The Daily Zeitgeist - New Look CBS = TRASH? ANOTHER Stranger Things Finale? 01.07.26

Episode Date: January 7, 2026

In episode 1985, Jack and Miles are joined by comedian and producer of the monthly Facial Recognition Comedy show, Pallavi Gunalan, to discuss… The New And Improved CBS Evening News Was A Total Clusterfuck, Guess What Trump Is Talking About In This Speech, Machado Still Trying To Get That Trump Co-Sign, Speaking of OIL, Stranger Things Fans Are Going Full QAnon After Series Finale and more! Tony Dokoupil’s ‘CBS Evening News’ Debut Is an Inauspicious Sign of Where CBS News Is Headed New CBS Evening News Anchor Tony Dokoupil Says News Has ‘Put Too Much Weight’ on Academics and Elites: ‘The Press Has Missed the Story' The "new" CBS Evening News MAGA-Coded CBS Anchor Tony Dokoupil Ripped for Walter Cronkite Jab Bari Weiss names Tony Dokoupil, who defended Israel on-air in closely scrutinized interview, to top CBS News anchor job CBS Rebukes Anchor Over Tense Interview With Ta-Nehisi Coates CBS Mornings' Tony Dokoupil Says His Children in Israel Are Safe amid Hamas Attacks: 'Roller Coaster Weekend' CBS News staff grouse over ‘mediocre’ Tony Dokoupil getting ‘Evening News’ gig: ‘It’s an insult’ MAGA-Coded CBS Anchor Falls Apart in Evening News Debut CBS’ new guy. I think we’re good here. Guess What Trump Is Talking About In This Speech Trump tells Republicans to be ‘flexible’ on abortion restriction demands in health care Machado Still Trying To Get That Trump Co-Sign Stranger Things ends with divisive finale – as ‘disappointed’ fans bemoan ‘stupidest’ plot decision What Is Conformity Gate? Explaining the Theory That ‘Stranger Things’ Pulled a Finale Fake-Out No, There’s No Secret ‘Stranger Things’ Episode 9 Tomorrow: Conformity Gate Isn’t Real Netflix Crashes Again as ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Finale Premieres ‘Stranger Things’ Finale Delivers $25M+ To Movie Theaters After New Year’s Play, More Than 60% Of That From AMC – Box Office Update All the convincing evidence that a secret Stranger Things episode is coming this week Over 750,000 disappointed fans sign petition to remake the final season of 'Game of Thrones' Inside the Real-Life Time-Travel Experiment That Inspired 'Stranger Things' The mysterious Montauk Project and its outlandish conspiracy theories Anatomy of a Hoax: The Philadelphia Experiment Fifty Years Later LISTEN: Punk Rocky by A$AP RockySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

yeah i don't i don't mind that if that was on like at the you know at the mall or something i'd be like all right if it was elevator music yeah i don't know if it's like target or some shit yeah you're doing that what was that was that most deaf who would say that about drake yes like he's like that's just like that's like that's target music yeah yeah target bay i just heard him on some very weird overtly like world music track that I was not feeling he's look he's at his he's still out here cooking he's not all of them are going to be hits no no look I'm I still hang on to black on both sides he he made that and you could be done after that bro that's fucking goaded album are you my girlfriend because you seem bay is that

is that something that from the cold open that's not doing that fact we're never doing another cold open again. This is canceled all cold open. I don't need your all caps. Yikes. Okay. I knew it was bad when I said it. I mean, one note would have been like, are you looking at me? Because you're seeing Bay.

Yeah. There you go. Because you're seeing Bay. Uh-huh. Okay. So I went neat. Well, we can workshop it a little bit. That'll be the cold oven for the rest of this season. It feels like a lukewarm open. Like a kind of sitting in

a hot tub that doesn't work open. A hot tub that you're like, should we be in here? Yeah. Are the neighbors going to be mad? Why is it green? I just realized everything is green in here. You ever go underwater in a hot tub and then come out?

