The Story of FreedomToons ft. Jordan Peterson

Intro

It's like what is Shrek? And that's that's a pretty straightforward question like he's an ogre, he lives in a swamp, he doesn't have any friends. So he's he's not much different from you roughly speaking. And in Shrek 2, which is a very old story, he has to go off to far, far away to meet his new in-laws. It's like you may think meeting in-laws is a cakewalk, man, but it is not, especially if you're an ogre. And so, what does Shrek do? Well, he brings his friend Donkey.

And why is that? Why is it that he's always hanging around with a donkey? Well, because when you're an ogre who spends all of your time in the swamp, your only friend is going to be an ass. Welcome to episode 117 of the Michaela Peterson podcast. In this episode, I had Sheamus, the creator of Freedom Tunes, on the podcast with my dad. I hope you guys enjoy it. I've had a lot of personal changes, you could say, in the last few months.

My dad's healthier than he has been in maybe 5 years. My mom is healthy. I'm healthy. I just moved to Franklin, which is south of Nashville, last week, rather abruptly. Andre's moving, too. Scarlett's coming up, and I've set up her room with everything pink. It's been an insane few months {slash} 29 years, really.

I'll do a Q&A soon to update everyone, but things are going really, really well. In this episode, I went into a bit of a description about finding God or God finding me. I'll get into that more in my Q&A because it's been pretty intense. It's something I've been searching for for a few years, and recently it clicked. More about that later, though. As you can see, I'm recording on my phone because I'm going on Blaze TV tomorrow, and I don't have my studio set up yet in Franklin. It should be set up next episode.

In this episode, we covered Sheamus's Catholic roots, his creation of Freedom Tunes, and there's a great amount of Sheamus imitating my dad, which I at least found incredibly entertaining. I hope you guys enjoy this episode. Sheamus, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for having me. It's much appreciated. I surprised you with my dad. You did surprise me with your dad.

Seamus Coughlin's background.

It was a very pleasant surprise. We were working out technical difficulties, so I didn't have too much of a a chance to fanboy over him. It's great to uh meet you, Doctor. Thank you. Is it you that does those horrible imitations of my voice? I wouldn't say horrible. I'm the one who does the really good ones.

Yeah, yeah, they're appalling they're appallingly good and Thank you. I'm glad you think so. Yeah, yeah, very amusing. I'm I'm really I'm actually very happy to hear that and I think one mark of a person's level of humility is their sense of humor about themselves. And so it's been fantastic the way that you've reacted to them and shared them around. Not only because it gives me publicity, but I think it reflects very well on you that you've been so cool about it. Yeah, well, there's much worse things than having comedians think that you're interesting enough to parody you.

I mean, I don't see how you can take offense to that. It's like, what do you want to be ignored in some hole in the corner? I can see sometimes how that might be okay, too, though. Yeah. Exactly. See, this this this was exactly why I became a cartoonist to do political commentary. No one has to see my face.

I've outed myself now, but Okay, so before before we get into conversation, Sheamus, I think you should give a brief background about who you are and what you do to anybody who isn't familiar with your work. I started cartooning when I was really pretty young. I mean, I was that kid who was drawing and doodling in class rather than paying attention, which is evident based on my level of intelligence in the things I say in my work. People go, "These cartoons are great, but if only this kid had paid attention in school." Um I started teaching myself to animate when I was about 13 years old using a very old software. And I just kept advancing with it. When I was 14, I took on my first freelance gigs, uh which paid, you know, pennies, but I was excited to be working in my field.

And so, by the time I finished high school, I knew I wanted to start a business in animation production. And the demand for animators had risen something like 30% that year, and I thought, "All right, this is a good time to try it." And what people don't know about the animation industry is it isn't just Disney. In fact, it isn't even just cartoons like I do. A lot of it is just designing graphics or doing uh motion logos for people, that kind of thing. And so, I thought that when I started, I was mostly going to be doing that stuff. But as it would happen, I found this conservative organization that wanted to hire me to do these short little cartoons.

And it was this this small little website that a friend ran, basically. And so, they asked me, "Would you like to make some cartoons for us, and we'll put them on our website?" And there wasn't really much success with them, but they enjoyed that I was making them. So, I think we maybe did three episodes. And at the time, I was extremely libertarian. I'm much more conservative now. But problems sort of began to arise because they their website merged with a larger conservative organization, and I never really ended up doing anything for them because when we started, they would kind of give me notes on things.

And I also had this feeling that I might end up having to promote things that I personally didn't believe in at the time.

The success of “Freedom Toons”.

So, I thought, "I'm just going to start uploading these cartoons to my YouTube channel. Just start making my own stuff that no one is giving me notes on and that I get to engineer all by myself and I'll put them on my channel and we'll see what happens. And so I started doing that and it gained traction over time and eventually took off to to being what it is today. And a lot of that was grinding and being consistent with the release schedule and a lot of that was just also prayer and providence. And I've got a a story about that I'd like to get into in a little bit just about the intervention of of St. Joseph and the role I believe that's played in my career. Uh so that's where this discussion goes completely off the rails.

