Taylor Swift vs AI Scams; Epstein friendship w Peter Thiel; Andrew Tate loses lawsuit - NEWS ROUNDUP

Summary

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Podcast Summary: There Are No Girls on the Internet

Episode: "Taylor Swift vs AI Scams; Epstein friendship w Peter Thiel; Andrew Tate loses lawsuit - NEWS ROUNDUP"
Host: Bridget Todd
Date: May 1, 2026

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of There Are No Girls on the Internet tackles tech and culture news affecting marginalized voices, with a focus on the intersections of identity, power, and online systems. Bridget Todd and co-host Mike navigate topics like Taylor Swift’s legal battle against AI deepfake scams, alarming police spyware abuses, the dark influence of Peter Thiel’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, ongoing academic xenophobia, and a rare "good news" moment in tech lawsuits. The episode is rooted in examining how technology, power, and identity shape—and often threaten—our online and offline lives, especially for women and marginalized communities.

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Detailed Breakdown & Key Insights

1. Community Engagement & Lena Dunham Discussion

[02:40–08:40]

• Bridget feels "seen" by listeners asking for her take on Lena Dunham’s new memoir, Fame Sick, showing the show's strong parasocial bonds with its audience.
• Bridget is halfway through the memoir and crowdsources audience preference:
  • Should she do a solo/guest deep-dive "book club" episode, or try to interview Lena Dunham herself?
• She points out podcasts sometimes benefit from critical distance:

  “There are probably opinions that I have that I would not want to say in front of the person who was, like, in front of me.” — Bridget Todd [05:00]

• Bridget asks listeners to weigh in via multiple platforms (Spotify comments, email, Instagram, Blue Sky, Threads).

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2. Taylor Swift vs. AI Deepfake Scams

[08:47–14:17]

• Taylor Swift files new trademarks for a concert photo and two voice phrases (“Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor”) to combat AI deepfakes and phishing scams using her likeness and voice.
• Scam ads on TikTok feature fake Swift, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and others, tricking people into handing over personal data for fake money-making opportunities.
• [11:27] Mike jokes:

  “Even if Taylor Swift tells you...I’ve got a great opportunity for you, it’s not legit.”

• FTC reports these AI scams are surging, particularly on Meta’s platforms (Facebook/Instagram), where Meta is profiting from scam ads.
• Bridget points out the piecemeal nature and inequity of this solution:

  “…Not everybody can file this kind of trademark…We deserve an internet landscape where regular people are not…served up by our digital platforms to be taken advantage of and exploited by these kinds of scams.” [13:55]

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3. Surveillance Tech Abuse – Flock Cameras

[15:26–23:51]

• Flock, a surveillance system and network of automated license plate readers (ALPRs), is being increasingly abused by police:
  • At least 14 cases of officers stalking spouses, ex-partners, or strangers with Flock or similar systems.
  • In most cases, abuse was discovered by victims, not law enforcement or Flock itself.
• [18:00] Bridget connects surveillance tech’s abuse to gendered violence:

  “Surveillance technology…and the creeping rise of this kind of technology being normalized…is a gendered issue because men are already using it to track and surveil the women in their lives…Some of these women were just strangers…”

• Case in Milwaukee: Police officer tracked his partner and her ex 180 times in two months using Flock [20:55].
• Mike adds:

  “When you’ve got such a huge system at such scale, making it available to so many people, of course…the opposite of cream is going to rise to the top and take advantage of it.” [23:17]

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4. Tragic Academic Fallout: Dr. Jane Wu’s Story

[27:46–35:35]

• Bridget shares the heartbreaking case of Dr. Jane Wu, a Chinese American neuroscientist at Northwestern University:
  • Wu had an accomplished research career with 31 NIH projects.
  • Targeted by a federal investigation (Trump-era anti-“foreign influence” efforts); never charged.
  • Northwestern restricted her access, reallocated grants to white male colleagues, and forcibly institutionalized her after her mental health declined—never notifying family.
  • Wu died by suicide two weeks after involuntary commitment.
• Bridget:

  “This is the human cost of what these kinds of racist, xenophobic policies actually look like in practice.” [34:39]

• Over 1,000 academics demand apology from Northwestern for presumed guilt and lack of support.

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5. Peter Thiel & Jeffrey Epstein’s Disturbing Techno-Political Influence

[35:35–52:25]

• New Jacobin reporting reveals deeper friendship and collaboration between billionaire Peter Thiel and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
• Epstein gave Thiel financial and political connections; Thiel, in turn, granted legitimacy and tech investment savvy.
• Epstein tried to develop a dystopian Facebook-crypto-favor trading system—Thiel engaged with the idea.
  • Memorable exchange:

    “Scams and crimes. It’s on these people’s goddamn crests.” — Bridget [39:24]

• Many leading tech, finance, and academic figures (Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, Ben Goertzel) were intertwined with Epstein, with direct or indirect influence on today’s digital platforms and policies.
• Mike reflects:

  “It’s really chilling when you talk about it like that and think about the influence that he had and the people that he was working with and how so many of those same people, including, it seems like potentially Peter Thiel, are still carrying his legacy forward.” [52:02]

• Bridget links Epstein to the aesthetics of 1990s-2000s girlhood (Limited Too, Victoria’s Secret) and the infrastructure of Silicon Valley, underscoring how deeply these predators shaped culture.

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6. Good News: Andrew Tate Loses Lawsuit Against Meta

[56:31–59:14]

• Andrew Tate and his brother lost a $50 million lawsuit against Meta after their Instagram accounts were banned for violating platform rules (inciting misogyny and promoting dangerous individuals).
• The judge upheld Meta’s right to content moderation under Section 230.
• Bridget’s take:

  “Andrew Tate’s whole thing is…they are just, you know, alphas, they can do whatever they want and then go to court and basically beg a private company to, please give me access to Instagram. I need my Instagram. I just love that. And I think there is an irony in there.” [58:17]

• Both hosts express satisfaction at the Tates’ failed legal bid: “Bad guys lost.” [59:14]

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7. Media Layoffs & Show Appreciation

[59:18–62:20]

• Bridget and Mike address recent media layoffs affecting the There Are No Girls on the Internet team.
• Express deep gratitude for all contributors, acknowledge the tough media climate, and offer solidarity to listeners and podcast professionals experiencing layoffs.
  • “Just because you’re used to it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t still hurt.” — Bridget [59:18]
• Call for ongoing listener engagement and feedback for the show’s future direction.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Gendered Surveillance:

