Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 1180 | Baby Bonuses & a Message from Big Matcha

Episode Date: April 29, 2025

Today, we discuss Trump's proposal to give a $5,000 "baby bonus" to new moms in order to reverse the depopulation crisis. But is this really the best way to address the low fertility rate, or is there a better option? And is the real problem actually the lack of families? Later, we have Phoenix, our Gen Z correspondent, back on to defend matcha lattes and discuss the recent Brian Stelter sighting, where he was barefoot on a train. And is Phoenix secretly a pit bull advocate? Share the Arrows 2025 is on October 11 in Dallas, Texas! Go to ⁠⁠sharethearrows.com⁠⁠ for tickets now! Watch the latest episode of Relatable at Home, "Liturgy-Led Living: Following the Christian Calendar," featuring Danielle Hitchen exclusively on BlazeTV: ⁠⁠https://get.blazetv.com/allie/⁠⁠ Buy Allie's new book, "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion": ⁠⁠https://a.co/d/4COtBxy⁠⁠ --- Timecodes: (00:30) Books (11:55) Trump baby bonus (35:38) Matcha taste test --- Today's Sponsors: We Heart Nutrition — Get 20% off women's vitamins with We Heart Nutrition, and get your first bottle of their new supplement, Wholesome Balance; use code ALLIE at https://www.WeHeartNutrition.com. Fellowship Home Loans — Fellowship Home Loans is a mortgage lending company that offers home financing solutions while integrating Christian values such as honesty, integrity, and stewardship. Go to ⁠fellowshiphomeloans.com/allie⁠ to get up to $500 credit towards closing costs when you finance with Fellowship Home Loans. Pre-Born — Will you help rescue babies' lives? Donate by calling #250 & say keyword 'BABY' or go to Preborn.com/ALLIE. --- Related Episodes: Ep 1159 | Nicole Shanahan on Christianity, Vaccines & the Lies of Leftism https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-1159-nicole-shanahan-on-christianity-vaccines-the/id1359249098?i=1000700656721 Ep 1162 | SkinnyTok, the iPad Pacifier & Paula White’s New Scam https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-1162-skinnytok-the-ipad-pacifier-paula-whites-new-scam/id1359249098?i=1000701152306 Ep 767 | Hershey's Celebrates Women... By Celebrating a Man | Guest: Bethany Mandel https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-767-hersheys-celebrates-women-by-celebrating-a/id1359249098?i=1000603349610 --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: ⁠⁠https://alliebethstuckey.com/book⁠⁠ Relatable merchandise – use promo code 'ALLIE10' for a discount: ⁠⁠https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey

If you are looking to refinance or maybe you are looking to get into the home that you need or your family wants right now, then you need to call my friends at Fellowship Home Loans. Mike and Brian are the real deal. They are going to bring you excellent service and help you get in the financial position that you need to maybe get some extra margin in your finances. If you need to refinance or to make sure that you get the mortgage that you need for the home that you are looking to purchase, They do their business by the book, not just by the book, but by the book, but by biblical principles. Those are the kind of people that you want to trust with such a big decision like this. If you go to fellowshiphomeloans.com, you'll get $500 of credit at closing.

That's fellowship homelones.com slash alley, term supply, see site for details, fellowship home loans, mortgage lending by the book, nationwide mortgage bankers, DBA Fellowship Home Loans, equal housing lender, NMLS, number 819-382. Trump is thinking about offering a $5,000 baby bonus to people having babies. This sounds like a good thing, but I'm not so sure. Also, I'm going to try matcha. Okay? We got big macha here, and they're going to force me to try their chartreuse dirt water.

We're talking about a lot on today's episode of Relatable. So buckle up. It's brought to you by our friends at Good Ranchers. Go to go to good ranchers.com. code Alley. That's good ranchers.com code alley. Hey guys, welcome to relatable. Happy Tuesday. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far. Okay, y'all, I just got to be real with you. I'm tired and I have a headache because I stayed up past midnight last night, which is late for me. Reading. Okay. I only do this about once a year, get into a really good fiction book that just like takes

so much of my attention. And so I was reading this book, The Light Between Oceans last night, and the last 150 pages or so have been like extremely gripping. And I didn't realize this book came out in 2012 and there was a movie about it that came out in 2016. It was a really good book. But I get, fun fact about me, I get extremely emotionally invested in the book. books that I read. And I simply do not have the time or the capacity to do that. I can't do that every month. I love intense stories. I love sad stories. Like the notebook is one of my favorite movies of all time. Meet Joe Black, another one of my favorite movies of all time. And they're both, like, really sad. I don't mind feeling things. I like crying in movies and books. I have no idea why.

I just do. I like to really know the characters and be attached to the character. When I was in second grade, we had to write a short story. I don't even remember what it was about, but one of my characters that I created, her name was Rachel. And I remember at the end of this short story, which I'm pretty sure was only like eight pages long, I cried because I missed the characters. I've always been this way. I love books.

I love writing. And you know what? My haters are hardest hit. Because of the title of my book, Toxic Empathy, some haters who have never, ever read the book, haven't even read the subtitle. I'm like, oh, she doesn't have any empathy. She doesn't feel things for people. That is wrong.

