The Daily Zeitgeist - Jets Silence The Haters! Smartphone Vs Rectum 09.05.25

Episode Date: September 5, 2025

In episode 1926, Jack and Miles are joined by actor, musician, and co-host of One of Us, Fin Argus, to discuss… Trump Tried To Drown Out The Epstein Survivor Presser With Jet Flyovers…, Smartphones Are Making Your Hemorrhoids Worse, The Growth of Executive Function Coaches to Fix Our Corporation Ruined Brains and more! LIVE: Reps. Khanna, Massie hold news conference with Epstein survivors Epstein Rape Victim Was Passed on to Donald Trump by Ghislaine Maxwell Smartphones Are Making Your Hemorrhoids Worse White-collar work is breaking people's brains. Some are turning to unorthodox coaches for a fix. LISTEN: Dark Kept Secret by EXUMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

found oyster that's the spot next to besties that i was thinking of found oyster yeah oosters freak me out yeah not something that i want to have like found you know i want them very meticulously curated for me yeah to be raised in captivity yeah yeah yeah i want my oysters not yeah i want to come upon an oyster yeah yeah yeah i just found I found it out on the fucking sidewalk a minute ago. Do you want it? No. Because that's a thing.

I know vegans who started eating them because someone came through. It's like, they lack a central nervous system. Therefore. Oh, that way. Yeah, no, I remember that whole conversation happening and I just couldn't care less because that I would avoid oysters like the point before I was a vegan. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I only know one person who used that to be like, oh, I'm eating that.

Every other vegan I know is like, no, dude, it's still registers. as like a animal because it's in a, like, no, I'm fine. Well, it just still registers as nasty as fuck to me. Yeah. It is a snob-based food. Finn, you're a kicky girl and I'm a nasty gal. I like my shit's droopy. Oh, okay.

I'm happy for you. And we can be different and that's a good thing. I love that for us. This is an I-Heart podcast. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? Answer, a new podcast called Wisecrack, where a comedian finds himself at the center of a chilling true crime story.

Does anyone know what show they've come to see? It's a story. It's about the scariest night of my life. This is Wisecrack, available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. December 29th, 1975, LaGuardia Airport. The holiday rush, parents hauling luggage, kids gripping their new Christmas toys. Then, everything changed.

There's been a bombing at the TWA terminal, just a chaotic, chaotic scene. In its wake, a new kind of enemy emerged, terrorism. Listen to the new season of Law and Order Criminal justice system on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts my boyfriend's professor is way too friendly and now i'm seriously suspicious wait a minute sam maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit well dakota luckily it's back to school week on the okay story time podcast so we'll find out soon this person writes my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot he doesn't think it's a problem but i don't trust her

now he's insisting we get to know each other but i just want her gone oh hold up isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast and the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on earth? Unfortunately for Mark Lombardo, this was the choice he faced. He said, you are a number, a New York State number, and we own you. Listen to shock incarceration

on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, the internet, and welcome to season 404, episode four of DirtyEleys, Ikeyes. It's a production of IHeartRadio. It's a podcast we're taking deep dive

into America's chair consciousness. It's Thursday, September 5th, 2025. I feel like we need to speed run this bitch. Friday, September. It's Friday. Day, September 5th, 2025. Unless you want to work again, Tamong. That's up to you.

Nah, I'm good. That's between your and your God. Nah, we're good. The almighty dollar. It's also National Kianti Day. So pair that with some Fava beans. It's National Food Bank Day, national lazy moms day. What the fuck does that?

Okay. National Be Late for Something Day. National Cheese Pizza Day. Okay. I hope Lazy Mom's Day was invented by a lazy mom and not like a dad. In 1957 by Rick Stebbling. I'm just going to look into that one.

The inventor of the homemade lie detector. I guess it's National Lazy Mom's Day again, huh? What the fuck, Rick? See you later. I feel like we need to speed run this episode because we

left our guest waiting for a long time and then also ended up talking for like 20 minutes with our guest before we started recording. And it was a great Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Y'all would love to hear it. A conversation about snot-based foods that maybe we can get into.

My name is Jack O'Brien, aka Potato's O'Brien, and I'm thrilled to be joined, as always, by my co-host, Mr. Miles Gray. This Miles Gray, aka, used to smoke blood, went puff-buff pass. Long time later, joined our podcast.

Talking to Zite guys with Mr. O'Brien. Second-rate show, We're doing fine Okay, shout out Hannah Ramavutvue Shut on Hannah Soltis for that Heart of Glass, aka Hannah Minna Mena Hannah where you been, gal

missed you. Great to hear from her. I love how just ambitiously high you went from the start. When you sing Heart of Glass You can't be like, Use a smoke bud with puff up pat. That was very castrato of you.

I was inspired. Oh, thank you. I just saw the film Farinelli and was inspired by that. Have you seen that movie? It's, I don't see it. It's, I, my mom took me to this Italian art film when I was seven years old and it's about a castrati. And I kept asking mom, well, what's happening?

What is, what are they doing to him? Why is he in that white bathtub? It was very, very freaky film. And you said you just saw this? Yeah, I wanted to, like, just turn eight. No, and I was bringing it back. Sorry, I just rewatched it because I was like, did I see this? And I'm like, oh, my parents, look, babysitting was at a premium.

So they're like, you're coming with me to see. this film. That's not for children. Yeah. So it was one of those that felt like it was maybe a fever dream? Yeah. Yeah, probably. Because I'm like, there's no way my mom. And then I, I remember my friend also went, like a really close family friend of mine, and we were both like, we saw that movie Farinelli, right? Together. Farinelli. Yeah. I think it was a famous, was a famous castrati. Okay. Yeah. This is a true story? Wait, was there a true story? It's a film about a famous castrato from the 18th century yeah that's some spooky stuff i had this movie that i swore i made up and it's actually a super popular movie but the batman returns the one with the

penguin you swear you made it up no i swear i made it up because i just had this intrusive thought all the time of some like you know dripping wet man biting someone's nose off and i was like well i know those couldn't is it real gnarly like you just had that part in your head yeah and i was like Certainly, that's just a nightmare that I conjured up when I was a toddler. But no, it's because we had the VHS and I would watch it all the time. And I only discovered that it was a real moment from cinema until recently when I went through all of our old VHSs and I watched that. And you're like, yeah, it was real. Yeah, and I was really holding that against myself for conjuring such a horrible image.

The black stuff coming, like there's black stuff that comes out of his mouth. It's a lot. Oswald, Cobblepot. Thanks a lot, Tim Berger. Not a cutest characters. Miles, we're thrilled to be joined in our third seat by a very talented actor and musician. You've seen in shows like queer as folk. And the other two is like, oh, come on now.

Come on now. Favorites, one of our all-time favorites. They also appear in movies. A little slang term I like to use for pictures that move, moving pictures. Okay. You guys have to check these things out. They co-hosts the wonderful podcast, one of us, with standout guest Chris Remphro on this very podcast. Please welcome the multi-talented Finn Argus!

Yes! Good morning. Good morning. Finn, got to say, bit starstruck because I loved you and the other two. I couldn't stop laughing at your character, which I thought was so fucking genius. Just the whole construction of that character fucking took me out. So, great. I'd love to be able to thank somebody for the laughs face-to-face.

So I'm honored. I'm honored. My friend Gilly also wrote that character, like Pitched the character in the show. So she is to blame for that. Thank you to Gilly. It was really fun. Yeah, that was so much fun. I lived in New York for like four months.