Exactly. Come on. Dr. Peterson, are you capable of a discussion that doesn't go completely off the rails? Uh that's a good question on many levels of analysis, believe me. So how successful is Freedom Toons now? That's a really good question.

So in terms of the raw numbers the channel has we're approaching 700,000 subscribers. I have probably about three people who work with me as animators pretty regularly and we're going to be bringing more on. I've also branched out and I service other organizations that I think could use animation and whose message I want to promote. And so it's it's expanded into a small business and animation production generally, which is great because what I wanted from the start was to be able to serve these underrepresented communities with entertainment. I knew that conservatives and Catholics weren't really getting their Sounds pretty politically correct to be serving underrepresented I know, exactly. That's how I put it. So Dr., I went to art school.

I had to find ways to couch these things when my professors asked what my aspirations were that wouldn't get me thrown out. And so I'd just say, you know, there's some groups that aren't all that well represented in media. Uh and part of the problem is conservatives generally haven't been that great at producing entertaining media. And I've gotten into some of the reasons for that. I think it often I think the problem is conservatives will put too much emphasis on the message and not enough on just making it entertaining.

Coughlin’s thoughts on values.

And the reality is if you make something entertaining by virtue of the fact that you wrote it and you have your values, your values are going to come through and they're going to be promoted in some way. But I think a lot of people don't realize that and so their work is unsought and and it fails.

Dr. Peterson’s thoughts on conservatives.

And so I just knew that I wanted to work, like I said, with just Catholic and generally conservative organizations and to promote good values and help fight in the culture war in some small way. Yeah, it's a strange situation when conservatives start to develop a sense of humor and It is. world's turning upside down. That's what you see. So here's the thing. I think we've generally had a pretty good sense of humor that people haven't recognized because for years and years the conservatives were the butt of every joke on television and conservatives were still watching and laughing at it even when they were the ones getting ripped on. Well, I would even argue that people who are conservatives right now aren't really that conservative. That's also very true.

That's very true. might have just switched into the people who are funny, right? If you think about liberals and then in the '60s like I feel like most conservatives are way closer to that or even maybe even '70s, I'm not sure. No, it that's a really interesting point. It's difficult to define the right and I've said this in the past. The way that I define the left is essentially is acting against the Catholic Church and her values because we see the inception of the left at the French Revolution. And their goals were very plainly stated. They were acting against virtually everything that I believe is is good in the world and conservatives don't necessarily exist as a force for the church but they exist as a force against the left and it can become difficult to define what that means because the left takes different shapes and forms in terms of the ideas that it wants to promote in any given era.

What's fashionable among them changes very frequently, and so conservatives, because they define themselves in opposition to the left as opposed to having their own core values that they understand well, aren't really a well-defined group, unfortunately. It's something like at this point conservatives are just a group of people with vaguely similar views about the economy, I think, and a wide variety of social perspectives. And in some ways, it's good to have a large tent, but the lines can't become so blurred that nothing means anything anymore. And I think that is something which has kind of happened in the conservative movement.

Coughlin’s Catholic roots.

I'm curious about your conservative beliefs and the relationship between that and your Catholicism, and why you were attracted to Catholicism. I mean, you're a young man, and so you're kind of a rare bird. Well, you're probably the only one like you, a conservative Catholic young animator. Do you So, you'd be surprised. There are more of us than you think, but we lurk in the shadows. I believe that So, I was raised Catholic if you can't tell from the hopelessly ethnic name. I'm from an Irish Catholic family.

And I was raised right outside of Chicago. And my entire extended family lived in the inner city, and it was very large. It was a very large family. And so, we would get together for family gatherings a lot, and they were almost always they almost always revolved around the church in some way. And so, it was culturally instilled in me, but more importantly, my parents were true believers, and they did what they could to ensure that I would be a true believer as well. Now, unfortunately, at some point the world gets its claws on you. And in my teens, I would say I very much fell away from my faith.

And I believe in my very late teens, like when I was 19, I maybe even told my brother at some point that I was functionally an atheist. I was kind of going through the motions. I didn't really accept it in my heart. And at the time I thought that's because I was reading all of these good arguments for atheism, but in retrospect a lot of it was a desire, I think, on a subconscious level to justify the life that I was living because as it is said, you either live what you believe or believe what you live. And I was sort of going to church as fire insurance, but I don't know that I I In fact, I do know that I didn't really hold the values in my heart because I would just sin and then I would tell myself, you know, I can go to confession, I'll be forgiven, it's fine. I would continually presume upon God's mercy. And when you don't respect God, inevitably you stop believing in him.

And so when I was about 20, I won't get too into detail, but I had an experience that was traumatic for me.

Mikhaila's experience finding God.

And that's when it clicked that bad things can happen to me, which is something that many young men don't realize, and I certainly didn't. And then you put it together that well, if a bad thing can happen to me, and if bad things can happen to me because I'm made of the same stuff everyone else is, then the worst possible thing could happen to me. I could end up in hell for all of eternity. And that's when I really began to seriously consider that. And also, when I was in the midst of this frightening situation, I genuinely believed the Blessed Virgin was there for me. So, at this point I really started taking my faith Sorry. Can you pause for a sec?

