Good For You Podcast with Whitney Cummings | EP 311

Release Date: October 19, 2025
Host: Whitney Cummings
Guest/Co-host: Pat
Episode Summary by Podcast Summarizer

Overview

In this candid and high-spirited solo episode, Whitney Cummings and her co-host Pat riff on internet outrage, changing beauty standards, the absurdity and evolution of advertising, social media’s effects on behavior and youth, the ongoing fascination with disaster events like Fyre Festival, and the debate around the public health impact of social media. With trademark self-deprecation, sharp cultural insight, and plenty of standout tangents, Whitney unpacks why everyone seems so mad, why ads now follow us everywhere (even the ocean), and whether banning social media would really solve any problems.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Internet Outrage: Seeing Only Parts of the Mosaic

Timestamps: [00:33]–[04:44]

• Whitney opens by reflecting on a recent internet backlash. She observes that social media outrage often stems from each person only seeing part of a fragmented narrative or algorithm:
  • “When someone is mad at you on the Internet… none of these are true, but like, they got you. …everyone’s having the reaction you would have given what they were being fed.” — Whitney [02:35]
• Social media exposure is likened to intoxication—with people reacting based on what they ‘consume’:
  • “We have to start looking at certain social media diets as, like, sugar or alcohol…” — Whitney [03:37]
• Internet anger is compared to kids acting out after too much sugar—a side effect of being steeped in manufactured content.

2. Beauty Standards: Body & Hair Trends

Timestamps: [05:03]–[14:59]

• Whitney hilariously deconstructs shifting ideals around body and hair, anchored by Kim Kardashian’s influence:
  • “Kim Kardashian… made it so women’s thighs can touch. The charges are dropped.” — Whitney [05:06]
• She satirizes the rise (and cyclical return) of pubic hair, referencing the newly-launched Skims thong with fake pubic hair.
  • “Some of us went a little overboard with the laser in our 20s because we were programmed to believe that it was our job as women to look as young as possible at all times.” — Whitney [06:18]
• Whitney paints the current “beauty look” as impossible and contradictory:
  • “All the hair on the head. No hair on the pits. Now we got hair on the undercarriage—it’s back. That’s the current look.” [09:56]
• She points out that men’s hair never goes out of style, while women’s trends are exhausting and ever-changing.

3. The Absurdity of Advertising: From Bikinis to Billboards in the Ocean

Timestamps: [17:44]–[34:19]

• Whitney discusses the new phenomenon of floating billboards at the beach and people’s outrage at them, mocking inconsistent standards:
  • “Sky flag billboard, fine. Ocean, not fine?” — Whitney [20:41]
• She notes the irony that people are surrounded by ads in every aspect of life, and that the things people get mad about are arbitrary.
• Whitney observes that advertising has always permeated culture, sometimes in ways people don’t even notice (e.g., Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats):
  • “The day I learned the magic of the Macy’s Parade was one big ad… every float is an ad.” [28:18]
• Pat suggests augmenting billboard boats with AR QR codes for even wilder advertising stunts.
• Whitney argues that algorithmic targeting makes ads hyper-personalized; when an ad isn’t relevant to someone, people get angry or feel left out:
  • “If the haters… saw their particular brand of blue hair dye [on a billboard boat], they’d be like, ‘Oh, it’s on sale!’” [31:41]
• She expresses nostalgia for seeing ads “in the wild” for things you didn’t know existed, as opposed to the constant feedback loop of personalized, algorithmic marketing.

4. Store & Brand Culture: It’s All the Same Now

Timestamps: [36:50]–[38:55]

• Whitney and Pat riff on the illusion of choice in modern retail—explaining that even though there seem to be endless brands and products, most are owned by the same handful of corporations.
  • “They don’t need to market variety to you. They want the sure thing… we own all the companies.” – Pat [36:55]

5. Fyre Festival & Disaster Schadenfreude

Timestamps: [39:00]–[44:35]

• The duo examines society’s obsession with watching high-profile disasters unfold (especially Fyre Festival), attributing it to the human drive for schadenfreude.
  • “We love disasters. …Your kink is like other people being embarrassed publicly. That’s our thing with Fyre Fest.” — Whitney [39:00]
• Whitney questions whether large music festivals are ever even profitable, musing on why people keep throwing them anyway.
• She delivers a pithy, memorable line about the social benefits of festival “victim stories”:
  • “The biggest thing a festival provides… is the victim story. If this [Fyre Festival] had gone well, that would have been so much worse.” [44:32]
  • “Going to music festivals is the only way rich white people can feel like victims. That’s what they’re paying for.” [44:45]

6. Social Media as Public Nuisance & Government Action

Timestamps: [47:22]–[58:31]

