What an Australian Really Thinks of America

Written By Brianna Ansaldo

Jolene and I have spent the last year and a half realizing something that is equal parts fascinating and a bit depressing.

The algorithms on social media have done such a good job of pitting Americans against each other that we have caught ourselves wondering what the rest of the world must think when they watch us from the outside. So we decided to ask someone who has no emotional stake in either side and no reason to flatter us.

Enter Brianna Ansaldo, our producer and editor. She runs Bamby Media, a podcast production agency in Australia, and after eighteen months of editing our conversations, she has absorbed more American news than most Australians ever will. We wanted the honest version. What does she actually see? And is any of it real?

If you ask an Australian what they picture when they think of America, two things come up fast: guns and healthcare. Not “New York” or “Hollywood” or “road trips” or “big personalities.” Guns and healthcare. And she compared it to how Americans think Australia is basically one giant spider terrarium, which is exaggerated but not totally made up. That is what America has become to the outside world, she said. A place where kids get shot at school and getting sick can bankrupt you.

And then, in the same breath, she said something that felt weirdly comforting. The American people, as individuals, come across as warm and funny and generous with compliments in a way Australians genuinely admire. Australians tend to show affection by roasting you. Americans tend to hype you up. So the country looks terrifying, but the people look lovely. That contrast is… a lot.

The part that really landed for me was how she gets her information, because it explains so much without even trying.

It is not cable news. It is not newspapers. It is not her sitting down and searching “what is happening in America today.” She said if she wants to know what is going on, she opens TikTok and starts scrolling. No agenda. No plan. Just whatever the algorithm decides she should see.

And if that does not make you want to lie down for a minute, I do not know what will. But the thing is, this is the way most people are getting their news these days. Especially younger generations.

What it means is the version of America being exported is not curated by journalists weighing what matters. It is curated by an engagement engine that rewards outrage, spectacle, fear, and chaos. ICE raids. Viral shouting matches. People melting down in parking lots. That stuff travels. A normal person having a normal Tuesday does not. So when Brianna says she does not think Americans are bad people, but she does think America looks like it is constantly at war with itself, that is not really a judgement on Americans. It is a judgement on what social media chooses to amplify and what our government is showcasing.

Then she said something that made me pause, because it was not about vibes. It was about the system.

Coming from Australia, where voting is compulsory and the two major parties are not wildly different, she was genuinely baffled by how enormous the gap is between American Republicans and Democrats. But even more baffled by the way people pick a team and then cling to it like it is a blood type. It made me realize that our staunch loyalty to one party, almost refusing to vote for the “other side” even if their policies are aligned, doesn’t actually feel very American. A culture built on independence and free thought has somehow organized itself into two unbreakable tribes.

In Australia, she votes based on what a candidate is proposing right now and what they have a history of running on. Sometimes she decides her ballot only a couple of weeks out from an election. There is no multi-year campaign that consumes the entire national bandwidth. There is no sense that you will be socially punished at a barbecue for voting “wrong.” That part is not social media distortion. That is just her looking at us and saying, gently, the American political system feels hectic.

America is not as divided as the highlight reel suggests, but it is not entirely a fiction either. The loudest, angriest slices of both sides get exported because that is what travels. Meanwhile, the quieter, larger middle barely makes the cut.

Social media is not lying about America. It is just telling one part of the story, on repeat, until it feels like the whole story. And if you are not careful, you start believing that the country is only made up of the worst people on the loudest days, instead of mostly decent people trying to get through the week.

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  • [00:00:00] nicole: She's conservative and I'm liberal, and yet we've been friends for almost 40 years. Everyone says you shouldn't discuss politics, religion, or money, and we say that's exactly what friends should be talking about. Join us as we tackle the conversations you're having in your head, but are too scared to say out loud.

    [00:00:19] Welcome to We've Got to Talk. Welcome Jolene, and welcome to our amazing editor and producer, Brianna Ansaldo.

    [00:00:31] Jolene: Brianna is the head honcho at Bambi Media, a podcast production agency based in Brisbane, Australia. She placed 11th in Australian Idol, she worked as a touring musician and songwriter for over a decade. has a bachelor's degree in audio production at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, and she is best producer

    [00:00:57] nicole: best.

    [00:00:58] Jolene: have.

    [00:00:58] nicole: best. [00:01:00] Welcome, Brianna. Woo! so

    [00:01:03] Brianna: an intro. Nice work. 

    [00:01:05] nicole: before we get into it, you know, if you want to actually Google or YouTube Brianna Carpenter, you'll see all the Australian Idol stuff. It's kind of amazing to be able to see it, because having worked with you as a grown-ass woman, to then go back in time, it was a pretty remarkable thing to be able to see, 

    [00:01:25] Brianna: yeah, that whole part of my life is, was quite amazing 

    [00:01:29] nicole: Yeah. Yeah. I bet, I bet.

    [00:01:32] Brianna: was really weird being famous, like not being able to leave the house

    [00:01:36] you know, you're at the grocery store and you're trying to get some strawberries, and then people are like, "Hey, can I have your autograph?"

    [00:01:42] I'm like, "What? Uh, yeah, okay. It's a bit weird, but, uh, sure. Ugh," all right. You know, it was, it was strange. And having paparazzi come after you and, like, take photos of you and then sell those photos for, like, $35,000 and, you 

    [00:01:56] know, 

    [00:01:56] nicole: And you were so young, like so young, [00:02:00] right? the reason that we're having Briana on is, first of all, to be, to introduce her to all of you, because she makes us sound hopefully smart, and look pretty good, and gets this show out to us and to you guys every single week, and we're so incredibly grateful, and we love her, and she's become a friend, and she's funny as hell.

    [00:02:22] So we wanted to introduce her. But also, in the world of We've Got to Talk, the thing that we kept finding f- really fascinating was how Jolene and I, in the last year and a half, have discovered how much the algorithms, how much news media has pitted Americans against each other. We are the red team and the blue tr- team, and we are- they're doing their damnedest to make sure that we hate each other.

