Episode 335: One Foot In Front of the Other with Bridget Todd
Doree and Elise welcome activist, digital advocate, and OG podcaster Bridget Todd (Stuff Mom Never Told You, There Are No Girls On The Internet) to the show to speak vulnerably about the daily success of just putting one foot in front of the other, caring deeply about the state of the internet, understanding that your algorithm can be a spiraling echo chamber, and why she’s bringing reading and hyperlocal positive stories back to her life in 2025.
Mentioned in this Episode
The Internet Is Worse Than A Brainwashing Machine by Charlie Warzel and Mike Caulfield
Connect with Bridget
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Transcript
The transcript for this episode Ai generated.
Doree (00:10):
Hello and welcome to Forever 35, a podcast about the things we do to take care of ourselves. I'm Doree Shafrire.
Elise (00:17):
And I'm Elise Hu. And we are two friends who usually like to talk a lot about serums, but probably not today.
Doree (00:25):
Yeah, it's like a weird day LA's burning, and we're just processing everything that's happening. We got a text, Elise from a listener who said, I just heard Elise on NPR reporting on the LA fires and burst into tears at work. We had to evacuate my sister-in-law and her cat last night from Pasadena. So thankful that we are okay so far still WTF 2025. Elise and Dory, please stay safe.
Elise (00:56):
Oh, thank you. But yes, so stay safe to our listeners too that are in the area. I'm usually not reporting for NPR, but I am at large for them, and so I come back every once in a while and usually to host, but because this is such a banana story and such a big deal, I really wanted to pitch in and am sort of relieved. I've been able to keep busy in that way and sort of do something.
Doree (01:25):
We're recording this on Thursday. I hope that those fires are contained, but yikes.
Elise (01:34):
Yeah, and then Dorie, you had a scare on Wednesday night with the fresh fire that popped up near the Sunset Strip. So just for these major wildfires to be in such densely populated urban areas is what I think is really difficult for all of us here and all of the folks in the world who are watching to wrap their heads around because California is no stranger to wildfires, but often the wildfires are way up in the hills or in canyons, but not the canyons of the middle of Los Angeles near the Hollywood side.
Doree (02:15):
But I mean, that's the thing about Los Angeles is there's so much varied terrain within a very small area. I mean, you can go hiking in a pretty remote canyon within a 10 to 15 minute drive of my house, which is in literally the middle of urban Los Angeles. So we really are up against this terrain that is just it. It's not urban.
Elise (02:48):
So
Doree (02:50):
What a reminder, what a reminder. I mean, you see it also when people who live in the middle of LA see coyotes in their backyards. It's a,
Elise (03:03):
Their habitat, not ours. It's their habitat. It's like the coyotes natural habitat. Yeah, yeah, exactly. We're the ones who built houses into them,
Doree (03:09):
Right? We're the invaders.
Elise (03:12):
I know a lot of folks are asking about places to help, and we had a conversation on Friday in our casual chat just about how everybody wants to be of assistance during these periods, and a lot of folks have been reaching out to us and things. I think there's a lot of places locally that we can really pitch in and volunteer, and it's a good reminder. I think that ties into a lot of what our guest talks about at the end of today's interview. I know that you've also gathered some places that are open to receiving help and donation.
Doree (03:52):
One of them is the Pasadena Humane Society, which is boarding pets for evacuees. They're providing medical care for pets affected by wildfires. Also, if you're in the area, I know that they need foster help and they also have supplies they need listed on their website, but they're also accepting donations. That's at pasadena humane.org. We'll link to all of these in the show notes as well. I'm sure this will be fine by Monday, but today on Thursday when I was looking at their website, it definitely seemed like overwhelmed by traffic, which I think is probably a good sign. But just something to note, if you can't get in it first, just keep reloading. Another local organization that I think always needs donations but especially now, is the LA Regional Food Bank. They're really great organization that provides a lot of food to a lot of people. The California Community Foundation, which is an organization that their mission is to lead positive systemic change that strengthens Los Angeles's communities, and I think they largely give out a lot of donations themselves to other nonprofit organizations, but they have a wildfire recovery fund. GoFundMe also has a general Wildfire Relief fund. It's not totally clear to me how they're distributing that money, but that's one way to directly help. And then we'll also link to the landing page they have for all of the individual from people affected by the wildfire, which there's a lot of 'em. And then the United Way also has a wildfire response dedicated fund, so we will link to that too.