I feel like, yeah, I feel like everything is wrong with me. If I didn't catch something before. Yeah. Right, exactly. I mean, I used to do that one. My eyes have chlamydia now. I need to go straight into a doctor's lab. No, no.

That's the thing. That's how you test your gangster. you're at a Vegas pool party and submerge eyes open. You know what is wrong with men? But I saw it all. I saw it all. I've seen it all. I've seen everything but death.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyankowali. And I'm Hurricane de Bolu. It's a new year. And on the podcast's health stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. Which means being honest about what we know, we don't know and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there

a chronotype for that or am I just depressed? Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone. Listen on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zittron, host of the Better Offline podcast. And this January, we're going to go on the road to beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada, to cover the Consumer Electronics Show, Tech's biggest conference. Better Offline's CES coverage won't be the usual rundown of the hottest gadgets or biggest trends, but an unvarnished look at what the tech industry plans to sell or do to you in 2025. I'll be joined by David Roth at Defector and the writer Edward On Gueso Jr. With guest appearances from behind the bastards Robert Evans, it could happen here's Gare Davis,

and a few surprise guests throughout the show. Listen to Better Offline on the iHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts from. Hey, everybody, it's Michelle Williams, host of checking in on the Black Effect podcast network. You know, we always say New Year, New Me, but real change starts on the inside. It starts with giving your mind and your spirit the same attention you give your goals. And on my podcast, we talk mental health, healing, growth, and everything you need to step into your next season, whole and empowered. New Year, Real You. Listen to checking in with Michelle Williams from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Are you desperately hoping for change in 2026, but feeling stuck? I'm Dr. Lari Santos, and in a new year series of my show, The Happiness Lab, I'm going to look at the science of getting, well, unstuck, unstuck at work, unstuck in your relationships, and even unstuck inside your mind. I am the absolute worst culprit when it comes to getting into these ruminative loops and just driving myself crazy. Listen to the Happiness Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your shows. Hello, the internet, and welcome to season 420, episode 3 of Dirty Lee's Light, guys! Yeah! This is a production of IAR Radio is a podcast where we take a deep dive into America's shared consciousness through the day's news. It's okay.

We also have a new weekly history version of the show dropping each Monday morning where we do a deep dab and do the history of a different icon. We've done, oh, I don't know, Miss Piggy with Jamie Loftus, Arnold Schwarzenegger with John Gabris, Santa with Blake Waxler,

look for the next episode coming on Monday. It's the episodes with Icon. They're evergreen. We can't tease this. Crofton will be the guest on that one. Crofton will be the guest on Monday. Do it that way you will. According to playing.

It's Wednesday, January 7th. of 2026th. Yeah. It's a national bobblehead day. National Tempora day. Okay. I'm with that. I got a bobblehead on my desk. It's also just like a depressing day. It's like the holidays are officially over. You know, you get all this. Yeah. January 6th excitement coming and then it's over. All over. In January 7th, you're just taken back to January 6th presence, you know, figuring out what the stuff that doesn't fit. The sweaters. I get it. I get it. Anyways.

I look at the decorations right now. I still have up and I feel like weird about him. I'm like, do you? I thought you guys were talking about like January 6th as a national holiday. You were like. Well, that too. But the presents we exchanged, you know, like the weird headdresses, et cetera. The pipe bombs.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. The pipe bombs, but they just like, they explode glitter. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just like a fun. The shit on each other's death, whatnot, you know. that's a secret Santa thing where it's like

who shit on your desk at work? Oh no. There's one big, like one big bird employee and it's all white. My name's Jack O'Brien, a.k. First grade was a great time.