And the character, as you might remember, is like kind of in just in the back. a lot of the time. Yeah. Like, I'm not, I didn't have a lot to do except for be creepy in the background of shop. Yeah. It did so well, unbelievably. Thank you.

Thank you so much. But it was the best four months of my life. I just got to live in New York in two days a week. I would stand in the background while these incredibly talented and funny actors did scenes in front of me. It was, it was the princess track. I had the best time. I just love the, just there was always something getting in the way.

every time. Yeah. Wonderful. Carrie just wanted to get it in, but... Yeah. Preparing for a role. It's, look, you take your crap seriously, you know? I really do.

No, that was a really fun character because I also had this, like, prior to doing that, I hadn't really done any comedy. I had just done heavy dramas, and it felt good to make fun of myself a little bit. Yeah, yeah. That's so. Are you from Los Angeles? Are you from the city of stars, as nobody calls it? No, I grew up in Illinois.

I grew up in a small town called Displanes, and I moved to L.A. when I was 15. I actually started acting when I was 12. Oh, shit. Wow. Yeah. Did you move to the Oakwood when you first moved out here? No, close, though. I moved to what was referred to as the Archstone at the time.

And now it's been bought by Ava, of course, like every apartment complex in L.A. But it was kind of like the oak wood light. Like, it was close enough and it had the same energy. Like, the only difference is, it's on the other side. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's where I lived. That's where I grew up. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Exactly. Yeah. It's like one of three places where people who move out here to act when they're young end up. It's one of those parts of it. It was the art stone for me. And I loved it. It was a dream coming true. I moved out here and I was doing like little Disney stuff.

And the intention was to be out here for a couple months in the summer and then go back. to Illinois, because it was a month-to-month apartment. Sure, sure. And then I just started booking things. Too damn successful for that plan. Love to see it. I love to hear it. Sorry. Desplanes. Illinois.

Sorry, Desplanes. Yeah. I feel like I know that. It's a small town. I think I've been mispronouncing it. Deplane or something. Oh, how French of you. Yeah. I know. Very French. Yeah, we call it Desplains. It's known for a couple of things.

The first ever franchise McDonald's was built there, but then they tore it down. There it is. Is it mentioned in the Swift John Stevens concept album, Illinois? I don't think the town is mentioned by name, but there is a reference. I mean, there's a whole song, John Wayne Gacy, Jr. And unfortunately, he, you know, kidnapped people who went to my high school. Oh, my God. And he was also arrested in displays.

That's where the final arrest was made. that's that's so two very clown like clown based things happening in your hometown and then you become a third a proud tradition having you on a comedy podcast as part of a proud clown based tradition yeah and i hate clowns but i did find myself uh actually inspired by chris renfro to do clowny drag Oh, that's fun. Yeah, living up to my legacy. And did I read that you have some kids' bop background?

Yeah. Yeah, that was my first professional job. You were one of the singers? Yeah, when I was 12. I guess that's the only way. No, I was the road manager for kids. Yes, I had 12 to be the tour manager. And it was crazy, you know, between algebra class and gym.

But, no, I made it work. My parents were very supportive. I did an open casting when I was 12. I just sent in a video of me singing and dancing and playing my instruments and wearing my... I actually did costume changes. I changed my fedora, like, twice. My fedora! Yeah, I was really into fedora.

This kid's fedora games on point. Holy shit. I thought I was like mini Jason Maras. Okay. And in a lot of ways, I was. Yeah. Except for just not nearly as good of a singer. But I was 12.

I was 12. I watched that video recently. You did? And it is crazy. During your VHS rewatch? Yeah. No, I can't remember why it came up. My friend did a sketch at, there's this sketch show at UCB called Ascatch, and it's just like a monthly hour-long sketch show. And they did a sketch called Adults Pop, where it's just former kids' pop kids who have grown up and are still trying to capitalize on that success. Which is the story of my life. Yeah, sure.

Trying to reach those heady highs of the early. Yeah. There's nothing like singing the KidsBot version of Thrift Shop to, like, really make you feel like you're living your purpose. Oh, shit. What's on, like, is there one that stands out to you as, like, your peak kids' bop moment? I think it actually was Thrift Shop, and I'm not even joking. Like, it was so funny and silly.

Bars. Yeah. Every time we performed it, because we toured. We did like full tours around the country and sometimes up in Canada. So that one was always the most fun. Can you just can you just give me the lyrics for the chorus into the first verse? Because I only remember, I know that it's $20 in my buy. I'm hunting for a come up.

This is fucking awesome. And then doesn't he say like, what up? I got a big cock. Yes. So the opening line is walk up in the club like, what up? I got a big cock. Uh-huh. And Kidsbop changed it to walk up in the club, like, whatever.

I got a hit song. That's right. I'm so pumped. I got some clothes from the thrift shop. There you go. This is so awesome. Yeah, this is really awesome. Oh, really?

This is really awesome. This is super duper awesome. You can just replace fuck with really and it'll usually work. Yeah, yeah. I want to reel you. Yeah. Yeah. Kids Bob does choose some crazy songs to cover, though.

Like songs that shouldn't have made the cut, like Thrift Shop, for example. But sometimes it's even more like innuendo than that. And they just like throw a random word in there and call it a day. Yeah. I know the guy he does it. It's like a 40-year-old gay man and he's just having a blast. Good for him. Yeah, that must be a great gig to just be like, I Kidsbopify regular like hit songs.

Yeah. And that is his job. Like there's he's not like overseeing multiple things. things. It's like that's the thing that he does. Yeah. I don't know if he still works there. I would assume it's like an entire factory of people doing that. So the fact that it's one person is pretty good. I know. The day I know. Yeah. Well, maybe there is. There's got to be a writer's room actually now that I think about it. But I only knew one. Sure. All right. Well, Finn, we're thrilled to have you here. We're going to get to know you a little bit better in a moment. First, a couple of stories

we're talking about. We're going to talk about Trump trying to drown out the Epstein survivors press conference with jet flyovers, specifically one of the survivors that was speaking and has an interesting history with him. Also, just any title, any headline that starts, Trump tried to drown. I am assuming the worst. Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I wrote Trump to drown out. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. But I was assuming there were babies or kittens involved. Maybe. We'll talk about smartphones making your hemorrhoids worse. Oh, that's plenty more. But even worse?

Is that even worse? All of that plenty more. But first, Finn, we do like to ask our guest, what is something from your search history that's revealing about who you are? Oh, goodness. Well, I'll see what tabs I have open. You know what I will say, though, is I don't have a history.

Like, I'm just on incognito, so there's nothing saved. Wow. Not that that's like actually private or something, but I just. Ghost Protocols you've activated. Okay. The tabs that I have open right now are Edwin Junker Haidt. He is playing Hades in Hades Town right now.

