The Safe Spaces Podcast / safepodcast.com

Can you believe we’ve made it to Safe Spaces Episode Eight? And with hardly a scratch, too! In a week jam-packed full of incidental cultural delights as far-ranging as Cinco de Mayo and Star Wars Day (May the 4th Be With You!), there’s nothing stopping our co-hosts from taking on a healthy mix of the biggest, smallest, and most livid banalities our culture has to offer.

A brief return to last week’s major topic, Bill Nye “the science guy” and his deranged new show about science and climate change, Bill Nye Saves the World. Perhaps you missed the show’s less-discussed ice cream orgy (yep)? We also learn that, following the chromosomal controversy about gender fluidity and hideous butt stuff hysterics, Netflix decided to clip the early sequence from Nye’s original children’s show purporting to use actual science – opposed to feelings – that demonstrated an entirely different lesson on gender dynamics. Why be scientifically correct when it’s easier just to push the delete button?

Also on Anton’s radar is Anita Sarkeesian, the controversial feminist culture critic (to put it lightly), who’s decided to end her equally controversial series Tropes vs. Women in Video Games. Never one to be outdone, our brave co-host gives Sarkeesian the send-off she so richly deserves – by paring her with Theresa Caputo, the “Long Island Medium” who’s also scammed unknowing innocents from their precious dollars.

From there our hosts venture into the dazzling spectacle of self-abortion and denial that continues to be failed Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who recently gave an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour at a Women for Women International fundraiser, a non-profit pegged at “supporting women worldwide who have survived war, poverty, and injustice.” Guests paid up to $2,500 to hear the wisdom and recollections of the first female Presidential candidate to head a major political party under the auspices of charity.

It didn’t go well.

Clinton’s interview was much-maligned, even by members of her own party, as being out of touch and void of introspection. There to help whet whistles for her upcoming book – and, as we’ve learned, to possibly launch a political movement – Clinton continued to put the blame of her failed campaign on the triptych of (you guessed it) Russia, FBI Director James Comey, and misogyny.

By using Clinton’s own words against her, our hosts dismantle the unproven ramblings and shameless charges of sexism and the mythological Wage Gap, whose existence was present in all areas of Clinton’s multiple accounts of public service. Most baffling is her claim to be part of #TheResistance, a vapid and often ridiculous hodge-podge of vague grievances that was created specifically because of Clinton’s campaign against her Democratic rival, Bernie Sanders. Appropriating the movement or Alliance?

The only major reporting comes by way of CBS’s John Dickerson, whose exclusive interview with President Trump ended with an anticlimactic thud, to say the least. This didn’t sit well with fellow Tiffany Network employee and Late Night host Stephen Colbert, who took Trump’s affront as an insult to both the journalist and journalism. Colbert then went on an epic screed against the sitting President, putting forth a stunningly crude ‘truth to power’ stance that pleased Trump detractors and set GOP panties bunching.

Colbert’s use of “dick-holster” to describe Trump’s relationship with Vladimir Putin was the sticking point for many, and it wasn’t long before cries of “Homophobia!” were heard, and a failed campaign to #FireColbert was set to motion. Our hosts delved into whether such an epic tantrum was warranted, if the jokes hit the mark, and if the ideological echo chamber we call “late-night comedy” may be getting nostalgic for the days when goading Donald Trump didn’t require this much effort.

Concluding this week’s podcast is a special message from none other than our President, Donald J. Trump, who provides perhaps the most sage advice on how healthcare should work we’ve ever heard. Who knew the orange-tinged billionaire-turned-politico could be so verbally precise in breaking down the logistics of injured feet versus taking out psychotic dictators? ¡Ay, caramba!

Episode Seven of Space Spaces has arrived, evolving from a simple refutation of the idiocy polluting popular culture and politics to more nuanced arguments honed to scientific precision.

