6/29/25
Jessa Crispin: “America doesn’t really make things. Even in its financial system, the highest rewards go to those who speculate, making bets on things that other people have created but creating nothing real or tangible in itself. Jessa and Nico discuss the difficulty in reversing the trend toward service and virtual production as well as the effects that working in the spectral rather than material realms has on a human.”
“Boss, it’s the fascism. You’re completely gunked up with cortisol due to the fact that your entire daily life is now underscored with a haunting awareness of the rapid erosion of your rights, dignity, and any and all social safety nets, and you’re also bearing witness to the most vulnerable people immediately being persecuted. This creates a natural stress response that basically means you’re going to continue having memory and organizational problems, as well as emotional imbalances.”
“Anybody can change from being fit and healthy to sick and bedbound. Anybody can develop chronic health conditions or become disabled or terminally ill. Anybody can change from being employed to unemployed and unable to work. These things can happen to anybody. Anybody.”
“Hope is a risk; especially when you’ve known what it is to dream for better and only be met with the tyranny of degradation, greed, and violent appetites. But despair is a concession. Be careful of who you let regulate your dreaming. Always remember who benefits from our hopelessness.”