Hysteria

Erin and Alyssa dive into the past of the father of white Christian Nationalism, Jerry Falwell. From founding Liberty University, to taking advantage of pregnant teens, to spreading his bigoted and homophobic beliefs like wildfire, this is may be our most shameless guy yet. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/2ppcoFL4KnM]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast. Sources: https://wondery.com/shows/liberty-lost/ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jerry-Falwell [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jerry-Falwell] https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/jerry-falwell [https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/jerry-falwell] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-biography-of-jerry-falwell/ [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-biography-of-jerry-falwell/] https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/01/inside-jerry-falwell-jr-unlikely-rise-and-precipitous-fall?srsltid=AfmBOoqLERGUjQ07rO9_PVqsOujPeHa3c7TDKqJX5Un4ev1snV7NCqvJ [https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/01/inside-jerry-falwell-jr-unlikely-rise-and-precipitous-fall?srsltid=AfmBOoqLERGUjQ07rO9_PVqsOujPeHa3c7TDKqJX5Un4ev1snV7NCqvJ] https://www.npr.org/2006/05/15/5519116/timeline-a-half-century-of-falwells-ministry [https://www.npr.org/2006/05/15/5519116/timeline-a-half-century-of-falwells-ministry] https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/09/26/the-rise-of-the-falwell-empire/9dda636e-3475-4b64-899a-650a1d6dbb89/ [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/09/26/the-rise-of-the-falwell-empire/9dda636e-3475-4b64-899a-650a1d6dbb89/] https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/07/us/falwell-s-gospel-hour-fined-for-political-activity.html [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/07/us/falwell-s-gospel-hour-fined-for-political-activity.html] https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1993/rt9304/930403/04030069.htm [https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1993/rt9304/930403/04030069.htm] https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/01/inside-jerry-falwell-jr-unlikely-rise-and-precipitous-fall?srsltid=AfmBOoqLERGUjQ07rO9_PVqsOujPeHa3c7TDKqJX5Un4ev1snV7NCqvJ [https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/01/inside-jerry-falwell-jr-unlikely-rise-and-precipitous-fall?srsltid=AfmBOoqLERGUjQ07rO9_PVqsOujPeHa3c7TDKqJX5Un4ev1snV7NCqvJ] https://www.salon.com/2020/12/15/jerry-falwell-jr-funneled-millions-of-dollars-from-nonprofit-liberty-university-to-gop-efforts-rpt/ [https://www.salon.com/2020/12/15/jerry-falwell-jr-funneled-millions-of-dollars-from-nonprofit-liberty-university-to-gop-efforts-rpt/] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/19/september11.usa9 [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/19/september11.usa9] https://www.au.org/the-latest/church-and-state/articles/a-troubling-legacy-revealing-the-white/ [https://www.au.org/the-latest/church-and-state/articles/a-troubling-legacy-revealing-the-white/] https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/agent-intolerance/ [https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/agent-intolerance/] https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/social-sciences-and-humanities/moral-majority-founded [https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/social-sciences-and-humanities/moral-majority-founded] https://www.pewresearch.org/2007/05/17/rev-falwells-moral-majority-mission-accomplished/ [https://www.pewresearch.org/2007/05/17/rev-falwells-moral-majority-mission-accomplished/] https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133/ [https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133/] https://theconversation.com/revisiting-the-legacy-of-jerry-falwell-sr-in-trumps-america-79551 [https://theconversation.com/revisiting-the-legacy-of-jerry-falwell-sr-in-trumps-america-79551] https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/hustler-magazine-v-falwell [https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/hustler-magazine-v-falwell] https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-507-0v89g5gw13 [https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-507-0v89g5gw13] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Being an American right now is a wild ride. Every day brings a new controversy, with breathless media narratives and the same loud voices rushing in to score political points. Then another Truth Social post drops and the circus