And speaking of science, in a rare showing of singular focus, our brave co-hosts – neither of whom are scientists by training or hallucination – take on Netflix’s wildly divisive new show, Bill Nye Saves The World. Showing a commitment to research that goes above and beyond, co-host Nathan Evans watched all thirteen episodes of the show (so you don’t have to), and not only survived the experience but came away with a new appreciation for colorful adjectives. The show is, in a word, turgid.

For a show – and host – claiming to be on the side of “science” and “evidence”, Bill Nye Saves the World is anything but. Using the power of Netflix and an embarrassment of talent available, Bill’s revived beloved “Science Guy” persona could have been an educational and enlightening starting point to sharing the joys of the scientific community to those who might never have considered such things cool or approachable. Say, like Neil deGrasse Tyson’s successful reboot of COSMOS. Wouldn’t that have been something?

Instead, we get hours of badly written, poorly performed propaganda masquerading as “science”. At the center of this mess is Bill Nye’s public crusade to educate the world about anthropogenic climate change, i.e. man-made climate change, by any means necessary. To do this Bill checks off as many liberal progressive boxes as time allows: human sexuality, GMO engineering, population control, vaccinations, and pretty much any recent cause célèbre currently sending justice-minded hearts into palpitations.

Regardless of which side of the intellectual aisle you happen to fall on (that such things are even considered “political” is a sad statement all its own), those who profess allegiance to the topics covered in the show are certain to feel the shame and embarrassment as Bill and his correspondents meander and misrepresent through a cacophony of embarrassing skits, casual racism, bullying, vague assumptions, and, most egregiously, bad science and basic factual errors.

Perhaps the show’s lowest point comes with “comedian” Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) performing a now-legendary “rap” playfully called “My Sex Junk”, in which she extols the joys of butt sex, gender fluidity, and her noisy vagina. In a perfect world such a travesty would be career-killing (Bloom will be fine), but this hilariously bad and tasteless piece of musical feces should give Bill’s growing legion of detractors plenty of red meat to gnaw on.

Does it matter that Nye, whose training is primarily in mechanical engineering (and stand-up comedy), isn’t actually a “scientist” by trade? Or that many of his correspondents – the ones that aren’t models – with actual scientific credentials are reduced to producing lame segments on male beauty products and misrepresenting statistics on maternity leave? Should “popularizers of science” be held to the same standards as those who actually practice the real thing?

These questions aside, our hosts do something you won’t find in the mucky-muck of conservative media heaping spoonfuls of scorn and shame on Bill Nye: they actually come to his defense (when appropriate), refusing to cherry-pick the show’s most offensive bits out of context. All in all, Bill’s biggest crime seems to be bowing to the pressures of political correctness at the expense of open-ended scientific discovery and actual inclusiveness.

Ending this week’s show on a positive note, Anton congratulates award-winning actress Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, The Martian) on her strategy to help end the wage-gap that many feel disadvantage female actresses in a male-dominated industry. Her secret to success isn’t a mystery, but instead a simple recipe that can easily be replicated without much fuss: when approached to star in a new production Chastain inquires what her male co-stars earn in the same film and – gasp! – demands the same.

While this may have – and undoubtedly will – cost the actress a role or two, it’s also helped keep her as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stars. Plus, show some love for another one of Hollywood’s leading ladies, the awesome Helen Mirren, whose surprising – and very welcome – appearance in the new Fate of the Furious blockbuster proves she’s not above doing what it takes to stay relevant in her field, and have a blast doing it.

Safe Spaces Episode Six gets right down to business by taking the road less traveled with an in-depth analysis of feminist filmmaker Cassie Jaye’s controversial new documentary The Red Pill, which attempts to understand the growing phenomenon of MRAs – Men’s Rights Activists – in a world of third-wave feminism.

Should men, who thoroughly control the patriarchy and offer little more than toxic masculinity, have advocates in this crazy, messed up world? Some seem to think so, but the mere fact a documentary like The Red Pill even exists has caused its detractors to go into conniptions. The film has even been banned outright in certain circles, most likely by people who haven’t even watched it yet. That’s not the case here as co-host Anton Hill has seen it, and a series of joyful, respectful, and illuminating discussions follows.

