New Year, Same A*sholes

Summary

Podcast Summary: I’ve Had It – “New Year, Same A*sholes”

Hosts: Jennifer Welch, Angie “Pumps” Sullivan (absent), Kylie, Seth
Date: January 1, 2026
Special Guests: E. Jean Carroll, Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Episode Overview

In this lively New Year’s episode, Kylie and Seth step in for Jennifer and Pumps, delivering a mix of signature irreverent humor, fan interactions, and reflective moments on the past year’s most memorable guests. They revisit classic games and highlight conversations with their favorite thinkers—including journalist and feminist E. Jean Carroll and authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat. Themes of identity, resilience, activism, and political anxiety thread the discussion, all underlined by the hosts’ trademark wit.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Kicking Off 2026 with Inclusive and Irreverent Banter

• [00:09–00:34] Kylie opens with a playful roll call: “Patriots, gaytriots, natriots, Black triots, Brown triots... NB triats”—riffing on inclusive fandom terms and lightly mocking podcast traditions.
  • Seth jokes: “My claps are uncaged.”
  • Kylie: “In place of had its today... I realized there was something very important that I had not shared with our listeners” (regarding the Buzzfeed ‘How Gay Am I’ quiz).

2. Fan Mail and Listener Interactions

• [02:49–03:55] Kylie reads fan comments about Seth, poking fun at parasocial relationships:
  • “We do all kind of look like a weird, dysfunctional family.” – Seth [03:22]
  • “No, Kylie and I are actually one and the same. Interchangeable.” – Seth [03:47]
• Humorous anecdotes about how their presence online causes listener confusion and affection.

3. Highlight: E. Jean Carroll’s Hilarious and Candid “Had It or Hit It” Segment

• [04:25–14:14]
• Had it or Hit it: Dick Pics
  • E. Jean Carroll: “It’s like the cat bringing in a dead rat and dropping it right in your lap. So I’ve had it with dick.” [04:46]
  • [05:24] Angie recounts her one unsolicited Instagram dick pic: “I was, like, so terrified. But then I have a girlfriend that gets them all the time, and she’ll send them in a group text with no warning.”
  • E. Jean Carroll analyzes: “Men think they would like to get a picture of our breasts. So what we’ll do is, here’s a gift... That’s how they think.” [05:55]
• Had it or Hit it: Aphrodite
  • Aphrodite is E. Jean’s shotgun (“...sits by my bed. That's what I do.”) [06:38]
• Had it or Hit it: Revenge
  • “I think we gotta hit it... Our country is being torn apart at the seams. Are we going to sit still? No. What gives that feeling? Revenge.” – E. Jean Carroll [07:16]
• Cheerleading Nostalgia
  • E. Jean details her cheerleading royalty past, the pageant, and water-skiing at Miss Cheerleader USA. [08:30–10:12]
  • “That is some drag queen shit right there. That is straight up drag show. I’m here for it.” – Jennifer [10:05]

4. Reflections on Female Philanthropy and Activism

• [14:07–15:28]
  • E. Jean Carroll discusses using her settlement from Trump to help women’s rights:
    • “That’s where that $83.3 million is going. You know, that is not right. I just [am] stunned that Mark Zuckerberg said that, that his reality is so warped.” [13:37]
  • Jennifer lists impactful women like MacKenzie Scott and Melinda Gates who quietly invest in social change.
  • “Now we add E. Jean Carroll to this list of boss bitch philanthropists...” – Jennifer [14:50]

5. Women's Rights and MAGA Christian Cruelty

• [15:28–17:55]
  • They discuss the loss of abortion rights in Oklahoma, systemic attacks on poor women, and the Christian right’s contradiction:
    • “This whole MAGA movement is an attack on the poor. And if I were a Christian, I would be so furious at these MAGA Christians...” – Jennifer [17:15]
    • E. Jean Carroll emphasizes the importance of treating even those trapped in “news bubbles” with dignity as a way out of cult-like thinking.

6. Global Authoritarian Trends and Resistance

• [17:55–18:56]
  • Jennifer points to global pushback against Trumpist or authoritarian trends, expressing hope.
  • E. Jean notes, “Something’s the matter with Americans. We’ve been entertained into... hypnotized. We just don’t stand up anymore.” [19:25]

7. Guest Highlight: Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Authoritarian Warning Signs

• [21:04–34:22]
  • Split-Screen Reality
    • Ruth: “On the one hand... everything’s normal and great... and then you can leave here and look at the news headlines...” [21:04]
  • Red Flags
    • Trump’s open fandom of dictators:
    • “We’ve never had an American president who’s so openly a fan of dictators... That is new.” – Ruth [22:26]
    • Loss of normal government safety nets:
    • “Things that we expected, good things that government did... Many of them are disappearing.” [23:34]
    • Politicization of the military and judiciary
  • Economic and Societal Breakdown
    • Jennifer and Ruth discuss how undermining the judiciary and the Fed can destabilize the economy:
    • “If you undermine confidence in our regulatory and financial institutions—including the Fed—if you try and politicize them... businesses are going to be harmed...” – Ruth [28:27]
  • Strongman Playbook
    • “The thing about strongmen is that there is no end to their adulation that they need. They need constant acclaim.” – Ruth [31:40]
    • Comparison of Trump’s theatrics to historical dictators’ need for ‘temples to themselves’ and public displays of loyalty.
    • Consequences for sycophants and oligarchs: demotion, exile, or worse (“a lot of oligarchs have fallen out of windows or... you never want to go into the hospital...”). [34:09]
  • Hosts praise Ruth’s clarity and ability to make history “understandable and digestible.” [34:23–34:25]