Second grade was a blast. Third grade, I heard rumors about semen in an ass. they had the white stuff baby the DNA tested some oh he had the white stuff baby

my friend at recess says it's come that one crazy Christi Yamaguchi main on the Oliver you look confused what's wrong you look you look confused babe you're not fucking with that a kid I think that tells an entire story

completely self-sufficient no further explanation required No. Every day I get more lesbian. I don't understand. And every day we regress. No, this is based on a thing when we were talking about like a conspiracy theory,

about Timothy Shalame being one of these rapers, mass rappers. Oh, yeah, yeah. Miles was like, we used to have good music conspiracy theories. And I was like, I don't know where you grew up. But in Dayton, Ohio, we were talking about how the new kids on the block were discovered to have each other's semen in their butt. Yeah. Or there's a Richard Gear gerbil thing.

Wait, that was Richard Gear, right? Yeah, but I'm- Gear was gerbil. I can't believe a gerbil ruined his career. New kids might have been a little bit specific. I didn't get new kids. I did not get that one. I mean, there was there was all, they were in that family of like people. Dad's trying to spread it. He's like

making it happen. I'm just saying. I don't know if you heard about that. You're not to find on the internet dude because my cousin was on the road with them and he told me. It's fucking fat. I'm thrilled to be joined, as always, by my co-host, Mr. Miles Gray. It's Miles Gray, aka, my own personal Jesse. That's it, that's it. Shout out, Snarcula.

Because, Pallavi, another confused face. I have to catch you up. I went to a white elephant party, and I received a microwavable and freezeable Jesus plushy that you could use as like a heating pad or cooling pad. It's literally a depiction of Jesus. that's amazing. Hold on. Let me get it. Hold on. Oh, my God. Yes. Oh. We need Jesse to make an appearance.

Jesse got to show up. Hold on one second. Let me go get Jesse. Jesse. Oh, my God. You know, I wish I had Jesse's girl. I was going to say nails and I don't know why and I'm sorry. That's fucked up. I know. That's about Mary Magdalene. Oh, Mary. Yeah, she was hot, right? She was hot? She was. I mean, if you ask. Was she of age? I need to ask if everyone was not 14 from that time.

that'd be fucked there's Jesse oh my god oh it does have the nail thing yeah his heart stigmata he's got heart stigmata and anyway

we came home this white elephant party and my kid was like oh new toy for me and I was like oh bro we don't really we're not really we're not Christian at all

so I was like yeah that's a Jesse doll he goes oh Jesse so funny so now whenever he says Jesus he calls it Jesse I like that you couldn't just like hey Zeus is okay

but Jesus no one goes for Yeah, Jesus is, it's like, it's like, it's violent to be like, he could be a Jesus, you know. Yeah, I like Jesse, though. You know what I mean? I wish I had Jesse's girl. Does his sash say like mayor of heaven? No. It says, never mind.

God's top boy. It says, it says federal boob inspector. Miles were thrilled to be joined in our third. Oh, Jesse. favorite guests, a hilarious stand-up comedian, writer, actor, improviser. You can see her on Dropout TV. Catcher soon at SketchFest. Yeah, Sketch Fest, January 17th. Fifty-first jokes, too? Did I see you on that?

Fifty-first jokes. I have two-monthly shows. Let's just do the plugs now and then I can leave. Let's do it. Let's do it. It's Polonium, Paula Vigunala. I forgot. I forgot. I've been poisoning people. Hello. Is that what you said when you were getting so? See what I was saying. That's why you were out. Paul. You hit me with that polonium umbrella? Yeah. That's what the green is in your background right now. Damn, dude, it's like my camera keeps glitching out.

It's like my Rontigan meter is going wacky right now. Wow, keep peeking. Wait, what is 50 first jokes? Because I saw, is it happening in different cities? I saw one in another city. I thought, I don't know. I thought it was like an LA thing. But there's 50 worst jokes and 50 first jokes.

And I'm on both this year, and it's 50 comedians telling their worst joke of 2025, and that's pre-New Year's. And then 51st jokes is like your first joke. And it's supposed to be, I remember we used to do it at Silver Lake Lounge, and it was only comics. And they were all, like, wasted. And Simon Gibson was running around, like, a town cry. Like, it was very LA comic community. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And now it's at a different venue, and there's an actual audience.

