Peasant Wisdom From Walter Kirn

Original Air Date - 10/12/23
Bridget sits down with the great Walter Kirn, novelist, essayist, and editor-at-large of the new print-only newspaper County Highway. Walter shares why he and David Samuels decided to start a 19th century style paper centering attention on the middle of the country rather than the edges, the feeling that the country has lost touch with itself - especially during Covid, and the importance of reading something in a media that doesn’t track you or count your clicks or pander to your opinions. They discuss the disembodiment of our era, their shared desire to get beyond addiction, watching people panic during Covid, and seeing the responses to Covid being orchestrated at the highest levels by people with the most privilege while they waged a devastating war against the middle class and poorest people. They cover the roles people got to play during the pandemic and how important it made them feel, why the toilet paper op was a way to divide the genders, the way that irony is deliberately used to keep people at bay and submissive, turning the internet into a weapon for social control, and how every bit of peasant wisdom in Walter's body told him he was being had when it came to the Covid restrictions.

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Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy - Podcast
Bridget Phetasy admires grit and authenticity. On Walk-Ins Welcome, she talks about the beautiful failures and frightening successes of her own life and the lives of her guests. She doesn’t conduct interviews—she has conversations. Conversations with real people about the real struggle and will remind you that we can laugh in pain and cry in joy but there’s no greater mistake than hiding from it all. By embracing it all, and celebrating it with the stories she’ll bring listeners, she believes that our lowest moments can be the building blocks for our eventual fulfillment.

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PHETASY IS a movement disguised as a company.
We just want to make you laugh while the world burns.

Podcast - Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy

[avengemybreath]

America This Week is mandatory listening

[sarasamson]

Prouder than ever to be a Phetasy paid subscriber! Didn't realize Walter Kirn had a podcast with Matt Taibbi, another favorite, so will check that out as well. Please don't give up speaking freely and honestly, even into the apocalypse! And feel better, Cousin Maggie.

Raised in NJ, have been in California for 10 years, would move on but I live on the beach and it's been my sanity throughout Covid and beyond. I walked the beach daily, pulled the mask up only when others came close, got squeeze bottles to fill up with water in case toilet paper ran out. A longtime remote worker and introvert, I played along until the 'mostly peaceful protest' era showed me the rules meant nothing really. Never been tested for covid. Last jab in 2021.

Never did FB, X, Instagram or other antisocial media or legacy media. Politically Homeless (letter #49 on substack). I remain wary of the Right, but after the policies and rhetoric of the last 4 years (and especially the last 2 weeks) I can no longer in good conscious ever again vote Left. At this point, where to move to in this state, country or world where it isn't crazy? Australia and Canada used to be so...normal and sane! So, when the apocalypse hits, the beach will be the last thing I see. Either that, or move to a genuine Banana Republic.

[David-vth]

Excellent talk…..thank you for sharing this delightful conversation. Am going to look up this newspaper

[lyonsailing]

Walter Kirn and Bridget in conversation...two of my absolute favorite conversationalists. You can tell they each have an insane amount of life experience, sane perspectives, and are such gifted writers and speakers. A pleasure. Walter and Matt Taibbi- Insanely grounded discussions of insane times.

[osmbsmy.]

Brilliant interview! You guys are so playfully eloquent. So many throw away lines between you worthy of a Babylon B headline.
I'd somehow never heard of Walter, though I'm sure I've enjoyed something he wrote.
Thank you Bridget! This was a real treat and I look forward to diving down the rabbit hole.

[maceydunbar]

so good you rock Bridget!and Walter!!!

[paulmckinley]

I appreciated their discussion of the tactile benefit of reading a physical book/paper and appreciating the different feel and smell of it. I think a point they missed was a book is permanent; it will always be there physically, while the impression of reading something on my phone seems temporal! I have a copy of John Muir's "My First Summer in the Sierra" on my shelf right now that was printed in 1911. Much of what we read on our phones may not be there next week. It seems fleeting and why we spend so much time scrolling around on the internet. The things we find may not be there tomorrow!

[johnmockmore]

What an exciting find today x2, fan of both!

[danapeck]

Great conversation, thanks and all the best. Reality check always welcome

[JollyRoger]

Came here after you mentioned him on the spiked podcast 70 mins in.

[kennethbashford]

Though I’m a fan of both Bridget and Walter, I found that after about the first 10 minutes of this convo on my iPad, I wanted to stop and grab my copy of County Highway and go sit in my favorite chair next to the window where the natural daylight … um …. streams in. Sorry, guys, I’ll get back to this later. Promise.

[stevieray]

When your favorite Aunt and Grandpa get together and scare the 💩 outa you!

[kristenbouwman]

This guy reminds me of the professor I crushed on hard in college 😂 Great conversation!

[pennyappellatia]

At 40:00, the "information operation" referred to was called, "flooding the zone" when they spoke of it in "Event 201, " a pandemic preparation seminar held in October of 2019.

[augustwest]

I'm a simple guy. I see Walter, I click.

[tishie]

When covid hit and they tried to shut down our 449 club, only place in town, we took our coffee pot and chairs to a yard and argued with every cop that showed up(cuz some asshole would inevitably call) that we were medicallly necessary. The struggle was real but we were willing to go to any lengths. We still lost a lot of people. Some to death. It sucked but furthered my resolve. I worked for a cleaning company a d saw so much shenanigans it was ridiculous. I quit believing anything about May 2020.

[ogazm]

No symptoms? That's one of the symptoms!

[geraldking]

Ned Ludd....Edward Abbey....Doc Kaczynski....
FIGHT THE FUTURE

[rd]

Its 4 months or so since this was posted and alot has happened. I rec talking to Norman Finkelstein re Gaza. Or someone you think is as knowledgeable.

[TessaTickle]

Where they talk about the mind control of the covid response (from 1:10:00) ... Walter thinks it's deliberate, following some nefarious plan. Nah, I think it's just the natural though process of administrators in the civil service. I've said it before: I look forward to the entire administrative class being replaced by AI. Maybe we'll finally be able to live free.