Brett Cooper on defining her political voice and making up her own mind about Trump

What this episode is about

Brett Cooper, a prominent figure among Generation Z, discusses her role as a voice in conservative media, emphasizing her approach to engaging with political topics through candid conversations on social media. She focuses on fostering a genuine connection with her audience, sharing her beliefs without conforming to traditional media roles, and creating an open dialogue about important issues.

Key takeaways

• Brett Cooper's influence bridges generational gaps, advocating empowerment over political labels for Gen Z.
• Log off, go outside, and touch grass—refreshingly ironic wisdom from an internet influencer.
• From 90% male to a balanced 50/50 split: Brett Cooper reshapes YouTube's gender landscape.
• Not just talking heads: Cooper champions critical thinking over echo chambers in online discourse.
• Conservative values, relatable content: Cooper fills a void for young women in a male-dominated media world.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Brett Cooper (Guest) · 34 min speaking
• Unidentified NPR interviewer (Host) · 9 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Brett Cooper, conservative media, Generation Z, go outside and touch grass
2. 5:00 – 10:00: State of the Union, tradife
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Brett Cooper, Brett Cooper show, fourth wave feminism, Mary Wilstoncrafts
4. 15:00 – 20:00: free speech, Alex Jones, deplatform, Mark Leavvin
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Zionist
6. 25:00 – 30:00: deportation, illegal immigration, inflation, Israel and Hamas
7. 30:00 – 35:00: Ali Beth Sakucky, Dearbornne, Michigan, Governor Tim Walls, Michigan
8. 35:00 – 40:00: 2008 style crash, Austrian economics, Blake Lively, Feeding Our Future
9. 40:00 – 43:07: Brett Cooper, rage baiting

Notable quotes from "Brett Cooper on defining her political voice and making up her own mind about Trump"

• Brett Cooper is an influential voice of Generation Z. She came up through conservative media and now in her mid20s has a popular YouTube channel and is a Fox News contributor. She draws.

  about Brett Cooper · at 0:00

• And start families and be really grounded. And, my favorite tagline is go outside and touch grass.

  about go outside and touch grass · at 2:59

• Started, making videos and it was during COVID and I was talking about the lockdowns. I was a college student living in Los Angeles. I went to UCLA. I felt very alienated in my…

  about lockdowns · at 4:11

• First video actually was reacting to the best moments or the craziest moments from Biden's State of the Union in 2022, I believe.

  about State of the Union · at 5:39

• Family, which makes me wonder about all these questions like are you wanting to pro promote being a tradife or having 10 kids or banging on feminists or whatever it is that's out there.

  about tradife · at 8:56

• Its meaning because it's not actually about equality anymore in my opinion. I think that third and fourth wave feminism ended up becoming about putting men down in order to elevate women and to make them feel good about themselves.

  about fourth wave feminism · at 10:13

• Else to impact that. So, I want my audience to know that if you're coming to watch the Brett Cooper show, she doesn't have a senator in her ear saying, Hey, these are my opinions.

  about Brett Cooper show · at 12:42

• I think at the end of the day my issue is with free is with free speech. You should be allowed to say whatever you want and we should encourage people to share their ideas and if you don't like them ignore them. I think that.

  about free speech · at 17:07

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Brett Cooper — Person · 4 mentions · first at 0:00
• Mary Wilstoncrafts — Person · 1 mention · first at 10:38
  Do not identify with that. But if we go back to you know 1700s 1800s the Mary Wilstoncrafts when she wrote the vindication of the rights of women and was just saying like can I be educated?
• Mark Leavvin — Person · 1 mention · first at 18:34
  Is the best disinfectant. Move on if you don't like it. And suddenly we have huge conservative figures, people like Mark Leavvin, going on air and saying, We will cancel you.…
• Alex Jones — Person · 1 mention · first at 19:16
  Other people have said. Fuentes, this is a quote from a video in an interview with Alex Jones, Jewish elite gangsters that run our country. and in the Tucker Carlson interview…
• Laura Ingram — Person · 1 mention · first at 25:09
  The thing that really spurred me into action was seeing Trump doing his Laura Ingram interview. And I know Laura and love her. I think it was a great interview. It was enlightening in a lot of ways, some not very positive.
• Governor Tim Walls — Person · 1 mention · first at 30:27
  An episode two days ago on the Somalian fraud crisis in Minnesota that happened under Tim Walls's watch which Trump is also talking about at enormous length. Go on. Go on.
• Ali Beth Sakucky — Person · 1 mention · first at 34:56
  Sympathetic. But I do not want to be toxic in my empathy. I don't know if you've ever spoken with Ali Beth Sakucky. She wrote an incredible book called toxic empathy.
• Blake Lively — Person · 1 mention · first at 39:39
  The Somalian, fraud scheme with, feeding our future or whether it is the Blake Lively, Justin Baldon lawsuit, whatever it may be, I have so much fun with it. and they've…
• Justin Baldon — Person · 1 mention · first at 39:39
  The Somalian, fraud scheme with, feeding our future or whether it is the Blake Lively, Justin Baldon lawsuit, whatever it may be, I have so much fun with it. and they've…
• J. D. Vance — Person · 1 mention

Books & papers

• Toxic Empathy — Book · 1 mention · first at 34:58
  You've ever spoken with Ali Beth Sakucky. She wrote an incredible book called toxic empathy.
• A Vindication of the Rights of Woman — Book · 1 mention

Companies & orgs

• Foundation for Economic Education — Company · 1 mention · first at 35:27
  Outcome. that is something that I learned when I was working at the foundation for economic education and I was studying Austrian economics. That was like the first thing that…
• Feeding Our Future — Company · 1 mention · first at 39:38
  Through complex issues, whether they be the Somalian, fraud scheme with, feeding our future or whether it is the Blake Lively, Justin Baldon lawsuit, whatever it may be, I have…
• Tik Tok — Company · 1 mention

