I’m Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today!

AI: The New Scarlet Letter

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 27 May 2026 15:14:40 -0500

A week ago, hating AI was a niche opinion. Now it’s the mood of the room — booed commencement speakers, data-center protests, even the Pope. Chris and Des name the new stigma, break down the four reasons the backlash blew up, and draw the Cold War parallels — all while admitting they both use AI and feel conflicted about it. Honest, funny, and a little dystopian. Is AI the new Scarlet Letter?
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📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

https://substack.com/@chrisabevolo

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#BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary

Timestamps:
0:00 — Cold open
2:30 — Hot take: does an audiobook count as reading?
7:30 — The “Scarlet AI” and why the backlash exploded
17:30 — Reason 1: Job displacement
37:00 — Reason 2: The environment
42:30 — Reason 3: Data centers (and Kevin O’Leary’s Utah problem)
46:00 — Reason 4: The men leading AI
56:00 — Where does this go? Nuclear, the Cold War, and unions
1:09:00 — The capitalist endgame
1:15:30 — Wrap: “Womp Womp”

Resources:

Kevin O’Leary goes after Utah protesters: https://x.com/kevinolearytv/status/2051667709574733826?s=20 ; https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/box-elder-county/utah-data-center-investor-kevin-oleary-accuses-opposition-groups-of-being-funded-by-china

Two women fight back against O’Leary: https://substack.com/@rawstory/note/c-259135278

Critical Thinking In the Age of AI: https://criticalthinkingintheageofai.com/ ; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-thinking-in-the-age-of-ai/id1865503703

Marc Andreessen on Joe Rogan Clip: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DYvU5evMr3m/

https://www.focusfeatures.com/the-ai-doc-or-how-i-became-an-apocaloptimist

https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-american-rebellion-against-ai-is-gaining-steam-94b72529

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/25/pope-says-ai-must-be-disarmed-to-prevent-domination-exclusion-and-death

https://www.axios.com/2026/05/17/ai-backlash-polling-sentiment

https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/hating-ai-is-good-actually

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/style/gen-z-ai-gallup-study.html

https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-american-rebellion-against-ai-is-gaining-steam-94b72529

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/ai-giving-rise-wild-range-152928957.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/05/ai-backlash-data-centers-political-violence/687151/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/13/utah-approves-datacenter-backlash

https://news.gallup.com/poll/709772/americans-oppose-data-centers-area.aspx

https://substack.com/@rawstory/note/c-259135278?r=lqfh9&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/utah-data-center-mr-wonderful-kevin-oleary-1235564105/

Produced by Julia Bevolo

The Kids Are Not Alright: Tokyo Drift

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 20 May 2026 08:00:00 -0500

In the ‘youth in crises’ finale, Chris and Des hand the mic to two Gen-Zers — Julia Bevolo and Jayden Torres — and ask what it’s actually been like from March 2020 forward. COVID-disrupted college, Snapchat at 12, the looksmaxxing rabbit hole, $20 movie tickets, the lazy/entitled label, Scott Galloway’s drinking advice, and — against the odds — a closing argument for hope. Group therapy disguised as cultural commentary. Subscribe for new episodes weekly.

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Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast

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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

====================

Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

https://substack.com/@chrisabevolo

====================

Check out Jayden on spotify! https://open.spotify.com/artist/6YfwUW5w7MOErVEh0yhhRl?si=KvxwVuAJRAy3n1sLFm-SVwht

#BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary

Timestamps:
0:00 — Open
3:00 — Icebreaker: making music in Ableton, ’90s alt rock, Cities 97 deep cuts
13:00 — What shaped Gen Z: Snapchat at 12, Kik, TikTok
17:00 — Twitch, streamers, side-hustle culture
22:00 — COVID: dropping out, going chronically online
26:00 — Scott Galloway, drinking, and “you should go out more”
30:00 — Run clubs and the sober social shift
33:00 — Looksmaxing, hunter eyes, and bone-breaking
38:00 — Body image, GLP-1s, and the body-positivity backslide
44:00 — Male friendship, the male gaze, and St. Louis DTF
47:00 — The labels: chronically online, lazy/entitled, snowflake, doomer
53:00 — Nihilism vs. realism
56:00 — David Hogg, Mamdani, and the case for hope
Sources:
https://www.newsweek.com/gen-z-experiencing-major-drop-life-satisfaction-2119029
https://globescan.com/2025/05/21/insight-of-the-week-gen-z-climate-impact/
https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/05/26/gen-z-millennials-stand-out-for-climate-change-activism-social-media-engagement-with-issue/
https://www.unicef.org/partnerships/mental-health-study-shows-gen-z-overwhelmed-undeterred-unrelenting-global-crises
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/college-graduates-are-struggling-to-find-jobs-ai-is-partly-to-blame.html
https://www.harmonyhit.com/state-of-gen-z-mental-health/
https://www.rtor.org/2025/01/27/breaking-down-gen-zs-mental-health-crisis-why-depression-rates-are-higher-than-ever/
https://www.gwi.com/blog/gen-z-loneliness
https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/camh.12747
https://georgetownvoice.com/2025/11/04/adolescence-warns-us-of-the-manospheres-dangerous-accessibility
https://lens.monash.edu/recommending-the-manosphere-how-algorithms-amplify-antifeminist-masculinities/
https://buildersmovement.org/2025/10/17/the-dangerous-mindset-spreading-across-america-cultural-nihilism-among-gen-z/
https://buildersmovement.org/2025/10/17/the-dangerous-mindset-spreading-across-america-cultural-nihilism-among-gen-z/
https://fortune.com/2026/01/30/gen-z-believes-ai-making-colleagues-dumb-and-lazy-critical-thinking-wharton-led-survey/
https://feminist.org/news/new-data-shows-the-growing-political-divide-between-gen-z-men-and-women/
https://www.clevelandfed.org/publications/economic-commentary/2025/ec-202514-are-young-college-graduates-losing-their-edge-in-the-job-market
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/college-graduates-are-struggling-to-find-jobs-ai-is-partly-to-blame.html
https://www.redfin.com/news/homeownership-rate-by-generation-2025/

Produced by Julia Bevolo

The Kids Are Not Alright: The Legend of Curly's Gold

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 13 May 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Part 2 of The Kids Are Not All Right traces youth in crisis through the digital era — the ’90s, 2000s, and 2010s. Chris and Des draw the line from 1992’s pickup-artist manuals and the heroin chic era to today’s incel forums, pro-ana Tumblr and the modern manosphere. Plus: Chris’s 30-year cycle theory, a story about an 11-year-old getting bullied online by a grown adult, and a closing question worth sitting with — is social media the next nuclear?
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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

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#BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary

https://substack.com/@chrisabevolo

Timestamps:
0:00 — Open
2:00 — The Beef Season 2
10:30 — The ’90s: video games, pickup artists, riot grrrl, supermodels
16:30 — Columbine and Woodstock ‘99
22:00 — Chris’s 30-year cycle theory
24:00 — The 2000s: MySpace, AOL chat rooms, Britney, BlackPlanet
31:30 — The 2010s: smartphones, the manosphere, Instagram, Trayvon
36:00 — Parenting in the smartphone era
49:30 — Spencer Pratt for mayor, and the 21-year arc
54:30 — Is social media the next nuclear?
62:00 — What documentaries will they make about 2026?

References:
Riot Grrrl — Britannica
Pro-ana — Wikipedia
Manosphere origins — Wikipedia

SPLC: Pickup Artists and the Male Supremacist Industry

Video vixen — Wikipedia

Woodstock '99 — Wikipedia

New Statesman: Trainwreck Woodstock '99 review

Netflix: Trainwreck Woodstock '99 documentary

Columbine effect — Wikipedia

ResearchGate: Columbine Effect on Culture and Policy (Muschert)
Jezebel: The Manosphere's Existential Crisis

Semantic Scholar: From Pick-Up Artists to Incels (data study)
Waterloo University: Tracing Radicalization to the Incel Movement (PDF)

Washington Post: Framing Britney Spears documentary
The Culture Sift: Britney, Paris, and Misogyny in the Early 2000s
The Conversation: ANTM Reality Check documentary review

BuzzFeed: Former ANTM contestants' accounts

MEFeater: Did Diary of a Video Vixen Influence #MeToo?
Oxford Academic: We Tried to Tell Y'all — Black Twitter and Digital Counternarratives
Grinnell College: Pro-Ana as Subculture (sociology)

