Joel Stein (columnist, author & podcast host) joins Bridget for the first video edition of Walk-Ins Welcome! They sit down for a fun and wide-ranging conversation about their obsession with super yachts, the one-upsmanship of the super wealthy, why people in rural America know all about liberals yet liberals know nothing about them, Joel's propensity for smugness, and why he thinks our differences as a country are severe but not irreconcilable. They cover how democracy is young and fragile and the assumption that it’s going to keep going forever is ignorant, why the whole idea of a Civil War seems preposterous to Joel, how television disintegrated society in a way we don’t necessarily understand, being addicted to tech, living through butt-pinching as a server, and the Christmas tree selling racket in New York City. Don't miss Joel's podcast Story of the Week with Joel Stein , where he investigates random stories don’t get enough attention these days.

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Bridget Phetasy admires grit and authenticity. On Walk-Ins Welcome, she talks about the beautiful failures and frightening successes of her own life and the lives of her guests. She doesn’t conduct interviews—she has conversations. Conversations with real people about the real struggle and will remind you that we can laugh in pain and cry in joy but there’s no greater mistake than hiding from it all. By embracing it all, and celebrating it with the stories she’ll bring listeners, she believes that our lowest moments can be the building blocks for our eventual fulfillment.

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