    [00:02:51] Then our producer, Briana, would send us these clips, and she'd be like, "You need to cover this." And we would look at it and [00:03:00] go, "What is this?" Like, it made... Neither of us knew what you were talking about, and it made us think, "Oh, my gosh, does the world... What is the world seeing?" We've got to have Briana on to talk about, "No, I know you're one person in one country in- with one lens," but it made us think, and especially in light with what happened with the World Cup, which was such a celebration for us, such a, an amazing thing to see some positive things come out of America.

    [00:03:34] Uh, it made us think even more, "Oh, my gosh, what have they been seeing that they're so surprised that we are kind, and nice, and fun?"

    [00:03:42] Jolene: So that, I mean, that is. So I mean, our first question to you is, what's your initial gut perspective of America? Like, what... If somebody were to say, "Describe America right now," what, what would you say?

    [00:03:58] Brianna: Oh, okay. So I [00:04:00] think it would be that place doesn't make sense because there are guns everywhere. Which it's like, it's like you guys thinking that there's snakes everywhere here, and like we've got spiders and everything in Australia, and you know, it- everything's gonna kill you and it's poisonous all the time, you know? Um, the other side I think is going, I'm scared of that place because there's guns everywhere. Like, as an Australian, that's something that is definitely front of mind because we don't have that other than that sh- terrible Bondi 

    [00:04:37] shooting 

    [00:04:37] nicole: Mm-hmm. 

    [00:04:39] Brianna: That's not part of our lives here at all. And so a lot of the news that we get fed are shootings and

    [00:04:47] nicole: Oh. 

    [00:04:49] Brianna: stuff that happens in schools, you know, this is stuff that we're, that we're seeing a lot. and so that makes us scared to there with our children, like to [00:05:00] move there, let's say, and then enroll our children in school because of the, of the guns, really. That, that's a, that's a number one big thing. And then the other big thing is the health system seems to be whack our, from our side. Just because we have, you know, what is essentially universal healthcare. Anyone... You don't have to pay for really, you know? If you're, if you're in the public system, you can rock up and, and get treated and then get no bill at the end. And, know, that's another thing that we see, that we see a lot of in America, being like, "Wow, how do they not have health?"

    [00:05:43] Like, the, the medical stuff for people that are poor and then, you know, obviously you've got Medicaid and things, now too, but we don't also really understand even how that potentially works. So I would say they're, they're the two things that when I think about America, [00:06:00] when I talk to my friends about Amer- America, people are fantastic, like really funny, lovely, open, very good at talking about, um, like giving each other compliments and, and having emotions and showcasing all them way better than Australians. You'll really talk each other up. You'll support each other. You'll love each other. Australians tend to sort of bring each other 

    [00:06:24] down 

    [00:06:24] nicole: Really?

    [00:06:26] Brianna: or make more jokes about each other. Like, we're, we're a bit more sort of like that. So the people are beautiful and wonderful, and it's just but the guns and the healthcare are the things that we as Australians go, "Well, that, that makes no 

    [00:06:41] sense." 

    [00:06:41] nicole: when you get those images about the shootings and the healthcare, is it from social media? That's my first question. And my second question is, has the coverage of America increased since Trump took [00:07:00] office, or is that just our imaginations? Or like, have you a- is that just, is America just part of the Zeitgeists 

    [00:07:07] Brianna: I think since Obama been a lot more coverage

    [00:07:12] America in Australia.

    [00:07:15] like, so proud of Obama, I guess, just being like, "Man, this guy seems to really be helping," you know, that from the outside anyway. Like, that's, that's how it's displayed to us, uh, in the news. obviously, you know, he got things wrong, but that is definitely where the coverage came, was more at the forefront. I definitely remember growing up and having sort of a bit of Bill Clinton, uh, on the news, and definitely George Bush, especially around, you know, when the, the two towers happened and,

    [00:07:47] nicole: Mm-hmm. Yes

    [00:07:50] Brianna: Like, I remember what I was doing when that, when that happened. We had coverage of all that. So but certainly from O- Obama we didn't see as [00:08:00] much about Biden. Biden, it kind of went off a 

    [00:08:03] little 

    [00:08:03] nicole: Hon- honestly, Brianna, we didn't either. I mean, it was, it was, it was during COV- First of all, he was, I guess, part of COVID,

    [00:08:12] he was, but he... I mean, and as you knew from one of the episodes that we did, how much was he really running the country? I don't know. Like, he, he...

    [00:08:23] Jolene: do a lot of

    [00:08:23] nicole: Right. Yeah, he was, he was missing.

    [00:08:26] Jolene: weren't a

    [00:08:27] nicole: Yeah.

    [00:08:28] Jolene: to see

    [00:08:28] nicole: Yeah

    [00:08:29] Jolene: Like, Trump is in front of the cameras

    [00:08:32] Brianna: Oh my gosh. 

    [00:08:33] nicole: All the time

    [00:08:34] Brianna: we see a lot of Trump. 

    [00:08:35] Uh, a lot of Trump

    [00:08:37] Jolene: your media from social m- Like, when you get news from America, is it social media? Is it,

    [00:08:43] Brianna: Mostly I do. Yeah, mostly I do, just 'cause I find the news channels, programs just atrocious. You know? They cover like four things and then they go to sport and I'm like, "Ugh, don't care. Why is there now 20 minutes of sport? Okay. Geez. Well, surely there's some [00:09:00] other things happening in the world." Uh, so yeah, so I get it from social media

    [00:09:05] Jolene: and which social media?

    [00:09:06] Brianna: Instagram. So if I'm looking for news about America, I will go to TikTok.

    [00:09:13] Jolene: Hmm

    [00:09:14] Brianna: that's the one that when I'm researching for you guys or looking at what is potential topics or just seeing what's, what's happening, what's trending, I'll open up TikTok and I'll just start scrolling. I won't be searching for anything in particular.

