Oprah Profits From "No Contact Trend", Hollywood's Attack on Masculinity, and Kylie Jenner Pushes Cigarettes

Summary

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Spot On with Link Lauren — Episode Summary

Episode: Oprah Profits From "No Contact Trend", Hollywood's Attack on Masculinity, and Kylie Jenner Pushes Cigarettes
Host: Link Lauren
Date: March 25, 2026
Special Guest: Brianna Lyman (The Federalist)

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Overview

In this episode, Link Lauren takes aim at three cultural topics currently stirring debate:

• Oprah Winfrey’s promotion of the "no contact" family estrangement trend and her history of profiting from personal trauma
• Hollywood’s alleged attack on masculinity and what women really want from men today
• The rise of cigarette smoking among Gen Z, partly fueled by ultra-famous role models like Kylie Jenner

With lively and candid conversation—including a featured segment with social commentator Brianna Lyman—Link provides takes on what’s really going wrong in American media, culture, and society. Expect bold, unfiltered commentary, memorable stories, and listener-friendly advice.

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Segment 1: Oprah and the "No Contact" Trend

Timestamp: 00:56 – 18:43

Main Points:

• Oprah is criticized for her recent YouTube podcast episode on the “no contact” trend, where people cut off family members for various reasons—including political differences and trauma.
• Link argues Oprah has built her entire empire on exploiting pain and family dysfunction for ratings:

  “Oprah is not some family person, right? Oprah is not a family woman, to be honest. She has no family of her own.” (08:34)

• Lauren claims the trend makes family cutoffs seem trivial and fashionable, and Oprah benefits from audience turmoil rather than harmony.
• The show highlights how politics (especially among Democrats) drives family division:

  “It’s always the Democrats who do this. … The party of love and acceptance and diversity and DEI, they’re always the ones who cut off the Republicans. You guys say you love diversity, but not diversity of thought.” (10:41)

• Link reads real testimonies of people who cut off family for political reasons, then asserts:

  "If we had more conversations, I think people would realize across the aisles ... we're aligned on a majority of issues. ... We're divided by class. Honestly, in society right now, it’s the working class versus the elites." (14:16)

Notable Quotes:

• "[Oprah’s] happy—she is so happy these families are being torn apart. Oprah doesn’t make money when people are getting along." (11:56)
• “Cutting off a parent who mistreated you is one thing. But I know young people who rewrite history just because it fits a narrative they pick up in college.” (09:14)

Memorable Moment:

• Lauren brings up Oprah’s use of “trend” to describe painful family splits, suggesting it trivializes real trauma. He notes Oprah had to apologize after backlash.

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Segment 2: Guest Brianna Lyman – The War on Masculinity

Timestamp: 18:43 – 33:52

Main Points:

• Link welcomes Brianna Lyman to discuss masculinity in modern America.
• The pair examine the online debate over which male archetype is most attractive: the strong, muscular Henry Cavill, or softer, edgier types like Timothée Chalamet.
• Lyman argues much of "ugly hot" Chalamet's appeal comes from cultural signals and whom he dates, concluding there’s a loss of true masculine archetypes in Hollywood:

  "It almost feels like Henry is stuck in between the Timothée Chalamets and the Tom Sellecks." (20:42)

• They criticize the cultural trend labeling masculinity as “toxic” and explore how this discourages men from being masculine or even approaching women.
• Both agree rising singlehood and declining birthrates are deeply tied to attacks on the nuclear family and traditional roles, with social media and higher education allegedly exacerbating the problem.
• Brianna:

  “The idea that solo living should be prioritized or pushed is literally the opposite... Humans are naturally social beings.” (21:20)

• Discussion moves to feminism's evolution and how, in their view, it has undermined both the role of women and men. The topic of transgender inclusion in women's spaces is raised as a flashpoint.
• They critique Chelsea Handler for glamorizing childlessness and mock the “doll mom” trend as evidence of cultural malaise:

  “You hear Chelsea Handler say that, and it actually speaks to this kind of era that we’re in, and it’s the era of selfishness." (27:53)

Notable Quotes:

• "Kids who grow up with the nuclear family intact: less likely to have mental health issues, less likely to commit crimes..." (22:49, Link Lauren)
• "There’s something uniquely special about being a mother, being able to be a caregiver. Because you know what? Men biologically just aren’t wired the same." (24:07, Brianna Lyman)
• "There was that element of self-selfishness. You would do whatever is needed—for your own family, for the community and society. ... We’ve abandoned that so much, I think, in part because of social media.” (28:02, Brianna Lyman)

Memorable Moments:

• Lyman candidly describing dating difficulties:

  “Our generation is screwed when it comes to dating. It is so difficult to find someone.” (21:54)

• Critique of higher education:

  “You send your kids [to liberal schools], they come out in debt, indoctrinated, they think everyone is oppressive. It’s horrible.” (30:21, Link Lauren)

• Lyman’s support for trade schools over college for most kids.

