Libsyn Directory

Episode 41 | George Washington Didn't Have Wooden Teeth

Release Date: 07/10/2025

Hey White Women w/ Knitting Cult Lady & White Woman Whisperer | 58 | Puritan Whiteness

Hey White Women

This episode is a wide-ranging conversation between Daniella and Rebecca about the everyday and systemic ways whiteness shapes culture, identity, and behavior. They discuss how beauty standards, camera technology, tanning culture, and even small tech features like autocapitalization reflect racial bias. A major theme is how white women often derail or center themselves in conversations about race, sometimes unintentionally, through whitesplaining or over-explaining. They explore beauty labor, the politics of hair and appearance, and how the same practices (such as time-consuming beauty...

Hey White Women w/ Knitting Cult Lady & White Woman Whisperer | 57 | Who's Speaking Matters

Hey White Women

This episode features a deep, nuanced conversation between Daniella Mestyanek Young and Rebecca about whiteness, power, community, cultural disconnection, and the complicated dynamics of speaking about social issues publicly. They explore how race, gender, and perceived authority shape who is “allowed” to say what, and how society reacts differently depending on the identity of the speaker. Their discussion spans topics such as the weaponization of “niceness,” internal policing within white communities, the loss of joy in white American culture, the effects of cult-like systems,...

Hey White Women w/ Knitting Cult Lady & White Woman Whisperer | 56 | Enablism

Hey White Women

In this wide-ranging and incisive conversation, Daniella Mestyanek Young and Rebecca (White Woman Whisperer) examine how white womanhood functions within patriarchal and white supremacist systems. They discuss cultural habits like performative complaining, body-shaming as small talk, and the defense of harmful relationships as coping mechanisms inherited from historical gender norms. The two connect these behaviors to broader enablism within oppressive systems, drawing parallels between interpersonal and systemic patterns of abuse. They explore the emotional labor of deconstruction—how...

Hey White Women w/ Knitting Cult Lady & White Woman Whisperer | 55 | Weaponizing Whiteness

Hey White Women

In this episode, Daniella Mestyanek Young (Knitting Cult Lady) and Rebecca (White Woman Whisperer) unpack the process of recording the audiobook version of Daniella’s upcoming book and explore how their collaboration reflects deeper dynamics of race, privilege, and creative responsibility. They discuss rejecting the “easy” or most cost-effective route in favor of ethical decisions that honor Black voices and resist capitalist shortcuts. The conversation then broadens into weaponizing whiteness for good—how white women can leverage social privilege to confront injustice—and the...

Hey White Women w/ Knitting Cult Lady & White Woman Whisperer | 54 | White Rapture Day

Hey White Women

Rebecca (White Woman Whisperer) and Daniella (“Knitting Cult Lady”) explore how white American culture is shaped by control, conformity, and suppression of individuality—from the witch trials to modern social norms. They connect white supremacy’s emphasis on stoicism and sameness to military culture, patriarchal family structures, beauty standards, and cult dynamics. Their conversation also unpacks the social coding of “whiteness” as denial of self, contrasting it with cultures where expression, emotion, and difference are normalized. The episode concludes with reflections on...

Hey White Women w/ Knitting Cult Lady & White Woman Whisperer | 53 | It Can Be That Easy

Hey White Women

In this episode, Daniella (“Knitting Cult Lady”) and Rebecca (“White Woman Whisperer”) have a deep, layered conversation about deconstructing whiteness, celebrity culture, and over-identification through the lens of Taylor Swift. Daniella shares her personal process of deconstructing her identity as a lifelong Swiftie and connecting it to her broader work dismantling white womanhood and American cultic structures. Rebecca brings in a critical Black feminist lens, exploring the difference between individualism and community, white women’s relationship to innocence and denial, and how...

Hey White Women w/ Knitting Cult Lady & White Woman Whisperer | ep52 | Consumer Privilege

Hey White Women

In this episode, Rebecca and Daniella explore the intersections of race, consumer privilege, tone policing, and digital labor—particularly how these dynamics play out for women of color online. Rebecca revisits her viral “caption gate” controversy, unpacking how white women often use moralized accessibility language (“just add captions”) as a covert way to assert dominance and demand labor. The two also dissect the cultural discomfort around Black women expressing anger, the dehumanizing expectations placed on female creators, and the myth that public educators or creators owe...