  “Surveillance technology…is a gendered issue because men are already using it to track and surveil the women in their lives and not even the women in their lives. Some of these women were just strangers…” — Bridget [18:00]

• On Meta Profiting from Scams:

  “…Facebook is making money from these ads for these kinds of AI generated scams. They have AI scams where it's like an AI Elon Musk…Surprise, surprise, it’s not actually Elon Musk giving you financial advice, although I would have put it past him." [13:30]

• On Academic Racism:

  “This is the human cost of what these kinds of racist, xenophobic policies actually look like in practice.” — Bridget [34:39]

• On the Dystopian Elite Tech Network:

  “So much of our current techno-political landscape came to be by this small handful of horrible nightmare humans.” — Bridget [49:07]

• On Tate vs Meta:

  “Andrew Tate’s whole thing is…they are just…alphas…then go to court and basically beg a private company…‘please give me access to Instagram.’ I just love that.” — Bridget [58:17]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:40] Community Q&A on Lena Dunham episode
• [08:47] Taylor Swift’s legal moves against AI scams
• [15:26] Flock surveillance camera abuses and gendered surveillance
• [27:46] Dr. Jane Wu’s tragic story and academic xenophobia
• [35:35] Peter Thiel, Jeffrey Epstein, and the dystopian Silicon Valley power web
• [56:31] Andrew Tate vs Meta lawsuit outcome
• [59:18] Acknowledgment of media layoffs and gratitude

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Overall Tone & Listener Value

Bridget and Mike blend sharp analysis with conversational humor and a sense of righteous anger, especially concerning misogyny, surveillance, and injustice. Their genuine camaraderie and pointed (sometimes irreverent) banter make complex subjects accessible, while their critical insights are invaluable for listeners concerned about the intersection of tech, power, and marginalized identities.

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Useful For: Anyone wanting a nuanced, feminist lens on tech and internet culture news, listeners interested in the ongoing impact of power, surveillance, AI, celebrity, and policy on everyday digital lives.

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Transcript

[iHeart Podcast Announcer]

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[Bridget Todd]

There Are no Girls on the Internet is a production of iHeartRadio and unbossed creative. I'm Bridget Todd and this is There Are no Girls on the Internet. You know how I know that? This audience, these listeners, the people listening to my voice right now, really get me and see me. Mike, do you want to know how I know that is the case?

[Mike (Co-host)]

I do. Because that sounds like a really nice way to feel.

[Bridget Todd]

It is a nice way to feel and the reason I am so sure of it is because no less than five different people via Spotify, comments, emails, DMs, just general reach outs have asked me what I think about Lena Dunham's new memoir, Fame Sick, and the fact that Lena Dunham has a new memoir out and that people knew enough to be like, what does Bridget think about it? Has she read it? Is it on her radar? That makes me feel very seen and it makes me feel like y' all really get what I'm about. You know, the the who weekly. Tens of people want to know what's Rita up to to answer the fives of people who asked me about this. Yes, Lena Dunham's new memoir, Fame Sick is on my radar. Yes, I have it, Yes, I am reading it, and yes, I intend to do an episode about it.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Well, Bridget, I'm glad that you addressed this because people have been asking and hopefully this puts a little bit of it to rest or at least people's anxieties to rest. How are you going to approach this?

[Bridget Todd]

Okay, so this is where I need to do a little bit of pre homework, I guess you could call it, and I need the listener's help. So I'm in the middle of the book. I have lots of thoughts. I'm not even near done and I already have lots of thoughts. The question that I want to pose to the audience is this. We could do a deep dive episode about Lena Dunham. You know, I've already done a two part deep dive into Lena Dunham and allegations around whether or not Lena Dunham did something horrible to her sibling. Spoiler alert, she did not. So I fully intend to do an episode about this book as kind of a follow up. However, this is the question for the listeners. Would you rather me do a solo or even with a guest deep dive kind of celebrity memoir, book club style where we're just going deep on Lena Dunham, going deep on this memoir, or would you rather me try to get Lena Dunham as a guest to talk about the memoir, because I think I could get her because, like, I. We used to sort of travel in, like, similar ish circles. She's. She's doing the media circles right now. She was just doing a thing with a podcast, I love who weekly that I quoted earlier. I think this is an achievable goal if people want to hear from her.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Okay. Wow. So this is like a choose your own adventure tangodi kind of episode.

[Bridget Todd]

Yes. I've kind of gone back and forth. I do think booking her would take some, like, a little bit of. A little bit of elbow grease, but I got it in me. I think it's an achievable goal. But also, sometimes when there's, like, a juicy memoir, sometimes you want to hear a podcast episode about it where the author is not there. Right. Like, sometimes you can really, like, I don't know, be more candid. There are probably opinions that I have that I would not want to say in front of the person who was, like, in front of me. You feel me?

[Mike (Co-host)]

Oh, yeah. It would be a very different episode if she is, like, part of it, partly because of the way that you just approach the show and guests in general, of wanting guests to feel comfortable, you know, just a very different approach than if it's a sort of third party talking about somebody. So I get that. But it would be pretty cool to have her on the pod. You think you could get her, huh?

[Bridget Todd]

I think I could get her. And the comparison I'll give is when Lindy west was making the rounds for her memoir, I listened to a bunch of podcasts about it, and we made a podcast episode about it. I listened to episodes of podcasts that I really like where she was the guest. And I do. They were good episodes. Like, I think Lindy west is, like, an interesting person, but I think the episodes where Lyndy was not a guest and the host had clearly done a deep dive into the book and her work were like meteor for me. So if I'm gonna say, like, which style of podcast episode I personally feel like I got more out of and, like, benefited more from and felt more nourished from, it was the ones that did not include Lindy West. So that kind of makes sense. Yeah.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Okay, so it sounds like maybe that's where you're leaning, then.

[Bridget Todd]

I. I don't know. I. I want to. I genuinely. I want to hear from the listeners. I will, I will. I am but a humble servant. Will tally up for the five for the. For the fives of people who wrote in about this, we will count. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. It's an, it's not an even number. So we'll be able, there'll be, there'll be a clear consensus. So let us know. You can leave it in the Spotify comments. You can email [e-mail] youm can DM me on Instagram @bridgetmarine dc. You can skeet at me. Are we still calling that, calling it that? You can Blue Sky.