In real life, I have very deep, deep empathy for people, but also for in fiction. Like, I feel so deeply for every character and can see the perspectives. And in this book, it was even more difficult because there's no clear protagonist or antagonist. when I tell you that I was heaving and sobbing last night at midnight, okay? Like just pouring my eyes out reading the end of this book. I do recommend it if you're looking for a book like that. Like it's really, really good. And you know what?

You know how I found it? I asked Grock. Grock is great. I said, Grock, I want a good book that I can get emotionally invested in. Actually, I don't even think I said that. I think I said like gripping book that has a love story, but no sex scenes, no LGBTQ stuff, and no social justice themes. And like I don't want progressive at all. And it suggested this and it was perfect because it didn't have any of that. But I need like a light read now. I need something else. Not trashy and cheap, but something with a

little bit of levity. Let me warn you, okay? Before you go check this book out of the library, I do not recommend this book if you are pregnant, if you are freshly postpartum, if you have, this is serious, if you have suffered pregnancy loss, especially recently, or if you are struggling with infertility, okay, that's my legitimate trigger warning for you. Obviously, you can do what you want. You know where you are in your, you know, emotional healing journey. However, this, like as a mom, this was heart-shattering for me. So if I were in a particularly vulnerable season of life, this would have been like an especially difficult book for me to read.

But y'all, I just love a good book. I love a good book. I love it so much. And Bree and I sometimes talk about Kristen Hannah books. And have you been reading The Nightingale? Did you ever read that? I did. You did?

Did you like it? Yeah. You did? I did. Okay. It was one of those that I think I liked over time. As soon as I finished it, I was like, ugh. Yeah.

But now, like, looking back. Like, that's so sad. Oh, so sad. I don't really want to think about it. Oh. Did you cry in books? Yes, all the time. Yeah.

Oh, that was another one. I probably read that six years ago. Another one where I was like sobbing at midnight. I don't even remember, honestly, what happened. and you don't have to tell me, but I just remember being really sad. So sad. It's about France during Nazi rain. So it's dark. Yes. Did you read the women? No, I haven't yet. And now I'm kind of de-influenced after what you said about. After what I said. Now, a lot of people in my DMs loved it and thought it had a lot of twists and turns.

I'm like, okay, I was like 150 pages in. If you don't have me in the first 100 pages, you're not going to get. me okay if you can't get me and the first 100 pages you don't deserve me in the next 100 pages okay it's such a fair point yeah come on i i like some christen hannah stuff i also read the great alone um have you read that one no i haven't that one's pretty good a lot of people split on winter garden oh okay some people say so good like broke them cried and all of that and then others are like no was so depressing and never redemptive, which I don't like. Yeah. Well, I feel like if historical fiction is your thing, then you're just kind of going to like what she writes no matter what. Yeah, I do love historical fiction. Yeah. But after reading the book that I just read, I was reminded of what good

writing, like really good writing, just for the sake of a like a good sentence. I'm not even talking about the plot. Just a beautifully worded sentence. I was reminded of, like, really good writing. I was reminded of what that looks like. Yep. And you're not going to get that in the women or a lot of Kristen Hannah books. I'm sorry, Kristen Hannah. I'm sure you're a big related gal. But yeah, okay, what other good books have you read?

Okay, I recently read one called Everything Sad is Untrue. Okay. It's about a little boy from, I figure what country he's from. I was just looking at a little boy from the Middle East who moves here. And it's kind of hard to describe. It's written really weirdly. but it's really beautiful about like a little immigrant boy. It's not woke or anything.

Yeah. I highly recommend that. Oh gosh, now I can't even. I loved, I love to read. I love to read fiction. And I just sometimes I just like, I'm like, I just have to read something right now. And I love getting sucked into it. But then I feel like I have to take a break.

Yeah. For a little while. Well, especially with like something really dark. Oh, where the Codad is saying that's a movie now too. Oh, yeah. I loved that book. another one, I sobbed my eyes out in the living room at midnight. This is just like what I do.

Because I'll go to bed and I'll just like be reading casually. And I'm like, yeah, I've got like 100 more pages left. I'll just like read a couple more chapters. And then I'm like, oh, I have to finish this. But I need to turn the light off so my husband can sleep. And so I go into the living room when I finish it. And yeah, that was really good. Yep.

I don't think I watched the movie. It's not as good. No. I don't recommend it. It rarely is. Yeah, that's true. That one was really good. I'm listening to two books right now, which won't make me cry.

Your brain on birth control by Sarah Hill. I'm not interested in birth control, but it's a lot about like women's hormones and stuff. And then healing ADD by Dr. Amen. So yeah, I'm listening. I'm reading. We're about to go on vacation though. And I like, I need a good beat treat that's not trashy. So if anyone has it, I'm so glad I did not read this.

on my vacation because chief related bro would have been like this is fun i literally told him this morning first of all when i got to bed last night he was like how was your book and i was sobbing and he was like okay and then this morning i made him listen to me tell him in detail every like the plot of the book and he was like okay he didn't cry huh he didn't cry no he didn't cry He didn't cry. Now, I think, I don't know. I think he would be emotionally impacted by the story if he read it or if he watched it. Chief Related Bro just walked into the studio right now.