Elise (05:41):
Yeah, it looks like with GoFundMe, general Wildfire Relief Fund, what they've done in the past is give grants. There have been wildfires in the past many times in recent pool of fund and distribute via grants to folks or organizations. There's like, what more than a hundred thousand people who are displaced as we record this, including my mother not in law. Susan, who's Rob's mom and who's at Rob's house indefinitely, and she doesn't like it. And he doesn't like it. It's so uncertain. Everything that happens in the next couple of days is dependent on where and how the wind blows, which feels so futile and helpless. That's a really helpless feeling, and that's how all of this started too. Very strong winds,
Doree (06:43):
Wind
Elise (06:43):
Speeds reached up to nearly a hundred miles per hour
Doree (06:47):
And school's out. School is out, school is out.
Elise (06:53):
We're having fire risk days instead of snow days out here in the Hue house, people are staying even and trying to be helpful. Is Henry also staying home for a couple days?
Doree (07:06):
Yeah, Henry is home. Henry is home. And
Elise (07:09):
What are Y all doing? Just to keep things occupied.
Doree (07:13):
I mean, he's been watching tv. That's pretty much it for today. I mean, I told him after I finish recording, we're going to play some games and then I think he might do a makeup gymnastics class
Bridget Todd (07:29):
Later
Doree (07:29):
This afternoon because I was like, what is an indoor activity? He could do gymnastics, but I'm not even totally sure they're open. They haven't confirmed, and they usually confirm really quickly. So I dunno.
Elise (07:47):
Our dance studios are closed. They decided to close because of
Doree (07:50):
The Oh, really?
Elise (07:51):
Okay. The hazardous air.
Doree (07:52):
Yeah. Yeah, maybe I'll call them. But yeah, it's tough because a lot of stuff is closed. The air quality is not good, so I don't want him to be outside. So yeah, it's great.
Elise (08:07):
We're podcasting.
Doree (08:08):
We're podcasting. We're podcasting course while we're podcasting. And of course, just acknowledging that we have our homes and we're able to podcast and we have electricity. I mean, I also have friends who their houses are still standing, but they don't have electricity, and so they can't really go back with their kids. So they're kind of bouncing from friends to friends, and it's just tough. It's all tough. Well, I actually felt like the guest we have this week is, it was very apt for this moment.
Elise (08:45):
It almost felt faded to get to talk with Bridget Todd, who is a fellow podcaster. She hosts, there are no girls on the internet. She also has been a long time activist for inclusivity on the internet for Women and marginalized communities. And we talked a lot about how she is coping because this past the holiday season was really rough on her. She had a rough 2024 and was just so candid and vulnerable about it. I don't know how you came away from it because this is the first time we're really reflecting, but
Doree (09:21):
I
Elise (09:21):
Thought it was a really rich conversation that we needed precisely when we had it.
Doree (09:26):
I agree. Do you want to read her official bio in case people are not familiar with her?
Elise (09:32):
Yeah, absolutely. Bridget got her start teaching courses on writing and social change at Howard University, and since then, she has trained human rights activists in Australia, coordinated digital strategy for organizations like Planned Parenthood, the Women's March, and M-S-N-B-C. And she ran a training program for political operatives at the Washington Post called the Democratic Party's Hogwarts for Digital Wizardry. She got her start in the podcast world as a producer for MoveOn dot org's flagship podcast in 2012. She co-hosted iHeart Media's hit podcast stuff. Mom never Told you, bringing feminist issues and activism to 2 million ears a month. She has teamed up with Culture and arts brand Afro Punk to host a global salon where she's talked to a lot of high profile activists. She's also the founder and CEO of Ssed Creative, a mission-driven creative studio that makes podcasts and other digital content to push the needle on social change and public good. But I feel like most importantly, she is a real one. She's a real one. She's just a really solid and open-hearted human being.