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Segment 3: Kylie Jenner, Gen Z & Smoking’s Resurgence

Timestamp: 34:49 – 37:48

Main Points:

• A surge in cigarette smoking among Gen Z is noted, with Link zeroing in on Kylie Jenner’s influence as she glamorizes smoking in Vanity Fair photo shoots.
• Both Link and Brianna discuss how smoking is now being associated with "edginess" and "sex appeal," tracing these aesthetics back to mid-century Hollywood icons and shows like Mad Men.

  "There is something alluring about smoking. ... I think a lot of people connect cigarettes to sex appeal, right? And that’s why Kylie Jenner is sitting in that ad..." (35:46, Brianna Lyman)

• They caution about the dangers of these trends filtering down to younger, more impressionable social media users.
• They suggest the fetishization of “coolness” is a cover for young people feeling isolated and lost in the era of social media.

Notable Quotes:

• “We’re the generation that grew up where they would come to schools and say, don’t smoke. Smoking kills. … Now, Kylie Jenner’s on the cover of Vanity Fair smoking.” (34:56, Link Lauren)
• “Social media was promised to make everyone feel more connected, and if anything, it’s made all of us feel a lot more isolated.” (37:33, Brianna Lyman)

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Segment 4: Dating in the Digital Age

Timestamp: 37:48 – 39:26

Main Points:

• Link asks Brianna about the modern dating scene and use of apps. Lyman reports most friends have given up on dating apps like Hinge and Tinder due to lack of real connections—especially in big cities like NY.
• They both note men are now hesitant to approach women due to fear stemming from cultural movements like MeToo, and social anxiety exacerbated by digital living.

  "All the guys are over here, the girls are over there ... and the guys are nervous. They don’t know how to do it. Maybe because they grew up on social media.” (38:50, Link Lauren)

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Notable Quotes & Takeaways

• On the family and "no contact":

  “If everybody got along, she [Oprah] wouldn’t have a show. ... Oprah doesn’t make money when people are happy.” (10:57)

• On masculinity and dating:

  “If we don’t get out of this, you’re going to see declining birth rates continue. ... Single women who are going to be more and more depressed and they lean more and more left.” (22:21, Brianna Lyman)

• On college and career:

  “If you want to be a carpenter or a plumber, those are amazing jobs we are always going to need.” (31:28, Brianna Lyman)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Oprah and "No Contact" Trend: 00:56 – 18:43
• Attack on Masculinity with Brianna Lyman: 18:43 – 33:52
• Gen Z & Smoking – Kylie Jenner’s Influence: 34:49 – 37:48
• Modern Dating & Apps: 37:48 – 39:26

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Overall Tone & Conclusions

Link Lauren’s style is clever, irreverent, and unafraid of controversy. The episode is a rapid-fire mix of pop culture criticism, anecdote, and social commentary, always returning to the theme of defending “traditional” American values—family, open conversation, and personal responsibility. Brianna Lyman echoes and supports these themes, offering first-hand perspective on dating and modern womanhood.

Memorable Closing:

• “Have an amazing rest of the day. Kiss your loved ones and be well. … I really do love hearing your stories ... that’s why I started making videos on my phone years ago.” (39:28, Link Lauren)

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Useful For:
Anyone interested in media critique, pop culture trends, cultural divides over family and gender, or practical commentary on dating and modern society, especially from a moderate-to-conservative viewpoint.

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Transcript

[A]

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With the times.

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You're playing the lute.

[C]

Yeah.

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And it sounds pretty good, right?