[Mike (Co-host)]

We are. No, I think it's only perverts who are still calling them skeets.

[Bridget Todd]

Okay, well, you perverts can skeet at me. Oh, that sounds horrible. Everybody else can. Blue sky, post me. You can thread to me whatever way of getting in contact with me that you have and we will do whatever. And if, and if, and if, if having Lena Dunham on the podcast is what wins, it might take a little bit longer because I actually produced an episode of a podcast that she was a guest on and like getting schedules aligned and this and that like was a lot. And so, you know, it might be, it might take a little bit of time, but I will do my damnedest to make it happen if that's the will of the people.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Just so responsive for the will of the people. I love it. All right, Bridget, what have we got for this week's news roundup?

[Bridget Todd]

Well, speaking of Lena Dunham, remember when she was BFFs with Taylor Swift and was it part of Taylor Swift's girl squad that would come up on stage during concerts?

[Mike (Co-host)]

Oh yeah, that was like quite a while ago. There have been so many Taylor Swift and separately Lena Dunham arcs since then.

[Bridget Todd]

That is right. So Taylor Swift, I've said this before, she comes up a lot on the podcast. She how like, like I don't know what it is about Taylor Swift. There is something where she just intersects with technology quite a bit. Y' all might recall that even before GROK was a thing, even before earlier this year when Grok was being used to generate just a flood of non consensual AI generated deepfakes, AI generated images of Taylor Swift went viral on X. So it makes sense now that Taylor Swift is taking legal steps to protect herself from this kind of AI exploitation. And, and for her, that includes filing three trademark applications this week. One covering a recognizable concert photo of her holding a guitar wearing this, I guess this like iconic for her, like pink, I don't know, like shimmery rhinestone dress. And then two other trademarks for her voice. Specifically saying these two phrases. Hey, it's Taylor Swift, and hey, it's Taylor.

[Mike (Co-host)]

She's trademarking those phrases. Okay, why is she trying to do that? Can she do that? And like, why did she want to?

[Bridget Todd]

She can and she is. And the reason that she's trying to do that specifically is to try and combat celebrity AI scams. This is. This timing is not a coincidence. According to this new report from the AI detection company CopyLeaks, scammers on TikTok have been running these sponsored ads that use deep fake versions of recognizable celebrities. So Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian to promote fake rewards programs. Basically, these ads run AI generated versions of these celebrities in what look like a talk show or a red carpet setting where these celebrities are supposedly pitching a TikTok pay program to that promises anybody can make money just from watching videos and sharing feedback about those videos. Unsurprisingly, it is a scam, y'. All. Don't fall for it. When you click it, you're directed to a third party site that basically just prompts you to hand over all of your personal information.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Wow. So there's not a way that people can get paid to watch social media videos on like TikTok. I am shocked. I'm shocked.

[Bridget Todd]

Yeah. Even if Taylor Swift tells you and she's like, hey, it's Taylor Swift. I've got a great opportunity for you. It's not legit.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Even if that was a real job, that would be the saddest job I might be able to imagine. Just like staring at your phone watching brain rot AI slot videos all day.

[Bridget Todd]

Oh, I feel like I could do it. I feel like I could excel at a job.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Like you'd be a top performer.

[Bridget Todd]

I. I do it for free sometimes. Like a sucker. I'm doing it. I'm not even getting paid from Taylor SW or Rihanna.

[Mike (Co-host)]

It might be one of those things that where once they start paying you, it loses all appeal. Maybe that's how we can help people get over social media addiction if it is real.

[Bridget Todd]

So the thing is, it's not just this like one AI celebrity Taylor Swift scam and it's really not even about Taylor Swift. This is all part of a broader and growing problem with these kinds of scams on social media. The FTC just reported that these kind of scams are surging right now. Can you guess which platform is the leader in these kinds of scams?

[Mike (Co-host)]

Does their name rhyme with space book?

[Bridget Todd]

It does. It does. Wow. I can't believe you figured it out. They are the leader and just last week, a consumer nonprofit sued Meta, saying the company has been profiting by letting scam ads, the kind of thing that we've talked about in a previous news roundup, run rampant on its platforms. And it basically has been like, all the reporting is like, yes, Facebook is making money from these ads for these kinds of AI generated scams. They have AI scams where it's like an AI Elon Musk that is like, click here for my financial and investing advice. And surprise, surprise, it's not actually Elon Musk giving you financial advice, although I would have put it past him. So obviously this move from Taylor Swift is only protective of Taylor Swift's lightness and voice and those two phrases that she's trademarking. However, I do think that these scams are kind of using celebrities like Taylor Swift to target regular people who are then getting their personal information stolen by like a fake Taylor Swift or a fake Rihanna. And so platforms are not only not doing anything about it or not fixing it in the case of Meta, they're actually profiting from the ads for these scams. And so I guess I gotta say, like, good for Taylor Swift for trying to make it so that people are not just getting scammed by AI Taylor Swift over and over again. However, not everybody can file this kind of trademark. This kind of piecemeal solution that is only really accessible to people who have money and time and attorneys doesn't do it for me. Like, we deserve an Internet landscape where regular people are not, you know, being served up by our digital platforms to be taken advantage of and exploited by these kinds of scams.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Totally agree. This kind of solution is not available to normal people, to regular people who don't have teams of lawyers. And it's, it's not like these phrases that she's trademarking, hey, it's Taylor, are some sort of like, super special thing. It's just her name, right? Like, having to use trademark law to protect her, her own name from being used in scams impersonating her. It just seems ridiculous. And it, like you say, it really highlights the extent to which ordinary non famous, non wealthy people just don't have access to protections against these sort of very basic scams targeting our identity. And I guess, you know, nobody is trying to use my identity to sell people on video scams. But there are plenty of other types of scams where ordinary people's identities are hijacked every day. And wouldn't it be nice if we had some protections that applied to everybody that were available to everyone to not have their identity impersonated.

[Bridget Todd]

Yeah, wouldn't it be nice? Okay, so you know that we keep our foot on the surveillance camera company, Flock's neck on this podcast.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Oh, yeah.

