I'm confused by this part, are they still hammering that out? I thought it was a done deal "mean, they’re reconciling the two versions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act"
The bird story was powerful. It kind of breaks my brain to reframe aberrant behavior as an invasive species. But it also is a good perspective when trying to resist the impulse to just go back the it was, as if there was ever an optimal time
It was nice to hear you two back together again! I hope you all have a great time off. :)
Re Swalwell - I'm so, so frustrated and disgusted by the reporting that Swalwell's predatory behavior was an open secret in Washington. Why did so many Dems endorse his campaign when they knew what a terrible person he was?
Re Swalwell - I think this is why predatory behavior feels like such a betrayal. People who engage in this kind of behavior are often pretty good at hiding it for a long time because (deep down) people know it's wrong.
One source of grace I have is that (I don't know if I'm remembering this correctly), but Donald Trump was basically asking people to come forward and say they'd been sexually assaulted by Joe Biden (I still don't know what to make of that lady who came forward and said he did) and it seems like it's remained a right-wing campaign strategy that is not about the search for truth or protecting women, but about making Democrats look bad. And Candace Owens is out there saying that Erika Kirk had her husband murdered, you know? I bet people hear some wild stuff and tune a LOT out in Washington DC (also, they aren't ACTUALLY there all that much, so most of their engagement with other reps might actually be virtual or over the phone). So I have questions about what an "open secret" means in this context.
The second source of grace I have is that a few years ago, I found out that someone I'd known for a long time was engaging in predatory behavior. Not to the degree that Eric Swalwell seems to have (that I know of - he wasn't arrested, and I don't think anything he did was technically illegal, but it was a lot of lying and ick). It really shook me. A lot of people (including me) would've said they were close friends with him and would have had no reason to observe or hear what a mess he was making of his personal life. He hid it really well. He preyed on people who he didn't think would ever say anything, kept a tight lid on things...right up until he couldn't anymore, and then it fell apart spectacularly.
I believe that we should hold our elected officials to a very high standard of behavior (because we see what happens when we don't, and, in particular, abusing women is such a strong indicator that a person will engage in other forms of violence). But I also can imagine that constantly being suspicious of the people around you is no way to get things done in Congress. It's a really sticky wicket.
I have a question about the Congress expulsions… I get why the ideal process is that voters vote someone out if they are creepy ass weirdos who assault women (or other nefarious actions) - I’m struggling with why expulsion isn’t a reasonable action to take given the actions. This feels like an equivalent to getting fired for breaking the rules. And if you can’t vote for someone or vote them out once more information is out there for sometimes years- then we continue to put people in very high security type of environments while knowing they have information that can be used against them. Not to mention the morality of the staff still being there and the colleagues having to work with someone who isn’t a super safe person. It feels like it’s a way to avoid accountability as a Congress. I totally get this could be used in terrible ways, too. And I’m guessing that’s the reason we don’t want to use it?
Also I hate we taxpayers get to pay their pensions forever. Side rabbit hole.
How do we anti-corruption the place if we have to ignore corruption until the next election? Maybe there’s a middle ground between expulsion and ignoring- like a penalty box?
And now JD Vance is out there mansplaining the Pope. He literally said the Pope needs to "be careful in matters of theology." THE AUDACITY. Sir, just take the L and see yourself out. Stop digging that hole.
Great episode! So glad you’re back! To the JD Vance of it all, he’s entered the chat with Pope Leo. I think a new term is being coined, “popesplaining.” Because he’s (well, being himself) lecturing the pope on theology. Warning the pope to be careful in referencing theology. Ummmm 🤨 Pope Leo was ordained in 1982; Vance was born in 1984 and converted to Catholicism in 2019. Seriously dude, just hush.
Remember when the Episcopal Bishop Budde asked Trump to have mercy towards vulnerable communities and then people attacked her and spewed vitriol at her? The comments are STILL turned off on the National Cathedral’s instagram. It’s sickening that his supporters will get so nasty about the Gospel. Jesus be a fence!
beth’s observation that donald trump sees no one as real and the pope sees every person as deeply real is changing my actual brain chemistry. seriously, this language perfectly sums up the difference between these two, and encapsulates everything i want to be. i want to see every person as real. that is what i am reaching for. that is WHY i hate ai AND ALSO why i can’t condone sam altman’s life being threatened.
