Why hobbies matter in a capitalist world (+ Bad Bunny and the Superbowl)

This episode is for you if you feel guilty doing things purely for joy (because capitalism taught you “fun” has to earn its keep) — and you want language, permission, and practical ways to protect your hobbies from becoming another productivity project.

In this episode of Messy Liberation, feminist coaches Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown unpack why hobbies matter under capitalism — using Bad Bunny, the Super Bowl, and the politics of “worth” to talk about joy, rest, identity, and why not everything needs to be optimized, monetized, or justified.

In this episode, we get into:

• Why capitalism treats hobbies as “frivolous” unless they produce something measurable
• The guilt spiral: when “relaxing” starts to feel like you’re doing something wrong
• Bad Bunny + the Super Bowl: what it looks like to bring culture, politics, and visibility to the biggest stage
• How hobbies support nervous-system regulation, identity, and actual aliveness
• The difference between meaningful practice and turning everything into a side hustle
• What it looks like to protect joy without requiring perfection or productivity

Timestamps

• 0:00 – Bad Bunny + why this conversation matters
• 6:30 – The capitalism hangover: “If it’s not productive, it doesn’t count”
• 15:45 – Hobbies as regulation, recovery, and identity (not just “fun”)
• 28:00 – The side-hustle trap: how joy becomes another performance
• 41:30 – Practical ways to protect your hobbies from monetization brain
• 55:00 – Permission slip: doing it because you like it is enough

Resources mentioned

• (If you want to add links/resources later, drop them here.)