[Bridget Todd]

So it's. It's my new pastime. So Flock is this network of surveillance cameras and license plate readers that are used by both cities and police. We've talked about how they were used to surveil gymnastics classes and the pool in Georgia, how they almost got an innocent woman in real legal trouble simply because Flock cameras showed her driving through a town where a package theft also happened to have happened. And how flat cameras were used to track down a woman who police say they were considering charging for a crime after they suspected that she had an abortion. And just how they are a creepy system of consumer funded mass surveillance that has been very effectively packaged and sold back to us as like, good for us, safe for us, good for your safety. They solve crimes, they keep communities safe.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yes. That is one of the parts about it that I've had most objectionable. Like, I get it that the uber capitalists and elites want to establish a system of mass surveillance to keep tabs on everybody, but the idea that like ordinary people are funding it by buying these things and setting them up in their own homes, contributing to this system of just mass cameras and microphones all over the country that law enforcement can just tap into pretty much whenever they want, definitely without any sort of warrant. It's. It blows my mind that people are contributing to this thing. So why are they in the news this week, Bridget?

[Bridget Todd]

Well, new reason to hate Flock just dropped, and that is a report from the Institute of Justice. They found that There are already 14 cases across the country where cops are alleged to have used camera systems like Flock, automated license plate readers, or a lpr. That's what Flock is to follow spouses, exes, and even complete strangers.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah, of course. Why is that? Not surprising, right? Any anytime there's some sort of surveillance system that people are flagging, like, hey, there might be the potential for abuse here. It's almost a sure bet that the first abusive use case is going to be somebody spying on their domestic partners or people in their immediate life.

[Bridget Todd]

Yes, nearly all of these officers were criminally charged and lost their jobs either by resigning or getting fired when their use of this kind of technology to stalk their exes and wives and partners and strangers was revealed. And it goes back to what you were saying. Surveillance technology and the creeping rise of this kind of technology being normalized both by police for law enforcement reasons and by cities and towns and municipalities is a gendered issue because men are already using it to track and surveil the women in their lives and not even the women in their lives. Some of these women were just strangers that these cops just saw and was like, that girl's pretty good thing. I have access to this camera that will give me real time information about her whereabouts as she goes around the city, this stranger. You know how every love story starts that way. So as Futurism reports that this timing is striking with the majority of stalking cases coming after 2024, the year when Flock initiated a massive expansion into over 4,000 US cities. Side note, if you're listening to this and you're like, maybe this, this story doesn't have anything to do with me, look up your city because it is, it's entirely possible that your city has some sort of a contract with Flock. Though Flock claims to have internal safeguards that prevent this kind of abuse. The bulk of the 14 cases were uncovered by the victims as opposed to the company or internal police investigations. So it's basically like that same thing that we saw in Georgia where a parent had to do a FOIA request on Flock cameras that were in his community while the city was deciding whether or not to renew the contract with Flock. That FOIA request showed that Flock staff had been accessing these cameras inside places like the gymnastics class and the pool. But the city ultimately did renew that contract. So again, it's not like Flock is coming forward or the police are coming forward. These people are just finding out themselves that they have been, you know, stalked or surveilled in this completely fucked up way by law enforcement using Flock cameras. And it is honestly terrifying.

[Mike (Co-host)]

And if that's the main way that we are learning about these cases, that suggests that there are many other cases that we don't know about that people don't know about because the people who are the targets of this surveillance haven't done the FOIA request to be able to discover that they were a target.

[Bridget Todd]

Futurism reports about one of these cases in Milwaukee were an eight year veteran of the police department allegedly used Flock to track not only his romantic partner, but also that romantic partner's ex almost 180 times over just two months. And the two victims only became aware of this because they looked up their license plates on the auditing site haveiben flocked.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Com.

[Bridget Todd]

Two other Wisconsin officers were accused of using Flock in stalking in the past year. In Menasha, Wisconsin, an officer was placed on leave and charged with Misconduct in office after his ex girlfriend filed a complaint with another police department in another part of Wisconsin. A sheriff's deputy resigned after internal investigations found that he used an apartment to Flock system to keep tabs on a co worker that he was romantically involved with. That sheriff's office, even though he resigned, still gave him severance pay. So taxpayers just paying for this guy's severance. In at least one instance, an officer used Flock to stalk a stranger that they wanted to pursue romantically. And earlier this year in Florida, a sheriff's deputy allegedly used Flocked to track and eventually pull over a woman that he met while providing security on a television set.

[Mike (Co-host)]

He probably thought it was cool.

[Bridget Todd]

I bet that these guys thought that they were doing some kind of a grand romantic gesture. And that's something incredibly fucking invasive and creepy. Right? Like, oh, I was moonlighting on this television set and I met this woman. Didn't catch your name. So what did I do? I pulled her over a week later using Flock's license plate reading technology. I guarantee you he thought she was going to think that was a meet cute. The fact that these are the people who are sensibly meant to be keeping women safe and this is how they're treating women should really tell you a lot. Also keep in mind that this list does not include the police who use Flock to harass strangers, which frankly, they also be doing. Like the Georgia police chief who was arrested for using Flock data to stalk and harass multiple unidentified people. Basically, it's almost like if we give the police unlimited access to anyone they want using this technology, they can access it without a warrant or any kind of meaningful paper trail. Surely they won't use it to abuse, stalk and harass the women in their lives.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah, it's an absurd proposition that so much power and information could be made available to so many people without any meaningful checks on them. And of course, some are going to use it. I don't know that we have a whole lot of listeners who work in law enforcement, but if, you know, we have a lot of listeners and so maybe there's some. And I can imagine they might be annoyed and frustrated by this story because I think probably most of them don't do this kind of stuff. But when you've got such a huge system at such scale, making it available to so many people, of course, like, whatever the opposite of cream is, is going to like, rise to the top and take advantage of it. It's just like too much power to not have meaningful checks on it.

[Bridget Todd]

Yeah, I'm heated. Let's take a quick break for me to cool down.

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[Public Investing Ad Narrator]

from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETC ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures [e-mail] Disclosures

[Kal Penn]

hey everyone, it's Kal Penn. I'm the host of Irsay, The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club. This week on the podcast I am sitting down with Ray Porter, the narrator of Andy Weir's audiobook project Hail Mary Massive sci fi adventure about survival and science and what happens when you wake up alone, very far from Earth.

[Ray Porter]

I really hope had to make a decision because I caught myself getting that frog in my throat and starting to get teary as I'm narrating some of these sections and it's like okay, yo yo yo, is this indulgent? And I really thought about it. I was like no. At this point it would kind of be betraying the trust the author and the listener have in telling this story if I don't go through it. But there's places in this book that that deeply, emotionally affected me and I left it on the mic. That's great because it served the story. People will say like oh my God, I cried at the end. It's like, yeah dude, me too.