Concepts & topics

• lockdowns — Concept · 3 mentions · first at 4:15
• free speech — Concept · 2 mentions · first at 17:09
• Generation Z — Concept · 1 mention · first at 0:02
  Brett Cooper is an influential voice of Generation Z. She came up through conservative media and now in her mid20s has a popular YouTube channel and is a Fox News contributor. She draws attention when she agrees with President.
• conservative media — Concept · 1 mention · first at 0:04
  Brett Cooper is an influential voice of Generation Z. She came up through conservative media and now in her mid20s has a popular YouTube channel and is a Fox News contributor.…
• YouTube channel — Concept · 1 mention · first at 0:07
  Generation Z. She came up through conservative media and now in her mid20s has a popular YouTube channel and is a Fox News contributor. She draws attention when she agrees with…
• go outside and touch grass — Concept · 1 mention · first at 3:03
• State of the Union — Concept · 1 mention · first at 5:44
• tradife — Concept · 1 mention · first at 9:00
• fourth wave feminism — Concept · 1 mention · first at 10:16
• triedwife — Concept · 1 mention · first at 10:54
  But in the modern politicized sense, I don't agree with that. And I would not say that I'm a triedwife either. So, I think I kind of fall somewhere in the middle, which to be…
• Brett Cooper show — Concept · 1 mention · first at 12:45
• deplatform — Concept · 1 mention · first at 18:39
  Conservative figures, people like Mark Leavvin, going on air and saying, We will cancel you. We will deplatform you. That's not like that those that does not align with my values. If it aligns with theirs, that's totally fine.
• Zionist — Concept · 1 mention · first at 22:24
  Thread on Acts recently and it was a person who is Jewish I actually believe lives in Israel is a Zionist and said you know I sat down and I watched Anik Fuentes stream in its…
• manufacturing back into this country — Concept · 1 mention · first at 27:48
  Conversation was when Laura was talking about manufacturing and bringing manufacturing back into this country. It is true that you can't just flip a switch overnight and have…
• illegal immigration — Concept · 1 mention · first at 28:32
  Been a lot of positive things. I think that we are getting what we voted for when it comes to illegal immigration and deportation. I'm happy about that. and I'm, happy about what is, happening overseas. I was extremely happy about.
• deportation — Concept · 1 mention · first at 28:34
  I think that we are getting what we voted for when it comes to illegal immigration and deportation. I'm happy about that. and I'm, happy about what is, happening overseas. I was extremely happy about the peace agreement with, Israel and.
• Israel and Hamas — Concept · 1 mention · first at 28:42
  About what is, happening overseas. I was extremely happy about the peace agreement with, Israel and Hamas. I'm so glad that the, hostages are home. he has done incredible peace deals, across, the Middle East. That.
• peace agreement — Concept · 1 mention · first at 28:42
  About what is, happening overseas. I was extremely happy about the peace agreement with, Israel and Hamas. I'm so glad that the, hostages are home. he has done incredible peace deals, across, the Middle East. That.
• inflation — Concept · 1 mention · first at 29:06
  Coming down slightly, while we are seeing things moving in the right direction, inflation did decrease a little bit. When it comes to people, putting their Thanksgiving dinner…
• Thanksgiving dinner — Concept · 1 mention · first at 29:10
  Direction, inflation did decrease a little bit. When it comes to people, putting their Thanksgiving dinner on the table, when it comes to young people saying, Okay, clock is ticking.
• war in Afghanistan — Concept · 1 mention · first at 31:53
  I want to complicate this a little bit and just hear what you think. I covered the war in Afghanistan as a reporter. I've been there a few times and got to know some Afghans…
• post-traumatic stress — Concept · 1 mention · first at 32:11
  United States, died in the service of the United States, and once they got here, maybe even had post-traumatic stress. I don't know what was in the mind of this guy in Washington.
• world's police — Concept · 1 mention · first at 33:36
  To the foundation of this is that we should not be engaging in those. We should not be the world's police in my opinion. I don't want to be sending my hard-earned tax dollars…
• toxic empathy — Concept · 1 mention · first at 34:58
  You've ever spoken with Ali Beth Sakucky. She wrote an incredible book called toxic empathy.
• Austrian economics — Concept · 1 mention · first at 35:29
  Learned when I was working at the foundation for economic education and I was studying Austrian economics. That was like the first thing that they sit you down and they teach…
• student loan — Concept · 1 mention · first at 35:56
  Everything right, who went to the right schools, who, took out the student loans that they were told they would be able to pay back. who were told you'll have great jobs in…
• national debt — Concept · 1 mention · first at 36:08
  Completely indebted. I don't know if we'll ever be able to handle our national debt. young people are freaked out about that. my generation.
• 2008 style crash — Concept · 1 mention · first at 36:18
  I listen to my peers. This is not just something I see online. One of my best friends is literally praying for a 2008 style crash so that she could buy a home.
• rage baiting — Concept · 1 mention · first at 42:26
  Driven by, as we were talking about, social media and short videos and, buzzy headlines and rage baiting.
• foreign aid — Concept · 1 mention
• judge policies not by their intention but by their outcome — Concept · 1 mention
• Somalian fraud crisis in Minnesota — Concept · 1 mention
• STEM — Concept · 1 mention
• Streisand effect — Concept · 1 mention
• third wave feminism — Concept · 1 mention

Places & events

• Middle East — Place · 1 mention · first at 28:50
  Hostages are home. he has done incredible peace deals, across, the Middle East. That has been incredibly, significant and positive. That is also what I voted for. But again, at the end of the day, the number one issue for.
• Minnesota — Place · 1 mention · first at 30:24
  Big issue has been, I just did an episode two days ago on the Somalian fraud crisis in Minnesota that happened under Tim Walls's watch which Trump is also talking about at enormous length. Go on. Go on.
• Dearbornne, Michigan — Place · 1 mention · first at 30:48
  By people who are not assimilating, who hate our country, who are, as we're seeing in Dearbornne, Michigan, who are saying, we hate America, death to America. That is not…
• Michigan — Place · 1 mention · first at 30:48
  By people who are not assimilating, who hate our country, who are, as we're seeing in Dearbornne, Michigan, who are saying, we hate America, death to America. That is not…

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Brett Cooper is an influential voice of Generation Z. She came up through conservative media and now in her mid20s has a popular YouTube channel and is a Fox News contributor. She draws attention when she agrees with President Trump and when she disagrees. We called her up to ask what she does, how she does it, and what she really believes.

0:23 Brett Cooper, welcome. Hi, thank you for having me. It's great to talk with you. um uh stating the obvious. There's a lot of different kinds of podcasters or influencers or people talking on video, but I want to understand what you do and how you think about it. What What is your job, your business? How do you define it?

