Journalist and political commentator Emily Jashisnky, host of Undercurrents and co-host of Counterpoints, is a 31-year-old Evangelical Christian from Wisconsin. She’s also (for my money) one of the sanest, smartest, and most principled voices in the information landscape these days. In this conversation, we talk about Emily’s philosophical and political roots, her college years during the height of the woke era, and her thoughts about the state of the Republican party (she considers herself a conservative but not a Republican), the perils and promise of the Trump agenda, and what’s driving Elon Musk—not to mention keeping him awake.


Emily Jashinsky is an American journalist based in Washington, D.C. She is the D.C. Correspondent at UnHerd and co-host of the show "Counter Points" with Ryan Grim on the Breaking Points channel, a Top 10 Politics podcast.


Housekeeping
Listen to my recent audio essays about the Los Angeles wildfires and (moving right along) the state of public discourse in the new Trump era.
Read my recent essay in The New York Times about accepting help.
Pre-order my new book The Catastrophe Hour: Selected Essays (which is unrelated to the current catastrophe). Either from you-know-where or (even better) directly from the publisher, Notting Hill Editions.
Visit The Unspeakable on YouTube.
The Unspeakeasy has new retreats for 2025. We’ll be in Texas, New York, Los Angeles, and beyond.
Join The Unspeakeasy, my community for freethinking women.

For the last several years, we yelled about the left eating itself. Is the right now feasting on the same poisonous meal? This week Meghan is joined by Free Press reporter River Page, whose February 19 article The Online Right Is Building A Monster, articulated a phenomenon she’d long observed but could never quite parse; the phenomenon of right-wing trolls making antisemitic and misogynist memes as well as other forms of rage bait in order to own the libs. River explains the origins and effects of this rising movement, dispelling Meghan's preconceptions that most of these trolls are bots or teenagers (alas, many are grown men). Speaking of grown men, the conversation wanders into an exploration of why young males are so obsessed with their bodies and physical appearance. Should we blame Instagram and TikTok? Maybe. But River thinks there’s a connection between income inequality and male vanity. When you believe you’ll never be able to afford a house or a middle-class family life, controlling your own body may be the only control you have.

River Page is a reporter at The Free Press. Previously, he worked as a staff writer at Pirate Wires, covering technology, politics, and culture. His work has also appeared in Compact, American Affairs, and the Washington Examiner, among other publications.

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HOUSEKEEPING Unspeakeasy Retreats: https://bit.ly/3Qnk92n Join The Unspeakeasy, my community for freethinking women:https://bit.ly/44dnw0v Pre-order Meghan's new book, The Catastrophe Hour: Selected Essays. Coming April 15, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/2t4rb76r

Recorded February 13, 2025

On my birthday, with my laryngitis almost gone, I share some audio reflections about my recent New York Times opinion essay about losing my home in the fire, my current housing situation, and my former housing blunders. Most importantly, I offer a sneak preview of my ironically-titled forthcoming book, The Catastrophe Hour.

New York Times, Jan 31, 2025: The L.A. Fires Taught Me To Accept Help

Earlier fire dispatches.

January 9: The First 24 Hours — https://bit.ly/3CgZTMV

January 16: The Immaterial World — https://bit.ly/40QLfVO

January 27: Housing Wars — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eVZpYBpd2g&t=2s

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HOUSEKEEPING Unspeakeasy Retreats: https://bit.ly/3Qnk92n Join The Unspeakeasy, my community for freethinking women:https://bit.ly/44dnw0v Pre-order my new book, The Catastrophe Hour: Selected Essays. Coming April 15, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/2t4rb76r