[Kal Penn]

Listen to Hearsay, the Audible and iHeart audiobook club on the iHeartradio app or

[Bridget Todd]

wherever you get your podcasts lost support

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[Bridget Todd]

Okay, we are back and I have to give a trigger warning on the top of this story for death by suicide. This story out of Northwestern is absolutely heartbreaking and I think it really shows the human cost of some of the more draconian policies coming out of this presidential administration. So I want to tell you about Jane Liu. She was a Chinese American neuroscientist who spent nearly two decades building out a career at Northwestern University where she was a Principal investigator on 31 NIH funded research projects.

[Mike (Co-host)]

For people who maybe aren't like super familiar with the academic research world, 31 is a big number for NIH funded research projects. That is an impressive career.

[Bridget Todd]

Yes, I'm glad that you added that since that's sort of the world that you come from.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah, that's right. You know, I could only aspire to be a principal investigator on 31 NIH funded research projects. That is a truly impressive CV.

[Bridget Todd]

So in May of 2024, Wu's lab was suddenly shut down in the middle of a federal investigation into her alleged ties to China. She was never charged with anything. She was 60 years old and a few months later she died by suicide. Now her family is suing Northwestern University, arguing that the University pushed her out, had her involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility, and kept on punishing her even after investigators found nothing. They say all of this contributed directly to her death. This week marks one year since she died and her daughter Elizabeth Rao is speaking out publicly about this for the first, first time. So here's the background of what happened here. So back in 2019, during the first Trump administration, NIH started to look into Wu's international research contacts as part of this sweeping effort to so called root out foreign influence at American research institutions. What I find interesting there is that, you know, today in 2026, we're like, we're very used to the idea that the Trump administration is like undergoing these very invasive, over the top efforts to root out anything that they deem as like essentially anything that's like not white men, essentially like white straight men. This kind of thing seems commonplace now. I feel like in 2019 it wasn't getting a lot of coverage.

[Mike (Co-host)]

It really wasn't. And they weren't doing it as effectively as they are now. It is worth reflecting on how quickly we have come into this new world where the Trump administration and the worst people are controlling things like NIH and NSF and taking all of that apparatus that used to fund some of the best science in the world and are really bending it towards their own political ends and making capricious decisions like this that ruin people's careers just for xenophobic and racist reasons.

[Bridget Todd]

Exactly. So it, it is xenophobia and racism. Wu's international collaborators were spread out across multiple countries. So China was among them, but also Britain, Canada, Argentina and others. So to be clear, nothing ever came of this investigation. She didn't do anything wrong, no charges were ever filed. But Northwestern sounds like just like did not let it go. According to this lawsuit, the university continued restricting her work even after this probe concluded, limiting her lab access, breaking up her research team and reassigning her grants to white male colleagues. Then in December 2023, Northwestern was formally notified that the investigation into Wu had closed. And yet five months later, they still shut down her lab with no explanation given the dean of the medical school had already cut her salary and added new conditions that she was going to have to meet if she wanted to get back to her funded research. So this is where stuff really gets like, if that's not already horrifying, this is where stuff really takes a turn. So understandably the stress of all of this, basically being accused of being like a agent of a hostile adversary was a lot for her, her health started to take a serious toll. She suffered a stroke and was showing signs of depression. The lawsuit says that the university used her understandably, not great emotional state as a justification to have her physically, as in people put hands on her and put her in handcuffs, removed from her office in handcuffs by law enforcement, and then had her forcibly admitted to a psychiatric facility without ever notifying her family or consulting with any outside doctors. Two weeks after she was released from that psychiatric facility that they put her in, she died by suicide.

[Mike (Co-host)]

What a horrible, sad story.

[Bridget Todd]

It's really hard for me to see this in isolation. In 2018, again, under the first iteration of the Trump administration, NIH started sending letters to universities asking them to investigate grant recipients with any kind of tie to China. Most of them were of Chinese descent. By 2020, lawmakers were investigating both NIH and the FBI over what critics called the racial profiling of Asian scientists. Several of these cases that became pretty high profile ended in acquittals at the time, including gang Chen at MIT, who was arrested in 2021 and had his case dropped entirely in 2022. When Chen was going through this ordeal, MIT provided legal support and financial support, and his colleagues all rallied around him with this now famous letter that closed with the phrase, we are all Gang Chen. So, conversely, wu's lawsuit alleges that she received no such support from Northwestern, and the broader academic community is taking notice. Earlier this year, more than a thousand academics from across the country signed a letter demanding that Northwestern apologize, accusing the school of disregarding the basic principle of innocent until proven guilty. And that letter went to the university president and the dean of the medical school.

[Mike (Co-host)]

What a terrible story. What has the university had to say about its behavior in this case?

[Bridget Todd]

Not a ton. Northwestern says that their heart goes out to wu's family, but they flat out deny the allegations, and they plan to seek the dismissal of this suit in court. And wu's daughter Elizabeth says that she hopes this lawsuit delivers justice for her mom and just basically wants to make sure that nothing like this happens to another scholar. Again, this was somebody who had 40 years in science, as you noted above. She had a kind of. The kind of storied career as a scientist that a lot of scientists would hope to have. And she's being treated like a suspect, like an adversary, simply because of where she was born and really had all of these things that she spent her life building taken away from her. And I, yeah, like, this is the. This is the human cost of what these kinds of racist, xenophobic, Policies actually look like in practice.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Speaking of terrible people doing terrible things years ago that are still haunting us today, what's new with Peter Thiel?

