TDWS: Effed-up Friday with Anne P. Mitchell, Esq.

TDWS: Effed-up Friday with Anne P. Mitchell, Esq.

Effed-up Friday was equal parts news roundup, political therapy session, and dark comedy. We kicked things off with special guest Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. [https://substack.com/profile/17911946-anne-p-mitchell-esq], who jumped in at the last minute after Zev Shalev [https://substack.com/profile/8215350-zev-shalev] was sidelined with a broken finger (get well soon, Zev!!). Before diving into the week’s most outrageous headlines, Lawrence and I spent time discussing his powerful new essay on reclaiming the word [https://lwinner.substack.com/p/zionist-left-antisemitism-democrats]Zionist [https://lwinner.substack.com/p/zionist-left-antisemitism-democrats] and why nuance is disappearing from conversations about Israel, Gaza, and the future of the Democratic Party. It’s definitely worth a listen to all of our stories—but spoiler alert, Anne won, hands down. Thank you Cat: Poli-Psych [https://substack.com/profile/94117599-cat-poli-psych], Ben Ulansey [https://substack.com/profile/134571827-ben-ulansey], Beth Cruz [https://substack.com/profile/178744313-beth-cruz], Karen Marie Shelton [https://substack.com/profile/508368-karen-marie-shelton], The One Minute Daily Boost [https://substack.com/profile/315711852-the-one-minute-daily-boost], and many others for tuning in and to Karen Marie Shelton [https://substack.com/profile/508368-karen-marie-shelton] and Yanni Hamburger [https://substack.com/profile/96130249-yanni-hamburger] for moderating. Thanks for listening! We’re Dana DuBois [https://danaduboiswrites.substack.com/] and Lawrence Winnerman [https://lwinner.substack.com/], lifelong BFFs and co-hosts of The Daily Whatever Show — our independent home for smart, irreverent conversations about culture, politics, media, creativity, relationships, aging, and whatever else is shaping modern life this week. We’re live every weekday at 10am ET with thoughtful analysis, sharp interviews, cultural commentary, humor, and the kind of conversations that don’t pretend everything is fine when it clearly isn’t. If you’re enjoying what we’re building, please consider supporting our work with a paid subscription [https://www.thedailywhatevershow.com/subscribe]. Your support helps us keep the show independent, book fascinating guests, and continue creating smart conversations with your morning coffee. We love you — mean it! Get full access to The Daily Whatever Show at www.thedailywhatevershow.com/subscribe [https://www.thedailywhatevershow.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Who Are You When You Take Yourself Apart?

Four men, three of whom had never been in the same room, sat down on a Monday to talk about reinvention—and ended up somewhere none of them planned. Lawrence Winnerman is joined by Aidan Wharton, returning friend Ben Greene, and a brand-new face, Chuck Palmer, for a conversation that starts with a stainless-steel chain bought on a whim and somehow arrives at the question underneath all the others: when you take yourself apart and rebuild, what’s the one thing that stays? There’s a 62-year-old who reinvented from suburban husband to cultural observer, a 26-year-old who’s already lived more lives than people twice his age, a former Broadway actor who just officially walked away from acting, and a host who once stood on the edge of something and heard a voice tell him to stay. They came to talk about change. They stayed for what change costs. Expect Theseus’s ship and fart jokes in the same breath. Expect grief handled with startling tenderness and a roast that makes a grown man blush on camera. Expect the kind of unguarded, no-off-the-air honesty that only happens when the right people find each other—about coming out, about transition, about the families we lose and the ones we build, about the gift you keep waiting for permission to give yourself. By the end someone gets crowned an honorary lesbian, and it makes complete sense. This is one of the last full episodes before the summer break. You’ll want to have been in the room. Get full access to The Daily Whatever Show at www.thedailywhatevershow.com/subscribe [https://www.thedailywhatevershow.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

TDWS: Not Straight Forward With Guest Char Sundust

Lawrence’s other best friend of 32 years, Char Sundust, flew in from Seattle and is sitting RIGHT NEXT to him in the studio — and what was supposed to be a Monday hangout turns into one of the most wide-ranging episodes of the season. They start with plazas (yes, plazas), wander through city planning and the lost art of the village, and land in the question that may matter more than any other right now: how do we take care of us? Not me. Not you. Us. From the AIDS crisis and the lesbians who stepped up, to the slow-motion erasure of Seattle’s Capitol Hill, to the trans kid Char spotted in a Fort Wayne restaurant who deserves every ounce of our respect — this is a conversation about queer community, chosen family, and what we owe each other when the world gets loud. Then it gets spicier. Char and Lawrence dig into the new study out of the UK that says one in three kindergarteners can’t open a book — they try to swipe the pages. They get into “digital dementia,” AI girlfriends marketed on the promise that “she never says no” (chills, both of them), and whether Substack is becoming the digital plaza we’ve been missing. And because it wouldn’t be the show without it: Above & Beyond obsession, K-pop Demon Hunters’ “Golden” on repeat, a summer dance-party manifesto, and the moment Ripley the cat publicly cheats on Lawrence with Char on live camera. Come for the philosophy. Stay for the betrayal. Thank you Nick Paro [https://substack.com/profile/189675044-nick-paro], Dana DuBois [https://substack.com/profile/201342263-dana-dubois], Amy Gabrielle [https://substack.com/profile/5498662-amy-gabrielle], Beth Cruz [https://substack.com/profile/178744313-beth-cruz], LeftieProf [https://substack.com/profile/116079548-leftieprof], and many others for tuning into my live video! Join us for our next live video in the app. Get full access to The Daily Whatever Show at www.thedailywhatevershow.com/subscribe [https://www.thedailywhatevershow.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Live with Lawrence Winnerman

Get full access to The Daily Whatever Show at www.thedailywhatevershow.com/subscribe [https://www.thedailywhatevershow.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Daily Whatever Show: Effed-Up Friday With Wajahat Ali!

It was another absolutely unhinged Fucked Up Friday, and somehow the news cycle outdid itself—again. We dove headfirst into the chaos, breaking down everything from the latest political absurdities to the kind of stories that make you question reality itself. But the real fireworks came when guest Waj Ali showed up ready to play—and absolutely ran the table. What started as a friendly competition for “most fucked up story of the week” quickly turned into a landslide, with Waj delivering a knockout that left no doubt who won handily. And just when you think it couldn’t get more chaotic, the conversation veered into peak Gen X nostalgia—debating the most iconic songs of a generation while the chat explodes with picks. It’s catharsis, it’s comedy, it’s controlled outrage—and somehow it all works. Watch to the end, and don’t forget to check out Jason’s Spotify playlist (link coming soooon), compiling the ultimate Gen X soundtrack straight from the audience. Thank you Le Simple Sudiste [https://substack.com/profile/8992784-le-simple-sudiste], Yanni Hamburger [https://substack.com/profile/96130249-yanni-hamburger], Noble Blend [https://substack.com/profile/21659563-noble-blend], Stephanie Munoz [https://substack.com/profile/14218548-stephanie-munoz], Ms.Yuse [https://substack.com/profile/322112054-msyuse], and many others for tuning into my live video with THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali [https://substack.com/profile/5345375-the-left-hook-with-wajahat-ali] and Dana DuBois [https://substack.com/profile/201342263-dana-dubois]! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get full access to The Daily Whatever Show at www.thedailywhatevershow.com/subscribe [https://www.thedailywhatevershow.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]