Okay. I think in like Australia or something. Australia? Yeah. Oh, also, weirdly, I have Taskmaster Australia open. Are you going to Australia or are you doing tasks for someone who's in Australia? Taskmaster is a show. this is just some yeah it's it's like a show a comedy show where comedians do

menial tasks and then they're judged based on their performance got it okay yeah oh best times to visit japan i looked up recently oh yeah yeah fall and spring it's apparently yeah that's what a i overview has to say about it at least fucking a i's taking my job as a japanese person i fucking hate it have you been oh yeah many times many many all the time all the time all the time every season yeah i'm really excited to go my friend lives in tokyo and i uh have been meaning to visit for years now so i'm very excited oh no it's it's it's a good time although you know the the fascism's creeping back up over there too a lot of japan first nonsense bubbling up again uh but anyway no one's safe on this planet you know no one's safe i yeah haven't felt safe in years

good good good good good that's good good good that's good good that's good good that's good That's the way to me. That's good. That's good. There will be no shock for those of us who have not felt safe here ever. Edwin Junker, how's the height? Celebrity or, you know, person who I'm watching on something's height is always a fave search of mine. What would you find out? He was six, too, and I was actually surprised because they usually cast, like, people who are at least six, five to play Hades. Wow. I don't know why, but that's just. a recurring theme. So he is, as far as I know, the shortest Hades today. The shortest Hades to date. But he looks great doing it. And that is ultimately what this part's my answer about.

I saw a TikTok, and he was singing, and he looked fabulous. And I was just curious if he was six foot seven. Right. Nope. Was he giving six foot seven? Yeah. Like were you like this person? Or was he not?

And that's why you said, let me just look up the height. This is not giving me six five. It's not giving me two meters. I was guessing like 6-4 in my heart of hearts so I was still off by a bit but he did seem a little shorter than I was used to so I thought it was like

I thought maybe it was the angle I couldn't see anyone standing next to him I think that he's trying to keep his hide under wraps to keep the job of Hades no one during the rehearsal don't tell him I'm 6-2 okay I'm standing next okay no one's allowed to stand near him

it's actually a really weird production where everyone's just sort of in the side of the stage, even when he's not in the scene. Yeah, just doing dialogue from the wings. Exactly. Because there are actors who I feel like present taller than they actually are. I do wonder if they cast their friends and the people they go out in public with

to kind of keep that illusion alive, you know? Yeah. How much of your friend group are you basing around that? Couldn't have miles over there towering over you, a 6-2 that presents, I'd say, taller than 6-2. No, I present as 6-2. I wear a shirt that says I'm 6-2, so I don't like to end the conversation. You have to always ask, how tall are you?

6-2? Just have a card. It comes up a lot. I'm 6-1, and I really resent it because I would love to be the size of a quarter, like physically and actually. The size of a quarter. Like the coin? The coin.

Yeah. Just to get around. Yeah. yeah yeah i just want to be kind of like a like thumbulina a borrower yes yes yes yes yeah that's my greatest dream we got to have dreams i know yeah and it's important to have unachievable dreams and i have plenty oh i think you're gonna get there i think you're gonna get there based on what i've heard the trajectory you've been on coming from desplanes all the way out to hollywood next thing you know anything you put your mind too they're up they turned into a fucking quarter with great hair

i'm gonna be thumbalina yeah no it's in my future i feel that amazing hair i Usually we don't bring up our guest's hair because then it would put pressure on every time we have a guest on to comment on their hair. But I think we can, in this one instance, say Finn has incredible. That Maine should be posted on Maine. Wow. I'm honored. Thank you so much. I'm actually about to cut it all off.

Oh, okay. Tees it out. Yeah, you know what. You know me. You know this whole thing. Oh, this whole thing. What this? It's been growing out for a bit.

Six foot two now. Oh, wow. when you do a top knot now I'm 6'3 I'm tired of it though it's so hot and I actually I was brave and I turned off my AC for sound and I'm dying in here

with this main All right quickly we'll move on to the next and what's something you think is underrated something I think is underrated is I just finished watching this show called Dragon Age Absolution and it's based on a video game and it is so good and so gay

and I don't know anyone who's watched it. And I was actually really surprised that it was gay. I don't know. I just, I watched a lot of animation and to get main characters that are gay and don't like die immediately after they kiss is so rare. Especially in fantasy. Like, it's this phenomenon.

If there are gay men in any, like, genre, they will be like star-cross lovers and probably won't even get to kiss, but you'll just know that they are lovers, and it's implied, and then one of them will die. And that happens every single time. It's crazy. So this one was great.

There's actually, like, half of the main cast is gay, and they're out here sucking and fucking and, you know, fighting dragons. Oh, yeah. I loved it. And I don't know of anyone who's watched it. And there was only one season in six episodes, and I'm pretty sure it's canceled. But in the way that Netflix doesn't cancel stuff,

they just never renew it. Right, right, right. Yeah. So I think people should watch that. It's, oh, the Mort's wife does a voice on there, too. Mort Burke's wife. Yeah. Oh, cool.

Ashley Birch. Yeah. Quiddian. Oh, yeah, such a fun character. Dragons are really, you know, I have a nine and a seven-year-old in like the most popular book series right now with kids that age is Wings of Fire, which is just a book series where everyone's dragons. Like the characters themselves? Yeah, yeah. Oh, just dragging it up?

Yeah, just dragging it all. Yeah. And there, yeah, everybody seems obsessed with that. Like, I am searching on a fairly regular basis, Wings of Fire adaptation. Like, there was a project that was in development that, like, went away. But it's a, so what, Daddy, is there like, are we going to get a wings of fire? Do you think it'll be like when I'm in high school? And so, I think that's what I kept asking my parents about an X-Men movie as a kid.

Yeah, exactly. I'm like, when are they going to make the movie out of this? What's the movie? And you're like, you got to wait. I have a potential recommendation for your kids. And, well, Dragon Age is, yeah, great. And then also, there is another show called The Dragon Prince. And I'm sorry, like my hyperfixation is animation.

I watch it all the time. So I could go on and on and on. Yeah, yeah. The Dragon Prince is amazing. And it's a lot of TV. I think it's like seven seasons, maybe even. more. But it's pretty dragon heavy and they talk and they have personalities. Not all the animation style here too. Yeah, it's really great. It's actually one of the producers I think of

Avatar, The Last Airbender made this show. Okay. I see a parallel. Might have been one of the creators too, but the voice of Saka is the main character in this show. Oh, wow. And it's great. It's also, I think, like not enough people watched it. But that's how I feel about like all of my underrated things are just animated shows that no one's heard of like infinity train oh my god is the best show ever i just found out a mutual friend of mine wrote on it i had no idea and it's so good but you can't find it anywhere because it was lost in the merger of like warner brother's one of those yeah fucking there's so many fucking shows like that it's unbelievable and it's so many animations too like a couple of my favorite shows are just nowhere to be found now right infinity

train summer camp island and i would literally i'm saying don't torrent no one torrent ever except for maybe if you do want to watch these shows then you should except for no you really shouldn't because of like that's really bad to do yeah or find or find maybe some people from the crew and vamo them some money out of guilt you know you should yeah actually that's a sweet thought yeah sorry i just bit torrented the whole series here's like 13 bucks can you split that amongst everyone sorry would you steal from the oil industry yes then why would you steal from from the film industry. No, but I said yes already to the first.

Oh, fuck. I got to stop using the oil industry. That's the worst example. Would you steal from the cops? Let's take a quick break. We'll come back. Talk overrated and get into some news. My name is Ed.

Everyone say hello, Ed. I'm from a very rural background myself. My dad is a farmer and her mom is a cousin. What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear.

The 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed his family. And then, He came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? A new podcast called Wisecrack, where stand-up comedy and murder takes center stage. Available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Oh, wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now, he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Now, hold up.

Isn't that against school policy? That sounds totally inappropriate. Well, according to this person, this is her boyfriend's former professor, and they're the same age. It's even more likely that they're cheating. He insists there's nothing between them. I mean, do you believe him? Well, he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him, because he now wants them both to meet.