8. Personal Updates, Moving, and New Year’s Resolutions

• [34:50–36:16]
  • Seth jokes that his New Year’s resolution is to “come up with one” [34:53]
  • Kylie vows (again) to quit vaping: “You fucking watch, listener.” [35:14]
  • Kylie shares she’ll soon be relocating to New York City with her girlfriend and dog: “Next time you see me, I’ll be with Jen and we’re gonna be some lesbians in the big city.” [35:27]
  • Light-hearted anxiety about losing their Oklahoma “hick” accents, with everyone imitating the local drawl for laughs [36:11–36:50]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• E. Jean Carroll on Dick Pics:
  • “It’s like the cat bringing in a dead rat and dropping it right in your lap.” [04:46]
• E. Jean on Philanthropy:
  • “That’s where that $83.3 million is going. ... I don’t need the money. ... Women need us. We’ve lost half our rights in the South.” [13:37, 15:12]
• Jennifer on MAGA Christians:
  • “This whole MAGA movement is an attack on the poor. And if I were a Christian, I would be so furious at these MAGA Christians...” [17:15]
• Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s Red Flag:
  • “We’ve never had an American president who’s so openly a fan of dictators.” [22:26]
• Ruth on Authoritarians:
  • “The thing about strongmen is that there is no end to their adulation that they need. They need constant acclaim.” [31:40]
• E. Jean Carroll on American Apathy:
  • “We’ve been entertained into... hypnotized. We just don’t stand up anymore.” [19:25]
• Kylie, wrapping up her move:
  • “Next time you see me, I’ll be with Jen and we’re gonna be some lesbians in the big city.” [35:27]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:09 – Inclusive “triots” opener
• 02:49 – Reading fan comments about Seth
• 04:25 – “Had it or Hit it” with E. Jean Carroll
• 07:16 – Revenge, cheerleading, and nostalgia
• 14:07 – Philanthropy and women’s rights discussion
• 15:28 – Oklahoma abortion laws and social critique
• 17:55 – Authoritarian trends, activism, and global perspective
• 21:04 – Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s segment begins
• 22:26 – Ruth’s red flags on Trump-era authoritarianism
• 28:27 – Economic impacts of undermined institutions
• 31:40 – Authoritarian leader behavior explained
• 34:50 – New Year’s resolutions and Kylie’s move
• 36:11 – Oklahoma accent jokes
• 36:35 – Farewells and episode close

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Tone

The episode is equal parts biting, witty, and earnest. The hosts expertly balance comedic takedowns (“That is some drag queen shit right there”) with candid engagement on politics, social justice, and personal change. Guests like E. Jean Carroll and Ruth Ben-Ghiat bring gravitas and historical perspective, matched by the hosts’ raw, relatable commentary.

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Takeaway

A signature I’ve Had It blend of laughter, real talk, and solidarity as the hosts ring in the new year—reminding listeners to stay awake, stay active, and never lose their sense of humor (or their resolve).

Transcript

[Jennifer]

So are we supposed to start the podcast?

[Seth]

1, 2, 3.

[Kylie]

Patriots, gaytriots, natriots, Black triots, Brown triots. I've seen some people requesting some additions to transtriates and I can't remember the rest, but all of you are included and anybody else can.

[Seth]

Nimtriots.

[Kylie]

Fuck off.

[Jennifer]

Fuck off.

[Kylie]

What's a nimtriot?

[Seth]

NB Non binary triat.

[Kylie]

Oh my gosh, that's a good one.

[Seth]

Yep.

[Kylie]

NB triats.

[Seth]

NB triat.

[Kylie]

Okay, Seth and I are back filling in for Jennifer and Pumps. As you can tell, Seth is way less endowed than Angie and we're sorry you have to look at that.

[Seth]

My claps are uncaged.

[Kylie]

Yeah, they are. They're let loose.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Kylie]

Okay. In place of had its today because they're hard to come up with. That is a skill that I think people do not realize how hard that is. And Jennifer and Pumps do it easily every day. I realized there was something very important that I had not shared with our listeners. Okay, so after all this time, it dawned on me that I had never sent pumps. The famous buzzfeed how gay am I quiz.

[Seth]

Oh yeah.

[Kylie]

Which I remember taking when I was younger. Have you ever taken it?

[Seth]

I have not.

[Kylie]

We need to have you take it.

[Seth]

I need to take it.

[Kylie]

It's like that moment of panic. You're like, am I fucking gay? And Buzzfeed said yes. Yes, you are.

[Seth]

Said yes, sweetie.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

Yes.

