Share

Make Your Damn Bed
my thoughts on the escalation
Preparation never includes: overthink everything from every angle all the time.
There’s a line between aware and too aware, and learning everything there is to know can’t save you from reality when it happens. The best preparation is hands on, so actually call your local politicians and see if you can speak to them one on one. Or if thats too much, go talk to your neighbors, or if that’s too much, go check out a library book and read it. And build upon that, and eventually maybe you can consider running for office and actually making a fucking difference in real tangible ways, or at least, find out who is in your local elections with your interests in mind, so you can support the fuck out of them.
Remember most control is given freely, most power is given freely. Take that shit back, so that when you start to feel empowered, you can really do something with it.
SOURCES:
- https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1017/S0022381609990879
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversionary_foreign_policy
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFiGzEvdNUs
- https://www.tiktok.com/@jamellebouie/video/7518576478913711373?lang=en
Resources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66
SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed
DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.net
GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com
TUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcast
OR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcast
OR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica
The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
More episodes
View all episodes
1509 || The Downsides to ChatGPT + AI
09:47|Here are some reasons we should be cautious about normalizing AI + ChatGPT before establishing regulations: It’s unreliable. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11729512/#:~:text=This%20study%20indicates%20that%20ChatGPT,back%20to%20an%20existing%20publication. AND https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07930-It’s a plagiarism machine. https://youtu.be/TWpg1RmzAbc?si=OjKaOsE7GWKfm15p&t=868Environmental racism, increasing consumer's energy bill.Terrorism: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/08/terrorist-groups-artificial-intelligenceTraining these models is deeply unethical.Exacerbates mental health issues.Bad for User’s Brains: https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/Stealing Good Jobs.Biased.Privacy Violation.Deepfakes + Harmful Misinformation: perpetuates extremismAffects Societal Trust + Relationships.Worst Corporations Backing AIMoral Questions of Control + FreedomAs historian Yuval Noah Harari has written, to “never summon a power you cannot control”Resources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.1508 || the downfall of ChatGPT
09:29|AI is becoming increasingly unavoidable. It's in our phones, our TV's, and emails. But ChatGPT is one we STILL have a choice on how much we use it.There is a vast number of reasons we should be moderating the amount of AI we’re engaging with, while we still can. Here are some reasons we should be cautious about normalizing AI + ChatGPT before establishing regulations: It’s shockingly unreliable: ChatGPT is known to falsify sources, reinforce biases, and perpetuate misinformation. AI hallucinations are another increasing concern. According to one peer reviewed study: “ChatGPT is an unreliable source… as 64% of sources were deemed inaccurate, specifically referring to these sources as not able to be traced back to an existing publication.” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11729512/#:~:text=This%20study%20indicates%20that%20ChatGPT,back%20to%20an%20existing%20publication. AND https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07930-It’s a plagiarism machine: steals directly from artists without credit or permission. https://youtu.be/TWpg1RmzAbc?si=OjKaOsE7GWKfm15p&t=868Resources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.1507 || "livable wage" is a violent phrase
08:07|People are more productive than ever before and YET our wages are not reflecting the growth in labor. Our wages have been stolen by the wealth hoarders and redistributed to shareholders at the expense of our dignity. We need to ensure their propaganda about laziness doesn't continue to influence the people around us. The robber barons are worse than ever, but at least we're FINALLY talking about their crimes. Justin Scott's TikTok video on Livable Wages: https://www.tiktok.com/@cypher.j/video/7525955994262834462The Atlantic on Minimum wage: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/raise-the-minimum-wage-reduce-crime/480912/ The NYTimes on calculating "livable wages": https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/smarter-living/what-a-living-wage-actually-means.htmlEPI's Productivity–Pay Gap Charts + Breakdown: https://www.epi.org/productivity-pay-gap/ Resources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.1506 || Zohran Mamdani
09:36|I'm baaack!!! and today I'm diving into Zohran Mamdani's platform and campaign which has given me a surprising amount of renewed hope for the future of American politics, if we can stay focused on resistance, revolution, and harm reduction.SOURCES:NYTimes on Zohran: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/us/politics/what-is-democratic-socialism.htmlZohran's Platform: https://web.archive.org/web/20250701190438/https://www.zohranfornyc.com/platformWho's afraid of socialism? https://ips-dc.org/whos-afraid-of-socialism/The DSA’s “What is Democratic Socialism?” https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/what-is-democratic-socialism/Britannica's Democratic Socialism: https://www.britannica.com/topic/democratic-socialismDemocratic Socialist Public Officials: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Democratic_Socialists_of_America_public_officeholdersResources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.consequentialism - wait for it
05:55|there are so many different "consequentialisms" out there + it's important to not get lost in the "sauce" of the different combinations, but focus on the perspectives you can manage now, ideally the ones that affect you, your community, and the world around you.RESOURCE: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.the authoritarian playbook
10:24|What to expect under an authoritarian regime:1. Democratic election through fear mongering.2. They will divide + rule.3. They will subjugate media outlets to create a propaganda machine.4. They will create a sense of chaos + fear.5. They will distort truth and lie to create confusion.6. They will slander their "enemies"7. They will create distractions to fight while they pass more insidious legislation to dismantle democracy.8. They will further marginalize groups.9. They will attempt to dismantle the courts, the checks + balances.10. They will limit our ability to protest + assemble.11. They will distort language and steal words.12. They will take over national symbols.13. They will rewrite history.14. They will alienate foreign powers.15. They will manipulate our electoral system to fit their agenda.be strong, fight, endure, and remember you’re on the good side of history.EVERY authoritarian, totalitarian and fascist regime in history eventually failed, thanks to the PEOPLE.– With love, your Eastern European friendsRESOURCES: https://verfassungsblog.de/the-authoritarian-regime-survival-guide/DONATE:www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.hyper-normalization
09:53|Hypernormalization: Pretending everything is fine, when it is obviously NOT fine. The goal is to keep us overwhelmed and confused and disengaged. Resist your apathy. Resist in any way you can. Join a co-op, a tenants union, a mutual aid network, a food pantry, local politics, and fight for a new reality that doesn't force so many to pretend it's not happening.FOUSHY ON IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/DEhR7_Rge95/?hl=enTHE DOCUMENTARY WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperNormalisationTHE DOCUMENTARY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr7T07WfIhMDONATE TO KIDS IN PALESTINE: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.returning home
06:48|I'm back!!!! I've missed you so much and wanted to ramble about community again (for old time's sake). GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.stop intellectualizing everything + create something
08:45|we tend to over-intellectualize our feelings because we don't allow ourselves to work through them. Working through means DOING, CREATING, ACTING, PLAYING, and SEEKING JOY. Let down your walls + learn to feel through the act of creation.GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.