Honestly with Bari Weiss - Podcast Rankings and reviews

I’m a female millennial who is very conscious of the media I consume. Because our culture is so divided, I try not to listen to commentators who are far right or far left and Bari’s podcast is the perfect middle ground for me. She is wildly intelligent, interviews the most fascinating guests, tackles topics people care about, and prioritizes truth. I adore listening to this podcast and feel enlightened and enriched after every listen, not drained and depressed like most political podcasts leave me. Her episode with Jerry Seinfeld had me smiling the entire time. Cannot recommend this podcast enough. Honestly, it’s the best ☺️.

I find most of the Honestly show interesting but also not always accurate. The latest one on Why The Kids Aren’t Quite Alright did not define or discuss gentle parenting correctly. Obvious errors include the statement that gentle parenting supposes that children are just little adults. Not true. In fact, gentle parenting acknowledges the fact that it’s because they are children that we need to try and understand why they react the way they do and why they can’t always exhibit self- control. Another mistaken talking point was that those who use gentle parenting just don’t want to discipline their kids. GP is a form of discipline that is not reactive or angry. It’s not yelling “Go to your room!” because a 6 year old is tired and grumpy at the dinner table. Why would anyone discourage healthier discipline practices? I’m a mom of three grown sons and grandmother - I wish I had been more aware of what young children can feel when frustrated and handled those episodes with more compassion. I can do that with my grandson, and we both benefit from a healthier, gentler approach.

In all sincerity, this podcast has transformed the way I understand the world. It’s validated thoughts I wasn’t “supposed” to have. It’s helped me find a place as a person who has felt increasingly politically “out to sea” over the last few years. I cannot stress how valuable, brave and freeing the work is. It’s a clearing house for three most important thinkers of this era.

This podcast is beyond anything else I’ve heard in terms of political debate. The debates all have knowledgeable, thoughtful participants & don’t just spew talking points. In particular the one with Matt Taino and Brett Stevens was outstanding, and I’m not particularly a fan of either of those two. The better episodes of Honestly are far better than anything else out there.

This podcast seems to aspire to be the hard hitting, straight talk version of journalism that the mainstream media fails to be (from the perspective of this podcast). Unfortunately it falls well short of that goal as the hosts and guests frequently enter into bouts of patting each other on the back in a circle jerk of unfounded conjecture, assumptions with no basis in fact and a political cynicism that either ignores or is utterly ignorant of how political processes and structures actually function. The hosts frequently find themselves careening of the conspiracy theory cliff when simply applying Occam’s Razor and some rudimentary fact checking will debunk many of their assertions which they make with utter certainty while proclaiming to be “gaslit” by the establishment that they want so badly to be their antagonists. I wanted to like this podcast and while I find myself agreeing with some of their conclusions, I find their style tacky and tabloid, like a Hollywood gossip column about politics. “The Free Press” should hold themselves to a higher standard if they want to be taken seriously as journalists and not just some verbal version of political paparazzi.

Pro: physiology of diabetes and other metabolic processes described accurately. And yes, we are a sick country but choosing the “right” food is hardly as impactful as consistent and reliable access to ALL basic needs.
Con: the messaging that “we don’t talk about this” around basic nutrition information, is simply false. As a dietitian, we’ve been talking about this stuff for a solid century, and the issues discussed are FAR more nuanced than this more elitist toned discussion about food intake versus weight. DOCTORS, please refer to dietitians who have studied biochemistry and physiology and are true experts in this topic. Elevate the field. Also, “eating ourselves to death” is hardly accurate and I would almost say unethical to say given the level of food inaccessibility and eating disorders in our country. The tone absolutely sounded shaming and I can imagine someone would wince hearing this if they couldn’t afford or consistently access all the “good foods”. But people still need to eat. So level up. Think picture picture. Bring race into this conversation. Bring trauma into this conversation. Bring the economic divide into this conversation. Being other marginalized communities into this conversation. And especially, call out the diet culture that is infused in this interview. Hopefully this critique will be helpful.