And I'm like, this is less fun because we don't get to be idiots as much. Sure, sure. Private equity took over the funding. But Brody and Babs Gray host it, and they're really funny. Like Babs Gray has like a soundboard and the whole purpose of worst jokes is to like just have like just god awful bombs. So the audience booze you if it's funny. This lineup's great. I'm like, oh, it's all our friends.

Yeah, it's really fun. It's like Adam Conover, Alan Strickland Williams. Utsko, Babs, Beth Stelling, Blair, Brent Weinbach, Brooks Wheeling, who else do you know, Eliza Skinner, Ifie, Jamel, Jamel Johnson. Shout out, Anna Footy. Yeah, it's like, it's like, it's really, Carl Hess. Yeah, 50 first. Are you taking notes?

Yeah, we got to get these people back on the show. Got them back, that's a sick line. Langston, yeah, Maggie May. Ha, ha, look, Matt Bronger, Michael, like, just good lineup. Yeah, 501st, I think is Jeremy Burke is hosting. But, yeah, I think. I don't know what other cities do, but I did see clips from other cities recently.

I saw one with Kyle Canaan was just ripping. Yeah. Like he was roasting people in Portland. And I was like, oh, is this the vibe of the show? Or is that just Kyle Kyle. He just got on there for fun. He's just like, I don't know what the show is. He was an audience member.

Yeah. That's how he started his career. He still thinks he's an audience member. Paul, we're thrilled to have you. We're going to get to know you a little bit better in a moment. First, we're going to tell the listeners a couple of things we're talking about today. We're talking about the new and improved CBS evening news in the tradition of Walter Cronkite and the other, Dan Rather, Katie Couric, the other ones. We've got a new CBS news that's, it's not your granddad's CBS news.

Actually, it kind of is, as long as your granddad loves Israel. But this is Barri Weiss's new version of CBS News. Barrie. And it's sick. It's they nailed it. We're going to get to watch a little bit. I'm really excited to learn more about Erica Kirk's WWE

tour. That's going to be cool. We're going to talk about, we're going to play a little game called Guess What Trump is talking about in this speech. Yeah, it's got four images. It's like emojis, like translating emojis. Yeah. Look, are you looking at the dock right now? I'll show you just quickly what I'm referencing. It's this

image right here. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. That's crazy. That's all in the span. It looks like he's talking about that new kids on the block room. That's me after a tequila shot. He's like, ah.

There's two different images where it looks like he's, one where it looks like he's jacking two people off and then another one where it looks like he's hungry for it, you know? He loves it. He loves it. After the. You know, we'll talk about, and then, of course, we've got to get to that Stranger Things finale. There's a lot of conspiracy theories going around. Yeah, yeah.

I don't understand. But, well, we, it'll be a spoiler-free discussion, which is good. Yeah, it's going to be a spoiler-free. Don't worry. It's not talking about it either. I have. I do. Don't tell me what age they actually look like.

I don't want to know. I don't want to know. You don't want to know. You don't want to be reminded. I think this is a cool idea, though. I think often times. If true, this is a cool idea, I will say many times, once a story has been begun by, you know, like a showrunner or something like that, you go to the Reddit fan threads. There's going to be a lot of terrible ideas, but there's going to be at least one good idea for how they should finish it that ends up being better than what the showrunners or J.K. Rowling came up with.

So we'll talk about all that. guest writer on Stranger Things. And Vecna was trans. You're like, what the fuck? No, she views him as the hero. There's a much better Harry Potter ending in fan threads. How did he end? She came up with.

It was that he was actually a decoy for, I forget who the character is, but like he wasn't the chosen one. And so just like, like, yeah, Harry Potter was just a decoy for, I think it was Long Bottom, Neville Long Bottom. I was going to say with a Neville. And Neville Longbottom is the I don't even know who that one.

And Neville Longbottom is the chosen one, but they're like, we'll give him a name that means long ass. Yeah. You know, and just like Thrill old or more off the, yeah, yeah. That little kid grew up to be hot.

