Jennifer Welch, Host of the Podcast "I've Had It," Goes "Dark Woke" | The New Yorker Interview

"My friend Angie and I were on a reality television show in 2016 to around 2019. Our politics seeps through a little bit, particularly mine does in the show, because that's what was the hook for the Bravo executives. Like, there are liberals in Oklahoma? Right, where you're from. Right, I'm from Oklahoma City. So, the show gets canceled and I go back to being an interior designer and then I'm doing national projects."

"And then there was the post-COVID boom, where everybody comes out of quarantine wanting to redecorate everything. And my kids were like, you know, you still have a lot of people that follow you that are interested in the show. You should do a podcast. So I tell Angie this and we decide to do it. And the premise was during the Biden administration, which was, I've had it. I've had it with gender reveal parties."

"I've had it with over-celebrating children. Why are we going to kindergarten graduations? Why? So, there were these relatable grievances that initially I think everybody likes trash talk, right? And we look, my co-host and I, look somewhat MAGA-coded. You're MAGA-coded because of where you're from? The blonde hair, some Botox from time to time. And the southern accent. Yeah. Right? So, it's kind of Fox-coded, I would say."

"And I've always been a diehard political junkie. I was raised in the Bible Belt by two progressive atheists, which is a very, very strange upbringing. Was political discussion a big part of your upbringing in Oklahoma? Yes. With my mother. Who was pretty left, right? Very left. My mother is a voracious reader. She was a closet atheist for many years because if you came out of the closet as an atheist in a place like Oklahoma, it's about as b"

A reality television participant returned to interior design after the show's cancellation and later launched a podcast with a former co-star. The podcast grew from a post-COVID home-decor boom and encouragement from her children and preexisting followers. The format centers on airing relatable grievances during the Biden administration, targeting cultural behaviors like gender reveal parties and over-celebrating children. The hosts adopt a trash-talk tone and a persona that reads MAGA-coded through accent, appearance, and cultural cues. The primary host describes herself as a lifelong political junkie raised in the Bible Belt by progressive atheist parents, shaping persistent political conversation in her life.

Read at The New Yorker