• Reacting to news about New York City and others suing major social media companies for creating a “mental health crisis,” Whitney explores the double-edged sword of tech regulation:
  • “Be careful what you wish for … ‘cause then what? We’re gonna have to go back to talking to people.” [47:27]
• Pat, more conspiratorially, frames the lawsuits as potential smokescreens for free speech suppression.
• Whitney reflects on the likely future of "mental fitness tests" for social media access, likening it to attitudes towards workplace smoking in the past.
• She touches on parallels between social and substance addiction and wonders whether social media brings out existing character traits or exacerbates people's worst impulses:
  • “Does social media bring out who you already are or like the worst version of your shadow self?” [51:27]

7. Social Media, Empathy & Documentation vs. Participation

Timestamps: [52:03]–[55:03]

• Whitney laments how people today often film crises instead of helping, describing a viral instance of people filming a kid trapped under a goalpost:
  • “To not drop the phone and try to help, even if you can’t, is so wild to me. …There’s a part of the brain that has deteriorated so much that we, like, lack this automatic compassion reaction.” [54:00]
• Pat points out new barriers to helping (“People get sued a lot for helping”), while both marvel at the new discipline people show when capturing viral moments.

8. Is Social Media Really Worse Than Before? Generational Risks & AI

Timestamps: [58:31]–[66:39]

• Whitney contends that young people have always done dangerous things, though the stakes and scale are now higher in the social media era (e.g., subway surfing deaths).
  • “Teenagers will find a way to ruin each other’s lives… Before social media, things were dicey too.” [58:30]
• She ties this back to human nature—technology exacerbates but doesn’t fundamentally change the desire for notoriety or rebellion.
• A lively exchange centers on the difficulty children have distinguishing reality from digital fakery (AI-generated videos, Photoshop controversies, etc.).
• Both agree kids need guidance sorting fake from real in the internet age—AI/media literacy is more crucial than ever.
  • “You need someone helping you discern… there’s almost like an AI literacy that you need.” — Whitney [64:44]

9. Everything Old is New: Diagnosing Modern Problems

Timestamps: [66:03]–[67:00]

• Whitney suggests that while things seem worse now, increased population and diagnosis capabilities partly explain the apparent rise in problems (like disease, danger, or mental health crises).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “When someone is mad at you on the Internet… none of these are true, but like, they got you.” — Whitney [02:35]
• “We have to start looking at certain social media diets as, like, sugar or alcohol…” — Whitney [03:37]
• “Kim Kardashian… made it so women’s thighs can touch. The charges are dropped.” — Whitney [05:06]
• “All the hair on the head. No hair on the pits. Now we got hair on the undercarriage—it’s back. That’s the current look.” — Whitney [09:56]
• “Billboards on the ocean? Yes. Honestly, least weird thing I’ve seen in the ocean in a while.” — Whitney [20:41]
• “If the haters… saw their particular brand of blue hair dye [on a billboard boat], they’d be like, ‘Oh, it’s on sale!’” — Whitney [31:41]
• “Going to music festivals is the only way rich white people can feel like victims. That’s what they’re paying for.” — Whitney [44:45]
• “Be careful what you wish for… ‘cause then what? We’re gonna have to go back to talking to people.” — Whitney [47:27]
• “Does social media bring out who you already are or like the worst version of your shadow self?” — Whitney [51:27]
• “There’s a part of the brain that has deteriorated so much that we, like, lack this automatic compassion reaction.” — Whitney [54:00]
• “Teenagers will find a way to ruin each other’s lives… Before social media, things were dicey too.” — Whitney [58:30]
• “You need someone helping you discern… there’s almost like an AI literacy that you need.” — Whitney [64:44]

Tone & Style

Whitney’s style is signature: irreverent, self-aware, observational, and peppered with biting humor, rapid-fire analogies, and vivid pop-culture references. Pat’s asides often ground the bits with a dry, slightly conspiratorial edge, playing the perfect straight man and skeptic to Whitney’s riffing.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode offers an entertaining, insightful take on why we get mad online, why advertising is both omnipresent and weird, and what it means for a generation navigating a hyperconnected, hyper-filtered world. Whitney’s takes are layered with humor, empathy, and social commentary, making even serious subjects like mental health, technology, and cultural trends feel accessible and thought-provoking.

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:33 – Internet outrage & fractured narratives
• 05:03 – Kim Kardashian/beauty trends/body hair
• 17:44 – Advertising absurdities & billboards at the beach
• 31:41 – Algorithmic ads and "rage-bait"
• 39:00 – Fyre Festival & loving to watch disaster
• 47:22 – Lawsuits against social media/public health debate
• 52:03 – Empathy, documentation, and social behavior shifts
• 58:31 – Youth risk-taking, AI reality confusion, and generational loops

End note:
If you’re looking for a wry, deeply current, and laugh-out-loud kitchen-sink take on everything from TikTok rage to billboard boats to the meaning of empathy in a screen-based world, this episode is pure Whitney Cummings—funny, smart, and just chaotic enough to keep you hooked.