[Kylie]

If you're even here at all, you're gay. So anyways, I sent it to Pomps to take the test and I'll pop this up right here on the screen. She sends me her results and it just says very bold, kinda gay with a pride flag behind it and it says you're kinda gay. You really enjoy having sexual experiences with people of all sexes. Frankly, the one could turn out to be a member of either sex. Bisexuality. It's a party to which everyone is invited.

[Seth]

Okay, I agree with this wholeheartedly. From a pump's perspective, I think she's found the one and I think it's pumps.

[Kylie]

She's pump sexual.

[Seth]

She's pump sexual. So she's bisexual in the fact that she has found pumps. Yeah, she knows what she likes.

[Kylie]

We have a lot of pump sexuals out there.

[Seth]

Oh my God.

[Kylie]

I mean that comment section is full of them. Our emails full of them. That girl, and she doesn't do anything about it.

[Seth]

She don't use it like water off a duck's.

[Kylie]

It really is a dry duck. Okay, the other thing I have prepared for you Guys, really quick before we kick it to some of our favorite moments is people don't get to see you enough on screen. And so I went through our YouTube comments. I searched up Seth to see what I could find. See what people are saying about you. Okay, so I'm going to read you a couple of these.

[Jennifer]

All right.

[Kylie]

Ernest Bruce says, I love these three blonde bombshells. Cute, smart, fierce. They bring a smile and warmth to my face and heart.

[Seth]

It must have been I and the ladies that day.

[Kylie]

Uh huh. You would think. But then they pressed enter, enter, enter. Way down below, they added, I like you too, Seth.

[Seth]

Oh, okay, okay, okay. So yeah, I'm not a blonde bombshell, but blonde. I am blonde. Yep.

[Kylie]

Okay. This other one says Seth. Jen's son Seth is helping out. Cool. Thanks, Seth.

[Seth]

We do all kind of look like a weird, dysfunctional family.

[Kylie]

We do. When Jen and I would travel together, like walk around, people always thought we were mother, daughter. I said, no, we're grandma, daughter, grandma, granddaughter.

[Seth]

We're grandma handler.

[Kylie]

Yeah. Okay, this one says, I like this one. Who is Seth? Where is Kylie? I'm parasocially impacted by change.

[Seth]

I absorbed Kylie. No, Kylie and our I are actually one in the same.

[Kylie]

It's interchangeable.

[Seth]

Really.

[Kylie]

Okay, so now we are going to play you a couple of our favorite guests from the 2025 year. Or as pumps would say, 2020. 20, 2025. She's working on it. I've noticed she's gotten better.

[Seth]

Yep, yep.

[Kylie]

So I'll kick it off with my favorite guest of this year. I knew I was going to love this lady. I bought her book. I was so excited for it to sit on my shelf because I don't read. And she did not disappoint. And my favorite guest is E. Jean Carroll.

[Jennifer]

E. Jean, we're going to move on to our mega hit game. It's called had it or hit it. Oh, my God. Welcome to had it or hit it. I would hit it. Had it. Had it. I hit it every day, sometimes twice a day.

[Kylie]

Okay.

[Jennifer]

Had it or hit it. Dick pics.

[Kylie]

Girl.

[E. Jean Carroll]

You know, if I wanted a dick pic, I would like to receive a dick pic. But it's like the cat bringing in a dead rat and dropping right in your lap. So I've had it with dick.

[Jennifer]

Had it.

[Pomps]

I mean, what's amazing to me is I. I have gotten just a very few in my life, and then I've had friends send me theirs and I'm just like, what the fuck did they think that your response is like, oh, baby, I want to come ride it. I mean, like, it's so shocking.

[Jennifer]

Wait, hold up. You've received dick pics?

[Kylie]

Yes.

[Pomps]

Just one.

[Jennifer]

What?

[Pomps]

It was on Instagram. Like a direct message.

[E. Jean Carroll]

What?

[Jennifer]

Somebody's DMing you dick pics on Instagram.

[Pomps]

Time ago, when I first got an Instagram, I don't even know who it was. Like, it wasn't somebody I knew. It was just, like, a rando.

[E. Jean Carroll]

No, that's right. Random dick pics.

[Pomps]

That's right.

[E. Jean Carroll]

It was just.

[Pomps]

I was, like, so terrified. But then I have a girlfriend that gets them all the time, and she'll send him. And we're all just like. She'll send them in a group text with no warning. And we're just all like, jesus Christ, why did you put this in here?

[E. Jean Carroll]

Well, we know why men send them. Because they think that women are wired like they are. Men think they would like to get a picture of our breasts. So what we'll do is, here's a gift. I'll give you this, and then you'll give me a picture of your vagina. That's how they think. They just.

[Kylie]

If it.

[E. Jean Carroll]

You know, what if they sent us a dick pic of a dick we know and that we have footwear feelings towards?

[Jennifer]

Right.

[E. Jean Carroll]

That would be a nice dick pic. But not a random. Like, Angie received a random.

[Pomps]

No. So terrifying.

[Jennifer]

Okay. Had it or hit it? Aphrodite.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Oh.