But, yeah, he's like, he's probably walking in me like, seriously, are you still talking about this book? Because I've been talking about it for like three days. Okay. So if y'all have any book suggestions for me, please send them. Okay, we're actually going to get into some stories. Before we get into our last silly segment, we've got a lot of, like, fun segments on today's episode where we talk about macha and barefoot people and even pit bulls, okay?

So just wait for that. All right. Let me tell you, though, about Share the Arrows that is sponsored by good ranchers, y'all. I am so pumped about Share the Aeros this year on the way into the studio. I was listening to the playlist that I've, created for Share the Arrows as I'm trying to think about what I want Francesca Battistelli to sing for us and how I want her to lead us in worship. And I just get emotional thinking about it.

One of my favorite parts of Share the Arrows last year was listening to 4,000 women singing, This is My Father's World, Acapella. It was just an otherworldly moment. It was a foretaste of heaven to stand among like-minded, courageous Christian women, to worship God, to learn from wise women to get solid theological teaching, to be challenged. One of my favorite messages that I received last year was from an attendee who said I walked out of there with zero fear of man. And I just pray that that is true of the thousands of women attending Share the Eros this year.

I don't want you to have FOMO. So many of you who didn't go last year said, oh my gosh, I have FOMO. I can't believe I couldn't make it. Okay, this year is your year. October 11th, Dallas, Texas, share the arrows. You got to join us. We've got Elisa Childers. We've got Katie Fowse. We've got Ginger Dugger Volo.

We've got so many others. It's going to be apologetics, theology, health, motherhood, encouragement, challenge, worship. It's going to be absolutely incredible. Share the arrows, sponsored by our friends at Good Ranchers. Get your tickets, Christianwomen at sharethe arrows.com. That's share the arrows.com. Okay, a ton of you have been asking me about this Trump baby bonus. Do I think it's a good thing that the Trump administration is floating this idea that they are going to reward women who have babies with $5,000?

I'll let you know what I think. But first, let me tell you the details of it. The Trump admin is exploring policies to boost the U.S. birth rate as part of an agenda to promote the family and to promote family values. One initiative proposed to the admin. I've seen Anna Paulina Luna, a representative from Florida, float this idea. I've seen others kind of take claim for this proposal. But it's the $5,000 baby bonus for new mothers. These policies were proposed as policy experts and advocates of boosting the birth rate have.

have been meeting with White House aides, sometimes handing over written proposals on ways to help her convince women to have more babies. So we don't know exactly who the main author is of these proposals. We just know that the Trump administration is entertaining them. This is something that Elon Musk has talked about a lot. And we know one of his heroes is gang as con. And so it shouldn't be surprising that he is using IVF and a bunch of surrogates to try to do his part to repopulate the earth. And there are a lot of moral and ethical issues with that. If you are new here and you don't know my opinion or my take on IVF and surrogacy, look up those past episodes. We've got lots on them. But a lot of issues with the forced fatherlessness that he is bringing upon the children that he is creating. We've also heard J.D. Vance from a more traditionalist perspective, say families are good, babies are good. We should be. be doing whatever we can to encourage the formation of families and for parents to have more children. One proposal, according to the New York Times, that was shared with White House aides,

would reserve 30% of scholarships for the Fulbright program, the prestigious government-backed International Fellowship for applicants who are married or who have children. Another proposal calls on the government to fund programs that educate women on their minstrel cycles and parts so they can better understand when they are ovulating and able to conceive. Now, we do need more education. I don't know if I want the government to get their grubby hands on that, but it is absolutely true. I see all of these people like Maria Shriver complaining that funding is being taken away

from like research for women's health when the reality is with all of these funding is being taken away from stories. this is an aside. It's not that the Trump administration is specifically saying, let's take funding away from cancer research. Let's take funding away from women's health research. It's that they may be reducing the funding to one area of the government or one government program that they have rendered corrupt or they not have rendered,

but they have seen is corrupt or ineffective. They're wasting money. They're not actually accomplishing their stated goals. and so they might defund or reduce the funding for a particular program or part of the government. And that happens to take some money away from some kind of research. You've probably seen people say, oh, they're no longer funding the suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth. Well, it wasn't specifically taking funding away from that.

But again, we need to ask ourselves, why do these programs exist? Are they accomplishing anything? and if they're not accomplishing anything, if they're not actually effective at, say, making women healthier, then why should our tax dollars be funding them? No one is asking what are the results of these programs. They're just asking, what are the stated intentions of these programs? And that's not how you judge the effectiveness of a program by their stated intentions.

You have to judge it by the results. And so some critical thinking here. So should the government fund some kind of program to educate women about their cycles? I'm not sure. but women do need to know more about their cycles and how and when to get pregnant and all of that. When the New York Post asked Trump in the Oval Office about the baby bonus, President Trump said, sounds like a good idea to me. Speaker Mike Johnson has something to say about this.