NAMI: LGBTQ+ communities and mental health

SAGE Journals: Mainstreaming Manosphere Misogyny (peer-reviewed, 2024)
CBC: Andrew Tate social media bans and ongoing reach
SPLC: Andrew Tate profile
Nylon: Tumblr/TikTok eating disorder content and disguised wellness trends

Variety: Social Studies documentary (FX/Hulu, 2024)
PBS NewsHour: Black Twitter: A People's History (Hulu, 2024)
The Culture Crypt: Video Vixens in Hip-Hop
HRC: 2023 LGBTQ+ Youth Report

Produced by Julia Bevolo

The Kids Are Not Alright 2: Electric Boogaloo| Part One |

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Every generation gets a panic about its kids — and every generation’s panic looks deeply stupid in hindsight. In Part 1 of a new three-part series, Chris and Des trace how the modern “teenager” was even invented, then walk the timeline through Elvis’s hips, James Dean, the 70s nihilism of Over the Edge, Chris’s 80s coming-of-age in Ames, Iowa, and the slacker label that never quite fit. The setup for everything coming next: it’s not that the kids aren’t all right. It’s that the kids aren’t supposed to be all right — and adults keep forgetting their own teenage years.
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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

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#BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary

Timestamps:
0:00 — Cold open: “the kids end up okay at the end”
1:30 — Welcome + a new three-part series
4:00 — The Michael Jackson biopic conversation
8:00 — The teenager was invented after WWII
13:00 — “Kids these days” — the cyclical hand-wringing
15:00 — Elvis’s hips and rock and roll panic
21:00 — “Cut your hair” as the universal theme
23:00 — The 70s: latchkey kids and Iowa childhood
29:00 — Over the Edge: the dark side of 70s teen life
32:00 — “It’s 10 PM. Do you know where your kids are?”
33:30 — The 80s: the “fake decade”
36:00 — Jocks, bullies, and 80s masculinity
41:00 — John Hughes brings teenagers to cinema
43:00 — MTV, hairbands, grunge, and the rise of rap

48:30 — Why we got called “slackers”
52:00 — Where does that energy go?
55:00 — Kids aren’t SUPPOSED to be all right
57:00 — Belonging, generational labels, and what’s next

References:
Project MUSE
University of Southern Indiana
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2022/10/the-senate-comic-book-hearings-of-1954/
https://www.archives.gov/legislative/resources/education/comic-books
https://the-artifice.com/masculinity-gender-roles-tv-1950s/
AAIHS
Springer
https://www.history.com/articles/the-stonewall-riots
https://guides.loc.gov/lgbtq-studies/stonewall-era
Latchkey kids
Over the Edge (1979)
Info on Stonewall
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0044118X211001096

Produced by Julia Bevolo

The Myth of the American Melting Pot

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0500

The melting pot was supposed to be America’s most generous self-description. Turns out it’s one of our most carefully curated myths. In the finale of the Crumbling American Myths series, Chris and Des trace ‘melting pot’ from a 1908 play to a Schoolhouse Rock earworm to the 2026 Supreme Court. Chris discovers that ‘melt’ always meant assimilating into whiteness, and even then only a narrow band of Europeans were ever really welcome. Expect history, pop culture, and a sharp read on present-day ICE raids, the H1B brain drain, and the wedge politics keeping working people fighting each other instead of looking up. Welcome to group therapy disguised as cultural commentary and enjoy episode 16 of I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today.

Check out Kareem’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SubwayTakes
Schoolhouse Rock - ''The Great American Melting Pot''

Timestamps:
00:09 - Intro
10:24 Click here to skip Sirat spoilers!
10:45 The Melting Pot Myth
16:46 Historical Context of the Melting Pot
21:18 Cultural References and Reality of Immigration
29:01 The Impact of Immigration Policies
38:44 Contemporary Issues and the Political Climate
48:25 Suggestions for Understanding Immigration
56:59 Conclusion and Future Topics
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Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast

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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

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#BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary

References:
Harvard Pluralism Project
Newsweek
EBSCO Research
Wikipedia: Melting Pot
ResearchGate
Sosyalarastirmalar.com
SSRC
Gale
CMS
Global Boston
National Archives / State Dept
Penn Today
American Immigration Council
TIME
American Immigration Council, Jan. 2026
Vera Institute
Deportation Data Project