    [00:09:27] that's where I see a lot, a lot more than even Instagram. TikTok is where it's at

    [00:09:32] nicole: It's interesting though when you say that because, I mean, I didn't go on TikTok until we started the podcast, and you knew that I lasted about 30 seconds before I said, "Can you please deal with the TikTok 'cause I can't deal with the TikTok. It's like a toxic cesspool."

    [00:09:46] what's interesting to me about this, Brianna, is that when we had St- Steven Hawkins on, the More in Common researcher, and he talked about TikTok, and he talked about China, and he said how [00:10:00] that the TikTok and China, w- I, I'm gonna misquote him, but it was like, it was like culturally, like, lifting up and educational and that...

    [00:10:10] Brianna: yeah

    [00:10:10] nicole: that the, the TikTok... I think he said in the US, but I'm, but I'm wondering possibly if this is worldwide, that it's about this sort of toxic cesspool of like what are they feeding you?

    [00:10:25] this is more Jolene to me is like, "What's behind this conspiracy?"

    [00:10:30] But I, but I've learned on this like, oh, you know, that's a real thing that there are certain people, certain countries even, that don't want us to succeed. And so in the bigger picture thinking, "Well gosh, how, how is America gonna survive this if we can't survive each other?" And then the world is like, "Yeah, you guys suck.

    [00:10:53] We're done with you."

    [00:10:54] Brianna: yeah, I don't think, I don't, certainly not from, you know, my TikTok algorithm, it's [00:11:00] never showcasing Americans as bad people, right? The, like, 

    [00:11:06] nicole: Mm-hmm.

    [00:11:07] Brianna: at things, uh, the people that are coming up on my TikTok, they're, they're just generally nice. Like, if they're just face to camera talking about something or they're going through their day or their vlogs or their whatever.

    [00:11:20] It's only when it's, I think, more relating to politics

    [00:11:27] nicole: Mm-hmm. 

    [00:11:28] Brianna: and also when there was the, the ICE stuff, you know, where they were

    [00:11:34] that's still going on. 

    [00:11:36] nicole: Yes

    [00:11:37] Brianna: things are the things that we see. So we're not, we're not looking at you guys going, "Oh man, America sucks," like, "Americans suck," at all. We're just going, "Man, there's some really, like, just bad stuff going on as far as, like, politically," and then also, yeah, other, the other things I mentioned as well.

    [00:11:58] Jolene: So as you've [00:12:00] been with us for a year and a half, has your perspective changed on the political scene in America?

    [00:12:09] Brianna: I understand more what the difference is between a Republican and a Democrat. That was something that I didn't quite get. Like, I felt like, surely they can't be that different because here in Australia it's not really that different between the two, like, major parties. Whereas in America it definitely is very different how people think on one side or the other, uh, about certain issues, and there's some pretty, pretty big differences, I think. But from between you two, because you are more moderate and you're more sort of in the middle, those aren't the stories we see either.

    [00:12:48] Same as you. We see these extreme left riots, 

    [00:12:53] nicole: Sure, sure

    [00:12:54] Brianna: see much of the middle. So even though I, I, I understood there was, there was Republicans and [00:13:00] Democrats I s- I saw that you were very different, like, on social media, but then also you two have made me feel more like, oh, they're not actually that different.

    [00:13:11] Jolene: Hmm.

    [00:13:12] nicole: good. That's good.

    [00:13:14] Brianna: yeah, 

    [00:13:14] so 

    [00:13:14] nicole: We've done our job

    [00:13:16] Brianna: done your... And I agree with both of you on a lot of issues. So it's like I'm not sitting here being I'm more, I'm more Nicole. No. Or I'm more Jolene. Not at all. There's a lot of times when I'm like, "I definitely agree 

    [00:13:29] with 

    [00:13:29] nicole: Right, right, right

    [00:13:31] Brianna: "I definitely agree with Nicole on 

    [00:13:32] that."

    [00:13:33] So I find it really interesting

    [00:13:36] nicole: And Australia is a parliament system?

    [00:13:39] Brianna: Yes. Yeah, so we have a prime minister, and he's not very popular at the moment because he brought in a, a bunch of tax changes, and that's causing some, uh, problems. And then we have this kind of woman at the moment who is the head of this independent called One Nation, Pauline Hanson. You can look [00:14:00] her up, and she's, she's causing a lot of problems, and people are comparing her to Trump,

    [00:14:06] nicole: Ah.

    [00:14:09] Brianna: wanting her, not her, not wanting her, not

    [00:14:12] She's a very, she's very Australian. You'll probably laugh when you look her up, but she,

    [00:14:18] nicole: she's very Australian?

    [00:14:20] Brianna: like, she ran a fish and chip shop. She's got a very Australian 

    [00:14:24] nicole: Okay.

    [00:14:25] Brianna: she says some really Australian things that you're like, "Oh my God, what are you doing?" You know? So yeah, she's kind of our l- Trump

    [00:14:34] Jolene: is she in parliament now?

    [00:14:36] Brianna: so she, she's the leader of like, o- of a party that isn't in. and in another couple of years we'll have a, an election again and then people are like either really scared that she's gonna get in there somehow or 

    [00:14:50] nicole: Right

    [00:14:51] Brianna: opposition. But she's just making a lot of noise right now and that's causing people some anguish or some other people being like, "Yay."[00:15:00] 

    [00:15:00] nicole: Is it like the German government where they have several parties and they

    [00:15:05] Brianna: Yeah, we've got, we've got, um, we've got like a Liberal and a Labor government, and then we've got sort of independent ones sort of around it and underneath it. But it's really only El- and we've got the Greens, which is like our party, I suppose. and they're actually quite high up too, I suppose.

    [00:15:25] Like, they're very well-known. it's normally either it's Liberal or Labor, but then there are all these sort of other, other parties underneath that don't generally get in, but everyone sort of communicates with each other.