So, do we find out if this person's boyfriend really cheated with his professor or not? To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. December 29th, 1975, LaGuardia Airport. The holiday rush, parents hauling luggage, kids gripping their new Christmas toys. Then, at 6.33 p.m. Everything changed. There's been a bombing at the TWA terminal. Apparently, the explosion actually impelled metal glass.

The injured were being loaded into ambulances, just a chaotic, chaotic scene. In its wake, a new kind of enemy emerged, and it was here to stay. Terrorism. Law and order, criminal justice system is back. In season two, we're turning our focus to a third. threat that hides in plain sight. That's harder to predict and even harder to stop. Listen to the new season of Law and Order criminal justice system on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A foot washed up a shoe with some bones in it. They had no idea who it was. Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable. These are the coldest of cold cases, but everything is about to change. Every case that is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA. Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues in evidence so tiny you might just miss it. He never thought he was going to get caught, and I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, gotcha.

On America's Crime Lab, we'll learn about victims and survivors, and you'll meet the team behind the scenes at Othrum, the Houston Lab that takes on the most hopeless cases to finally solve the unsolvable. Listen to America's Crime Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back, and Finn, we do like to ask. ask our guests on this show. In addition to what's something you think is underrated, what's something you think is overrated? Yeah. You know, I was thinking about this a lot

over the last couple of days, and I was trying to come up with something more interesting, but the answer I kept on coming back to is just chocolate. Wow. Chocolate in general. Yeah, chocolate and being right were the two things that kept on popping up for me. Now, do you think you're right about this take?

About chocolate being overrated? I honestly don't care either way. Yeah, okay, good. You're liberated. You're liberated. I like being wrong. I like admitting when I'm wrong and I like failing at stuff. Oh my God.

I got to go to that therapist you're talking about. It's the big blue building on Fountain, right? Yeah, that's the one. Yeah, okay. The big blue building on Fountain. Yeah, my therapist is really cool. He's been in a lot of Mission Impossible movies. That's sick.

Okay, so. Very encouraging. A lot of energy. Like almost an overpowering. amount of energy. It has the energy of someone who's six, too, but is ultimately... Five, seven. Five seven.

Yeah, yeah. With the people you see in person, you don't know it. You, like, most actors that I see in person, I'm like, wow, much smaller than I was expecting. Tom Cruise walked past him. I think he might have been hovering a few inches off the ground, so that might have had something to do with that. I mean, Nicole Kidman, she hovers.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She will never see her toes touch the ground. She has fucking aura. She moves through the earth, like in a spikly floating shot. Yeah. Or like, this is funny because you asked about Mars attacks. There's a, there's a character in Mars attacks who's like this big alien woman.

And she, like, when she moves, you don't see her take steps. Like she's wearing a long dress and she just glides. That's, that was what Nicole Kittman was doing when I saw her. Anyway, but chocolate? Really? Yeah. Go on. Chocolate.

I don't know. I mean, it's good. And I'm not saying it isn't, but I think people are just obsessed with it, and it freaks me out sometimes. It's just like, like, yeah, it's good, but could you shut the fuck up for a second? Wait, what's, give me an example of someone who is obsessed with chocolate that is feeding this overrated. Shut the fuck up. What the fuck? Shut the fuck.

It's like, I don't like chocolate that much, but I can acknowledge that it's good, but then people are like are dying for it. Like, they want chocolate cake that's double fudge chocolate with chocolate frost. thing. And I'm like, can we take a breath? Like, yeah, can we throw some, some, like, vanilla buttercream on here? No. As they wear six fedoras on top of one other. And, and I don't understand. No, there's, like, chocolate stores. Like, I walk into a chocolate store and I'm like, okay, yeah, but it's all chocolate. What is all this? There, there's a chocolate dispensary in Echo Park that's, like, called this. And so many people walk in thinking that it's a, They saw weed, like weed chocolate, and the owner's like,

that's how they get your ass. It's chocolate. It's for people, purveyors of fine chocolate. And you kind of fucks out. You want the people who are already high to then go into the chocolate store. Yeah, exactly. People trying to get high. But maybe, like, they'll remember by some miracle that they went into the chocolate

store after they find the real dispensary. Yeah, yeah. I'm making a joke about munchies, you guys. You've been there, right? Yeah, yeah. The munchies choke. The munchies. I have been there, though.

And I was just like, these are all just chocolate. Chocolate. Right. And the one thing, they, I was, I was, like, excited to try. They had a shot of chocolate, of, like, melted chocolate. Sure. And, and you know what? It was just chocolate.

Right. You know? Like, it was just good. And I think that I, personally, you all got it right the first time. Like, a chocolate bar is great. put it on a s'more that's fine but it's gone too far and i have to put my foot down uh i do think chocolate is overrated this ends today yeah yeah the one time i had something that was chocolate that was new and i was like oh okay that's something different was uh when i went to spain like and they

drink hot like their hot chocolate that you like a churro out there i was like okay now this is a fucking vibe kind of half hot chocolate half like melted chocolate it feels like it's like so It's thick. Yeah, yeah. You're basically doing dippies with you. Now look at us. We're going off on like a couple chocolate freaks. See, this is what I'm talking about.

Like, this is my nightmare. Bring up on someone's podcast that chocolate's overrated and they're like, actually, that makes me think about how fucking good chocolate is. Have you ever had it, Finn? It'll change your life. It's the way, it's, it's unexpected. You think it's going to be a solid, but it's a, it's drinkable. And you can dip your churro into it.

In a churro. See, this is what I'm talking about. Like, people are obsessed with chocolate. And that's fine. It's just, I personally think it's over. Yeah, yeah. It doesn't do much for me. It does remind me of, like, people who are like, I don't eat, like, I wouldn't waste my calories on a sweet thing like that, unless it has weed in it, you know? Like, what is that? That's a specific person. It's a calorie counting stone. Yeah, calorie count. Yeah, yeah, being like, well, that's a, that's wasted if it doesn't have weed in it. Interesting. You know, people who like

weed in everything. I don't know. Maybe I just know, like, a calorie count. Yeah. couple people like that. I don't know if I've encountered that yet. Listeners, he's not taking shots of me because that's not. I'm not. You're not a weed food consumer. No, no. I don't need to eat weed all the time. That's like, I don't even like, I don't even like edibles because they just make me sleepy. I don't get like the whee-heed that I see other people off edibles. Yeah. What's y'all's relationship to weed? Are you all out here? Uh, weed and I have been in love since junior high. Oh. Yeah, we're sweethearts. Yeah, we're sweethearts.

Devodorous sweethearts. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm sober, so I don't partake. Also, when I wasn't sober and I smoked weed, I would have a nervous breakdown every time. And I kept doing it. But you powered through it, Jack. You powered through those nervous breakdowns every time.

Because I wanted to be cool. I will be a pothead if it's the last thing I do. I just want to be chill like everybody else. You just age so fast because of the stress your body's under. Every time I smoke weed, I age like a president. Oh, my God, you look so old. You look like Abe Lincoln at eighth grade. I feel that I stopped smoking about it a year ago, but I'm sober.

And yeah, I do miss it sometimes, but I've never had that inkling to like, I don't like edibles. They always freaked me out. They made me feel crazy. Yeah, I don't know No, you're on the right track You're on your way to becoming a quarter, Finn And that's what I want to focus on that

You stay off the weed You got beautiful hair You're going to be a LSD And I'm saying if you can become Next time we have Finn on They might be a quarter The trajectory they're entirely possible My therapist did give me actionable items

And so every day I'm one step closer Let's do that quarter affirmation every morning You are a quarter You are a quarter. Or even though I'm not a quarter, I wholly and completely accept myself. Even though I'm not a quarter yet, I wholly and completely accept myself. No, that's a quitter's mentality. You just have to force in the quarter.