Doree (10:41):
She was so great. And just quickly before we get to Bridget, just a reminder that everything we mention here, including those links to those organizations that we mentioned at the top of the show are on our website forever 35 podcast.com. Also on Instagram at Forever 35 Podcast on our Patreon, which is at patreon.com/forever three five. You can join us and here are weekly casual chats and a bunch of other extra goodies. You can shop our favorite products at shop my US slash forever three five. Our newsletter is at Forever 35 podcast com slash newsletter. And please call or text us at (781) 591-0390 and email us at Forever five Podcast gmail. And we'll take a short break, and we'll be right back with Bridget.
Elise (11:28):
We'll be right back.
Doree (11:36):
Bridget, it is so great to welcome you to Forever 35. We're so happy to have you on the show.
Bridget Todd (11:42):
Oh, I am beyond thrilled. It's such a joy when you get invited on a podcast that you actually listen to, so this is a joy for me.
Doree (11:50):
Yay. Yay, yay, yay. Well, as you know, we like to start off by asking our guests about a self-care practice that they have. So is there anything that you're doing right now that you would consider self-care very broadly defined?
Bridget Todd (12:06):
Oh gosh. It's been hard. I have been having a harder time than usual. This time of year is always tough for me, but kind of been going through it. And I would say the biggest self-care practice that I'm sort of internalizing is just getting through the day. Right. At the end of the day, if I have done it and existed and made it and done maybe one thing I was supposed to do, I give myself a little pat on the back. That's sort of where we're at right now. I wish I could say like, oh, I drink my lemon water. No, it's just getting through.
Elise (12:39):
Yeah, I mean, it's a rough time to get through. I mean, we are speaking to you as our hometown is on fire, and then obviously the year started with that exploding cyber truck and terror attacks and everything. And we're going into another administration that has promised to be as chaotic and cruel as possible. So what is your vibe as we kick off 2025, and how are you coping with whatever is to come?
Bridget Todd (13:09):
Oh my God. Well, especially being here in Washington dc, which is my hometown where I live, I would say the despair is palpable when you're out on the streets. I think people are really hunkering down and understandably concerned. I would say I've been really a struggle. I have been really trying to find the light in the darkness. One of my favorite quotes is don't try to fight the darkness, bring the light. So I'm trying to clinging to things like optimism, wherever I can find it, even in small ways, but it's especially hard right now. I mean, I think y'all are probably feeling it too. No.
Elise (13:46):
Oh, we commiserate about it daily, but we are trying to same find some small pleasures, little moments with our dog or with kids or things that make us feel good like a meal, a shared meal with friends. Are there things that you consider kind of small pleasures that you have been trying to indulge in lately?
Bridget Todd (14:12):
Definitely reality tv. Oh, yes. Yeah. I think I'm returning to, like you said, the small pleasures, whether it's making a really good meal, watching something funny, having a really good talk with a friend. These things might not seem like huge wins, but they add up. And I think for me, I'm trying to bring an intentional practice of noticing those things and trying to have gratitude for those things. Even the small little stupid things that you're like, oh, who cares? They add up. And at the end of the day, if you watched a funny show and had a great meal and had a good talk with your, that's not so bad.
Doree (14:54):
There's this concept of micro joys that the author and influencer Cindy Spiegel wrote a whole book about, and I really try to embrace that because it's true. The world around us is literally burning right now, and if I can find a little bit of joy somewhere, I think that's just so important.
Bridget Todd (15:22):
And I should share, I mean, I don't know if this is, I guess there's no such thing as TMI on this show.