0:41 Oh gosh. Um you know, my job is just to talk to people. And I think that that is a it's a very vague way to put it, but I also think it sums it up in the best way possible because I, you know, I don't really consider myself a newscaster. Um, I don't consider myself somebody who, you know, I'll go on Fox News, you know, occasionally, but I'm not, you know, sitting behind a desk. I don't consider myself an anchor. What I do is I, um, I'm a young person who is engaged in culture and politics and is active on social media and then goes online. I literally film from my phone most of the time. Um, and I just talk about the issues that matter to me with my community of, you know, audience members. And these are people who I've developed this like online relationship with over the last 3 or 4 years. And I feel like I really understand them and they understand me. And they know that when they're logging on to watch one of

1:31 my videos, they're just listening to Brett talk. I'm not trying to push a narrative in one way or another. They know what my opinions are. They know what my biases are. If you like them, you like them. If you don't, you don't. But I don't try to hide that. I'm not trying to say that I'm, you know, something that I'm not. But I just get online and I talk about the issues that matter and try to encourage people to think critically about the world. Um to dive deeper into the stories that are impacting them on a daily basis to hopefully laugh a little bit because the world is pretty dark and serious and so that's what we do.

2:02 When you say you're not trying to push a narrative, so you're not trying to do that negative thing, but I could phrase that a little differently. I mean, some people have want to advance some ideas. I mean, do you have a general idea of the world you would like to get across?

2:13 For sure. I think I have my my values that I believe are integral to living a good life and I would hope that other people would um would take those and learn about them and see if they can implement them in their own life. It's for me it's less about politics. I think people get really bogged down in you know are you a conservative, are you a liberal, what policies are you pushing? But at the end of the day, I want people to be empowered to speak freely, to believe in freedom, to be independent thinkers. I want them to go out into the world, especially cuz my audience is a lot of young people. It's like 18 to 35 is my biggest age bracket. Um, and these are my peers. These are, you know, my friends in real life. And I want to encourage my generation to go out in the world and be ambitious and be empowered.

2:59 Um, and start families and be really grounded. And, you know, my favorite tagline is go outside and touch grass. like just log offline, stop watching so much social media, stop um

3:09 irony alert. I'll just stop you for a second to call out the irony there, but please go on. Go on.

3:14 Yes. Yeah. Um but no, so it's just to get offline and enjoy life. And so at the end of the day, I think those are values that are, you know, they have become political. Everything is political today, but I see them more as just, you know, what I believe is meaningful when you're trying to live a good life.

3:31 You said 18 to 35, that's your target audience. Can you tell me a little bit more about that? Who are you talking to? Who are you hoping to talk to? And who do you know is there?

3:40 Yeah. Um, so if we want to get into the nitty-gritty of the analytics, my So, if you look at YouTube, my biggest age group is say 18 to 35. Those are the two age brackets that are most significant in my audience. And it is a very, very even 50/50 split of men and women. And it used to not be that way. When I first started on YouTube, and YouTube is a a significantly male-dominated platform. I think I had like a 90% male audience and 10% female like three and a half years ago. And so over the course of the last few years, I've pulled the women in, which I'm very proud of because when I started all of this, when I first started, you know, making videos and it was during COVID and I was talking about the lockdowns. I was a college student living in Los Angeles. I went to UCLA. I felt very alienated in my values and my beliefs cuz it was just not represented on campus. And I started making these

4:25 videos. And it was in a sense for women. It was four girls that were like me because I just didn't feel very represented. Um, and I had grown up listening to the Glenn Becks of the world and the Ben Shapiro and Michael Nolles, but I was like, where are the young women? I know that we're being raised in these more conservative families. Um, and I don't see us represented. I don't see somebody that's talking to me as the kind of voter that I know that I will become, the type of young woman that I am. And so, I started creating those videos just because I saw that gap as a consumer myself. So, that was what inspired it. And at the end of the day, when I have people come up to me, you know, if I'm in Costco or whatever I'm doing and somebody comes up and says they watch my videos, every single time it's meaningful, but the most meaningful interactions are young women when they come up to me and they

5:10 say like, "You make me feel seen. You make me you give me entertainment and content that represents my values and that you talk about, you know, issues that matter to me and that's like the end all beall. It makes my day."

5:22 What did you do, do you think, to attract more of that female audience? Um, you know, when I started, I definitely talked more about hard politics. I was working at the Daily Wire. Yeah. And, you know, that was the the MMO there. And so, I would talk a lot. I think my first video actually was reacting to the best moments or the craziest moments from Biden's State of the Union in 2022, I believe.

5:48 And, um, so it was very, it was more politically focused content. And obviously I'm interested in that kind of stuff, but at the end of the day, I love pop culture. I love trends on social media and how those are indicative of broader issues and topics in our culture. I think that a lot of people kind of blow off social media and pop culture as being meaningless, but most of those stories are indicative of big things that are going on in our world. And obviously, my generation is incredibly engaged. And so I kind of looked around at my content and I was like, I'm consuming all of this. Why am I not talking about all this because this matters to people who are like me?

6:20 Um, and so I think that probably welcomed women into the fold a little bit more because I was talking about issues that I, as a young woman, cared about and was interested in. And so I think that helped a lot. And then I saw a big jump actually after I got engaged and then got married. And I think a lot of women were interested in that and wanted to hear about my experience getting married and now having a baby. And you know, I think men were interested in it as well, but the women for sure were like, "Oh, this is, you know, I relate to you. This is really interesting. I want to follow you along on this journey." So, it became not just about the content and the stories that I was talking about, but me as a communicator.

6:54 As you're talking, I'm thinking about being a parent myself and how I will mention my kids on the air, but I never name my kids on the air. I never put their pictures up. I mean, there's certain lines that I draw. What lines, if any, do you do you draw like what are the things that you'll put out there and things that you'll maybe keep private?

7:08 So, those are the actually the same lines that I have. So, I have not vocalized his name. Have not posted it anywhere. Um, we are not sharing his face. That was something that I was very intentional about. Um, because I I decided that I wanted to do this and I love my job and I have so much fun with it. But I don't want to put him out there without his consent. Um, especially in the hyperpoliticized world that we live in. I don't want to put him in any kind of danger or put his face on anything that, you know, if one day he doesn't want to be associated with this, then I don't want to have, you know, put him out in that fire. Um, so yeah, those are the lines that I draw there. um with my husband. I did not share that I was actually dating anybody until we got engaged because I had seen the pitfalls of very public relationships and I didn't really want, you know, my audience was rapidly growing and I think

7:59 at the time that I got engaged, I had, you know, 3 million subscribers, something like that, and many more across all different platforms. And I was like, I don't want all of those eyes on this very new, you know, baby relationship that we're trying to develop. Um, and I want to be completely sure about who I'm marrying and I want to be completely sure about this relationship before I introduce millions of people into it. So, I didn't share that and then didn't share his face until we got married. And that was at his request. He was like, I'd like to be more private. Um, but you know, the internet has its ways and they were able to uncover a lot of things about him.