You got to accept yourself. That's part of the EFT, man. Yeah, like my other, what was the underrated thing or overrated? Oh, like failing. Oh, yeah. Being right. Being right. Being right.

Yeah, yeah. Being right is overrated. Yeah. That's true. And that's true. I love to admit that I'm wrong. Yeah. I love to learn that I'm wrong and then, yeah.

I love to learn from the listeners I'm wrong and then I ignore it. Exactly. Because my ego cannot handle it. That's true. Yeah, no, I get it. I think I kind of like the process. I do feel like dumb. So it is helpful to kind of embrace that.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The only people I trust are people who can admit that they're dumb a lot of the time. Oh, yeah. Well, one thing you can do when, if somebody is saying something that suggests that you're wrong is you can drown them out with a jet engine is something that I've seen attempted fairly recently, such as on Wednesday afternoon, when a group of women that had suffered abuse from Jeffrey Epstein and J. Lane Maxwell held a press conference with representatives

Thomas Massey and Rokana to speak out, talk about that, some for the very first time. And yeah, it was powerful. Oh, yeah. I mean, every person that spoke, they were all urging members of the House to back the discharge petition that Thomas Massey is trying to get through, basically saying, like, if they get enough signatures, they can force a vote and put everyone in the house, like, to a vote to be like, are you going to release the Epstein files yes or no? I mean, I don't know what that will do long term, but hopefully enough people will support

it. And that's what was one of the points of this press conference was to actually bring these survivors out to humanize them to show that this is not a fucking hoax. These are human beings that suffer an untold fucking horrors with Epstein, Maxwell, and all of the associates. And you know, everything both these women said was really powerful about how like the lack of transparency and justice has like prevented them from like being able to move forward with their lives and like even be able to so many things are hazy to them because of the trauma that like they are having trouble piecing together what even happened to them and like i said many emphasized that trump's like hoax defense is just bullshit because what they experienced was very

real and requires justice swiftly but in short the the press conference was a blow to trump and the idea that this whole saga is some kind of Joe Biden smear campaign. But like you said, Jack, Trump was probably not doing well with the idea of these people speaking publicly because he ordered a fucking military jets to do a flyover near the Capitol

as a way to interrupt them. Is that? Like, that's definitely, that's just so... Yeah. It's just like so transparent. I don't know. Again, like I've talked before about, like I took a week off of the show and came back

And, like, the first thing that hit me is just, like, how obviously guilty everything he's doing is. Yeah. Like, being against the release of the files just from the start, it's like so just suddenly being like, actually, I don't think we should release him at all is like so wild. To do, to use your power as the commander and chief of the military to stage military jet flyovers to drown out the words of victims. Yeah. That you are implicated in is just like, I. It's the behavior of a middle school boy who knows he's losing an argument

where he just starts going, eh, eh, yeah, like won't let you finish your sentence. I'm plugging my ears with jet engines while you talk. I can't hear you. Can't hear you.

I have F-18s flying over, strategic flyover during this. Like, it was known days before, though, too, that this was going to happen alongside this press conference.

So, like, when it happened, it was just really fucking, just menacing and, disturbing. So the timing was wild too. So here, I'm going to play a clip from Shantay Davis, one of the survivors, being asked, you know, whether or not she was

asked like someone from the press was like, can someone speak about Epstein and Maxwell how they said that they knew Donald Trump. And she gets up to the podium to begin to speak. And then we get a bit of a military. Hey, how are you? My first trip to the Palm Beach residents, I drove there from the airport with Giland Maxwell. And they, Jeffrey and Elyne were always very boastful about their friends. They're famous or powerful friends. And his biggest brag forever was that he was very good friends with Donald Trump. He had an eight by Tim framed picture of him on his desk with the two of them.

Like, they were very close. So you can hear a little bit of that. So it gets even like, that was just like the tail end of one because prior to that. Sorry, just real quick, do you have any like 8 by 10 framed pictures of you and your friends? I mean, I think like, I don't know, I guess it's a question of, are you a person with like desk, like desk pictures, like a lot of pictures on your desk? No, I'm not a desk picture person, but I have, you know, before the house burned out, we had like a hall of friendship photos where like all the homies were represented in photographs. On your desk? not on my desk but in but very prominently in my home to know like these are the important people

in my life on your desk feels like that is where people like have well that's sure that's an altar yeah yeah i have yes i have the guy's child in her majesty yeah my wife and child that those are photos that i have this is what i have on my picture that on my desk that's it it's me my wife and my kids right right can i also say like that's a normal size eight by ten is crazy. Eight by ten, that's printer paper. Yeah, like a four by six, yeah.

That's true. That's a massive printout. Like you have to special order that. Yeah, right. No, bigger. I want people to really know how good a friends we are. So just before that,

Anushka to Georgio, is another survivor, spoke about how appalled she was to hear that Galane Maxwell was transferred to club fed, you know, like a super low security prison. in a move that like given the crimes that she was convicted of

violates every procedural norm and regulation that exists like within the yeah within the you know the carceral system of the United States this is her speaking and very again strategically I don't know the jets are flying over constantly but it's it's interesting when she's speaking specifically

and I'll get to that in a moment after this I was horrified when I found out not only had Gillan Maxwell been transferred to what's called a, you know, a low security, it's really is like a, like a holiday camp. And then afterwards, I got a notification from the Department of Justice telling me that this was going to happen when it had already happened. This woman abused children. that that's loud enough that literally everybody inside there's like 30 people inside the frame of this news press conference and everybody is like looking up that's a yeah like obviously this is coming through a microphone that is like supposed to be drowning out background noise and still it's like deafening and to be there in person it seems like it was just overwhelming like chest rattling yeah i mean it's just

menacing to hear those planes, just fly over. But again, the flyovers are brief. It didn't deter these women. And Anushka to Georgia happens of a very specific relationship to Trump because she was introduced to him by Galane Maxwell in 1997. And at the time, the press in the UK was talking about this relationship between this woman and Donald Trump. It was like Trump's Brit, Trump's Brit of all right. Just weeks after ditching his second wife, America's best known billionaire, Donald Trump has fallen under the spell of a 20-year-old English girl. Yeah, she's a witch. It's the way to imply that she's a witch.

What the fuck are they talking about? So then the way it was written about in the 90s, it's just now, like now knowing what we know, it sounds so ominous. So, quote, Trump met London model, Anushka to Georgia at a party in Manhattan. Several American millionaires already had their eyes on her, but she was there with Robert Maxwell's daughter, Gillane, who has introduced, who has introduced. several of her attractive friends to the property developer. The article goes on to say, quote, Trump flew Madame Maxwell, which are like, what? Wow, so they knew.

Sure. And the model south to the Sunshine State were all three enjoyed a happy weekend together. When they returned to New York, Anushka was installed in one of Donald's many apartments there. Jesus Christ. Yeah. Installed is crazy wording, too. That's not a, you don't install a person.

You install furniture. You install software. You can install an armed guard. I feel like I've heard it in that context before. Like they've installed armed guards at the, you know, you don't install. I guess maybe could be a human being, but serves a very specific singular function. Yes, exactly. Which is just anyway.