    [00:15:37] Jolene: you don't have the, the fighting

    [00:15:39] nicole: Yeah, I was gonna ask

    [00:15:40] Brianna: not, not really. I mean, a little bit, but it's kind of a joke. Like, it's not, it's certainly not like America. And when our, when our actual elections happen, phew, they're over in two seconds. Like, you guys have this giant flipping runway that seems to take... Like, it's like you're 

    [00:15:57] already 

    [00:15:57] nicole: Yes.

    [00:15:59] Brianna: it's just [00:16:00] ages away. Ours is like, ours is like, "Oh, what? The election? Oh, that's next week. Okay, cool. I gotta go, I gotta go vote." You know? Like, it's, it, it's not as big of a lead-up as yours is, and there's certainly not the 

    [00:16:13] nicole: I was gonna say the money might not, must not be there then.

    [00:16:16] Yeah

    [00:16:17] Brianna: at all

    [00:16:17] Jolene: that I did not realize is that there is a compulsory aspect to your elections. You, you all have to vote

    [00:16:26] Brianna: Mm-hmm. We must vote. Yeah. Otherwise 

    [00:16:29] we 

    [00:16:29] nicole: That's amazing.

    [00:16:31] Both, 

    [00:16:31] both of us, we are bipartisan, totally down with this

    [00:16:37] Brianna: Yeah. 

    [00:16:38] Jolene: So tell me how

    [00:16:39] nicole: Yeah, how does it work?

    [00:16:40] Brianna: when you turn 18, you have to enroll to vote, and then every time there is election for anything, like for our local council or, you know, federal government or, like, local government and things like that, we must vote. And we get told about it. You know, you'll hear about it in the news, uh, saying that [00:17:00] it's voting day is coming up and there's all these places that you can go and vote just like in America, and we have to rock up and vote. And that's it. Like, that's as complicated it is, as it is. Everyone does it, and if they don't, then they get fined. And

    [00:17:16] Jolene: what, how much?

    [00:17:17] Brianna: don't know. I've n- I've never had to ... I could Google it, but I don't know, I don't know what that would be.

    [00:17:22] nicole: But it, but it,

    [00:17:22] Jolene: just

    [00:17:23] nicole: but everyone just, like, it's just like your civic duty. That's just you've been raised and that's what you do

    [00:17:28] Brianna: And there's always massive lines, so when you go to vote, you have to try and get there early, and then you'll still be in a line, and then you'll stand in the line, and then you'll go to the old biddies at the front 'cause they 

    [00:17:41] run 

    [00:17:41] nicole: Of course, of course.

    [00:17:43] Brianna: the, the, 

    [00:17:44] nicole: d- they d- they do that, they do that in America.

    [00:17:47] Brianna: love them so much. I just say, "Oh my gosh, yes."

    [00:17:51] Uh, you don't have to show a ID anymore. You have like a, um, like a piece of paper that you get in the mail, 

    [00:17:57] yeah, 

    [00:17:58] nicole: Okay

    [00:17:59] Brianna: that in. [00:18:00] Um, but I think if you don't have that, then yeah, you have to show your ID. yeah, the, the biddies run it. We do the thing. We get the thing, and then we sign the, you know, the people in. So it's pretty simple

    [00:18:12] Jolene: And if you don't

    [00:18:13] nicole: Can Jolene,

    [00:18:15] Jolene: if, if there's somebody that you don't

    [00:18:16] nicole: you imagine?

    [00:18:17] Jolene: about, do you, can you turn in a blank

    [00:18:20] Brianna: No, no. You

    [00:18:22] Jolene: like you have to fill it out

    [00:18:23] Brianna: have to fill it out, yeah. I mean, I think, ugh, I think there are some people that, know, write Bart Simpson or something on it I'm sure. But,

    [00:18:33] nicole: They do that here too

    [00:18:35] Brianna: yeah, yeah. But generally, yeah, no. I think maybe we just don't think it's as big of a deal here as, like, as in who's gonna be in office. I'll do a little bit of research on who the person is, and that might be two weeks before. You know? See what they're running on, see what they're, what they're known for, and then make a decision off the back of that. And I haven't [00:19:00] thought for months about it or watched a whole bunch of news about it or-- because it's, it's not the same.

    [00:19:04] Like there, there isn't that-- you're not consuming as much,

    [00:19:08] in Australia. You just kind of make your own decision privately

    [00:19:11] nicole: but I mean, obvious-- this is such a silly question, but obviously Australia has problems. Like, it's not like this idyllic place, right? But I'm just thinking, this is not part of our prepared. I'm just listening to you and thinking about, well, if my healthcare was sort of sorted out, like there are certain things that it sounds like, okay, this guy or this girl's in office, cool.

    [00:19:34] Like, it seems that, and I know nothing about nothing, Jolene, I'm looking at you now, like it almost feels like there's always more at stake in America ' it's part of our under the freedom. Like go get it.

    [00:19:49] Jolene: this the part of the great experiment,

    [00:19:52] nicole: gu-

    [00:19:52] Jolene: I mean, their government has been around for centuries, whereas only been around for [00:20:00] 250 years, so we're trying to kinda figure it out. do you have, um, like professional political people? Do people, as a little kid, do you go, "I want to be prime minister one day." Like, and you, and everything that you do leads up to that? No.

    [00:20:15] nicole: Okay, I'm sorry, Brianna, there has to be a couple of maybe not you

    [00:20:20] Brianna: is. It's not me. It's not me. But there are definitely people that idolize, I, I guess, that idolize, like, our prime minister and, I mean, it was cool when we had Julia Gillard in 'cause she was, like, the first female, and that was, that was pretty amazing. But she got, ugh, she got sort of ripped to shreds, I guess, just in that era that she was in, it was still very male-dominated, and just the things that people would say, and she ended up getting, like, booted out.