[Bridget Todd]

Oof. Do I have some Peter Thiel tea for you. We have talked about Peter Thiel quite a bit on this podcast. Billionaire, Supervillain, funder of right wing extremist causes, builder of Tech, founder of PayPal. Great place to mention our old nemesis, the Hallow app. Haven't forgotten about y'. All. Teal is one of the funders of the Hallow Prayer app. Well, Teal also maintained a closer relationship with convicted child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein than we previously knew. Thanks to new reporting from Jacobin. Here's how Branko Market Tech put it in his piece. Thiel's close relationship with J.D. vance and other young right wingers all but ensures the tech billionaire will continue to shape politics and policy for many years, decades if his technological plans to extend his lifespan workout growth. And in spite of Jeffrey Epstein's mysterious death seven years ago, it ensures the same for the quiet influence of the billionaire pedophile who private emails show was not only good friends with Thiel, but encouraged Thiel's involvement in right wing politics. So this piece, which it's like very meaty, I definitely recommend folks read it. We'll put it in the show notes. Of course. The piece makes it clear that Epstein and Peter Thiel had a mutually beneficial friendship. Epstein handled favors and gave financial guidance and advice like it sounds like. Reading between the lines of some of their emails, it kind of sounds like maybe some interesting tax slash accounting tips were being traded back and forth while Thiel offered investment knowledge and left Epstein a degree of legitimacy by association. When Thiel started getting interested in global politics, Epstein was really nurturing that by connecting Thiel with influential figures in government both domestically and and internationally. Once Thiel got involved in Trump's 2016 campaign, Epstein really pushed him to deepen ties with Trump and guided him on how to expand his foothold in that particular political circle.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Oh, that's interesting because I think Trump says that he cut Epstein out of his life years before that. Right.

[Bridget Todd]

And Epstein. And Epstein says that Trump was, quote, his closest friend. So you tell me. I don't know.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah, maybe the truth is in the middle or maybe one of them is lying.

[Bridget Todd]

So I found this kind of interesting. According to the piece, Epstein was really interested in connecting with Teal because Thiel, of course founded PayPal and Epstein wanted to create a new financial system that he described as Facebook friends being able to trade favors for Each other. And also it's crypto. And that, like, that would be a new financial system. I wish that listeners could see Mike's face. The face you just made while taking that in, while processing. What I've just said was priceless. I wish people could have seen it.

[Mike (Co-host)]

That's like, of course that's what he would try to devise. Some sort of Facebook meets crypto favor trading. That both, like, doesn't really make a lot of sense and also. Also sounds dystopian and just like, set up to facilitate scams.

[Bridget Todd]

Yeah.

[Mike (Co-host)]

And crimes. Scams and crimes.

[Bridget Todd]

Scams and crimes. It's on these people's goddamn crests. The Jackaman article is, like, just a good read. It also has so many, like, sassy parentheticals. So about this new financial. This, like, scams, crimes, crypto favors Facebook financial system Epstein wanted to set up. Epstein emailed Thiel and said, quote, the idea is now is the time for a new financial alternative. That is what PayPal started as parentheses. Jacobin has, as usual, cleaned up Epstein's often borderline incomprehensible grammar. I got.

[Mike (Co-host)]

I'm like, so curious what Peter Thiel's reaction to that was. Just like the rantings of a super villain being like, let's start a new financial system.

[Bridget Todd]

No, dude, he didn't seem not into it. Like, that's the thing. You have this idea of these guys, these, like, billionaire guys as these, like, savvy people who, like, if somebody wants to be financially or business wise, like, in the mix with them, one false move and they're like, I'm out. I'm scared off. No, it doesn't seem like he, like, was, like, not into this. It seemed like he was into this, was interested, was curious, kept emailing back and forth. I think that's important to note. If anybody sent me an email like this and it was also riddled with typos. We would never. We. I would never want, like, you know, I would. I would be like, this guy does not seem like he's on the money. Yeah. Let alone the. Let alone him already having pled guilty to sex crimes against minors.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah. It reads like a lunatic ranting on social media.

[Bridget Todd]

Exactly. The piece also does a very good job of just sort of in the background making it clear just how much of the architects of our current tech landscape and political landscape, the people behind AI and Microsoft, just how much those people were deeply connected to Epstein on stuff mom never told you'd. We're actually prepping to do a podcast episode. We're taping it tomorrow where we rewatch the movie the Social Network with Jesse Eisenberg. So in I. So I rewatched that movie this morning. In that movie, we've got two different Epstein buddies portrayed in that film. Both Peter Thiel, who was portrayed in that film because he comes on as an early investor to Facebook, and Larry Summers, who at the time in the film is the president of Harvard University. That's the figure the Winklevoss twins complained to you when they say that Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea for Facebook from them while they were students at Harvard. Crazy that. It's like two different Epstein. Like, Larry Summers and Epstein were like homies. Like, they were like road dogs. They. They did not have a casual relationship. They were tight.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah. Isn't that interesting that this movie about super elites, so many of them mixed up with Epstein.

[Bridget Todd]

Another mutual acquaintance, computer scientist Ben Goertzel, who was an early champion of AI, dangled the prospect of personally interacting with Thiel as a way to get Epstein to the Singularity Summit, a yearly gathering of AI superintelligence enthusiasts. In October of that year, Thiel wanted to start his own currency outside of the scope of nation states. Goertzel told him. So Larry Summers, who we know used to be the head of the US treasury under the Obama administration, is being described here. Quote, larry Summers is now on board with rethinking the financial system, digital currency, et cetera. He will join us in concocting a plan. Fun. Goertzel wrote Thiel. I love that they're just flinging around. Yeah. The former head of the US treasury is on board with rethinking our entire financial system and digital currency because Jeffrey fucking Epstein wrote him a typo laden 3am like email that's got all kinds of weird fucking emojis and shit in it.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah, no problem. Cool. Fun. He's going to help concoct a plan. We're going to create a new currency outside the scope of nation states. We're going to put it all together at the Singularity Summit. It's going to be great.

[Bridget Todd]

Yes. I mean, like, that's what really gets me, is that you get to see how much of our current financial technology, political systems are just like one old rich creep sending a typo Latin dashed off email to another more rich and more powerful creep. And that's our whole fucking system. No wonder it's all built on scams, crimes and fraud.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah. And all connected through this maven guy who runs an island designed to traffic children.

[Bridget Todd]

So this line, it's just, I have to read it. Epstein's interest in Thiel was undeterred by the fact that several of his acquaintances were far from impressed by the PayPal founder. Brockman warned him that Thiel disliked democracy and considered the granting of voting rights to women and the poor a mistake. Another contact told him that while she had once found Thiel interesting, after seeing him speak about Singularity, she decided she, quote, didn't think he knew what he was talking about and lost interest. Of course, the woman was like, actually, now that. Now that I see him speak, yeah,

[Mike (Co-host)]

now that he's talking about something I know about the Singularity, I've lost confidence.