Hey White Women w/ Knitting Cult Lady and White Woman Whisperer | ep51 | White Woman Tears

Hey White Women

This episode features Daniella (“Knitting Cult Lady”) and Rebecca (the “White Woman Whisperer”) unpacking themes of violence, privilege, whiteness, cult dynamics, and the demands placed on public figures to perform morality online. They reflect on recent events, including reactions to political violence and how white Americans process (or avoid processing) martyrdom, policing, and systemic violence. The conversation critiques the idea that “violence is never the answer” as a privileged stance, explores how audiences police creators’ responses to current events, and discusses the...

White Women w/ Knitting Cult Lady & White Woman Whisperer | ep50 | Paradox of Proving Yourself

Hey White Women

In this conversation, Daniella Mestyanek Young (“Knitting Cult Lady”) and Rebecca (aka “White Woman Whisperer”) explore how cult dynamics show up in the U.S. military, publishing, and everyday systems of power. Daniella shares insights from her forthcoming book Culting of America, reflecting on the accessibility of ideas across mediums (books, documentaries, TikTok), and the challenges of being taken seriously while calling the military a cult. The discussion ranges from personal deconstruction journeys, the paradox of proving oneself, and the caste-like structures of whiteness, to...

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...

More Episodes

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:

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

America is a pyramid scheme: From capitalism to patriotism, our systems mimic MLM logic—someone always profits at the top.

Publishing is a cult: Traditional publishing often demands creators shape their stories to fit white, marketable molds—or get rejected.

The ‘silver bullet of success’ is a myth: Fame and visibility aren’t guarantees—they’re illusions sold as truth.

We confuse control with safety: Especially for white women, compliance gets rewarded—but it also upholds harm.

Modesty ≠ oppression: Wearing a headscarf can be beautiful and powerful; the colonial gaze strips that meaning away.

Competition isn't community: Even solo hobbies like running get turned into contests of worth and status in American culture.

The military is grown men in camouflage pajamas: And yes, they still think they’re “the good guys.”

You are not special—and that’s the point: We all have unique experiences, but exceptionalism is a tool of supremacy.

Build your own system: Platforms like Patreon and TikTok allow creators to bypass gatekeepers and speak directly to their people.

Chapters

00:00 The Myth of George Washington's Teeth
06:30 The Illusion of Success and Fame
12:15 The Publishing Industry and Its Challenges
18:23 Direct Connections vs. Organizational Structures
26:04 The Cult of No Color: Capitalism and Competition
30:28 Community and Competition: The Cost of Connection
34:54 Running from Reality: The Perception of Danger
39:51 Enlightenment vs. Wokeness: A Cultural Examination
45:38 Friendly Fire: The Dangers of Internal Conflict
51:50 Cultural Sensitivity: Understanding Perspectives Beyond Oppression
54:14 Generational Perspectives on Feminism
55:00 Sexual Liberation Under Feminism
55:55 Misogyny and Relationship Dynamics
57:10 Navigating Privilege and Perception
59:03 Reinforcing Self-Worth and Identity
01:00:25 Challenging Traditional Gatekeeping
01:01:55 Breaking Free from Societal Norms
01:04:26 Building New Models and Systems
01:06:11 Motherhood and Personal Identity
01:07:46 The Role of Women in Cult Dynamics
01:09:51 Cultural Expectations and Gender Norms
01:11:28 Public Perception of Family Choices
01:18:02 The Impact of Medical Decisions on Family Dynamics
01:19:04 Questioning Authority in Medical Practices
01:20:16 Cultural Reflections on Body Image and Surgery
01:21:55 Navigating Cultural Spaces and Acceptance
01:22:57 The Complexity of Racial Identity and Performance
01:24:50 The Illusion of Picture-Perfect Lives
01:26:54 Unpacking Personal Narratives and Pain
01:28:50 Rediscovering Self and Authenticity
01:30:39 The Journey of Self-Acceptance and Enjoyment
01:32:33 Embracing Individuality and Personal Growth

Produced by Haley Phillips

🔑 Key Takeaways

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