Two, he was asked on Fox News about the baby bonus idea, and here's what he had to say, SOT 1. Every creative idea that the president in this White House come up with, they pan immediately, no matter what merit it may have. We are the Republican Party. We're the pro-family party. We always have been. We take great pride in that. We're working every day to rebuild a culture of life in America. We want to advance policies that help families and make it easier to raise a child in America. Okay. So we want Republicans to be on the side of the family. We want women to have children. That is absolutely true. And I want the White House to be on the side of more children and strong. stronger families and all of that. Is that what a $5,000 baby bonus would accomplish? Well, I've got thoughts on it. Let me go ahead and tell you about our first sponsor, though.

It's WeHeart Nutrition. Y'all, I absolutely love Wee Heart Nutrition. I take their supplements every single day without fail. Doesn't matter if I'm traveling or at home. I never compromise on this because it has really changed how I feel for the better. It has improved my skin, my hair, my nails, my ability to fight sickness. I take their magnesium, their postnatal vitamin, I take their omega-3s, I take their iron supplement, which has really helped my iron levels. I've always kind of been borderline anemic and it's helped me there.

And I also started taking probably six weeks ago, maybe a little more at this point, their wholesome balance, their wholesome balance hormone supplement. It is like the Swiss Army knife for women's hormones. It's got saffron, ginger, curcumin, key, bee, vitamins and I'm telling you I don't want to get into too much detail for the related bros in the room and out there but I can tell you it seems to have really helped me this last cycle. It has, I would say that it improved my mood. It improved symptoms of PMS and I'm just very grateful for that. Like I've realized as I am like 18 months postpartum that my hormones still kind of seem out of whack in some ways and I really think that this wholesome balance product has helped me.

So you should check it out. Go to weheartnutrition.com. Use code alley. You'll get 20% off. Try that wholesome balance. See if it works for you. Weheartnutrition.com code alley. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said in a statement to the New York Times regarding this proposal that Trump is proudly implementing policies to uplift American families. It's not clear if the $5,000 baby bonus is. part of his policy plan. We don't know, but the Heritage Foundation did have something to say about this. The policy analyst, a policy analyst at Heritage, Emma Waters, said that, quote, our ultimate goal is not just more babies, but more families formed. According to the New York Times,

the Heritage Foundation has been researching how to increase the birth rate for over two years and is preparing to release a report in the coming weeks on how it believes the administration and Congress should counter declining birth and marriage rates. This is legitimately a problem. The issue is, however, that we don't just need more babies. That's not the biggest issue. The biggest issue is not the depopulation crisis. I believe the biggest issue is the dissolution of the family. And a much deeper issue is the lack of desire to have children. And that is something that is spiritual, that is cultural, that is moral. It is not economic. I don't care what people say. People say, oh, well, people can't afford housing today. People feel like they're

so stretched thin with their budget. And all of that may be true. I'm not discounting that. And of course, financial problems can weigh heavily on a person and can and should to some degree determine the decisions we make. However, there have been much more difficult economic times where families have said, you know what, we are going to trust the Lord and we feel that it is our obligation and we desire to have children and we are going to figure it out in much more turbulent times than today, not only throughout history, but in other countries right now. And I'm not just talking about women who get pregnant because they don't have any way to prevent pregnancy. I'm talking about people who say, no, we're going to get married. We're going to have children because this is

the right thing to do and because we want to do this. It's the most natural thing in the world. It's literally what makes the world go round. And so if you don't desire to do that, don't kid yourself that it's because you're too stressed out or you have too much going on or you are just going to wait until you're more stable when you're 35 or until you have more money. It really is because ultimately, ultimately for the most part, and if something, if this doesn't apply to you, that it's not about you. But for the most part, married people aren't having children because they don't want to. And in large parts, people are not getting married because they don't want to get married. That doesn't apply to the related bells out there who want to have kids and want to get married

and just haven't been able to do those things yet. But I'm talking about in the culture in general, that is true. And so until we address why people don't want to commit and why people don't want to commit and why people don't want to have children, and I honestly think the government cannot do that, I don't think the depopulation crisis is going to solve itself. Because look, I don't want millions of more children who don't have present fathers and mothers. Okay? I don't think that that's actually better for the world or better for society. I'm not saying that those who don't have parents aren't innately valuable.

because of course they have just as much inherent worth as anyone else. And of course they can be very productive members of society and add so much to the world. But ultimately, the building block, the foundation for any free society is the stable family. And children need a mom and a dad. That is the ideal situation for every child to have a loving, present mom and dad. That is best for them. That creates the highest likelihood possible that they are, healthy and mature and developing and productive people who will go on and to contribute positive

things to their communities and to society as a whole. And so yes, I think that policy can speak to that in some way. And I am again open to proposals for that, but I'm not open to proposals that just reward people for having more kids no matter their marital status. I'm just not. Like, I actually don't think that we should be rewarding that. I think that actually could incentivize very bad and destructive behavior. Bethany Mandel wrote an op-ed in the New York Post criticizing the $5,000 incentive. She said a one-time payout of $5,000 in amount that wouldn't even cover the cost of one of my births. If you don't know, Bethany, she's got six kids.

