Podcast Summary

Podcast: After Party with Emily Jashinsky
Episode: “Happy Hour”: Online Weirdness on The Right, Book Recommendations, and Women in the Workforce: Emily Answers YOUR Questions
Date: November 28, 2025

Overview

In this “Happy Hour” Q&A episode, Emily Jashinsky tackles listener questions ranging from Thanksgiving food taboos and impractical federal agencies, to deeper dives into right-wing internet culture, the debate on women in the workforce, Christian book recommendations, and how conservatives should approach policing their own ranks. Emily approaches each topic with personal anecdotes, sharp cultural commentary, and recommendations drawn from her professional experience and reading.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Thanksgiving Traditions and Federal Agencies ([01:24]–[05:40])

• Thanksgiving Side Dish to Eliminate: Emily is firmly anti-salad at Thanksgiving, explaining,

  “I don’t like when people serve salad at Thanksgiving. Sorry, Mom. ... It feels wrong. Thanksgiving, I feel like, is about carbs.” [02:09]

• Agency to Throw in the Dustbin: After reading about Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) use of license plate readers, Emily contemplates its size and reach, but ultimately notes the need for consolidation in federal agencies:

  “Some of these agencies probably could be consolidated and their powers would stop metastasizing and sprawling … because right now, nobody has the ability to pay attention to how all these different agencies are using and abusing their powers in these new technological ways.” [04:00]

• She also mentions the Department of Education as a prior answer, noting its current “off-ramping” of certain duties.

2. Helen Andrews’ “Great Feminization” Article & Women in the Workforce ([06:05]–[18:39])

• Overview: Listener Shannon asks Emily's view on Helen Andrews’ “Great Feminization” thesis, which claims institutional ‘wokeness’ is downstream from an influx of women—and feminine traits—into influential roles.
• Emily’s Stance:
  • Emily describes her reflexive defensiveness to criticisms aimed at women but praises Andrews’ argument as “well done.”
  • She underscores that correlation doesn’t equal causation, and highlights that many men (citing Larry Fink, Klaus Schwab) have led or supported “woke” corporate culture.
  • She defines “wokeness” as “cultural progressivism” often tied to “cancel culture,” noting that the binary of “progressive or bigot” is problematic.
  • Emily admires the high-level philosophical discourse between Andrews, Leah Libresco Sargeant, and Ross Douthat on NYT’s Interesting Times:

    “I couldn’t fathom, honest to goodness ... three people from the left [having] a conversation as brilliantly as Ross, Helen and Leah had ... fluent in classic texts, fluent in philosophy.” [16:53]

• Gender, Group Dynamics, and Alienation:
  • She notes the right’s past as the out-group and its embrace of “transgressive” behavior, but worries online “weirdness” is alienating women, young people, and minorities rather than mere “political incorrectness.”
  • Emily encourages continued bold, polemical exchanges among writers but laments elite left-leaning spaces’ lack of rigorous, philosophically strong voices.

3. Book Recommendations for Christians ([20:02]–[28:45])

• C.S. Lewis:
  • Screwtape Letters — “I always recommend.”
  • Abolition of Man — Valuable for its reflection on technology and human nature.
• Tim Keller’s Reason for God:*
  • Emily keeps copies in her car for secular friends:

    “...for my friends who are very secular...I think that book is actually really helpful.” [21:55]

• Tom Holland’s Dominion:*
  • Praised as a “definitive history of the Christian church” that argues many human rights values derive from Christianity, even though Holland began as a secular historian.
• Glenn Scrivener’s The Air We Breathe:*
  • Quick, accessible, and “super countercultural.”
• Randall Sullivan’s Devil’s Best Trick:*
  • Recounts the satanic panic and spiritual mythologies, “extremely provocative.”
• Rod Dreher (Benedict Option, Live Not By Lies):
  • Benedict Option foresees the challenges for Christians in an increasingly secular West.
• John Daniel Davidson’s Pagan America:*
  • Explores America’s shifting religious culture.
• Rodney Stark’s Victory of Reason:*
  • Defends Christianity’s role in Western progress, though Emily notes it’s subtly anti-Protestant.
• Michael Reeves’s Delighting in the Trinity:*
  • Concise apologetics about the Christian concept of God.
• Emily characterizes her recommendations, “You can tell I’m into apologetics,” and encourages watching debates around these books.