[B]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report. Hey, everyone, welcome back to Spot on with Link Lauren. I'm your host, Link Lauren. If you're a returning customer, welcome back to the show. If you're new here, welcome, settle in, pour yourself a drink. Unless you're planning to drive. Unless it's 9am when you're listening to us. So we have a jam packed show today. Okay? We're going to start off the show by talking about Oprah, okay? The Oprah calypse, the Oprah apocalypse is still here. Oprah is pushing this whole no contact trend, sort of this estrangement we're seeing in families. But there's also a lot of information coming out about how people are cutting off family members due to politics. I think this is always left to right. Democrats are always cutting off their Republican, conservative, even their independent libertarian family members. So we'll break all of that down. We have some testimonies, we have, we have some clips we will play you. And then we have a special guest coming on later in the show to talk about how masculinity is under attack in our culture. I really believe there's a war on masculinity. The left, they like to call masculinity toxic. If a guy sits too comfortably, he's manspreading. If he explains something, he's mansplaining. There's always this negative lean to everything about being a man in modern society. And so we're going to break all of that down. What type of guy are women looking for today? Do they want the big, strong, strapping guy? Do they want the scrawny little Timothee Chalamet kind of guy? So we'll break all of that down. And what it means psychologically, ontologically, physiologically. I'm running out of words here. I'm sorry. Not taking the SATs this morning. I also have to say we're filming this episode a little bit earlier than we normally would. By the time you watch this, are the airports going to be better? The videos I'm still seeing from all of these airports are. Are horrendous. I know so many of you, you're on spring break. You're going on spring break soon. What is going on? If the Democrats do not fund the Department of Homeland Security and get these TSA lines moving, I'm sorry, your party is going to continue going down the tubes because this is bringing people together across the aisles. Everyone hates traveling. Okay. Everyone hates dealing with the airports. God bless the people who work at the airports, but we all hate it, okay? Except when I get pulled aside for a very thorough pat down. Okay. Some physical intimacy. No, I'm kidding. But no. We all hate air travel. And I understand more and more now why my brother will drive across the country in his big pickup truck. We used to say my brother was crazy for years. We're like, he's going to drive all the way to Florida in his truck. But now you see the airports, the lines are five hours long, thousands of people. And so hopefully by the time you watch this, the airports will be better. But my guess is they might still be a calamity. So we're gonna pay some bills really quickly. We have a quick ad, and then we're back with our first Hot Topic. Sleep is important, but it's the one thing I never get enough of. Since getting my Aurora Luxe mattress from Brooklyn Bedding, I found a bed that finally felt just right. And I'm getting a full night of actual restorative rest. Best of all, they're designed and assembled right here in America. And they're designed to fit every body type and sleep style. They're GLAC covers and thermoregulation help keep you cool and comfortable all night long. Endorsed by the American Chiropractic association for spinal alignment and back health and 100% fiberglass free, Brooklyn bedding also gives you an amazing 120 night comfort trial. Love it or return or exchange it hassle free. That's why they've been awarded the best mattress by CET and best hybrid mattress by wire cutter. Go to BrooklynBedding.com and use my code link at checkout to get 30% off site or wide. This offer is not available anywhere else. That's Brooklyn betting.com promo code link for 30% off site wide. Make sure you enter our show name after checkout so they know we sent you Brooklyn betting.com promo code link. Well, we have to start off by talking about Oprah, one of the most insufferable women in modern times. Okay. People used to love Oprah. I think she was in 48 million homes every single day, according to her. And people would love her. They would tune in, they would watch, she would tell compelling stories. She's basically become this desperate hack. And she's doing her podcast on YouTube, which I find interesting first and foremost because she has an entire television network. She has the Oprah Winfrey Network, own network. You can tell that network has gone down the tubes because she's not even doing her show on there. She's doing it on YouTube. I think the only thing they have on that network now is like Tyler Perry or Madea or, you know, Madea Go Goes to Jail. I don't think they're doing any real good programming on the own network. But Oprah. There is an episode of Oprah's podcast you guys have sent to me hundreds of times. And it is the no contact episode. And what this episode is about, it's about children and parents too, who have cut off family members due to estrangement, due to political differences, due to trauma. The kids feel maybe they were mistreated by the parent. And they said, you know what? I'm going to cut you off and not talk to you and ever again. And so this whole no contact trend, as Oprah called it, has become a huge lightning rod of conversation online. I want to play you a quick clip from the episode.

[A]

I have been no contact with my entire family for a year and a half now. No contact, no contact.

[B]

Not a phone call, not a text,

[A]

not a nothing, nothing for a year,

[B]

year and a half now. Okay. Chris, how about you? It's been four years since I've had contact with my parents and my siblings. Four years. Not a word.

[C]

Not a word.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And Kendall, I've been no contact with my 30 year old son for 2 years.

[B]

By your choice.

[A]

By choice.

[B]

