DEI is the new Critical Race Theory is the new Affirmative Action -- a way to distract you from the way finance is ruining everything. Jessa and Nico get into the online conspiracies that soon your doctors, pilots, and dentists will just be some guy they pull from the streets. Also: Is Berlin over? If Trump becomes President again, are we ready for four more years of hideous anti-Trump "art"?

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America's oldest art school, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, is closing its degreed programs after a perilous drop in enrollment. It is just one of the many arts and humanities programs that are being slashed, retooled, and shut down across America. Nico, who both attended and taught at art school, and Jessa discuss the state of arts education, the tight grip the MFA has on the imaginations of our young artists, and why our world trains so many artists for jobs that do not exist.

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Every week there's a new docuseries where the victims of horrific violence or exploitation have to get in front of the camera and tell us the bad things that happened to them. And within a few days, we've forgotten again. Nico and Jessa look at the overproduction of nonfiction content, from the multiple "investigations" into Twin Flames to the multiplicity of deep dives on Nickelodeon damaged child stars, the constantly refreshing stream of information, and the way clickbait media feeds off the streaming ecosystem. 

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Are the tradwives coming to take your husbands? Page Six printed an essay by a woman whose partner got addicted to depictions of effortless domesticity and wondered why his house was not as blissful. Divorce rates are high, marriage rates are low, what is the meaning of wife in this moment? Jessa and Nico talk tradwive propaganda, why the feminists are divorcing, and whether we should abolish the family altogether.

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The viewership of the Oscars is less than half of what it was a decade ago, and yet the award ceremony dominates celebrity media more than ever. The films themselves are almost secondary to what the awards represent, which is... racial equality? social harmony? proof that our democracy is working? Unclear. People take sides in the awards so much that Emma Stone was threatened with cancellation immediately for winning Best Actress over Lily Gladstone. Nico and Jessa dig into the discourse and imagine a better, less "important" award ceremony for the future.

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Hey, hey you. No no no, act cool. Listen, I have discovered some pretty potent information about the dealings of our government in (Iran/Nicaragua/Chile/Brooklyn). People have died knowing this stuff, you know what I'm saying? So this is for your eyes only, well, yours and the rest of the Netflix audience. Netflix has been releasing very successful conspiracy-related docuseries the last few years. The latest is American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders, which dives into the CIA's involvement in drug trafficking, at least one serial killer, spying on enemies and allies alike, and global instability. Jessa and Nico look at the popularity of these shows in an election year, and whether CIA conspiracies are just QAnon for leftists.

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The Oscars love the Holocaust. Jessa and Nico look back at the short history of the Oscar bait Holocaust film, from Sophie's Choice to Schindler's List to Zone of Interest, and why we set so many films in this apocalyptic moment. And what is the lasting effect of a culture overstuffed with these good vs evil tales and allows our historical education to be done by entertainment properties?

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Episode is sponsored by Better Help. For more information go to:

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Families of the victims of mass shootings are participating in The Shotline, where AI recreates their loved ones' voices to plea for political action. How useful is sentimentality as a political tool? Jessa and Nico look through how various advocacy and political groups have used appeals to sentimentality to sway opinion in the name of gun control, support for Israel, amnesty for FARC in Colombia, and abortion rights. Are there better ways to build empathy than to overwhelm the voter with tales of sorrow and horror? Does this tactic change minds or just cause apathy? 

This week's episode is sponsored by Better Help. Go to http://betterhelp.com/culturewedeserve for a discount.

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Has TikTok ruined music? With its users flooding concert venues to meow at the artists, with the "oh no" song playing in the background of videos of puppies falling down and actual atrocities, with a standoff between two global corporate forces in its battle with Universal Music Group? Or will Spotify have that honor, by algorithming us all into mediocre bliss, as we toss our pennies at our geniuses and amuse ourselves to death?

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With the release of "Griselda," a Narcos-adjacent Netflix show that reboots Scarface as a woman as if this were the Ghostbusters, Jessa and Nico look at the specific place Colombia and the international drug wars has in the American imagination. 

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