Six alert: recently disgraced influencer has thrown herself into the tracks. You open your window, and an Amazon drone flies in with your reasonably priced prescription of Ozempic, manufactured in the Purdue low-orbit space factory. Your micro-ear piece pings: it's Ezra Klein, reminding you that you're happy now.

Friend-of-the-pod Brendan joins to mansplain Derek Thompson & Ezra Klein's Abundance to us.