8:30 So, by the time we got married, he said, "You know what? Just let's go ahead and do it. They're going to find me anyway." Um, and so his name is Alex and he pops up in videos occasionally. He'll help me out with things. Sometimes I'll have him do like voiceovers in my advertisements and that kind of thing cuz he has a great voice. But um yeah, so those are our those are our lines.

8:46 Well, we'll thank Alex for looking after the baby while you're doing this. It's really great.

8:49 Exactly. Uh glad to get the thanks in there. You mentioned how everything is political. That is definitely true of marriage and family, which makes me wonder about all these questions like are you wanting to pro promote being a tradife or having 10 kids or banging on feminists or whatever it is that that's out there.

9:07 Yeah. Okay. So, I I feel like I have a very common sense take on trades. You can let me know what you think. But tradife has become this internet aesthetic. It has become a trend. And I say that it's a trend and an aesthetic because it is, you know, the the sundresses frolicking in fields, churning butter, making sourdough. And it feels a lot less about real values and what values are being implemented in the family and in the home and more about posturing and telling everybody about your values online and kind of playing this facade.

9:38 That's everything now. But go on. Yeah. Absolutely. It is. Yeah. Exactly. But it's especially ironic when you're when you are when you are sharing values and you're saying I as a woman, you know, I stay home and I am not working and my main focus is being a mom. But then you have an entire career online sharing those values. And so I'm very careful about saying, you know, I'm a proud wife cuz I'm not. I work. I have a very big career. I have a business that I run. Um, but my views on family are definitely more traditional. I wouldn't call myself a feminist. Um, specifically in the third and fourth wave form of feminism, which I think has lost all of its meaning because it's not actually about equality anymore in my opinion. I think that third and fourth wave feminism ended up becoming about putting men down in order to elevate women and to make them feel good about themselves.

10:23 and we've seen the ramifications of that in the lives of young men and in the happiness levels of young women. So I just don't think in my opinion that that has been very successful. So I certainly do not um identify with that. But if we go back to you know 1700s 1800s the um Mary Wilstoncrafts when she wrote the vindication of the rights of women and was just saying like can I be educated? That's all I'm asking. Obviously I believe that obviously I believe in equality. So, if we go back to the true definition of feminism, of course. Um, but in the modern politicized sense, I don't agree with that. And I would not say that I'm a triedwife either. So, I think I kind of fall somewhere in the middle, which to be honest, I think most women and families do. I think most of us are somewhere in the middle.

11:02 What do you think about that? And I think about men maybe more than women having this point of view, that Elon Musk, JD Vance sort of point of view. Time to get out there and have lots of kids.

11:10 Yep. I mean, I'm all for it. We want to have a ton of kids. um that does not mean that we're going to have like 15 and that my husband is going to be around impregnating lots of different women uh in the Elon Musk style. That will not be the case. But we both come from bigger families and see the value in it. Um and we want to I think that the most important thing that you could do in your life if you want to have a family is to have a bunch of kids and to share your values and create great human beings and send them out into the world to do amazing things. And I think that, you know, at the end of my life, I'm hoping and expecting that that will be the thing that I look back on with the most fondness um and the most satisfaction and fulfillment.

11:51 Do politicians reach out to you sometimes. Congressman, senators like just to talk to get their views across to find out what you're thinking.

12:00 I think it's more about trying to figure out what I'm thinking and what my generation is thinking about. Um, I'm very careful in that I don't do a ton of interviews where I'm interviewing other people. I did some actually at the beginning of the year when I was launching my new show and we were seeing if I kind of liked that format and if it would work for my show and what I wanted to do and we ended up kind of moving away from that. Um, but I'm very careful about the fact that my show is me at the end of the day. My audience again shows up for me and my opinions whether they like them or not like them. I have a large portion of my audience is actually not conservative, but they enjoy me as a person and they want to hear, you know, from the other side. And I want to make sure that I am never allowing anybody else to impact that. So, I want my audience to know that if you're coming to watch the Brett Cooper show, she

12:47 doesn't have a senator in her ear saying, "Hey, these are my opinions. Could you share them?" But if I see what's going on on X, if I see Ted Cruz saying something, I'm going to talk about it. If it's viral, then I'll go, "Okay, so this is what Ted is saying. Let me break this down for you and show you how this fits into the broader ecosystem of politics online, but I don't have I'm not I'm not being given talking points. Um, which I think is really important and I will vow to never do.

13:13 I want to but um but I do talk with, you know, occasionally people in the admin and in politics because they're interested in, you know, what is your audience thinking? What does Gen Z care about? Um, and I'm always happy to have those conversations. I I want to ask about Ted Cruz in a minute because you had a really interesting exchange. Uh so we will get to that, but I want to ask a little more. So So politicians reach out to you, they're asking your advice from time to time. Um I'm curious how you figure out the way to think about issues and make sure you're right. I mean, that's a thing that I feel to oblige actually is to call lots of people and talk to lots of people and listen to lots of points of view and doubt myself and so forth. How do you make sure you're right?

13:54 I think the word right is complicated because I obviously believe that my opinions are correct but you know people might disagree with that.

14:02 Let's talk about just having the underlying facts correct. Yes. Yes. Yes. Exactly. So I think if we have I think I put those those things into two buckets. So number one making sure that I'm factually correct. Um I have a great team. It's a small but mighty team. Um, and we go through, you know, the things that I'm going to be talking about and we fact check those and I ensure that if I upload a video and something was incorrect later on and if I am corrected on something or if the news changes, I try to go back and make sure that I am honest with people and I say, "Okay, so this has shifted. We now have more information." I'll do a follow-up episode or I will post in my own comment section and pin a comment and go, "Guys, this is actually the update." Um, or whatever it may be because that's part of my reputation.

