WTF Did You Learn Today?

WTF do you have to say?

Welcome to What the Fuck Did You Learn Today? with Urania Zed—where the existential dread is real, the optimism is earned, and the heart offense is deployed with consent.

This episode features psychotherapist, interfaith minister, and hug-dealing disruptor Edie Weinstein. Together, Urania and Edie unpack what it means to radically resist hatred—not with hashtags or hollow platitudes, but with real, heart-to-heart connection. Edie shares the origin story of her Hug Mob movement, born from grief and spiritual calling, and kept alive by flash mobs, virtual embraces, and one unforgettable Iraq war veteran.

They dive into how human touch teaches us more than any screen ever could, how adverse experiences imprint on our bodies, and why the absence of nurturing connection is its own quiet violence. But this isn’t just a love-in—Edie brings fire too: calling out ideological cruelty, cognitive dissonance, and the insidious normalization of “us vs. them” narratives.

From free mom hugs at Pride to standing up at rallies in small-town Pennsylvania, Edie doesn’t just talk resilience—she embodies it. If you’ve ever asked yourself how to keep showing up in a world that feels like it’s falling apart, this conversation might be your answer.

Because sometimes, the most rebellious thing you can do is give a damn—and hug someone.

Love, Touch & Resilience:

• Edie Weinstein’s Website (Hug Mob, Free Mom Hugs, etc.):
  https://www.opti-mystical.com
• Free Mom Hugs (founded by Sara Cunningham):
  https://www.freemomhugs.org
• Edie’s TEDx Talk – The Taboo of Touch:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBJaNrdZexU
• Virginia Satir on Hugs:
  Article summarizing her famous quote ("4 hugs a day for survival..."):
  https://www.verywellmind.com/the-importance-of-hugging-4158376
• The Good Men Project: https://goodmenproject.com/
• The Bucks County Beacon: https://buckscountybeacon.com/author/edieweinstein/

Politics & Resilience:

• Cory Booker’s Filibuster / Capitol Protest Clip:
  https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4893146/cory-booker-senate-floor-speech
• Liz Cheney on January 6th Committee:
  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/us/politics/liz-cheney-jan-6.html
• Leopards Eating People's Faces Party Meme Origin (KnowYourMeme):
  https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/leopards-eating-peoples-faces-party

Cultural References:

• Billy Jack (1971 Film) + Theme Song “One Tin Soldier”:
  Billy Jack Wikipedia
  YouTube – One Tin Soldier
• The Cell (2000 Film with Jennifer Lopez):
  IMDb – The Cell
• Six Triple Eight (2024 Netflix Film):
  Netflix Info Page
  WWII 6888th Battalion Overview – National WWII Museum
• Civic & Historical Resources:
  • Underground Railroad in Bucks County, PA:
    https://www.visitbuckscounty.com/things-to-do/history/underground-railroad/
  • Gilda’s Club (Cancer Support):
    https://www.gildasclub.org
  • WXPN (Edie’s go-to radio station):
    https://www.xpn.org
  • WHYY (Philly’s NPR station):
    

Support the show

WTF do you have to say?

In this episode, I catch up with one of my oldest friends—someone who has never joined social media. No Facebook. No Instagram. Just a few digital breadcrumbs from AIM to Livejournal, and trailing off at MySpace.

We talk about what it means to reject the feed entirely, especially when the world feels like it’s cracking open. Topics include:

• spiritual death and mental decay
• her refusal to “log on” and lurk scroll
• the psychic toll of being hyper-online during socio-economic freefall
• the fatigue of constant social listening
• and the existential crises we curate like content

She stayed off. I stayed in. And now we’re here, trying to make sense of the ruins.

None of us is leaving here alive. But maybe we can laugh about it before we go.

Books

1. Wintering by Katherine May
   • A meditation on fallow seasons in life and spiritual death/rebirth cycles.
   • Link to book
2. Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander
   • A satirical cultural commentary mentioned during the Facebook vs. MySpace discussion.
   • Link to book
3. We Will Not Cancel Us by adrienne maree brown
   • A short book about radical compassion and transformative justice, tied to pleasure activism.
   • Link to book
4. Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne maree brown
   • Mentioned indirectly as the book that expands on pleasure activism.
   • Link to book

Podcasts

1. Horror Queers
   • A podcast that analyzes horror films through a queer lens.
   • Link to podcast
2. How Did This Get Made?
   • A podcast that hilariously dissects bizarre or bad movies.
   • Link to podcast

Websites & Platforms

1. Letterboxd
   • Social platform for film lovers to review and share film ratings and critiques.
2. Goodreads
   • A social cataloging site for book tracking, reviews, and recommendations.
3. Yoga With Adriene
   • YouTube yoga channel that became popular during the pandemic.

Media Mentions

• The Doors – Referenced as a formative musical influence.
• Led Zeppelin – Mentioned in relation to an IMAX documentary experience.
• The Office (TV Show) – Used as a mental palate cleanser.
• The Godfather – Referenced multiple times (“go to the mattresses” and “leave the gun, take the cannoli”).

Support the show

WTF do you have to say?

Welcome to the very first episode of "What the Fuck Did You Learn Today?," a podcast for curious minds who want to keep their brains from rotting. I’m your host, Urania Zed—writer, songwriter, overthinker—and this whole thing started with a half-asleep idea I had right before bed. I texted my friend Sara Collin the next morning and said, “Wanna be my first guest?” We met in grad school, bonded over language and humanities, and now both work in education and communications. Lucky for me, Sara was ready to go that same day—because she’d just read this CNN article about the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad site and was absolutely furious.

In this episode, we talk about why that article hit such a nerve, how storytelling shapes collective memory, and why we need to keep learning. Plus, we get into what it means to really learn something in a world that’s always trying to distract you.

Come for the righteous rage, stay for the brain gains. Let's get into it.

Resources mentioned:

• After a backlash, National Park Service restores old Underground Railroad webpage that prominently features Harriet Tubman, CNN
• The Relativity of Wrong, Issac Asimov, Wikipedia
• Federal Government’s Growing Banned Words List Is Chilling Act of Censorship, PEN AMERICA
• List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests, Wikipedia
• US student journalists go dark fearing Trump crusade against pro-Palestinian speech
• Bluesky
• Actor Ashton Kutcher, CNN in Twitter duel, Phys.org
• Yellow Journalism, EBSCO
• Breitbart
• Media Bias
• BBC
• Economist
• Musk reportedly made several pushes for Trump to back off global tariffs surge

Intro/Outro music, "Peace Arrow," by my band Kicking Down Doors.

Support the show