He's a hot dude now. I remember that was like the one article I kept saying. They're like, whoa. Yeah. Okay, Long Bottom. I see you. Mm-hmm.

All of that plenty more. But first, Paul of you, we do like to ask our guests. Well, something for research. history. That's revealing about who you are. Revealing. Okay. You watch 90-day fiancé, Miles. I watch a lot of reality as well. I was looking up, I'm watching Real Housewives of Potomac. I looked up Angel Massey. She's one of the new housewives. There is nothing about her online. I can't find

how old she is. Like, I can't find anything. She's married to a former NFL player. And I can't find Okay. Yeah, I can't find any details about her. And I'm like, I just did a quick search yesterday. And I'm like, but she's on a reality TV show. It said she was like a journalist for it. I'm like, is that a different person? And like, so now I'm on this like, I need to like hunt down information about this person

who I'm emotionally invested in and wondering like why she acts the way she does. You said she's a journalist? It's like a quick Google search claimed that that I couldn't find anything about it. Producer and reporter for BET and BET.com hosts. She's spearheaded content ideation. But I found her damn website. What? She lets it.

It's called the angelera.com. But I can't find like any, like a lot of things confirming. Oh, well, according to her, she's a ball in an ass producer. Okay. And she also said she didn't get evicted. So we don't trust that bitch. Okay. Is that a plot on the show?

That is a block one. Also, she catfishes. So that's not what she looked. is not what she looks like. Okay, shout out a catfish. Anyways. Wait, she catfish is the whole show? No, on the show, it looks like, if you look at pictures of her, that was a whole thing.

She got called a catfish and she got told she was evict, like, she picked up and left and had to move back to Colorado really quickly. So everybody was like, oh my God, you got evicted. And she was like, don't you dare say that. But like, she definitely got evicted. Like, something happened, you know? Right. And her catfish thing, like they looked in an Instagram picture of her, none of her Instagram

pictures of her look like how she looks like in real life. And so I feel kind of bad. I feel like she has dysmorphia or something. Like, because she's filtered. Those filters. Man, the filters can really do some more. Hey, dude, she went to her favorite song? The Far Side, Running. Okay.

All right. Someone folks with Jay Dilla. Okay. But I do kind of, she and her husband are like Colorado outdoors people. Oh, she has the own symbol. Oh, so that is the person. Yeah, that is the person. So she has like. Angel Massey. Founder and Guide. Yeah, they have like a big outdoorsy luxury tour thing.

And I'm like, I kind of want to like, I want to go with my girlfriends. I want to like visit all the different like real. I want to go to beauty bar in Salt Lake. I want to like go to the different like reality show business. I'm like, I want to visit their business and see just how much of a scamming. Yeah. She's just, she's doing Shinding Yolku, which is like a Japanese bat. No, she's like.

Super into everything. Been to Japan once, gang. Yeah. What is something, Paul of you you think's underrated? Ooh, okay. I'm in my organizational era. Oh, congratulations. I'm like, give me a little tub, like a little tub that I could put a little cover on.

Give me like, give me a little bowl. Give me things. I'm like, that's all it is. It's people putting things in other things. And then it's modular. In L.A., you need to evacuate because of a fire. You just pull a tub into your car. So I'm like, I'm taking, and I'm, like, obsessed with Instagram.

I'm obsessed with, like, all of the people who are like. Obsessed or algorithmically addicted to Instagram? It's like funny. And, yes. With people who were like, they told me I can't paint this thing. So I'm going to paint it. Like, they're like, they're like rebelling, but with home decor. Oh, and then you're like, my infant child?

