Former pro wrestler and natural bodybuilder Max Barsky comes on the show to talk about wrestling, labor organizing, and patriotism. Plus we have an honest conversation about getting cancelled—and how it doesn’t have to make you swing to the right.

Also discussed: bodybuilding categories, “cancellation doesn’t exist,” the moral obligation to run for office, the #speakingout movement, labor organizing in the indie professional wrestling circuit, an explanation of “customs,”strictly-for-entertainment visas, textbook gaslighting, idealist zionism, the best independent wrestling storyline, when you lie to your journal, how the unitary theory of the executive could lead to the Green New Deal, “no man has ever said ‘I’m overstimulated,’” sportswashing in Israel, the Salem witch burners were the real Americans, and Francesca asks: is it a crime to be a bad boyfriend?

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

The first half of my conversation with writer and organizer Caroline Debnam about the recent hit pieces on Graham Platner in the NY Times—their questionable sources, AIPAC-awarded journalists, and the real issue: legacy media is terrified of a viable populist candidate.

Also discussed: the liberal discourse on the insurgent left, standing for the real America, letting go of “believe women,” DC technocrats are obsessed with voters being effected by bad ideas, Cuba can never win, the bs class position dialogue on Platner, “it’s morning in North Korea,” the psychic damage of San Francisco, people in their 20’s are a nightmare to date—that doesn’t mean they’re abusive, Euro-mutts, “if Platner were running as a Blue Dog, no one would be asking these questions," Francesca reminds us that Ezra Klein is a polyamorist, and the question of the day: is the problem with Democratic politics that coastal elites are just unpleasant conversationalists?

Referenced:

“Several Women Who Dated Graham Platner Recall ‘Unsettling’ Behavior” - Katie Glueck & Lisa Lerer 

“Graham Platner and the Rise of White Male Identity Politics” - Joan Walsh

Ezra Klien & Chris Hayes discuss Graham Platner 

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

The first half of my conversation with Rev. Dr. Andrew Blume—the rector of Saint Ignatius of Antioch in New York City—about what it’s like to be part of a church community grounded in traditional worship while also having an inclusive, open-door policy—and how angry that makes the tradcath trolls online.

Also discussed: Francesca forsakes frivolity for more serious concerns, defining Anglo-Catholicism, a Jewish parent’s worst nightmare (their only child becoming a Christian priest), “don’t let anyone tell you that prayer in school doesn’t matter,” Anglican intellectual warmth, “you grow in life as you grow in ministry,” 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: “I wanted to gather a community around the Eucharist so we could all make meaning of our lives,” and Francesca’s 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

The first half of my conversation with guest Zoe Dubno—author of the novel Happiness & Love—on her recent article for NY Mag about whether we’ve 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 it’s a problem, there are no attractive people on the UWS, searching for the illusion of purity, the depth of Francesca’s vanity, and the immortal question: is it good to get exactly what you want?

Referenced:

“I Spray Myself with Magnesium and Read Under a Chicken Light” - 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

My conversation with porn historian Noelle Perdue on the censorious attempt to regulate pornography today—and our heated debate about what a moral society owes its citizens.

Also discussed: “pornography is neutral but our sexual culture is not,” box dye heritage, wanting to see things you can never unsee, “The Entertainment” 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 “porn industry” doesn’t exist as such, stalking the halls of the Bellagio, the feature of SESTA/FOSTA is to harm sex workers—it’s not a bug, the fallacy of the Nordic Model, and how “keeping people isolated is profitable business.”

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

A wide-ranging conversation with writer and filmmaker Sean Wilsey about literature, the left, and his film IXXI that’s 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, “it’s really easy to throw people under whatever bus you want to keep moving,” Italy’s reputation as frivolous, The Nation doesn’t 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 one’s 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), we’re becoming a country of scammers and liars, and the unresolved question: did all Gen X ideas come from Woody Guthrie? 

Link to Sean’s film IXXI at Tribeca, almost sold out: 

https://tribecafilm.com/films/ix-xi-2026

Articles referenced:

The Nation - “Luigi Pirandello’s Broken Men” by Gus O’Connor

GQ - “The Next Giant Leap” 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

The first half of my conversation with health and wellness journalist Leigh Weingus about GLP-1’s—and what it means for Americans to empty themselves of desire in pursuit of a fix-all miracle drug.

Also discussed: optimization culture, Francesca’s 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, “being fat was good for my personality,” 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-1’s 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 — 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

Native New Yorker Alex Brook Lynn comes on the show to talk about the city in the 90’s—and what’s 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 aren’t high, and how close to life Larry Clark’s Kids was (pretty close).

Also discussed: middle class drug dealers, how the out-of-towners are the city’s own migratory bird population, “graft for the people,” 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 Riker’s Island, “the 90’s were cheap enough that you could be free,” and how a rent controlled apartment is it’s 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 Saltz’s photos of 90’s 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

My very fun and very discursive talk with Sam Adler-Bell, journalist and host of leftist podcast “Know Your Enemy.” We discuss his recent viral article “The Women Leaving the New Right” in New York Mag, liberalism’s lack of meaning, the (more) vile aspects of the New Right—and how the left drove women into their arms in the first place.

Also discussed: “It’s China over here,” 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, “you can die or become part of the petite bourgeoisie,” Francesca’s 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

A surrealist interview with sign-based comedian and beloved internet denizen Alan Wagner (@truewagner) about the critically reviled Ari Aster film Eddington—and 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