    [00:20:49] It was, like, not a great time. we were all looking to, um, the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda looking at her and being like, "Wow, she's awesome too." [00:21:00] Like, it was really nice to see some females, um, going in and, and a really good job. don't idolize them as much, I think, 

    [00:21:10] nicole: Mm-hmm. 

    [00:21:12] Brianna: Because I think you're right. Either side, like yes, we've got our healthcare sorted, and mostly, you know, gun control, and some big issues that most people are, are really passionate about that it doesn't matter who gets in because there's still, like, that's still gonna be okay, you know, generally. Uh, so I think that's probably why it's not as big of a deal because,

    [00:21:39] yeah, there's not so much at stake. At the moment we have some things going on with, like, gas, uh, like the gas tax that we're trying to get our government to actually bring into place 'cause we have a lot of gas here in A- in Australia, and we're selling it for way less than we should be, and, you know, other countries are selling it for way more, and [00:22:00] then are trying to get off, uh, fossil fuels anyway.

    [00:22:03] And so there's, like, this kind of conversation that's happening around sustainability 'cause Australia's got so much solar and good, like, solar power, uh, that that's a real problem in our government at the moment, going, "Okay, how, how can we fix these issues?" We also have a lot of mining here that's generating a lot of income, but also there's a lot of mining that's really bad, So that's kind of our problem. Um, but either party is gonna, is gonna have to deal with that as well.

    [00:22:31] Jolene: Are you guys having conversations about data centers and this whole AI, the implementation of data centers and where to put them and the energy that's used and all that?

    [00:22:41] Brianna: Yeah, we are having conversations. There are certainly slated to be some data centers happening, you know, here, uh, in Australia. But again, it's, it's kind of about how are those data centers gonna be powered? And at the moment, the, these data centers are gonna be, uh, potentially powered by fossil fuels, and then that's part of our problem going this is not the [00:23:00] way...

    [00:23:00] You know, if, if we have to have data centers, they should not be powered by these old terrible, um, technologies that are killing our environment, you know? So there is definitely a lot more chatter down here about

    [00:23:13] environment is a, is a huge thing for a lot of people here in Australia, and I guess because we get hit really hard with global warming, and like, if w- if it gets hot, we get really hot, you know?

    [00:23:24] So that's, that's a big deal for us.

    [00:23:27] Jolene: in your social media feed, did you get to see the reaction to, other people coming to America for the World Cup and the surprise that, you know, all... Did that get into your feed? Like you saw all the positive things they were saying about America?

    [00:23:42] Brianna: absolutely. They're, not to begin with, uh, but then they started to really coming in. Uh, and I was like, "Oh man, this looks so... Like, everyone's having such a good time, and they just love being there." And, and as I said at the beginning, it's like Americans in my opinion anyway, you're just lovely.

    [00:23:59] [00:24:00] Like, you're always lovely. And whenever I've traveled, everyone is always so nice and so welcoming and so helpful and, you know, all that. So it was really nice to see all of that on social media where

    [00:24:11] it, that was just correct, you know? Uh, and it was a really good break from just the negativity 

    [00:24:18] nicole: Mm-hmm. I mean, also, like, living in New York and so many of the games were there, You could feel sort of the sadness that it was ending,

    [00:24:29] Brianna: Hmm.

    [00:24:31] nicole: really, enjoyed just celebrating. Celebrating, like, being out at bars or restaurants and being with people and not arguing, just s- just being together and celebrating, and it was...

    [00:24:44] And there was this sense, I heard it over and over again, "What are we gonna do when the World Cup's over? What are we gonna do?" Some of these smaller cities, if you will, Kansas City, Dallas, uh, what other one, Joe?

    [00:24:59] Like [00:25:00] Philadelphia. These cities so thrived economically and everything else because of the World Cup in a way, even more so than New York and Los Angeles, where it was not only this, like, rush of love of all these cool different people that could experience, you know, their American culture, but they've really economically thrived.

    [00:25:21] 'Cause it's not like the Super Bowl for the weekend. It's a month. It's a month of happy people coming and consuming and laughing and playing, and I can't ima- Like, I think we just want another one of those World Cups, like, tomorrow 

    [00:25:34] Jolene: we could have that, you know? I mean, we're getting ready to start the college football season and the NFL season, and I mean, there are, there are so many things that we could and do celebrate, but it just doesn't make the news. I think that's the, the thing that we've learned through all this, is that there is this sense of community and, you know, bipartisanship.

    [00:25:55] You know, you go to any football game and there's Democrats [00:26:00] and Republicans there. So I mean, it's, it's like there are occasions for us to feel like this. We just, uh, we don't get it fed to us like, like we saw it. And is that, you know, i- isn't that the, the sad part of all this, is we, we, we're all excited to see this and we're like, no, this, this actually could happen every day.

    [00:26:19] We could have this.

    [00:26:20] Brianna: I think what we see on social media is from the outside, we assume that you guys don't like each other at all. You know? Like, that's why I was so excited to work on this particular project, 'cause I was like, "Man, best friends and they're from two different sides? This is gonna be crazy." You know? Like, what? How is this gonna- no one's gonna say anything. They're not gonna be honest about anything. You know? So I think

    [00:26:44] Jolene: last for two weeks.

    [00:26:46] Brianna: that's why I was so excited. Oh, yay, this is a quick- yeah, no. Not at all. You know? So that was, I, that's the thing, that seeing that negative news all the time just makes you go, " Oh, [00:27:00] Americans, they really don't like each other.

    [00:27:01] There's a lot of hate." Like, you see that, you see that there's a lot of yelling at each 

    [00:27:05] other 

    [00:27:06] nicole: what has that been like, Brianna? Like, working on this, working with us. Like, you're-- I'm assuming you're looking at American news in a way you never did before.

    [00:27:17] Brianna: Oh, 

    [00:27:17] nicole: right? And so in working with us, and I'm just thinking about how at the beginning there was this sense of like, "Hey, Brianna, we wanna do something that I don't think's been done yet," and trying to fight against the pumping out of the toxic crap of like, "No, we don't want that photograph that's gonna make us look like we're mad at each other."

