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Jon Gabriel (@ExJon) and Stephen Miller (aka @RedSteeze) welcome Bridget Phetasy (aka @BridgetPhetasy). She’s is a stand-up comedian, co-hosts the podcast “Benched,” and writes for for both Playboy and The Federalist. She shares her views on Hugh Hefner’s legacy from an insider’s perspective. Stephen and Jon then talk about the predictable reaction of the left to the Las Vegas shooting.
The intro/outro song is “The Last of the Famous International Playboys” by Morrissey. Stephen’s song of the week is “Doomed” by Moses Sumney and Jon’s is “Tinseltown Swimming in Blood” by Destroyer. To listen to all the music featured on The Conservatarians, subscribe to our Spotify playlist.
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This was a good one. Good guest. Nice to see you cats recognizing some of Trump’s plusses, even if you feel you have to turn around and hit him again right after. You aren’t quite to understanding who he is, but you’re getting closer. You still need to let go of some illusions, though. Even the music wasn’t terrible.
This podcast called out Ross Douthat’s article on Heffner’s Legacy in which Ross both includes the hosts’ weak defense on behalf of Heffner’s legacy, and Douthat’s succinct and effective rebuke to each one. Ross’s article is a far more edifying than the interview with Bridget Phetasy, in which I’m still scratching my head as to “why” on holding the interview?
Ross is always a good read, and is here as well.
One final note:
I’m especially guilty of this, but to suggest that becoming wealthy of this was just a sign of opportunistic entrepreneurship is moral vacuity at it’s worst, and moral vacuity is the hallmark of libertarianism.
I enjoyed the interview about Playboy. These were always in my house when I was young as well, and I have mixed feelings about the founder of the magazine.
For one, Hefner didn’t exactly ask his first centerfold if she wanted her nude pictures published, so in her case, he engaged in pure exploitation. That’s a pretty big problem.
That said, I would have loved to have had work–not pictures!!!–published within the magazine.
Why? It printed some great fiction. Like. Seriously great fiction. Not Penthouse porn like one might expect but actual, finely crafted art.
I always read my father’s copies for this reason.
The magazine also conducted good interviews about politics, some of which I revisited as a graduate student digging in archives.
This is one of those conundrums I continue to wrestle with and it somewhat ties into all the Hef discussion:
I went to college from 1991-1995, and the most ardent feminists I knew were also the women who hooked up every weekend with a different guy, and always would kind of shrug it off as taking control of their lives and using their bodies as they saw fit, and because they were the ones dictating the sex, they were the one in control.
Whereas from my point of view, guys were getting what they wanted and getting off scot-free (literally) because the women had no interest in being tied down to men.
It seemed to me a twisted way to live, but then again, I was always called a bit too uptight in my morality. All of them are married and I’m still trying to date, so what do I know.
I understand both arguments: that it’s smut and it’s empowering, I just don’t necessarily believe one. I don’t knock the hustle of young writers getting their break, but I also think to myself at what cost? I’m not sure if there was a large or small one to our collective.