moves on. But all that noise is drowning out the actual story. On Crooked Media’s new podcast Runaway Country, veteran journalist Alex Wagner talks to the voices at the center of the headlines: from the fringes of the resistance, to the marrow of MAGA, to the many people who’ve found themselves smack-dab in the crosshairs of a fight they never asked for. Because if you want to understand our unreal times, you’ve got to talk to the very real people who are experiencing it all first-hand. Join Alex as she brings together the stories of everyday Americans trapped in our national car with no brakes, alongside conversations with some of the smartest thinkers in politics. Buckle up, this road could lead anywhere. New episodes every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts, and @RunawayCountryWithAlexWagner on YouTube. Make sure to subscribe, so you don’t miss an episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Erin Ryan and guest host Reshma Saujani (Moms First [www.momsfirst.us ]) poke holes in Trump’s flimsy IVF plan, discuss RFK Jr.’s creepy obsession with teenage boys’ sperm counts, and the realities of women leaving the workforce. They also get into the insanity of Trump’s ballroom construction and dissect the differences between the moms with boys and Boy Moms.  For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/6eeBTCPYQ20]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast. Nearly half a million women have left their jobs so far this year. Here’s why, in their own words (CNN 10/17 [https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2025/10/business/women-leaving-workforce-unemployment-vis/index.html]) Embattled Trump Nominee Paul Ingrassia’s Mom Tried to Meet With Lawmakers Who Criticized Her Son (NOTUS 10/21 [https://www.notus.org/trump-white-house/paul-ingrassia-donna-ingrassia-raskin-garcia]) RFK Jr uses platform during Trump event to go on rant about teenager’s sperm (The Independent 10/17 [https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/rfk-jr-teenage-sperm-counts-trump-b2847261.html]) Trump Unveils Plan to Expand Access to ‘Fertility Insurance’ and IVF Drugs (TIME 10/16 [https://time.com/7326338/trump-ivf-fertility-insurance/]) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Erin and Alyssa react to the strangest of Trump’s second “routine yearly checkup” of 2025, the sweeping federal layoffs impacting the CDC, and Katie Porter’s PR nightmare. Then they check in on Marjorie Taylor Greene’s new anti-republican schtick and what will become of Alex Jones now that the Supreme Court has rejected his appeal. The show concludes with a salute to the late Diane Keaton and a peek into what the f*ck is going on with Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/zSnEXyVmFBA]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast. Trump's second checkup describes "exceptional health" (AXIOS 10/11 [https://www.axios.com/2025/10/11/trump-health-annual-exam-hand-bruising]) ‘The damage is beyond repair’: The CDC is facing another round of deep staff cuts (CNN Health 10/11 [https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/11/health/cdc-cuts-impacts]) Katie Porter Videos Give California Rivals a New Opening (NYT 10/11 [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/us/katie-porter-videos-california-governor.html]) Supreme Court rebuffs Alex Jones’ effort to overturn $1.4 billion Sandy Hook judgment (CNN 10/14 [https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/14/politics/alex-jones-sandy-hook-supreme-court]) What’s Going On With Marjorie Taylor Greene? (The Atlantic 10/9 [https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/10/marjorie-taylor-greene-new-voice/684509/?gift=8frizor2fX6ngJduJZjInTI4P063dYqkrRdE5k8G-CE]) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, Erin and Alyssa dive into the past of United States Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. From his sexist ideologies to his drunken antics, cheating scandals to Fox News career, embarrassing failures to incompetent leadership, this is definitely our most inebriated and moronic f*cking guy of all time.   Sources: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-pick-for-defense-sec-spent-his-college-years-crusading-against-glorification-of-diversity-and-the-homosexual-lifestyle [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-pick-for-defense-sec-spent-his-college-years-crusading-against-glorification-of-diversity-and-the-homosexual-lifestyle] https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/bio/_/id/1506/pete-hegseth [https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/bio/_/id/1506/pete-hegseth] https://www.theprincetontory.com/archive-of-past-issues/2001-02-issues/ [https://www.theprincetontory.com/archive-of-past-issues/2001-02-issues/] https://www.theprincetontory.