14:42 That is part of making sure that my audience actually does trust me. And I also think something that I do that I'm very comfortable doing is taking people along as I'm doing my episodes and doing my show and showing them my thought process. Like I'm very comfortable saying, you know, when I first saw this story, I believed XYZ. And you know, I took 10 minutes, I let myself cool down, got a coffee, I went back to it, and I realized, okay, my reaction was not actually correct. These are the facts here. And I'm comfortable saying, I changed my mind on this. And I think that's really important. And I think we've lost a lot of that in media. and to be a trustworthy steward of um news and content and communication, you should be comfortable saying that you were wrong about something or that you changed your mind. And so I think that's part of the more the factual part of making sure everything is in line and

15:24 correct there. And then when it comes to probably what I think about every single day for the majority of my day is making sure that I am morally and philosophically consistent. I want to make sure that my values are always intact because at the end of the day, you know, I have to fall asleep with myself. Like I have to look at myself in the mirror and I want to make sure that I have integrity with myself and that I'm not compromising my values. And often that is uncomfortable. I think on both sides of the political aisle, people are very comfortable bending and changing their values due to things that are going on in the world because something might be cool or trendy or it might be more convenient to bend a little bit and compromise your values.

16:03 That's actually kind of what um what happened with Ted Cruz and that whole little snafu in my episode that caused him to tweet at me. But even if it's uncomfortable, even if even if it forces you to go against your own party or go against the grain, I would much rather be consistent with my own values and the things that I believe to be true. Um because again, that is my reputation. That's making sure that people can trust me and knowing that I'm honest. And also, I have to look at myself in the mirror and go, you're being consistent.

16:27 And that's the most important thing to me. I appreciate you saying that you want to be morally consistent. Uh, I have a colleague who's familiar with your work who said that one way to think of you is as a moralist. You have a view of the world and you're calling out people that you think don't measure up.

16:42 Um, with that in mind, let's move to this Ted Cruz matter and some other things that are related. What have you thought about this controversy among conservatives about Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, anti-semitism, the Heritage Foundation? We could go on and on. I guess broadly uh more specifically the question is what to do about Nick Fuentes if anything and more broadly the question is what to do about anti-semitism in the Republican party. What have you thought about that?

17:07 I think at the end of the day my issue is with free is with free speech. You should be allowed to say whatever you want um and we should encourage people to share their ideas and if you don't like them ignore them. I think that that is a a major problem honestly on both sides of the aisle. I think that we have forgotten the Strian effect and forgotten how important that is and we've gotten into the habit of if we don't like something, if we think that something is incredibly morally wrong and backwards, we don't just there it's a balance here. You should talk about it and share your opinions and share something that is positive and empowering. What is your solution? What is the alternative that you are providing that is good and wholesome that people should adopt? And then there's the side of people who just point fingers and scream at things and just draw more attention to things. And I think that for Gen Z, what people on

17:52 both sides of the political aisle need to realize is the more that you tell my generation not to watch something, not to look into something, not to listen to something, that something is bad or censor somebody, we're going to go look for that content because we're interested. I think that's just normal human nature, but especially for my generation. It's a bit more rebellious as young people are. So, I think that that is part of it. Again, the free speech issue is incredibly important to me. You know, we have conservatives who have been banging the drum about cancel culture for 10 years at this point.

18:22 True. Saying, you know, you should be allowed to say whatever you want. You should not lose your job over your beliefs. You should not be canceled or ostracized because of the things that you say. Say whatever you want. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Move on if you don't like it. And suddenly we have huge conservative figures, people like Mark Leavvin, um, going on air and saying, "We will cancel you. We will deplatform you." That's not like that those that does not align with my values. If it aligns with theirs, that's totally fine.

18:47 But the thing that I wanted to call out was you've built a career saying one thing. You've gained people's trust by saying we will fight against cancel culture. We will not deplatform people. Say whatever you want and we will duke it out on, you know, on the stage through debates. And now you're saying, I don't like your ideas, so I'm going to cancel you.

19:04 Well, those are my opinions. Let's take for granted as part of this conversation that people have a right to say what they want to say. There is then the matter of what Nick Fuentes and some other people have said. Fuentes, this is a quote from a video in an interview with Alex Jones, uh, Jewish elite gangsters that run our country. Um, and in the Tucker Carlson interview, he talks about how he feels that Jews are extremely organized across borders and more loyal to Israel than to their their home countries, which is a longtime anti-semitic uh kind of kind of idea.

19:35 When we get down to the substance of what Nick Poentes says, do you agree with it?

19:40 [sighs and gasps] You know, I don't agree with Nick Fuentes on everything. I don't agree with anybody on everything. Um, I think that what especially older generations need to learn about Nick Fuentes is that he says it himself. He is an edge lord. He says things that are intentionally inflammatory. He knows that a lot of people are not going to agree with him. He knows that it is incredibly inflammatory. Um, and honestly I don't pay much attention to it.

20:09 Do you think there's a Do you think that Jewish gangsters are controlling the country?

20:14 No, not really. I am concerned about the impact of Israel in our country. I think that a lot of young people are and not and I'm concerned about it in the way of, you know, young people's biggest concern right now on both sides of the aisle is the economy. We are concerned about being able to buy homes. We are concerned about affordability. And so when we see the news, when we see how much money is being sent overseas to Ukraine, to Israel, whatever it may be, my generation is concerned. We are upset. It's not because of anti-semitism. It is not because we, you know, dislike people because of their race or their beliefs or their creed. It is simply like this is what we're focusing on. Like at the end of the day, I think I and so much of my generation is just tired of it. Like I want to focus on American issues. And so when we spend all day talking and bickering about, you know, foreign affairs and

21:07 where all the money is going, it's like I want to get back to how are we going to make life affordable for my generation. And if you're going to be focusing on what's going on overseas and making that your big priority, like I honestly, to be totally transparent, and I think most my generation would agree, I just I don't care. And so as a result, I don't pay much attention to it. I direct my attention to American issues, to positive things. I amplify voices that I believe are good and truthful and wholesome. Um, and that is what I focus on.

