01/20/2026
From the Desk of Bill Brady (They/Them/Her)
Happy MLK Day!
I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT (AND IT IS LED, SOLAR-POWERED, AND NONBINARY)
Friends. Patriots. Former listeners. Enemies who have been hate-listening since 2012.
I can no longer stay silent.
For years, I screamed into microphones powered by rage, beef jerky, and poorly sourced PDFs. I shook my fist at the sky and blamed immigrants, professors, oat milk, and the letter “X” for the hole in my soul. I called it “truth.” I called it “freedom.” I called it “owning the libs.”
But while I was yelling… the universe was whispering.
And then it started screaming.
It screamed through wildfire smoke. Through hospital hallways. Through receipts showing billionaires paying less tax than a DoorDash driver. Through the quiet realization that maybe—JUST MAYBE—my entire worldview was sponsored by vibes, fear, and men who sell supplements.
I have been DEPROGRAMMED BY REALITY.
I read a book.
Then another book.
Then—brace yourselves—I talked to a trans person and the earth did not open up and swallow me whole.
That’s when I knew: I had been lied to. Not by “the left.” Not by “the media.”
But by my own addiction to outrage.
I was mainlining anger like it was patriotism. I was confusing cruelty with strength. I was calling empathy “weakness” because I was terrified of feeling anything real.
NO MORE.
Today, I renounce:
• Rage as entertainment
• Fear as ideology
• Billionaires as prophets
• The idea that healthcare is a privilege bestowed by the holy market
• The belief that climate change is a Chinese weather machine
• The lie that “freedom” means everyone for themselves while the powerful laugh
I now believe the following RADICAL IDEAS:
• People deserve healthcare even if they made bad choices (INCLUDING ME)
• Workers should not die so CEOs can buy a third yacht named “Liberty”
• Science is real even when it hurts my feelings
• Climate change is happening and yelling at Greta Thunberg will not fix it
• Trans people are just people, not a conspiracy DLC
• Racism did not end when I personally decided I was over it
Yes. I have crossed the ideological Rubicon.
Yes. I have eaten the soy.
Yes. George Soros has NOT called me (GEORGE IF YOU’RE READING THIS I’M AVAILABLE).
I am now a hardcore progressive liberal. Not the “wine mom with a yard sign” kind. I mean the “burn the lies down and replace them with policies” kind. The “tax the hell out of billionaires and fund schools like we fund wars” kind. The “human dignity is not negotiable” kind.
If this angers you—good. Sit with it. Growth hurts.
If this confuses you—same.
If this inspires you—welcome. We have facts and snacks.
To my former self: you were loud, scared, and wrong.
To my former audience: you were never stupid—just fed a diet of fear.
To the future: I choose solidarity over screaming.
I am done being a professional hater.
I am done selling anger as identity.
I am done pretending cruelty is courage.
The revolution will not be sponsored by testosterone pills.
The awakening will not be monetized.
And empathy is not a virus.
Unfriend me. Laugh at me. Screenshot this.
I’m not going back.
