Ep. 105: What Fresh Hells Today? Trump's Dizzying Array of Distractions Discussed
Release Date: 02/18/2025
Ep. 109: Inside the Netflix Documentary with Gabby Petito’s Mom, Nichole Schmidt
Toxic
We’re honored to welcome Nichole Schmidt to Toxic today — a friend of the pod and a fierce advocate for survivors, especially young survivors of dating violence. In 2021, her 22-year-old daughter, Gabby Petito, was murdered by her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, during what was supposed to be an idyllic cross-country van trip — and instead became a national tragedy. This past February, Netflix released American Murder: Gabby Petito, a docuseries featuring never-before-seen details about how Gabby’s story unfolded. Ultimately, she became yet another preventable victim of dating violence,...
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Ep. 108: Perimenopause: Understudied and Overheating Thanks to Misogyny
Toxic
Is it hot in here or is it just us? If you're in the throes of perimenopause, you're going to feel right at home in this episode. As ladies of our mid-40s, we have to talk about this. Disclaimer: This is NOT a medical advice podcast. Thanks to overt sexism within medical research fields, most health research funds are allotted to study diseases that affect men, or how diseases that affect both sexes mostly affect men. The National Institutes of Health found that diseases, ailments and conditions that affect men receive twice as much funding as those affecting women. Therefore, it...
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Ep. 107: Jim Jones, Trump....It's Like All Cult Leaders Attended the Same Meeting or Something—Dr. Janja Lalich Confirms Our Suspicions
Toxic
In the '70s, a charismatic minister named Jim Jones convinced thousands of followers of his Peoples Temple that he was for them, moving them from the U.S. where he was being investigated for running a cult (lol, nothing to see here) to an agricultural commune in Guyana under the auspice that he was "creating a paradise free from the oppression of the U.S. government." Oh, and also, they had to call him dad, maybe sleep with him and never, ever leave unless they wanted to be shot. But that's neither here nor there. He was FOR them, you guys. Of course, if you know anything about...
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Ep. 106: Deepfake Case Out of Minneapolis, Victims Are Told to Just Ask Man Politely to Stop
Toxic
In another disturbing case of women's safety being not at all a priority, a man in Minneapolis turned images of some 80 women he sort-of-but-not-really-knew into graphic p*rn. When his WIFE found out, he fled town with his laptop in hand, probably to infiltrate a new town with his predator ways. Police threw their hands up and said, "Uh, we don't know what you want us to do. Is this illegal?" Turns out, it is and it isn't. One of the victims talks to Toxic about how she's using her law background to help make sure future women get the justice they deserve against gross men who can't literally...
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Ep. 105: What Fresh Hells Today? Trump's Dizzying Array of Distractions Discussed
Toxic
Abusers know the routine: First, present yourself as a savior. Promise a romanticized, idyllic version of the future. Earn trust. Then, isolate. “It’s the world against us, baby.” Brainwash. “Don’t trust anyone but me.” And finally, control at such a dizzying speed that the victim can’t make heads or tails of it all. What is real? Am I in danger? How do I get out of this? Hey, look at that, it's Trump, America’s abusive husband. In just under 30 days since he and his BFF Elon Musk invaded the White House, we’re in full oligarchy mode. This is not a drill. Call it a coup, call...
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Ep. 104: Patrisha McLean Is a Survivor and Her Ex is Bitter About That
Toxic
Patrisha McLean survived nearly three decades of abuse by her [unfortunately still] famous ex, Don McLean, singer of "American Pie." Once free, though Don tried his best to discredit her in the media (sound familiar?), she started her own nonprofit to help other survivors of violence, aptly named, . It's been working on taking down abusive a-holes ever since, and we love her for it. She joins us today on Toxic to tell us more about it. (Apologies in advance for the sound issues in this episode. Amanda was having issues with her microphone.) We want to hear from you. Do you have a...
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Ep. 103: Where Do We Go From Here?
Toxic
Trump "Tiny Hands" was sworn into the highest office in the land yesterday, leaving us all asking, "But seriously, no really, honestly, what in the actual eff?" As we enter this second iteration of a reoccurring nightmare that's actually reality, many of you may be stuck in fight, flight or freeze like us. (We're cycling between all three.) The question is: Where do we go from here? How do we get through these next four years? Are we ready to fight, and if so, how can we do it without burning ourselves out? Consider this a family meeting, group therapy or a support group meeting. Take what you...
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Ep. 102: Justin Baldoni Makes Sure It Doesn't End With Him—What Blake Lively Endured During His Dumb Movie
Toxic
We've likely all heard the kurfuffle surrounding Blake Lively—how did she seemingly become one of Hollywood's most high-maintenance and hard-to-work-with actresses overnight? It turns out that the emperor doesn't actually have any clothes. We've been bamboozled by a well-orchestrated smear campaign thanks to Johnny Depp's understudy in destroying women—Justin "I don't always ask for consent" Baldoni. Once the picture of feminist allyship, along with his Man Enough podcast cohost Jamey "I'll show you videos of my naked wife giving birth without her knowledge" Heath, these two bros made sure...
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Ep. 101: Hot Frosty and His Snow Nips Make Christmas Complete
Toxic
In one of our favorite episodes of the year, we're deviating from our typical rhetoric and recapping a Christmas movie instead. A banger, if you will. In "Hot Frosty" the vet from Schitt's Creek is a snowman who comes alive (naked) after being wrapped in an ugly red scarf given to him by Gretchen Weiner of "Mean Girls" fame. Darryl from The Office is too big of a name to be in this but is anyway. The entire movie focuses on the single lady who shouldn't be single because everyone needs a man, even if he's a snowman. That's where the bar is now. Please enjoy and we'll see you in 2025 with more...
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Ep. 100: Abusive Husband Michael Tormented His Family for Years But Family Court Dropped All Charges, Accused Mom of Alienting Kids Instead
Toxic
Many survivors of domestic violence don’t realize they’re being abused until years have passed. They convince themselves it’s something else—a bad day at work, a short temper, too much to drink or deep-seated childhood wounds that therapy might heal. They hold onto hope that things will change. But then, a pattern emerges—unrelenting, undeniable. Promises are broken, help doesn’t stick and sobriety doesn’t bring peace. Joan was one of those survivors. For nearly a decade, she rationalized her husband Michael’s behavior. It wasn’t until the night he came after their family...
info_outlineAbusers know the routine: First, present yourself as a savior. Promise a romanticized, idyllic version of the future. Earn trust. Then, isolate. “It’s the world against us, baby.” Brainwash. “Don’t trust anyone but me.” And finally, control at such a dizzying speed that the victim can’t make heads or tails of it all. What is real? Am I in danger? How do I get out of this?
Hey, look at that, it's Trump, America’s abusive husband. In just under 30 days since he and his BFF Elon Musk invaded the White House, we’re in full oligarchy mode. This is not a drill. Call it a coup, call it a dictatorship or just call it the most embarrassing time of U.S. history unfolding before our eyes.
Today we’re talking about Trump’s dizzying array of executive orders, declarations, hirings and firings, which are all just a distraction technique. An appetizer round if you will.
We need to discuss why it’s important we don’t give up, put our heads in the sand and shut down our ear holes. Because that’s what he’s hoping will happen.
We want to hear from you. Do you have a story we need to discuss or a guest we should feature? Visit us at ToxicThePodcast.com and share your story.
If you’re experiencing abuse or domestic violence, please reach out to someone you trust. You can also connect with a trained advocate near you through DomesticShelters.org.
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Together, we can create change.