21:37 And I want to get to the economy and some other things, but just to finish out this discussion of Ted Cruz and Nick Fuentes and so forth. As someone who draws a big audience yourself, why do you think it is that Nick Fuentes has a following with the kinds of things that he says continuously about Jews? You know, number one, because so many people have said not to listen to him and they've said that, you know, he is the equivalent of the antichrist. And again, when you point at something, you are directing attention to it. And secondly, because he's become a meme, he is huge on social media. People are not watching his show in its entirety. We are seeing clips of him. Um, they're seeing the jokes that he made. saw a thread on Acts recently and it was a person who um is is Jewish I actually believe lives in Israel is a Zionist and said you know I sat down and I watched Anik Fuentes stream in its entirety and

22:31 he was like I am so embarrassed to say that I laughed he's like he's a good communicator he's funny and I obviously disagree with a lot of the things that he says and it goes against my you know my religion and my beliefs as a Zionist whatever it is but he said but I kind of got it because he's funny. And so I think a lot of people are not actually watching his show in its entirety.

22:52 Mhm. But they are consuming his memes and the, you know, the Tik Toks that people make of him. And that is incredibly incredibly um powerful when it comes to my generation because if you can get social media, if you can bring people in through comedy and relatability, that will speak to them. Um and I think that's the part that a lot of conservatives have not been able to keep up with. And when Ted Cruz says this this senator who had this exchange with you says now is a time for choosing. Either you call out this guy or you're a coward and you're complicit.

23:24 Uh is he right at all? I think that as Americans, you should be allowed to listen to whoever you want to listen to. I don't think that I need to sit here and condemn anyone either way. Um there are things that Nick says that I don't agree with. There are things that Ted Cruz says that I don't agree with. I'm not going to sit here and condemn either of them. I don't know if either of them actually like me. Nick has said that he does not like me at certain times and then he loves me. I was in a movie with Ted Cruz and we have had conversations and then he calls me an angry woman on X. Like I I don't take it personally. I'm not concerned. I'm not going to condemn anyone. And I don't think that we should be sitting here telling people what they need to believe or who they need to condemn. We should be focused on positive solutions on driving um on driving a positive future for Gen Z. We're about to be the hugest,

24:12 most significant voting block and you need to get Gen Z and hold on and provide solutions for them to have a better life.

24:17 I'm I'm suddenly curious because of that angry woman remark. You're allowed to be angry. Do you have a moment of being angry when you're not on camera in front of me?

24:24 Oh, for sure. Yeah, we're all We all have angry things. It was just a classic I I don't even know what the right way is to describe it. I think it was a quick response from him just being like, you know,

24:35 she is upset with me at something, so I'm just going to call her an angry woman. But my favorite part of it was saying, "I don't even know who she is." And I was like, "Ted, we did a Daily Wire movie together," which cracked me up. But yeah.

24:44 Well, maybe he doesn't remember. Who knows? Yeah, he might. Um, so you got a lot of attention when you criticized President Trump a few weeks ago. Uh, what drew you what what moved you to feel you needed to speak up?

24:58 Because I think my disappointment and concern was shared by my audience and people who are like me. The thing that really spurred me into action was seeing Trump doing his Laura Ingram interview. And I know Laura and love her. I think it was a great interview. It was enlightening in a lot of ways, some not very positive.

25:17 He said this thing about H-1B visa holders. We need those because we don't have talented Americans. And some other things.

25:23 And it was a very um you could tell he was frustrated. You could tell he was angry. And he had a very quick response where Laura was saying, "Well, don't we have American talent? We don't need to import people. We have American talent." He said, "No, we don't have the talent." And that was the clip that went viral. and everybody was talking about it and I obviously felt like I had an obligation to speak on it because I as a consumer had watched that clip and went, "Okay, what the heck are we doing?" Like this is like the worst thing for a president to say. Um, and I wanted to make sure in that episode that it was nuanced because my opinion on it is nuanced. Number one, I do think that we have a problem with H-1B visas in this country. I think a lot of young people going out into the world, especially young people who were in STEM, who were told for years, go into STEM, become an engineer, become a

26:01 scientist. That is where the money is. That is the job security. And then we're bringing in people from overseas to do those jobs. Now they're looking around and going, "Okay, well, I was lied to. I did everything right and I still can't get these jobs." That should be addressed. Even if it's just Trump saying, "I understand this plight and I'm going to figure out how to fix it." Um, it should be addressed. The response should not be, "We don't have talent in this country." But again, it's a nuance situation because Trump was backed up into a corner a bit. He inherited a really screwed up economy. Um, and I don't think it was just Biden's fault.

26:34 We have had, you know, administration after administration, including Trump's first term where we spent way too much money. Um, COVID completely destroyed our economy, especially with the lockdowns that Trump did usher in at the beginning. Now, Biden did continue them for years and years and years. Um, he continued the stimulus checks. None of that helped our situation and Trump inherited that and he ran on fixing the economy and lowering prices and making things affordable. That is why I think Jen Z swung over to him and we want him to deliver on those promises. And so to hear him sit there and say, "We don't have talent in this country." When so many young people are struggling to find work, when they are coming out of their, you know, four-year, you know, university degrees and they're spending a year applying for jobs and they can't get them. When, you know, industries like advertising is having mass

27:17 continuous layoffs for years now. It hasn't stopped after COVID. Young people are saying, "I thought I was going to be able to go into these industries and have a great life and, you know, buy a home and start a family." The last thing they want to hear is we need to import people because we don't have talent. However, again, Trump inherited a terrible economy. He is struggling. He's backed up against a corner. I think that he's working to make prices lower. It's not happening fast enough, and I think he knows that, you know, the clock is ticking. And also, that part of the conversation was when Laura was talking about manufacturing and bringing um manufacturing back into this country. It is true that you can't just flip a switch overnight and have factories up and running and have everything made in America. That is true. there needs to be a um a transition period and I think that that is what Trump was trying to

28:00 say is that right now we might not have people who know how to make all the things that we've been sending overseas but his response to simply say we don't have the talent that was a difficult that was a bad move

28:13 yeah watching your video on this I got the impression that you had even a larger disappointment this isn't the guy I voted for in 2024 you you sounded like you felt he lost his way

28:23 well I think that he has been focused on a lot of other things and there have been a lot of positive things. You know, I think that we are getting what we voted for when it comes to illegal immigration and deportation. I'm happy about that. Um and I'm, you know, happy about what is, you know, happening overseas. I was extremely happy about the peace agreement with, um, Israel and Hamas. I'm so glad that the, you know, hostages are home. Um, he has done incredible peace deals, you know, across, you know, the Middle East. That has been incredibly, you know, significant and positive. That is also what I voted for. But again, at the end of the day, the number one issue for people on both sides of the aisle was the economy. And while gas prices are coming down slightly, while we are seeing things moving in the right direction, inflation did decrease a little bit. When it comes to people, you

