If you've ever wondered how we got to a place where grandmothers defend ICE killing protesters, business leaders stay silent on human rights violations, and empathy itself is called a "weakness"—this episode is your group therapy session.

Chris opens with justified rage at the "Necessary Conversation" podcast, where a MAGA mom twists herself into pretzels defending the ICE killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Desiree provides the historical context this moment demands: from lynchings as family entertainment to Indian boarding schools to the Nazi playbook built on American Jim Crow.

But this isn't just about pointing fingers. We break down the two groups who've lost empathy (the sheltered and the angry), why "economic system justification" makes people defend systems that hurt them, and what actually works when trying to reach people trapped in propaganda.

You'll learn:
- Why the right wing explicitly attacks empathy as "weakness"
- How caste systems train us to dehumanize
- The difference between people who can't see beyond their bubble vs those weaponizing their rage
- Deep canvassing techniques that don't make you want to scream
- How to welcome people changing their minds (SNL got it right)

Resources mentioned:
- Dan Ariely's "Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things"
- Isabel Wilkerson's "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents"
- Beth Macy's "Paper Girl: The Ruined American Dream and the Hunt for Financial Salvation"
- Tish Jones' "The Children Are Watching" (performed at Timberwolves MLK Day)

This is group therapy disguised as cultural commentary. You're not crazy for feeling exhausted by this—the system is.

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Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast

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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

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If you've ever watched mainstream media soften authoritarian language and wondered if you're the only one noticing: You're not. This week we unpack "sanewashing": the practice of making insane statements and authoritarian behavior sound normal and reasonable. From Trump's cognitive decline to media ownership by billionaires who need chaos to stay profitable, we break down why the news feels like gaslighting.

You'll learn:
- Why "bonkers" and "goons" are sanewashing words
- How billionaire ownership changed journalism fundamentally
- Why CNN made $1 billion from Trump coverage (and needs him)
- What Walter Cronkite-era journalism looked like vs. today
- Specific independent journalists to follow instead

Plus: The independent journalists actually telling the truth (and how to support them instead of feeding the machine). (ProPublica, More Perfect Union, The Guardian, Joshua Doss, and more)
https://www.instagram.com/doss.discourse/

https://www.instagram.com/nowthisimpact/

https://www.instagram.com/underthedesknews/

https://www.instagram.com/perfectunion/

https://www.instagram.com/thehumanityarchive/

This is group therapy disguised as media criticism. You're not supposed to be here today—but here we are.
====================

Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast

====================

🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

====================

Sponsored by Bearing 287

====================

If you've ever wondered whether you're being paranoid or whether your survival instincts are finally kicking in—this episode is for you.

Desiree predicted it at Thanksgiving 2024: "We're going to experience things we never thought we would." Now, with ICE raids in Minneapolis, transgender family members making escape plans, and the Handmaid's Tale's "Little America" feeling less like fiction and more like foreshadowing, we're processing the fear that Americans aren't supposed to feel.

We dive into:
- The violence we thought only happened on other soil
- Why Desiree watches documentaries about World War II to cope
- The "Little America" scene that broke her
- Epigenetics and inherited trauma
- Why men have no concept of the fear women carry
- The 2009 Tea Party moment that predicted all of this
- Robert Reich's call for business, religious, and institutional leaders to speak up
- Why Chris has no hope those leaders will

This is the rawest we've been. It's also the most necessary. For people who feel like they're taking crazy pills and need to know they're not alone.

Content Warning: Discussions of potential violence, ICE raids, family estrangement, and realistic fear about American democracy.

Resources mentioned:
- Robert Reich's Substack: "The Emergency Is Now"
- Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American

====================

Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast

====================

🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

====================

Sponsored by Bearing 287

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