Also fully discussed, dissected, and delineated is the recent uproar – or lack thereof – of the decision by the South African edition of Huffington to run the article “COULD IT BE TIME TO DENY WHITE MEN THE FRANCHISE?“, which suggested all the world’s problems have been caused by white men and the only fix was to take away their ability to vote.

It then came out the original article was itself a hoax, a satire written by a (gasp) white male attempting to demonstrate that certain outlets like The Huffington Post would, well, post just about anything if they agreed with the agenda presented. Prior to this, editors at HuffPo justified publishing the piece, even defending some of its more incendiary ideas. However, following the big reveal, the original article was removed.

It might’ve made an interesting think-piece, and we’d like to encourage you to read the entire saga for yourselves. Or we only wish you could, as both the article, and subsequent editorial justification itself, have since been removed. Though copies still remain online, it’s clear the lesson that Huffington Post’s editors would rather

Update: after recording this episode it came to light the article’s real author, Marius Roodt, had been tracked down by Huffington Post reporters and confronted at his place of employment, the Centre for Development and Enterprise. He has, subsequently, tendered his resignation and is no longer employed with them. Apparently, we predicted the future, though it’s distressing that HuffPo sought more journalistic diligence to cover their own asses than they were in second-guessing a piece of racist, inflammatory drivel.

And finally, the guys give Fox News’ recently ousted host Bill O’Reilly the only send-off that seems appropriate: a profanity-laced dubstep remix! Having been unceremoniously dropped by the network after several allegations of sexual misconduct, the pity host and Dennis Miller enthusiast is sure to score a lucrative settlement with his former employer after dominating cable news for nearly two decades. If you’re forced to ride out into the sun while your history is erased before your eyes, do it with a beat!

Episode Five of Safe Spaces arrives just in time for the Easter Weekend, and while our fearless co-hosts are short on chocolate bunnies, there’s plenty of juicy scandal and controversies this week to keep things hopping!

A hypothetical thermonuclear conflict over US President Donald Trump’s escalation of his Twitter war against the North Korean regime into the real thing gets things started, while things really heat up with White House Spokesperson Sean Spicer’s colossal world salad when attempting to compare Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s alleged use of sarin gas against his own people to the “relative” harmlessness of Hitler and his “Holocaust centers” to a press scrum thoroughly committed to dismantling the Trump administration at every instance.

Naturally, his comments didn’t go over well, and Sean was quickly fielding charges of antisemitism and labeled a Holocaust denier. Such objectivity and fairness in today’s school of perpetual outrage and impartial journalism!

Also monopolizing headlines was the sale tale of poor Dr. David Dao, the 69-year old passenger of United Flight 3411 that was beaten and unceremoniously dragged from his seat to make room for the airline’s own employees. Naturally, the incident ‘united’ (get it?) the world under the banner of mutual outrage, and despite attempts to impugn the good doctor’s reputation (he’s only a convicted felon who lost his license after dishing out prescriptions for sex, but who’s perfect?), a rousing discussion of civil rights and proper treatment of customers awaits.

Note: proper treatment of customers should never, ever involve dragging one out of your plane, with exposed pot-belly for all to see. Just saying.

From here the guys tackle everything from the recent uproar over comedienne Amy Schumer’s possible theft of material, the logical hypocrisy of feminists failing to riot over FGM (female genital mutilation) right here in the United States, and why overstating the reality of “rape culture” does the march towards equality no favors.

Rounding out this extended episode is something we can all get behind: the first teaser trailer for Disney’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi has finally launched, and while reaction is decidedly “mixed”, there’s absolutely no way in the galaxy the film doesn’t do bonkers box-office when it opens this December. But it won’t be alone in its conquest as Disney has signaled they’re going after the most lucrative of all fanbases – females – with a slate of girl-empowered Star Wars goodies, including the upcoming female-starring Star Wars: Forces of Destiny animated series.