(15:27):
Yeah. I'm really coming out of what I can safely say is the worst year of my life. I lost both my parents, gosh, in a very short span. Gosh, my mom passed away very unexpectedly in July, and when she passed away, my dad was in the ICU. And so she was a super woman and was the main caretaker for my dad. And so with her gone, I moved to take care of my dad. So I left my job. I completely rearranged my life, and then he passed away right before Thanksgiving. And so kind of coming out of the worst year, it's really taught me a lot about, I mean, it sounds so cliche, but gratitude, it taught me a lot about how you keep going when you feel like you've lost everything, when you have no tether, when you don't know what's ahead, you can't even see it. And weirdly, I would say as hard as it's been, it's those little moments that you were just talking about, Elise, that really bring me back to my grounding. So it's really been all about that.
Elise (16:30):
Yeah. I remember when my grandmother died and my mom, I guess my mom was like 60 years old when my grandmother died. My grandmother didn't die until she was in her nineties. And then my mom saying to me, it's so hard to navigate the world without my mom. And even then, you know what I mean? Yeah. It's like there's no point in your life where you're prepared to be without your parents. So I'm so sorry.
Doree (16:55):
I'm really sorry.
Elise (16:56):
And there's so much that you have been doing in the world too, doing a lot of activism as well. And so I wonder how these things kind of connect with one another, your personal experience, and then your larger work that you want to do in the world to increase visibility, to increase inclusivity.
Bridget Todd (17:15):
Yeah. I so appreciate how you framed that question because to me, it really is linked to this legacy left by my late parents. My parents were activists. My parents really were people who wanted to bring the light in dark times. And in all of the despair that I felt when they left, I feel sort of more invigorated than ever to carry out their legacy, to be the kind of person that they wanted me to be. And especially now that we're heading into these such dark times and socially, I would almost say before my parents passed away, I was like, I don't even know what I'm going to be doing in the first Trump administration. I might just kind of hunker down and just do my own thing. I feel more invigorated than ever because that's what my parents would've done. My parents were fighters. My parents would not have wanted me to retreat, my parents would've wanted me to really connect to the things that fill me up so that I can show up in the world the way that they did the way that they wanted me to.
Doree (18:18):
So what are some of those things that you're doing, and I guess where on the internet are you finding those things?
Bridget Todd (18:27):
Oh my gosh. Well, it might sound silly, but probably not to you all or your listenership, but it's on the internet. The only places that I am really showing up are places where the stakes are super low. So podcast Facebook group, I listen to the podcast who weekly, and they have these very active Facebook groups. Yes. Places like that where it's like, oh, it's other nerds trying to nerd out on pop culture stuff. And you can argue and make your point, make your case, but the stakes feel so much lower because the stakes every day are very high. So online digitally, I'm spending time where the stakes feel lower, if that makes sense.
Elise (19:10):
Talk a little bit about the work that you have been doing, not only as a podcaster, but as an activist over the last few years to make the internet a less awful place.
Bridget Todd (19:21):
I mean, I love the internet. I sometimes say it's my hometown. I would not be the person that I am if it was not for being on a OL chats and putting depressing song lyrics in my aim away message of all of that. So I care deeply about the state and the health of the internet. It's what made me who I'm, and I really worry about the state of the internet that we're leaving for the next generation. Are young, black, queer women like myself able to safely show up and do that sort of safe. That was so important to me. I did. I would argue that it's becoming harder and harder for young people today to find those safe corners of the internet to do that. And so my work as an activist and a digital advocate really has looked like trying to make the internet a more welcoming, safe place for particularly marginalized folks.
(20:17):
So women, queer folks, trans folks, people of color, black folks, folks that really do make the internet experience great. If not for these folks, our internet experience would be so flat and stale and boring. And so we're all served when these are folks who can show up safely as their full selves. And unfortunately right now we're seeing a lot of the work that I did for the last few years be rolled back. Just yesterday, mark Zuckerberg announced that meta is going to stop doing things like fact checking. So it's a little hard in this moment to watch so much of the work that we really fought for be rolled back. But it's like MLK says that the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice. I firmly believe that we might be swinging one way, but we'll be swinging another before you know it. So I really have to believe that, but that's really what my work has looked like.
