Friend of the pod Emily Meade (The Deuce, Dead Ringers, The Penguin) joins us to talk about life as a working actress. We discuss the Riyadh Comedy Festival, witchcraft, Scientology, “Tilly” the AI actress, and much more.

Follow Emily on Instagram @need4meade

Watch Emily's breakout performance at a weird Catholic Church-sponsored Italian children's singing competition in the 90s

Visit patreon.com/CriticalBabeTheory and subscribe for the full episode <3

We discuss “heterofatalism” and the latest propaganda against straight men.  

Discussed: 

The Trouble with Wanting Men 

This Economist Crunched the Numbers and Stopped Dating Men 

The Princess of 72nd Street 

Rep Richie Torres & AIPAC

Jia Tolentino on Elizabeth Gilbert 

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Full episode on Patreon for subscribers only. https://www.patreon.com/c/CriticalBabeTheory

We discuss the latest schizo current events (Israel bombing Qatar, the Epstein birthday book, Kamala's memoir) and find out while recording that right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead at the Utah Valley University.

Correction: Iryna Zarutska is the name of the 23-year-old Ukranian refugee who was murdered in Charlotte, North Carolina. May she rest in peace.

Discussed: 

Charles Heston: “From my cold, dead hands”

Kamala Harris 107 Days excerpt

Epstein Birthday Book 

The New Yorker on Schizophrenia and autoimmune conditions

We discuss Sarah's experience getting cancelled at work and Andrea Chu’s review of Thomas Chatterton William’s new book Summer of Our Discontent: The Age of Certainty and the Demise of Discourse.

Plus: Francesca’s controversial statements on polyamory, Sarah’s visit to a nude beach, talking to men on the subway, Ezra Klein’s moral failings, Trump federalizing the DC police, and more.

Discussed:

Andrea Long Chu on Thomas Chatterton Williams's new book

Ezra Klein on Palestine

How a Polyamorous Mom Had ‘a Big Sexual Adventure’ and Found Herself

Republican lawmaker in jail on child sex abuse material charges resigns from office

Victoria Lagano tattoos

Dilettante, suspected communist, essayist, and musician Zay, aka Civic Flora, joins the pod to discuss the return of fascism, reconciling our material desires with our socialist dreams, the alleged male loneliness epidemic, bromance, third spaces, and much, much more.

Follow Zay on Instagram @civicflora

Check out Zay's music and essays here

We discuss the midtown Manhattan shooting and CTE, self-immolation, Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad campaign, The New York Times’ genocidal journalism, and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Discussed:

• Dorothy Day on self-immolation
• Justin Trudeau party trick
• New York War Crimes dossier
• Global march to Gaza

• The Information Warfare Consortium Shaping GHF’s PR Offensive

• Leonardo DiCaprio is invested in a hotel in Israel

Corrections

• Dorothy Day is not a saint, but she should be!
• According to Palestinian analyst Elhasan Bakr, the prewar amount of aid trucks into Gaza was 500-600 a day, with estimates of 1,000-1,500 trucks needed to alleviate starvation. Israel has failed to reach any of these goals.

Harry Krinsky, co-host of the basketball podcast Nothing But Respect, joins the show for a thrilling cultural exchange. He teaches us about men and sports, and we talk to him about girlie stuff—like having a sapphic awakening while watching Blue Is the Warmest Color.

Discussed: the cost of being a sports fan, gambling, male loneliness, how pick-up basketball is sort of gay cruising for straight guys, and Sarah’s attempt to help a stranger on the streets of NYC make friends.

Follow Harry on Instagram @lexaprotools

Listen to Nothing But Respect

Anarchist babe and friend of the pod, Isobel van Hagen, comes on the pod to promote making anarchy hot again. We discuss anarchism as a personal ethos, relationship anarchy, and how feminism ends when there’s a bear.