Produced by Julia Bevolo

Is America Still the Good Guy? The Collapse of America’s Brand

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Part 2 of our Crumbling American Myths series tackles the big one: American exceptionalism and the U.S. global brand. Chris and Des trace the arc from WWI creditors to post-WWII superpower to—as Chris puts it—“the Sears of global brands.” They walk through three body blows that shattered the “shining city on a hill” image, share international polling data that will make you flinch, and close with real actions you can take to rebuild soft power from the ground up. Plus: the launch of Bearing 287’s Paradox Platform for mission-driven organizations navigating AI.

The Paradox Platform on Substack
Take the Paradox Assessment

Timestamps:
0:00 — Intro & Paradox Platform announcement
8:30 — The myth of American exceptionalism defined
13:00 — How the U.S. rose to superpower status (WWI–WWII)
19:00 — The American hero narrative vs. reality
24:00 — Reagan’s “shining city on a hill”
30:00 — The hypocrisy: voting rights, torture, foreign intervention
35:00 — The Iran backstory most Americans don’t know
44:00 — “The Sears of global brands”
46:00 — Three body blows: Iraq, 2008, Trump
57:00 — Where the U.S. brand stands today
1:00:00 — Comparing fallen empires
1:04:00 — What we can do about it
====================

Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast

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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

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#BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary

References:
Reagan’s Farewell Address
WSJ Opinion Piece
Project Syndicate - Soft power
Federal Reserve History (wiki)
Harvard - USAID
Bright Line Watch
Forbes
Forbes - Tourism
Internat’l Trade Administration

Produced by Julia Bevolo

American Myths: Was the American Dream Always a Lie?

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0500

The American Dream was supposed to be a promise: work hard, get ahead, retire happy. But what if it was always propaganda? In Episode 14, Chris and Des kick off a three-part miniseries on Crumbling American Myths by dismantling the biggest one first. They trace the term to its ironic 1931 origin, unpack why “bootstraps” was always meant to describe the impossible, and lay out the brutal data: 40 years of wage stagnation, a retirement savings crisis, $1.7 trillion in student debt, and social mobility cut in half. Along the way, George Carlin drops truth bombs, Des connects Gilded Age robber barons to today’s tech overlords, and both hosts ask: Is the new American Dream just moving abroad? Stick around for the close because it might change how you think about your life. Part 1 of 3.

Timestamps:
0:00 — Intro
3:00 — Chris’s Nazi Germany reading rabbit hole

9:00 — The ironic origin of the American Dream (1931)

14:00 — “Bootstraps” was always meant to be impossible
19:00 — The GI Bill, FHA, and who actually got access
22:00 — Hard work ≠ success: the wage gap data

30:00 — The American Dream as propaganda
34:00 — George Carlin’s American Dream takedown
45:00 — Retirement, healthcare, student debt by the numbers
53:00 — Social mobility collapse
55:00 — FIRE movement and the expat option
1:02:00 — Live your goddamn life
====================

Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast

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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

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#BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary

Links/References:
It's Time to Stop Living the American Scam
George Carlin
Economic policy institute
Pew Research Center (2025)
American Bar Association
Prudential
Pbs
TX Lt Gov suggests seniors sacrifice for the economy (2020)
* https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2025/new-federal-policies-spur-higher-health-insurance-premiums-consumers-2026-insurer-filings#:~:text=September%2030%2C%202025-,New%20Federal%20Policies%20Spur%20Higher%20Health%20Insurance%20Premiums,in%202026%2C%20Insurer%20Filings%20Show&text=While%20premiums%20for%20individual%20market,and%20the%20District%20of%20Columbia
* https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-statistics&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1775666392450321&usg=AOvVaw3JikP8mSXGEDgh4qRo9WH4
* https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aal4617

When Did We Forget How to Hang Out? The Return to Analog

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0500

A jury just ruled that Meta and YouTube were “deliberately built to be addictive.” Chris and Des have been waiting for this moment and it just happens that it landed the same week the analog revolution smacked Chris in the face at the Mall of America.

