Episode 73: Empathy is a Bitch

Episode 73: Empathy is a Bitch

From Listeners Like You by Listeners Like You

January 9, 2026 · 60 min · Episode 78

About this episode

Brian discusses his latest assignment and explores themes of empathy and cultural commentary.

Brian reports back on his latest assignment from Cort: chapters 6–16 of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. Somewhere along the way, Brian may have warmed up to the previously disparaged Owen Teale. The conversation expands to Jones’s broader body of work and why empathy, once activated, can be deeply inconvenient. From there, things go where they always do. Clare Danes gets a brief nod. The guys half-commit to an end-of-year wrap-up, tie off a few loose threads, and wander through college football, fluoridated water, and the strange realization that talking trash about other podcasters might actually work. Eddie Murphy enters the chat. Politics follow, because it’s the end of the year and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. Brian delivers his latest movie-listening report (The Strangers: Part 2 and Wake Up Dead Man), and the episode closes with a fresh assignment for Cort because the cycle must continue. Brian’s Assignment from Cort:📖 The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham JonesNarrated by Shane Ghostkeeper, Marin Ireland, and Owen Tealehttps://www.audible.com/pd/The-Buffalo-Hunter-Hunter-Audiobook/B0DD52VDNL 📖 Explore Stephen Graham Jones’…

People in this episode

Hosts: Brian, Cort

Topics covered

  • empathy
  • literature
  • podcasting
  • politics
  • college football
  • cultural commentary

Keywords

  • empathy
  • Stephen Graham Jones
  • The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
  • podcasting
  • politics
  • college football
  • Eddie Murphy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cyrus Oh Cyrus, The Flying Scrub Jays

Books & works: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, The Strangers: Part 2, Wake Up Dead Man

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