Isn't a life raft, she says the $5,000 isn't a life raft. But a pat on the head as family struggled to stay afloat and a mat. Mid-rising costs, child care shortages, and a culture that undervalues parenthood. American families need tax reform rooted in research, reflecting the real needs of modern mothers and fathers, and support that empowers families to dream bigger, not just survive. The problem isn't just a drop in babies. It's a drop in marriages. Since 1970, the U.S. marriage rate has fallen by 60 percent.

While married couples, especially religious ones, still do have children. and statistically have more sex than singletons do, there are simply far fewer of them today. So maybe instead of a $5,000 baby bonus, Trump should consider a one-time tax break for newlyweds. And I think that that's a good idea. I'm not saying that the $5,000 proposal has absolutely no place, but indiscriminately giving that out to anyone who has a baby. Again, I actually just don't think that that would be a net positive. Something that I've been thinking about. I mentioned that I'm listening to this book,

Your Brain on Birth Control, and just how much not ovulating, because when you're on the birth control pill, you're not ovulating, how much not ovulating has an effect on you as a woman and how you think and what you are attracted to and the feelings that you have. Because God created our bodies to have a cycle

that includes ovulation. It is not a coincidence that when you physically can, get pregnant because there are only a few days a month when you can do that. When you physically can get pregnant, you also find yourself wanting to get pregnant. Like you want to have a baby, you're thinking about babies, or maybe you find yourself wanting to be intimate with your spouse during that time. God created our bodies for that. And so when you take away ovulation, you also take away that surge of hormone that makes you start thinking about wanting to get pregnant. And so you have all these women on the birth control pill who are not ovulating who think oh yeah i'm just a go geter boss babe and i don't

want kids that's just naturally how i am i'll never want kids no you're just not ovulating you're just not ovulating you think you don't want kids you think this is just a part of your personality you think that this is just like innate drive no you're just not ovulating and because you're not ovulating you are suppressing the very real natural god-given instinct you have to commit to a strong man who wants to make babies with you. Okay? So the birth control pill has really suppressed like a core part of what it means to be a woman. And I think it is a huge reason why the birth rate has declined, not because it is preventing pregnancy, but because it is preventing the desire to get pregnant. It has such a psychological impact on women. And it is such, I mean, it is,

a negative one of the testimonies in this book was a woman who she was in grad school and she was chasing her career and everything was going great and she decided to get off the birth control pill because she wanted to see how she felt off of it. She said as soon as she got off the birth control pill, she started having these feelings once a month. She started thinking about newborns. She started thinking about marriage. She started thinking about commitment. She started thinking about having babies and she was mortified. And she said, this is going to sidetrack me. I'm not going to be able to pursue my career anymore. So what did she do? She got back on the pill. She got back on the pill so she could suppress those very real instincts. Oh my goodness. And how many women is that true for?

So there's so much going on here. I mean, it's pharmaceutical as well as spiritual and emotional and mental. Our priorities are simply out of whack. Is there a place for policy? Yes. But Lord, give us an awakening. Give us a revival. Because it is. so much deeper than just like an economic need. And it's going to take hearts of stone turning into hearts of flesh and for us to prioritize marriage and selflessness and sacrifice and commitment and all of those things again. And those are like really, really deep issues. All right. We've got a few more things to talk about. Let me pause and tell you about our next sponsor. It's Fellowship Home Loans. Y'all, I'm so excited to work with Fellowship Home Loans.

I always am hoping to partner with companies that share my values that are unapologetic about their faith that offer a service or a product that is in alignment with our faith. If you are making a huge purchase, like a purchase of a home, you want to make sure that the people handling your treasure, like handling your money are aligned with your values. They are going to prioritize things like honesty and integrity, hard work that they care about the quality of the service that they are offering you. And I can guarantee that when you work with Mike and Brian and all of the people at fellowship home loans, that you will get exactly that. And you will feel like you are working with people who are on your team because they have the

same goal that you do. And that is to glorify God. So if you are looking to refinance, if you are looking to purchase a home loan, before you talk to anyone else, I encourage you, just reach out to fellowship home loans. If you go to Fellowship Home Loans, if you go to Fellowship Home Loans.com slash Alley. They're adding a $500 credit at closing when you use my link. Go to fellowship home loans.com slash alley to talk to them and to take advantage of that awesome deal. Nationwide Mortgage Bankers DBA Fellowship Home Loans, Equal Housing Lender, NMLS, number 819382. All right, we're about to get into our segment with Phoenix. If you missed our last Jin Z segment that we did a few weeks ago with Phoenix where she walked us through a trend that

was happening on TikTok that she thought was troubling. This will be your first time being introduced to our Ginzi muse. And we're going to talk about macha and all kinds of fun stuff. But I did want to say because I forgot to say this at the top of the episode, my Canadian friends, we were praying for you. We were. We were praying for the election yesterday and it did not go the way that we wanted it to. And I know a lot of people up there are mad about Trump because Trump made some comments and people thought that he inappropriately interfered and that it caused more people to vote for the liberal party and liberal leadership there in Canada. And yeah, okay, I get it. But if you, not you, conservatives out there, but the people who voted liberal, if you were voting based on what the president of

another country says, if you are that emotional, you are that flip it, like, then you don't need to be voting. You don't. That's not how an adult thinks. That's not how an adult functions. Why would you allow President Trump to affect how you vote? That's just silly. Okay. The fact of the matter is, is that Canada is the capital of nicer than God toxic empathy. Okay? And so they believe, despite all the evidence before them, that being progressive makes you a good person, despite the fact that Canada in so many ways is in shambles.