So, I'm not uh I'm not super familiar. I mean, my dad is my dad, but I'm not super familiar with the intricacies of of religion or Catholicism. So, when you said you believed the Blessed Virgin was there for you, what does that mean? So, I'm trying I I don't want to get too much into detail about the specifics of the circumstance, but my brother was there with me, and he started praying a Hail Mary prayer. And you could say that in in large part it it it solved the problem. I wish I could be more detailed than that. Interesting.

That's very interesting. I had I can talk about this cuz I haven't talked about it before, but I grew up with dad, so we I learned a lot about the like psychological significance of the Bible. He has a YouTube series on um and it was always kind of through that lens, like metaphors. Uh and then I had a I had like way too many really absurd experiences that I couldn't wrap my head around, where I was like my life doesn't make any This doesn't make any sense. This doesn't make any sense. This is too weird, like too coincidental. And that happened for like 5 years, like every day.

And uh I had a and then some like rough had some rough experiences over the summer, and about a month ago, I would say I think I think I can say this, I'd say I found God. Mhm. Which I have which I haven't before. Like I didn't I definitely haven't before, and it was very sudden, and it was when I was um anyway, what I've been doing for the last I'm pretty new to this, and what I've been doing for the last like month or so is reading the Bible and praying. And I guess in a way that's more like Protestant, probably. Uh and it's been the like amount of peace that I've had I haven't had before. Yeah.

It's completely absurd. I can't believe it, like so I was looking forward to talking to you because my mom practices Catholicism, and I haven't really understood it very well because I felt like part of it was kind of I don't want to say vindictive, but I felt like there was a punishing element to it so that if you do something wrong, it's like, you know, repent and kind of punish yourself and I feel like with my type of brain, I do and I have enough guilt in me that I punish myself enough for anything I meet maybe even don't even do that wrong. So, I was like I wasn't very attracted to the whole Catholicism thing cuz I thought there was a punishment element. So, I was interested in talking to you to like learn a little bit more about it. Yeah. Um I certainly I have some thoughts on the punishment element, but was I'm curious, can I ask about your experience first? Yeah.

Uh what would you So, when you said you felt you discovered God? What was that? Was it just like in a single moment you realized that things just lined up too well or Uh it was like I had this one day where I was worrying about a number They were like four really important and I'm not going to get into details either like you did, but like four really I get it. Four really important parts of my life that and all of them were going really badly. Like in ways where I was like, what am I Am I not trying hard enough? Like what more can I do? I can't do more to fix these four major problems.

And then I met somebody I was going to check out Austin to see if I wanted to stay in Austin for the winter, which I don't. But I met somebody there and he's Christian and he was like, well, how are you managing with all these problems? And I was like, I'm not managing well. I'm really not managing well. Like I'm working and I'm keeping it together, but I don't feel good. Uh and I used to be like clinically depressed and I And it wasn't depression. I just wasn't feeling good.

And he was like, well, that's why you need God. And I said, okay, well, that's fine and dandy. You know, it's nice when somebody comes up to you and is like, well, you need God because that's how you're supposed to wrap your head around that. So, I was like, well, I don't know like, yeah, okay, maybe that sounds great, but I don't know how to get there. Mhm. Uh and he said, just beg for him to reveal himself to you. Like, ask him to That's what he said.

Ask him to reveal himself to you. And so, I went home that night and I was and I was pretty upset about like these four major problems and I was in bed, so I was praying, like seriously praying, like, please give me some sort of sign. Please reveal himself to you. And the next day all four problems cleared up in ways that I like made sense. It was lot like they could have cleared up, but the likelihood of all four of them clearing up randomly that day was just too much. So, that happened and I also woke up with this sense of calm I hadn't felt like the sense of calm right here. Mhm.

And that was enough. Mhm. I was like, okay, that's good and that's good enough for me. So, it was kind of like a click there, which is different for me because I think I've been talking about it on the podcast a little bit and bringing people on and talking to my mom, but nothing clicked. So, it was really sudden click. And then everything was great for about 2 weeks. So, I was praying, I was reading the Bible.

I was like, this is fantastic. Everything's working out. And then 2 weeks later I was like just a little bit just just one little thought that was like, well, you know am I being silly? There are actual like more more logical explanations for why things turned around. And that happened and then I had two just miserable days. Mhm. So, it was like it was really it was just two miserable days.

And it was like, what is happening? Why do I feel this like existential horror again? Uh which I would differentiate from depression cuz I've been depressed before.

Finding joy in misery.

This was really like existential angst. Yeah. Um and so then I I think I I what went back It's not like I'd stopped reading the Bible or stopped praying, but I who just a little bit more removed from it. And so, um I I went back to it and then I had the most wild dream. So, I was I was talking to my parents about this and being like, I think I found God. Like, isn't that crazy? And uh I went to sleep that night and I woke up at 5:30 in the morning and I had a dream I think I can I think I'm allowed to talk about this stuff, but I had a dream and this loud thundering voice just yelled, "Do it." in the dream.

