Hey White Women w/ Knitting Cult Lady and White Woman Whisperer | ep49 | Un-Gaslighting Whiteness
Hey White Women
This episode brings Daniella Mestyanek Young and Rebecca into a candid conversation about cult dynamics, purity culture, whiteness, and the process of building communities rooted in truth rather than secrecy or shame. They unpack how cult logic—like the weaponization of secrets, unquestioned authority, and worship of the written word—maps onto broader systems like white supremacy and American culture. Daniella reflects on her work writing Uncultured and her upcoming projects, highlighting how her extreme experiences serve as an entry point for others to recognize parallels in their own...
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Hey White Women with Knitting Cult Lady and White Woman Whisperer | ep48 | Purity Prison
Hey White Women
In this episode, Daniella and Rebecca dive into themes of creativity, body image, cultural conditioning, and the lingering impacts of cult and purity culture. Daniella shares her journey of transforming clothing and crafts as a form of healing, while Rebecca draws connections between whiteness, consumerism, and self-imposed restrictions on bodies and identities. Together, they unpack how purity culture manifests in practices like “purity balls,” clothing expectations, and even shower habits, connecting these to deeper systems of control rooted in patriarchy, whiteness, and colonization....
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Hey White Women with Knitting Cult Lady and White Woman Whisperer | ep47 | Main Characters
Hey White Women
In this episode, Rebecca and Daniella (Knitting Cult Lady) dive into the intersections of social conditioning, cult dynamics, whiteness, and language. The conversation begins with Daniella’s reflections on color, identity, and creativity, connecting personal expression (knitting, design, aesthetics) to larger cultural narratives. Together, they explore how white women are socialized into “Sleeping Beauty” and “main character” frameworks—delusions that foster passivity, entitlement, and distorted views of desirability. From there, they interrogate purity culture and linguistic...
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Hey White Women with Knitting Cult Lady and White Woman Whisperer | ep46 | Communalism
Hey White Women
In this rich and emotionally resonant conversation, Daniella Mestyanek Young and Rebecca dive deep into the intersections of community, capitalism, creativity, and healing. They explore how authentic relationships—both personal and professional—can serve as a foundation for meaningful work and social change. From profit-sharing models to communal living, from the trauma of systemic abuse to the joy of unexpected gifts, the episode is a tapestry of lived experience, vulnerability, and visionary thinking. The conversation organically weaves through topics like: The difference between...
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Hey White Women with Knitting Cult Lady and White Woman Whisperer | Episode 45 | Paperwork Privilege & More
Hey White Women
In this episode, Rebecca and Daniella weave between personal stories, cultural critique, and nuanced discussions of race, privilege, and community building. Daniella shares her upcoming RV book tour, the planning quirks of packing crafting supplies, and the deliberate choice to travel through Canada to avoid unsafe environments in the U.S. The conversation pivots into an exploration of “paperwork privilege,” contrasting how bureaucratic systems treat white people versus Black people, and the mental toll of anticipating discrimination even when no harm occurs. They address audience...
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Hey White Women with Knitting Cult Lady and White Woman Whisperer Episode 44 | Community is inconvenient
Hey White Women
In this rich, wide-ranging conversation, Daniella and Rebecca reflect on systems of power, whiteness, deconstruction, and community. They begin by discussing "front-of-room advantage"—how audiences are conditioned to trust authority figures just because they're positioned at the front. This leads into critiques of white supremacy, especially how it shapes comfort, trust, and the way people engage with authority, learning, and community. They emphasize that community is inconvenient—it requires work, discomfort, and relationship with those who challenge you. Daniella speaks from her...
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Episode 43 | Detangling White Supremacy
Hey White Women
This episode is a wide-ranging conversation between Daniella and Rebecca about power, privilege, whiteness, and the dynamics of control in both personal and societal contexts. They share personal stories and cultural analysis to unpack how whiteness shapes perspective, behavior, and expectations; the illusion of confidence in white male leadership; and why fear of hypothetical harm dominates many white cultural narratives. The discussion explores the American Dream as a harmful myth rooted in capitalism and scarcity mindsets, and draws parallels between cult tactics and systemic control...
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Episode 42 | The Language of Systems
Hey White Women
This episode dives into the cultural and personal narratives around productivity, storytelling, and the illusion of being “caught up.” Rebecca and Daniella explore the language we use—like “caught up,” “trappings of success,” and “by the book”—and unpack how these phrases reveal underlying systems of control and whiteness. They discuss the tension between wanting to create art and resisting the structures that commodify it, the permanence (and pressure) of publishing books versus the fluidity of online work, and the ways capitalism and cult-like systems shape our ideas of...
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Episode 41 | George Washington Didn't Have Wooden Teeth
Hey White Women
In this fiery, funny, and no-holds-barred conversation, Rebecca and Daniella go deep on why everything in America feels like a cult. From MLMs to marathons, publishing to patriotism, they expose the unspoken systems that keep us exhausted, competitive, and obedient. Together, they unpack the cult of white womanhood, the lie of the silver bullet of success, and the performance of exceptionalism that so many white institutions demand. Connect with Rebecca at: Connect with Daniella at: You can read all about that story in my book, Uncultured-- buy signed copies here....