Okay, so this has caused a stir online. I will give you guys my unvarnished take. I think it is okay to cut off a family member if they have mistreated you time and time again. If there's a pattern, if you've tried to reconcile the relationship, it's not getting better. It's okay to walk away from any kind of relationship and it doesn't have to be A full period on the sentence. Sometimes you walk away for six months, a year, five years, and you can find your way back together after there's some growth, after there's some evolution. But my thing about Oprah is this. She has spent decades on television and now on the Internet exploiting people's pain and trauma for entertainment. Oprah is not some family person, right? Oprah is not a family woman, to be honest. She has no family of her own. The only real close family and friends that she has are Gail and Steadman. And let's be honest, they're kind of on her payroll, okay? Gail is her best friend. Gail's career has benefited tremendously from being tied at the hip to Oprah Steadman. I don't know where he is, but he's also benefited from being close to Oprah. She doesn't really have any family. So for decades, when she does these episodes on her shows and she exploits people's families trauma for years, it just leaves me feeling a little bit sick, okay? It makes me a little bit sick because I remember back on the Oprah Winfrey show, it'd be like, oh, come on out, your husband is gay. And it might be totally traumatic and horrible for the family, but it's great for her ratings. And they would sit around and plot all of this out, and Oprah would act nice on camera and, oh, she doesn't know what she's doing. The second that camera's off, she's probably not even talking to you. So Oprah has built her career off of people's pains. If everybody got along, right? Everybody got along. She wouldn't have a show, right? She wouldn't have this no contact show or estrangement if people were singing Kumbaya. And then Oprah, I saw a clip of her. She talked about how two out of five Gen Z's are in therapy, and she thought that was a great thing. I think that's odd. I think it is odd that two out of five young people are in therapy. And when it comes to the no contact trend, there are kids who are mistreated by their parents who do cut off their parents. But I do think there are some young people, if I'm going to be honest, who do a little bit of revisionist history. And let me tell you what I mean, they revise history a little bit because as they get older, they think things are so much worse and than they actually are. I mean, I know someone personally, right? He had the best mom in the world, right? Loved his mom. Everything Was great. He went to college, went to a very liberal school. A lot of the indoctrination they talk about, you know, the family unit, of course, the family unit is under attack here in our country. Now he's decided his mom is a narcissist. He hates his mom, and he doesn't even talk to her. And we're all scratching our heads going, okay, so you go to college, you grow up, and you now look back on your childhood and think your mom was a narcissist. You guys had a great relationship. So I do think there are some young people, yes, you should cut off that parent who mistreated you, abused you, couldn't get their lives together. But then there are some parents who are great, and the kid still decides to kick you to the curb. And so for Oprah, I wish she could give a more nuanced take. But for her, in terms of getting viewership in ratings, she's happy. She is so happy these families are being torn apart. She's happy that parents are cutting off kids and kids are cutting off parents. Oprah does not benefit if people are happy and singing Kumbaya, she benefits and has for decades when people are in pain. And one of the main reasons we see in our culture, people cutting off family members and friends and having these estranged relationships, one of the main reasons is politics, right? And we found this article yesterday. There were 24 different instances where Democrats have cut off Republican family members. And it's always the Democrats who do this. I'm just going to be honest. The party of love and acceptance and diversity and dei, they're always the ones who cut off the Republicans. You guys say you love diversity, but not diversity of thought. And this has happened in my own life, right? I'm not going to get all, you know, Sally, Jesse Raphael here, but this has happened in my own life, right? I've had family members and friends stop talking, stop talking to me, because I don't identify with the Democrat Party anymore because I did not go out and vote for Kamala Harris. I've had family and friends not talk to me, say horrible things, write nasty things on my social media, but you got to kind of let it wash off. But it's always the left. It's always these establishment liberals who sit around watching MSNBC and they say they accept everyone, but they don't accept you. If you happen to vote red or even if you're just independent, they don't like you either. And I want to read you some of these quotes. These are testimonies from people who have cut off their conservative family members. This is an anonymous 38 year old female. It was pretty easy as I don't wish to associate with racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic idiots who only care about themselves. Peace out. Okay? This generalization saying that every conservative you know is transphobic, homophobic, misogynistic. I'm gonna be honest, A lot of the bigotry I see in judgment, it comes from the left, right? You can even look at Zoran Mamdani's wife. Some of the things she was writing online and using the N word. Okay, this is Zoran Mamdani's wife in New York City. Let's talk about that. I see so much more racism coming from the left than anywhere else. And then even Joe Biden, who is the President of the United States, he called half the country garbage. Let's not forget it. And I actually pulled up the clip to take you guys down memory lane. Watch. The only garbage I see floating out

[C]

there is his supporters.

[B]

His demonization is seen as unconscionable and it's un American. So we've seen this for years. The left, they call Republicans, conservatives, independents, they call us Nazis, fascists, garbage, threats to democracy. Time and time again. We even see polls where they cheer on violence against Republicans. And so when I read these testimonies, it's not shocking to me, right? All of these testimonies, they're not shocking because we see this over and over and over. The left, they says, they say they're all about acceptance and diversity and then they'll cut you off. Let me read you the next one. After spending the 2024 holidays with my MAGA loving family, I realized I was done with the extended family. My parents were generally quiet about their politics, but I know they voted for him. And I found a way to work past it. After the inauguration, my best friend of 37 years called and started praising the jerk. Even though she knew my feelings about him. I cut her off too. I can't accept anyone defying their behavior, especially from people who don't claim to be devout Christians. I needed to distance myself further. So I moved to a very liberal area about an hour and a half away. Things didn't feel as scary around people who were also terrified of the situation. This is a 40 year old male in North Carolina. So to tie it back to Oprah and the no contact trend, we're seeing a rise in no contact because so many of these liberals, these deranged liberals, they can't stand having A conservative family member. Okay, if God forbid, you didn't want to vote for open borders crime and all the crap we dealt with under Joe Biden and Kamala, I guess you're now Persona non grata to people you've known for 37 years. 37 years. And you're cutting people off because of an election and because of the propaganda you've been fed that you think anyone who's conservative is a Nazi, a fascist Hitler, threat to democracy. It's actually quite disgusting. It's gross. It's really, really gross. And it's just this far left faction. Most Americans get along, but it's probably 10, 20% on the left here who can't stand anyone thinking for themselves. Let me read you this last one. This is from a 71 year old male in Washington said, I'm a lifelong Republican. Liberal friends cut me off because they hate Trump. I've been a Republican longer than Trump. What the f. This is what's going on in our country. And so when Oprah and these liberals are cheering on no contact. It's fine to be estranged. Why don't we prioritize coming together and having conversations? Now, mind you, you can't reason with crazy. There are some people I think are too far gone. I'm not going to bother even engaging with them. But if we had more conversations, I think people would realize across the aisles, across the aisle, we're aligned on a majority of issues. We might have different ways of getting there. We might want a few different things. But it's actually the elites in Washington D.C. who are fighting and not doing the will of the people. Most Americans, right, working class Americans have the same goals. They have the same goals. We're not even divided by Republican or Democrats so much. We're divided by class. Honestly, in society right now, it's the working class versus the elites. And so whether you're Republican, Democrat, independent, I think if more people had conversations, they would realize that. So Oprah Winfrey, we don't know what's going to happen with her in this no contact situation. She did get a lot of blowback, a lot of backlash from the segment she did, especially calling it a trend, calling no contact and estrangement, losing family members a trend. I did feel it was trivial, trivializing. She came out and apologized, but it was still trivializing a situation. But remember to bring it all home. Oprah doesn't make money when people are getting along, when they're happy, when the nuclear family is intact. Remember Oprah does. Oprah doesn't have family, right? She doesn't care if your nuclear family is intact. She makes money and gets ratings and views when you are under fire and going through turmoil. It's why she only talks to people who are cheaters, whose families have been broken up, who are cutting off their children, cutting off their parents. Oprah's not out there highlighting good old fashioned American families. She's not doing it. But we got to pay some bills really quick. And we will be back with our guest and more Hot topics. Everybody's talking about weight loss injections because the results are so dramatic. They work by lowering blood sugar and reducing appetite. But what if you're looking to lose weight but not interested in painful weekly injections, especially when you hear about some of those intense side effects? 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well. My friends, I could not be more excited to welcome this next guest, Brianna Lyman. We've been on shows together. Whenever I see her on Fox or cnn, she is Taking the liberals down. She's one of the smartest up and coming voices, I think, in culture and politics. She'll probably run for office someday. She's also correspondent for the Federalist. Brianna, how are you doing, my friend? Great to have you link.

