Hysteria

Political commentator and comedy writer Erin Ryan and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco are joined by a bicoastal squad of funny, opinionated women to talk through everything from reproductive rights to romcoms. They break down the political news of the week, plus the topics, trends, and cultural stories that affect women’s lives.

  1. This F*cking Guy: Pete Hegseth

    5D AGO

    This F*cking Guy: Pete Hegseth

    This week, Erin and Alyssa dive into the past of United States Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. From his sexist ideologies to his drunken antics, cheating scandals to Fox News career, embarrassing failures to incompetent leadership, this is definitely our most inebriated and moronic f*cking guy of all time.   Sources: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trumps-pick-for-defense-sec-spent-his-college-years-crusading-against-glorification-of-diversity-and-the-homosexual-lifestyle https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/bio/_/id/1506/pete-hegseth https://www.theprincetontory.com/archive-of-past-issues/2001-02-issues/ https://www.theprincetontory.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2002-0203.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20060906061815/http://prince-web1.princeton.edu/archives/2002/04/17/opinion/4942.shtml https://ca.news.yahoo.com/princeton-pete-hegseths-views-feminism-100200035.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucGVycGxleGl0eS5haS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEdD-QaGi5WlZLvE8gowkG7Ad14X48zhy4R2qInWb7qkj9dlc6uVsoC5KsGVkX4mdzcY07MiMmLRCWW5v2TynNakZoZBPEyxCqteSC6qqLjihEHDlF3tSrgP74u69sm4NURXA50GsmA6xfxFrKcN-BZDzpQCVMYshgqhZbnMA2tk&guccounter=2 https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025/05/princeton-news-pete-hegseth-senior-thesis-plagiarism-allegations https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ar-AA1uD2gR https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fox-friends-co-host-faces-lawsuit-man-he-hit-axe-n883291 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/pete-hegseths-drinking-worried-colleagues-fox-news-sources-tell-nbc-ne-rcna181471 https://archive.is/lSPf9#selection-601.0-641.3 https://archive.is/1GJOj https://archive.ph/20250101060614/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/us/trump-pardons.html https://archive.is/T8nCv#selection-2646.0-2646.1 https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/fox-news-host-pete-hegseth-donated-ian-smith-candidate-who-killed-someone-drunk https://www.foxnews.com/media/pete-hegseth-vows-send-back-harvard-university-degree-writes-return-sender-diploma https://wng.org/sift/doug-wilson-responds-to-pete-hegseth-affiliation-reports-1755021501 https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/08/politics/video/christian-nationalist-doug-wilson-pam-brown-digvid https://prospect.org/politics/2025-02-05-pete-hegseths-venmo-defense-contractors-unitedhealth/ https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/news/metallica-pentagon-pete-hegseth-video-b2788101.html https://www.vox.com/today-explained-podcast/415145/women-in-combat-ranger-school-pete-hegseth-fitness-standards https://www.whro.org/military-veterans/2025-05-07/the-uss-truman-loses-a-second-fighter-jet-in-just-over-a-week Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    44 min
  2. This F*cking Guy: Ghislaine Maxwell

    SEP 28

    This F*cking Guy: Ghislaine Maxwell

    Erin and Alyssa dive into the past of Epstein’s right hand woman: Ghislaine Maxwell. From her father Robert Maxwell’s shady business endeavors and questionable death, to schmoozing her way to the upper echelons of Manhattan’s elite social scene, to trafficking minors for the most famously despicable sex pest of all time, this may be our most depraved, power-hungry pervert yet. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.   Episode sources: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59733623 https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1992/3/the-sinking-of-captain-bob https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59733623 https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1992/3/the-sinking-of-captain-bob https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1992/3/the-sinking-of-captain-bob https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/28/ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-epstein-sentencing-abuse https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59733623 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/10/jeffrey-epstein-life-profile https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/n_7912/ https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/08/ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-epstein-birthday-gift https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article220097825.html https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/10/jeffrey-epstein-dead-prison-report-latest https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/12/labor-secretary-alex-acosta-is-resigning-as-pressure-mounts-from-jeffrey-epstein-case.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/business/david-boies-pottinger-jeffrey-epstein-videos.html https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59733623 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59736227 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59527051 https://abcnews.go.com/US/dramatic-testimony-alleged-epstein-victim-carolyn-recounts-maxwells/story?id=81612421 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/10/17/jeffrey-epstein-survivor-death-overdose-florida-carolyn-andriano/71221137007/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyvn7ee3539o https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd3pe6189go https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/justice-department-releases-transcripts-of-its-interviews-with-ghislaine-maxwell https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd049y2qymo https://www.justice.gov/storage/audio-files/Interview%20Transcript/Interview%20Transcript%20-%20Maxwell%202025.07.24-cft%20(Redacted).pdf https://www.justice.gov/storage/audio-files/Interview%20Transcript/Interview%20Transcript%20-%20Maxwell%202025.07.25-cft%20(Redacted).pdf Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    55 min
  3. SEP 18

    The War on They

    One week after the death of Charlie Kirk, Erin and Alyssa discuss how the media, elected officials, and FBI Director Kash Patel have (mis)handled the ongoing investigation. They also catch up on the latest Epstein files news, Proposition 50 in California, and New Mexico’s unprecedented new childcare initiative. Then they discuss the thorny taboos and ethics surrounding commercial surrogacy. The episode wraps up in the sanity corner with a chat about The Summer I Turned Pretty finale and some gossip about Elizabeth Gilbert’s controversial new memoir. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast. Groypers, Helldivers 2, Furries: What Do the Messages Left by Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Killer Actually Mean? (Vanity Fair 9/12) Exclusive: Leaked Messages from Charlie Kirk Assassin (Ken Klippenstein 9/16) 3 takeaways from Kash Patel’s tense oversight hearing (PBS 9/16) FBI Director Kash Patel's social media messaging draws critics during Kirk investigation (CBS 9/15) Here’s how Newsom’s maps are already changing California’s congressional races (Cal Matters 9/16) Belgian Authorities Say $10 Million Supply of Birth Control Has Not Yet Been Destroyed (NY Times 9/12) Senate GOP defeats Schumer’s Epstein gambit (Politico 9/10) New Mexico is the first state to promise free child care for all families (AP News 9/11) The Baby Died. Whose Fault Is It? (Wired 9/3) Commercial Surrogacy: An Overview (PMC 12/29/22) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 27m

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About

Political commentator and comedy writer Erin Ryan and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco are joined by a bicoastal squad of funny, opinionated women to talk through everything from reproductive rights to romcoms. They break down the political news of the week, plus the topics, trends, and cultural stories that affect women’s lives.

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