Claim OwnershipWalk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy
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© 2025 Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy
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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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363 Episodes
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Comedian Ehsan Ahmad joins Bridget for a hilarious discussion about all things cultural including Muslims naming their kids "Jihad", the need to call out the crazy in your family, our government's meme wars, the absurdity of how Kamala lost the election by not going on a bunch of comedians' podcasts, why AI memes are to blame for your 20% energy spike, and his take on H1B visas. They also cover how there’s no small government Republicans left, why it feels like we've been in a secret recessio...
Journalist Margaret Roberts joins Bridget to discuss the book she spent 20 years researching and writing, Blowback: The Untold Story of the FBI and the Oklahoma City Bombing. She describes her journey down a path of unanswered questions and loose ends that lead to questioning the "lone wolf" narrative of the case, the extent of the FBI's involvement, when surveillance crosses the line and goes rogue, the holes in the official story, and why some questions might never be answered about America...
1Elizabeth Grace Matthew joins Bridget for a comprehensive conversation about the cultural chaos of modern America. Specifically, they discuss the infantilizing pitfalls of contemporary feminism, the dishonesty of the “soft” trad wife aesthetic, the performative nature of all the “ideals” people are consuming on social media, how the reality for most women lies somewhere in between stay-at-home mom and girlboss, and the dangers of gentle parenting. They also cover the siloing of media, why it’...
This week, Bridget welcomes journalist Yaakov Katz for an in-depth conversation about his book While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East. He and Bridget tackle the intelligence and strategic failures that enabled Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7th, 2023. They cover a brief history of the conflict in the region, Israel’s misguided policy of containment, the misunderstandings caused by the application of a Western mindset to a completely different...
Andrew Doyle returns to the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about his book The End of Woke, the culture shock of moving from London to Arizona, the far Left and far Right overlap in anti-Semitism, the rollback in DEI policies, why you shouldn’t use the term “hate speech, “ and the UK’s failure to enforce certain laws because police have been trained as activists. They also cover the long-term damage of COVID-era contradictions, when being unwilling to say anything that could possibly ...
Senior Scholar at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), Sarah McLaughlin sits down with Bridget to discuss her book, Authoritarians In the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech. Sarah addresses the problems of foreign authoritarian regimes infiltrating American academia; from students fearing family backlash back home, to governments attempting to silence dissenting voices in colleges outside their border...
Original Air Date - 10/19/23 Revisit a Walk-Ins Welcome classic Helen Joyce, author of Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality, sits down with Bridget for an in-depth conversation about the trans activist movement, what inspired her to write the book, what's changed since the book came out in 2021, the bullshit idea that everything can be blamed on feminism, the detransitioners she's met, and how the trans movement is sending women’s rights back to the dark ages. They discuss the sense that women ...
Comedian Andrew Heaton returns to talk about his new book Tribalism Is Dumb: Where It Came from, How It Got So Bad, and What to Do about It. He and Bridget discuss the evolutionary and social roles that tribalism has played throughout human history and why it has become so toxic in the last 20 years. They cover Andrew’s favorite line to break the ice at parties, how our ability to work in groups is why we defeated the dolphins, why the decline of religion has been bad for tribalism, informati...
Greg Lukianoff returns to the podcast as he and Bridget spotlight the battle for free speech and why it’s dying in many areas of the world. They discuss suing the Trump administration over a shady deportation policy, AI’s potential for tyranny in places like China and Iran, people who are pro-free speech until it’s someone who’s not on their team, the free speech disaster happening in Europe and Canada, why free speech is a problem of comfort, why Greg is funding experiments in AI that defend...
Kevin Ryan joins Bridget to discuss the ups and downs of a career in freelance writing. With AI churning out soulless content, they defend the gritty, human struggle of writing, why writing should be hard, and breaking the myth of the tortured alcoholic writer. They cover why everyone should have some revolutionary instincts in their 20s, why the loss of trust in media might be healthy, how the center has become so centerless, why some of Kevin's favorite philosophers and writers are critical...
Amy Alkon, investigative science author, returns to the podcast for a fascinating and frank conversation about her new book, Going Menopostal - What You (and Your Doctor) Need to Know About the Real Science of Menopause and Perimenopause. She shares the unfiltered truth about perimenopause and menopause, exposing the shocking gaps in medical care that leave women navigating a hormonal Wild West. From debunking the "estrogen is Satan" myth to revealing why most gynecologists are clueless about...
Katie Herzog, co-host of the Blocked & Reported podcast, returns to Walk-Ins Welcome to discuss her new book Drink Your Way Sober. She and Bridget have a frank conversation about alcoholism, the steps you take to hide it from your loved ones, Katie's realization that it would kill her, and how Naltrexone helped her drink her way sober and banished the desire to drink, something she'd never experienced before. They cover how the drug works, why it won't work for everyone, the difference be...
Attorney Ted Frank joins Bridget for a frank conversation about the multitude of conspiracies about Jeffery Epstein swirling around the internet. He and Bridget tackle why it's so hard to find any non-conspiracy related information on Epstein, how Epstein was such a liar and flamboyant character it’s hard to parse the truth, how many narratives out there that are completely false, the CIA-Mossad-puppet-master myths, the stories of Epstein's victims, and how 19% of the population believes ther...