29:10 know, putting their Thanksgiving dinner on the table, when it comes to young people saying, "Okay, clock is ticking. I want to buy a home. I want to get married." That hasn't been happening as fast as possible. And to see the distraction in other ways and to deflect. I think that was the big part is to deflect and say we don't have the talent. Actually, the economy is great. Actually, there is no affordability crisis. It's just made up in your minds. It's like, okay,

29:31 like I understand that you're frustrated, but you need to be honest with Americans because we are going to the grocery stores. We see what the prices are. So, I think that was a disappointment is just like let's just be honest here and you can say you can have humility

29:44 um and say it's not happening as quickly as you want it to, but let's show Americans what exactly you are doing to try to make it better. you were happier with the president in recent days when he spoke out against Afghan uh refugees after the shooting in Washington DC. I understood you to say you felt that they all should should be removed from the country. Do I get you correctly there? All the Afghans,

30:05 I think they all need to be going home. But I do think that we need to have a serious talk about the amount of people that we are letting in this country and the um and the protocols and the vetting that goes into bringing them here. I think a big issue has been, you know, I just did an episode two days ago on the Somalian um fraud crisis in Minnesota that happened under Tim Walls's uh watch

30:29 which Trump is also talking about at enormous length. Go on. Go on. Yes, he is. Um, and these are things that I think we really need to discuss and consider and there needs to be a solution for this because as Americans, we do not want our culture to be upended by people who are not assimilating, who hate our country, who are, you know, as we're seeing in Dearbornne, Michigan, who are saying, you know, we hate America, death to America. That is not compatible with American values. That is not compatible with our way of life and the future that I personally see for this country. Um, and so what are we going to do about that? Obviously, not all of them are illegal. You can't just pluck them off the streets and send them home because their visas are, you know, not up to date or whatever it may.

31:10 Many of them are citizens, as a matter of fact. Yeah. But we need to consider the cultural ramifications of that. Um, and so if it's not plucking them off the streets and, you know, sending them home, it's how many are we letting in. In my opinion, I think the best solution is just to, as Trump is doing, is to put a complete pause on it. um and say, "Let's figure out the situation. Let's figure out the amount of people that we have in this country, where the money is going." If money is now being sent overseas, we need to handle the amount of illegals that are in this country, especially um the criminals who are on the streets bringing in drugs, that are raping people, um that are murderers, those absolutely should be deported, but let's put a pause on bringing people into this country until we figure out what is going on.

31:50 I want to complicate this a little bit and just hear what you think. Um I covered the war in Afghanistan as a reporter. I've been there a few times and got to know some Afghans and became familiar with the fact that many many thousands of Afghans, supported the United States, fought on the side of the United States, uh died in the service of the United States, uh and once they got here, maybe even had post-traumatic stress. I don't know what was in the mind of this guy uh in in Washington. Let's let's set that aside and not excuse that in any way. But we're talking about six figures, like way over a 100,000 people, uh, who did not shoot somebody so far as we know, uh, and who served this country and want a place in it. What would you do with them?

32:33 Well, I think that is actually, if you watched my episode, I did talk about this and I said that two wrongs don't make a right. I obviously have concerns with the amount of people that we brought into this country, but I understand that we did have to do something about the people that worked with us that like this man were working with the CIA that were on our side. And I think my response and obviously this is not fixing the situation currently at hand. Um but as we I in my opinion, we should not have been there in the first place. I think that Biden's withdrawal was disastrous. I don't think that we left Afghanistan better than when we found it. I think that um we left, you know, it was just disastrous. And so I think when a lot of people were saying we have a moral obligation, we have we have we owe it to these people to bring them here. I think that there was a I agree that there is a level of empathy

33:22 that I have of obviously they worked with us. They cannot just be abandoned. But is the response to then just bring in hundreds of thousands to millions of people every time we engage in war overseas. I think then we bring it back to the the foundation of this is that we should not be engaging in those. We should not be the world's police in my opinion. I don't want to be sending my hard-earned tax dollars overseas. I don't want to send our men and women overseas to fight in these wars for decades when we leave it possibly worse than we found it. And now we have people who are displaced, who are struggling, who would be unsafe if we left them there. It is a complicated situation that we created. And unfortunately now Americans when we im immigrate millions of people they are unfortunately stuck with the bill at the end of the day.

34:06 They are stuck with the bill of fighting overseas and now they are dealing with incredible mass immigration that is stressing our economy and our culture. Um and so I don't think that there is to answer your question there is not an easy solution. Um so that's why I think the doors need to be closed and we need to consider what we are doing overseas. Do you feel that your thoughts on some of these tricky subjects we've been discussing from Nick Fuentes to Afghanistan? Do you feel that your views that you're expressing fit in with your moral beliefs?

34:35 Yes, I do. I think that my in talking about foreign policy and talking about immigration, I am 100% focused on, you know, America. America is my priority. Um, I am an empathetic person. I am sympathetic. But I do not want to be toxic in my empathy. I don't know if you've ever spoken with Ali Beth Sakucky. She wrote an incredible book called toxic empathy.

34:59 You've talked about that. Yeah. Yes. And I think that it is an incredible term and it explains a lot of what's happened on the left and on the right honestly in politics where we have allowed our empathy and our emotions to drive policy that only hurts Americans at the end of the day. Another thing that I think a lot about is that um you know you have to judge policies not by their intention but by their outcome. Um that is something that I learned when I was working at the foundation for economic education and I was studying Austrian economics. That was like the first thing that they sit you down and they teach you is that there are so many great policies in the world that sound wonderful that you know the goal is to do good by people. But at the end of the day you do have to judge them by what is the impact on Americans, what is the impact on the economy. That is how I judge things. Um, and again, my

35:47 priority will always be Americans. My priority will be young Americans who did everything right, who went to the right schools, who, you know, took out the student loans that they were told they would be able to pay back. Um, who were told you'll have great jobs in STEM, and are now inheriting a country that is completely completely indebted. I don't know if we'll ever be able to handle our national debt. Um, young people are freaked out about that. my generation. It is so bad that I look around on X. I I listen to my peers. This is not just something I see online. One of my best friends is literally praying for a 2008 style crash so that she could buy a home.