[C]

It's so great to be here.

[B]

Thank you. Thank you. Okay, so I want to start off by talking about this debate going on in society right now. And it's all about masculinity. And here in America, I feel like the left continues to call masculinity toxic. Anything that has to do with good old fashioned masculinity, it's toxic, right? If a guy sits too comfortably, he's manspreading. If he's explaining something, he's mansplaining. And there's been this debate online, right. Women have said they find Timothee Chalamet more attractive than Henry Cavill. And let me read you this post though. This is from someone who disagrees. They say Henry Cavill is more of a man's man, but he actually isn't that attractive to most women. Timothee Chalamet outshines him as a sex symbol that appears to women. Henry has the classic strong, tall, muscular and reliable kind of vibe. But he lacks edginess, danger, or mystery. I don't know any woman that would choose Timothee Chalamet over Henry Cavill. What is this trend that we're seeing online? I'm so confused. Brianna, can you help?

[C]

Okay, so I kind of think that for Timothy, it's two things. It's one, the fact that Kylie Jenner dates him. So it makes it seem desirable because someone else has it. Right. I also think part of it, you know, like someone is actually like ugly hot. Right there. So ugly. There's something. I hope he's not watching this. And there's something he's not. That might be it. I don't find him ugly hot. And I think the problem is you're comparing Timothy and Henry. And Henry's objectively good looking. But I do think he does lack that edge, right. That Tom Selleck, Al Pacino type edge of a real masculine man in Hollywood. So it almost feels like Henry is stuck in between the Timothy Chalamet and the Tom Sellecks, right?

[B]

Totally. Well, do you think there's sort of this intentional plan from the left though, to kind of tear down masculinity? Because we see this even from women and we see this at protests. We see this on social media. They're like F men, F the patriarchy. I don't need a man. Men are garbage. And then we see these polls, like legitimate polls and focus groups, where these liberal women, single liberal women, report having the highest rates of mental health issues. And so it's like, maybe if you would give a guy a chance and not say men are trash and give the nuclear family a chance, society would function better. Brianna and I know you have some thoughts on this.

[C]

Yeah. The idea that solo living should be prioritized or pushed is literally the opposite. One of your just your biological functions. Humans are naturally social beings, right? Nobody actually wants to be alone. And if you say you want to be alone, it's just probably because you haven't found the right person for you. But that doesn't mean you should give up hope and just banish all men or all women. Right. Vice versa. And studies also show that married women with children tend to be happier than women who are single and childless. And it's really sad too, because there are a lot of women out there who want a husband or child and they can't have it for, you know, biological, medical reasons, or they just haven't met someone yet. And Link, you know this better than anyone, right? Our generation is screwed when it comes to dating. It is so difficult to find someone. So there are a lot of young women, my age, myself included, we're, you know, nearing 30 years old. And I don't see an end in sight because even men are kind of scared to go out there and date because of that toxic feminism, the. The Me Too movement. It scared men into being men, right? Into approaching a woman and flirting and asking her out because they're worried. Am I going to be accused of something? So there is like this really dangerous cycle that this generation is stuck in, and if we don't get out of it, you're going to see declining birth rates continue. And you're also just going to see single women who are going to be more and more depressed and they lean more and more left.

[B]

Totally. I mean, the CDC coming out and saying birth rates are at an all time low. We are begging you guys to have kids. Like I always say, if you're a normal, nice person, please have children. If you're a deranged liberal, actually, maybe we don't need you procreating, but we do need to bring more kids into our society. And I'm so glad you brought that up because I don't know what the heck is going on. Like, if you don't have kids, if you choose not to have kids, that is totally fine. But tearing down the nuclear family, which is the bedrock of our society, that has got to stop. I mean, you can look at any data, right? Kids who grow up with the nuclear family intact, less likely to have mental health issues, less likely to commit crimes, less likely to go to jail, to prison, etc. More likely to finish high school, to go to college. Right. Having the nuclear family intact is what we should be aiming for, Brianna. But there's just this war over and over again against it, especially from Hollywood.