Nancy Rommelmann returns to Walk-Ins Welcome fresh from reporting on ICE raids for Reason Magazine. She and Bridget discuss LA's unprecedented triple crisis—immigration crackdowns, devastating wildfires, and Hollywood's exodus—and what might be next for the city, which leads to the larger question of whether America itself is resetting. They cover why Gen Z might be our saving grace, the return to real-world connections (cooking, gardening, live events, dinner parties) as an antidote to digit...
Meghan Daum sits down with Bridget to discuss her latest book, The Catastrophe Hour, and the conversation covers everything from aging on camera, to modern existential dread, to the death of quality journalism (RIP, actual editors), the rise of "femcel cope", and pro-natalist propaganda. They discuss Meghan’s decision not to have kids, the grim reality that AI is coming for everyone's job, how we've all become buskers begging for subscription dollars, whether you should get preventative Botox...
Paul Shirley, former NBA basketball player turned productivity guru, returns to the podcast for a conversation with Bridget that takes us from his Kansas farm origins (where apparently growing your own food creates a family of giants) to battling what he calls the "Distraction Industrial Complex." Paul breaks down why we're all suffering from "informational diabetes" in an age where we consume 74 GB of data daily—the same amount our ancestors got in a lifetime. Between near-death basketball i...
Walk-Ins Welcome 345 Comedian Eleanor Kerrigan joins Bridget for a hilarious conversation covering how her dreams of being an actor led to an unexpected wrestling stint, a West Wing mixup, and the one woman show that led her to realize her true calling is comedy. She dishes on behind-the-scenes stories from over a decade running the iconic Comedy Store, being a caretaker for legendary owner Mitzi Shore, epic Pauly Shore parties, and blackout rages. They cover surviving tragedy, why ther...
Amanda Knox returns for a fascinating conversation with Bridget about her wild ride from wrongful conviction to reclaiming her life, as detailed in her new book, Free. She candidly examines how she survived prison and what life looked like on the other side, wrestling with trust (and distrust), her relationship with the media, and the realization that when you pray to God for strength He doesn’t give you strength, He gives you the opportunity to be strong. They discuss what made her want to g...
Journalist and podcaster, Eli Lake, sits down with Bridget for a wide ranging conversation that wanders from tracing the evolution of comedy, from Lenny Bruce’s groundbreaking defiance to Shane Gillis’s resilience against cancel culture, to making compelling parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and contemporary political challenges - including Pakistan’s deep state and its global implications. They cover addiction, creativity, wondering if there any third rails left, whether Kanye...
Alana Newhouse, the mastermind behind Tablet Magazine, sits down with Bridget for a fascinating dissection of modern media, identity politics, and the resurgence of print in a digital age. They dive into the internet’s shift from a punk-rock playground to a tribal shouting match, discuss the flatness of corporate media, and analyze the quirky rebellion of magazines like Tablet and County Highway. They cover everything from mom brain, to the perils of virality, the death of gatekeepers, why re...
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Have Norman Finkelstein or Bassem Youssef on for the Pro-Palestine side. Everything Naomi went through, Palestinians go through everyday, even before Oct 7th. And Wow. She said even kids aren't innocent in Palestinine. That's exactly how hamas thinks.
so he saw a real coup in Egypt but still says jan 6th was one ? yeah ok
wow. impressed with Carol.
everyone knows sneeches get steeches
This guy may be a great at stand up, but couldn't get through the interview. He needs to work at eliminating the word 'like'.
what?
compromise with the left lol.... burn it all down first!!!! civil war before retreat!!;
It's so obvious to me that they both know who they should vote for and yet they're confused about it. It seems to me that the scenario they fear is Trump winning and the left more violent or same end result if Bidden wins. In that situation. Why would you go with the alternative that would empower the violent left?
lefties can't help themselves...they must change the world. they cannot accept human nature
"how misinterpreted things get" aka FEMALE NATURE in action .... learn about it!
What insufferable pos. The first question should've been. Why would you be worried about the rise of populous "candidates"?
I lasted 6 minutes listening to this fella, too much cringe
FEMALE NATURE..... talk about it or you are missing the core issue
I made it to 23 mins.... this lady is not helping the image of blacks OR women re being wise
nice guy. too nice, really. but a pleasant thoughtful fellow. p.s Trump 2020!
Fantastic interview. Mark's explanation of the book was really informative & his perspective was (fortunately) centrist. I'm glad Mark's been able to grow from his past behaviors. Redemption stories are uplifting & inspirational.
I think the clarification needs to be made between FAR RIGHT, and FAR LEFT in this Podcast. traditional liberal left of center, and traditional conservative right of center, aren't the passionate types to threaten, and tend to be the conversational types.
Helen Dale 👍
Give this one a listen. This gentleman is wise.
Wow, that emotional! Connected with the relationship loss. We are in different countries but all share the same emotions....