[Kylie]

Love it.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Hit it. Aphrodite is the name of my shotgun, which I. Yeah, Somebody did their research.

[Jennifer]

Yeah.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Yeah. Old Aphrodite sits by my bed. That's what I do. Yeah.

[Jennifer]

Do you target practice or anything with your shotgun for kicks?

[E. Jean Carroll]

Well, I haven't recently, but I have, of course, because I have to know how to shoot.

[Jennifer]

Right.

[Pomps]

Because they were coming after you like crazy. I mean, it was terrifying.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Yeah. Hence Aphrodite.

[Jennifer]

Okay. Had it or hit it? Revenge.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Well, I think we've got a. I think we gotta hit it. I think we gotta hit it because I think this is the last stand. It's being torn apart at the seams. Our country.

[Jennifer]

Yes.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Now, are we going to sit still for that? No. We have to have a little bit of iron in our guts. And what gives that feeling? Revenge.

[Seth]

I agree.

[Jennifer]

Okay. Had it or hit it? Cheerleading.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Oh, can't you tell? Look at me, I'm sitting on a ball right now.

[Pomps]

Oh, you are keeping your core all tight.

[Jennifer]

Wait, pump the brakes. Throughout the filming of this whole podcast, you've been doing a cord exercise?

[Pomps]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[E. Jean Carroll]

I'm doing this Ladies, I'm doing this. That's what I'm doing. I'm doing.

[Pomps]

That's impressive. Ein. That's impressive. I don't have great core strength, but that. I'm impressed.

[E. Jean Carroll]

No. And also, it gives the energy. It gives the energy. Yes. I love cheerleader. I was. Get ready to fall and bend to me. Ms. Cheerleader USA.

[Pomps]

Oh, my gosh.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Royalty, ladies.

[Jennifer]

Ready? Okay. I mean, wow. You know, 1964, a trailblazer at that, you know, pumps. Here was all American cheerleader. Her cheerleading camp. And had a hyperextended toe touch back in the day. Back in the 80s. Yeah. Wait a minute.

[E. Jean Carroll]

I, I Angie.

[Jennifer]

What?

[E. Jean Carroll]

This is the.

[Pomps]

I knew we were bonded. E. Jean. I knew it. I knew it.

[Jennifer]

I knew it.

[E. Jean Carroll]

You can do the tote now.

[Jennifer]

Which one?

[E. Jean Carroll]

No, we.

[Jennifer]

Back.

[Pomps]

Back in the day, we called him, I think Russia.

[Jennifer]

A Russian.

[Pomps]

We called him a Russian.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Yeah, we call him Russia. And then there was the tiger with the hands. You touch your legs behind you when you do the C jump.

[Pomps]

Yeah. No, I never did that.

[Jennifer]

What about a Herky? Did you do a herky?

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

Where?

[Jennifer]

Once.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Oh, a herky. Herky came to our cheerleading thing.

[Jennifer]

Herky. Herkimer. Wasn't that Herkimer?

[E. Jean Carroll]

Yes. Herkimer.

[Pomps]

Did not know that was real.

[Jennifer]

Yeah, that was. That's why it's called the Herky. Because the guy that invented it, I think his name was like, Herbie Herkimer or Herky.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jennifer]

Like this. Yeah.

[E. Jean Carroll]

He's from my era. Yeah. No, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was. The contest was down in Cypress Gardens, Florida. And part of the Miss Cheerleader USA contest was. We modeled. Are you ready for this? Southern gowns.

[Jennifer]

Shut up. So it was a pageant where you did cheerleading and then models.

[Pomps]

Yes.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

Love it.

[Jennifer]

That is some drag queen shit right there. I mean, that is straight up drag show. I'm here for it.

[E. Jean Carroll]

I won that, man.

[Jennifer]

Oh, I bet you did. She wasn't around.

[Pomps]

She went down there. She got took names, kicked ass.

[E. Jean Carroll]

And we water skied. We watered. That was another thing.

[Pomps]

In the competition.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Yeah. No, not any competition, but part of the, you know, thing they got.

[Jennifer]

Let me ask you this. The water skiing, were you doing, like, a pyramid?

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

Like.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Well, that would be the thing, but, you know, half of us could barely get up on the ski, so that we did that, but they would. Yeah, the water skiing was part of the. Of the pageant. It was brilliant.

[Jennifer]

Oh, my gosh.

[Pomps]

That's hilarious.

[Jennifer]

I love it.

[E. Jean Carroll]

I got a big scholarship.

[Jennifer]

Oh, wonderful. Excellent.

[E. Jean Carroll]

No. And it was the first national championship that Indiana University had ever won. So I was like, oh, you were hot.

[Jennifer]

You were a big on campus.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Oh, you have no idea. I'm walking around there.

[Pomps]

I'm hbic.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Yep, that's it. Oh, I love it.

[Jennifer]

Okay. Had it or hit it. Jeff Bezos.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Boy. I am divided on Jeff Bezos because he's done so much good. He's put books in the hands of so many people who'd never read before. I mean, your book has been an Amazon bestseller. Your latest has been an Amazon bestseller. And so it's providing you with income so you can feed your families. So. And she can breastfeed 24 hours a day. No, I'm just. I'm upset about his dark turn.