I know. I'm painting it rose color yeah um no they'll just be and I also like it because it feeds that sustainability thing in me where I see like all this furniture tossed out and all of this stuff and like other people I can watch other people go like pick it up clean it and then make it something beautiful and I'm like that's beautiful that you have that time if I if I find furniture that I'm going to use like on the sidewalk I clean it and then it's just in my apartment yeah you're not standing shit down repainting it and stuff yeah because I look it makes me look it up and I'm like, oh, like, if I had time to do that time and money, I would. It's pretty easy to like sand something down, give it a new coat of paint, you know? Yeah, but you have to like, go buy all this shit. I don't have storage for like, where am I going to paint it? Like, I don't have roll. You know what I mean? So like, I don't have the room or the capacity to do it, but it's really like satisfying to watch people live my dreams by like drawing on their walls. Like live vicariously through that. Yeah. Yeah.

Do you have stuff from the container store? Do you have stuff from the container store? What kind of tubs are we talking about here? I get like, you know, like the big tubs that go like under, but I have a lot of pet stuff. So like I get like all different sizes and I get like snack tubs, you know, like the tall ones with the seal for like their treats and things. Oh, so you are really organized. Okay. I'm trying. I literally for Christmas, I'm like get me stuff from there because my boyfriend's mom used to work at the container store.

so she's also, like, she got me like a little lazy soothing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for my, um, cabinets and stuff. And I'm like, it just, I'm like, that's all those really like organized, like those really like beautiful aesthetically clean. They're just like hiding shit in their closets, but in touch. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. What's all they're doing.

They're like for every clean home unit, like when you see there's a room or a closet that looks like shit was just thrown in there chaotically to make everything look like. That's my electronic storage for sure. Oh, have you guys seen like the. people who like free clean hoarders homes and stuff that is also like get something out of it they're just like that do they love like or like like i've seen people who just like go into like a gas station restroom don't i'm about to bust this whole thing down and i'm like weird there's one lady who i'm like good for them but like i like when they do it like the public cleanings uh because i'm

like good for them they're doing it they're making the world better and then there's like people who like unclog drains in like streets and then it just like it's so satisfying to watch I do love that. Yeah, what's how the water go down? I'm like, what if the government worked? Like, that's crazy, you know? There's an Australian drain cleaning guy on YouTube. Yes, I think that's the guy.

Oh, yeah, where it's just like his first person point of view and he's like, all right, mate. This one is just chock a block, mate. We're going to have to get this one out. Chalkers. Those people are amazing. And they make money off of the like content or whatever. So that's why they can like free clean. And then they do a little sponsor like cleaning, whatever.

There was one lady who got into a controversy. because she cleaned, like, a tombstone and, like, used products that could damage it and, like, didn't ask permission. So she was just putting this Randos tombstone online. I'm sorry, I called a dead person a rando. But, like... Random.

Oh, my God, these dead guys, sorry, random. Your accent is spawned. Millennial, uh, undertaker. It's the most random assholes that you bring in a dead body, random. Oh, my God. You're more random. Sting dung.

Yeah. Said no plus ones. Will you bringing randos through? What is something you think is overrated? Overrated. Well, right now I'm fucking having problems with pet insurance, which I always advise people to get, but like, they're getting nastier than like people insurance. Oh, of course.

They're like, no, we're not going to. I'm like, why the fuck am I paying if like everything I have to fight you on? I don't understand. I'm like. You're almost figuring it out. I'm like. No, I mean a thousand percent. But I'm like, do we need like a dog Luigi?

Like what's going to? Yeah. I'm assuming there's like a dog CEO. Yeah. And they're like. Dog weji. Dog weji. Yeah.

What, what breed would the dog CEO be? Oh, definitely a German Shepherd. Yeah. Those are cop dogs. I love them. Or Ronweiler. German Shepherd and a turtleneck. Yeah.

Yeah. Or like a, I hate to say that. like a whimeiriner. Yeah. Oh, that's what I remember my head to. Remember all that William Wegman photography from the 90s and 80s where he was just like putting

Weimiriners in dumbass outfits? I'm like that's a fucking CEO dog. Like where they look like super bougie. They are like alpine skiers. You know what I mean? Yeah. I think there's but the there's like a tragic backstory when I look at an old racing dog though.