Doree (21:09):
I wanted to ask about the Mark Zuckerberg announcement and how you're kind of thinking about it in terms of disinformation and just going into this next administration, it feels like we're sort of losing some of the tools, the few tools that we even had. So I'm wondering what you think the next few years will look like for those of us who want to combat disinformation?
Bridget Todd (21:40):
I love this question. So I'll start from where we're at. So I'm a disinformation researcher. It's sort of like my bread and butter is sort of how we combat inaccurate information online. And the Facebook announcement yesterday, it was a little sort of double-edged sword. Fact checking has not been shown to be the most effective way of combating disinformation. I am an advocate for it. I think that we should have it. I think platforms should do it, but when you look at the research, it actually is not that convincing or not that effective at actually getting people stop to not believe something. That's not true. However, I do think it is effective for a platform to say yes, we will not allow inflammatory, inaccurate content on our platform. I think even if the tool of fact checking is maybe not the most effective platform saying, Hey, here's a line in the sand, we're not. Truth is a thing that exists. We believe in truth and we're not going to allow stuff that's not true that could hurt somebody or cause a insurrection on our platform. And so
(22:48):
It's kind of a double-edged thing where that's a specific piece of it is not the most important thing, but overall what it represents, as you just said, I do think we're sort of losing the battle for truth. We're losing the battle for accurate information, and it sounds so wonky, but at the end of the day, people deserve the truth. You don't have to like it. You don't have to want to engage with it. But truth, the truth matters. What is true actually matters. And so I think as we see these tech leaders saying they're getting out of the business of truth is alarming. However, I do think that your average person is sick of this. Your average person wants to go on social media and not have to wade through inflammatory lies and hate. They're sick of it. They've had enough. I think the appetite for truth is really there.
Doree (23:40):
I hadn't really thought of it in the way that you just framed it, which I think is really important, that it's not so much the actual fact checking, which as you said is not especially effective. It's more that this is a signal to people who might want to spread disinformation. Like, Hey, this is a safe space for you to do that. And that's really interesting and almost scarier, right? I don't know. Absolutely.
Elise (24:14):
Charlie Worzel for the Atlantic, he wrote something, I guess it was this week or last, about how the danger of misinformation is that it's not necessarily just that people are receiving stuff that's not true, but that it helps people who are believing in the misinformation maintain their beliefs. It holds up this other cinematic universe that folks believe is true, and then eventually it touches your life.
Bridget Todd (24:48):
You really hit the nail on the head of it's that devaluing of expertise and training people that when somebody who knows what they're talking about gives it to you straight, you don't have to believe that they're just a liar. And ultimately it hurts people. I think that's my, if there's one thing that I want people listening to take away from mis and disinformation is that it harms people and other people are getting rich off of that harm. They are making suckers out of all of us and getting rich from it. And so do you want the other guy, this stranger who's probably already wealthy to get an extra buck off of your pain? I would argue no. Right. So that is exactly it. And I also want to say, because I know this is a space that you've curated with a lot of women, misinformation disproportionately impacts marginalized people including women.
(25:42):
And so with that new Zuckerberg announcement about meta, one of the phrases that they are not going to be moderating off of their platform are phrases like women are property, right? Phrases that are really about lying about women. Our agency, our and these people who are making these decisions, really can shape the world that we live in. And so, sorry, if you live in a world where the men who run these platforms say, misogyny is fine and cool, you are going to grow up in a world where misogyny is fine and cool. And so these decisions really do matter
Elise (26:21):
To say nothing of the history that gets erased, like the history of January 6th, that gets reframed the history of way more global painful events and tragedies that can get papered over or rewritten, which is pretty awful.
Doree (26:39):
So we're just going to take a short break and we will be right back.
Elise (26:51):
I'm glad we're talking about this because I've been wondering where to hang out online. Are there certain places that it seems like Meta's gone? It's not like we were hanging out on Facebook that much anymore. Anyway, but every once in a while I get those links from Facebook through my dad.
Bridget Todd (27:13):
I feel like Facebook is your parents, your auntie, and maybe that girl you went to high school with. You know what I mean?