[Pomps]

Yeah.

[Jennifer]

Yes.

[E. Jean Carroll]

I'm just very upset about it. Makes no sense. I just. I mean, Laura Sanchez's boobs make more sense than Jeff Bezos turning dark.

[Jennifer]

Here's the thing, Eugene. This goes back to my point when you were talking about the male jurors. Something about Trump unlocks the worst impulses and people.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Yes.

[Jennifer]

Jeff Bezos. What, what does he have two, $300 billion.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Yeah.

[Jennifer]

Gives a shit. He. Let's say he pays $20 million more a year in taxes. It's not going to affect jack shit in his life. But something about proximity and interacting with Trump makes people worse. And or his supporters, the more they justify and excuse the titty baby, the whining, the immoral up this man, the worse they become. I've never seen like it. Jeff Bezos. Think about it. You could leave your thumbprint on this globe as I was a billionaire and I did all of these things, but I decided to pay my employees more than anybody else and change the way we.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Wouldn't that be wonderful?

[Jennifer]

But no, like Elon Musk, him, they call him now maga. Mark Zuckerberg. Think about this. Mark Zuckerberg, gajillionaire, goes on Joe Rogan. I'll never get over this. I talk about it all the time. And he says, I'm just so, so relieved that Trump is back, back in power because I feel like men have been neutered in the workplace. And I'm like, what the Are you talking about you Neutered? Are you kidding me? The whole system is set up for you to just walk into it. It's crazy how much worse people become after interacting or.

[E. Jean Carroll]

He said that?

[Kylie]

Yes.

[Jennifer]

Mark Zuckerberg, neutered.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Wow. This is why we're. Listen, you know that $83.3 million that I'm being given by Trump, plus interest plus interest. I'm going to be giving it to help women get our rights back. That's where that 83.3 million is going. You know, that's it. I don't need the money. You know, that is. That is not right. I just stunned that Mark Zuckerberg said that, that his reality is so warped.

[Jennifer]

Right, Totally.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

That's the thing.

[Jennifer]

But then Juxtapose, we were talking about Jeff Bezos. Juxtapose, Jeff Bezos with his ex wife, mackenzie.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Salute.

[Jennifer]

She's donating money left and right. You know what she's donating to? A lot of philanthropists don't donate to this. She's donating to social justice causes. She's.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Jennifer]

And if you look at the money that she's giving and she's quietly doing it right, she's not out in the news having written out the city of Venice having some circle jerk of a wedding. That's just obscene. She's quietly donating. And then you look at Melinda Gates and then you look at the ex wife or the widow of Steve Jobs.

[Pomps]

And I can't remember her name. Yes, the Atlantic.

[Jennifer]

She owns the Atlantic and she's making sure journalism goes out. And so here now we add Eugene Carroll to this list of boss bitch philanthropists that are putting their money where their mouth is and donating to, to the causes that really lift us all up. And I love you for that so much.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Thank you. Well, thank you, Jennifer, because you know what we've got. I've got everything I need. I don't need anymore. What's. What do you. We don't need more stuff. Yeah, but women need us. We've lost half our rights in the South.

[Pomps]

I mean, live there.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Yeah. Oh, that's right. You're in a red state.

[Jennifer]

Yeah.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Oh, what are abortion rights? Where. How are they doing in Oklahoma?

[Jennifer]

There's none. None.

[Pomps]

Zero.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Oh, are you at the 13 week, the 12 week or.

[Jennifer]

No exceptions.

[Pomps]

No exceptions. Not rape, not incest, nothing.

[E. Jean Carroll]

We got to turn that around. This we've got. No, this is not.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

How.

[E. Jean Carroll]

How far do the women in Oklahoma have to travel? Well, Oklahoma's big state.

[Jennifer]

It's a big state. So they have to travel to either like New Mexico, Colorado or Kansas. But here's what's so tragic about these laws is they're not an attack on. Angie has a daugh. I have two sons. She has a couple of sons too. But out of the two of us, there's only one daughter. If her daughter has aptochic pregnancy or something, that she would need to have. Seek care or what for whatever her own personal reasons. Angie's going to buy her plane ticket and she's going to fly her somewhere. She's going to receive the care she needs. So this isn't. It's not just an attack on women, it's an attack on poor women. And when you think about what MAGA Christian values.

[E. Jean Carroll]

I've heard you do that. Oh, this is your thing.

[Jennifer]

These MAGA Christians, Eugene, these MAGA Christians, it is an attack on the marginalized and the cruelty. And I'm not religious, and I don't know why my atheist parents raised me in the bubble belt, but nonetheless, they did. But these MAGA Christians are so antithetical to the central character of the. Of the Bible, who was. He spoke out against the accumulation of wealth. He spoke for lifting. Lifting people out of poverty. He spoke for helping the sick, helping the needy. And then you look at that Moses, Mike Johnson, the most religious speaker of the House we've ever had, and he votes for that abomination of a bill, which is. This whole MAGA movement is an attack on the poor. And if I were a Christian, I would be so furious at these MAGA Christians for.