Economically, certainly, socially in a lot of ways. And so I am sorry to all of you who voted the correct way, who were praying so hard. we do understand that God is on his throne, that he is totally sovereign, that nothing surprises him or takes him aback, that nothing is too difficult for him, that nothing can thwart his will, Job 42, 2, that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever Hebrews 138, that he loves you and sees you, and that you are placed exactly where you are on this speck of the universe, on this tiny spot of eternity by God who does nothing accidentally or arbitrarily.

And I know all of you Christians up there in Canada know that. I've talked to many of you and your hope and your strength and your resolve is so admirable to me, but I just want you to know that I'm sorry that I want that direction. And I am continuing to pray for y'all. Okay, we're going to go ahead and get into this fun segment with Phoenix, but I do want to just make a little announcement, a fun announcement for Blaze TV. So my interview with Nicole Shanahan, you'll remember when I talked to her, went to California, had a chat with her just about all things RFK campaign, the things she saw, the truth about Silicon Valley.

It was an incredible, a revelatory conversation. If you haven't watched it, go watch it. But she's now joined as a host of Blaze TV. Like what a blessing to have someone like Nicole on our side at this network. I am so pumped about this. This show is going to be amazing. You can go to YouTube.com slash Nicole dash Shanahan. That's where her show will live or you can subscribe to blazTV.com slash alley. You'll get access to all of the content that she is producing. She is awesome. I'm so excited about her show. All right. Without further ado, here is Phoenix. Okay, y'all. Somehow I have found myself with a macha latte right next to me. This macha latte was made by our Gin Z Muse Phoenix.

And she has seen my rants about macha tasting like grass and my disbelief that anyone likes matcha that is all just made from lawn. and she has said, okay, I am going to make you a matcha latte and convince you that it is good. So I haven't tried it yet. But tell me what is what is matcha? Take us to the roots. Well, matcha is actually just a whole tea leaf. So this is where I have a problem when people say matcha tastes like grass.

I'm like, what were you expecting? All tea is from leaves. All tea is from leaves. All tea kind of tastes a little bit on the earthy side. Really? I mean, if you drink green tea. But have you, I'm like, I've never thought, ooh, this peppermint tea or this Earl Grey tea tastes like my backyard. I've never felt that way. But have you felt that way about green tea? Yes, I have. Now, I did not know. So tell me what macha is, though, because I didn't know this. It's like a green tea leaf that's grown in a very special process. It's shaded so that the leaves grow bigger and thinner. And it's like those green tea leaves are ground up into a very fine powder that dissolves in liquid. Okay.

It's got a lot of great properties like Lthianine. I know you've seen that in like the whole food supplement aisle. Yes. It's a calming property. So even though this has caffeine in it, you don't get anxiety like you do with coffee. Jittery. Right. None of that.

It's slow release caffeine, so you don't get crashes and all that different kind of stuff. It's not addictive like coffee is. Okay. So if you go a day or two without your morning matcha, you're not going to get a headache. Okay. So that's why people like it because it gives you a boost of energy without being a spike of energy. And it's got the elthianine in it, which is good for you. And I'm guessing it has the other benefits of green tea.

I've heard of a variety of benefits of green tea. And I've wanted to drink green tea in the past, especially when pregnant. But I've just never been able to get into it. So this makes sense. So this is just green tea grown in the shade. Yeah, basically, basically with a bunch of other great properties like antioxidants that you would normally get from like plants and stuff. It's because you're consuming the whole leaf. And did it start in Japan?

It did. It is traditionally Japan. That's why I have my little Japanese bamboo whisk. Do you make your own? I do make my own match. Okay, tell us how you make it. So, well, first I go out into my backyard and I cut some grass. Yes. Of course. This is how all good matcha stories start. Totally. Actually, I just take a cup of whole milk, a tablespoon of honey, about half a teaspoon of vanilla extract and, you know, your desired amount of matcha that you put in a couple table. of hot water and you whisk with the little traditional whisk. Okay. And then you pour that shot of macha into your sweetened milk. Yeah. And then you have a macha latte. Okay, what kind of matcha powder do you use? I like to use ceremonial grade matcha, but... Okay, is ceremonial grade real? What does that mean? I've seen that and it just seems like a gimmick. Well, it's not sweetened. You can buy some matcha that is sweetened. Oh, okay. So ceremony, there's actually in Japan, they have like tea ceremonies and people who do traditional Japanese matcha ceremonies. I'm not very versed in that.