And I woke up at 5:30 in the morning and was like, "I think I just got yelled at by God. I think that just happened. That's what it felt like. What does that mean? What does it mean?" So, I had kind of a rough morning. Was like, "I don't know what this means.

Is that really what happened?" Um and and then it occurred to me that I think what it meant was just go all in. Don't do this like 75% in. Anyway, so it's been a wild month. I'm doing really well. It's just I'm like I'm a little bit shocked. Yeah.

I mean, that that's incredible. I would say there's a few things to watch out for as you move through your path as a Christian. Just know that there are going to be many ups and downs. And you mentioned feeling a profound peace. And that's instructive because the world can give you many things, but it can't give you peace. Um that kind of peace can only come from God. And it's important to remember, however, that while I believe firmly that you're you're going to be happier living a Christian lifestyle because you're going to be doing the things God made you to do, many of the holiest saints had very difficult lives and were very miserable, but there was a joy in their misery because they understood that this was for something greater.

And just the fact that they were doing the will of God. The fact that it was God's will for them to be miserable was is for them to rejoice in their own misery. And so we'll see. That might take me a little bit of time to get to. It might take me a little bit of time to get to, too. It's it's tough. It it's tough.

And one thing I have found uh that has helped me spiritually is like just when you're suffering or when you're miserable, thank God for letting you suffer.

Dr. Peterson’s Jungian technique to analyze Mikhaila's dream.

Thank God for showing you that misery because A, it shows you how much you need him. But B, those closest to him will suffer the most. I mean, look at his only begotten son. Um so we should expect suffering as Christians. And you know, it's it's easy to put like when things are going well, we want to praise God, and that's good because we should. Um and when things are going really bad, it's also important to remember that this is the author of all things, and the reason I'm going through this is because he wants it to make me better. And so I would just advise you that as as you start to move through the spiritual life and things get really difficult, thank him.

Thank him for the troubles because that means that means he's calling you to a real relationship with him, you know? I mean, like he's calling you to a relationship where where you suffer for him, which is what love is fundamentally. Mhm. And And that's not by the way the way I worded that might have come off as if I was suggesting you don't have real relationship. Now, that's not at all what I'm saying. But when he calls you into that kind of suffering, it's to strengthen your connection to him and your love for him. Okay.

Dad, any comments or you just listening? Well, there's a I hope I've got this right. It's been a long time since I thought about this, but and so apologies if I get it wrong, but when Christ comes back in Revelation. He comes back as a judge essentially and Carl Jung's comment on that was quite interesting is that the Christ presented in the Gospels the merciful element is emphasized but in both mercy and justice are pinnacle moral principles and they're opposed to one another to some degree. Justice means the imposition of the necessary rules and mercy means forgiveness for transgressing against them, let's say, and so Yeah. you have to use mercy and and justice continually say when you're dealing with children because you want them to um live according to a high moral standard but of course they're going to fail and so you have to forgive and so there's this balance between mercy and justice that seems necessary. If you forgive everything then there are no standards by which to live and if you impose the law stringently to the letter then everyone is doomed because everybody fails and so there's this constant balance. Anyways, Jung said that believed that Christ in the Gospels was primarily presented as a figure of mercy and that needed a balance to make the image of perfection complete and so the justice element is emphasized in Revelation.

Um and one of the things Christ says is that I know your works that you are neither hot nor cold. Mhm. I could wish that you were cold or hot.

Dr. Peterson’s opinion on commitment.

Um that and then it continues. Give me one more second here. So because well it's even more it's it's more uh what would you say direct than that? So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold I will spew thee out of my mouth. And the spew it really means something like vomit. And it's it's it's an an allusion to disgust. And so it's a very interesting idea is that the the people for whom the most severe judgement is reserved Yeah. aren't the committed sinners or the committed saints.

They're the people in the middle who sort of play both ends against the middle who won't commit. And so it's possible Michaela that that voice in your dream uh this method of dream interpretation by the way is called amplification and and it's a union technique and so you know your imagination presented this to you as something akin to a personal revelation. And so this is a amplification with a more impersonal revelation. It's don't play both ends against the middle, right? Commit. Commit to what you're doing fully. And that's perhaps now I I isn't clear what that meant because the dream wasn't that specific.

You have to work that out for yourself. Um you know when you're doing something halfway well that's not perhaps that's not for the best. So It didn't even feel like halfway though.

The different imitations of Seamus.

It felt like 75% or 80 at that point. And I even that was that wasn't good. It was like a hundred or nothing. Exactly. That's what that felt like. You you know Christ didn't 80% die on the cross for you, you know? He went and did it and we we have to love him.

