Today's guest is the former MTV video jockey and current Fox News personality Kennedy, who emerged in the 1990s as a leading voice of Gen X when it came to politics and culture. I talk with her about how a generation raised on neglect, nuclear nightmares, and Nirvana forged an ethos of irreverence and independence that still matters today. Kennedy explains her evolution from a teen Republican who swooned over Dan Quayle to a principled libertarian, why the culture of alternative music and media once felt so alive and vital, and what it means when former pop culture rebels like Jimmy Kimmel and Howard Stern become defenders of the status quo.
She also talks about free-range parenting and why more of us need to stop caring about what others think and let everyone live radically on their own terms.
Here are a few quotes and exchanges that give the flavor of the discussion. Below them is a timeline of topics and below that are embeds to YouTube, Apple, and Spotify versions. There’s a full transcript at the Reason Interview page for this episode too.
Talking about the alt-music scene in the early ‘90s:
There was a relationship between debauchery and creativity that I always found so fascinating. That intersection was so rich because it could be chaotic and destructive and deadly, or it could be mind-blowing and soul-shaking and beautiful.
On becoming a libertarian:
There was a lot of stuff that I liked about the Republican Party in 1992 and 1993 because it became the opposition party. But what I didn't like about it was I had a lot of gay friends—especially being in New York, being young, being in music—and I didn't like the way that, you know, because Jesse Helms was still alive, and one of his famous quotes was, "You become what you condone." And I'm like… don't think I'm going to become a gay man anytime soon…. the social conservatism was really off-putting. I liked the idea of aspirational success. I was having dinner with Kurt Loder one night, and he was like, "You're not a Republican…You're a libertarian." I didn't know what that meant, but I was very intrigued by the idea.
On talking about sex with her daughters:
Kennedy: I told my daughters, like, "OK, if a boy is going to put his penis in your mouth, he has put it in another girl's bottom. And there are butthole warts that you can actually get in your throat. So just be careful. Just think about that."
Me: Now I understand why Gen Z doesn’t have sex.
Kennedy: Exactly!
Topics:
0:00—Introduction
2:30—What was MTV like when Clinton was elected president?
730—How did Kennedy become a 'self-declared libertarian'?
12:20—What is the most appealing about libertarianism?
15:01—How did being 'alternative' become mainstream?
22:07—What was it like being a public virgin?
25:42—What is the Gen X ethos?
31:22—Why you can make fun of everything
36:58—How Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla went down vastly different paths
41:07—What is it like to work at Fox News?
47:25—Are conspiracy theories fun?
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