4. Online Weirdness & Boundaries on the Right ([29:50]–[41:30])

Candace Owens, Grief, and Online Behavior

• Listener Damien raises concerns about Candace Owens’ recent behavior and whether there should be boundaries within conservative circles.
• On Candace Owens:
  • Emily sees Candace as talented but always more of an entertainer than a responsible intellectual leader:

    “She got put on a pedestal as a kind of conservative thought leader when she was more sort of like an entertainer, activist type. ... She does just sort of jump around and it’s fine. Like, intellectual curiosity is great.” [40:25]

  • She sympathizes with the trauma Owens has experienced and the compounding effects of being repeatedly attacked for her identity and ideas:

    “To endure the amount of criticism that you get as a conservative woman or as a black conservative … it really does make people crazy, the way that you're treated.” [41:00]

Who Should Get a Platform?

• Tommy Robinson — Emily advocates honest conversations with controversial figures, citing trigonometry podcast’s interview as “excellent.” She draws parallels to US conservative gatherings like CPAC and their decisions on whom to invite.
• Nick Fuentes — She suggests it’s appropriate to engage critically with fringe voices:

  “In theory it's totally fine to have a conversation with [someone like Fuentes]. ... But it should just sort of be obvious ... if you're a racist, you get kicked out of CPAC.” [34:04]

• Universal Human Dignity:
  • The foundational pillar, as she puts it, for conservatism:

    “...conservatism is downstream of the concept of human dignity … baked into the founding documents. ... The blueprint towards a more perfect union was there, towards equal recognition of equal dignity and universal human dignity.” [35:40]

• Policing vs. Openness:
  • Emily urges the right to be clear and principled but not performative in boundary-drawing, warning that a focus on “condemnations” can be misdirected under social media pressure.

5. Lighthearted Listener Questions & Closing Moments ([41:30]–[44:00])

• On vaping: Emily lightheartedly recalls using old-school “blu” e-cigs for a comedic bit, contrasting them with Juul and newer vape brands.
• On matzah chips: “Genuinely ... might be a good Christmas gift. Is that weird?” [28:37]
• Closing gratitude to listeners, with thanks and holiday well-wishes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Thanksgiving food:

  “Thanksgiving, I feel like, is about carbs. … I don’t like it when people make salads.” [02:15]

• On federal bureaucracy:

  “Some of these agencies probably could be consolidated and their powers would stop metastasizing and sprawling.” [04:15]

• On philosophical caliber:

  “I couldn’t fathom ... three people from the left that had a conversation as brilliantly as Ross, Helen and Leah had.” [16:53]

• On right-wing online culture:

  “I think actually what’s more alienating than political incorrectness is just being weird. And I do think some of the political incorrectness has just become weird.” [13:19]

• On book recommendations for secular friends:

  “For my friends who are very secular … I think that book is actually really helpful.” [21:55, discussing Tim Keller]

• On Candace Owens:

  “She had so many formative experiences together … I think she’s trying to make sense of a really big, traumatizing and painful situation.” [39:12] “To endure the amount of criticism that you get as a conservative woman or as a black conservative … it really does make people crazy.” [41:00]

• On movement boundaries:

  “If you’re a racist, you get kicked out of CPAC. ... It should be obvious and conservatives should be clear that conservatism is downstream of the concept of human dignity.” [34:10]

Key Timestamps

• 01:24: Thanksgiving side dish + federal agency dustbin question
• 06:05: Helen Andrews’ “Great Feminization” thesis & debate recap
• 13:19: Online weirdness and alienation on the right
• 16:53: Praise of high-quality right-leaning philosophical debate
• 20:02: Christian book recommendations start
• 28:37: Matzah chip endorsement
• 29:50: Policing the right’s boundaries, Candace Owens’ case
• 34:04: CPAC, Nick Fuentes, and boundaries in conservative movement
• 39:12: Candace Owens’ grief and trajectory
• 41:30: Vape bit and matzah chips
• 42:20: Holiday wishes and gratitude

Tone and Style

Emily’s tone is candid, conversational, and reflective, with generous asides, humility, and frequent direct address to listeners. She’s unafraid to offer sharply critical observations (“the most self-serious and weird,” “should be obvious”), but always grounds her points with personal experience, empathy, and strong recommendations.

For listeners wanting a blend of policy, culture, faith, and movement commentary—and a long list of provocative Christian reads—this “Happy Hour” delivers in Emily’s uniquely thoughtful, down-to-earth style.