He He did not hedge his bets with us. I mean, he loves us so radically that he gave his life up on the cross. He died on the cross for us. And for us to see that and respond by saying, "Let me hedge my bets." is obviously unbelievably insulting. And so, I think it it it makes sense for for the lukewarm to be spit out. And that's sort of how you could describe me because like I said, I was going to church at this time. And I said I believe I mean, I still identified as Catholic, but again, I remember telling my brother at one point I was functionally an atheist.

I hope you enjoy the rest of this episode. Well, want to hear more about I know I'm going to deflect the conversation to some degree, but I want to hear more about the work that you're doing online and and and and your animation and and what effect you've had that's had on people and where what you're planning on doing with that. So, who all who all do you imitate? Yeah, kind of everybody. So, the thing with Rubin is and my Rubin impression is one of my most popular, but I don't think it's good. Um the video I did on him, I wrote it as a writing exercise cuz there were a bunch of other impressions I wanted to do. And I was like, well, where would all these people, all these like conservative or conservative-adjacent or IDW figures who I was impersonating, like where would they be?

And I was like, of course, they would be on Dave Rubin's show. So, I just put him there as a framing device and I didn't have any lines for him to say. Uh so, I just had him say I agree with with everything they said. And I just the reason he said that is cuz I think he hits his G's kind of funny. And I just That's the only thing I had for an impression where you just go, "I agree with that. I agree." And so, he just does that over and over.

A while ago, I recorded a video It was actually about 2 years ago. So, I did a video making fun of Dave Rubin. Um and I went way harder on him than I meant to. Uh I really did not mean to be that mean, but people in the comments were like, "Man, like you really got him." And I was like, "Oh, no. Like my goal was not to tear you to apart." But he had a really good sense of humor about it.

Welcome to the Rubin Report. I'm your host, Dave Rubin. The regressive left has abandoned liberal values. The left is no longer liberal. They're regressive. The road to hell is paved with regressive intentions. Regressive regressive PC culture regressive regressive left.

Today's non-regressive guests from the non-regressive left here to talk about the regressive PC leftist culture is noted non-regressive Sam the non-regressive man Harris. How does it feel to be non-regressive today, Sam? At the present moment, the most crucial point for us to focus on is I agree with that. Uh you didn't let me finish. regressive I agree with that. Honestly, Dave, if you believe that you can just agree with your guest on everything they say, you're totally I agree with that. It's like if you're not embodying the mythos of the archetypal hero by metaphorically dying, you're never going to kill the snake, man, let alone rescue your father from the underworld. Who has a billion of anything?

Nobody. It's absurd. I agree with that. I hope you're doing well, Dave. I agree with that. Okay, so you are agreeing with me, Dave, but you haven't actually given me an explanation for why you agree. the regressive left Okay, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Dave, how attractive was your single mother? Did she leave you a daycare?

Seamus's most popular videos.

I agree Anita Sarkeesian spent 17 billion dollars on a 30-second video where she says the word feminism four times after promising a donor she could get the video done in I agree with that. Honestly, gang, I knew this was happening. He was agreeing with all of us. This is clearly not an honest person that we're dealing with. I view him truly as a bad actor. Well, that depends on what your definition of truth is, Sam. Oh, not this again.

So, I'm not the only one he agrees with? Okay, folks, clearly as I've mentioned, he's been agreeing with all of us on everything when he should only be agreeing with me on everything, okay? If you think If you think we're ever going to be doing your show again after this, you are sorely mistaken, Buster Brown. My gosh. What you have done here today cuts to the depth of my soul and strips me of my faith in human virtue. I may have brought humanity a thousand years forward in moral philosophy, but you've set it back 2,000. I can't think of anyone more likely to have been spanked as a child.

Good luck finding new people to interview you, eatable tyrants. And he brought me like a year I think 2 years ago, maybe 3 years ago now. I was out in LA and we recorded a sequel video to it, which we still have not finished a release. But in the sequel video, I had to do my impression of Dave Rubin to Dave Rubin's face and it was like a really mean impression. I was like, this is this is like I was like, I deserve this. I 100% deserve this. I take no joy in it.

Um So, as for my work, you were asking which video is the most popular. Um I think the most popular is fighting Nazis then verse now. Uh I can double-check on that. But the basic idea behind that video was you had all these lefties going around saying right-wingers are all Nazis and calling them Nazis for things which my grandfather, uh who fought in the Second World War, believed. And there are some things where you can argue, okay, when it comes to some of the people get labeled Nazis like if they're you know, if they're into racial politics in that way or they're you know, white nationalists and you sort of sort of understand the comparisons, but often people will get called Nazis for things like being against abortion or against gay marriage or believing in two genders. I mean, for goodness' sake, Dr. Peterson has been called one.

I'm sure I've been called one. Like these are just This is just a term people throw around. I haven't yet. You haven't yet? No. I don't know if I have to be honest, but I know that once you as soon as you're But that just means I'm not influential enough, right? Like once you have a large enough platform, that's just the mean that's just the swear word people have for you.