Can Rey, Jyn, and the unstoppable Princess (sorry, General) Leia overcome the evils of the patriarchy and finally vanquish toxic masculinity from the galaxy in the end? Only massive viewership and brisk toy sales will tell!

Episode Four of Safe Spaces is alive and well, surviving the onslaught of weekly stupidity and abject reality of life filtered through the prism of distortion and ignorance. So much so that our brave co-hosts have developed a semblance of an actual theme about the actual, honest-to-goodness appropriation of “the moment” by outside groups. Whose movement and what groups? Best get in line now, there’s gonna be a wait.

But not before an undisputed comedy giant is given a proper send-off: the legendary Don Rickles passed away at the tender age of 90, a vintage when many of our best and brightest have learned to stop giving a shit what others think about them.

In other news, this week sugary drink giant Pepsi unleashed an advertisement featuring the latest member of the Kardashian/Jenner clan, Kendall Jenner, as a woke millennial casting off the shackles of oppression (i.e. blonde wigs and lipstick) to find the guitar-wielding hot boy in a crowd of the lamest protest-slash-party every constructed while putting an end to all that police violence stuff via the power of Pepsi.

Naturally, the disparate grievance groups were not amused to have their #Resistance so openly appropriated by corporatism, and it wasn’t long before Pepsi caved and pulled the ad, apologizing to Jenner and their customers for misjudging “the moment”.

Still, as we’ve come to expect from embarrassing (and highly profitable) Kardashian videos, you can find a copy online if you look really, really hard enough. It’s hilarious.

From here our hosts segue into the recent hysteria and advertising boycott of Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly as cable’s biggest bloviator is under attack for alleged sexual misconduct, much of which may have been covered up by the parent network in the form of payouts. Whether true or not, both O’Reilly and Fox News may not survive the sustained efforts to finally pull the cable giant apart for good; they’ve lost the majority of their founders and late-night hosts to sexual scandal and luring over the past year, and having O’Reilly’s head would be a perfect capper for the anti-Fox crowd.

Finally, the theme of appropriating ‘the movement’ continues with the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad “news” story of 18-year old Ziad Ahmed, who apparently earned a spot to attend Standford University by simply writing #BlackLivesMatter one-hundred times on his admissions essay. OK, it’s not ENTIRELY untrue, but the story presented by the media is definitely missing a few key facts: such as young Ahmed’s enormous social justice resume, which includes significant work as a Democratic Party operative, and a list of contacts and accomplishments that make him the very benefactor of the system he’s supposedly railing against: one of privilege.

A parting shot takes aim at the myths behind the gender wage gap fiction and the overall hypocrisy of Senator Elizabeth Warren (overall as there’s not enough hours in the day to cover it all) round out this week’s epic episode. Heck, we’re not appropriating “the moment” – we are the moment!

In Episode Three of the Safe Spaces podcast our own culturally appropriating co-hosts took on many things, with a special look at Paramount Studios’ controversial remake of the beloved 1995 anime, Ghost In The Shell. (Wrongheaded) cries of “whitewashing!” and lobs of “cultural appropriation!” aside, the guys stressed the importance of not judging something before seeing it.

We’ve made it to Episode 03! To celebrate, we’re also debuting a few special treats – a new opening jingle (!), a fab new website design, and even some semblance of program structure! We appreciate all the choice feedback, even if some of it made us cry. Good thing we’ve got a Safe Space for that. Did we mention the new jingle?

Things heat up with a special box-office update of Anton’s latest craze, Disney’s blockbuster Beauty and Beast adaptation, which is tearing up the charts despite having one of the most disenchanted performances by a lead actress in ages. From here the guys launch into an epic breakdown of the application of racial outrage and protest from Muhammad Ali to Beyoncé, led by none other than the NFL’s controversial kneeler, Colin Kaepernick.