[E. Jean Carroll]

But they don't know it, Jennifer. They do not know it. They. It's not their fault. They're in their news bubble and nobody can get through. That's why, as you say, as you saw, the facts are not get through. Treating them with dignity and then offering them a way out of this cult where we see them will help. So your first idea, that's what we do. Because it's happening all over the world.

[Jennifer]

You know that it's happening everywhere. But there's also been, surprisingly, and this has given me some hope, there's also been. Ever since this acceleration of Trump's second term, there's also been a Trump backlash globally where countries that were heading kind of towards an authoritarian, those authoritarian wannabes are losing. So I'm hopeful that we can find the humanity that connects us all, because it's just, you know, it's so crazy to watch. I talked about this earlier. We were filming. You know, you go about your life and you hear a song that you like and kind of dancing in your car or something, you're throwing a ball with your dog and then it hits you like alligator Alcatraz. Like, oh, what, we're doing that?

[E. Jean Carroll]

Like, yeah, no.

[Jennifer]

And then it hits you. And then it's this really weird slow march into fascism and authoritarian authoritarianism. Because so much of my life can feel the same and I'm doing the same thing.

[E. Jean Carroll]

It is the same. Your life is the same.

[Jennifer]

Right?

[E. Jean Carroll]

Meanwhile in la, they're dragging fathers who are hardworking away from their children. The guys are wearing masks and they've got bulletproof vests on. We don't know who they are. They come in and drag fathers away. Then they drag the mother away. The kids are left with nobody. It's on and we're not. Everybody in the United States is not out marching. I'm really. God, are we fucking lazy. I'm telling you, we've got our phones and we got our entertainment. We're watching Netflix and we won't go out because his father is being dragged out. You know, we just put it out of our. We got. No, it's. Something's the matter with Americans. We're been entertained into. We're hypnotized. We just don't stand up anymore. I, you know, it's just amazing. I mean, really.

[Kylie]

Early birds always rise to the occasion for summer vacation planning because early gets you closer to the action. So don't be late. Book your next vacation early on VRBO and save over $530 on week long stays.

[Jennifer]

Baffert Savings $550.

[Kylie]

Select homes only, minimum 7 days stay required. She makes me want to buy a gun.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

She.

[Seth]

I don't know what I was expecting when I heard that Eugene Carroll was going to come on, but she blew my expectations. Out of the water. She's so funny. She's so wacky and willing to goof. She was so awesome.

[Kylie]

She's living up in the moun.

[Seth]

Yep.

[Kylie]

With her shotgun.

[Seth]

Her. Her whole setting, yeah. Was just perfect in a log cabin.

[Kylie]

I'm obsessed with her.

[Seth]

Okay, so my favorite guest this year. I was a big fan of her before we had her on as a podcast guest. And now she's just become like family to the show. She's friends with gin and pumps. And that is Ruth Ben Guyot and I had watched every single interview of hers. She's so smart. And here's a little, a little clip from her episode.

[Jennifer]

It's kind of. We were talking to another guest. How weird it is with what's going on. It's like you're living a split screen. Like on the one hand, we just saw you before we came in here and we exchanged pleasantries and everything's normal and great. And then you can leave here and look at the news headlines and you see what's happening. You know that Trump is going after the Fed and the Three hour long schmooze fest in the cabinet Room. And you think, what on earth is happening?

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

And clapping for Putin.

[Pomps]

Yes.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

And military looking vehicles on the streets of American cities. All of that. I know even though I study this, the split screen is the same for me. Obviously. You know, you go to the store, you text with your kid. And then the difference is I've been studying this for years. I've been able to predict sometimes where it might go and what the examples of history are, and also foreign countries that can help us get through this and also what we can just do in our daily lives to feel more prepared and to cope with the extra stress.

[Jennifer]

What's your top red flag that you're seeing right now? I know there are many, but the top, maybe three red flags that you're seeing right now, I think one is.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

That we've never had an American president who's so openly a fan of dictators.

[E. Jean Carroll]

Right.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

Whether they're left wing or right wing. And this is really important because although inside countries, right wing leaders always talk about the radical left, but. But at the highest level, when you're talking about relations of dictators, they do the same things. Donald Trump is very. He's a fan of Putin and he's also a fan of Xi Jinping. And now most recently, when the South Korean head of state just went to the White House, Trump lectured him on how great the North Korean leader is, who's a murderous communist of one of the last kind of failed state dictatorships. That is new. Even very conservative leaders such as Ronald Reagan, he was the one who told Gorbachev tear down the wall. He was a hero in that regard. This is totally new then going on with that. I'm very concerned about taking away all of the things that maybe we took for granted that government did. Disaster relief. My mother's Social Security benefits were terminated. She's 92 and she has dementia. And I'm trying to get them back for her. So that's happening to many people. Things that we expected, good things that government did that maybe we had the luxury in America of not having to think about. Many of them are disappearing. That's also because of what Elon Musk did and Doge. And Doge is still there in 38 government agencies. It hasn't gone away that I'm worried about then. Third, because a lot of my book, Strongmen is about military coups. I really don't like the mobilization, the politicization of the military. We have one of the mightiest militaries in the world that we were can be very proud of, it was one of the most popular institutions in America. It defends us. And to try and have troops policing civilians, which is a goal, apparently. I'm really worried about that.