Elise (27:20):
Maybe, but I have to look them up in the yearbook to even remember. So where do you hang out? Where are places that we might find community or do we have to build our own and just be on the Forever 35 Patreon, which is where, well, the Forever 30
Bridget Todd (27:38):
By Patreon is a great place to hang out. Yeah. I mean, I do think right now we're in this weird, I'm almost kind of excited about it in a weird way, even though it's very uncharted territory. I've been on blue sky a little bit, which I've sort of been enjoying, but the current iteration of Twitter as X is not for me a cool chill hang, so I don't really spend a lot of time there. We are poised to maybe see major changes with TikTok, so who knows where that's going as a platform. As you said, Facebook threads isn't really hitting like that. We're in this weird, kind, uncharted territory where the major platforms are either stagnant or threatened. And I really think that in light of that, I'm excited to see what happens. I'm excited to see if people start redesigning their own internet and digital experience as something that's more like campfires, more intimate, more curated, where people are gathering in these smaller groups to really have conversations that are important to them. I think that people have had it with the riffraff. I think the idea that internet platforms are meant to be these digital town squares where I have to hear everybody all at once all the time, I don't think that humans are designed to take in that much information. I wouldn't necessarily want to go into my town square and hear everything everybody's got to say and then speak back to them. I think that we tried that. I think that we're sort of going away from that a little
Doree (29:13):
Bit. I have a somewhat related question. You've been a podcaster for a really long time and you've done a bunch of different shows. Is there a show that you want to do that for whatever reason, hasn't gotten off the ground?
Bridget Todd (29:30):
Oh my God, yes. This is asking a podcaster this question. It's like, how much time do you have?
Doree (29:35):
I know. I know.
Bridget Todd (29:36):
I would say one is my bread and butter, the experiences that marginalized people are having online. And I really believe that those experiences are important to talk about because we're people, it matters what's happening with us online, but also they go on to shape so much of our civic infrastructure. And so I have this fantasy podcast in my head that explores the way that unchecked misogyny and racism online on places like Reddit, on places like Twitter, things that you might think of as casual, commonplace. You could draw a straight line from that to what is happening politically right now. Things like hate speech and threats and harassment against women. The research is very clear that that keeps women from doing things like running for office or just even just making their voice heard politically. And so how is what's happening online impacting our democracy and how is it keeping us from the representative democracy that we really deserve? That is a story I feel like no one is really telling, but we see little kind of threads of it all the time. But I want to pull those threads together into a quilt, if you will.
Elise (30:49):
Yeah, I love that because we see the effect of it constantly. We see kind of the manosphere leading the country and the world, but so much of the playbook that allowed for the manosphere to be victorious started had tactics in Gamergate in 2014,
Bridget Todd (31:08):
I think not before. We need to see the ways that Gamergate tactics are shaping our everyday politics, civic life, and democracy, because it's, and having it shape our democracy, but then no one really talking about it. That is a problem to me.
Doree (31:26):
Yeah. Well, and I think there was that New York Times podcast a few years ago, rabbit Hole, that showed how easy it was to radicalize people just through the algorithm. And my husband spends a lot of time on YouTube, and he is very protective of his algorithm because he has some interests like wrestling that can lead to right wing stuff. And he has seen how easy it is for YouTube to just recommend videos. And he's like, no, no, I don't want this. But for someone who's not as kind of aware of the way the algorithm works as he is and very certain in his beliefs, that could be so dangerous,
Bridget Todd (32:14):
Oh my gosh. For anybody who has young men and boys in their life, if you've got a young man or a boy in your life who is interested in things like wrestling or really benign hobbies and interests working
Elise (32:26):
Out,
Bridget Todd (32:27):
Yes. They're just a few clicks away. Basically, they have a hobby at all. Yes, totally. If you were a young man with a hobby, you're a few clicks away from the most extreme stuff that you could ever imagine on the internet. And the way that they sneak it in is so insidious because it's like, oh, you like working out? Aren't all your problems really to blame because of women like such?