And then, you know, she spoke like she testified against Galane Maxwell. She was basically being abused by Jeffrey Epstein. And after that, Epstein just handed her over. essentially. And this is someone who has a story to tell for fucking sure. Just reading that thing about how the three of them were kicking it in Florida and then later she was installed in one of his apartments. Yeah. And that's what you're like,

rather than the DOJ, like asking the convicted predator Gilling Maxwell, asking Maxwell what her version of events is we have victims who have like said their victims who in this case. who's above board, not the person who's the perpetrator of the crime. Anyway, it was a very, very fucked up moment. But again, I mean, this, just all of this has brought even more emphasis and more pressure now on Republicans to sort this out. And they're trying everything they can. Like, they're just doing like the oversight committee, like release a statement that sort of like, it wasn't really like a lawful resolution.

But it's like the DOJ will release the documents because we asked them to at a time. that they want, it's like very, it's kind of like Kawhi Leonard's like, you know, a contract, yeah, tree plan. It's like if they feel like it, they can opt out at any time. So there's nothing really binding about this. But at least we get to say we did something. Yeah.

It's, uh, it's, uh, he couldn't look any more guilty. And then like, you hear that story. And it's like, well, so there's a trafficking victim that was introduced in quotes to him by the trafficker in question like what else? do you possibly need? Like, I don't understand how this is not blaring from the front pages of every fucking newspaper. Well, yeah, no, it's wild how fast the conversation around this has died down to me.

Like, it should be everywhere all the time. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it definitely died down in like the little, the six or four weeks, last four weeks or so when Mike Johnson hit the panic button and was like, get everybody out of D.C. because we can't we don't want to be asked any more to pass something or vote on something related to the evacuated the building like basically yeah and now that they're back though the i'd say the pressure campaign is right back uh where where i guess it is but we'll we'll see what it doesn't seem like

it's getting as much pickup i'll say that like i think you're right finn it feels like it's died down in terms of the mainstream media's pickup of it and they're because who knows what threats are being thrown around by this administration already. I mean, you've already seen, we've already seen newsroom after newsroom capitulate to this administration. And even what you hear from Congress people saying that Trump is personally calling people to be like, don't even fucking think about voting for this shit. Yeah, you can only imagine what kind of other intermediaries they used to even chill the press even more. Right. The press. Already pretty chill. So that's, very chill. yeah. Chilled. All right, let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We'll talk about bad things

our phones are doing to us. We'll be right back. My name is Ed. Everyone say hello, Ed. I'm from a very rural background myself. My dad is a farmer and my mom is a cousin. So like, it's not like... What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear. On 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed his family.

And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? A new podcast called Wise. where stand-up comedy and murder takes center stage available now listen to wisecrack on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts my boyfriend's professor is way too friendly and now i'm seriously suspicious oh wait a minute sam maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit well dakota it's back to school week on the okay story time podcast so we'll find out soon this person writes my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot he doesn't think it's a problem

but I don't trust her. Now, he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Now, hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That sounds totally inappropriate. Well, according to this person, this is her boyfriend's former professor,

and they're the same age. It's even more likely that they're cheating. He insists there's nothing between them. I mean, do you believe him? Well, he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him because he now wants them both to meet. So, do we find out if this person's boyfriend really cheated with his professor or not?

To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. December 29th, 1975, LaGuardia Airport. The holiday rush. Parents hauling luggage,

kids gripping their new Christmas toys. Then, at 6.33 p.m., everything changed. There's been a bombing at the TWA terminal. Apparently, the explosion actually impelling. old metal, glad. The injured were being loaded into ambulances, just a chaotic, chaotic scene. In its wake, a new kind of enemy emerged, and it was here to stay. Terrorism.

Law and Order Criminal Justice System is back. In Season 2, we're turning our focus to a threat that hides in plain sight. That's harder to predict and even harder to stop. Listen to the new season of Law and Order Criminal Justice. system on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Super Secret Bestie Club podcast season four is here. And we're locked in. That means more juicy chisement.

Terrible love advice. Evil spells to cast on your ex. No, no, no, no. We're not doing that this season. Oh. Well, this season, we're leveling up. Each episode will feature a special Bestie, and you're not going to want to miss it. Get in here!

Today we have a very special guest with us. Our new super secret best see is The Deva of the People. The Deva of the People. I'm just like text your ex. My theory is that if you need to figure out that the stove is hot, go and touch it. Go and figure it out for yourself. Okay.

That's us. That's us. My name is Curley. And I'm Maya. In each episode, we'll talk about love, friendship, heart breaks, men, and of course, our favorite secrets. Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club As a part of the

Microtura Podcast Network Available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And we're back and just two slightly related stories about things, bad thing smartphone doing to our brain and bad thing smartphone doing to our assholes.

Okay. So apparently, it significantly raises the risk of getting hemorrhoids, according to a study that was described in a CNN article that presumably a lot of people read while sitting on the toilet. Oh, so not just using a smartphone will give you hemorrhoids. It's sitting on the toilet with it. Yeah, using it while. Oh, okay. Is it sitting on the toilet specifically or is it just like sitting anywhere? I think they're saying specifically sitting on the toilet, reportedly, quote, regular smartphone use on the toilet was associated with a 46% greater risk of having hemorrhoids because apps are designed to distract us and people are losing track of time. And sitting on the toilet for a long time is especially bad because the

open toilet seat compresses the rectal area. There's nothing underneath there just to support your rectal. So it's just a light push. Your rectal floor is getting to loose. Yeah. And this is related to this other story I saw recently about the growth of executive function coaches to fix basically, you know, they're like, well, all of a sudden we're seeing people who have worse ability to follow through on tasks and like, basically executive function is this new term for our brain's ability. It's like they consider it like our brain's air traffic controller that can like kind of juggle tasks and allows you to do a job where there's like multiple important tasks and you have to like choose which one to do. Yeah, like impulse control.

and just keeping track of shit, right? Yeah, keeping track of things, like navigating friendships on top of your job, on time people are, like, feeling very overwhelmed. And in the past, so this was usually used to describe, like, a deficiency in people with ADHD and people, like, on the spectrum,

and they found that these executive function coaches could help people, like, when you had, give them an executive function, a coach that focused on executive function, it would like help them improve. But now like everyone is having these same problems. And it seems pretty obvious to me that it's because everyone is working all the time and on call in the middle of the night. Like it's like that used to be the thing that you would see it in movies where like it was a cop would get a call in the middle of the night. Or like a CIA officer.

Or the president or just Robin Williams in any of his character. Robin Williams would have just a red phone that was like, we've got to get Robin Williams on the phone. But now we all have that like red phone on the, you know, on the desk that like any can ring at any time. And you're like, oh, there's an emergency. And now it's funny. The article that's writing about this, I think, was in like business insider.

And so they keep kind of going back and forth. the description is like, you know, we have more distractions today than ever. And whose fault is that? Partially our fault, you know? We're just a digitally distracted bunch of silly billies. Yeah, you guys just, since everyone wanted to design algorithms

that keep people stuck to their phones, gosh. Can't cut off your IV drip of TikToks to do your job. They got me good, though. I was kind of like very anti-smart phone before 2020. And then lockdown happened and I was just lonely. So I got an iPhone and I have not been the same since. Oh, you were off the iPhone prior to lockdowns? Well, yeah, but it wasn't like I did have an iPhone at like before then.