Welcome back! I was talking to a friend about some church BS we are dealing with and relating it to national politics and recommended y’all to her. This was a 10/10 episode for her to hear.
JD and Erika Kirk are coming to my college town today for a TPUSA thing. I’m so annoyed.
Update: only about 1500 people were in the arena that seats 7000. And apparently he got heckled from inside the arena. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
Re: Melania: my favorite take on the situation is that this is proof we all each live in our own algorithm. Melania has alerts set up for herself and is being fed Melania-related content and is convinced this is all the world was talking about.
Also do we remember how according to her on January 6 she was so busy taking pictures of her decorations and had no idea what was going on, a story I was willing to accept?
Not finished but I want to comment quickly about the Eric Swalwell stuff -- I totally agree with wanting to wait until major news outlets have broken a story like that, with all the necessary backup. But, I just want to add some context on Mrs. Frazzled's role in this because I've been following this closely and see there's potential for an impact on how content creators/legacy media work together in the future. She was the primary content creator who some women initially made contact with after she interviewed Swalwell after he announced his run for governor, and then she worked with some folks on the Hill, an attorney, and the primary reporter on the CNN piece until it came out. She (and others) did float more about it before the stories actually broke, but they felt they had the receipts. Of course I know a big publication is going to wait until they have their standard three reliable sources on a story like this, and that doesn't mean they are "burying" it. But I was heartened to see how the creators worked with the big newsrooms (in this case CNN but then the Chronicle scooped it, I think) to pull this off. There's a good interview between Frazz and Sami Sage of Betches on this.
Erin Moon shared this article in her newsletter and I loved it so much. https://www.forbes.com/sites/pennyabeywardena/2026/04/09/the-artemis-ii-effect-when-everyone-is-brilliant-character-becomes-the-mission/. TLDR it was about how for Artemis selection, every applicant was brilliant so they screened also for character and integrity, and that's part of why the world reacted so incredibly. It matters not just what you do, but how you do it.
I'm confused by this part, are they still hammering that out? I thought it was a done deal "mean, they’re reconciling the two versions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act"
Beth, if you liked the astronauts waxing poetic about earth as a spaceship then Epcot at WDW has a ride right up your alley lol.
Also, the audio from Victor Glover wad amazing! What a truly beautiful message. Like you, I will hold that one for a long time
The bird story was powerful. It kind of breaks my brain to reframe aberrant behavior as an invasive species. But it also is a good perspective when trying to resist the impulse to just go back the it was, as if there was ever an optimal time
It was nice to hear you two back together again! I hope you all have a great time off. :)
Re Swalwell - I'm so, so frustrated and disgusted by the reporting that Swalwell's predatory behavior was an open secret in Washington. Why did so many Dems endorse his campaign when they knew what a terrible person he was?
Re Swalwell - I think this is why predatory behavior feels like such a betrayal. People who engage in this kind of behavior are often pretty good at hiding it for a long time because (deep down) people know it's wrong.
One source of grace I have is that (I don't know if I'm remembering this correctly), but Donald Trump was basically asking people to come forward and say they'd been sexually assaulted by Joe Biden (I still don't know what to make of that lady who came forward and said he did) and it seems like it's remained a right-wing campaign strategy that is not about the search for truth or protecting women, but about making Democrats look bad. And Candace Owens is out there saying that Erika Kirk had her husband murdered, you know? I bet people hear some wild stuff and tune a LOT out in Washington DC (also, they aren't ACTUALLY there all that much, so most of their engagement with other reps might actually be virtual or over the phone). So I have questions about what an "open secret" means in this context.
The second source of grace I have is that a few years ago, I found out that someone I'd known for a long time was engaging in predatory behavior. Not to the degree that Eric Swalwell seems to have (that I know of - he wasn't arrested, and I don't think anything he did was technically illegal, but it was a lot of lying and ick). It really shook me. A lot of people (including me) would've said they were close friends with him and would have had no reason to observe or hear what a mess he was making of his personal life. He hid it really well. He preyed on people who he didn't think would ever say anything, kept a tight lid on things...right up until he couldn't anymore, and then it fell apart spectacularly.
I believe that we should hold our elected officials to a very high standard of behavior (because we see what happens when we don't, and, in particular, abusing women is such a strong indicator that a person will engage in other forms of violence). But I also can imagine that constantly being suspicious of the people around you is no way to get things done in Congress. It's a really sticky wicket.
