Critical Babe Theory

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

In commemoration of Earth Day, climate activist Matthew Menzies comes on the show to discuss his nonviolent protest and civil disobedience with the climate group Extinction Rebellion—and how we can avert climate crisis, build community, and envision a better life.

Also discussed: how climate change is not your fault, whether podcasts steal your soul, permaculture, how oil=corn=flesh, chimpanzee civil war, the benevolent dictatorship of parenthood, Eric Adams going where it’s warm (Albania, apparently), the true antidote to apathy, the Fed crackdown on peaceful protest and free speech, being on the domestic enemies list (Francesca says: pretty fab), martyrdom as the pinnacle of spiritual achievement, the normative vs pejorative state, Trump as scammer from Queens, and the age old question: can we be fruitful and multiply without oppression?

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

***This is our 50th episode***

The utterly delightful Monique Gabriel comes on the show to discuss the power of the bitch—which becomes a conversation about spiritual living and integrates into the timeless question: how can I be a spiritual bitch?

Also discussed: adult tantrums, competitive crafting, alphas who like to be alphaed, girls school aura, “a friend to all is a friend to no one,” animus and anima, how trump brings meth head energy to the White House, POV promotions, MBA degrees = art of the yap, manifestation as original sin, reverting to the old gods, being out there in your faun, the peace of fulfilling the bloodline, and we boldly ask the question: what is it going to take to bring glitter back to America? (Hint: another Beyoncé album)

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

Novelist Andrew Ridker comes on the show to discuss the paradox of privilege and persecution at the heart of the Jewish-American experience (and literary canon)—and how it’s time to shift the plot.

Also discussed: Birthright sex romps, the cure for ambiguity, how the medium is the message in social media comment fights, the intellectual inconsistencies of Holocaust denialism, Portlandia passover seders, how Israel-Gaza is the psychic tear of the moral universe, the internet’s MO (nihilism), mogging as the law of the land, closeted DJs, and next year in Jerusalem—but not literally.

Discussed:

Andrew’s NY Mag article: https://www.vulture.com/article/jewish-american-writers-literature-new-stories-gaza-israel.html

Peter Beinart’s - Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza

Prospect Writers’ Workshop: https://www.andrewridker.com/prospect-writers-workshop

Political consultant and strategist Charlie Goldensohn—aka @chez.chuck—comes on the show to discuss the Democratic Party and all its stumbling blocks.

Also discussed: innate SF degeneracy, dip preferences, Gavin Newsom (again), the gender wars, how we all become our parents, American gerontocracy, “the people who are winning are populists,” the DL on Biden’s White House mental state, who’s really driving the male loneliness discourse, and the only egalitarian marriage in America (Charlie’s parents’).

*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 *

Léonie Weerakoon—human ecologist and founder of Kinetik Ventures, a bioeconomy investment firm—comes on the show to discuss her work, sustainability, and how nature is the highest form of intelligence.

Also discussed: what it’s like to work for F1, living the globalist dream, extreme sports of sustainability, a hard pitch on moving to Luxembourg, nature as a peer, Francesca’s new conspiracy theory, how rubber led to the Industrial Revolution—plus Francesca gets a 101 on how capitalism works.

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

Johnny Gaffney—founder of Senior Centertainment (https://seniorcentertainment.org) — comes on the show to talk about his work with seniors and how we all can be good neighbors — and finally do away with the modern illusion of self-sufficiency. 

Also discussed: always hailing yellow, the value of scrumming around, growing our capacity for non-romantic intimacy, VHI Behind the Music as spiritually purifying, honoring the stranger by having toilet paper, male vanity, Grinch green attraction, what it means to be a yapper, the sex scene in Showgirls, carnival barking, and Johnny’s shocking confession that he hasn’t washed his hair since the Obama administration.

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