The Daily Zeitgeist - Coulda Been A ConTrender 9/3: Kawhi Leonard/Clippers, Gloria Steinem, JD Vance

Episode Date: September 3, 2026

In this edition of Coulda Been A ConTrender, Jack and Miles discuss the whole Kawhi Leonard/Clippers situ, the passing of Gloria Steinem, JD Vance going “Will Smith” on Al-Sayed (in the least convincing way possible) and much more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I survived nine months in captivity, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements. host the podcast Hollywood Handbook. Each week we talk to someone in show business and try to help them with their careers and see what they have to offer us. Everyone has a good time and no one gets mad at their publicists for letting them do our show. We've had a lot of great

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as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle. I chose option B. I'm Julie Pinero and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word Solita, trading the pity for possibility. Listen to Solita on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Our hometown is not a test tube. miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America plays out in one small town. Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land. We need cities on a shining hill. This is Our Town, a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a

social experiment and fights back. Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to Our Town on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello the internet and welcome to this episode of Could have been a contender. Oh man. Oh, that one courtesy of Chris H. H. 18. What's that mean? There were 17 others before him?

Yeah, maybe. Or is he hating? I don't pretend. Oh, is he Chris H. 18? Are you hating? He hates. Like you're a hater? Or just trying to spell hating.

But like with numbers on a license plate. Chris, you'll have to. to let us know, but that was a good, a good trending title that, uh, if we have, if we haven't used it before, a mazel. Great, great work. Yeah. Because that's, uh, shooting it. Why were we talking about Brando

yesterday? Brando movies? Yeah, Brando picks. Brando picks. Brando picks. Brando picks. Brando picks. That's right. Yep. Boom. There it is. Because we got the hooters brando, brando pick. Exactly. I remember it's like one of the, like, few black and white movies. I've seen because my mom is such a Marlon Brando freak. Yeah. She, like, she changed her, like, Gmail to have, like, Brando in it once.

Right. She was so into it, like, a fan girl. Like, it's like, mom. But she changed her signature? No, like, her email address. Her email address was, like, Brando fan. Yeah. Like, Mommy Brando.

And I'm like, yo, mommy Brando. That's not her email, so don't try it in it. But it's got Brando and I'm like, wow. Mommy Brando 18. Yeah. Anyways, uh, I'm Jack that over there is Miles. the episode where we tell you what is trending on this Thursday, September

3rd. Um, so a couple weeks ago, we got a report from ESPN that said, guys, the whole thing with the Clippers cheating to circumcumvent the salary cap. That turns out to be a nothing burger.

Yeah. I was like, wow, that's fucking huge news. The NBA is like kind of looking the other way on this one. Um, And I think it's worth noting for people who aren't fully into sports ball. We talked about this a year ago where the Clippers got caught paying their star player, Kauai Leonard, like giving him side deals to basically augment his salary. So they didn't go outside the rules of like how much you can pay a player. So like, okay, we can only give you this much in your contract.

But we've got you like $28 million in these other deals where you just don't even do anything. Just collect the check. Yeah, just show up. make work, fake jobs they were giving him. Exactly. Same shit that the mafia does. No show jobs. Yeah, no show jobs.

They gave him a $7 million a year job that he didn't have to show up for or do anything for. And that was how they were like, so we're actually getting him to agree to a lesser contract just so he can play here in Los Angeles. And for people who aren't sports fans, this will get not about sports very quickly. because the main, like, why this is so interesting to me is because the Clippers owner is Steve Balmer. He's the richest, one of the richest people in the world, the richest person who owns a sports team. And his, the implicit promise of his ownership of the Clippers is like,

I'm one of the richest people, so I'm the smartest people. And so we're going to do things a little different. We're going to. We do things a little differently around. We do things a little bit different. And so this was being reported by Pablo Torre, who has a podcast. He's, you know, now I think he's affiliated with the New York Times or like the New York Times bought his podcasts last year.

But mainly like an independent journalist doing kind of internet sleuthing and like, I mean, he's won now a bunch of awards and shit. But like, you know, this is, he's an independent. journalist and Mark Cuban came on his show after he reported this about what the Clippers had done and was like his central argument was basically

I think Steve's pretty smart he wouldn't do something this dumb. He's got a lot of money I'd say he's pretty smart Pablo no way would he be as stupid as your reporting suggests he is and that was just like his argument over and over, which is the central argument of late stage capitalism, right? How can you be a billionaire if you're dumb?

There's no way. Right. No, you can't be a billionaire if you're dumb. And actually, these people are a billion times smarter than you. And so when you're doubting what they're doing, it's not out of greed. It's actually smart what they're doing. It's actually the only best way to build a society. And while it may look to the outside, like they are self-dealing and cheating.

That's actually not, they're actually too smart for that. And like what they're doing is not crimes. Right. So anyways, uh, Steve, this report comes out a year ago. And Steve Balmer is like, outraged and is, you know, his whole thing, he was a sales guy. So like that, he was like the sales guy for Microsoft. That's how he made his money. He was like, the original sales guy was just like, push, push, push.

Enthusiasm, enthusiasm. So much you worry people when you do presentations on stage. Yeah, yeah. And so he's like, this is like we're going to vigorously investigate these claims because we did nothing wrong. He paid for the investigation that just dropped yesterday. How smart is. He paid for the investigation that the NBA did into the Clippers so that it was. was thorough and, you know, uncovered everything.

So, again, just like think about the mindset of somebody who has committed this crime. Yeah. And pays for an investigation to prove themselves innocent and just assumes that it's going to work out for that. Like, I think this is, this is very instructive about, like, a billionaire mindset because once you become a billionaire, the world magically just starts breaking. your way. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Things just, like, become easy.

Like, everything is a fucking win for you. Like, everything, every time you enter into a business arrangement, like, you're getting the benefit of the doubt. Everyone's giving you the best possible terms on everything. And so the longer that happens, and the longer you live in a country where everyone assumes billionaires, like, deserve what they have, you, like, start to believe it. You're like, man, I'm a fucking genius. And so I fucking am.

You're right. Holy shit. And so this investigation found that they explicitly did the thing that we're talking about that Pablo Tori said they did and like kept reporting. Like it was interesting. Like he does a version of reporting where he like releases a certain amount like part of the picture and is like this is what we have sourcing for. And then like I think he's had 14 more podcasts.

where they like, you know, they're like, okay, and now here is more of the picture that we've been able to report out. And it's just an amazing victory for people who are like, I don't know, man, I don't think that just because he's rich means he's smart. And in fact, it might mean that he just thinks

he can get away with fucking anything because he can in every other part of his life. Those are the lessons that are reinforced by this. A, that billionaires completely miscalculate their own genius just because of their accumulation of wealth. And also other people just we sort of have this default sort of deference to billionaires in that sense. And then B, they all think the rules don't fucking apply to them.

Every single fucking one of these people never thinks it's always rules for the not for me. And now they're getting fucking just destroyed. They got the worst punishment that the NBA has ever handed out. They got their first round draft picks taken away for like five years. Five years in a row. He is suspended as an owner. My thought would be you should make himself a team. How are you going to salvage this relationship, especially after this report was issued?

And the Clippers said, we vehemently reject the NBA's finding, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence for the past. So basically they're saying like, we're going to sue the NBA, but like people who are familiar with how the rules work say there is no appeal or arbitration process available to the team according to a source with knowledge of league. So they don't like they're just like, we're, we're going to, oh yeah, well, I'm going to sue Adam Silver. Like just, you know, being belligerent. Meanwhile, Kauai Leonard, the player involved has

just immediately, like, their response seemed like they had talked to Kauai and they were like, we're going to present a united front. Kaua Lentra was immediately like, yes, I accept my responsibility in this and I just like hope to move on with my, so he was immediately like, yeah, I did it. Um, what meanwhile, the owner is like still living in this world where like he can get away with this shit. Um, it's also a very like, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, We were talking about this in respect to MapQuest the other day. We live in this weird, inverted world where companies that don't have power, like, the things that are part of the institutional power structure, like, aren't able to tell the truth anymore because they have, uh, too, like, the institution is just so rotten that, like, you're too entrenched. you're too like sewn into the straight jacket of how American society operates now.

And so, uh, you can't not lie if you were part of this like big, massive powerful institution. And I bring that up because ESPN is, you know, the main, like one of the main sports media outlet. The main, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Um, nobody, like, people who pay attention are not like they're, they're reporting as top notch.

but when I saw ESPN was reporting that this was going to be reported as a nothing burger I was like well why would they say that and it turns out they would say that because they are repeating what presumably

Steve Balmer told them to say you know like he they're too close they're too reliant on access and you know billionaires and billionaire and you know whatever is connected to billionaires to be able to have a reasonable view of the world. And so kind of, we, we live in an extraordinary

moment of like inverted power where like the more traditionally powerful you are, the less power you have to tell the truth. Right. And like you need somebody who's like Pablo Torre who is like a little bit more free to operate, you know? I was thinking about this with regards to that like it's, it feels like these moments are just like, you know, coming out in little spurts and drips and drabs of like, you know, uh, this moment where,

you know, MapQuest suddenly becomes the number one thing because it can tell the truth or, um, you know, Pablo Torre is able to like report the story because he's not connected to ESPN. Because he's not shams or something who like needs the access. Yeah. But like we,

like, it's wild that we don't like we still, we'll have populist candidates. who gained some traction, but then they have to, like, immediately apologize for gaining traction. Yeah.

Like, it's, I've been having this thought that, like, we need a party that's called, it's this or the guillotine. Like, that needs to be the name of the party. Pick one.

Yeah. We have the will of 80% of the country ready to explode, motherfucker. We're not working with you. We're letting you go, if you agree to our terms. Like,

needs to be the populist party. not like, you know, we're working with the Democratic Party with inside the Democratic Party because that's just going to pull you down. You're just going to be like shams. Yeah, don't cave to establishment mainstream status quo pressure. You end up actually looking like a hero every time you go, you know what? Fuck you. Yeah. And people go, oh shit. That's actually, yeah, because we don't have enough people out there who have the ability to say that because we all, on some level, we have to keep in the same loop of

thinking about our own existence and how our actions fit into all of that. But I got to say this, like Lakers, Lakers, Laker fans, we're in a terrible way right now, obviously with Kushner and Iger taking over the team, but God damn, I think a lot of us on the internet were saying, salute Kowai Lent

or the greatest Laker of all time, because with this deal, you have pretty much guaranteed the Clippers are in the hinterlands of the NBA for a while. And people are so upset. did you see the CEO, the old CEO of Ticketmaster? He got so mad. He said,

This Clippers penalty is dumb. My son is in tears asking why I didn't raise him a Laker fan. I've got three years left on my season tickets. Why decimate a franchise? Who's being punished? Leagues should operate from a view that the owners are stewards of the fans' teams, which I totally agree with. I agree.

I agree with it. I, like, this guy's getting dragged because he is like a ticket master. You're like, you fuck fans over on the regular. Nepo baby. but I do feel that like this this sucks for the fans and like it's like it does feel like more of the

more more of the pain should be going towards the owner and like making him sell as opposed to being like well now you're all fucked yeah you did Clippers fans that's like what's great that's going to affect the health of the league, if you have just an entire group of dejected fans who are like, well, why the fuck am I even going to bother for the next few years? Right. Yeah. Just, I mean, make them sell the fucking team. Exactly. That feels like the, like, don't punish the fans. Like I, I, yeah, as much as I gloat over the misfortune of the clippers, I'm like, man, I'm always like, it's, the owners are fucked up, man. Leave, let the fans fucking be happy about fucking something. Uh, but Brian thater points out, he, he does,

like this balmer shit is what he he is the architect of a lot of the Microsoft policies that got them the antitrust lawsuit that got them in trouble and like forced them to kind of break up and like change how they were doing business so it in a reasonable world where like somebody does that to an extremely high profile company that person is famous for being and like doing bad shit. Like that's what he's known for. But in the U.S., that person still rides that unfair advantage they created for their company to being one of the richest people in the world.

And then he moves on to just a, you know, status of being one of the richest people in the world and therefore given the benefit of the doubt that he's like smart and going to be good at his job and not do this shit. And lo and behold, he once again is. doing the thing that, I mean, I've talked about this a hundred times, but it does, like, there's a Malcolm Gladwell article, which is, uh, you know, that not, not always my favorite writer, but he did a investigation into billionaires and was like their one skill is finding an unfair advantage and exploiting that over and over and over again and being predatory over and over and over again.

and like that's that is what this dude does it's except he will do it even if it's illegal and yeah so this shouldn't be surprised to people and also again and the same sort of psychopathy of billionaires is like you think he gave he thought you think he thought one fucking microsecond about the fans when he was making all these decisions and what that could be lead to it's like no he doesn't give a shit about the fans he's like those are just those are your fucking users for your whatever you're pushing out there they're not like people you see as part of the the living, breathing organism of running a sports team. Because, you know, you just get to make a bunch of deals.

And I got to say, Kawhi Leonard, only paying $700,000 on those, like, $28 million, all told. Great return. In terms of him, like, cooperating. He was like, yeah, man, $700,000. Yeah, yeah, yep, yep, yep, yeah. Sure, sure. Oh, damn, my annoying scammie uncle is no longer allowed to be part of my career. Oh, shit.

Darn it. Are you sure? Anyways. All right. Sorry, that was a lot about sports, but I think it's about everything also. So I hope that didn't make too many people go away. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. They're going away. Don't go away. The hard rock bat casino app is here, Ontario. It's safe, secure, and crystal clear with fast payouts and 24-7 local support. You can play over 3,000 games right here.

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And Sean Clements. We host the podcast, Hollywood Handbook on the Big Money Players Network. Our show is extremely accessible to first-time listeners. Each week, we talk to someone in show business, aka the biz, help them with their careers and see what they have to offer us. Everyone has a good time and no one gets mad at their publicists for letting them do our show. We've had a lot of great guests like Sarah Sherman. Not that great. Actually, can you help me shape this? How about we flip it on his head?

How about we flip this trip? Okay. What is the surprise woman who actually you think is the straight man is actually the one who's acting weird? Adam Scott. This entire time you've been expecting Adam Sandler to come to visit the show. I would never expect. I have. I would never set expectations for something like that to happen. If the universe allows for something like that to happen, I'm open to it. I'm always going to accept. You know, Danny McBride, fine.

Yeah, it's all this fragile masculinity exuding. I could smell it walking down the hallway, to be honest with you. I was like, is that weed? Nope, it's fragile masculinity. Ben Stiller, no. Because a lot of times out of context, people don't get it or even know what a circle is. You know what I mean? They're like, oh, what's the state?

Everyone's so dumb. And fake. Right, fake and also not interested or just like, oh, I've got my life. I don't care about your life. And a lot of other big shots that wouldn't be where they are without us. Oh, and by the way, Will Ferrell told us personally he loves the show and he wants to be a guest on every episode, but he's just so busy. Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home.

This is Prose Society, the weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for thought daughters, pop culture obsesives, and anyone who thinks pride and prejudice and love island deserve the same level of discourse. I'm Eli Rallo, and every week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and the conversations everyone can't stop. having. I'm going to have to look up this story. I'm obsessed. So I'm obsessed. From bestselling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments, nothing is off the table. It's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters, then that is the Trojan horse. Whether you're looking for literary deep dives, smart pop culture conversations, or a community of readers who love to think a little too much, you're in the right place. Listen to pro society on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. See you between the pages. On the new podcast Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle. I chose option B. I'm Julie Pinero and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word Solita. trading the pity for possibility.

Every time I tried to be alone, I kept meeting people, and they were like, you smiled at us. Not a lot of people smile around here. It's when you're alone that you're most receptive to the world as it is, and not the lies you're sold about it. It can be a time where you push your limits, change your mind, or wake up to a new version of yourself. So whether you're a solo travel veteran or you're too nervous to book your first trip, I hope you listen to Solita. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them.

I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files. I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying, shut up, don't say anything. Every week, I'm with survivors who lived through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me. I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming. They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. But these aren't stories about what's taken from them. There's stories about what it takes to make it out alive.

Listen to the Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We're back. And we got to say RIP to Gloria Steinem. Yeah, true feminist icon passed away at 92 on Tuesday in New York. I haven't heard what the cause of deaths, but I'd imagine you're 92 years old. You were probably... Yeah, yeah, right.

Jesus. Drug. But yeah, I mean like very storied career, fighting for equality, reproductive rights, you know, started the national women's political caucus. Always another thing that I think is a lot of people are pointing out, especially like black feminists too, are that like she was always quick to like attribute the contribution of specifically black women to the feminist cause. She said this, this is a quote from her from a few years or quote. The problem in what many feminists today are not saying is that women of color in general and especially black women have always been more likely to be feminists. than white women. And the problem that I have with the idea, but then the problem I have with the idea that women's movement or the feminist movement is somehow a white thing is that it renders

invisible the people who have always been there. And she points at like the polling on like first public polling on women's issues from the 70s. It's like black women support like black women were supporting the feminist cause by 60% and white women only 30%. And she also says like she's like a lot of that has to do with already black women are already confronted with these forms of oppression so quickly that it's much easier to wrap your head around the fact that like this one form of equality should be actually we need to actually address that across the board um so yeah 92 years old pretty great career you know pretty i don't know i don't know how you wanted to be laid to rest i know uh dolly parton wanted to be rested in cotton so she could finally be comfortable

but whatever that is for you, Gloria, you rest up. What kind of cotton are we thinking there? Is that like T-shirt? I do have a morbid curiosity of if you're honoring Dolly Parton's wishes to be, like, is that a joke? Or is it like, no, like, we're putting cotton balls in there from when you buy like a new thing of Tylenol? Yeah, right. And then I'm like, that's way too low brow. It's just a Halloween witch hair.

Yeah, yeah. have people talked about, is there going to be a service that breaks the city of Nashville? Yeah, I don't know. I mean, she had, she's already been laid to rest. So I don't know if there's like a public thing that's happening.

I mean, people obviously are like leaving flowers at her star on the Walk of Fame and some dick had like vandalized it already. But, yeah, I'm not sure what, Oh, Dolly Fest is what it's going to be. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. A two-day festival in Nashville.

Oh, that's cool. Yeah. That'll be fun. Yeah. Let's talk J.D. Vance. This is our, we have two minutes to talk J.D. Vance. We've given ourselves the time limit because otherwise people get ill. Yeah, and they will fall asleep.

Yeah. And we don't want people driving and falling asleep to this. So, Abdul Al-Said got Jaddi Vance all riled up when he said that it's going to be tough for J.D.'s mixed kids to grapple with the fact that their own father is a white supremacist. He's like, that's going to be crazy. When they get older and they realize their dad was like pushing for all this xenophobia and like these racist policies, he's like, that's got to be tough, man. Man, it's got to be crazy for Ushould. And he was like, man, J.D. Vance, he's got no charisma at all. Like, it's just, I don't know how she, he was fucking lending a rip.

So that led to JD going full Will Smith. Was he rubbing his hands together? He's like, he's the thing, man. But yeah, he was like, you keep my wife's name out of your mouth, Abdul. Okay, that's what I got it. Yeah, he said, keep my wife's name out of your mouth. Wow. And everyone was like, oh, wow.

I don't buy that coming from him at all. No, not at all. But now his mommy is doing the rounds. And she was recently on Tommy Laren's podcast. I forgot. still a thing. And Mommy Vance's first response to the clip, she's like, because Tommy Lairns like, do you see this? Like, what do you think about this? Like, he's saying shit about your kid and your grandkids. And she's like, oh, we don't see race. And I love Usha. Like, she's my own

daughter and those babies, I love them so much. And da-da-da-da-da. And I just think he's jealous. And then, like, Tommy Lauren's like, all right, but doesn't like get you angry? Like, just trying to be like, come on. Give me something else, man. Come on, Mommy Vance. Like, give me some fucking fire. You got a smoke fight. Yeah. And then here's her response. It's very, very half-hearted. But in the long run, I'm not going to do anything about it. I mean, you know, I'd probably punch the guy if I ever seen him. And then that would get me in trouble.

So I'll just go with the flow. Wow. I guess I'd punch him in the face. Is that what you want me to say? Yeah. People are calling it the least believable threat of all time. But yeah, that's just kind of the, the state of just trying to keep the outrage over Abdul al-Sayed going,

which I got to say, like the Democrats are also doing a great job of keeping the outrage up for their own fucking candidate. But we'll see. We'll see how that ends up. Just quick GOP vibe check. Seems like they continue to be a little bit out on these midterms. I don't know.

This doesn't seem like it's going to go well. It feels like every member of Congress. is like, help, help. Start spending money. Do something. And now, Senate Majority Leader John Thune is just out loud saying, I'm not sure about this. He was like on a, you know, he's, he represents South Dakota and he was on a TV show being interviewed about this. And he was asked if he was, you concerned about losing the majority in the Senate? And he said, quote, I worry about that for sure. I'm a realist. And I just think, you, I don't ever try. I, yeah. I just. I just. just try to ever sugarcoat things. I think it's a competitive environment right now. And it's true.

He's not one of these like MAGA hyper optimists, but him saying this definitely means he thinks the White House needs to be doing more to protect the majority, whether that's through policy shifts or just coming up off that war chest because that's the other thing that's happening. You know, like meanwhile, you're saying like, what's Trump doing? Not a fucking thing. Congressional Republicans are still begging him to spend that money with more ads and things like that. And the plan still seems to be like revolving around doing ads about how good he is as a way to like not make him a liability. He did go out and defend the Republican Party against accusations that he wears a wig recently. I don't know if you saw that. Oh, okay. That's good. He gave a long speech about how people think he's wearing a wig,

but actually he gave a speech on a windy day. And therefore he couldn't have a wig. And And then people went and found the speech that he was talking about, and he's wearing a hat. I'm glad to know that he doesn't wear a wig because that instantly brought down insurance premiums for everyone in the nation on hearing that news. But like his latest attempt at taking the spotlight is they're having a mini convention in Texas next week to try and drum up enthusiasm with all the candidates and things like that. the thing is a lot of a lot of Republicans are not going to attend because they're like

this is a waste of fucking time I should be I should be campaigning and also because of like a lot of the candidates not going Trump's like well I guess I'm going to have to be the keynote speaker both nights

both and a lot of people a lot of people pointing out I'm like sir that's also when the NFL is kicking off I don't know what who in your MAGA base of male voters is going to be like

well, I guess I'll watch this thing. And when Trump isn't hindering the chances of re-election for his party, he's just, I guess, calling candidates ugly. This was like a recent, he just had like a little press conference where he was talking about like a Rose Garden dinner. But then he starts talking about the Texas Senate race between Ken Paxton and James Tala Rico. And he just starts like ripping on how Ken Paxton looks. We're going to go to Texas and work for.

Ken Paxton, who's a great guy. I mean, so Ken Paxton, you might not like the way he dresses. And I say this, it's so insulting to him, but I might as well say it. You might not like the way he looks. You might not love his look. You might not love his television interviews. But he was the best Attorney General in the country, perhaps. He was one of the best in the entire country.

And that speaks a lot louder than the suit he's wearing that doesn't look so great. Or than anything, frankly. was maybe the best attorney, and everybody admits it. He was a great attorney general in Texas. And he's running against Tala Cripo. And this guy was, he has that name for a reason. He's a, he's terrible. He's radical left. Now he says he loves meat. You know what he does? He eats meat and he goes outside and he throws up all over the place. Because in Texas, if you don't eat meat, you're in deep trouble. All right. So Tala Cripo goes, he eats meat. And he goes out back and he's he's puking all over the place.

All over the place. Ain't no real meat lover. You know what I mean? I mean, he's clearly talking about Paxton and I'm sure his drooping eye because Trump is such a vain bastard that he can't stand anyone that reminds him that we are all flawed. Straight up high school fucking cafeteria vibes. Look at him. Look at this guy.

It looks like shit, right? I, because you know, Ken Paxson is, he's such an evil fucking character. So when you see him, you're like, this doctor evil shit, Dr. No vibe. you got is really freaking me out. I was reading that like the way his eye was injured pretty wild. First as a child he was playing hide and seek and a kid threw a berry at his eyes so hard it nearly blinded him. And then in college he was playing basketball and caught an elbow in that same eye and it like rocked his skull so bad. It like shattered part of his

head that they'd like wire his skull together to keep like the orbital intact. Jesus. Went full Kennedy. His head just did that. Yeah. And then. just like, you know what, maybe we can just wrap it up and wire to keep it together. His brain is just a chain link fence. There's just a chain link fence holding his brain in. So, yeah, so you got, for one of the most important races in the Senate, Trump's messaging is, our guy is weird looking,

and the other guy spits out his meat. I heard he's belic. Anyways, vote for me. I don't wear a wig. I look. Sir, you're not on the ballot. They vote for me anyway. Vote for me.

All right. Those are some of the things that are trending. On this Thursday, September 3rd, we're back tomorrow with a whole last episode of the show. Until then, be kind to each other. Be kind to yourselves. Get your vaccines. We still can't get your flu shots. Don't do nothing about white supremacy and we don't have out of the ultimate.

Bye. Bye. The Daily Zykeyes is executive produced by Catherine Law. Co-produced by Victor Wright. Co-written by J.M. McNabb. And edited and engineered by Brian Jeffries. On the new podcast, Solita, we share. the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman.

I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle. I chose option B. I'm Julie Pinero and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word Solita, trading the pity for possibility. Listen to Solita on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements.

We host the podcast, Hollywood Handbook. Each week, we talk to someone in show business and try to help them with their careers and see what they have to offer us. Everyone has a good time and no one gets mad at their publicists for letting them do our show. We've had a lot of great guests like Sarah Sherman, Adam Scott, Danny McBride, Ben Stillard, and a lot of other big shots that wouldn't be where they are without us. Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I survived nine months in captivity, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files.

Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Our hometown is not a test tube. 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America, plays out in one small town.

Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land. We need cities on a shining hill. This is Our Town, a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back. Guess you didn't move in

on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to Our Town on the Eye. My Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Munga Shatigula, and I'm back with a new season of my podcast, Skyline Drive. This time I talked to scientists, biopunks, curmudgins, blues owners, super seniors, and Goa's top cryotherapy lab to try to understand this obsession with living forever and what it means for all of us. And I get into a bit of trouble along the way.

I'd say probably start bone smashing. That doesn't work. To make it look more defined. They say it works. I don't know. Listen to Skyline Drive How to Live Forever on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.