In this free-flowing episode, Chris and Des unpack Big Tech’s “Big Tobacco moment,” the irony of #analoglife trending on TikTok, and the deep human need for third places, adult friendships, and unstructured play. Des shares her journey from nomadic isolation to betting on Santa Fe. Chris confesses to 10 unplayed board games and commits to finding a group for game night. Together they explore dinner-with-strangers apps, murder mystery parties, community education catalogs, conversational card games, and the terrifying beauty of walking into a room where you don’t know a soul.

It’s group therapy disguised as cultural commentary. And this time, the homework is fun: get offline, get out there, and find your people.

Timestamps:

0:00 — Intro & DTF St. Louis Review

5:46 — The Meta/YouTube Negligence Verdict

9:30 — Mall of America and the Analog Revolution

11:20 — The Loss of Third Places

14:30 — Pickup Basketball & How We Used to Find Community

24:00 — Small Towns vs. Suburbs vs. Cities

27:30 — Bowling Alone and the History of Civic Decline

31:00 — Chick-fil-A Phone Coops & the Algorithm Irony

35:00 — Dinner With Strangers Apps (Timeleft, Bass)
40:00 — Why We’re Scared to Talk to People

44:30 — Adult Play, Super Soakers, and Murder Mystery Parties

46:00 — The Delve Deck: A Card Game for All Generations
48:30 — Des’s Pledge: Sunset DJ Parties in Santa Fe

52:00 — Chris’s Pledge: Board Game Night and Cause-Based Community

58:00 — Wrap & Call to Action

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Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast

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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

====================

Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

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Gaslighting, Narcissism or Trauma? The Pop Psychology Phenomenon

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:16:42 -0500

If you’ve ever called someone a narcissist, been told you’re being gaslighted, or diagnosed yourself via TikTok, this one’s for you.
Pop psychology has gone mainstream. Therapy terms flood our group chats, dating app bios, and Netflix watchlists. But what happens when clinical language enters everyday conversation without the clinical expertise behind it? In this episode, Chris and Desiree sit down with Dr. Coreen Haym — a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who trains therapists in graduate and doctorate programs to unpack the good (destigmatization), the bad (oversimplification and self-diagnosis), and the ugly (grifters, mass therapy platforms exploiting early-career therapists, and AI chatbots designed to validate you).

This is group therapy for people who are exhausted by pop psychology telling them everything is trauma and everyone around them is a narcissist.

Timestamps:

0:00 — Cold open: “Nothing applies to everyone”

1:40 — Spring check-in, introducing Dr. Coreen Haym

4:00 — Netflix dating shows and the rise of therapy speak

8:00 — Queer Ultimatum, Age of Attraction, and spotting who’s actually been to therapy

10:00 — The normalization of therapy talk post-COVID

15:00 — Pop psychology deep dive: narcissism, self-diagnosis, confirmation bias

20:00 — TikTok therapists vs. real therapists: how to tell the difference

25:00 — Good therapists to follow: Therapy Jeff, ThatTherapistGirl, Nicole Artz

28:00 — What it actually takes to become a licensed therapist

35:00 — Dr. Phil, Mel Robbins, and grifters in the therapy space

43:00 — Lawyers vs. therapists: why Mel Robbins’s background matters

45:00 — Therapists navigating the current political climate

50:00 — Mass therapy platforms: Headspace, Talkspace, and the exploitation of early-career therapists

56:00 — AI therapy: validation machines and the human connection they can’t replace

59:00 — The hunger for analog connection: silent book clubs, phone-free spaces

1:02:00 — The manosphere and where men are actually going for mental health

1:04:00 — Dr. Haym's closing: starting therapy is scary, but trust the process

1:07:00 — Wrap

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Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast

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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

====================

Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

====================

#BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary

Voting for the Lesser of Two Evils Isn't a Strategy, It's a Trap

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 20:23:46 -0500

If you've ever voted for someone you didn't believe in because the alternative was worse, this one's for you.

Harm reduction voting — the idea that you should support the lesser of two evils to prevent greater damage — has been the Democratic Party's core ask since 2000. In this episode, Chris and Desiree trace the concept from its origins in AIDS-era public health (needle exchange programs, not ballots), through the Ralph Nader math that handed Bush the presidency, the Bernie Bro postmortem of 2016, and the 2024 silences that told Desiree the election was going the wrong way.

