A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein

• Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Revisions

  The day after Charlie Kirk was murdered, Ezra Klein published an essay in the New York Times: “Charlie Kirk Practiced Politics The Right Way.” Klein’s piece was one of countless teary-eyed eulogies from across the spectrum of political media, and this first draft of Charlie Kirk’s legacy is now being used by the U.S. government to crack down on free speech in unprecedented ways. But let’s be clear: the way Charlie Kirk died does not change the way he lived. He did not “practice politics the right way,” and his “debates” were nothing more than manufactured social media bait to radicalize young people into becoming foot soldiers for an authoritarian regime. The people most affected by Charlie Kirk’s politics do not work at the New York Times, but they deserve a say in his legacy, too. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at https://www.blueland.com/fruity.  Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off Subscribe to Kat’s work at Spitfire News. Subscribe to Taylor on YouTube. Subscribe to Karen Attiah, the journalist fired from the Washington Post because she quoted Charlie Kirk’s own words, on Substack. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Dr. Phil: From Nice Guy to Nazi (with Aubrey Gordon)

  Dr. Phil has a new hobby: ICE raids. The daytime television fixture bewildered fans when he began touring with the Trump campaign last year, ending his decades-long streak as a seemingly apolitical celebrity. Like so many 2000s stars, Dr. Phil has found a career revival in right-wing media, advocating for everything from deportations to zionism. But what could explain such a radical shift from the man who spent decades trying to bring families together? In this episode, the inimitable Aubrey Gordon and I take a journey through the 2000s, encountering a motley crew including Oprah, Bhad Bhabie, and Benjamin Netanyahu along the way. Come to find out, the Dr. Phil we know now is the Dr. Phil we knew all along. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Sleep and dream well! Visit https://helixsleep.com/fruity to take advantage of their Extended Labor Day Sale exclusive partner offer — that’s 27% off sitewide. Get smarter about yours (and others!) news media consumption with Ground News at https://www.ground.news/fruity Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity. Listen to Aubrey’s podcast, Maintenance Phase. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Sydney Sweeney and the Outrage Machine

  Sydney Sweeney is Hollywood’s most-discussed starlet, often for confusing reasons. Her existence as a visible woman with a human body made her the target of widespread male adoration, ridicule, and political projection. How she navigates being the new Miss American Dream is yielding increasingly bizarre results — what’s the deal with her eugenics, I mean genetics? And the bathwater? In this much-requested episode, Taylor, Kat and I examine the 27-year-old’s relationship to wokeness (just kill me already), the line between sex work and whatever’s happening in her brand endorsements, and the right-wing media’s penchant for manufacturing hysteria. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Join the fight to get religion OUT of public schools at ffrf.us/school or text FREEDOM to 511511. Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off Read more of Kat’s work at her newsletter, Spitfire News. Listen to Taylor’s podcast, Power User. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• The Trans Teen Imprisoned for Refusing to Join the IDF

  Yona Roseman is 19. In two weeks, the Israeli government is imprisoning her for refusing to join Israel's military, for which service is required by all Israeli Jewish teenagers. Because she is transgender, Yona anticipates she’ll be kept in solitary confinement for 22 hours per day. She’s been brutalized by cops who hurl slurs at her despite Israel’s alleged status as a safe haven for LGBTQ people. Ahead of her imprisonment, Yona joins us to talk about the reality of Israel’s treatment of queer people, the way Israel intentionally endangers LGBTQ Palestinians, and why prison and expulsion from mainstream society are prices she’s willing to pay. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Get an exclusive 60% on Incogni! https://incogni.com/fruity Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity.  Send letters to imprisoned refusers: https://linktr.ee/Meaarvot  Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Jojo Siwa: The Internet’s Court Jester

  Jojo Siwa has been a lot of things: an eleven-year-old abused on television for public entertainment, a tween merchandising mogul with a billion dollar brand, Nickelodeon’s first out gay child star, and most recently, a dollar store trad wife. Behind the facade of endlessly shapeshifting court jester, though, Jojo Siwa is a 22-year-old human who has not known life without cameras and a momager since she was nine. Today, Kat Tenbarge and I do some good ole (queer) child star anthropology — and make the case that we, the viewers, are not morally neutral for tuning in.  Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at https://www.blueland.com/fruity.  Read Kat’s work at Spitfire News. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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