With the Podcast “I’ve Had It,” Jennifer Welch Goes “Dark Woke” on Politics
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Welcome to The New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. One of the big changes in our politics, and I don't think we've really gotten our heads around it yet, is the change in how and where people get their information. You know the top line here. Very real declines in people watching the nightly news and reading the newspapers. And in their places come a much more scattered, much more siloed universe of social media feeds, TikTok explainers, podcasts, newsletters, and all the rest. Now, I don't think it's unfair to say that most of these outlets, not all, but most, whatever their virtues, are not exactly obsessed with fairness and accuracy in the way that the best traditional journalism outlets are, or damn well should be.
And yet there's no denying the power, even the relatability of many podcasts, whether it's Ben Shapiro on the right, Joe Rogan wherever he might be on a given day, or on the left, someone like our guest today, Jennifer Welch. Welch came to political podcasts in a kind of roundabout way. She had a successful career as an interior designer, and she co-starred in a reality show on Bravo.
What background does Jennifer Welch bring to her podcast?
But since 2022, she and her co-host Angie Sullivan have been pushing political buttons and getting millions of fans on the podcast called I've Had It. And that's Jennifer Welsh's daily state of mind. Furious.
I've had it with white people that triple trumped, that have the nerve and the audacity to walk into a Mexican restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, an Indian restaurant, go to perhaps their gay hairdresser. I don't think you should be able to enjoy anything but Cracker Barrel.
Her frustration is not only with MAGA. Welch has gotten particularly contentious in interviews with establishment Democrats like Cory Booker and Rahm Emanuel. And she takes real advantage of a certain surprise factor that a white woman in her 50s from Oklahoma has emerged as one of the most provocative voices on the left today. I spoke last week with Jennifer Welch, co-host of the podcast I've Had It. So you have one of the biggest podcasts out there. And as you know, there are hundreds of thousands of podcasts. Everybody and their uncle apparently has a podcast at this point. How did you conceive of this show? Where does it fit in? What is it?
My friend Angie and I were on a reality television show in 2016 to run 2019. Our politics seeps through a little bit, particularly mine does, in the show because that's what was the hook for the Bravo executives. Like... They're liberals in Oklahoma.
Right, where you're from.
Right. I'm from Oklahoma City. So the show gets canceled, and I go back to being an interior designer. And then I'm doing national projects. So that was great fun, and I'm just booming. And then there was the post-COVID boom where everybody comes out of quarantine wanting to redecorate everything. And my kids were like, you know, you still have a lot of people that follow you that are interested in the show. You should do a podcast.
Right.
So I tell Angie this, and we decide to do it. And the premise was during the Biden administration, which was I've had it. I've had it with gender reveal parties. I've had it with over-celebrating children. Why are we going to kindergarten graduations? Why? So there were these relatable grievances that initially I think everybody likes to trash talk, right? And we look, my co-host and I, look somewhat MAGA-coded.
You're MAGA-coded because of where you're from?
The blonde hair. Some Botox from time to time. And the southern accent. Yeah. Right? So it's kind of fox-coded, I would say. And I've always been a diehard political junkie. I was raised in the Bible Belt by two progressive atheists, which is a very, very strange upbringing.
Was political discussion a big part of your upbringing in Oklahoma? Yeah.
Yes, with my mother.
Who was pretty left, right?
Very left. My mother is a voracious reader. She was a closet atheist for many years, because if you came out of the closet as an atheist in a place like Oklahoma, it's about as bottom of the barrel.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–1:21
2
What background does Jennifer Welch bring to her podcast?
1:21–6:28
3
How has Jennifer Welch's podcast gained popularity?
6:28–25:59
4
What are the defining features of the 'I've Had It' podcast?
25:59–26:29
5
How does Jennifer Welch view the current political landscape?
26:29–31:11
6
What does Jennifer Welch mean by 'dark woke'?
31:11–33:24