Then they get into what actually started this conversation: Hasan Piker saying he'd vote third party in a Newsom vs. Vance matchup — and the furious backlash from moderate Democrats who said that was dangerous. And they spend some time on why Gavin Newsom specifically is a walking argument against harm reduction as a long-term strategy.

This is group therapy for people who are exhausted by being asked to vote against something when what they desperately want is something to vote for.

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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

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Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

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The World Is Too Much Right Now - How to Combat Cognitive Dissonance

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 04:20:00 -0500

If you've ever opened your phone and within 30 seconds gone from a bombed city to a Holiday ad to a dead child to your niece at a pumpkin patch, you already understand cognitive dissonance. You're just living it.

In Episode 10, Chris and Desiree name the thing that's been eating at all of us: the crushing gap between a world that is genuinely on fire and the expectation that we still function, perform, show up, and act normal.

They compare 2026 to the actual worst years in American history (1862, 1939, 1968, 2020) and make a case for why this moment hits different. Not because things are objectively worse than being a slave in 1862 (Desiree checks that), but because of something no previous generation dealt with: 24/7 inescapable, algorithmically-weaponized information overload.

Then, critically, they give you five ways to survive it without going numb. Including why finding joy right now is an act of resistance, not betrayal.

You're not malfunctioning. The world actually is this bad. And yet here we are.

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Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

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Why Showing Up for Your Neighbors Is a Counter-strategy to Authoritarianism

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan, Diana Rhodes — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 07:00:00 -0600

If you've ever wondered whether any of this is working — the marching, the sharing, the showing up — this episode is for you. Diana Rhodes has been organizing since before reproductive justice was funded, before harm reduction was named in public health spaces, before any of it was mainstream. She's seen backlash cycles before. And she has something to say about this one.

This episode covers: why protest is a tactic not a strategy, how movements survive suppression (spoiler: they go underground, they always have), why loving your neighbors is literally a counter-strategy to authoritarianism, and why you don't have to be the loud one to matter.

Plus: Andor as political mirror, disco's suppression as historical parallel, and the social change ecosystem map that will make you reconsider your role in all of this.

Group therapy disguised as cultural commentary. No partisan lecturing. Just people trying to make sense of a world that has gone jackass sideways.
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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

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Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

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Everything Is a Scam. Here's the Business Model Behind It.

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 01:00:00 -0600

If you've ever stared at your bank statement wondering when you subscribed to that — and whether you actually own anything anymore — this one's for you.

Episode 8 breaks down the business model behind shrinkflation, algorithmic pricing, subscription traps, and the quiet death of ownership. Chris and Des call it what it is: shittification. And they trace exactly how we got here — from the paper price tag to dynamic grocery store displays that change prices as you walk up to them.

Also this week: a boycott check-in (they actually followed through), an AI update that's genuinely alarming, and a surprisingly hopeful argument that we might be at peak shittiness — which means the pendulum has to swing back.

"I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today" — group therapy disguised as cultural commentary, for people who did everything right and still feel like something's broken.

Sources mentioned: More Perfect Union, Cory Doctorow's enshittification concept, Ronan Farrow's dynamic pricing investigation, Dario Amodei's AI letter
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📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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Can You Actually Boycott Apple When Your Entire Life Runs on It?

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 06:41:25 -0600

If you've ever felt guilty for still using Amazon/Apple/Netflix despite everything—this episode is group therapy.

Chris and Des get uncomfortably honest about their own boycott failures, unpack why brand dependency is a feature (not a bug) of modern capitalism, and walk through Scott Galloway's framework for actually making consumer resistance work.

You'll learn:
- Why boycotts succeed (Montgomery Bus) vs. fail (most of them)
- The psychological traps keeping you locked in (loss aversion, status quo bias, cognitive dissonance)
- Which 18 brands Scott Galloway recommends targeting
- How to pick ONE boycott you can actually sustain

**The Bevolo & Des Challenge:** By next week's episode, pick one brand and cut it out. Then tell us what you picked.

Spoiler: It's harder than it sounds. That's the point.

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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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The Empathy Crisis: Why Americans Defend Killings While CEOs Stay Silent

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:58:00 -0600

If you've ever wondered how we got to a place where grandmothers defend ICE killing protesters, business leaders stay silent on human rights violations, and empathy itself is called a "weakness"—this episode is your group therapy session.