[C]

Yeah. And you saw that with like, the third wave and even like fourth wave. I guess it's fourth wave feminist now, Right. You see, for example, the erasure of women. Even women don't want to be women. And when you don't want someone to be a woman, you don't want someone to be a mother. They're a birthing person. You strip the dignity that comes along with being a mother. Right. There's nothing special about it, according to the leftist, but there's something uniquely special about being a mother, being able to be a caregiver. Because you know what? Men biologically just aren't wired the same. That doesn't mean they can't be amazing fathers. But women have those special nurturing capacities, and we should all embrace that to the best and fullest extent of our capabilities. Also, not to mention, look, you have the idea of feminists in the 1970s, right? I am woman. I think it's Helen Reddy who sang that. That was like a power anthem. And it kind of encouraged women to say, you don't need men. And then between, like, 1990 and now, women took it way too far, right? They said, no, we don't need men at all. Not just we don't need men who maybe don't support us. We don't need men to any degree. And again, you send a signal to men not to approach. Right? And you also teach young girls to prioritize, you know, career over motherhood, over marriage, because young girls are taught that motherhood and marriage are shackles. I was taught that in college. I pursued my career so staunchly because I was told that marriage and motherhood could wait. And again, I'm nearing 30, and I'm like, I don't want to wait anymore. I feel like I'm missing out on something, you know?

[B]

Well, your time is going to come, okay? Whatever is meant to be will be. Honey, we're gonna get a real. Get real Oprah up in here. But no, I'm so glad that you brought that up, because when you look back at sort of Women's liberation, the feminist movement. Let's talk about this. This wasn't on our sheet for today, but let's break it down because when we look at women's liberation, it's about female empowerment, women supporting women. Oh, we're going to, you know, be treated equally now. These same women are perfectly fine with men coming into women's sports, men coming into their locker rooms, girls getting brain damage because they're forced to compete against men. What happened to all those feminists? Right. I guess the feminist movement now on the left is we're going to allow men to come in and be on our teams and beat us up. Isn't it so disgusting? Like, it just doesn't even make sense, Brianna?

[C]

Yeah. And it's also, like, super insulting because men who are mentally ill and think there are women in cosplay as a woman, what they're basically saying to women or to women is, I know how to be a better woman than you. And women are taking it. They're like, hell yeah, you do. And it's like, hold on, you're gonna let a man tell you what a woman is? Absolutely not. I know Ketanji Brown Jackson can define a woman, but other women should be able to define themselves, their gender, and not have men come into that space and hijack it. Right. There's again, so special and unique about being a woman. The same way there are special, unique things about being a man. Right. We both have differences that actually make us more unique and special, and we should embrace those and not let someone from the opposite side tear you down. Right. Same way we shouldn't emasculate men. Men should not try to de feminize the world, you know?

[B]

Absolutely. I want to talk to you about Hollywood because we see a lot of these trends in Hollywood. I mean, you want to talk about family. You see every single celebrity now has a transgender child, a non binary child. It's almost like an extreme accessory. And you see some celebrities moving out of California, right, because they're like these liberal policies, the indoctrination. We're not going to do it. But one of the women at the forefront of sort of tearing down families and children and the birth rates. That woman is Chelsea Handler. So I want to play you a clip of a video Chelsea Handler posted online and get your reaction.

[C]

I just woke up and it's one

[A]

o' clock in the afternoon. I get to sleep to however late I feel like it because I don't

[C]

have any fucking children.

[A]

And because I don't have kids, that Means I don't have to go anywhere today. I don't have to go to Disneyland, Legoland, Color Me Mine, Build a bear, Yogurt Land, the zoo.

[C]

I don't have to go to any of those places.

[A]

Not once, not ever.

[C]

Kids, they're not that great.

[B]

So here we have a woman with millions of followers, an audience of millions, predominantly leftist women in urban enclaves, and she's telling them kids aren't that great. Her life is so much better not having children. Are we living in the Upside Down? It's fine if you don't want to have kids. I have plenty of friends because of medical reasons, personal reasons, they don't have kids. But you don't have to glorify tearing down the nuclear family. Brianna, please, please help me feel better about this.

[C]

Okay. Well, I think you should first feel better that someone like Chelsea Handler is not procreating. I don't know if we want people in the world, but you hear Chelsea Handler say that, and it actually speaks to this kind of era that we're in, and it's the era of selfishness. Right. People are concerned more about themselves. Will I have time to go out to my Pilates class? Will a child encumber my ability to do that? You know, there was a time in American life, really up until like the 1970s, in which parents were willing to sacrifice for the next generation. And it goes through family life, it goes through politics. Right. Everything the founders did wasn't for them. It was for future generations, their children, their offspring. Right. There was that element of self selfishness. You would do whatever is needed, one for your own family, two for the community and society. Right. And we've abandoned that so much so I think in part because of social media. Right. Social media prioritizes, you know, self care, but self care to the max. Right. Don't do anything for anybody else. You can cut someone off with no explanation. There's never a need to be responsible to another human being if it's your parent, your spouse, your friend, your child. And that's. That's causing people to think that they don't have to basically take part in society. And taking part in society does include helping build and grow that society. Having children?