From here they segue into the latest controversy du jour: Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly poking fun at Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ hairdo, which bears a striking resemblance to a certain Godfather of Soul’s classic coiffure. Apparently, this was racist, and many hashtags were launched to aid #TheResistance. Even twice-failed Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton involved herself as the Champion of Women of Color everywhere. Was anyone really asking what she thought? Anybody?

Next is the sad saga of Caitlin Miller, an adorable 5-year old suspended from school for the unconscionable crime of playing with a stick that happened to look like a gun. Yes, it’s yet another case of Zero Tolerance gone mad. Shame we live in a world where kids playing with twigs and Pop Tarts are labeled “threatening” – these are not the opinions of healthy minds.

Things wrap up with a look at the whitewashing claims against Ghost In The Shell, the latest attempt to turn Japanese anime into a blockbuster franchise, as well as the latest to become the target of cultural appropriation and racism. The film stars Scarlett Johansson as a kick-ass cyborg taking down emo hackers and sexy geisha robots in a full body suit that simultaneously leaves nothing, yet totally everything, to the imagination. A lesson into the oddly happy symbiotic relationship between American and Japanese cinema ensues, one the naysayers could stand to learn.

Episode Two follows up on the wild success of Episode One’s ‘debut’ (thank you!) without missing a beat…or should that be Beast? After some good old-fashioned anti fat-shaming analysis, it’s Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and Beast and its sullen (human) co-star, Emma Watson that get the lead. The guys rip into the former Harry Potter star’s possible feminist hypocrisy – and totally fake nudity – on her surefire way to becoming a billionaire, so she probably doesn’t care about anything we have to say.

Also on tap is the recent racial hysteria over the 2017 Whitney Biennial’s showing of “Open Casket“, a mushy painting by Dana Schutz reproducing the funeral picture of lynched African American teenager Emmett Till that’s caused a minor hysteria in isolated pockets of New York City. It’s faux outrage at its most banal, though we manage to squeeze some surprisingly positive Whoopie Goldberg accolades from Anton. Who knew he actually watches The View?

Other topics ‘o interest include possible nepotism charges by the Trump Administration by hiring First Daughter Ivanka Trump to an official post, and the ‘temporary’ sacking of young conservative commentator Tomi Lahren from Glenn Beck’s The Blaze over her possible admission she may not tow the GOP’s line on abortion. Perish the thought!

The first ‘true’ Safe Spaces Episode 01 turns up the heat in the best way possible – controversy! Listen as hosts Anton Hill and Nathan Evans tear into the stupidity and social ignorance that is Netflix’s Iron Fist White Savior Controversy, the streaming giant’s fourth Marvel-related show and first to receive massive blowback from social justice warriors for not casting an Asian-American (i.e. any Asian-American, actually) to play a character that’s been white as snow since the 1970s.

The guys tear into the logical fallacies of social science bunk like “cultural appropriation”, “white guilt”, and other pseudo-nonsense currently bunching panties across the activism world.

Also on tap is an equally silly controversy, only much more hilarious: MSNBC’s resident snarky “journalist”, Rachel Maddow, left her many fans (and detractors) questioning their sanity after a much-ballyhooed showing of President Trump’s “found” taxes turned out to be a big nothing burger. Will Ms. Maddow weather the storm of embarrassment most humans would feel for duping their own audiences? Or will the rush to validate self-imposed hysterics and tinfoil-hat level conspiracy theories (The Russians!) help inch MSNBC’s top host a few notches closer to Geraldo Rivera level ridiculousness.

In this inaugural episode of the Safe Spaces Podcast our fearless hosts Anton A. Hill and Nathan Evans introduce themselves and set the agenda. Which is basically no agenda, except to thwart the P.C. elite while providing some necessary therapeutic value for everyone involved; listener and hosts alike.

Plus, the guys acknowledge their own reality: it’s a brand spanking new podcast, which means no listeners or any choice connections with the likes of iTunes, Google, and the rest. With luck – and more episodes! – big change will come, so get ready for a bumpy ride.