36:23 That is the situation that we are in. Might not make logical sense, but that is how bad it is. My focus will always be on them. My focus will be on Americans and doing right by them. Um and you know, politics is not fluffy. It's not uh it doesn't make you feel good and warm and fuzzy half the time. Uh it often is funny. I think that a lot of politics is like reality TV, especially when you're looking at the White House and what's going on there. Um but there will always be sacrifices. There will always be somebody who gets the short end of the stick and my focus is on Americans.

36:58 I want to ask uh I want to come back to to what you're doing in your career in a sense. You told me that what you offer people has evolved over time. You were doing politics with the Daily Wire. You're still doing politics, but you've added and added. Yes.

37:10 Where are you going next? And who, if anybody, is your role model for what you want to be doing?

37:16 Um, you know, I want to continue my show. I'm having more fun with my show now than I've ever had before. And I think a lot of it is just because I am the one driving the ship. I'm not working for a company or a publisher. Um, I have complete freedom with what I say. And I love the fact that, as we did today, my audience gets to see my opinion change on things. and they get to see me work through and muddle through these really complex issues that we're dealing with every single day that are not black and white. No political issue, in my opinion, is black and white. There is always something to consider. Um, and I love the fact that I get to break those things down every single day with them. And so, we're going to continue um my show. We've increased it from 2 days a week to 4 days a week, which has been super fun.

37:57 Um, and then I'm touring, which has been a great time. My I'm very proud to say that I was a theater kid. Um, and I love being on stage. And so we took my show on the road this past spring and it was a joy. Um I think it's a it's a weird situation. You might have felt this when you're putting content out in the world and you know that you have listeners and viewers and you see the millions of people that listen to whatever you're doing or read your articles, but you don't it's often feels very one-sided because you don't see their faces and you're not actually interacting with them. And it was a really really special experience to spend I think we did 15 stops or something like that to be able to get up on a stage and we would you know increase the lights a little bit and I could look out and I could see all of these people and we had amazing Q&As's at the end of them and we would do meet and greets and to be able to

38:43 have facetime with the people who have meant so much to me that completely changed my life in more ways than just saying changed my life and that they allowed me to create a business and find success. But I am a very different person today than I was 4 years ago when I started on YouTube. Um, I'm far more confident. I'm far more articulate. I'm bolder. I'm less afraid. You know, when I started all of this, I remember I posted my first video condemning the lockdowns in Los Angeles after I had watched a good friend of mine lose his business.

39:10 Mhm. Um, due to the co lockdowns and refusing to close down in the second wave of lockdowns. And I remember posting a video and starting talking about that and I was so nervous about the response, what people would think that I like shut off my phone and I like threw it across the room and I was terrified, dripping in sweat. And to get to the point now where I can sit in interviews like this and I can defend my beliefs and my values, when I can get up online every single day and release videos muddling through complex issues, whether they be the Somalian, you know, fraud scheme with, you know, feeding our future or whether it is the Blake Lively, Justin Baldon um uh lawsuit, whatever it may be, I have so much fun with it. and they've changed my life because they've made me more empowered and I think that they've made me a better Brett which is

39:55 Have you gone back and seen some of those takes from three or four years ago and like

39:58 yes head in hands you can't believe you you said that. Well, it's not really I don't think that my opinions have changed. I'm very consistent there. I think my opinions have developed where now I speak more um broadly about things and I'm able to take my values and apply them to different issues that we're talking about and I think I've become bolder and more well educated on things. But I think the thing that's hard for me to watch is I'll go back and I'll see my first videos and I just seem nervous. I'm excited. I look excited but I definitely was green. But I think that there's a lot of really genuine um uh genuine eagerness and excitement about what I was doing. But I'm a lot more confident now. I also think that after four years of doing this, even with that, the thing that has changed my life the most is having a baby. I give far less of a crap after having a baby. I care more about making a great world for

40:50 him. When I think about um the economy and all these issues that we discussed today, he's always in the back of my mind. I want to leave a great world for him. I want him to have great success and have endless opportunities. And so I think about that every single day.

41:04 Last thing, um, you mentioned traveling, getting out and seeing people, which is awesome. And I get to do I do public events and I also go out as a reporter and I knock on doors and talk to voters or arrange to interview people. And I'm always learning something. I'm always learning from listening to people and especially face to face. And I'm interested now that you're doing those events and getting out and talking to people who love you, but also maybe who don't like you so much.

41:28 Are you learning anything? Yes. This is a cliche, but we have a lot more in common than we think. Seeing my audience face to face and seeing the, you know, it's such a buzz word these days, but the diversity

41:41 in age, in creed, in sexuality, in gender. Um, it is really remarkable because even with all of these different backgrounds, being able to come into a shared space and my shows, in my opinion, are very funny and they're lively and being able to all come together and laugh about these things is so healing and is so incredible. And I have people, you know, ask me questions after the show or do the meet and greet and they'll say like, "I hated you 3 years ago, but this changed my mind. Um, this one video that you did or whatever it is." And being able to sit and have a conversation with them and say, "Oh my gosh, yeah, I agree with you on this. I can't believe from our very different backgrounds that we could find common ground. Um, and I think that that's really important in a society that is so driven by, as we were talking about, social media and short videos and, you know, buzzy headlines and rage baiting.

42:28 Uh, which is actually what my episode is about today is about uh the rage baiting actually from

42:33 Are you against, you know, I think that it has a time and place. I think if it sparks a good conversation and you have the and you have the substance to back it up, then you know, throw it out there. Throw something outrageous out there. But if you're simply putting something out in the world that you know will tick people off and you're simply doing it just to get attention, I think it's, you know, add some substance there and I'll be more for it. But anyway, yeah, that's what I'm learning.

42:56 Brett Cooper, it's a pleasure talking with you. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Appreciate it.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Brett Cooper on defining her political voice and making up her own mind about Trump"?

Brett Cooper (Guest), Unidentified NPR interviewer (Host).

What is "Brett Cooper on defining her political voice and making up her own mind about Trump" about?

Brett Cooper, a prominent figure among Generation Z, discusses her role as a voice in conservative media, emphasizing her approach to engaging with political topics through candid conversations on social media. She focuses on fostering a genuine connection with her audience, sharing her beliefs without conforming to traditional media roles, and creating an open dialogue about important issues.

What is mentioned in this NPR episode?

54 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Brett Cooper, lockdowns, free speech, Generation Z, conservative media, YouTube channel. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Brett Cooper on defining her political voice and making up her own mind about Trump"?

The episode runs 43 min; the transcript is about 9,738 words in 95 timestamped sections.

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