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Episode 40 | Is Whinnie the Pooh A WS Cult?
Hey White Women
In this candid and wide-ranging conversation, Daniella Mestyanek Young unpacks how cult dynamics shape everyday life—from the military to motherhood, from corporate jargon to childhood punishments over “scowling at the Word of God.” She and Rebecca dig into the subtle and overt ways white supremacy trains white women into compliance and calls it safety. Daniella also breaks down the coded messages in American media—including her darkly hilarious theory that Winnie the Pooh is a cult. Through stories of her upbringing, military career, and anti-racism work, Daniella helps listeners...
info_outlineIn this candid and wide-ranging conversation, Daniella Mestyanek Young unpacks how cult dynamics shape everyday life—from the military to motherhood, from corporate jargon to childhood punishments over “scowling at the Word of God.” She and Rebecca dig into the subtle and overt ways white supremacy trains white women into compliance and calls it safety. Daniella also breaks down the coded messages in American media—including her darkly hilarious theory that Winnie the Pooh is a cult.
Through stories of her upbringing, military career, and anti-racism work, Daniella helps listeners understand how deeply entrenched programming operates—and how to begin deconstructing it. The episode invites white women to stop waiting for a dramatic “battle vs. brunch” moment and instead get honest about the slow erosion of freedom already underway. Haley, the show’s producer, also jumps in to share a disturbing moment that made them stop letting their son watch Winnie the Pooh, connecting racism in children’s media to the broader themes of the episode.
Connect with Rebecca at:
The White Woman Whisperer Website
The White Woman Whisperer Patreon
The White Woman Whisperer TikTok
Connect with Daniella at:
You can read all about that story in my book, Uncultured-- buy signed copies here. https://bit.ly/SignedUncultured
For more info on me:
Patreon: https://bit.ly/YTPLanding
Cult book Clubs (Advanced AND Memoirs) Annual Membership: https://bit.ly/YTPLanding
Get an autographed copy of my book, Uncultured: https://bit.ly/SignedUncultured
Get my book, Uncultured, from Bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/4g1Ufw8
Daniella’s Tiktok: https://bit.ly/4bwvNC0
Instagram: https://bit.ly/4ePAOFK / daniellamyoung_
Unamerican video book (on Patreon): https://bit.ly/YTVideoBook
Secret Practice video book (on Patreon): https://bit.ly/3ZswGY8
Fundraiser for Culting of America book publishing https://tr.ee/fldwYRFTJ
🔑 Key Takeaways
Privilege is most clearly understood when it’s about something like eyesight—something not politicized but deeply unequal in terms of access.
“Winnie the Pooh is a cult”: Each character in the Hundred Acre Wood mirrors a role in coercive systems—Tigger as cult leader, Rabbit as enabler, Eeyore as the depressed second-gen scapegoat.
White women are often trained to wait for either 'brunch' or 'battle'—but this binary thinking ignores how authoritarianism creeps in quietly.
“Cotton-picking” language still shows up in kids’ media—revealing how embedded racist ideologies are in even the most innocent-seeming content.
Resting bitch face, attitude policing, and productivity metrics are all part of controlling systems—whether in cults, corporations, or culture.
The military is not a monolith: Daniella challenges assumptions about who serves, who gets platformed, and who gets believed.
Accountability means being wrong out loud—and using your own moments of unlearning as tools for others.
The goal isn’t just to de-center men or whiteness—it’s to center something better.
Chapters
0:00 The Privilege of Vision
07:10 Cultural Reflections on Perception and Behavior
10:08 Media, Representation, and Racial Dynamics
12:44 The Impact of Language and Cultural Narratives
15:46 The Role of Authority and Leadership in Communities
18:50 Brunch Culture and Social Activism
21:22 Navigating White Privilege and Social Responsibility
24:21 The Dynamics of Protest and Representation
27:12 Emergent Strategies in Social Movements
33:35 Awakening to Systemic Issues
34:59 Preparing for Difficult Conversations
37:18 The Military and Representation
39:54 Understanding Power Dynamics
41:46 The Role of Women in Patriarchy
44:57 The Impact of Leadership on Perception
46:39 Recognizing Patterns of Abuse
49:14 The Importance of Acknowledging Mistakes
52:25 Navigating Conversations on Identity
55:19 Empathy and Understanding in Activism
01:02:18 Understanding Neurodivergence and Personal Growth
01:04:48 The Dynamics of Tough Love and Communication
01:08:41 Attention as Currency in Social Dynamics
01:11:44 Building Unique Markets and Personal Branding
01:16:18 Navigating Identity and Societal Expectations
01:19:31 Skills Acquired from Cult Experiences
01:23:37 Resistance and Survival Skills in Adversity
01:30:14 The Legacy of Cults and Historical Figures
01:32:54 Patriarchy and Hierarchical Structures
01:35:17 Surviving Trauma and the Importance of Community
01:38:06 Understanding Human Experiences Across Cultures
01:40:43 Navigating Power Dynamics in Conversations
01:43:41 The Role of Privilege and Proof of PurposeProduced by Haley Phillips