[Bridget Todd]

So it sounds like Thiel and Epstein kind of danced around each other for a while. Will they, Won't they? But eventually they get connected by Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn and among one of the first donors to OpenAI, the company that of course makes ChatGPT. Reid Hoffman, whom a former British fixer, Ian Osborne, who was like, pretty well connected and well invested in Silicon Valley, had once charmingly described Reid Hoffman to Epstein as, quote, the fatty at LinkedIn. And I wanted to include that because when I first read that line, this how quick my brain is, I was like, why is he describing this guy's ass? And I was like, oh, that's not. What are you saying?

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah, I don't think it was a compliment.

[Bridget Todd]

So once Thiel and Epstein met through Reid Hoffman, they quickly became close. They were in frequent contact through calls, in person meetings and emails. So there is a paper trail. They collaborated on business deals while ranging across topics like business investment and science. Bear in mind that at this point, as I said, Epstein had already pled guilty to child sex crimes. And it wasn't like this was like an under the radar thing. This, these crimes. Him pleading guilty to these crimes had become global news at the start of 2015, after Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz were named in a lawsuit against Epstein that he had been running a child sex trafficking ring. We talked about this in the follow up to our episode about the Hallow Prayer app, but we know that Peter Thiel just didn't really have any kind of problem with these. The fact that Epstein had pled guilty to sex crimes against minors. And at one point Epstein asked him, does my bad press give you pause? Teal says, if I was intimidated by bad press, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere in life. But I do hope that you're holding up well and that the cycle won't go much further. I love that this is just like a bad press cycle, not crimes against kids that this guy pled guilty to. He did it. He said he did it.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah. No concern for the kids. No concern that this might be an inscrutable guy to work with. Just really tells you a lot about how Peter Thiel thinks about the world.

[Bridget Todd]

Also, the fact that when they were discussing this, Thiel asked, do you have any sense on whether this press cycle is going to keep escalating? I guess he means escalating, but he spelled it wrong. It would be good to compare notes at some point on strategies on this sort of stuff. So they're just like, what if we just got together and compared notes on how we weather the storm of stuff we actually did, you know?

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah, just comparing notes on how to do unsavory stuff and get away with it.

[Bridget Todd]

As Thiel got more involved in politics, Epstein was sending him advice on how to basically play Trump and like manipulate Trump. Buzzfeed reported on some unflattering comments that Thiel had made about Trump. And Epstein reached out to Thiel to say, read the article. Be careful. Donald is vindictive. Especially when it's pointed out that he is not the smartest person in the room or it is just made obvious. So they were sort of like trying to be like, oh, here's how you play Donald Trump. Make sure that he feels like he's very smart.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Sounds about right. That part tracks.

[Bridget Todd]

Yet for all of the work to connect Thiel with that, like Trump world, Epstein also did seem sort of like disdainful toward Thiel. When Larry Summers, the former president of Harvard, reaches out to Epstein is like, hey, you got any idea for possible treasury secretary of picks for the Trump administration? He floated Peter Thiel. Epstein dismissed the inclusion of his so called great friend writing quote, peter Thiel, autistic comma, no global sense.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Well, just like throw his buddy under the bus. I wonder if he like, that's actually what he thought. If he was just like playing all of these guys against each other. I mean, who could ever know?

[Bridget Todd]

Also, I don't know if Peter Thiel is autistic, however, I know I know my fair share of folks who have autism. Of all the things that would be disqualifying, why Peter Thiel would not be a reasonable, you know, treasury secretary pick the fact that he's autistic. I don't even like that's such should not be on the list.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah, that's a good point. There's so many other things that should be so much more disqualifying.

[Bridget Todd]

So this piece, again, I really think people should read it. It's not just a gossipy like, who knows who I think it really is, highlighting how much of our current techno political landscape came to be by this small handful of horrible nightmare humans. The ending of the piece, I feel, just really nails it. Thiel's relationship to both Trump and his vice president now leaves the tech billionaire well positioned to shape the Republican Party and, and a future GOP presidency, and to enact the vision he and Vance planned out many years ago of a political takeover by an aristocracy of right wing business elites. Meanwhile, we're seeing in real time what it looks like to have a Peter Thiel interested in and able to influence geopolitics, with the billionaire supplying the and ardently defending the Israeli genocide and his firm aligning itself with an interventionalist, pro war Washington foreign policy. For many years, Jeffrey Epstein shaped our world in ways we never knew. He may well continue to do so even in death. And boy, did that kind of paint a grim portrait. But that is so true, like, so we've talked a lot about, you know, politics and tech and finances, but also other parts of just our culture. Like if you are a millennial, like I am, Jeffrey Epstein has shaped so much of your culture. You know, back in the day. I don't know if I've ever said this in the podcast. I know that you know this about me, Mike. I was like, I had a brief stint as like a child model.

[Mike (Co-host)]

You've told me that before. And that is not a thing that I have any experience or frame of reference.

[Bridget Todd]

Well, the brand that I was a child model for almost exclusively was limited to. And the Limited, I don't know if younger folks know what that is. It was like a very popular women and girls clothing brand. That was all Jeffrey Epstein. Right. Jeffrey Epstein had financial ties to Les Wexner, who owns Victoria's Secret. The Limited. All of that also is, comes up in the Social Network, although briefly. In 2000, Les Wexner transferred control over the brand limited to, which was like exclusively for teenage girls, to Jeffrey Epstein. When I was a kid, the look and the feel of teenage girlhood that I was growing up in and steeped in and buying catalogs of and like walking down runways to represent that was architected by Jeffrey Epstein. It's like the, the, the, the, the various ways that Epstein really had his hands in culture and really kind of designed so much of what we all kind of like live through, whether it's culture, fashion, politics, tech. It just, it's stunning and you and like it's baked into the infrastructure. You can't throw it away. It's like the infrastructure that we have. You have to like tear it down and start over to make a change.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Jesus. Really chilling when you talk about it like that and think about the influence that he had and the people that he was working with and how so many of those same people, including, it seems like potentially Peter Thiel, are still carrying his legacy forward.

[Bridget Todd]

It is so depressing. But I do have one teensy, tiny, teensy little bit of news that's a little bit good. You want to hear it?

[Mike (Co-host)]

I do. Can we take a quick break first?

[Bridget Todd]

Sure. Let's do it.

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[Public Investing Ad Narrator]

from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor solutions suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S P500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures [e-mail] Disclosures hey everyone, it's Cal Penn.