[B]

No, 100%. And there's even this trend online called the doll moms trend, where these women who probably follow Chelsea Handler, they're now raising families of plastic dolls. It's not one doll, it's not two dolls. It's like five, 10, 15 dolls. And they have schedules and alarms. Don't we think this ties into the mental health crisis we're seeing predominantly among liberal women. Brianna?

[C]

Yes. And I actually, I came across this recently on Instagram and I thought, like, my eyes were deceiving me. I was like, this has to be, like, something. And there's so many women who do that. And I actually think it is so sad because the reason that they're doing this is because there's something innately inside of them that tells them they want to nurture something, they want to be a caregiver. And maybe they biologically can't. Maybe they never met someone. But it's sad because they're making it seem like this is normal. This is not normal. This is actually the result of the toxicity of Chelsea Handler of left wing, you know, radical feminists who say, you don't need a child, you don't need to man. Because when women get older, their body physically wants those things. In a lot of cases, I have so many friends who say, gosh, I wish I would be engaged soon so I can just get to, you know, starting a family. People, women do want that biologically, in a lot of cases, not all, but a lot, no.

[B]

It's interesting. I do think most women that I know are either striving to have a family, spouse, a husband to raise those kids. But then how do you even know where to send your kids to school these days? Because when you look at the indoctrination in schools, I mean, one thing I always say is if you're going to raise your kids, and I hear this from moms, too, you really got to think, are you going to send them to a school that's an Ivy League, that's one of these liberal fancy schools that we would have revered 10, 20 years ago? Now, you send your kids there, they come out in debt, indoctrinated, they think everyone is oppressive. It's horrible. So what would your advice be to people who have kids that are maybe getting to that age where they might apply for colleges? I almost recommend a technical school. Learning a skill, doing something like that. Unless you really want to be a lawyer, a doctor, and need that degree. Brianna?

[C]

Oh, I 100% agree. And I say that as someone who went to college and I don't use my degree on the daily right. I didn't study journalism, but now I'm in. I'm in journalism. And I think to your point about, you know, trade schools, look, with the AI revolution, we have data coming out that college grads actually have a harder time finding an entry level job than High school grads, Right, because high school grads are entering a different field. And so I think now, if anything, is the age in which you can save your child. You don't have to go to school just because it's there. If you want to be a carpenter or a plumber, those are amazing jobs that we are always going to need. And part of the reason why we have to have those conversations is think of how often over the past 20 years you were told you had to go to college. Think about all the community colleges that spring up, all the online colleges. None of them actually need to be there. Some people aren't fit. They don't need to go to college. There are other roles for them in society and we push them to spend money on college. Just to say, I have a college degree. So it's almost become as like, you know, cheap as a high school diploma, so to speak. Right? Like everyone has one. So I think we should be encouraging the trades, especially in high school. So kids aren't 18 saying, what do I do now? Right. They have a plan.

[B]

No. 100%. Because people say to me all the time, you're a hypocrite because you speak up against higher education and going to college because you went to nyu, you went to a good university. And I say it's because I was in those classrooms that I can tell you I've been there. I've been in the classrooms where they made us go around for an hour and all do our pronouns and talk about how everyone is oppressed, how we're all colonizers. I mean, this is the stuff that we were being taught in these classrooms. And if you don't have a strong constitution or a strong sense of self, you're of course going to be pulled in those directions. It's why we see all the protests at Columbia University and all of the radicals. Everything healthy. Hair, skin, nails, mental clarity, and more. I'll start with gut health. If you finally want to fix your gut, you need to add quality colostrum to your daily routine. Today's sponsor, Cowboy Colostrum, offers the highest quality bovine colostrum available. 100% American, made from 100% American grass fed cows. Unlike other Colostrum brands, Cowboy Colostrum is true. First day, whole colostrum rich in bioactives like immunoglobulins and growth factors. Don't worry, Cowboy Colostrum only collects the surplus colostrum after baby calves have had their fill. Using ethical practices, Cowboy Colostrum helps support steady energy, less bloating healthier, hair, skin, nails. It's delicious too, made with natural ingredients and no artificial flavors. Just add a scoop of their chocolate, Madagascar vanilla, matcha, strawberry or coffee into your smoothie and improve your gut health naturally. For a limited time, our listeners get up to 25% off their entire order. Just head to cowboycolostrum.com link and use code link at checkout or that's 25% off when you use code [e-mail] link

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[B]

Speaking of young people in college and social media, there's this new trend now where more and more young people are smoking cigarettes. And what's interesting to me is we're the generation that grew up where they would come to our schools and say, you know, don't smoke. Smoking kills. Don't ever pick up a cigarette. You know, my grandmother, she died of lung cancer. Like we're that generation where smoking was so, so, so not a thing for us. But now, you know, Kylie Jenner, she's on the COVID of Vanity Fair, smoking and smoking and all of her pictures and so many of her friends. Do you think young people are just trying to be edgy and cool or find a sense of self on the Internet? What do you make of this trend?

