If you've ever wondered whether you're being paranoid or whether your survival instincts are finally kicking in—this episode is for you.

Desiree predicted it at Thanksgiving 2024: "We're going to experience things we never thought we would." Now, with ICE raids in Minneapolis, transgender family members making escape plans, and the Handmaid's Tale's "Little America" feeling less like fiction and more like foreshadowing, we're processing the fear that Americans aren't supposed to feel.

We dive into:
- The violence we thought only happened on other soil
- Why Desiree watches documentaries about World War II to cope
- The "Little America" scene that broke her
- Epigenetics and inherited trauma
- Why men have no concept of the fear women carry
- The 2009 Tea Party moment that predicted all of this
- Robert Reich's call for business, religious, and institutional leaders to speak up
- Why Chris has no hope those leaders will

This is the rawest we've been. It's also the most necessary. For people who feel like they're taking crazy pills and need to know they're not alone.

Content Warning: Discussions of potential violence, ICE raids, family estrangement, and realistic fear about American democracy.

Resources mentioned:
- Robert Reich's Substack: "The Emergency Is Now"
- Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American

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Sponsored by Bearing 287

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Why did the media treat Ryan Coogler's box office hit "Sinners" with skepticism while breathlessly hyping Josh Safdie's "Marty Supreme"—which made a fraction of the money?

We trace the disparate coverage back to one source: Penske Media Corporation, which owns Variety, The Golden Globes, Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and more. Turns out when one company controls entertainment journalism, narratives get... controlled.

This week we explore:
→ The return of #OscarsSoWhite energy (and why it never really left)
→ How media consolidation shapes what films get celebrated
→ Teyana Taylor's uncomfortable truth about Black women's hypersexualization
→ The pattern of promised progress → quiet reversals
→ Speaking with your dollars when you have zero control over Hollywood

Content note: Discussion of racism, sexualization of Black women, and systemic media manipulation.

Resources mentioned:
- Penske Media holdings breakdown
- National Museum of African American History & Culture
- UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report
- Dartmouth research on Hollywood representation

Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today: Group therapy disguised as cultural commentary. We're talking WITH you, not AT you.
https://www.bearing287.com/

If you've ever thought "I can't just sit here scrolling anymore" but had no idea where to start - same. This episode is for every exhausted professional who wants to DO something but doesn't know what. Chris and Des explore citizenship beyond voting: local politics, organizing, legal aid, documentation, and finding your role in the fight. Recorded hours after the Minneapolis Ice shooting, this is group therapy for people who are done just talking and ready to show up - but need a roadmap. You'll learn: → How to figure out if local politics is your path (spoiler: it might be) → The roles activists need that you've never heard of → Why "politics" is just showing up for a place → How photography can be activism → What "find the helpers" actually means in 2026 Content warning: Discusses Ice shooting, police violence, political activism Resources mentioned: Run for Something, local school boards, city councils, mutual aid networks Got questions or want to get involved? DM us or leave a comment.