    [00:27:40] Which is of course what, gets the clicks. But like how has this been for you?

    [00:27:45] Brianna: certainly at the beginning, it felt like, oh, they're not quite saying what they wanna say. Like, when, when you first started it, there would be sometimes in the edit I'd be like, "Oh, nope, that hasn't quite gone where it could have gone," you know? Like, [00:28:00] someone's not saying the 

    [00:28:01] whole 

    [00:28:01] nicole: Mm-hmm.

    [00:28:02] Brianna: you just have to let that run its course and see what happens over, over a longer period of time. That part to me was interesting at the beginning, being like, "Oh, this, they are a little bit more reserved than I want them to be." And then as you've gone along, you've definitely loosened up.

    [00:28:16] Uh, and I think that's because you've also started to consume a lot more of each other's news, and really started to understand each other in a way that you even didn't before. So not that you were ever, you know, combative, but even more so now, it feels like you're, you're more connected in a way that you, that you ever have been before, which has been really lovely,

    [00:28:38] witness. And I think that there needs to be more conversations like this with people because the more you, you actually talk to each other, the more it's like, "Oh, hang on. There's so much we agree on," and even the stuff that we don't agree on, like, I can understand why you are that way.

    [00:28:54] Jolene: Mm-hmm. 

    [00:28:55] Brianna: has been a beautiful part of the whole experience, and I certainly know [00:29:00] more about American politics than I know even about my own country now, you know? I'm really good at a dinner party if they wanna talk about American politics.

    [00:29:12] Jolene: That is

    [00:29:13] nicole: Anything been, has anything been surprising to you coming out of this project?

    [00:29:17] Brianna: I expected you to, like, hate on Trump more than you have, he's displayed pretty atrociously, like from our side It's like, man, that guy, tell you what. And even just recently with the World Cup and the... He was on the stage, like, and they're trying to take a photo of the Spanish, like, just the Spanish, the winners, you know, and he's on the stage, like, not getting off. And, um, and then there, there was this, this was how it was presented in Australian news, and there's this, like, Aussie editor guy, like that was, um, videoing it, and he's like, "Oh, we'll have to edit Trump out." And like, then that made the news because he because it, it, [00:30:00] it 

    [00:30:00] nicole: Yes, yes, yes, yes

    [00:30:02] Brianna: being like, "What a...

    [00:30:03] God, this is, this guy is just ridiculous. Like, just get off the stage," you know? So there's, there's things like 

    [00:30:09] nicole: Yes. Yes.

    [00:30:12] Brianna: him, 

    [00:30:13] nicole: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

    [00:30:16] Brianna: I expected you guys to be a bit more like, "Oh God, what a, you know, a dingbat," you know, uh, to put it 

    [00:30:23] nicely. But, been a lot more moderate in that way than, um, I expected. 

    [00:30:29] nicole: I think honestly, I am so tired of him, and I'm so tired of the, breath he takes that I wanna talk about other things.

    [00:30:39] it's been interesting doing this, and Jolene and I have talked about it, that I definitely have friends that won't listen because I won't fight.

    [00:30:47] I am fighting in a different way because I think there's an, a much bigger problem than this blowhard named Trump, and that's my opinion about him. But if I say that every time, it gets [00:31:00] kinda boring. Like, so let's ta- what else can... Like, let's solve the problem. And I think one thing that Jolene and I are learning is that this cross-partisan space, we're not just the only ones.

    [00:31:12] There are other people out there that are incredibly passionate about it, and I think that that's been the most interesting gift out of this thus far, is like, I want We've Got to Talk to be part of the solution, Like, there's this v- uh, Josh, I was just showing it to Josh the other day, and J- Jolene, I'm not sure if you know this person, but she has a podcast.

    [00:31:33] It's on YouTube. Her name is Jennifer Welsh, and sh- it's called I've Had It, and it's a huge left podcast. And I look- I didn't, I didn't... I was like, "Who is..." I mean, "Who is this person?" And Josh had no idea, and I was like, "Oh, she's huge." And I guess she was like, she had a reality show in... Like, she's from Texas and Oklahoma, and she was on one of those reality shows, and [00:32:00] then became a podcaster.

    [00:32:02] I have to say, she's funny. She's really funny, and she says all the things that everyone wants me to say. But that's not what, to me, what this is about, and that's frustrating to people because w- I feel like we're asking for something else 

    [00:32:19] Jolene: and I would also say, like if, if I were defending Trump all the time, I think that would piss you off more. And so then you would... And you would have to go, "W- no, now wait a sec." I mean, right? And then there would be this. I think we both have come to an understanding that are some things that he's done that I do like, And, and we've talked about that, and I have given you my reason, and I think that we respect each other enough that you're like, "Okay, I'll, I'll give you that.

    [00:32:47] nicole: Right, right.

    [00:32:48] Jolene: what you

    [00:32:49] nicole: Right

    [00:32:50] Jolene: But to have us, getting in the dirt and, and going at it, I just don't think... We have found that that's just not productive, and [00:33:00] that's what everybody else

    [00:33:01] nicole: That is what everyone else is doing

    [00:33:03] Jolene: And like you said, that's, th- we're not solving anything. So if we could, if we can go, "Yeah, okay, I didn't like that he did this," and we can talk about the individual things instead of him as a person, because we all agree him as a person... And so, a-

    [00:33:21] nicole: Yeah.

    [00:33:21] Jolene: so it's... I just, yes. I, we are trying to be, have productive conversations instead of going after each

    [00:33:31] nicole: And Jolene, wouldn't you think also that you... 'Cause I was just th- was reminded what, what you were saying about how at the beginning we had much more of a sense of we needed to defend our side, whatever our side is. And the longer that we have been together, and maybe even what you're sensing when you edit us every week, is like there are times that I'm like, "Wait, I agree with you, Jolene, in that little part," or you agree with me on that little part.

