Blocked and Reported – Live with Katie Herzog & Jesse Singal

Date: March 12, 2026
Podcast Hosts: Katie Herzog & Jesse Singal
Summary by [Your Summary Bot]

Episode Overview

In this lively live episode, journalists and co-hosts Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal riff on the latest internet absurdities, rooted primarily in the ongoing “Lindy West saga,” broader media culture, and the evolution of internet-induced social madness. The tone is irreverent and self-deprecating, blending industry gossip, sharp critique of contemporaries, and audience Q&A about podcasting, current cultural debates, and random listener questions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The “Lindy West Saga,” Publishing, and Polyamory

• Lindy West’s notoriety:
  • Discussing West's latest book, polyamory, and her relationship self-help angle.
  • Katie: “That’s so cool, the way she, of her own volition, ended up like one of two girls for a guy... They ended up gay.” (00:09)
• Book advances and publishers:
  • Jesse shares insights from Lee Stein (with Kat and Phoebe) on the book’s original self-help pitch and ambiguity over West’s advance details. (00:39-01:49)
  • Notable Moment: Industry inside-baseball about how Publishers Marketplace codes author advances. (01:05)

Social Campaigns and “Shout Your Abortion”

• Lindy West’s activism:
  • Both hosts question the effectiveness of loudly destigmatizing abortion.
  • Katie: “If you’re trying to change minds... I don’t think being like loud and proud about it... is the way to do it.” (03:15)
  • Jesse: “All shout your abortion did was convince more people that pro-choicers were psychopaths. I think that’s probably true.” (04:08)

Internet Outrage, Topic Fatigue & Political Shifts

• Impact on podcast topics:
  • Discussion about whether finding compelling “outrage” stories is harder now that the culture war focus has shifted right.
  • Jesse: “Has it been more difficult to find good topics... since the worst of the woke left has kind of died down?” (15:36)
  • Katie: “I don’t think there’s any lack of internet bullshit stories... But the stakes are higher, and that makes it less fun.” (15:58)
• Institutionalization of right-wing internet culture:
  • Katie laments that the internet’s most outlandish right-wing figures now have real power: “The right is as like psychotically online as the woke left... but [now] it is institutionalized in the federal government... the Trump administration has been so effective... they are so online.” (16:13)

Specific Individuals & Online Phenomena

• Clavicular/Bone Smasher:
  • Brief assessment of the viral, nihilistic influencer and the bleakness of giving such figures airtime:
    • Jesse: “He’s so devoid of—he’s empty. He’s just devoid, full stop.” (18:24)
    • Katie: “A lot of the right-wing online stuff is covered... whereas a lot of the woke stories, they ignored it. And that was a huge advantage to us.” (19:10)
• Red Scare Girls / Anna & Dasha:
  • Anecdotes about their magnetic effect on media men at parties.
  • Katie: “Every man... was like moss to a flame, like, surrounding Dasha and Anna.” (20:29)
  • Hilarious story about Dasha asking a stranger, “Are you gay? ...You just don’t know it yet,” and walking away. (21:44)

Recommendations & Anti-Recommendations

• Katie’s Picks:
  • Ride with Ian – Instagram/Substack account documented by an ex-junkie world-cyclist:
    • “He is a psychopath who is spending his one precious life riding his bike across the world… never wears a helmet and smokes cigarettes.” (06:05)
  • Anti-Recommendation:
    • Friends Keep Secrets (Dave Burd/Lil Dicky & Benny Blanco) – “It's so boring. It’s people sitting around who are celebrities… convinced they are fascinating. It’s a really good reminder... that stars really are just like us. They’re very boring and convinced they are not.” (07:43)
• Jesse’s Recommendations:
  • Music: Homefront (“Good rock songs with synthy elements, Canadian band”) (09:51)
  • Old-school Internet comedy:
    • Derek Comedy (early Donald Glover work)
    • Good Neighbor (Beck Bennett & Kyle Mooney)

Audience Q&A & Notable Banter

• Aliyah/Jewish immigration to Israel:

  • Lighthearted exchange on whether Jesse would consider moving to Israel for good content and the time zone benefits for podcasting. (13:17–14:38)
  • Katie: “I think Israeli culture and me would be a really good match because I’m very, like, Jewish, masculine, muscular… a pretty militaristic mindset.” (14:35)
  • Bet: If there’s a two-state solution “in the next week,” Jesse will move. (15:07)

• Moose the dog:

  • Several moments featuring Katie’s dog Moose, including playful interruptions and dog admiration by the audience. (02:14, 23:18)

• Sports Question:

  • Off-topic but played straight-faced: Are the Celtics real contenders? (22:51)

• Technical/Behind-the-Scenes Banter:

  • Casual digressions about podcast setups, Google Docs, and bathroom offices. (11:05-11:13)
  • Jesse jokes about Megan McArdle having to take over during his (alleged) drunken podcasting incident. (05:23)

• Running Theme:

  • Reflections on how fame, internet notoriety, and cultural cycles create repetitive (and sometimes joyless) content—both for podcast creators and the public.

Memorable Quotes

• “I don’t think there’s any lack of internet bullshit stories. In fact, I think... there’s almost more internet bullshit, but the stakes are higher and that makes it less fun.”
  — Katie (15:58)
• “The Trump administration... so effective at seizing control and... implementing some of the elements of the worst of the online right. Like J.D. Vance is a fucking incel... he has that right-wing online ethos.”
  — Katie (16:13)
• “He’s so devoid of—he’s empty. He’s just devoid, full stop.”
  — Jesse on Clavicular (18:24)
• “Every man was like moss to a flame... trying to bump cigarettes from [Dasha and Anna] just to be near them.”
  — Katie (20:29)
• “It’s people sitting around who are celebrities... they are convinced that they are fascinating. But it’s a really good reminder that stars really are just like us. They're very boring and convinced that they are not.”
  — Katie on Friends Keep Secrets (07:43)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:00-04:44 — Lindy West, the publishing industry, and “Shout Your Abortion”
• 06:02-09:51 — Recommendations/Anti-Recommendations (Ride With Ian, Friends Keep Secrets, Homefront, Derek Comedy)
• 13:00-15:36 — Aliyah, Israel, podcasting logistics
• 15:36-20:10 — Discussion: Has online culture changed? Is it less fun to cover?
• 20:10-22:47 — Red Scare afterparty stories, Anna & Dasha, fleeting fame
• 22:51–24:41 — Audience Q&A: Sports, random chat, dog stories (Moose)
• 15:36–21:14 — Cultural impact of right-wing figures and coverage

Final Thoughts

This episode captures “Blocked and Reported” in its element—unfiltered, deeply online, and unafraid to roast both themselves and the internet’s new ruling class. The mix of gossip, sharp social commentary, and beneath-the-surface weariness at the current state of discourse makes for a breezy but incisive listen. Long-time fans will appreciate the banter; new listeners get a crash course in how the sausage gets made when covering internet weirdness for a living.

Note:
Ads, intros/outros, and technical filler excluded. Only live content, audience interaction, and main topics are included.