[Pomps]

I'm very worried about that. And I see that with Trump. I've always thought he's not organized or competent enough to do all this. The fake news, like he lucked into calling, you know, undermining the news, undermining facts. And then I hear you talk, if you'll just talk a little bit about how undermining the judiciary, you know, radical left judges are doing this, how that leads the American society to come unglued.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

I'm so glad you mentioned that, because one of the things that keeps our society together, whether it's just turning out in our communities for, I don't know, our kids, sports games or politics, is trust and a common understanding of rules and respect for authorities. I'm a progressive person, but I have great respect for authorities. What we're seeing, and this is what autocrats do, is Trump and his colleagues have been trying to discredit every kind of authority that that is connected with institutions, but also from judges, prosecutors, and trying to discredit democratic versions of the judiciary, of the civil service. These are people who make government run. They don't make a lot of money. They're heroes in their own way. But also teachers, librarians, any kind of educator, doctors. Think of what's going on now. It's going to become harder to get Covid vaccines and other kinds of medical help. Any kind of authority that was respected and people looked up to. Again, I'm going to repeat the school librarian. Who doesn't like the school librarian. But those all have to be discredited because authoritarian states want to politicize everything and actually disrupt areas like schools and even faith institutions that bring many types of people together.

[Jennifer]

Okay, so we have him federalizing D.C. and he has outwardly said his ambitions are to move to Chicago and other places. We have him targeting the Fed. He is silencing dissenting economic data. He has loyalty tests, executive overreach, and then he does this political theater with the Oval Office, how he's made it all bougie, you know, in his Marie Antoinette era, if you will. And then he does the Cabinet meeting where all the sycophants go on for three and a half hours. So my question is, obviously all of these things are terrible, but for our listener, and I think probably a lot of our listeners, we have a lot of younger Listeners, you probably have parents that identify as I'm socially liberal but fiscally conservative. This is a very American thing that you hear a lot of people say, trying to have their cake and eat it too. I'm not going to get into why. I don't think that's a sustainable thing, but a lot of people vote with that. When you undermine the Fed and when you undermine the judiciary, for the fiscal conservative voter, what happens to the economy when you, when you undermine both of those things, When a company cannot take a contract to court and try it, and when you have inflated economic numbers, what will happen to what was the bedrock of this country, which is our economy, what happens to that with these things that I've just listed?

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

Ruth yeah, I'm not an expert on the economy, but again, it's a question of trust. If you undermine confidence in our regulatory and financial institutions, including the Fed, if you try and politicize them, if you pass measures avoiding Congress and just doing it as executive orders practically that are harming businesses, all the tariff stuff, many of the things that are being done are actually allowing China to succeed. To the point that the Economist, which is not a progressive liberal rag magazine, had a, a cover a few months ago that had a blue as though it was a MAGA hat, but it was blue and it said make China great again. Because the economists, specialists in economic policy, judge that what Trump was doing, for example, wrecking the wind, all of the progressive energy, clean energy, it's allowing China to go into those places to those sectors and small businesses are going to be harmed. And then also we got to think about ripple effect things, everything from gun violence to disaster. If you don't have disaster relief because you've cut FEMA and all the other things, then businesses are going to be, communities are going to be harmed, people can't go to work. Also, if people are sick because you have a health and Human services head who seems to want to spread disease, it does that is going to harm the economy because people are sick. Look what happened during COVID And it doesn't have to be a pandemic. And so all of these things that are being done, there are people who say they're being done to wreck America. That President Trumpand this is new is not on the side of America. He is allied with Putin. That's why he was clapping. And other leaders who are our adversaries, they want America to fail with regard to Putin.

[Jennifer]

If you look at what you could say that maybe Russia and Putin are ahead of what Trump's Peer, apparently, what Trump's ambitions are. So when you see the humiliation exercise of Tim Cook, where they come into the White House, the oligarchs are arriving one by one for Trump show and Tell Trophy Hour.

[Kylie]

Awful.

[Jennifer]

And they are humiliating themselves. Share with our listener what happened to Putin's oligarchs. What happens once they come in and kiss the ring? What happens after that? Ruth?

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

I couldn't believe what I was watching because in my book Strongman, I have countless, I describe countless situations that are the same, whether it's Mobutu's ministers in the Congo and they had to wear a certain kind of shirt that he told them to wear, and if they didn't wear it, they would be demoted. So it's like this total control. And the thing about the strongmen is that, that there is no end to their adulation, that they need, they need constant acclaim.

[Jennifer]

And that's universal.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

It's universal. It's crazy. Mussolini did it.

[Jennifer]

Do they all bougie up their offices like that too?