I just know what happens in Japan. Okay. So a Japanese relatable listener could tell us. Yep, probably. But it's higher quality and it's, you know, you can find some organic ceremonial matcha that doesn't have any pesticides on it, things like that. But it's not sweetened and it's not cheap, essentially. And that's what you do? I do use ceremonial grade. Okay, gotcha. Okay, I'm going to taste this. And you drink it every morning, you don't drink coffee? I do occasionally drink coffee, but I feel better when I drink matcha. Okay, I probably would too, although I like the jolt of my iced coffee every morning. Okay, I'm scared. I'm fully prepared for you to say you. But yeah, it's, it will be you. Okay. It won't be personal to you. I do appreciate the glass draw. I can smell the grassiness. I can

smell it. I can smell it. Okay. Okay. Definitely hints of grass, but it is sweet. And I taste the sweetness and I appreciate the sweetness. Okay. So if I were to drink this and just tell myself, this is better for you, this is better for you, this is better for you. This is better for you. I think I could drink this. Yeah. I think I could drink it. I love coffee. Okay, what about hot?

Have you ever had hot matcha? Is that good? Oh, yeah. I actually, I think I probably like a hot matcha latte better than an iced macha latte. But the thing about matcha that I feel like people who've only tried it a couple times fail to see is that mantra is an acquired taste. Like coffee is an acquired taste.

There's a reason 14-year-olds drink for Appuccinos. You know? Yeah. that, you know, 12-year-olds don't like blue cheese. She's trying to say that my palate is immature. Because I don't like, I don't like match. Okay, but I drink, I do drink black coffee. Well, like, we black coffee drinkers definitely think we're better than everyone else.

Oh, for sure. My mom would agree with you on that. But I have to say, you know, how many times have you actually tried matcha? Have you given yourself enough time to acquire the taste? So you haven't given yourself enough time to acquire the taste. Yeah. It's an acquired taste like anything else. Okay, maybe if there's ever a time when I feel like I need to wean myself off of coffee, maybe I will try.

Now, I don't typically do dairy. So I'm guessing you could replace it with almond milk. Oh, totally. Okay. Totally. Okay. Fine. Phoenix.

I will say, you know, I just want to tell you that. this is not sponsored by big macha. You might think big macha came after me and they were like, you better say that matcha is good or else we're going to, I don't know, take down your podcast. But no, I just voluntarily said, okay, we can do a segment on matcha because I caused a firestorm when I said that I don't believe that anyone likes matcha,

that it's just the thing right now. And I still am like, are we going to find out one? day that like I don't know there's something going on with it there's a reason that they're pushing match I don't know well it can't be worse than the mold and the coffee that's true and that's why everyone should drink seven weeks coffee because seven weeks coffee is mold free and saves babies I don't know maybe one of these companies will also make watcha lacha that'd be cool um macho one day and I'll drink it but okay thank you so much

Mother's Day is almost here. And I just really encourage you as a mom to not only think about, okay, what are, what do you want for Mother's Day? What are you going to get your mom? What are you going to get your mother-in-law? Those are all good things to think about. But think about what you can give to other moms. Maybe moms who are in need. moms who might be in crisis pregnancies, first-time moms, who don't know how they are going to take care of the baby that they have. Preborn is a network of clinics across the country that helps take care of those moms. When a pregnant mom walks into the doors of pre-born, they feel loved, they feel cared for, they feel seen, they are given a free pregnancy test, free ultrasound. And we know through data that women are so much more likely to choose life for the baby inside their womb. when they see that baby on the ultrasound, when they hear that beating heart. And so pre-born is offering them truth and a true choice and a life-affirming choice is the direction that we hope they go in

and pre-born does everything they possibly can to help women make that decision. So I encourage you donate to pre-born today. $28 covers the cost of a life-saving ultrasound, but whatever you can donate. Maybe it's $2.80. Maybe it's $28,000. Whatever you can donate, that goes towards saving the life of these image bearers of God and serving their moms and dads. Go to preborn.com slash alley to make that impactful donation today. That's preborn.com slash alley.

We do have four minutes left. Should we talk about Brian Stelter? Oh, let's get into it. Let's talk about Brian Stelter. Okay. So there's this story that Vince sent. And it is about Brian Stelter. He is spotted,

shoeless and disheveled, according to freebeacon.com, on an Amtrak train after leaving the White House correspondent center. And we will put up this picture. You remember Brian Stelter as the guy who used to be on, I think it was called Reliable Sources on CNN. And he is on this train. He does look very disheveled, okay?

I, you know, I won't fault him for that, but I will fault. Tim for not wearing shoes on public transportation. Another thing that I have an issue with in addition to Macha is people taking off their shoes when they're traveling on an airplane, especially barefoot, but even sock footed, because you're going home and you are walking around in your socks. There are so many germs. And also, I just think other people are smelling your feet. It's also undignified. Now, Phoenix, you think that this is worse than walking around on a plane. And without shoes, right? I do. It's so bad. As the girlies would say, that is not chic.

It's not sheik. That is not chic. It's definitely not chic. No, it's nasty. It's on the ground. It's not like airplanes, they're in the air. There's not that many opportunities for mice and bugs and rats and whatever to get on the airplane. Homeless people. Homeless people, yeah, homeless people don't usually have enough money to afford plane tickets. So there's that. And then, you know, there's all sorts of all sorts of icky things running around running on the ground on amtrak trains and then you're just going to put your feet on that think about all the foot fungus the the little so much there's so much and i just think about like it makes me question your discernment all together like it really does because how long are you on this train really really that you have to take your shoes off

and i'm thinking he might be i don't know this but he might have had had some, he might be slightly inebriated and maybe tequila makes his clothes fall off. I don't know. I don't know. At least his shoes fall. Maybe that's what's going on here. But have some respect for yourself. My grandma would say act like you've been somewhere. Oh my goodness. Act like you've been somewhere, Brian Stelter. To be fair, I think we were always questioning Brian Stelter's discernment and decision making. I think we all were. Yes. I think his former's employers were. This is just, This is just too much for me. The only thing that would make the end of this episode worse is if someone brought a pit bull on to my set.