Doree (32:52):
It's such a yes, yes, yes. Some of them are so insidious that the name of the video is not like why you should hate women. It's all very seemingly benign, and then all this stuff gets woven in. So yeah, I would love for someone like you, Bridget, to really,
Elise (33:19):
We nominate you.
Doree (33:20):
Yeah, we nominate you. If anyone in podcast development is listening to this and wants to give Bridget this show, please do, because I need to listen to it. So yeah, from your lipstick, God's ears. Yes. Yes.
Elise (33:36):
I feel like there is no more important topic right now, frankly, than our relationship with truth and Information because it affects every sector and every sort of facet of life, how you relate with reality. That is So we're looking
Bridget Todd (33:56):
For you as somebody who, I'm somebody who loves pop culture. I like to read the blind items. I get a lot of entertainment from it. So many even things that you think of as just hobbies or interests, or not political even that is, I think there's a thread there. You were talking about your husband door. I'm someone who likes to read deis and what are the celebrities doing? And I had to sort of take a step back and be like, wait, in what ways is this making it easier for me to traffic and conspiracy theories? And part of my brain thinks, oh, it's just fun. I'm just talking about Blake Lively. I'm just talking about the Duchess or whatever. And then it's like, actually, am I priming myself to do exactly what we were talking about earlier, to find conspiracies, maybe enjoy the warm fuzzies that creates in my brain, but really it's priming me to do a lot of that world building that is not always so healthy, not to mention not grounded in truth. Does that make
Doree (35:00):
Sense? Yes. Yes. And it's so hard to recognize when it's happening to you because it's about things that we don't think about as being, what I'm trying to say is if we got videos that we're talking about misogynistic, blatantly misogynistic things, we'd be like, oh, this is terrible. But when it's like these celebrity conspiracy theories, we don't necessarily, to your point, we don't necessarily recognize the danger in those and where those could lead. So I think it is important for all of us, no matter what our interests are, no matter what our algorithm looks like to be aware of this. And it speaks to what
Bridget Todd (35:42):
You were talking about earlier of how algorithms and our digital infrastructure makes it so easy to have basically two realities, right? Algorithms can create these, I mean, I hate the word echo chambers, but it makes it very easy to exist in multiple realities where there is not one truth. I guess that's what I'm saying.
Doree (36:04):
Yes. That's such a good way of looking at it,
Elise (36:06):
And it has major social impacts. Well, Bridget, before we let you go, I'd love to know if there are places that are unproblematic that you recommend, anything that you're enjoying? Are there little narratives going on in pop culture news or in art in general that you're enjoying and that you recommend that we might be able to take a small pleasure in?
Bridget Todd (36:34):
Can I give a very, well, I have two plugs. One, they're kind of weird. I hope that's okay. One is for reading. Something that I have kind of trying to keep myself accountable for is the way that being immersed in online culture all the time, which I love, has kind of given me a little bit of brain rot. And I've noticed myself when something is in long form or essay form, I can feel my brain being like, oh, I have to read a paragraph on this one. So in 2025, I am recommitting to reading, reading for pleasure, reading fiction, reading nonfiction. That's something I think that we should really bring back. I am sure for a lot of people, it's never left. I see lots of books in the background in both of your recording spaces, but I think as we go into these politically perhaps difficult times, I think the folks power are going to benefit from us not reading, not doing deep dives, not having an attention span, listening to that voice that's like, oh, you don't want to read this whole thing and we should resist that.
(37:37):
So I'm trying to hold myself accountable for that in 2025. So read in 2025 something I would say. So good. And then another one, this is going to sound so strange, but I live in dc. I'm big on the Washington DC subreddit. There was a snowstorm here, there was power outages, all of that. Somebody's dogs got loose in my neighborhood. And so someone posted a picture of these two adorable dogs and was like, oh, if these are your dogs, I have them. Everybody in the comments is like, call this people, call those people. Someone on Instagram is like, I know those dogs. The owner is an elderly man in my community. He doesn't have social media. How can I connect you? And I got to follow this lovely story of somebody keeping these dogs warm in their spare room until this elderly man could get them. And then they posted a picture of the reuniting ceremony and it was like, oh, also I made them bandanas. So stories like that of what is hyperlocal? Yes, hyper each other out. Positive stuff in your town, in your community, on your
Doree (38:47):
Block.