[Kal Penn]

I'm the host of Irsay the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club. This week on the podcast I am sitting down with Ray Paul Porter, the narrator of Andy Weir's audiobook project, Hail Mary Massive sci fi adventure about survival and science and what happens when you wake up alone, very far from Earth.

[Ray Porter]

I really had to make a decision because I caught myself getting that frog in my throat and starting to get teary as I'm narrating some of these sections. And it's like, okay, yo, yo, yo, is this indulgent? And I really thought about it. I was like, no. At end the this point, it would kind of be betraying the trust the author and the listener have in telling this story if I don't go through it. But there's places in this book that that deeply, emotionally affected me and I left it on the mic. That's great because it served the story. People will say like, oh my God, I cried at the end. It's like, yeah, dude, me too.

[Kal Penn]

Listen to Irsay the Audible and iheart Audiobook Club on the I Heart Race radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Orderly Meds Ad Narrator]

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[Bridget Todd]

Let's get right back into it.

[Mike (Co-host)]

All right, Bridget, so you said you had some good news for us. I could use it.

[Bridget Todd]

Andrew Tate lost his lawsuit against Meta this week. We talked a little bit about this off mic, but I was, I was like, well, I hate Meta and I hate Andrew Tate. If only there was some way for them both to lose a lawsuit. I would like that. But I'm also happy that Andrew Tate lost. So Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate sued Meta after Instagram permanently banned six of their accounts, claiming that the removals violated their legal rights and they were seeking $50 million in damages. A federal judge in California threw their cases out. Meta said that they banned the Tates for promoting dangerous individuals and inciting misogyny. But the Tates were arguing that the bans were not a neutral enforcement of Instagram's rules, but instead tied to the international tension around their arrests in Romania on human trafficking and sexual exploitation charges. The judge simply was not buying this. She ruled that Section 230 shielded Meta's decision to remove their accounts, since banning users is just considered a content moderation decision. Also, the Tates could not point to any specific promise in Instagram's terms of service that guaranteed them a right to keep their accounts or appeal a ban. They also tried on First Amendment grounds, which also failed, since that protection only applies to government action. And obviously, Meta is not the government. Not yet. They're still a private company.

[Mike (Co-host)]

So it sounds like they were just throwing everything they could against the wall and none of it stuck.

[Bridget Todd]

Yeah, and I think it's kind of funny because Andrew Tate's whole thing is, oh, a man. You know, his whole brand is built around telling men that they don't have to answer to anybody, that they are just, you know, alphas. They can do whatever they want and then go to court and basically beg a private company to, please give me access to Instagram. I need my Instagram. I just love that. And I think there is an irony in there. And of course, the judge disagreed. The law disagreed. Instagram's terms of service disagreed. We hate Instagram. We hate Meta, we hate Mark Zuckerberg. But I guess I'm gonna call this a win.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah, we'll call it a win.

[Bridget Todd]

Yeah. A world where the Tates get their Instagram, get $50 million, and then get to do a victory lap with those stupid little sunglasses while smoking a cigar. I'm gonna call it a W on this one.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah, bad guys lost.

[Bridget Todd]

So before we sign off, I just have a little on a little thing I wanted to say. You might have noticed that this episode did not sound the way our episodes typically sound. That is because we have had some shakeups here at the podcast. Anybody who's been paying attention to what it's like working in media right now is probably used to hearing about layoffs by now. But just because you're used to it doesn't mean that it doesn't still hurt. And I have been so beyond blessed with the team that I have to make this podcast. And, you know, it hurts. I really feel strongly that the team that makes the show is what makes the show great. It's not just me. It's. It's. It's a group effort. Media layoffs hit close to home, and folks who have been such strong members of making this show something that you like are pushed aside. And I hate that personally.

[Mike (Co-host)]

It's a super tough time in media. It's a tough time for. In a lot of sectors, but especially in media, it sucks when people aren't able to continue making something that they feel passionately about, that they're good at doing. Are hearts are with everybody who was affected by recent layoffs and, yeah, I don't know how to land this.

[Bridget Todd]

If you listen to podcasts, there is a strong possibility that someone who helps make the shows that you like is being laid off. And it's just the reality of our current landscape. I know this sounds very cryptic.

[Mike (Co-host)]

It does. Yeah. And we're being cryptic because we don't want to name people if they don't want to be named. And, you know, that's not our story to tell. It's a tough time here. We are so privileged to have spent the time with everybody that we have. And, you know, we're going to continue making this show. And I know that people who have recently been laid off are going to be doing incredible things.

[Bridget Todd]

Yeah. And, you know, I've gone through media layoffs, and if you or someone, you know, someone you love has been laid off or is even just doing the thing where you wake up and you don't know if today's gonna be the day, you're hearing news. I see you. I hear you. Like, it's not a climate that anybody should have to show up in and, like, just trudge through. And I know it sounds very cryptic, but I just wanted to take a moment to say how blessed and lucky I am to have everybody who has ever worked on this show be part of the show and how much respect I have for everybody and all of their work to make the show work because they're all so smart and so talented, and I'm just really. I have a lot of gratitude.

[Mike (Co-host)]

Yeah. Well said. So, you know, we'll stay in touch with everybody. Listeners can stay in touch with us. Send us an email hellotangodi.com, leave us a comment on Spotify. Follow Bridgette on Instagram or TikTok. BridgetMarie in D.C. thanks for listening to the show. Keep listening. Please. Keep telling your friends. You know, let people who you think might like it, let them know, because that's how the show grows that means so much to us. And yeah, thanks again Bridget. You got any final words?

[Bridget Todd]

No, I didn't have anything queued up. I'll just say if you have thoughts on the Style of Lena Dunham episode you think we should do. Whether you want me to try to book Lena Dunham, I will try that. If you want it to just be just us friends, that's fine too. Be sure to let me know in the Spotify comments or via [e-mail] thanks for listening. I will see you on the Internet. Got a story about an interesting thing in tech or just want to say hi? You can reach [e-mail] youm can also find transcripts for today's [e-mail] There are no girls on the Internet was created by me, Bridget Todd. It's a production of iHeartRadio and unbossed creative. Jonathan Strickland is our Executive producer, Tari Harrison is our producer and Sound Engineer Michael Amato is our contributing producer. I'm your host, Bridget Todd. If you want to help us grow, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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