A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein

Last week, world-class athlete Simone Biles stood up to failed-athlete-turned-crybully Riley Gaines when Riley antagonized a transgender child to her 1.5 million Twitter followers. A harassment campaign, which has become a standard (and winning!) online strategy for online right, ensued against Simone. The comments flooded in, eviscerating the gymnast (and her sponsors) — “So you want my daughter to compete against boys?” “How many medals would YOU have if you competed against MEN?” And perhaps most jarring, “I guess you want other little girls to get abused the way you did.” Things flew off the handle and became severely detached from reality, as they so often do in these campaigns. Facing endless harassment, Simone apologized, and Riley has been taking a Fox News victory lap ever since. Today, Natalie Wynn (a.k.a. Contrapoints) returns to the show as we explore the anatomy of a moral panic, the harassment campaigns which fuel them, and why you cannot compromise with a fascist. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/mattbernstein%E2%81%A0]! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off [https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off].  Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at https://www.blueland.com/fruity [https://www.blueland.com/fruity].  Subscribe to Natalie on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/contrapoints]. Find me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mattxiv/%E2%81%A0]. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/abitfruitypod/%E2%81%A0]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

“From the river to the sea” is antisemitic. “Free Palestine” is antisemitic. Children’s YouTuber Ms. Rachel raising money for child amputees is antisemitic. ICE is kidnapping college students for antisemitism. Trump is dismantling higher education because of antisemitism. As a Jew, I’m… confused. And uncomfortable. Today, we examine the validity of The Antisemitism Panic, the dark underbelly of it, and the people pulling the strings to make it happen. Hint: they aren’t Jewish. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/mattbernstein%E2%81%A0]! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Get an exclusive 60% on Incogni: https://incogni.com/fruity [https://incogni.com/fruity] Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity [https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity].  Listen to Matt Lieb’s podcat, Bad Hasbara [https://open.spotify.com/show/5RDvo87OzNLA78UH82MI55?si=27ec3fb7b0e44ab0]. Follow Matt Lieb on Twitter [https://x.com/mattlieb%E2%81%A0]. Find me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mattxiv/%E2%81%A0]. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/abitfruitypod/%E2%81%A0]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

In today’s special episode, we’re taking a break from political and cultural analysis to chat with someone who’s been at the center of today’s culture wars but rarely in her own voice: Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk’s 21-year-old estranged trans daughter. She tells us about her decision to take back her voice after years of being spoken for by an unsupportive father, dealing with lunatics online, and putting Jordan Peterson in his place. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/mattbernstein%E2%81%A0]! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off [https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off].  Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at https://www.blueland.com/fruity [https://www.blueland.com/fruity].  Find Vivian Wilson on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/vivllainous/?hl=en]. Find me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mattxiv/]. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram [%20https://www.instagram.com/abitfruitypod/]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Last week, the New York Times reported: “White House Assesses Ways to Persuade Women to Have More Children”. But who exactly is behind this push, and why, and what does it have to do with Elon Musk’s breeding compulsion? The answer is that “pronatalism”, a far-right movement that looks and smells a lot like a eugenics cult (despite what its leaders say), has entered the White House. Today, Emma Vigeland [https://x.com/EmmaVigeland] of The Majority Report [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-3jIAlnQmbbVMV6gR7K8aQ] and Moira Donegan [https://x.com/MoiraDonegan] of In Bed With the Right [https://open.spotify.com/show/7JirL3UVKjyy5MTy8PouHh?si=720ac44b19974f4e] help explain how a particularly creepy strain of doomsday misogyny found itself at the center of the Republican party. COME SEE A BIT FRUITY LIVE! Tickets are on sale here [https://www.x1entertainment.com/mattbernstein%E2%81%A0]. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/mattbernstein%E2%81%A0]! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Protect yourself online, wherever you go. Get a discount on NordVPN at https://www.nordvpn.com/fruity [https://www.nordvpn.com/fruity].  Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity [https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity].  Find me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mattxiv/%E2%81%A0]. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/abitfruitypod/%E2%81%A0]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

When fitness influencer Ashton Hall’s absurd morning routine went viral a few weeks ago, I was… moved. The hours-long skincare, gym, and journaling ritual felt like an American Psycho-inspired metrosexual fever dream — one peppered with shocking misogyny and profound loneliness. Hall’s viral moment felt like a tipping in point in “alpha male” influencer culture, or the content ecosystem of men teaching boys what it means to be men. The further down the rabbit hole I went, the weirder it got — and between scammy financial incentives and an authoritarian take on gender, I began to understand why so many of these influencers are Trump supporters, and how they’re teaching their viewers to follow suit. Most disturbing is the message that underpins almost all alpha male content: a life well-lived is one lived alone. COME SEE A BIT FRUITY LIVE! Tickets are on sale here [https://www.x1entertainment.com/mattbernstein]. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/mattbernstein]! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity [https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity].  Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at https://www.blueland.com/fruity [https://www.blueland.com/fruity]. Subscribe to Ryan Broderick’s newsletter, Garbage Day [https://www.garbageday.email/]. Follow Ryan on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/ryanhatesthis.bsky.social]. Me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mattxiv/]. A Bit Fruity on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/abitfruitypod/]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]