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

So somebody on social media who was from Central Africa, I don't know this person, but he posted a picture of Trump's redo of the Oval Office. And I was thinking that it's like a temple to himself because it has all these like fake gold kind of trophy looking things behind him. And so this person said, oh, this looks like the office of Bokassa, who was a murderous dictator in Central Africa. And so I went back into my notes and pictures that I had for research on my book, because this is the people I studied. Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, they all have these palaces and they're full of real, A lot of times it's real gold. But they make them into temples to themselves because their egos are never satiated. And so they have these spectacles where all of the ministers have to say, they go around the table and they say how great the leader is in front of the leader and it's televised or it's on the radio. And if you don't do it adequately, something bad can happen. In a real dictatorship, like a real one party state, something bad can happen to you. The other thing, and this started with Mussolini 100 years ago. They're so insecure, these leaders, that if you're too competent or you become too popular or too independent, you're going to get demoted. And so Mussolini had this.

[Pomps]

Okay, that tracks.

[Jennifer]

Okay, so I think I cut you.

[Pomps]

Up, but I do.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

No, it's okay.

[Jennifer]

About the Russia, yes. No, no, no. That's what we always do in podcasting. But the oligarchs, how did it fare for them once they kissed the ring.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

So. So what happens is the leader, you get this thing called autocratic backfire. And it affects the leader, the country and the oligarchs because the leader surrounds himself more and more with lackeys, with sycophants, and so he doesn't have good information, and so he has disastrous policies that backfire and cause ruin for the nation. But the loyalty must be renewed every day. Look at Mike Pence. He was a very faithful Trump warrior. And then look what happened to him or was almost happened to him on January 6. So loyalty is renewed every day. And in Putin's Russia, a particularly paranoid leader, a lot of oligarchs have fallen out of windows or you never want to go into the hospital in an authoritarian state if you've been a critic because you don't come out.

[Seth]

There it is.

[Kylie]

There it is. The smartest person I've ever listened to.

[Seth]

Talk, she's so smart. The way that she makes history understandable and digestible is. Is awesome. She's just a great communicator. She was definitely my fan girl. Moment of 2025 for sure.

[Kylie]

And hopefully she'll be back on quite a bit in 2026.

[Seth]

Pretty sure, yep.

[Kylie]

Okay. Seth, do you have any New Year's resolutions?

[Seth]

I never really come up with any New Year's resolutions, so I'll probably just make one to come up with one finally.

[Kylie]

That's a good one. Mine I shouldn't say out loud because it's not gonna come true and I don't want anyone told me to. But mine really is I'm gonna quit vaping.

[Jennifer]

You fucking watch.

[Kylie]

You fucking watch, listener.

[Seth]

That will. We'll see you next year in 2027 when that is again Kylie's New Year's resolution.

[Kylie]

I am consistent.

[Seth]

That is true. That is true.

[Kylie]

Okay, well, we will see you guys the next time you guys see me in this moment. This is pre recorded. I'm in a U haul with my lesbian girlfriend, my lesbian dog moving up to New York City. So next time you see me, I'll be with Jen and we're gonna be some lesbians in the big city.

[Seth]

Big changes in 2026. That'll be fun. That'll be exciting.

[Kylie]

It's gonna be you and Pomps up in Oklahoma.

[Seth]

Yep. Yep. I wonder if you get there and you miss it because it's just not like home.

[Kylie]

It's just not like home. I am really scared of someone telling me I have an accent saying I like your accent because being from here, even from when I was little, I was like, I will not and do not have a hick accent. And then you travel or you talk to people and you absolutely do.

[Seth]

It's funny too, because I've grown up with some people with some accents.

[Kylie]

Yeah, you're from, like, bone fuck.

[Seth]

Yeah. And I've always thought, oh, yeah, that's. That's the Oklahoma accent. I've got. I've got it. I just don't hear it in myself. So I will when I watch this episode back.

[Ruth Ben-Guyot]

Huh?

[Kylie]

It's hard to listen to myself every day.

[Seth]

Yep.

[Kylie]

Okay, Seth, tell him with your hick accent.

[Seth]

All right, everybody, have a wonderful new year and we'll see you next Tuesday. Tuesday and Thursday.

[Kylie]

That's how my parents really say it.

[Seth]

That's how I say it when I'm not thinking about it.

[Kylie]

Tuesday and Thursday.

[Seth]

All right. Bye, listener.

[Jennifer]

I'll tell you what I've had it with. Let's hear it. I've had it with that. Listen up, patriots, gaytriots and natriots. We have a new podcast that has dropped. It's called IHIP News. It's Monday through Friday. Every day, 15 to 20 minute hot takes on the political landscape of the United States of America, always served with a side of petty grievances.

[Pomps]

We are on all the available platforms. Apple, Spotify, Google, whatever you get your podcasts and YouTube.

[Jennifer]

Please go rate, subscribe and review so that we will chart upwards with America's greatest legal mind. Pumps, pumps. What does an eagle say?

[E. Jean Carroll]

Cacao.

[Jennifer]

A little bit more enthusiasm.

[Kylie]

That's it. That's. That's.

[Jennifer]

That's the patriotism that this country needs right there.