So, I just wanted to do this video cuz I was like, my grandfather and all the guys he fought alongside would be appalled by your lifestyle you know choices and like the idea that you would call them a Nazi for that was hilarious. So, I just thought it'd be funny to do a cartoon where a bunch of lefties build a time machine and bring these World War II veterans out of the war and into their own time and tell them, "Nazis have invaded America. Look what they're doing." Uh and then they start describing all the things that the Nazis are doing and the soldiers are like, "That just makes sense." It's actually I'm not sure how much of it it would make sense for me to spoil here, but the um one of the one of the first jokes is they give them like a Donald Trump pamphlet on his positions and one of the soldiers goes, "This guy's disgusting. This guy thinks two men can get married." Um and the the lefties like, "No, no, that's not what's wrong with him."

Um but like realistically, if you're going to try to compare yourself to the people who fought in World War II, you should expect more conservative leaning social values. So, Okay, folks. So, as you know, Nazism is on the rise and we need to stop them, which is why I've invented a time machine to bring back the people who defeated Nazism in the first place. Perfect. Yes. Hey, THIS AIN'T NORMANDY. WHAT GIVES?

WHAT YEAR IS IT? IT'S 2018. Why did you say that so weird? Uh sorry, force of habit. We brought you to the future because Nazism is on the rise in the US and our president IS SYMPATHETIC TO THEM. WHAT? Here's a pamphlet with all his positions.

Ah, THIS FELLOW'S DISGUSTING. RIGHT? THIS BOY WHAT thinks two men can get married. What? AND THAT A MAN WHO CUTS HIS DONGLE OFF IS A WOMAN. UM SOUNDS MORE like a commie to me, but hey, same difference. I'll kill either one.

Uh, that's not what's bad about him. It gets worse. What else are these Nazis doing? They believe there are only two genders. Well, of course there's more than two genders. Thank goodness. Yeah, the Russians have their agenda, the Germans have their agenda, the Japanese have their agenda, everybody's got an agenda.

No, not agenda, gender. What the hell is gender? SOUNDS LIKE SOME KIND OF PHONY word popularized in the '50s to create a false distinction between one identity and their biological sex. Am I in a ballpark here? Your sex is whether you're male or female, but your gender is how you identify. So, if you were born a man, but want to become a woman, your gender identity is as a woman, and you therefore are a woman. No, what?

So, you guys think men can be women? Well, that's the biggest crock of nonsense I ever heard. Yeah, none of this sounds like Nazism to me. Well, how about this? He wants people to pay for their own birth control. OH, NO. YEAH.

BIRTH CONTROL IS LEGAL? THE GUYS who defeated Nazism are such Nazis. You know, I don't like you pinkos going around telling people you're fighting Nazis just cuz you berate everyone you disagree with. You've never fought a Nazi in your life, and to claim otherwise is stolen valor. Yeah, and you know what? When actual Nazis come around, no one's going to want to fight them anymore, cuz youse guys keep crying wolf. NOW, LET'S GO BACK AND WIN OURSELVES A WAR.

YOU KNOW, I ALMOST DON'T want to anymore. Wait, don't go. We need you. We need to say you're on our side so we can convince the greater whole of society to accept violence against dissidents who stand in the way of the social order we seek to establish. Uh and how exactly are they the Nazis? Because I call them Nazis. Well, you call men women, so And I'm I struck a nerve cuz they it racked up I think like 2 and 1/2 million views.

And then the other one that was popular was just me making fun of Ben Shapiro. Um So, you've supported like this really racist idea that health care should not be for free.

The Thanksgiving video.

And I just wanted to ask about that. Okay, so here's how this works, gang. Honestly, if you can't see that a universal health care system is bad for America, you're wasting my time. Okay? Okay, folks. So, the health care cost crisis didn't actually begin until the government got involved by creating Medicare and Medicaid because when you artificially stimulate demand, there's no incentive to lower price. Not to mention, you are not entitled to the product of somebody else's labor.

That's called slavery, gang. Okay? Th- This is what would actually happen under a universal health care system. Here's what a single payer health care system would actually do. Okay, folks? It would actually make doctors literal slaves who would have to live in cabins on a plantation somewhere. All right, folks?

And the idea And the idea that doctors are just your slaves who can you can, you know, marry without their consent and then make half doctor, half regular people babies with. Okay, well, then what happens to the babies? Are they now doctors? Are they slave doctors who have to be doctors? Are they free? Like, now what, gang? Okay?

So, that's why that system would just never work. But But I But I should just get health care. I should just get it for free. And that's how you talk to a leftist. How does Ben Shapiro feel about that? He's been very cool. He's been very cool about it.

So, later on, he did a video He did a video reviewing my video. And then I did a video of cartoon him reviewing the video of him reviewing my video. So, So, just got a couple layers deep with it. But, he was very cool. He was watching the video. He was laughing. It's like, "Okay, honestly, I'm going to be real with you.

The growth journey of “Freedom Toons”.

FreedomToons is actually fantastic outlet." And And they make very funny cartoons. So, you should go and check them out. Go to freedomtoons.com right now. Okay, folks. They're fantastic. Go and subscribe. youtube.com/freedomtoons.