    [00:33:58] And you see, oh, this [00:34:00] isn't red or blue. Like we've just been so trained in the last 15 years to just fight like hell, and there's no nuance. And the more I talk to my friend and I listen to her, and then I have all, we have all the... We've had a lot of conservative guests on lately, and I'm like, "Yep, yep, yep."

    [00:34:19] Does that make me less of a lefty? No. It just means I agree with that. Like, and what does that even mean anymore? I don't care. Like, our, I, I, like part of me, we're gonna have a podcast we're recording on Sunday talking about like how party-less we feel. Like what does it all mean? It all just feels dumb.

    [00:34:39] Brianna: I think it's interesting because again, like as I said before there, right? How, that's what I was expecting to happen. you guys really disagreeing on things and you hating on Trump more and having to have discussions about, you know, between conservative and Democrat. I, that's what I was expecting.

    [00:34:57] I think that's what everyone would have been [00:35:00] expecting. Yeah? And that's why it's really interesting that it hasn't gone that way. It dives that way 

    [00:35:05] nicole: Sure

    [00:35:06] Brianna: that you really have to talk about. But that's what makes the show an interesting thing to edit and a f- like a fun, a fun listen too. And I love that you're having more guests on that are, you're agreeing with on things that you didn't really even think about potentially before. Uh, and I think from the Australian system, we don't side with parties even, or I certainly don't. it's very much more like at ea- each election we'll look at it and go, and my generation probably more so than the ones above, we'll look at it and go, "Okay, what are they doing?

    [00:35:40] What are they doing? Okay, this time I'm gonna vote for this party." it, it really changes, it really does, depending on what people are going for, what they're talking about, and what they're running on. It's just not as, it's not as, 

    [00:35:55] um, 

    [00:35:56] nicole: I mean

    [00:35:57] Brianna: this way if you've always [00:36:00] voted that way, then you're probably gonna always vote that way.

    [00:36:03] It doesn't happen as much, certainly younger down

    [00:36:06] nicole: Well, it's funny 'cause Jolene and I talked about it in the episode that just aired, that having Layla Zaidan come in, the Future Caucus, who, who it's a Millennial and Gen Z, like activating them, and that for them it's much more of an older versus young thing versus yes, there are Republicans and Democrats, they wanna actually work together in a way that, that it makes me think like, Uh, and I said it in the last episode, like, why aren't we being more open to voting for just who we believe in,

    [00:36:39] we think is gonna do a good job?

    [00:36:42] Brianna: Yeah

    [00:36:43] Jolene: to work with,

    [00:36:44] nicole: who's gonna work with.

    [00:36:45] Jolene: Yeah

    [00:36:46] nicole: mm-hmm

    [00:36:47] Brianna: that I, yeah, I was, I was confused by, I suppose, going like, "Why do they always just vote for the,

    [00:36:54] nicole: Mm-hmm.

    [00:36:55] Brianna: voted for?" Like, why don't Why does that not change, you know, depending on [00:37:00] how your views change and, and thing, how you feel? And then That to me is an interesting part of it that I certainly don't have

    [00:37:07] nicole: It makes me think, Jolene, that it's not very American. That aren't Americans like, "Don't tell me what to do. I'm independent. I'm a free thinker." Like, if we really were like that, that we would vote for who who really spoke to us in that moment. 

    [00:37:28] Jolene: But instead we've

    [00:37:30] nicole: We're sort of following

    [00:37:31] Jolene: yeah, like you're a liberal, then these are the

    [00:37:33] nicole: These,

    [00:37:34] Jolene: think.

    [00:37:35] nicole: And if you go off that, you're kicked out. That doesn't, that, that doesn't feel very American to me

    [00:37:41] Brianna: And then you wouldn't even tell your friends necessarily if you 

    [00:37:44] nicole: You're too ashamed.

    [00:37:46] too ashamed.

    [00:37:47] Brianna: you know? So

    [00:37:48] Jolene: Yeah. 

    [00:37:49] nicole: I mean, that's also one of the reasons, Brianna, and you know this, I guess, but like why the left was so shocked when Trump won by a landslide be- ' cause, 'cause the Republicans were, didn't, uh, [00:38:00] not all of them, but a lot of, some of them were too embarrassed. They weren't gonna tell you.

    [00:38:03] Brianna: Hmm

    [00:38:04] nicole: fair to say, Jolene?

    [00:38:05] Jolene: 100%, I would agree

    [00:38:07] nicole: Yeah

    [00:38:08] Jolene: I think things are gonna change.

    [00:38:10] nicole: Do you, Joe?

    [00:38:11] Jolene: think things are gonna change after Trump gets out. I just think that we're going to, like, have a different perspective

    [00:38:17] Brianna: So in a way, Trump's been really good for America. Potentially. You know, if you think about what's coming next 

    [00:38:26] nicole: Maybe.

    [00:38:28] Brianna: all, all the 

    [00:38:28] conversations that to have that they didn't have 

    [00:38:31] nicole: Mm-hmm

    [00:38:32] Brianna: what they, what they, um, what is acceptable and what isn't.

    [00:38:36] It's like he's also, he's almost put all those things on display for people to go, "Oh, okay, this is what is, this is what's okay and this what isn't okay," and having different conversations. So sometimes you need, people that really are confronting in order 

    [00:38:53] to 

    [00:38:53] nicole: Yes 

    [00:38:54] Brianna: the best out of people

    [00:38:56] nicole: I like that. Do you like... Yeah,

    [00:38:58] Jolene: Yeah

    [00:38:59] nicole: that's [00:39:00] good. I think we should, um, possibly talk about Good for the Soul, Miss Brianna

    [00:39:09] Brianna: So my good for the soul is this book here. It's called Music as Medicine. It is by a guy called Daniel Levitin, and this book is so good as a creative person he's basically, he's a, a neuroscientist well as a crazy good jazz musician,

    [00:39:34] the book is all about how you can use music to heal from lots of things, and there's a huge part of it about, like, Alzheimer's and just the way, the way memory works with music and how you can, know,

    [00:39:50] it to do a bunch of different things and it says how, how we can harness its therapeutic power.

