Protect Your Piece | End-of-Year Chaos, Venezuela Crisis, Internet Outrage & Media Truth

End-of-year energy has everyone saying they’re “protecting their peace,” but this episode asks the sharper question: what piece are people actually protecting? Peace of mind, a piece of clout, a baddie era, or something more?

This episode breaks down the contradiction of claiming peace while starting beef, soft-launching new personalities, and redefining confidence online — including the internet debate over whether men can be baddies.

The conversation zooms out to global politics with a clear, accessible breakdown of the Venezuela crisis: how the country got here, what’s happening now, and why it feels like political Groundhog Day, with a brief Iraq-era parallel.

We also unpack internet culture’s cycle of selective outrage, where new villains and victims are crowned weekly depending on gender, looks, popularity, and bias.

The episode closes with the Anthony Joshua situation and what it reveals about modern journalism, media framing, and why protecting your piece of the truth matters.

Protect your peace if you must —
but don’t forget to protect your piece.

Total Runtime: 1:26:00

0:00 — Music intro
1:05 — Welcome to The Sidebar Podcast
2:30 — Holiday check-in + end-of-year energy
6:10 — “Protecting your peace”… while starting beef
11:45 — Soft-launching new personalities
16:20 — Can men be “baddies”? (protecting your piece of confidence)

23:40 — Is it Groundhog Day?
25:10 — Venezuela: how we got here (simple breakdown)
34:50 — What’s happening now in Venezuela
44:10 — Iraq parallels & repeating history

49:30 — Internet villain/victim of the week
51:15 — Selective outrage
57:40 — Same behavior, different reaction
1:03:30 — Gender, looks, popularity, and bias

1:08:45 — Anthony Joshua situation
1:11:30 — How media narratives are formed
1:18:20 — The state of journalism
1:23:30 — Final thoughts: protecting your piece
1:26:00 — End