These are fantastic, guys. I love them. Uh he's super cool about it. Super cool. I've never met him, but every time he's encountered my work, he's had a good sense of humor about it. He's shared it. He's praised it.

So, he's been he's been very cool. I've met him. That sounded quite a bit like him. Honestly, if we cover the camera, maybe we'll we'll say he's here. Yeah, that was that was uh quite interesting hearing that coming out of your mouth. Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah. I'll take it as a compliment. I will add a couple of clips into the podcast so that people can see what we're talking about. I like the Thanksgiving dinner one. Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving.

Okay, folks. Who made these cranberries? Honestly, these are the worst cranberries I've ever tasted. I made them, and it's actually extremely impolite for you to insult my cooking on Thanksgiving, okay, folks? Our taste buds don't care about your feelings, okay? Okay, gang. Well, if you want to make your own cranberries, feel free, but you're not entitled to free food.

And the idea that you would complain over quality of service when you're receiving it for free is just ridiculous, okay? Okay, could somebody please pass the mashed potatoes, folks? Auntie, these are my mashed potatoes, okay? I made them myself, and they're therefore the product of my own labor. And the idea And the idea And the idea that you feel it's acceptable to put a gun to my head and force me not only to give you the mashed potatoes, but to actually have me pass them to you as well is absolutely asinine, okay? Okay, well, that would be a solid argument if not for the fact that you're eating asparagus, which I made, okay? Ben, how could you seriously not pass the mashed potatoes after taking her asparagus?

Is it my fault she gave it away for free and lost all leverage? I'm trying to teach my child how to compete and succeed within the free market, okay, folks? Good good guy good folks. I didn't realize I was surrounded by communists. I have the mashed potatoes and asparagus because I make good decisions, okay, folks? Honestly, Ben, you're the last person to get smart with me considering you're the only one in the family to be born with an IQ lower than 300.

Wearing white after Labor Day.

Okay, well, you know what, Auntie? Believe it or not, some people consider an IQ of 215 to be relatively impressive, all right, folks? Sorry I'm late, folks. I had more important things to take care of. I'm actually a doctor. She's a doctor, folks. My wife's a doctor, folks.

She's a doctor. My wife's a doctor. Did you bring the turkey? Gobble gobble. Socialism works. That one was a lot of fun to make. Uh it was actually I think it was a friend who originally suggested that they're like you should do something where like it's just everyone is him.

And it was so irresistible that I had to and I did it. And Shapiro tweeted it like the day I uploaded it. Shapiro said, "This is a documentary." And tweeted it like tweeted that out. Um So he's very cool about it. And yeah, I think I've mentioned this before. The work has changed a bit over the years.

It started I started again as like a hardcore libertarian and I was making stuff that I thought was funny and and and was promoting my values, but I think I put much more emphasis on like this has to be an educational thing. And we still do educational cartoons. Um I was doing like a lot of research last week on some really dark stuff for a couple videos. Um but over time it's changed. Um and I think over time it's also become more informed by my faith. And I also think it's become funnier. I think I I've probably like the last year or two I've more found my voice as a cartoon writer.

And I've gotten more comfortable just like getting really zany and and crazy with it. So I'm I'm really happy with like where we're at and the direction we're taking it in. And I have to say I have some like fantastic people helping me with these. The like the the fact that my team I like it's something that's not obvious to people who aren't animators, but getting a video done per week, sometimes two done per week, while also like managing other client work, like the fact that my team is able to do that, I say this completely unironically, I think I actually have the best team of low-budget animators probably in the world.

Coughlin’s impersonation of Dr. Peterson in the presence of Dr. Peterson.

Like it's it's unbelievable um what we've been able to to achieve together. And a lot of that is just because I can depend on them and they're all very talented. So it started with just me animating this stuff by myself and like maybe my one of my buddies um would help with like lip syncing and stuff, but now it's it's probably over the past like this last year is when I've got a lot more people on board um and it's yeah, no it's it's it's been like I said a huge blessing. I and by the way, are you wearing white after Labor Day? I just realized. I can't Is that like there are a lot of rule like Catholics with their rules? That's not It's not for vestments.

What what's wrong with white? What's that? I It's a joke. It's like Is that an American thing? I've just heard people say that. thing. Yeah. What is it?

People say you can't wear white after Labor Day. No one It's a weird thing that people say, but that like no one does It's not an actual rule. It's just literally just a thing people say. And is it just the day after? I think it's in general. But then it's like every It's always after Labor Day technically. So Yes, I'm wearing white after Labor Day.

No, I don't know what that means or represents. significance? Are you rebelling? Okay. Are we doing the Jordan Peterson like the Really the reason I wanted to talk to you was for the imitation. I I said it was for Jordan Peterson, but it's really the I'm just waiting for the JBP imitation. Hold on a second. uncomfortable as humanly possible. I appreciate that, you know.

No problem. Comfort Comfort can kill the soul and Suffering is good for you. I think it's good for We're We're not called to comfort. We're called to greatness as Benedict the 16th said when he was Ratzinger. Um Man, this is this is a tough one. So this is no more questions about my work or just going to launch into my impression? Okay.

Well, someone in the comments asked and I saw you put that tweet out, what questions should I ask him? And one of the comments was to ask me to review Shrek 2 as Jordan Peterson. Yes, okay. And a fantastic question. Uh All right, I didn't know I was going to have to do it in front of him. I thought we could hide here, but we'll do it. We'll do it.

We'll give it a go, you know. It's like what is Shrek? And that's that's pretty straightforward question. Like he's an ogre, he lives in a swamp. He doesn't have any friends. So he's he's not much different from you roughly speaking. And in Shrek 2, which is very old story, he has to go off to Far, Far Away to meet his new in-laws.

It's like you may think meeting in-laws is a cakewalk, man, but it is not, especially if you're an ogre. And so what does Shrek do? Well, he brings his friend Donkey. And why is that? Why is it that he's always hanging around with a donkey? Well, because when you're an ogre who spends all of your time in the swamp, your only friend is going to be an ass. When they went to Far, Far Away, Shrek discovered through his adventures that unlike in the first film, sometimes when people reject him, it's his own fault.

And that if you really try and you really work at yourself just for a moment, you can go from an ogre to a prince. Hey, that was pretty good and right on the spot there, too. Thank you. Yeah, well, it's a very strange experience to hear my voice coming out of someone else's mouth. I have a bit of an Irish accent in your version of me. Is that Oh, no, that means I'm doing the Canadian accent poorly. Well, maybe not.

Maybe maybe that's just an element of it that I can't hear, but Yeah, exactly. I want to hear more of these. I definitely impersonate some other figures. It's it's it can be hard for me to think off the top of my head. Some other internet people, politicians. If you just want to like throw some my way, I'll let you know.

Coughlin’s impersonation of Trump.

Trump? Trump? Okay, first of all, shut people to say that I didn't invent the masks. First of all, I invented the masks. It's Frankly, some of you would look much better in a mask. Wouldn't some of you? I think Nancy Pelosi would look much better in a mask.

Don't you think she'd look much better in a mask, folks? And then everyone in the audience applauds and loses their mind. Oh, she would look much better in a mask. Uh, I maybe I need a different job. Here's the thing, Michaela. Yeah? The real difficult day is going to be when I have to do my Trump impression in front of Trump, if that ever happens.

Cuz that's it. That's it. Yeah. He'll destroy me. He'll be like, "Sleepy Seamus makes his stupid cartoons making fun of me because I'm successful and he's not." I'll just he'll rip me apart. Okay, thank you.

You're welcome. You can like that I mean we can end the podcast now realistically. I mean if look, if you want to get away from me, I understand. That's what I wanted out of this podcast. Uh, Dad, Dad, do you have more questions? I was just going to ask what sort of impact Seamus thinks his cartoons have had on people. I What What function have you served as far as you can tell?

That's a good question. So, I think that I have And it depends on the kind of stuff we're talking about. Like the Freedom Tune stuff specifically, I think I've helped people to know more so than anything else that they're not insane. Um, that there are other people who feel this way and sort of see the world for what it is rather than what they're told to believe by the dominant media culture. And that it's it's okay to laugh at some of the stuff and you kind of have to. Um, and I think I've also done things like I've educated uh a good amount. We we've done a number of educational videos talking about uh you know, Planned Parenthood and a lot of the myths they propagate and debunking things like that.

So, I think that contribution has been good as well. Most recently, I think what we've done is just make people laugh over things that would normally make them cry and maybe give them a break from the unbridled punishment that paying attention to politics is. No more questions on my end. Well, thank you so much. Thank you so much. This has been fantastic. That was really interesting.

Yeah. And thank you, Dad, for the meeting you. It was a pleasure meeting you as well. It was a pleasure meeting you. And I might I may have to ask for a cameo from you at some point in the future. Oh, that can likely be arranged.

The impact of “Freedom Toons”.

Yes. for the Freedom Tunes channel? We'll see. Yes. Done, done, done. Um, where can people find you if they're not familiar with your work? That's a good question. So, youtube.com/freedomtoons.

Wrap Up.

And that's t o o n s. o o n s like cartoons. Some people I see it spelled like musical to cartoons o o n s. Um, so youtube.com/freedomtoons. And I'm on Twitter @sheamus_coglin, which is really easy to spell. So, people will figure that out. Um, if you just want to like put a link to that in the description, that would probably I will do that. be better. Sheamus Coglin, yeah, wow.

You that you must have had a rough time growing up. Do you know what? I did. I did. But, it shaped me into the man that I am today. And I also regularly do Tim Pool's podcast. Um, TimcastIRL.

So, I I I'm on there quite a bit as well. Um, I have another channel. I have this channel called Politivlog that I don't upload to often enough. It's probably been like a year and so my fans get very angry. But, if you kind of want to see what few videos there are of me opining not being animated, um then check that out, too. Okay. But Freedom Tunes is the main one.

Yeah. Well, thank you very much for coming on. That was fun. Thank you. I had a blast. Thank you.