The Absolute Dumbest Conservative Controversies of 2023
Media Matters’ Rapid Response Director Andrew Lawrence joins The New Abnormal to rank the most brain-dead right-wing “controversies” of the year.
Gif by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty
Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.
Another year has passed, and it seems like the ginned-up controversies that fill countless hours of Fox News programming have only become more intense.
To close out another year of right-wing mania, Media Matters’ Rapid Response Director Andrew Lawrence joins The New Abnormal to rank the most brain-dead conservative “controversies” of the year—including the freakout over a tiny, one-off Bud Light partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, backlash over Target’s Pride Month displays, and whatever is going on at Disney that seems to be kryptonite for the Moms for Liberty set.
“We’re talking about these silly things, but you know, I think it is important for your listeners to understand that this is all part of a much more sinister campaign… by conservatives and right-wing media to sort of eradicate the LGBT community from public life,” Lawrence said. “I think that the wave, the tsunami of outrage that we saw over just one video of a trans influencer is a really good example of that.”
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Then, filmmaker Anike Tourse stops by to discuss her latest project, “America’s Family,” which focuses on a family torn apart by an ICE raid on Thanksgiving Day—and the impacts of draconian U.S. immigration policy on everyday people across the country.
“We just really hope that the film will really generate a sense of empathy with audiences everywhere, empathy for mixed status families and what they’re going through,” Tourse said.
Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.
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