Okay. I have to disagree with you on that one, Allie. I can't fault the puppies. Oh my gosh. I am a pit bull apologist. I did not know this was happening. I think. Phoenix, are you prepared for what you're about to engage in?

I am fully prepared. Go for it. Okay. Hot take, white suburban women suck at training dogs. And that is, and some breeds require more training than other breeds. This is not typically happening to white suburban women. I'll just say that. That's probably controversial, but this is not typically happening to white suburban women.

This is happening to women of all backgrounds. Disproportionately, pit bulls are owned by Hispanic Americans and black Americans. This happens in all different kinds of communities. it doesn't have to do with training. In some cases it might because, you know, training is important for all kinds of dogs, but this is because pit bulls were bred to bait bowls and hogs and to not let go. And just like retrievers retrieve, just like shepherds herd, just like other dogs do what they were made to do, Labrador's also retrieve. Pit bulls latch on and they don't let go. And they go for the jugular. All dogs bite, not all dogs mall to death because they don't have the ability to do so.

Pit bulls have the unique ability to do that. And it doesn't have to do with training. It doesn't have to do with training. It has to do with the instincts that dogs have. You know, I will let you know I have been bit by a dog right here. I had plastic surgery when I was 18 months old because I got a chunk taken out of my face by a dog. It wasn't a pit bull that was bred specifically, like not. not bread, but trained to be aggressive.

And if you can train a naturally sweet dog to be aggressive, I firmly believe that training a pit bull, there are plenty of pit bulls that do not have these instances. I do think that training is a large part of it. Now, I am actually pro, like, mandatory education for dog training for, like, what people call the bully breeds. think people need to know, like, specifically how to train these dogs. And I don't think that, and I think people need to make better, more responsible choices about what homes they choose to bring these dogs into. And I think a lot of people mistake signs of early aggression in dogs and don't

train them out of it. Like, you know, chihuahuas are notoriously some of the most aggressive, you know, dogs on the planet. Yeah. Chihuahuas. But chihuahuas, they can mall you. And yes, you can, sure, you can train a sweet dog to be aggressive. You can train a naturally aggressive dog to be as sweet as possible. But you can't train a retriever not to be able to retrieve. You can't train a shepherd not to be able to herd. You can't train a lab not to be able to swim.

You can never put them by the water. But as soon as you put them in a situation where their instincts kick in, they are going to be able to swim. The same thing is true of pit bulls. There are definitely sweet pit bulls. I've known sweet pit bulls before who have never mauled. The thing is you don't know. And it's not their fault. That is something deep in their brain.

The problem is you never know when they're going to be triggered. And you know when they bite. They're not just going to like nip at your heels the way that a chihuahua would. They can literally bite your head off. And here are some statistics. Pit bulls and Rottweilers make up 77% of all fatal dills. dog bites, despite only making up 6% of the U.S. dog population from 2010 to October 2023. There were 478 fatal dog bites with 196 of those coming from pit bulls.

So yes, I'm for training. Yes, I'm for licensing, but I am for it to be illegal to breathe these animals because I care about people more than I care about dogs and they're just not fit for domestication. I just have to ask, how much of this do you think is correlation versus causation. Like are the people who are buying these dogs, people who want aggressive dogs? Because I've, well, some of them most certainly are because I know people who are like, or I've seen actually a trend on TikTok. I've seen a trend on TikTok where people have bought some of these bully breeds, specifically the Cane Corso breed, which is not very dissimilar from pit bulls. Yeah. To be like their personal protection dogs and they train them to be somewhat aggressive as protectors of, you know,

women of farm animals, et cetera. And so I do think that some of this is actually caused by people who want aggressive dogs and intentionally do not train the aggression out of them. And, you know, some of these pit bull stories are like, well, this pit bull got out of its fence or this pit bull, you know, ran away from home, et cetera, et cetera. And I've seen several pit bull stories like that. Of course, that's the case. But I've seen too many livestock, too many farm animals, too many babies, too many adults, too many elderly people mauled to death by pit bulls.

It doesn't happen by golden retrievers. It doesn't happen by labs. I've been bit by all different kinds of dogs, actually, not pit bulls because I wouldn't let my kids around pit bulls. The risk is just too great. The bite and hold instinct is just too strong. in a pit bull and I'm telling you right now. If you are listening to this, don't allow your kids around pit bulls. Do not own a pit bull. Release, surrender your pit bull. If your pit bull ever bites,

put that pit bull down. It's time to be done with pit bulls. It's just not worth it. Okay, it's my show. So we're going to end on that note. Phoenix, thank you so much. I really do appreciate you taking the time. You haven't changed my mind on pit bulls, but maybe on matcha. Great. Thank you.