And then I switched to like a dumb phone. Like a dumb phone. Wow. And that was great and I actually loved it. And I haven't been able to justify going back to it though because like this article was saying like the scaffolding of workplace environments that help. designate start and end times is like gone now. Yes.

So I feel this pressure and I think everyone does to feel like available for work stuff 24-7 or even for like friendships too. Like it was really nice having this stupid phone because it was so hard to text and I would just call people and I would make plans and then I would meet at that place at a certain time and it just there wasn't a lot of changing of plans or if someone canceled then I'd just be alone somewhere for a bit. And that was actually nice, too. That's okay.

You get a little bit of alone time. We were just talking about this trend that I was listening to another podcast where they were talking about people, like, sharing their location so that friends can, like, track the location of other friends. And it was, like, they were, at first I was like, oh, they're going to talk about how weird that is. And then the two hosts of the show were like, yeah, and we do that. And that's, like, normal. But you just, like, can't be a weird stalker. about it. I'm just like, even that, like, feels like extra being on all the time, like, just always having everybody, like, have access to you anytime you want feels like a rough

environment for a human brain to exist in. I don't, we already live in like a metaphorical panopticon, so to make it the real thing to be like, no, and they know where I am at all. I'm always being watched is a little whatever. I mean, I do that. Her Majesty is always like, can you share your location with me? And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But then she's like, you didn't leave the house at all. And I'm like, what the fuck is this? Like, I'm on trial here.

Why the fuck I'm, I'm cooking spaghetti for the baby? Like I had to do working things. Sorry. I'm just a home party. But yeah, they do talk about how COVID really. Like they're like, COVID happened. It taxed adults executive functioning because like now we no longer have like a at work division. It's like we're always kind of at work. But then after COVID, they say that,

you know, quote, modern life is stretching everyone's mental capacity to the brink. The experts, I spoke with point to the endless interruptions and cheap dopamine hits of our digital devices as one obvious culprit. Like, in addition to research suggests that the digital world can warp our perception of time, which would logically affect how well we manage our time. Which, yeah, that makes sense. These are, like, the apps are designed by people who, like, in the past used to do psychological experiments on, like, rats and shit. Like, now they're designing apps to make it so that we can't tell how much time has passed. Like, the, the weirdest experience I've ever had, I think it was the angry, like, playing Angry Birds when that was a thing and, like, the late

aughts. And, like, just being like, oh, my God, like, 40 minutes just disappeared. And, I didn't notice it at all. Like, it just like, it was like time traveling. TikTok, I would definitely time travel on TikTok. Which, like, yeah. I'm not, I'm not proud of how many times I've gotten the, hey, motherfucker, you've been scrolling an awful lot. Maybe put this shit down.

Like, even the fucking dope dealer was like, hey, come on, man. Did the TikTok app say that? Yeah, like, one of the next videos that would come up was like from the TikTok community thing where someone was like, hey, just remember when you're scrolling a lot to take a break. or whatever. And I'm like, what the fuck? An hour and 15 minutes has gone by. Where's my child? You've got a beard.

Yeah. Yeah, but I don't know. Yeah, it's in addition to, you know, this thing that used to be reserved for like the hardest job in the world of like being president, like the red phone on your desk. Like you also have a casino in your pocket with like apps for work and like media consumption and like all these things. Like those are all designed to.

to addict you and just, like, get you lost, like, lose you in time and space. So it's, it's funny when they go, like, modern life, it's like, you're talking about late stage capitalism. Yeah, yeah, fucking assholes. That's what's don't, let's, thanks for the euphemism. But, like, people are being ground to dust for nothing. And, like, in other times that maybe your wages were actually substantial, then at least you could, like, do something because you had some kind of excess income to, like, blow your steam off.

but now people have to have multiple jobs just to fucking get by and you're on call all the time. Like maybe talk about that rather than your company being like and we're giving out yoga mats on Monday so come by. Yeah, exactly. We love it. We love a wellness program. They do talk about the wellness programs

in this article. It spooks me how these apps too are like TikTok I didn't use until when it was like going to be banned. Yeah. I downloaded it because I want to see what this is like. Everyone loves it. And I won't have the risk of being addicted to it

because it's about to be banned. But obviously that didn't happen and I downloaded it and now I'm addicted to TikTok but it's wild to me how every third TikTok is an ad and there's a shop within the app like I mean Instagram is addictive too

but it's not actively selling to me like the way TikTok is like put your credit card in this app and press a button and you can buy a new hairbrush which I dead you know like Instagram will be like why your hair looks so good yeah Instagram will be like now go to their website to go buy the thing where it's still a buffer yeah and even now like people

are live with their TikTok shops like where you can just go on your own like handheld QVC show where you're watching somebody sell fucking candy or whatever I'm luckily every third video yeah I've I've I've definitely weaned myself off of the TikToks as at least when I was like peak TikToking like a 2022. That was a bad run. That was a bad run for me. Yeah. But it's, yeah, so I don't know. It just feels like a thing that I always, like my most hopeful self is like, we're going to look back on this the way we did smoking and be like, man, I can't believe we did that to ourselves. But I also, like, I don't know. Like, I could also see it just being like worse and worse. And like, we look back on this and be like, oh, those were the good old days.

before everything was so seamless that we just like lived in a Wally universe where it was just like we were constantly in a slip stream of like consumption. Yeah. I mean, I think it's slowing down. Because I mean, when you think about it, it's replacing so many quote unquote normal human things we used to do like socialize or like fucking even like read books. Like there was a new thing about Americans are falling off like with reading so quickly. It's, like, wild. Like, I think there's a study. It was 28% of people who read for pleasure in 2004.

It's at 16% in 2023. And it's just like, nah, it just keeps falling off. It keeps falling off. Like, people don't even read for pleasure in the U.S. anymore. 16% of people read for pleasure in the whole. In the United States. Mm-hmm. Jeez.

That's weak. Yeah. Twitter counts, right? I can read. Oh, no, Twitter definitely counts. that was that was a very well because it's like many it's because it's not just like the technology it's also like our education system like it's multifaceted it's purely not that but like i also see now people like are they just find pleasure from their phones yeah and that's such a fucking

grim reality you were saying something earlier about like how it's replacing normal daily activities like the availability through smartphone and i definitely found that like when i stopped I did try to go back to a dumb phone, but it's almost impossible. Like, the way that work, it works for people and, like, social life works for people. You really are removing yourself from the way everyone's functioning now. And it is a pretty isolating thing, is what I discovered. And it can work if you're okay with that. But also, like, everyone else is assuming that you're on the same wavelength as them.

Like, you're able to be in an I-Message group chat or... You're going to hit them back on Instagram if they invite you to something. Like, it's really hard to maintain a social life without a smartphone. It's just, you have to do it so differently and the world doesn't build for that anymore. Or it's like how I did it like pre-smartphone in high school. Like there was that one friend who always knew what was going on. So that was like, hey, what's going on? Because I'm not on Instagram.

Can you tell what's happening this weekend? Okay. Okay. Thank you. I used to laugh at Janine Grofellow because she was, like, I remember in the aughts. She was like the last person I had heard of who was like, yeah, I don't really go online. I don't mess with like digital anything. I was like, okay.

