To finish our Hetero Month programming, we go back to the beginning of the war of the sexes: the prehistorical suppression female-centered religions and the casting of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute by the early church. Bri O’Reilly—Irish cradle Catholic—comes on the show to discuss how the sex wars are as old as history itself, and how we can approach true egalitarianism in our faith and in our relationships.

Also discussed: the first conspiracy theory, fistfights at Catholic school, the time Francesca accidentally got witnessed to Christ, Hillary Clinton feminism, Paul as off-brand commentary, a matrifocal society (equals communism), “it’s been 5000 years of men on top,” Pope Gregory created the myth that Mary Magdalene was a whore in 591 AD, Francesca draws the line with Epstein conspiracy theories, the Rosicrucians, the real nature of the relationship between Christ and Mary Magdalene, exposing the free birthing fallacy, the garden of Eden re-examined, and finding the God of your own heart.

Fact check on Wayfair child trafficking conspiracy and how it was promulgated—the conspiracy was not true, and diverted resources from real trafficking efforts.

Books referenced:

The Gospel of Mary by Jean-Yves Leloup

When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone

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 the third installment of Hetero Month, filmmaker Shervin Nassi and I have a frank conversation about dating—and we find that men and women are having the same problems in relationships, and explore what we mean when we say true partnership.

Shervin's film ONLY GOOD FEELINGS will be premiering this fall in NY & LA, for screenings and more information, please visit Onlygoodfeelingsfilm.com

Also discussed: the Kardashians demonstrate remarkable family unity, anti-coffee propaganda, Timothée Chalamet is too soft to be the Lisan al-Gaib, “nobody can take over your life unless you let them,” ie. adults are not victims, Shervin’s peptide stack, 1 Corinthians 13:11, the war of the sexes is going to keep us alone, is personality in the blood line?, the desire-industrial-complex, “life is easier and people are nicer to you when you look better,” the fantasy of dating in your ethnicity, dousing yourself in cinema, male looksmaxxing media diet, motherhood made Francesca more grounded, “bring coke energy into the marijuana realm,” and the eternal question: how can we lead to male flourishing?

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 the second installment of Hetero Month, Dani Druz—actress, producer, and mental health advocate—comes on the show to discuss the new era men find themselves in, and how we as women can relate to them better. 

Also discussed: “there is a plague of low T men terrorizing women,” testify for peptides, Rosie the dog digestive drama, what we love about junkies, did Kelloggs put chemicals in the food to make men sleep around less?, a 101 on Shakti energy, men wanting the male gaze,  DL vs artistic, “vanity looks better on women,” countries cutting down on their dog consumption, holding masculine space, the fruit of your labor is what enriches your life, neo-feminism, “respect is to men what oxygen is to lungs,” it’s good to take breaks from dating, “why don’t you try on the idea that he has every right to be how he’s being?,” radical acceptance, and as Marianne Williamson says: “love brings up everything unlike itself.”

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 Brock Colyar, features writer at New York Mag, about their recent article “The Big Little Penis Panic”—and how size anxiety is dominating the American male psyche. Be warned: this episode is very NSFW.

Also discussed: catching print, is skinny to women what dick size is to men?, growers vs showers, get good at the native sex you’re having, pleasure-maxxing, porn is ruining men’s self esteem, dick size in art reflects the political climate of the time, you can be so big it’s a liability, Clan of the Cave Bear as sex-ed, “almost every woman I talk to says they don’t care about size,” we need to take looksmaxxers more seriously, working on our personalities, “the call is coming from inside the American house,” the sexual rigidity of BDSM, feeder fantasies, Hitler’s size was tabloid fodder in his day, soyboybetacucks, traditional yearning for hard masculinity, the gays are the real size queens, and Francesca relates her peak erotic experience.

“The Big Little Penis Panic” by Brock Colyar in New York Mag

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 Carrigan Miller, writer and editor of KGB Lit, about the looming schism in the Catholic Church between traditionalists and reformers—and how SSPX, Peter Thiel and conservative American bishops are emblematic of the tensions in Rome post-Vatican II.

Also discussed: “you have a soul, act like it,”only fools want schism, fifth base is letting the person you’re seeing watch you pray, “we’re looking for the seamless garment out there,” letting Christianity scandalize you, “Catholicism is like communism,” the Marian apparition at Fatima, dogmatists vs pastoralists, throwing white boy Arabic into the group chat, being a guy with an eyeliner-y look, Never Forget has been totally forgotten, the real target of the encyclical is realpolitik and Henry Kissinger, girls with rosaries at the club, grace is countercultural, and one of the little-known selling points of early Christianity was that it would free you from the shackles of astrology.

Referenced:

Pope Leo’s Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas

Peter Thiel’s essay for First Things

Jack Hanson’s Harper’s article: “Radical Reformation”

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 Democrats claim to be the “moral” party—that’s why they abandoned Platner. But is a party that facilitated the genocide in Gaza, allowed Ted Kennedy to serve in the Senate for 47 years after killing a girl, and is led by Nancy Pelosi—who clearly engages in insider trading—really the party that can demand their candidates be pure? An argument with political strategist and former Congressional staffer Matt Landini about what the Democrats mean when they say they’re the party of morality—and if they have what it takes to win.

Also discussed: grievance politics works, “do we want hot candidates or do we want good guy candidates?”, bootstrap Dems, anti-Canadian immigration, crisis comms & posting through the pain, Francesca rereads Machiavelli, the gayest beach anywhere ever, real talk about SA, “one senate seat does not the republic make,” DSA works in NYC but not in the heartland, Dems being a big tent means they have a lot of constituents to please, “pedophilia is a bipartisan issue” and the greatest question of all: what is the calculus of moral culpability?

Fact check: Troy Jackson did start his political career as a Republican. And here’s the best accounting of who funds AIPAC, many of whom have ties to the state of Israel: https://www.trackaipac.com/donors

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

Murtaza Hussain, senior reporter at Drop Site News, comes on the show to talk about the war in Iran. But (of course) we end up talking about Israel—and how they’re scrambling to keep war in the Middle East going at any cost.

Nota bene: this was taped on July 3rd. Since then the ceasefire between the US and Iran—in so much as there was one—has collapsed.

Also discussed: when the goal is the creation of chaos, ethnic religion, draining down the bank of moral capital, the strength of a diasporic people is that they’re not all concentrated in one place, moving from offshore balancing to Israeli hegemony, don’t forget the evangelical component, underestimating the continuity of Persian civilization, the state of Israel as pastiche, “you’re into the Abrahamic or you’re not,” TM-ing ideas, how Mamdani doesn’t ever have a cunt-y moment, how the institutional memory of the Catholic Church puts everything in perspective, suppressing the student protests is suppressing future elites at their most impressionable moment, “Israel is trying to race to the end of history,” using Gaza as a verb, and the real question: is Iran coming out on top here?

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

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