    [00:39:55] It's, it's made me so inspired. It's made me, when I started [00:40:00] r- reading this book, it started making me go, "Oh, wow." Like, music makes... It's... Music, to me, is not just about, " Oh, I, you know, I wanna write a, a fun song." Music to me has always been very ingrained in, like, I wanna help people feel things that they're not, they're not allowing themselves to feel. And so if I can write lyrics and write songs that then people listen to and go, "Oh, I really resonate, resonate with that," or, "That's made me feel something," or, "That's made me work through something that's really hard," you know? Music to me is really powerful, and so reading that book, it, it kicked me up a butt- up the butt a little bit because I'd been writing stuff, like a whole new sort of album and sort of just t- taking my time with it. But the, the book was making me feel like it's more urgent to put these things back out there and go, "Oh, okay, this is a part of me that I know I'm very good at," and that- [00:41:00] I just want to make sure that people are using music to sort of help themselves feel things. So yeah, that book is good

    [00:41:09] nicole: That's amazing. Not just the urgency of it, but does it make you think about how you would write differently?

    [00:41:16] Brianna: When I write, I'm all ... I never write from my own experiences because my experience of life thus far has been too good almost, you know, to me. For, for me to feel like I, I really have much to present that is, like, deep emotions that I have, because generally I, pretty, I'm pretty solid. Uh, and so a lot of what I write or the way I write is when I'm talking to people, I'm really d- diving into, like I have a lot of deep conversations.

    [00:41:48] It's hard for me to have a surfal- surface level conversation with someone because I really wanna know them. Like, I really wanna know what's going on. And then I'll take those, thank you, and then I'll, you know, write a song about it. [00:42:00] When my mom was going through really bad anxiety and she had, like, a full-on, um, nervous breakdown, and she couldn't get out of bed and, like, just, just that kind of stuff, you know, seeing other people go through things and then going, "If it was me in that situation, how would I handle it?

    [00:42:17] How would I... What would I be feeling?" And then write something about it that then, you know, helps them process it too. One of my good friends, um, got diagnosed with a terrible cancer, that was my first time where I wrote something where I was like, "I need to process this emotion 'cause I don't know how."

    [00:42:32] Like, I don't know how to do it, 

    [00:42:34] Jolene: Wow, that's really cool. 

    [00:42:36] Brianna: So that's a good book

    [00:42:37] Jolene: do you have a would you rather?

    [00:42:39] Brianna: Yes, I do. 

    [00:42:44] Jolene: Would you rather be our producer for another year or be the lead moderator in a presidential debate?

    [00:42:57] Brianna: Oh my God. That is the, [00:43:00] there is literally no way I would ever wanna be a lead moderator in a presidential debate. Can you imagine?

    [00:43:09] Jolene: So you're gonna choose us?

    [00:43:12] Brianna: What an easy, you didn't give me a hard choice at all. 

    [00:43:15] nicole: that on purpose.

    [00:43:21] Jolene: Okay.

    [00:43:24] Brianna: Uh, okay, is it, is it my turn? Oh, okay. All right. Okay. Ready? So would you rather have a monobrow that you can't get rid of, okay? This monobrow is, like, big, it's chunky, it's right here, and it's just always there. And you wax it, and then immediately it's back, and it's just right on your face. Okay? Monobrow, always there, or you have a pimple that's, like, here.

    [00:43:51] So for those that are listening, it's, like, my cheek. It's, like, on my cheek, it's pretty big, and it's, like, got a good whitehead on it, and you can't [00:44:00] pop it, always, it's always there. So you've either got a monobrow, okay, that you can't wax off, or you've got a pimple that is, it, it's always a whitehead, and even if you, like, squeeze it, it's it's just gonna come back

    [00:44:16] Jolene: Okay, I've got this answer.

    [00:44:18] nicole: Get it

    [00:44:20] Jolene: I'm going with the unibrow, the monobrow, because I would just have bangs and then it would cover, like if you could just, you know, I would just always keep bangs

    [00:44:31] see it. a white zit, I would always wanna be getting at it. I

    [00:44:36] Brianna: Yep.

    [00:44:37] Jolene: I know, I know

    [00:44:39] nicole: gross, gross, gross. I would just rock the monobrow. I would just be like, "Yeah, what?" Like, "This is, this is what's happening.

    [00:44:48] This is, this is my face, and this is my look, and I'm just gonna rock it and then watch people follow."

    [00:44:55] Brianna: Oh my God, that's great. 

    [00:44:56] Jolene: Thank you, Brianna.

    [00:44:58] nicole: you, Brianna. Thank [00:45:00] you.

    [00:45:00] Jolene: from

    [00:45:00] nicole: Thank you

    [00:45:01] Jolene: this was really good just, I mean, because we get to talk to you, but also because I think you gave us a perspective that we don't always

    [00:45:09] nicole: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

    [00:45:11] Jolene: for being a part of this

    [00:45:12] nicole: Thank you for taking time. Thank you for just nurturing us and our show and being you. Thank you

    [00:45:22] Brianna: You're so welcome. I love it so much. It's something I look forward to doing every week. It's just like when I get to sit down and go, "Oh, yay, I'm doing these guys today," you know? And then I just go doo, doo, doo, and just get to edit it. I just love it. It's just such a good time, and I feel like you're doing something really positive for the world, so I'm on 

    [00:45:39] board 

    [00:45:39] nicole: Thank you. Thank you.

    [00:45:41] Jolene: you.

    [00:45:42] nicole: All right. Thank you. I will see you next time. Thumbs up

    [00:45:47] 

Brianna Ansaldo
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