Chris opens with justified rage at the "Necessary Conversation" podcast, where a MAGA mom twists herself into pretzels defending the ICE killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Desiree provides the historical context this moment demands: from lynchings as family entertainment to Indian boarding schools to the Nazi playbook built on American Jim Crow.

But this isn't just about pointing fingers. We break down the two groups who've lost empathy (the sheltered and the angry), why "economic system justification" makes people defend systems that hurt them, and what actually works when trying to reach people trapped in propaganda.

You'll learn:
- Why the right wing explicitly attacks empathy as "weakness"
- How caste systems train us to dehumanize
- The difference between people who can't see beyond their bubble vs those weaponizing their rage
- Deep canvassing techniques that don't make you want to scream
- How to welcome people changing their minds (SNL got it right)

Resources mentioned:
- Dan Ariely's "Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things"
- Isabel Wilkerson's "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents"
- Beth Macy's "Paper Girl: The Ruined American Dream and the Hunt for Financial Salvation"
- Tish Jones' "The Children Are Watching" (performed at Timberwolves MLK Day)

This is group therapy disguised as cultural commentary. You're not crazy for feeling exhausted by this—the system is.

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Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast

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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/

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Sanewashing: How the Media Normalizes Insanity for Profit

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 18:57:13 -0600

If you've ever watched mainstream media soften authoritarian language and wondered if you're the only one noticing: You're not. This week we unpack "sanewashing": the practice of making insane statements and authoritarian behavior sound normal and reasonable. From Trump's cognitive decline to media ownership by billionaires who need chaos to stay profitable, we break down why the news feels like gaslighting.

You'll learn:
- Why "bonkers" and "goons" are sanewashing words
- How billionaire ownership changed journalism fundamentally
- Why CNN made $1 billion from Trump coverage (and needs him)
- What Walter Cronkite-era journalism looked like vs. today
- Specific independent journalists to follow instead

Plus: The independent journalists actually telling the truth (and how to support them instead of feeding the machine). (ProPublica, More Perfect Union, The Guardian, Joshua Doss, and more)
https://www.instagram.com/doss.discourse/

https://www.instagram.com/nowthisimpact/

https://www.instagram.com/underthedesknews/

https://www.instagram.com/perfectunion/

https://www.instagram.com/thehumanityarchive/

This is group therapy disguised as media criticism. You're not supposed to be here today—but here we are.
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Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast

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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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The Fear Is Real (And We're Not Supposed to Feel This Way)

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 08:15:42 -0600

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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🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod

📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9

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Why 'Sinners' Got Skepticism While 'Marty Supreme' Got Hype: A Penske Media Story

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:17:16 -0600

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/

What the Hell Do You Actually Do When Everything Feels Broken?

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 15:44:19 -0600

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.

Are You Legally Required to Pay for Your Parents' Care? The Hidden Cost of Going "No Contact"

Chris Bevolo, Desiree Duncan — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 20:58:57 -0600

If you've ever wondered why your family relationships feel like they have higher stakes than ever, this episode explains why.

We're not talking about the therapy discourse around "toxic families" or whether Oprah and Mel Robbins are right about going "no contact." We're talking about the thing almost nobody is discussing: 26 states have filial responsibility laws that can make you legally liable for your parents' nursing home bills - which average $127,750 per year.

The timing isn't coincidental. The government just enacted $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, and suddenly the cultural conversation shifted from "protect your mental health" to "life is too short to fight with family."

Chris (Gen X) and Des (Elder Millennial) break down the economic, political, and ideological forces making the holidays more complicated than ever - plus what you actually need to do to protect yourself.

This isn't about choosing sides. It's about understanding the game.

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Episode Highlights:

- The filial responsibility law most people don't know exists

- Why the "no contact" backlash exploded in late 2025

- What the Heritage Foundation has been planning since 1988

- The Pennsylvania case that held a son liable for $92,943

- Chris's experience as a caregiver for his dad

- Actionable steps to take right now

Resources: Standalone.org, state-by-state filial law guide, Medicaid cuts timeline

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I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today is a conversational, culturally savvy podcast for people navigating information chaos, cultural absurdity, and democratic crisis through humor and historical context.

Subscribe for weekly episodes.

https://www.bearing287.com/

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