A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein

To the mainstream news, she’s the mother of three of Elon Musk’s children. To a certain type of extremely online Tumblr user in the year 2012, she once approximated God. Today, we take a challenging look at the strange tapestry of Grimes’s life and unearth stories about the Internet era that shaped millennials, pipelines to right-wing radicalization, and domestic abuse as a public spectacle. 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! Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off [https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off].  Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity [https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity].  Subscribe to Taylor's journalism at User Mag [https://www.usermag.co/]. Subscribe to Kat's journalism at Spitfire News [https://spitfirenews.com/]. Subscribe to Taylor's YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@TaylorLorenz]! 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]

Elon Musk just (allegedly) had his thirteenth child with a fourth woman — a 26-year-old “conservative” influencer named Ashley St. Clair. In a past version of the “traditional family values” party, this might’ve been a career-ending event. Today, it hardly generates coverage. In this episode, Moira Donegan [https://bsky.app/profile/moiradonegan.bsky.social] and Adrian Daub [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:6vqeghjslrmslglksg4y2rsp] (of In Bed With The Right [https://open.spotify.com/show/7JirL3UVKjyy5MTy8PouHh?si=aab1ff4756104d78]) help me make sense of the right’s impossibly contradictory code of sexuality: is MAGA the movement of the hot, virile new youth, or is it the movement attempting to ban contraception and abortion? Are women supposed to spit on that thang or dress modestly? And what does Elon’s public humiliation of Ashley St. Clair reveal about a woman’s place in the New Right? Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/mattbernstein]! 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].  Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at https://www.blueland.com/fruity [https://www.blueland.com/fruity].  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]

Quiet luxury. Clean girl. Old money. Trad living. Kylie Jenner’s pivot from Black culture vulture to glass skin pilates princess. College youth dressed like polyester Shein replicas of Reagan-era prepsters. Something’s happened, and I’m uncomfortable. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/mattbernstein]! Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off [https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off].   Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity [https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity].  SUBSCRIBE TO KAT'S NEWSLETTER [https://spitfirenews.com/]! SUBSCRIBE TO TAYLOR'S NEWSLETTER [https://www.usermag.co/]! Listen to Taylor's podcast, Power User [https://www.youtube.com/@TaylorLorenz]. Follow me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mattxiv/]. Follow A Bit Fruity on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/abitfruitypod/]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Our country is now run by a bunch of spineless billionaires who were cast out as nerds in college so they launched a vendetta against humanity. Today, Edward Ongweso Jr. [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:2jd7mrznwcfwcirhpfjw74jb] of This Machine Kills [https://open.spotify.com/show/5NU8ZfxBaUR0OXND2kepzl?si=18658e9914a9435a] helps us understand the tech bro-ligarchy’s key overlords, why they are so far up the president’s rectum, their deranged philosophy on life, and their apocalypse escape plans.  Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/mattbernstein]! Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50 [https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50].  Get an exclusive 60% on Incogni! https://incogni.com/fruity [https://incogni.com/fruity] 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]

The first episode of this podcast ever recorded was about Amber Heard and the online public’s inability — or unwillingness — to distinguish between their organic feelings about celebrity abuse allegations and their participation in a strategic, well-funded smear campaign against a woman coming forward. Since that episode, journalist Kat Tenbarge [https://bsky.app/profile/kattenbarge.bsky.social] and I have become best friends. She’s also reported on this exact news cycle over and over again with different women. Today, we break down the new yet familiar legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni and attempt to sharpen our critical thinking skills, because the decisions we make online matter — and the success of these misogynistic campaigns can end with us. Support me + listen to bonus episodes on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/mattbernstein]! Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at www.rocketmoney.com/fruity [http://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity].  Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at www.blueland.com/fruity [http://www.blueland.com/fruity]. 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]