The Daily Whatever, May 9: Fucked-Up Friday with Ben Ulansey
With so much going wrong in the world, who will win?!
We were so excited to welcome Ben Ulansey from The Gen Z Report to The Daily Whatever this morning! Ben is an amazing writer, with opinions on everything from politics to popular culture, which means he’s a great add to the genXy fam. He may be two generations removed from us, but clearly, he’s one of us in spirit and vibe. We mean that in a GOOD way, Ben! 😜
Today was Fucked-Up Friday, and as per the rules, all three contestants entered the ring with a story that they could credibly argue was THE most fucked-up thing that happened during the week.
Here were the choices:
Ben kicked us off with the grim news that recent reporting has confirmed that HHS Secretary, RFK Jr., does not, in fact, believe in germ theory: a fundamental precept to all of western medicine for the last 100 years, and the thing that keeps your vaccines up-to-date. Fucked up, and bad news come flu season.
Dana hit us with this horrible story next: Two cis-gendered women were kicked out of a hotel bathroom in Boston, with one of the women being forced to “prove” her gender.
Lastly, I (Lawrence), presented the bad news that India and Pakistan have re-kindled their war over Kashmir, and have begun what seems to be the first drone war. But don’t worry! It’s just two nuclear-tipped powers who have hated each other forever, fighting a religious war over disputed land, with no input from the US to de-escalate. What could go wrong?
The people voted, and in a 6-5 vote, Dana, our reigning FuF Champion did it once again, and won the vote.
One thing we can all agree on is that the world is plenty fucked-up all over the place, and there was no shortage of stories to choose from.
Thanks for joining us this morning on The Daily Whatever, and special thanks to Ben Ulansey again for joining us!
Checking us out tomorrow at 9am Pacific, Noon Eastern as we host the incomparable Robin Wilding!
Dana DuBois
The memoirist
Dana DuBois is a memoirist and Gen X word nerd based in the Pacific Northwest. She founded I Write Out Loud, her Substack publication, where she writes across a range of subjects; parenting, music and pop culture, relationships, and feminism are her favorites. She co-hosts The Daily Whatever Show. Em dashes, Oxford commas, and well-placed semicolons make her heart happy. All stories by Dana
Lawrence Winnerman
The science fiction writer
Lawrence Winnerman is a science fiction writer in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After twenty-five years leading technology programs at Amazon and Microsoft, he was chief operating officer of Blue Amp Media. In his Substack publication, The Hinge & The Near Field, he writes about AI and democracy and is serializing his novel Light Shines Through. He co-hosts The Daily Whatever Show. All stories by Lawrence
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