FYPod – “Cam’s Gone & Things Are Getting Weirder”

Podcast: The Bulwark: FYPod
Host: Tim Miller
Guest: Tara Hoops
Date: November 15, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode marks a transitional phase for FYPod as co-host Cameron Kasky explores a possible congressional run, leaving Tim Miller to reflect on the show's trajectory and its mission to decode the political psychology of Gen Z—especially after their surprising shift toward Trump in 2024. Tim is joined by recurring guest and sharp political commentator Tara Hoops to navigate the current Gen Z political climate: the rise of alt-right subcultures, the mythos around economic “disenfranchisement,” and pragmatic paths for Democrats to reconnect with young voters.

The pair blend humor, sharp critique, and firsthand observations, diving deep into the underlying factors driving young voters' polarization. They also touch on internet subcultures, economic “vibe” crises, factional divides in both parties, and practical advice for listeners navigating personal politics.

1. State of the Podcast/Youth Audience Challenge (00:02 – 03:20)

• Tim admits uncertainty about the podcast’s direction as Cam steps away for politics.
  • “I don’t really know what the hell we’re gonna do with this page and with this feed.” [00:02]
• Reflects on the original aim: Reach Gen Z—but ironically, much of the audience is made up of parents/grandparents trying to understand “the youths.”
  • “There’s definitely could have done a little better… we haven’t quite achieved what I wanted as far as, like, reaching youths.” [00:45]
• Praises the show’s diverse guestlist: from “crypto Marxists to Steve Bannonite nationalists.”
• Introduces Tara Hoops as one of his favorite repeat guests.

2. Gen Z Adulthood and Podcast Vibes (03:20 – 05:00)

• Birthday shoutouts and generational jokes: Tara just turned 20 and jokes about graduating to “boomer stage,” while Cameron is now 25.
  • Tara: “I just turned 20 over a week ago and it’s been weighing on me. I feel like I’ve hit my boomer stage.” [02:23]
• Banter about generational slang (“unk” for uncle/auntie, Gen Alpha, etc.).
• Tara likens herself to a substitute teacher filling in for Cam and pledges to bring her own style, leaning into ADHD-fueled, unfiltered long-form conversation.

3. Virality, Podcast Tangents & The Epstein Email Thread (05:00 – 07:07)

• Tim recounts a tangent from a recent show discussing the Epstein file release, the woes of “sad old men that need love,” and AI sex robots—a moment demonstrating the podcast’s candid, meandering style.
  • “We ended up in like an 8 minute long tangent talking about what we’re going to do about sad old men that need love...I was blurting out maybe we do need AI sex bots for sad [guys].” [05:17]
  • Tara: “I don’t want to subject real life women to that.” [05:34]
• Both riff on the absurdity of elites behaving badly, and how their “insights” are undeservedly respected.

4. Inside the ‘Groypers’: The Alt-Right’s D.C. Beachhead (07:07 – 15:42)

• Definitions for listeners: Tim outlines Groypers as Nick Fuentes’ following of explicitly racist, anti-women, young, mostly male white nationalists.
  • “In the case of these young men, they are explicitly white identitarian...racist.” [07:11]
• Cites Rod Dreher’s Substack: reports that 30–40% of Zoomers in official Republican D.C. are fans of Fuentes; their appeal lies in “rage,” “taboo violation,” nihilism, and economic grievance.
  • “They just want to tear everything down.” [08:30]
• Tara’s D.C. observations: Recounts real-life encounters with MAGA-adjacent young Hill staffers, e.g., pinata celebrations after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
  • “I’ll never forget this… Navy Yard [staffers] swinging a pinata, celebrating [the fall of Roe]. And I was like, oh, 4chan people are, like, real. This is real.” [10:10]
• Discusses the Groypers’ “undercover” strategy in D.C.: conceal extremism to gain institutional power, per explicit Fuentes doctrine.
  • Tim: “Their goal is to say, okay… we want people like us, these young racist young men in positions of power… by concealing [views] and going to D.C. and doing these jobs.” [13:21]
• Tara argues not all young men nationwide are falling prey to alt-right radicalization, noting D.C.'s unique “Twitter is real life” politics and ambition-driven culture among Hill staffers.

