Feminists Without Mystique

We discuss West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and his incredibly frustrating and destructive insistence on bipartisanship in a world where bipartisanship just doesn't exist. (Thanks, Mitch McConnell!) Manchin refuses to acknowledge this reality, respect the will of the majority of voters, and join his Democratic colleagues in voting for wildly popular bills like the HR1 For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. If he truly believes everyone has the right to vote, and the GOP is working overtime to pass restrictive laws making it harder to vote... solutions are staring him in the face. 

We see you:  DC Comics, Kevin Hart, Hungarian Parliament, West Point High School, Sutton Stracke, Edouardo Jordan

Feminists Without Mystique is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you’ll love at Frolic.media/podcasts!

Today's episode is sponsored by the new romance anthology, Summer in the City.

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In light of the recent revelations that Chrissy Teigen cyberbullied Courtney Stodden, we discuss who deserves forgiveness, and under what circumstances. Did Donald Trump promote an environment where many feel that if they apologize they're showing weakness, and opening themself up to criticism, so better to just gaslight everyone and move on? Yes, yes he did. CC: Aziz Ansari, Brett Kavanaugh, Louis CK... Do men generally get more leeway to redeem themselves after they colossally fuck up? Yes again! 

We see you: Mike Pence, Governor Greg Abbot (TX), Fisher Price, Governor Ron DeSantis (FL), Hudson American Legion Auxiliary event organizers, people dunking on intermittent fasting

Feminists Without Mystique is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you’ll love at Frolic.media/podcasts!

Today's episode is sponsored by the new romance anthology, Summer in the City.

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We discuss Bo Burnham's stunning, existential Netflix film, INSIDE. 

We see you: Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, UNC Chapel Hill, Sutton Stracke, Nikki Haley, unruly flight passengers, Bloomberg article on "sparing a thought for the billions of people who will never exist" 

Feminists Without Mystique is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you’ll love at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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Feminists Without Mystique is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you’ll love at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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Human Rights Watch recently released a report that "Abusive Israeli Policies Constitute Crimes of Apartheid, Persecution." We discuss the tragic/frustrating/unconscionable violence in Israel and Palestine. Yes, certain parts of this conflict are complicated but other parts of it very much are not. We should all be able to hold more than one truth in our minds at once, and unequivocally call for a ceasefire.  

Feminists Without Mystique is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you’ll love at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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The sad news of John Mulaney's divorce prompts us to discuss why his personal life (and Ben and J. Lo and Bill and Melinda etc...) are so fascinating to us. It's none of our business! Why are we so invested?? Is there something about this moment in the chaotic hellscape of this world that nudges us to cling to certain celebrity couples and project our own hopes and dreams and desires onto them? Or is this all a procrastination so we don't have to tackle the hopelessly gridlocked Senate because Joe Manchin is indulging in some fantasy of bipartisanship that doesn't exist? Also there's a lot of international crises we need to get into... next week, we promise! For today, Bennifer! 

Feminists Without Mystique is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you’ll love at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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We begin by discussing the relatable, disturbing viral Tik Tok video of a teenage girl being harassed by a creepy man, which led us to discuss the Netflix film Cuties (2020, d. Maïmouna Doucouré) and the ensuing controversy. We wanted to cover this film in fall 2020, but were wrapped up in election 2020 coverage - better late than never! 

Feminists Without Mystique is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you’ll love at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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Recent research indicates that 52% of adolescent girls use filters every day and 80% have used an app to change their appearance before the age of 13! Shaken by this and other statistics Lizzo cited on her Instagram, we take a deeper look at augmented reality filters and the harm they inflict on people of all ages, but are especially detrimental to adolescents.

We see you: Centner Academy, Rick Santorum, man who attacked Yao Pan Ma, GOP lawmakers passing voter suppression and anti-protest bills, careless & malicious COVID spreaders, argument against closing prisons in Florida because they contribute to local economy & census and diversity numbers

Feminists Without Mystique is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you’ll love at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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We discuss today's verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. Today George Floyd's family got accountability, a rare thing when challenging police in the court system, but accountability ≠ justice. There's so much work to do to dismantle racist policing. We then discuss the most recent mass shootings - one nearly every day last week. On the 22nd anniversary of the Columbine shooting there's been very little legislation to address an issue that has gotten worse and worse. 

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We briefly discuss the latest murder of an unarmed black man (Daunte Wright) at the hands of the police, and then process the latest grotesque misdeeds of Congressman Matt Gaetz, who is now under investigation by the FBI. 

We see you: Bethel Baptist church, Amazon, the discourse surrounding Jill Biden's patterned tights, Michigan GOP, James Franco and Seth Rogan, Mt. Rushmore 

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