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ICE is many things — chief among them, an outgrowth of a seemingly neverending masculinity crisis. The U.S. government has devised a billion dollar strategy to recruit aggrieved young men into ICE with the promise of giving them a purpose: to “restore the homeland.” And their masculinity. The results have been devastating. A parallel crisis of manhood is unfolding in the form of looksmaxxers, a booming online community of men injecting meth and breaking their bones to enhance their perceived physical beauty. Today, YouTube essay legend F.D Signifier, Twitch culture streamer Caroline Kwan and I explore the evermore bizarre ways patriarchy is setting men up to fail while everyone else pays the price. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Protect yourself online, wherever you go. Get a discount on NordVPN at https://www.nordvpn.com/fruity Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off Watch F.D Signifier on YouTube. Watch Caroline on Twitch. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ashley St. Clair dropped out of college to become a full-time conservative influencer. Five years later, she was pregnant with Elon Musk’s child. Within months, the weight of the politics Ashley built her career on collapsed. Elon publicly disparaged Ashley and reneged on his fatherly responsibilities, and the influencer who once shamed single mothers on Fox News was one herself. Today, June (or JUNlPER, of Twitter fame) joins me to have a frank discussion with a newly reformed Ashley St. Clair. We probe her on profiting off anti-LGBT bigotry, the seductiveness of the right-wing influencer ecosystem, and making amends. And, of course, what it’s like for the leopards to eat your face. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity. Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at https://www.blueland.com/fruity. Listen to June’s podcast, Kill The Computer. Listen to June’s other podcast, Ill Conceived. Follow June on Bluesky. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Candace Owens’s daily livestreams have more viewers than Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC combined. The woman who less than a decade ago was a liberal blogger in New York City is now one of the most powerful voices representing — and tearing apart — the American Right. Her latest and most successful act is that of a professional conspiracy theorist, spinning webs around Brigitte Macron’s gender, Charlie Kirk’s assassination, and of course, The Jews. Millions of people who’ve self-admittedly “never agreed with Candace” are finding themselves in her clutches. Today, fellow Connecticut native Taylor Lorenz and I take a trip into Candaceland to try to decipher why Candace is the way she is and what the Right may look like after Trump. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Support a fairer future free from religious overreach at https://humanist.org/fruity Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off Watch Taylor on YouTube. Read Taylor’s work on User Mag. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Nicki Minaj stepped on stage in Phoenix, Arizona, with one hand clasping Erika Kirk and the other waving to a crowd of white supremacists, even I was shocked. We’ve known the Queen of Rap to be many unsavory things: an insecure egomaniac, a steadfast defender of predators, an obsessive poster (she has my solidarity on that one). But “fascist propagandist” I did not see coming. Today, Olayemi Olurin, Kat Tenbarge and I draw a map of Nicki’s life to make sense of how she got here, what she hopes to receive from it, and if it’ll even pan out. 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 Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity.  Subscribe to Kat Tenbarge’s work. Follow Kat Tenbarge on Bluesky. Subscribe to Olay on YouTube. Follow Olay on Instagram. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Samantha Fulnecky filed a religious discrimination complaint against her university after failing an essay assignment in which she only referenced the Bible, she was on a path to victory. Sure, the essay was a grammatical disaster and completely incoherent — not to mention offensive towards both her classmates and professors. Sure, the failing grade was deserved. But in the age of right-wing culture war domination, Samantha was poised to become a star. Her January 6th-loving mother, Turning Point USA (and their recent influx of cash), and the Oklahoma House of Representatives all threw their full weight behind her. Despite all this, Samantha Fulnecky became the last great joke of 2025. Today, Kat Tenbarge, Parker Molloy and I examine why she failed the grift (and the essay). Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Get smarter about yours (and others!) news media consumption with Ground News at https://www.ground.news/fruity Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at https://www.blueland.com/fruity.  Subscribe to Kat Tenbarge’s work at Spitfire News. Follow Kat Tenbarge on Bluesky. Subscribe to Parker Molloy’s newsletter. Follow Parker Molloy on Bluesky. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the afternoon Charlie Kirk died, Jeffree Star livestreamed a four-minute-long rant about how nonbinary people aren’t real. Star, with his pink hair, diamond nails, and prior openness to using “any pronouns,” doesn’t necessarily fit in with Turning Point USA’s target demographic. Or does he? In this long-awaited and much-requested episode, veteran YouTuber Kat Blaque and former full-time Jeffree Star reporter Kat Tenbarge guide us through the tragic, racist, celebrity-filled history of the Internet’s most prolific makeup mogul. Despite many changes in circumstance — just like Gwen Stefani, he’ll always be an Orange County girl. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Get smarter about yours (and others!) news media consumption with Ground News at https://www.ground.news/fruity Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off Subscribe to Kat Blaque on YouTube. Follow Kat Blaque on Instagram. Subscribe to Kat Tenbarge’s work. Follow Kat Tenbarge on Bluesky. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is no bigger danger to Jews, apparently, than New York City’s Mayor-Elect, Zohran Mamdani. The morning after he was elected, the ADL announced the launch of the “Mamdani Monitor” to track antisemitism within Zohran’s administration. Debra Messing posted 91 Instagram stories in a single day about how she fears for her life as a Jew — not because of the rise of antisemitism within the MAGA movement or the mainstreaming of neo-nazi Nick Fuentes, but because of Zohran Mamdani, a man who is not antisemitic. This week, Matt Lieb (of Bad Hasbara) and Simone Zimmerman (of Israelism) help me navigate a literal industry — and ethnostate — propped up not only by fearmongering about antisemitism, but also by intentionally creating it. 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.  Get an exclusive 60% on Incogni! https://incogni.com/fruity Listen to Matt Lieb on Bad Hasbara. Follow Matt Lieb on Twitter. Listen to Simone on Beyond Israelism. Follow Simone on Instagram. Read the Jewish Currents audit of the ADL’s 2023 antisemitism statistics. Read the Jewish Currents audit of the ADL’s 2024 antisemitism statistics. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jennifer Welch, a 51-year-old Texan turned Oklahoman, is radicalizing America one wine mom at a time. The southern podcaster (who might finally be our “Joe Rogan of the Left”) has become an unlikely, fierce critic of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the corrupt Democratic establishment, and unregulated capitalism, which she says “brought us Trump” (I agree). This week, Jennifer and I cross a generational divide to discuss Israel’s erosion of the Democratic Party, Ezra Klein’s idiotic centrist plea for more anti-abortion Democrats, and how to sell democratic socialism to the masses. 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. Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity.  Listen to Jennifer on I’ve Had It. Follow Jennifer on Instagram. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill Maher is, allegedly, the last sane voice on the left. But he doesn’t believe in the rights of transgender people, or of Palestinians. He thinks college campuses are hotbeds of liberal indoctrinarian that have gotten “out of control.” Come to think of it, he hasn’t really advocated for any left-wing position in recent memory. An advocate for breaking out of echo chambers, Bill speaks almost exclusively to right-wing activists, and never to the minorities he bashes. He claims to know what Democrats should do if they want to win, but hates the ones who are actually winning. Three decades into his TV career and lost in the delusions that often come with a nine-digit net worth, Bill Maher has never been so useless. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Get smarter about yours (and others!) news media consumption with Ground News at https://www.ground.news/fruity Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at https://www.blueland.com/fruity Get an exclusive 60% on Incogni! https://incogni.com/fruity Listen to Francesca on The Bituation Room. Follow Francesca on Twitter. Listen to Will on I Hate Bill Maher. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the last two decades, Debra Messing — the star of early 2000’s hit Will & Grace — has been something of a liberal Hollywood icon, courting an adoring gay audience and getting into public feuds with Donald Trump. More recently, she’s become the face of Liberal Zionism, an ideology which believes in human rights in the US while supporting Israel’s flagrant violation of them in Gaza. Sound confusing? The contradictions inherent to Liberal Zionism are too big for anyone to hold onto — even, it turns out, the winner of a GLAAD award. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Join the fight to get religion OUT of public schools at www.ffrf.us/school or text FREEDOM to 511511. Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity.  Listen to Emma on The Majority Report. Follow Emma on Twitter. Listen to Matt Lieb on Bad Hasbara. Follow Matt Lieb on Twitter. Find me on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/mattxiv/ Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/abitfruitypod/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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