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2002-0203.pdf [https://www.theprincetontory.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2002-0203.pdf] https://web.archive.org/web/20060906061815/http://prince-web1.princeton.edu/archives/2002/04/17/opinion/4942.shtml [https://web.archive.org/web/20060906061815/http://prince-web1.princeton.edu/archives/2002/04/17/opinion/4942.shtml] https://ca.news.yahoo.com/princeton-pete-hegseths-views-feminism-100200035.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucGVycGxleGl0eS5haS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEdD-QaGi5WlZLvE8gowkG7Ad14X48zhy4R2qInWb7qkj9dlc6uVsoC5KsGVkX4mdzcY07MiMmLRCWW5v2TynNakZoZBPEyxCqteSC6qqLjihEHDlF3tSrgP74u69sm4NURXA50GsmA6xfxFrKcN-BZDzpQCVMYshgqhZbnMA2tk&guccounter=2 [https://ca.news.yahoo.com/princeton-pete-hegseths-views-feminism-100200035.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucGVycGxleGl0eS5haS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEdD-QaGi5WlZLvE8gowkG7Ad14X48zhy4R2qInWb7qkj9dlc6uVsoC5KsGVkX4mdzcY07MiMmLRCWW5v2TynNakZoZBPEyxCqteSC6qqLjihEHDlF3tSrgP74u69sm4NURXA50GsmA6xfxFrKcN-BZDzpQCVMYshgqhZbnMA2tk&guccounter=2] https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025/05/princeton-news-pete-hegseth-senior-thesis-plagiarism-allegations [https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025/05/princeton-news-pete-hegseth-senior-thesis-plagiarism-allegations] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ar-AA1uD2gR [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ar-AA1uD2gR] https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court [https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fox-friends-co-host-faces-lawsuit-man-he-hit-axe-n883291 [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fox-friends-co-host-faces-lawsuit-man-he-hit-axe-n883291] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/pete-hegseths-drinking-worried-colleagues-fox-news-sources-tell-nbc-ne-rcna181471 [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/pete-hegseths-drinking-worried-colleagues-fox-news-sources-tell-nbc-ne-rcna181471] https://archive.is/lSPf9#selection-601.0-641.3 [https://archive.is/lSPf9#selection-601.0-641.3] https://archive.is/1GJOj [https://archive.is/1GJOj] https://archive.ph/20250101060614/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/us/trump-pardons.html [https://archive.ph/20250101060614/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/us/trump-pardons.html] https://archive.is/T8nCv#selection-2646.0-2646.1 [https://archive.is/T8nCv#selection-2646.0-2646.1] https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/fox-news-host-pete-hegseth-donated-ian-smith-candidate-who-killed-someone-drunk [https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/fox-news-host-pete-hegseth-donated-ian-smith-candidate-who-killed-someone-drunk] https://www.foxnews.com/media/pete-hegseth-vows-send-back-harvard-university-degree-writes-return-sender-diploma [https://www.foxnews.com/media/pete-hegseth-vows-send-back-harvard-university-degree-writes-return-sender-diploma] https://wng.org/sift/doug-wilson-responds-to-pete-hegseth-affiliation-reports-1755021501 [https://wng.org/sift/doug-wilson-responds-to-pete-hegseth-affiliation-reports-1755021501] https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/08/politics/video/christian-nationalist-doug-wilson-pam-brown-digvid [https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/08/politics/video/christian-nationalist-doug-wilson-pam-brown-digvid] https://prospect.org/politics/2025-02-05-pete-hegseths-venmo-defense-contractors-unitedhealth/ [https://prospect.org/politics/2025-02-05-pete-hegseths-venmo-defense-contractors-unitedhealth/] https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/news/metallica-pentagon-pete-hegseth-video-b2788101.html [https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/news/metallica-pentagon-pete-hegseth-video-b2788101.html] https://www.vox.com/today-explained-podcast/415145/women-in-combat-ranger-school-pete-hegseth-fitness-standards [https://www.vox.com/today-explained-podcast/415145/women-in-combat-ranger-school-pete-hegseth-fitness-standards] https://www.whro.org/military-veterans/2025-05-07/the-uss-truman-loses-a-second-fighter-jet-in-just-over-a-week Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.