I have a question about the Congress expulsions… I get why the ideal process is that voters vote someone out if they are creepy ass weirdos who assault women (or other nefarious actions) - I’m struggling with why expulsion isn’t a reasonable action to take given the actions. This feels like an equivalent to getting fired for breaking the rules. And if you can’t vote for someone or vote them out once more information is out there for sometimes years- then we continue to put people in very high security type of environments while knowing they have information that can be used against them. Not to mention the morality of the staff still being there and the colleagues having to work with someone who isn’t a super safe person. It feels like it’s a way to avoid accountability as a Congress. I totally get this could be used in terrible ways, too. And I’m guessing that’s the reason we don’t want to use it?
Also I hate we taxpayers get to pay their pensions forever. Side rabbit hole.
How do we anti-corruption the place if we have to ignore corruption until the next election? Maybe there’s a middle ground between expulsion and ignoring- like a penalty box?
And now JD Vance is out there mansplaining the Pope. He literally said the Pope needs to "be careful in matters of theology." THE AUDACITY. Sir, just take the L and see yourself out. Stop digging that hole.
Great episode! So glad you’re back! To the JD Vance of it all, he’s entered the chat with Pope Leo. I think a new term is being coined, “popesplaining.” Because he’s (well, being himself) lecturing the pope on theology. Warning the pope to be careful in referencing theology. Ummmm 🤨 Pope Leo was ordained in 1982; Vance was born in 1984 and converted to Catholicism in 2019. Seriously dude, just hush.
Remember when the Episcopal Bishop Budde asked Trump to have mercy towards vulnerable communities and then people attacked her and spewed vitriol at her? The comments are STILL turned off on the National Cathedral’s instagram. It’s sickening that his supporters will get so nasty about the Gospel. Jesus be a fence!
So so glad you’re back and has great adventures last week.
Beth, thank you for sharing the Artemis clip. It’s changed my week (maybe my life??) what a beautiful thing to think about and appreciate
Beth, I said the same thing to a friend yesterday about Kamala not running for governor here in CA. I am so sad about that.
beth’s observation that donald trump sees no one as real and the pope sees every person as deeply real is changing my actual brain chemistry. seriously, this language perfectly sums up the difference between these two, and encapsulates everything i want to be. i want to see every person as real. that is what i am reaching for. that is WHY i hate ai AND ALSO why i can’t condone sam altman’s life being threatened.
every person is real.
Welcome back! I was talking to a friend about some church BS we are dealing with and relating it to national politics and recommended y’all to her. This was a 10/10 episode for her to hear.
JD and Erika Kirk are coming to my college town today for a TPUSA thing. I’m so annoyed.
Update: only about 1500 people were in the arena that seats 7000. And apparently he got heckled from inside the arena. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
Re: Melania: my favorite take on the situation is that this is proof we all each live in our own algorithm. Melania has alerts set up for herself and is being fed Melania-related content and is convinced this is all the world was talking about.
(Credit to my favorite Australian podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fW0DNjJxDk7Ib5ZziXLcT?si=PpXlWzHBRrWRqkaClrrN_g)
Also do we remember how according to her on January 6 she was so busy taking pictures of her decorations and had no idea what was going on, a story I was willing to accept?
Not finished but I want to comment quickly about the Eric Swalwell stuff -- I totally agree with wanting to wait until major news outlets have broken a story like that, with all the necessary backup. But, I just want to add some context on Mrs. Frazzled's role in this because I've been following this closely and see there's potential for an impact on how content creators/legacy media work together in the future. She was the primary content creator who some women initially made contact with after she interviewed Swalwell after he announced his run for governor, and then she worked with some folks on the Hill, an attorney, and the primary reporter on the CNN piece until it came out. She (and others) did float more about it before the stories actually broke, but they felt they had the receipts. Of course I know a big publication is going to wait until they have their standard three reliable sources on a story like this, and that doesn't mean they are "burying" it. But I was heartened to see how the creators worked with the big newsrooms (in this case CNN but then the Chronicle scooped it, I think) to pull this off. There's a good interview between Frazz and Sami Sage of Betches on this.
Yes! I was getting on here to say something similar to this but with a video I saw on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXHWEgWEVhe/