The Daily Zeitgeist - JD's No-Good Very Bad Weektrend 4/13: Melania, Benny Johnson, Viktor Orban, JD Vance, Zohran Mamdani

Episode Date: April 13, 2026

In this edition of JD's No-Good Very Bad Weektrend, Jack and Miles discuss their respective weekends, Melania's weird statement about Epstein, Benny Johnson: an embarrassing boot-licking moron?, Viktor Orban's loss, JD Vance's no-good very bad weekend, Zohran fixing NYC's scaffolding problem and much more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're drinking hot water today? Yeah, like a... What's that? Yeah, you're like my mom, bro. I'm, uh, I wasn't feeling great yesterday and today, so I'm just, like, trying not to go too caffeine heavy in the morning. Oh. A nice, nice, steady drip of caffeine. Good for you.

Good for you. Good for you. I don't even know why I'm saying that is if I drink caffeine all the time. I just like, it's like around, so I just drink it as like morning drink. Yeah. The fucking... Do you... I'd like one morning drink, please?

Yeah. Her Majesty went down with a fucking migraine like yesterday. Oh, really? She was just drinking enough coffee the day before. And I was like, what the... I'm like, no, no, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I do get caffeine headaches if I don't... If I don't have a little something, something. But I did a macha yesterday. Okay, there you go. There you go. Oh, man, I can't wait to talk about that. That macha? Yeah.

Part of me is like when I go to Japan, I feel like I want to get one of those, little TikTok microphones and just make my own anti-influencer Japanese content as a Japanese person. Because just if Japan has been reduced to like a social media location, it's really it's crazy to see like especially in the last two, three years, the intensity at which it's happened. Yeah. When we were planning like our Korea trip, there's just so many influencer videos where it's just like, go to this like amazing. giant indoor

thing and then the thing is just like an Instagram it's just you go there and take pictures that's what there is to do there you have to be careful because you have to understand what the currency is for the people suggesting a place. Right, exactly

exactly. It's like no this is great for the tent. If you're trying to cap tent. Yeah, yeah. Cap tent. If you're trying to cap some tent, dude, then go there. I'm sorry, tap your con But if you're trying to cat pen, don't even go to this rundown old soba place. It looks gross.

Go to this one that has like a robot ejaculating noodles onto your head. Hey, Ontario. Come on down to BetMGM Casino and check out our newest exclusive. The Price is Right Fortune Pick. Don't miss out. Play exciting casino games based on the iconic game show. Only at BetMGM. Access to the Price is right Fortune Pick is only available at BetMGM Casino.

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We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of The Girlfriends... Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands.

I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the Girlfriends. Trust me, babe. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Nora Jones, and I love playing music with people so much that my podcast called Playing Along is back. I sit down with musicians from all musical styles to play songs together in an intimate setting.

Every episode's a little different, but it all involves music and conversation with some of my favorite musicians. Over the past two seasons, I've had special guests like Dave Grohl, Leve, Mavé, Mavis Staples, Remy Wolf, Jeff Tweedy, really too many to name. And this season, I've sat down with Alessia Cara, Sarah McLaughlin, John Legend, and more. Check out my new episode with Josh Grobin. You related to the Phantom at that point. Yeah, I was definitely the Phantom in that.

That's so funny. Share each day with me, each night, each morning. Say you love me. You know I... So come hang out with us in the studio and listen to Playing Along on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

In 2023, former bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed revealed glaring inconsistencies in her story. This began a years-long court battle

to prove the truth. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Ellen's, correct? I doctored the test won. It took an army of internet detectives to crack the case. I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for. Sunlight's the greatest disinfected. They would uncover a disturbing pattern.

Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Gregalespian and Michael Marantini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trap. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news.

at Ameriopa County as Laura Owens has been indicted on fraud charges. This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, the internet, and welcome to this week trend edition of Dern Daily Zeitgeist. My name is Jack O'Brien. That over there is Mr. Miles Gray. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. What's happening?

It is Monday, April 13th, 2026. What a weekend. A lot going on. Went in the last time we recorded. We're hopeful that J.D. Vance was going to bring peace to the Middle East. We had forgotten about the Epstein files and we're just on to other things. and now what a weekend what a difference

a weekend can make. Yeah. Anyways, this is the episode where we tell you what was trending over the weekend what's trending this morning. We also let you get to know

us a little bit better by telling you some things we think are overrated and underrated, Miles. What is something you think is underrated? Underrated? First up, just the context

in which you look at things, how much it can inform how you're out. outlook can be on something. Like if you're, if you've been looking at something negatively, you might assume to believe, I'm just saying this because I was out in the episode that came out Friday

because my dog had to be hospitalized. Yeah. Up until that point, I was like, my dog's doing great. The doctor was like, your dog shouldn't be alive this long based on his heart condition. And the whole time,

I was looking at the context. I'm like, he's doing it. He's the same dog. He's out here. He just takes his meds and he's fine. This incident kind of brought, things careening back. But then took him to a cardiologist. The cardiologist said, I think he's like

based, obviously, it's amazing that he's alive this long. But if he keeps responding well to the dream, he's like, I really can't say how he could go as long as he can go. I don't know. Like, at a certain point, you just got to be like this. Keep pushing. You treat the patient, right? You don't get the illness. And this patient happened to do well. And then suddenly after that slightly positive news that it was just more like, yeah, it won't be like weeks, maybe like a month or two you have left with the dog. Yeah. Yeah. Like, then I just started looking at him doing a thing again. I'm like, no, you're okay. This guy's, you're still bouncing around. This guy's great. Is he bouncing? That's huge. He's bouncing on the bed still, like to get in the bed,

jumps up on the couch to get on the couch. Oh, he's doing great. He's doing great. I mean, it's just like one of those things where you also, like, I had to do a very sort of like grief exercise of like really sort of putting intellectually all the pieces together. Like he's 13, 14. He's at congestive heart failure for two years. Usually they're like, they'll give a dog a year, year and a half, hops. So when I look at that, I'm like, no, he's, he's doing great. We're giving him a good life.

Yeah, man. The send-off will be, it'll be like, it'll be like how Cash Patel picture Charlie Kirk going in Valhalla. Valhalla? Yeah. You're going Valhalla style? Without the Viking funeral fire, probably. Yeah, yeah.

Probably don't want fireworks because the dogs don't love those. Yeah, I would honor my dog. He famously hated fireworks. But my true underrated, though, is caramelized onions. Because, like, if you ever, like, do a recipe and it's like caramelize the onions for five, eight minutes, you're not caramelizing a fucking onion in five minutes. That's like a soft and sort of like browned onion. True, gooey, caramelized onions, they are fucking fantastic. And they're so easy to make.

They go with everything. You could put that shit that's for a sandwich. You add it to a sandwich, sandwich instantly good. Add it to a salad. Salad is great. You can add it to fucking pasta. You could put it on top of your fish or whatever protein you eat. It's just such a good accessory condiment to have on standby.

And it's so easy to make. You just fucking, you put those fuckers, you slice them up, get them on medium when they start to soften, pick that shit low. And just give it time, baby. Just however long it, it's. takes. Just keep them moving and let it go until it's gooey. And I got to say, I put some in a grilled cheese I made this weekend. And I thought I was eating at a fancy hotel. Look at you. Yeah. That is something that I just have never taken the step to be like, well, that's something that a chef would do. Or if you have a bunch of onions that you're like, I don't know what's

what I'm doing. Slice them all up, caramelize them, and then just throw them on whatever you're eating the rest of the week. Yeah. I'm telling cereal oatmeal. cereal, of course. Pancakes, a communion wafer. Really, it'll really spice up a communion with. Sorry, sorry, let me just,

let me get that real quick. Okay, and I want to put this mininet on there with shallots. Yes, good. Gotta say, it's, I feel for the return you get for how easy it is to just, you can even put them in a crock. It's just butter and, butter and onions.

Is that, whatever? Salt? Butter? Got to get a little oil so they don't like stick to your pan or whatever. Yeah, yeah. Then you can even, if you want to season them however you want, but again, just having that pure onion flavor, it goes with fucking everything.

And how many carmels are we putting in there? Oh, man. Am I misunderstanding? No, no, no, no. I put a few caramel candy in there. Yeah, yeah, okay. Just a speed thing. A couple worthers.

You could put a little sugar in there if you want it to help things along, but you don't have. All right. My underrated is the Amish. I just, I hadn't really thought about the Amish for a while. and then there's... What happens that you've thought about them again? The podcast blank check that I like, they're covering Witness,

which is the movie with where Harrison Ford like has to go, I think, undercover in an Amish community. And they are just talking about it. And I was like, man, I haven't thought about them in a while. And I think they were right. Like the last time I thought about the Amish, I was like, ha ha.

but that they still live in this world where they think technology is evil. And now I'm like, I don't know, man. I think they kind of nailed it. Right. A lot of their concerns have turned out to be more valid than I was giving them credit for in my early 20s. Right, right, right. Yeah, because you're just sort of like, Facebook, huh? These people are, they're cave people that live among us with fancy Mennonite flow or whatever.

where their traditional garb and make fantastic preserves and buy it somehow. I was like, is there a chance we could get a reverse rumspringer going? Like that's where one of them leaves for a year and like comes and lives in our wicked world. Like could that be an exchange of sorts where like we get to send one of ours to live with them? I feel like they would they'd get some extra hands. right, right, right. On death, if they, if they were allowing that, you know, people were like, I might, could I, can I stick around?

Right. It is interesting to see because they, like, I remember maybe a couple of years ago, I saw a documentary with like, he's homage, they had like a business set up and like, they had like hash register. And I was like, wait, what the fuck? Yeah. It's going on. And it sounds like with, depending on like the sort of sector order or community you're in,

they have like the biggest rule is like if it undermines the like our community connection or our family connection that cannot we so fuck the internet that ain't happening or a cell phone but they will have things like solar panels like basic things that there's like i mean we're also transacting in the modern world so i think they have like generators sometimes so they like want to be off the grid but they'll still like use a generator every once in a while to have some electricity i'm sure there's plenty of bad shit that goes with like being in an isolated patriarchical community. I'm just saying overall, as we're emerging into this world. We can split the difference, maybe. I feel like we could split the difference. Or, you know, take a little break,

do a reverse run springer, and then come back and be like, all right, these are the 30 things that are bad about this world that we need to fix. I do like the idea of like, technology that could weaken the family structure. Yeah. In the most optimistic sense, you're like, oh, I can see that really helping protect, like,

our children and our, like, from, like, you know, untold influences and things that will make them feel shitty, like, on the internet. But then I, just that phrase feels so loaded, like, technology that will weaken the family structure that can also be complete extreme. Yeah, I'm sure. And it's like, juggings are weakening the family structure. And you're like, okay. Well, that is first on my list.

Jenkins need to go or at least be made more baggy so that I can wear them. There's kind of in the same vein I was reading about this guy who is an apple hunter. Did you see this on Tom Brown?

His career was chemical engineer at RJ Reynolds. So not great. For cigarettes. That's right. And then after retired, decided to become an apple hunter and go around recovering lost apple varietals.

And so he just like goes. So I got this from his Wikipedia page. Searching for lost varieties generally involves interviewing residents and rural parts of Appalachia who may have knowledge of where to find apple trees and finding defunct orchard, some of which may have become reincorporated into forests. Brown also displays rare apple varieties at events such as farmers markets in Appalachia each year where he receives the information from, I mean, didn't get that name by accident. Receives him for, so he's like out there, do it showing off.

Like, I think he's recovered like over a thousand Apple varieties that had like died off or like receded back into the wilderness. And he's out there like showing them off and then like getting tips from people. being like, look, you didn't hear it from me. But I've heard about a golden delicious variety that's actually crispy and doesn't fucking mush up the second you bite into it. There's some cloak and dagger going on here? Yeah. I feel like there's, I kind of, I kind of enjoy it.

So I don't know. Like that, that's like, that feels half, half Amish to me. You know, we're just like, I don't know. I go hunting apples and around the nature. talking about is just sort of like what's happened with our loss of connection to like indigenous cultures too. Or it's like, yes.

How about something earth folks? How about something that's like regenerative? Yeah. Yeah, I'm going to hunt some old apples now. That's right. What is something Miles you think is overrated? Overrated.

Influencer travel tips. Okay. There's something so off about influencer travel tips for a foreign country. Right now, because I'm the, I'm going to see my family pan later this week. So I'll be gone for a little bit. But the fucking algorithms are like, hey, motherfucker,

are you thinking about going to Japan or some shit? We heard some shit. We got you because you forwarded your mother-in-law an article about it. So I think your ass is going to Japan, huh? Yeah, they're all over you. You love the culture, huh? You're going to think that everyone's so kind there, huh? You're going to come back glowing about how clean it is.

You're going to love going to the con beanie to get an egg sandoichi, okay? And I think there's just something like, again, I'm Japanese. I've been going there my entire life. And since solidly the last 10 years, it's really turned into this like texture of the internet. And like I see it just flattened into this very like one dimensional thing. But my point is like I love that people are going there discovering it like, it, but influencer travel tips specifically are not good because, A, they're typically just copying another influencer. And B, these people are not from Japan. So like, you're getting this,

you're getting a version of what someone who is obsessed with engagement with their content thinks you should go see as an experience. Where it's like, you got to get the viral matcha at this little cafe in Omote Sando. And you're like, this is, this is, this is, this is, this is, this is all shit for the gram. Like, the place looks cool. But the thing is, like, even with ramen, macha, all these other things, there's so many places they get it,

and they're all so good because Japanese cultures are like, if shit sucks, you're not going to survive as a business. So the idea that it has to be one place, I think is just a really weird way to plan it. And also get it, it's like forthhand information when it's gone through so many layers that it reaches, like, the influence.

It's probably out of date. Yeah. Yeah, just a very odd version of seeing a country. And I think to anyone going to any place, like, I'm always like, whenever I'm like, like, for example, Italy, I was like, okay, what do I, I've never been there. What do I want to know? I'm like, I first want to know what the locals eat. What is considered by locals are a pop thing, not like a thing on like a Rick Steve's sort of, you know, like guide. What do local people eat?

What is like the local history? Because I'm a history nerd. So that's how I go about things. But I also, like, I've had so many people who are, like, going to Japan and ask me for tips. They'll send me, like, influencer videos and, like, what do you think about, like, this itinerary? I'm like, yeah, I mean, if you think Japan is a giant robot, a bowl of ramen, and a cup of matcha, then yeah. Yeah, that checks off the three things. Yeah.

I think you even need to go. Yeah, yeah. I'm like, I always know people, I'm like, go somewhere and just fucking walk aimlessly. Like, walk away from where the tourists are going and just get an idea. of how, like, what the normal day-to-day flow of life is. Otherwise, you're going to just be in these forest corridors constantly. And you sort of, like, lose a bit of real texture. So anyway, influencer travel tips, uh, not great.

It's just doing research, you know, is really the best way. And I, and honestly, I think it helps to get some idea because you might see something. You're like, oh, I didn't know that like this, about this kind of food that I learned about. But then a little bit of research or just ask me, you know, because I know everything. Okay. I'm the smartest person on the internet. Okay. That's right. Thank you.

It also, they will send you to the best place for influencer content. Yeah. It's like kind of a lot of the times that are like, this place looks awesome in a like on a iPhone camera. Yeah. And everything looks good in an Instagram video post. And it says nothing of like, you know, the experience of like if the people are warm. Because if you're in a place and it's all just other travelers and forests, You're just, it's almost as if like you're at Disney or like the setting is different,

but like ambiently you're sort of like with also a bunch of other curious travelers. And it's being done for travelers for, you know, it's like all recreation for the sort of people who want that sort of thing. Just be adventurous. You know what I mean? That's all. And yeah. Fuck Rick Steve.

Rick Steve just kind of chill though. I mean, he said he's going to. He's like, yeah, bro. I support a millionaire tax. There we go, Ray. All right. My overrated, oh, hitting on things because they're popular. Like, I realized I have an instinctive aversion to pasta shape that are the most popular spaghetti and macaroni.

Like, I'm just like, nah, fuck that. Because I think they're, I've just like seen them the most places and I've had them the most times. and I've had them the most times. And so I'm just like... What could this possibly... Exactly. What new experience could this possibly offer? Yeah, okay.

But you get me like a new weird little guy that looks like a knee tendon. And I'm like, oh, hell yeah. You're like, oh, that's kind of hard to chew, but okay. But I just... I don't have that same thing in places. Like, growing up, this is a big thing with like, bands, like if a band or

like a musician became popular in the early 90s, especially people were like, fuck that. It's less so with bands. But now I feel like it's, I've noticed it most with like basketball players with like LeBron. Like when I was very young,

Michael Jordan was like very famous and popular. And there's just like no pushback. Everyone was just like, yeah, this rules. And then LeBron came. and there's just this like instinctive aversion because he's not Michael Jordan and because he like,

I don't know, is not this carefully presented product. I mean, everybody was kind of like, yeah, yeah, less so, I guess.

There's like more to be annoyed by. Yeah, yeah, sure. Because he's like, Michael George is like, you're not going to know shit about me, dude.

Yeah, exactly. And now I feel like it's happening with Wenbingyama. Like I've seen hate online. I like heard from, my younger nephews, they're like, they're big basketball fans,

and they're like, nah, I don't like Wembing out, my man. He's too tall. Too tall. He's literally like the next evolution of the game. I know. But just generally, like, I feel like that if I,

if I had not enjoyed LeBron James, I would have, like, missed some of my favorite sports memories of, like, the past 20 years. Yeah, sure. And, like, it's really easy to just be like, yeah, I'm going to go ahead and forgive, the decision and the fact

that he's like a weird guy who cares what people think about him because I'm also a weird guy who cares what people think about me. And in that way I'm LeBron. And yeah, I'm the LeBron James of being a weird guy who cares what people think about him.

But yeah. You mean him, you're like, I'm kind of a LeBron James myself, LeBron. The LeBron James of your weirdest character defect. LeBron. Anyways, just I feel like, do yourselves a favor. just allow the Wembe Yamma thing to happen to you.

That is so weird. He's fucking cool. To hate on Wembe? I think Wembe is so cool. I do too. But we're old, you know? Yeah, yeah. Because I think he's cool for the reasons that I think us as older people were like,

dude, that young person, that young fellow's cool, you know, because he's actually seeking like functional wisdom. Yes. And like, when he first said, like, I'm consulting with Perrine. to figure out how to take care of my body, how to, like, what I can glean from his, like, his play style and things like that. He is such a student that I think it's really admirable and he's like, he loves reading.

I don't know, there's just something very classical about his basketball that I'm like, oh, that person is really taking seriously. So then when you see him play so, I'm like, yeah, dude, this guy's fucking, he's doing everything he can to be the best version of himself. I feel like he is listening to. You know? Yeah. He'll be listening to like some 40-something-year-old guy. He's got an advisor who's like, all, first of all, respect your elders.

Second of all, monks are cool. We liked the Wu-Tang Clan. Third of all, reading actual books. That's sick, dude. That's sick. That's sick. But yeah. Whoever's in this, he's got good. Yeah, yeah, for sure. All right, let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We'll talk about the news. Hey Ontario, come on down to BedMGM Casino and check out our newest exclusive. The Price is Right Fortune Pick. Don't miss out. Play exciting casino games based on the iconic game show. Only at BetMGM. Access to the Price is right Fortune Pick is only available at

BetMGM Casino. BetMGM and GameSense remind you to play responsibly. 19 plus to wager, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connix Ontario at 1866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating Agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes.

And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinnfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends... Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves.

Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Nora Jones, and I love playing music with people so much that my podcast called Playing Along is back. I sit down with musicians from all musical styles to play songs together in an intimate setting. Every episode's a little different, but it all involves music and conversation with some of my favorite musicians.

Over the past two seasons, I've had special guests like Dave Grohl, Leve, Mavis Staples, Remy Wolf, Jeff Tweedy, really too many to name. And this season, I've sat down with Alessia Cara, Sarah McLaughlin, John Legend, and more.

Check out my new episode with Josh Grobin. He related to the phantom at that point. Yeah, I was definitely the phantom in that. That's so funny. Share each day with me, each night, each morning. Say you love me. You know how you... So come hang out with us in the studio and listen to playing along on the IHeart Radio app.

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, former Bachelor star Clayton Eckers, found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed revealed glaring inconsistencies in her story. This began a years-long court battle to prove the truth. You doctored this particular test twice in someone's, correct? I doctored the test once. It took an army of internet detectives to crack the case.

I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for. Sunlight's the greatest disinfected. They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Gregalespian and Michael Marantini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trap.

Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news at Americopa County as Laura Owens has been indicted on fraud charges. This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeartRour. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We're back. We'll talk more about Donald Trump v. The Pope, whoever wins, we all lose on tomorrow's episode. But this weekend, quite a bit of news happened over the

weekend. kicked off with Friday. Melania randomly gave a public statement denying the, quote, unfounded and baseless lies about her connections to Epstein, even though nothing new had resurfaced in the news at that time. Yeah, it was so, this was like something that you think you thought maybe would have come out in December of last year. But okay, right now you choose the time to be like, oh, just so you know, like, I had nothing to do with Epstein or Galane Maxwell, I don't know anything about it anyway. So the Survivors need justice. I got to go.

It was like her statement was like, everyone's talking about this part that is beating under my floorboards of my house and is deafening and keeping me up awake all night, no more. It's time for the telltale heart to shut up, okay? Needs to stop talking. Stop saying this stuff about me.

It's like, whoa, huh? It's not true. Don't ignore all the photographic evidence that might suggest otherwise. Trump apparently had no idea that this was going to happen until he was watching it on TV, which I don't know. That's interesting. That's interesting.

Suggest that she's like, if it's me or him, fuck this guy. Yeah, right. She refuted rumors that Epstein introduced her to Trump while plugging her book at the same time. I said, I'm not Epstein's victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband by chance at a New York City party in 1998. Was that party thrown by? We don't know.

This initial encounter with my husband is documented in detail in my book, Melania. And then saying, the stories are completely false, calling accusations that she was somehow involved, smears about me. She also said, I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation, which is so weirdly specific.

Yeah. I don't mind ignorant. Look, ignorance is kind of my whole shit. Yeah. My husband's bread and butter is ignorant. You're seeing pictures out there. Okay, look, I get it. It looks like I was booed up with Jeffrey Bustin, okay, and Galane Maxwell.

But that's not. And you guys are being mean if you guys are doing this. Just please knock it off. Yeah. You're being mean. And that's always a good, always a good approach to the internet. Stop it, you're being mean. What she said is contradicted by recordings of Epstein and an email that she sent to,

Gilane Maxwell signed Love Melania. Simple correspondence. Simple correspondence or something she said. It wasn't just congratulating her because Jeffrey Epstein had a great write-up in the New Yorker. Some shit was like I think the text of that. Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah. And then she called on the women who have been victimized by Epstein to testify before Congress, which was probably condemned by a group of Epstein survivors who were like that.

So you're shifting the burden onto survivors, under politicized conditions that would protect people with power. Yeah, yeah. Which that's you. That's not us. So. Right, but I'm saying you guys should, whatever. Look, I had nothing to do with it.

And if you guys said, I did that's, yeah. That's really bad. Her and her husband had a lot of, uh, and we're all going to do it, right? It's like happening this weekend. Whereas like, oh, you should, should check with people before you say that. Because nobody, nobody's backing you. Nobody's backing him on his blockade. of the straight and nobody, none of the other survivors were like, yeah, sister, tell it.

No, we're with you. So odd. And apparently they were saying, like, there were rumors that the administration was like, what the fuck is you doing right now? Yeah. That this was, they were like, this wasn't totally planned. I don't know the veracity of those claims exactly. But it is a strange move given the fact that all the catastrophe with Iran and Lebanon right

now is taking up so much of attention rightly because like this could this is causing a global trying to bring about the end of the world. Yeah. Just to come out and be like, yeah, I got nothing to do with that. All right. What? People do with what? Epstein and like the whole trafficking thing.

And then people started posting this clip of one of the first times Trump had introduced Melania to the press and he said she was from Austria in it, which is really odd. Afternoon to you. Well, thank you very much. How are you? I'm fine. This lady right here next year. It's Malani, a canouse from New York from Austria.

Hello, the Malani. Nice to meet you, too. Are you here too? That's not where she's from. No. Mm-hmm. But anyway, maybe early on, you know, you always lie about, like, things in early on in a relationship, like, your SAT score, or if you're in an honors class or come from a completely different country. You know, but yeah, now everyone.

one's talking about her connection to Epstein, which some people are even suggesting that we give Barbara Streisand a break finally and change the Streisand effect, thus named when she was like banning and suing people from posting pictures of her house. Right. Yeah. Like in a way that made everybody. Yeah. If this press conference is the first domino that leads to it all coming down, then I would say, I would say it can maybe change it to the moment. Mania Trump effect. But right now, Babs, you still got the crown. Queen. Benny Johnson is representing one kind of sentiment that I've seen quite a bit over the weekend where they're like, this appears to be a complete and utter fuck-up. Everything that Donald Trump has done has been, has put America in a far worth position in a way that's pretty obvious to literally anybody who is paying attention and knows what

most words mean. Every allies like at the U.S. I'm like, are you got, what the fuck is wrong with you guys over there? Are you? What the,

so yeah, I mean, I think Benny Johnson is just so dumb, for lack of a better word, that it makes sense, like his propaganda

really only appeals to like the most oxygen deficient people in the country. It just makes shit up. to create cover for administration whenever, like a bad improv exercise. So like fed's laying siege to a peaceful city and you're trying to find a way to make that all work,

then you go with this one. My infant nearly died in a drug fire after mass shootings. Oh, okay. So then, yeah, we should just violate people's rights. Okay, thanks, Betty. What about food stamps being taken away from the needy? He said, you can actually live like a king on food stamps. I don't know what king that is,

but I'm just going to say that. Illegally kidnapping Maduro, he stole the 2020 election along with demons that did it. And you're like, all right. So, well, now that like the Iran war has fully melted down into just a disastrous ship pile, Benny Johnson is now, he's now just out here being like, uh, that was like the whole fucking point. Duh, you idiots. And by objecting to it, you're actually looking the stupid one.

This is actually real, my man. This is, this is him trying to see. say that this is some next level sun-su shit. President Trump just played a historic tactical uno reverse card on Iran, the likes of which the world has never seen. He's remade the economy of the planet, and it's going to hurt America's number one enemy the most. That's not Iran.

Get ready. Buckle up. The peace negotiations failed, and that seemingly was the point. He's not even... by that. Seemingly, it seems like he's seeing these talking points for the first time. It just got set over for the Trump administration. Seemingly was the point.

You followed them. The more you realized it was more like Sun Tzu Art of War when peace is impossible. Make it seem as though you tried so that when you have to do the inevitable, it seems like your only logical step. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. dude sure whatever you say whatever you say uh completely not the point but yeah this is where

now he's trying to say that the point was to completely botch the peace talks and send the energy markets just into another friends um that's the point that's the point that was that was the joke i was like making i thought you guys understood that that was the whole joke yeah um his claim that this because, spoiler alert, the person that, or the enemy that he says is hurting the most is China, which China is like killing it off of China. Like, everybody is on China's side now.

Like, China didn't even know that this was going to, but like this has been the best thing that's happened to China ever. Oh, I mean, just, well, because also, yeah, I mean, like, again, like I said, It's laying waste to American hegematic idea of America looks more and more like a paper tiger when we have this kind of shit. And I think if anything, it's more like the son, Zuku's like never interrupt your opponent, you know, while he's in the middle of making a mistake. He's kind of like what's going on. I was like, no, let let just let this asshole cook right now because he's, he's burning it all fucking down.

Yeah, yeah. All right. Let's take a quick break. We'll be right back to talk about, uh, j. Evances, very good, very effective weekend. I'll be right back. Hey, Ontario. Come on down to BedMGM Casino and check out our newest exclusive.

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I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Nora Jones, and I love playing music with people so much that my podcast called Playing Along is back. I sit down with musicians from all musical styles to play songs together

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This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We're back. And so a couple of things. J.D. Vance was sent to Hungary to help just shore up. Like, they have a full on dictator, Victor Orban, authoritarian, you know. And so, I don't know.

Like, it seems kind of like a nice gift. the Trump administration was giving J.D. Vance, like, he has been sort of on the bench for a while. And they're like, all right, well, this is a layup where you go and, like, be associated with this victory in an election that I have to assume isn't going to be fair, right? This guy's an authoritarian. And just go over there, be associated, be like, yeah, I'm supporting him. After 16 years of authoritarian rule, Victor Orban has been voted out of office in Hungary. Wow. The new prime minister will be a former Orban loyalist, but, yeah, the better than a full-on autocrat because, you know, he's a center-right centrist conservative politician.

But again, with the Overton window, that makes him look like, I guess if we're talking about another centrist, right, just like a Brock Obama. Right. It's great news for the EU that you don't have someone who's actively being like, I'm pro-Russia, fuck the EU, I'm a belligerent, I also love Donald Trump. And really, I think a lot of people are like, when they looked at the power Orban was amassing,

like, oh, look at the right completely in its ascendancy right now. Yeah, so it's kind of nice to see. 77% of people voted, which is a record. Yeah, and he got blown out. Yeah, it wasn't very close. So it does feel like maybe, assuming that they had some sense of this was going to happen, the reverse of my initial read is true,

and they're just putting J.D. Vance in shitty no-win situations. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, you know, I mean, they didn't make him kill the Pope. He did that on his own, but at first, like, yeah, yeah, it seems like they're just being like, keep kicking this guy's at. Just put him in loser situations to make him look like a loser.

This is like when Biden made Kamala, the borders are. Unfortunately, Biden did that because he wanted to be the one on the ticket. So I'm hoping that's not what's happening with Trump here. Well, I mean, yeah, between this, the quote unquote

ceasefire talks in Islamabad. Right. Yeah, he was taking L after L. And also, too, I think it's, although he was set up to fail, it's also just that the brand has become so toxic in Europe than just since the beginning of the second term that like so many right wing groups in Europe are like, let's not do some. We shouldn't really be piling around with them American MAGA people. Like it's really bad for us. Like even in it like the AFB in German is even like, yeah, let's cut down on our visits to the. U.S.

people, because they even are just reading the sentiment in their own countries where everyone's like, the U.S. and Israel together are destroying the earth. They don't give a fuck about international law. And even if you're on the right in Europe, the view on the actions in like Iran and Lebanon are not positive. So they're like, fuck, dude. Yeah, let's shift gears a little bit here. And Vance is now, he's negative 18 for his approval ratings, which, how?

Amala at her worst was minus 13. Wow. So he's, he is doing real bad, real bad. It does feel like everybody just does really, like, we will get an increasingly unpopular presidents and vice presidents until something changes. Yeah, like Grandpa Joe managed to stay above water when he was, you know, Barack's vice president. Because he was just like, hey, and that's his senile old friend who reminds us of the, good old days, whatever that is, but you know what I mean?

Yeah, whereas this like, J.D. Vance is just so repulsive on every level to like all that it's just, yeah. Yeah. Got to look about Catholicism coming out while my boss is in a full frontal battle with the Pope. Yeah. And he also, yeah, as you mentioned, so he went from Orban to like killing Orban's career to then being the, face of the negotiations with Iran and somehow failed to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program

something that they were willing to talk about before the U.S. and Israel attacked them. And there's also this thing that like, talks broke down too when Iran was like, well, we have one enrichment facility, but it's not capable of enriching uranium

for weapon, like weapon. It'd be for how, like for like a power generation facility and research. And all, like, at the time you have Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner,

who know fuck all about this kind of stuff on a technological level. And they're like, no, no, no. Not on my watch. You can't fucking do anything.

It's like having an easy bake oven and saying, I'm going to make a prime rib in there. Right. I fucking can't. I can make a tiny little cup. That's it. No,

no, you said oven. No, we're done. Sorry, I'm just changing my meal. prep plans for the day. Yeah.

I thought I made it here last week. Yes. Prime. Okay. I mean, at that point it's not a prime rib, but it's a small piece of meat. One is a prime number.

All right, Jack, do whatever you want. I mean, if you can make it work, then go ahead. I love to see it. I just,

I just have to be in there for a couple weeks. Just longer, probably. How is it going to fit in there? So, So as a result of J.D. Vance's failure to win the negotiation, Trump announced a military blockade on all Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz beginning Monday morning. Also told Fox News that numerous countries would be helping the U.S. with the blockade.

Oh, yeah, which ones? We're still waiting. We're still waiting to hear the, but yeah, according to the New York Times, like that, that is not the case. they're yeah as you mentioned everybody to say no everybody's out on this shit yeah it's also this is so stupid to be like well we're gonna block this straight of Hormuz now you can't block it we're blocking it from the other side the foreign policy equivalent of finding out you didn't get invited to a party and you going up to Brazil actually I can't even go anyway because I have a much bigger party to go to that day and like we didn't even invite you yeah but even if you did I couldn't go.

So that's... You should probably not even have your party. My party's going to be even bigger. Anyway, that's fine. You're not... But yeah, and that's good too because I couldn't go anyway. Because I'm going to another.

And you're just saying, they shut down the straight and yours is, no, I'm going to close it from the other side. Mm-hmm. Oh, okay, so now you got... It's so fucking stupid. Yeah. It's really...

At the end of the day, even you saying, okay, the blockade is over. That doesn't... That doesn't mean Iran's is over. Yeah. There's a lot of good posts on Twitter, people just pointing out, this is like being in a standoff with somebody and pointing the gun at yourself. Like, don't move. I'll do it. Right here. Right under the chin, fool. I mean, it does change things, I guess. German Ruger for my ass, deep-throated. Remember that? Iran warned. I do remember that line. Sorry. I'm Lil'am. Iran warned that the global economy would pay for the blockade because, you know, Iran's wild. They're an extremist.

experts also agree oil prices are already surging. There's also something that's becoming evident that the price of fertilizer, which means all food is going to be going way up. But I feel like these are concessions we'll all be willing to make so that they continue to run a system of government where they get way wealthier. And yeah, it's like socialism for the wealth. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

There are going to be some sacrifices that we have to make in order to make sure that they can continue to enrich themselves. Yeah, what food is available? Your food's going to get way more expensive. The, you know, other other ingredients for things you like, probably getting affected by the lack of fertilizer that's available, you know. Yeah. It's, it's really nothing. But, yeah, this is all, I mean, again, every passing day,

because let's, like, when you think about it, Trump's got fucking, he's down to like only three rhetorical tools anymore. Right. He used to be so much more flexible before the dementia was just rock and break. But now it's just like, now he's either blustering constantly. That's all he's got. Or like, and we'll talk about it tomorrow. Like, or only talking about adversaries in the context that he's running against them for office.

Right. Like how he talked about the Pope. Yeah. The Pope is weak on crime. Wait. The Pope is weak on crime. What the fuck are you talking about? You have nothing going on in there anymore.

Nothing. Like you're just a reflexive thing now. Who has no thought into it. And my God, man, the people that hang around and don't do anything about this, this is at this point, you guys are responsible. Everyone who's in there is also fucking responsible

and needs to be seen as such, don't let these motherfuck. I mean, they're going to try. And I'm sure Chuck Schumer will be like, oh, there, there. You learned your lesson. right, okay, okay. I'll vote to confirm you for some other position down the road.

But these, like, we're letting, it's all happening because no one is willing to actually do anything about it when it's so clear, man. Like, it's over. It's over. It's been so over forever. But like now you're at the point where it's like, it's taking threats of Armageddon for some people to kind of start being like, hey, man. This guy, okay. Yeah. he's doing a Cuban missile crisis to us.

Yeah. He's the, you know, like that used to be a thing that, uh, America was like, well, we're,

we're going to try and back ourselves out of this and, you know, instead he, he's the one. He's causing it just single-handedly. Yeah. Um, anyways,

let's do some good news real quick. Yeah. I just saw this, uh, video from the Mamdani administration. Mm-hmm. In, in,

in New York. Did you ever see the episode of John Wilson where about scaffolding? Yeah, yeah, yeah. In New York. So Zoran did as well and basically made it part of his approach to like start taking down the scaffolding and making it harder to just like leave scaffolding up for years and years and just like bring sunlight back to the streets of New York. And it's just like, it's a thing that I took for grand it, like, living in the city of New York, I just, like, assumed that it was necessary

or, like, there was some reason that, like, that scaffolding was there. And apparently, not always, like, a lot of the times it's just there because it's there, you know? And what, but what's the point? It's just so, like, the scaffolding company can make more money from it being left up or something? Yeah, I think so. And I think it's just, like, safer and, like, there's bureaucratic bullshit, like, in the web. And so even though it's not really functionally making anyone safer, it's just like, well, there's less risk leaving it this way than like going in that direction. I mean, he also announced the first city-owned grocery store.

Yeah. That's going to be made in East Harlem. Yeah. He just had his like 100 days in office video. And it is just, it's wild. We've spent so long in a world designed only to serve the wealthy in corporations that we don't even know. when little things are fucked up. Like when someone's like, yeah, we're going to like create a grocery store where prices aren't determined by, you know, how much corporations want to charge you because they're always going to want to charge you as much as they possibly can.

Or we're going to like take the scaffolding down so you can actually like see the sun and your your street is not just like permanently covered in fucking, you know, shit and like things that you can't, you have to like walk around. It almost feels, it's like, wait, can you do that? You know? Right. Well, it's just funny too, like, because most of the stories we hear when we think about American politics, like, can you do that? It's like, they're going to arrest American citizens. Right.

They're going to take away social safety programs from the needy? Can you do that? That's the direction that the can we do that has been going. Yeah. And it needs to be more like, can you, can you have, make groceries affordable for people? right can you can you do that or are we allowed to and that's why it's funny too because like the attacks on it are like coming from like grocery store owners who are like this is going to lead to soviet style bread lines right and you're like what it's just an extra way for people

to get groceries who need them yeah yeah exactly and so many people are going to need them because things are fucked up there's going to be lines yeah and there's other fiscal considerations to make obviously i get all that but like overall the sentiment is correct to be like, well, the sentiment here is how do we make food affordable for people in a city that's becoming increasingly unaffordable for people to exist. Oh, I like that as a solution.

Because the other version was like, how do we get poor people out of here quicker? So we can bring in the people who can fucking afford shit. If we get these guys out of here? Yeah, and they don't take into account affordability things. They're just like, you know, when it comes to policies that are going to enrich them, they don't take into account affordability.

just like, yeah, we'll figure it out. We just got to do things that, you know, are accelerants to, you know, selling shit. Yeah. And, you know, consumption. So anyways, I don't know, that's a little bit of, a little sliver of sunlight in this world.

They're like, as we think about, like, what 2028 looks like, it really needs to be somebody who can, like, think like this and is not just like standard Democrat who's like Hassan is the real problem with the Democratic Party. No, it's again, it just has to be like you want people to promote shit that Americans go, can we do that? Right.

Yes. I want to, can we do that president? That's right. Like not not some shit that you've already heard of. And you go, yeah, exactly. Like more jail for people. Right. It's shit.

There you go. And you know what, man? everybody should have free child care and go, can we do that? Is that possible? Yeah, man. Just got to come get the coins from the right. It's so easy rather than spending

fucking billions a day on fucking little bang bang rockets trying to take down like a $300 drone. The return on that is fucked up. But again, I mean, that should be, people should, I mean, I'm glad that some more like journalists are attaching costs to things when they're like a 300 million dollar plane got shot down. When you're like, oh, fuck, $300 million for a fucking, what the fuck? Now let's convert that into people who could have been fed.

Because like I said too, like you're not, people aren't going to be in the streets because you have a city-owned grocery store. Right. So don't, there's no backlash to providing for the need and make more equitable. The shit that gets. people out in the streets that's like legitimate is when you see our actual rights being eroded. And right now we consider things like eating or housing or right. I think you can say safely people are probably going to back you if you're trying to, you know, treat those things as, you know, God. Right.

Yeah. All right. Those are some of the things that are trending on this Monday, April 13th. We are back tomorrow with a whole last episode of the show. Until then, be kind to each other. be kind to yourselves. Get your vaccines while you still can get your flu shot. Don't do nothing about white supremacy.

And we will talk to you all tomorrow. Bye. Bye. The Daily Zykeyes is executive produced by Catherine Law. Co-produced by Bay Wang. Co-produced by Victor Wright. Co-written by J.M. McNabb. And edited and engineered by Brian Jeffries.

When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. They take matters into their own hands. I vowed. I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that, trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Owens, correct?

I doctored the test once. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg, a lesbian. Michael Mancini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped.

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Murder at City Hall. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Lori Siegel, and this is Mostly Human, a tech podcast through a human lens. This week, an interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. I think society is going to decide that creators of AI products bear a tremendous amount of responsibility to the products we put out in the world. An in-depth conversation with a man who's shaping our future. My highest order bit is to not destroy the world with AI.

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