[C]

Yeah, I have a lot of friends who have, I've never had a cigarette and I don't plan on it, but I have a lot of friends who do like a drunk cig and they don't smoke cigs more than, you know, maybe once or twice a month. It's just for the occasion. And I do think that there is something alluring about smoking cigaret. When I was a child and my grandmother had smoke, I could not wait to become an adult. I thought it was so cool, like, sitting there. And now I look back and I'm like, brenda, what were you thinking? And granted, I was only six years old, but. But it spoke to that, like 1960s Hollywood glam, right? Think of all the sexy, you know, Marilyn Monroe types who are always smoking a cigarette. There was always something there. And I think a lot of people connect cigarettes to sex appeal, right? And that's why Kylie Jenner is sitting in that ad, doing that. Because there's something sexy about being edgy. But it's so dangerous, especially when it's on social media where you don't have parental control for maybe 12 year olds who are seeing this and thinking, that's cool. Like I was at six years old. I want to do that one day. Don't do it. It's so dangerous.

[B]

Well, it's interesting. I'm thinking of the show Mad Men, and I don't know if you ever watched Mad Men, but Don Draper. And it's all about the 60s and the advertising industry. Every single scene, everyone is smoking indoors, just ripping cigarettes, chain smoking. And the women, they wore these, like, very tight outfits with everything pushed up, and they're smoking cigarettes. So I do think maybe you're right. Maybe there are these young women that think. Think we look real sexy and cool and chic now that we're smoking cigarettes. And maybe if it's just one or two a week, you know, don't take life advice from us here. You know what? Proselytizing. But if it's one or two a week to look kind of sexy, maybe we're okay with it. But I do think there is this trend where, because we see this in polling data, young people feel more lost than ever. Young people poll and say they feel like the system's against us. They're figuring out who they are. We saw this for years. They would go on social media. Suddenly they're questioning their gender. They're changing their entire style. And in the past, you had kids who would experiment, of course, but it wasn't at this rapid pace and cadence because of social media and these algorithms. So I think maybe not to blow the cigarette thing up, you know, not to have it go up in smoke, pun intended. But I do think there are young people who are just trying to glom on and find something, and they associate cigarettes with being cool. Brianna, I'll give you the last word.

[C]

Yeah. And I think to the social media point. Look, social media was promised to make everyone feel more connected. And if anything, it's made all of us feel A lot more isolated. And so when you see a bunch of people smoking cigarettes, you think, that's how I'm going to get in. That's how I'm going to feel like I'm part of something. And of course that's not the way to do it, but that's what social

[B]

media has created 100%. Okay, one last question I have to ask you because it's on the top of my mind. We've spoken about dating and social media. Are your friends using apps? Because I've been in the same relationship for years, so I don't know, like, are your friends on dating apps? What are the apps? How is it going for them? I mean, what is your experience, Brianna? What's going on in the streets? Because I'm off the streets for a few years now.

[C]

I think actually a lot of my friends have shut down their apps. They use a lot of them. I know Hinge, some of them use Tinder. But Hinge is kind of build as the one where you could find a real connection and you actually don't find real, real connections on there. So a lot of my friends, like, we need to go out to dinner. We need to see if a man approaches us so hard. And I'm in New York, so you think it'd be easy, but it's not easy.

[B]

Well, it's hard too, because like we said, there is this backlash from the Me Too movement. This over correction where guys are scared to approach women sometimes. And guys will write me and be like, link, can you give me advice? I'm like, the girls want you to approach. You guys are scared to approach. Just meet in the middle. I mean, it went to a party in D.C. it was one of these, like, make America hot again parties. And it's like, all the guys are over here, the girls are over here. And I was saying, okay, go approach those girls. You've got like 100 young, smart, conservative women who want to talk to you, who are single, ready for the picking. And the guys are nervous. They don't know how to do it. Maybe because they grew up on social media. Brianna. But I will let you go. I won't keep you with this because I know you have so much to do. You probably got to go get on television. But we're so grateful that you came on. I hope everybody goes and follows you. Brianna Lyman, she is correspondent for the Federalist. But she's so much. She is everything. So please have an amazing rest of your week and we'll see you soon.

[C]

Thanks so much for having me link my friends.

[B]

Thank you so much for tuning into Spot on with Linklore and I absolutely love you. I can't wait to read all of your comments about dating, family, relationships, advice. I want to hear all of your stories and anecdotes because I love getting that wisdom and that information and I know there are some influencers and podcasters. They never read their comments. I live in the comment section. I read everything you guys write and I have this gratitude also because so many of you share personal stories from your lives, things you've gone through, trials and tribulations, and so I don't take that for granted. I really do love hearing those stories and having that connection and that relationship with you guys because that's why I started making videos on my phone years ago. I was sitting in my room and I thought, I'm gonna speak up on some of these issues. So I love you. Have an amazing rest of the day. Kiss your loved ones and be well. We'll see you on the next one.

[C]

Bye.

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