5. Why Are Young Men Going Far-Right? Exploring Tucker Carlson’s Rationale (15:43 – 23:48)

• Audio Clip: Tucker Carlson tells Megyn Kelly that the popularity of Fuentes reflects “how we have collectively destroyed young men,” blaming economic destruction and Republican “obsession over Israel.” [17:43]
• Tim critiques this as a shallow, circular argument, mocking Tucker’s notion:
  • “Being a racist contrarian cunt was always kind of appealing to young boys, in every era. Nothing is new in the universe.” [19:32]
• Tara’s take:
  • “I think these people just feel extremely disenfranchised by institutions that they feel like are failing them.” [21:13]
  • Points out online rage-bait dynamics and the misplaced zero-sum blame of women and minorities “doing better” for the alienation some white men feel.
• Both challenge the narrative that opposition to Israel, or economic malaise alone, explains the rise of the Groypers.

6. Are Economic Grievances the Key? Dissecting the “Hopeless Men” Thesis (23:48 – 33:07)

• Discusses economic hardship as a supposed driver toward extremism, quoting the claim that Gen Z men have bleak prospects (jobs, marriage, homeownership).
• Tim: “I just kind of reject this idea... that there is something so uniquely challenging about the economy right now for young men, as opposed to 60 years ago, that they have no choice but to turn to groyperism.” [27:09]
• Tara: Acknowledges real anxiety around stability and distrust in institutions, but:
  • “I reject that to a point of it being on the national level...I don’t think every single man, if they get bogged down in life, immediately becomes a groyper. I refuse to think that lowly of the male species.” [27:22]
• Personal anecdote: Her immigrant parents had faith in the American dream and succeeded despite instability; today’s generation is more individualistic, cautious, and plans family life meticulously.

7. Affordability, the ‘Vibepression,’ and the Economics of Gen Z (33:07 – 38:04)

• Tara unpacks the “vibe” collapse: despite okay economic data, consumer confidence is at multi-decade lows—the worst “vibepression” since the 1950s.
  • “If you look at the polling...how is this affecting you directly? People are like, oh, I’m kind of okay, it's not that bad…” [33:23]
• Tim links this to failed political leadership and a sense of instability—voters feeling let down on costs and affordability, especially after the 2024 “cost of living” election.
• “When people feel uncertain they are going to be way more unhappy and risk averse to how they're viewing everything, it's the same way companies are going to be a bit more risk averse when it comes to hiring.” [34:55 – Tara]
• Emphasizes the psychological and media-driven components of economic malaise.

8. Democratic Factional Debates: Normie Affordability vs DSA (38:04 – 42:35)

• Contrasts partisan factional debates:
  • GOP: “Are we pro-Nazi, neutral Nazi, or anti-Nazi?”
  • Dems: “How do we fix affordability and communicate it?”
• Key point: Online narrative claims all youth are “crypto Nazis or DSA [Democratic Socialists of America]”—but this is exaggerated.
• Plays a clip from centrist Dem Mikie Sherrill describing surprise and delight at young men supporting her “normie” affordability agenda [38:04].
• Sharon’s campaign success attributed to persuasion, direct outreach, and a focus on economic basics—earning surprising youth support.

9. Can Democrats Win Back Gen Z (and Especially Young Men)? (42:35 – 47:18)

• Tara supports normie affordability messaging and the approach of acknowledging past party failings, direct persuasion, and concrete, incremental policy wins.
  • “I don't believe we had mass amounts of men just shift to the alt-right pipeline and they fully voted based on these cultural ideologies…The fact that [Mikie Sherrill] made [her campaign] focused on...opportunity...that spoke to them.” [40:58]
• Challenges: Even popular-sounding pro-housing/YIMBY policies meet local resistance (NIMBYism)—both Centrist Dems and DSA left face this reality.