Okay, Janine. Okay, Tom Hanks from Castaway. Sounds good. And now I am that person where I'm just like, I mean, I'm not, but like I envy that. And like, that is like, that sounds right to me. That's like, that is the ideal. I mean, it's not possible, but it's... Well, I think we are, so much of the digital era has allowed people to lose their

tether to, like, the real simple things that keep us present as human beings. Yeah. You know, where people are experiencing, like, moments of nature through a phone screen. When I get, like, when you live in a city or something, it's not as readily available to you, but there are just certain sensations that you get. from your body from just being present that are so fulfilling in a way that I feel like we lose track of shit like that and it's so easy to get swept up in well that the nonsense I'm seeing on my phone is my entire reality when like if you just look up and around you that's not

what's unfolding in front of your eyes it's something completely different and I think reminding ourselves of that is so fucking important we talked last week about how there's these AI kitten videos that are just like a series of images of this really chubby adorable orange cat, uh, not always, like, they don't always look exactly the same. Right. Like, it's something that the AI is iterating on and like, you just like see horrible things happen to the cat, like really sad things. What? People are feeling like this outpouring people, like, a lot of the reposting of it. These are going like hugely viral and a lot of the reposting of it as people be like, uh, not me like crying at this video of this chubby cat that's clearly AI. And,

I was like I had this really like bleak vision of like outside of if you're like completely looking at this from the outside it's like we're cut off from each other and from like interactions with nature and so we have robots making videos that are just like milking us of our normal human interactions like it's like a fucking like mechanical like calf's mouth that is like milking a cow in like a milking factory and like we're just sitting there being like I feel the emotion and like moving forward with that shit and it's just like that and they're doing it to extract like our feelings but also like extract time from us so that we stay we're expressing this natural human emotion and we're like okay that is where I get that emotion now and stay there yeah exactly right buy things yeah slippery fucking slope yeah I think we're on it yeah I Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, no, we're fully.

We're mid, right in the middle of the slippery. You know when you see somebody like slipping on ice and like the first one, like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Yeah, yeah. Because they haven't quite gone down. We're like maybe on that third step where you still think you got it. Man, we're, we are parallel to the ground. We are butt on the ice.

We actually hit our head terribly five years ago and now we still think we're slipping on the ice. Bump the size of a grapefruit on our forehead. Yeah, yeah. Screaming down the hill. there's a there are two birds flying around our house flying around our heads yeah I think we need to bring back being bored sitting sitting outside staring at nothing

oh yeah I'm still I'm always impressed when I don't have my phone and I'm just not even like being like high or anything like I can just purely be like okay I've been staring at this thing for like five minutes and it's just like a tree great let's move on let's move on because that, oh, God, it's time to feel bad for these kids, man. Jack, we got to protect these kids, man. I mean, I'm trying, but it does feel like you're just like, I don't know. It's like a losing battle, right?

Not a losing battle necessarily, but yeah, like I think about that. There's this onion headline that's like, quote unquote, cool dad exposing his kids to like a bunch of cultural references that will have them completely cut off from their generation. And it's like a dad showing his kids like stop making sense with the talking heads. And I think about that all the time because I'm like, am I doing that? Because I'm not letting them like play Roblox and shit like that. But like I kind of don't give a fuck.

Like I don't know. Yeah, I think don't give a fuck about that. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, stop making sense. Yeah. Yeah.

He trippy. I, because like I said, my mom took me to see a fucking Italian art film about a famous castrato singer. Okay. My dad showed me David, like, you know, fucking naked lunch and eraser head when I was way too young. I was and but they also like didn't, I wasn't fucking with video games still like late in the game because they weren't buying me that shit. But the things I still think about like with like great admiration and love and appreciation was just all this different shit that I was exposed to because that completely expands what you think like the the deck of possibilities, you know, in your mind.

like especially with art and things like that i don't think anyone's ever like i can't believe i was exposed to this these kinds of human human artistic expression as a child like you really fucking kept me on the wrong foot my entire life i think you know i think showing your kids stop making sense it's totally good you start showing the max headroom clips just shit that even i don't think is cool uh fin such a pleasure having you thank you so much for staying with us for so long on the Daily Zike Guys. Where can people find you, follow you, hear you, all that good stuff? Thank you so much for having me. Y'all are wonderful. My name's San Argus. It's that on all the things. I'm about to put out some music too. So if you want to

listen to that, it'll just be my name. Got a album coming out. Completely not kids bop. No. No, it's adults bop now. I'm trying to capitalize off my single. Oh, let them know. Yeah, and then, of course, I got the podcast, One of Us, with Chris Renfro. And that is being released every week. So if you want to check that out, it's an improv interview podcast, and it's very silly and fantastical. Is Chris Artistic Director now? Yeah.

Yeah, Chris is the artistic director at UCB. UCBLA. Yeah. Shout on Chris. Congrats to Chris. Congrats to Chris. And we give a big, congrats to Chris. Five booms for Chris Wrenfroes.

We didn't promise that we were going to do more booms on this episode. We fucked up. We're, you know, our, our marketing team is, you know, telling us we need to incorporate more booms to do our show. We don't have a marketing team. I give you all five booms. Thank you for having me. And that's what we've been looking for.

Is there a work of media that you've been enjoying? A work of media. Yeah. Yeah. I've been listening to the album Live at Revolution Hall by Adrian Lanker and it is like 40 to 50 songs and a lot of them are just like

lo-fi cassette recordings or live performances on stage and it's really good. Oh yeah. And it's very slow and a little boring. So get you in the right place. Something to sit with for an hour and a half if you've got the timer, attention span. wonderful miles where can people find you as their work in media you've been enjoying yeah find me

everywhere at miles of gray uh sophia and i will be back with four 20 day fiancee next week so you could count on that uh a work i'm of media i'm really enjoying is uh at rogers naf uh... b sky dot social uh posted florida man appoints himself chair of the twenty 28 28 Olympics, who does that? And it's a photo of Hitler at the Berlin Olympics. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's who, that's who. You can find me on Twitter at Jack underscore O'Brien on Blue Sky, Jack O'B, the number one.

Working media I've been enjoying, I don't know, did I shout out Josh Sharp's show, Tadda, that I saw when I was back in New York? I think I might have forgotten, too. Or maybe not with me. So funny. Everybody who is in New York. York should go check that shit out. It's so funny. It's in, uh, it's also in the West Village and

it's right next to one of my favorite pizza places in New York, Bleaker Street pizza. So you can make a great night of it. Uh, you can find us on Twitter and blue sky at Daily Zeitgeist. We're at the Daily Zeitgeist on Instagram. You can go to the description of this episode wherever you're listening to it. And there at the bottom, you will find the footnotes, which is where we link off to the information that we talked about in today's episode. We also link off to a song that we think you might enjoy. Miles, is there a song that you think the people might enjoy? Continue to listening to Anton Exum's musical career, the former NFL safety turned like psych pop musician who is again, I think making the, to me, the best music I've heard from a former professional athlete, especially a

football player. This is like one of his early tracks. It's called Dark kept secret and it feels like a demo for like a TV on the radio track or something just really chill his vocals are really cool very tunday like so yeah dark kept secret by exum e xum we will link off to that in the footnotes the daily zeit guys the production of iHeart radio for more podcast from my heart radio visit the iHeart radio app apple podcast wherever you listen to your favorite shows that's going to do it for us this week we're back on saturday uh with the highlights from the week the weekly zeitgeist. And then back on Monday

with a whole last episode of the show and we will talk to you all then. Have a great weekend. Bye. Bye. The Daily Zykeyes is executive produced by Catherine Law. Co-produced by Bay Way.

Co-produced by Victor Wright. Co-written by J.M. McNabb. Edited and engineered by Justin Connor. Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient. Still using yesterday's tech, upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon,

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