Bridget Todd (38:48):
Lean into that.
Doree (38:50):
I love that. I feel like that's been a theme that's come up so many times lately among our guests of being like, you need your village, whatever that looks like. And also, don't be afraid to lean on them, because that also helps create community when you reach out to others for help, which is something that I need to remind myself of constantly.
Bridget Todd (39:12):
One of my favorite podcasts, cool people who did cool stuff, all about cool activists through history. One of the things that they bring up a lot on that show that I appreciate is that in truly dark times, in truly dystopian, dark, dark times, your neighbors are the people that you're going to want to lean on. And so plant those seeds now. Do that work now of building those connections with the people who are right in your town. As somebody who loves the internet and loves to connect with strangers all halfway across the world, don't forget about the people who live upstairs and downstairs. Those are the people who are going to really help you out if stuff gets real.
Doree (39:50):
I love that. What a nice note to end on. Bridget, where can our listeners find you on the internet? Well,
Bridget Todd (39:58):
You can follow me on Instagram at Bridget Marie in dc. You can listen to my podcast on iHeartRadio called There Are No Girls on the Internet, where we explore the intersection of social media, digital, everything, and marginalized identity. You can check out my other podcast with the Mozilla Foundation called IRL that explores ethics in ai. Yeah, I think that's it.
Elise (40:19):
Fantastic. Great.
Bridget Todd (40:20):
Bridget. Todd, thank you so much. This was so fun. Thank you for having me. Mym. Fangirling.
Doree (40:26):
Oh, yay. Like we said before we talked to Bridget, it was just interesting that we happened to have booked her for this week.
Elise (40:40):
This week. Yeah.
Doree (40:41):
Yeah.
Elise (40:42):
So thanks again, Bridget. And now it's time for the intention zone.
Doree (40:46):
Yeah, I mean, it's weird. Last week I was like, I'm going to finish my newsletter draft. I did not finish my newsletter draft. Will I finish my newsletter draft this week? Probably not.
Elise (41:00):
You might write something different, though.
Doree (41:01):
I might write, might have other things to say, things different. That's true. I might have other things to say. I don't know. I don't really have intentions right now beyond just help my community and try to process, go one day at a time, go one day at a time, try to process everything that's happened.
Elise (41:20):
It's sort of like Bridget, Todd's answer to her self-care question, which was like, just getting through the day is my self-care.
Doree (41:26):
I thought that was so real.
Elise (41:29):
Yeah, she just came here and sat down and opened herself up, and I just thought that it just made for such a great conversation and also made us feel really connected with her too. So maybe your intention is, which is just getting through the day.
Doree (41:47):
Yep. Yep. What about you?
Elise (41:49):
Mine was a consistent bedtime last week, and surprisingly, I've done pretty well with that because not even that intentionally. Frankly, I've just been tired and I've wanted to go to sleep, and so that has gotten me to sleep at a consistent pace or at a consistent time interval this week. Same thing. I mean, one thing I want to do is try and maybe reflect. I think everything feels so much, and I don't know if that reflection necessarily means, I'm going to write it down. I feel like journaling is almost too ambitious of an intention given
Doree (42:33):
What
Elise (42:33):
We're all going through. So maybe just reflection, even if it's like, Hey, five minutes while I'm waiting for my dentist appointment. If I still have that next week, I'll just sit and reflect. It'll be kind of my form of a mini meditation.
Doree (42:47):
I like that. Well, Elise, I'm glad we have each other and this community same and this show, and yeah, just grateful for all of it. And just a reminder that Forever 35 is hosted and produced by me Doree Shafrir and Elise Hu, produced and edited by Samee Junio. Sami Reed is our project manager, and our network partner is Acast. Thanks everyone.
Elise (43:15):
Thank you all. Be safe. Bye.