10. Zoran Mamdani, Housing Policy, and Left-NIMBY Cooperation (44:40 – 47:18)

• Discussion of Zoran Mamdani’s efforts to build affordable housing at Elizabeth Street Garden in NYC—a rare instance of pro-housing policy on the left.
• Eric Adams’ (NYC Mayor) petty opposition.
• Tara: “You can’t just... believe it is good policy, [and] think it’s going to make good politics. You can’t get lazy halfway and decide your job is just done.” [45:49]
• Both highlight the necessity of coalition-building and a non-confrontational approach; leftists online should try “being nicer to people.”
• Tara: “The amount of profound profanity [the left] could put in 280 characters is, like, shocking, absurd… You guys could do such a better job at building a grassroots movement by just being nicer to people.” [47:05]

11. Fitness Influencers, Meme Warfare, and Reaching Young Dudes (48:02 – 50:02)

• Tara jokes about wanting “woke fit male content creators” to counter right-wing fitness influencer radicalization.
  • “I need the woke fit male content creators to start dropping... 'hey isn’t it wild this guy won on lowering costs, but is doing the opposite.'” [48:02]
  • Tim: “We need some hot fitness influencers to do yimby shit and woke shit. I hear you.” [48:54]
• Tim shouts out Jared Schultz as a rare “bro lefty hetero” content creator.
• Both call for more relatable, normie, hot-guy, progressive online voices.

12. International Media/Influence Game (50:47 – 51:56)

• Tara recounts China’s new rule: fines for influencers lacking relevant expertise in their topics—a thought experiment about American influencer culture.
• They joke about lefty commentator Hasan Piker’s trip to China and his naive comments on Chinese society.

13. Mailbag: Can You Date a Casual Trumpster? (53:35 – 57:31)

• Listener asks: “Can I date a Trump-curious med student, or is this a dealbreaker?”
• Tara: “If you are already writing that into a political YouTube show, your answer is right there. Clearly you care about politics enough… it’s not going to work out.”
• Dan Savage’s contrasting advice (as passed along by Tim): If the guy is merely unreflective, not fanatical, maybe dating will change his mind—“some people can be reached… We can make a distinction between Rick Grenell and young guys who haven’t thought deeply and can be reached.”
  • “I don’t think people who support Trump deserve any dick at all… on the other hand, this guy sounds like he hasn’t thought deeply about any of this.” (Dan Savage via Tim) [55:09]
• Tim and Tara agree: for something long-term, “politics and morality” are likely non-negotiable for the letter-writer.

Notable Quotes

• Tim Miller:
  • “Being a racist contrarian cunt was always kind of appealing to young boys… Nothing is new in the universe.” [19:32]
  • “Their goal is to say, okay… we want people like us, these young racist young men in positions of power… by concealing and going to D.C. and doing these jobs.” [13:21]
• Tara Hoops:
  • “I don't believe we had mass amounts of men just shift to the alt-right pipeline...I refuse to think that lowly of the male species.” [27:22]
  • “You guys could do such a better job at building a grassroots movement by just being nicer to people.” [47:05]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• State of Podcast, Gen Z audience crisis: 00:02 – 03:20
• Alt-right Groypers in D.C.: 07:07 – 15:42
• Tucker Carlson on "destroyed young men": 17:43 – 23:48
• Generational/economic critique: 23:48 – 33:07
• Democratic strategy & youth persuasion: 38:04 – 42:35
• Housing policy/NIMBYism/YIMBY activism: 42:35 – 47:18
• Woke fitness influencer meme segment: 48:02 – 50:02
• Mailbag: Dating a Trump-curious guy: 53:35 – 57:31

Tone & Style

The episode maintains FYPod’s signature sharp, fast-talking irreverence, blending generational self-awareness, first-person anecdotes, and deep dives into political and social subcultures. Banter and memes are balanced by frank policy and economic analysis, making the show both accessible and substantive for a wide age range—whether you’re a “youth” or a worried grandma.

Takeaways (For the Uninitiated)

• Much-discussed Gen Z rightward shifts are real, but context (especially D.C.’s unique culture) and online echo chambers both exaggerate and mask complexity.
• Economic “malaise” and cost-of-living anxieties fuel discontent, but cultural/communal shifts and distrust of institutions are equally important—individual radicalization is not inevitable.
• Winning young voters back won’t happen via lectures, slogans, or Twitter wars; real engagement, tangible policies, and relatable communication are vital—especially when fighting the “vibepression.”
• Nobody wins with “mean leftists”—better results come from persuasion and honey, not vinegar.
• Politics remain deeply personal and, for many, non-negotiable in relationships.

Follow-ups:

• Subscribe to FYPod for future updates and follow Tara Hoops on X for her ongoing commentary.
• For young straight, fit, and woke men: get on camera, the left (still) needs you.