I'm always like, oh. Oh, I'm talking about the ones that look like they've never raced in their life. Oh, and there's just. You know, like, they wear puffy coats and they walk, they're like the fancy lady from Oliver and company, that fancy dog that's like, oh my God, yes. Why should I worry? Why should I care? I know. I'm just putting a picture of a tweet I liked from Eric out. Yeah, that's what I was thinking of. These dogs are the villains in a movie where a golden retriever wins a snowboarding tournament. That's literally. That's literally the picture I had in my head. That's amazing. All right. Well, I think we did it. I think you nailed it. Okay, thank God.

Yeah. Thank dog. Thank dog. Thank you. Thank Jesse. Thank big dog upstairs. That is what I call Jesse. Jesse.

Hey, the big dog upstairs, man. You've been saved by the big dog upstairs. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We'll talk about the news. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyanko Wali. And I'm Hurricane DeVolu. It's a news.

year. And on the podcast's health stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. Which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that, or am I just depressed? We talk to experts who share real experiences and insight. You just really need to find where it is that you can have an impact in your own life and to start doing that. We break down the topics you want to know more about. Sleep, stress, mental health, and how the world around us affects our overall health. We talk about all the ways to keep your body in mind, inside and out, healthy.

We human beings, all we want is connection. We just want to connect with each other. Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Ed Zittron of the Better Offline Podcast, and I want you to join me at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, starting January 6th through January 10th, 2026. We're doing 10 radio-style podcast episodes about the world's biggest tech conference, and we're going to dig into the latest and weirdest gadgets, gizmos and horrible AI gear

that the tech industry is desperate to sell you, all while covering the biggest stories in Silicon Valley as the AI bubble threatens to burst. I'll be joined by David Roth, Chloe Radcliffe, Adam Conover, Corey Doctoroe, Edon Gweso, Jr., Robert Evans, and an incredible cast of the greatest talent in the tech media, with over 18 hours of interviews, commentary and bizarre stories, all told from the Better Offline pop-up studio connected to its own open bar. Today I did five hours of back-to-back panels on artificial intelligence. It included a number of great moments, including an entire room full of people, laughing about people losing their jobs due to artificial intelligence. Will we make it out alive? There's only one way to find out.

Tune in starting January 6th through January 10th, 2026, and listen to the literal best tech podcast ever recorded. Listen to Better Offline on the iHotRex. Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you happen to get your podcasts. Are you desperately hoping for change in 2026, but feeling stuck? Just spinning your wheels in old routines and bad habits? I'm Dr. Lari Santos, and in a new year series of my show, The Happiness Lab, I'm going to look at the science of getting, well, unstuck at work, unstuck in your relationships, and even unstuck inside your mind.

I am the absolute worst culprit when it comes to getting into these ruminative loops. and just driving myself crazy. We'll look at ways to reignite your sense of purpose, rediscover your values, and get more creative. We'll also explore how to design a life that feels more fulfilling. It's sort of like the game of life. I don't know if you ever played that game. Oh, my gosh, yes.

You take the car along and you try and get money, and you try and get degrees, and you try and get to the end where either you have a mansion or a ranch or a shack. And once you get to retirement, you're done. What about the whole path along the way? So join me to get unstuck in 2026. Listen to the Happiness Lab on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your shows.

You know, we always say New Year, New Me, but real change starts on the inside. It starts with giving your mind and your spirit the same attention you give your goals. Hey, everybody, it's Michelle Williams, host of checking in on the Black Effect Podcast Network. And on my podcast, we talk mental health, healing, growth, and everything you need to step into your next season, whole and empowered. new year real you listen to checking game with michelle williams from the black effect podcast network on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts and we're back wait can we talk about your voice because you've been doing this little voice and i'm like

we're back wait no it's your oh the yeah that's what like men sound like as they age that's what you're going to sound like as they age That's what you're going to sound like in like... Oh, no. I was trying to sound like a little boy who was like sad about going through puberty. That was a little boy? I know. Like, it sounds like old Ben, though.

Oh, okay, more like the Simpsons guy. This is a little podcast where we take a deep dive into America's shared conscience. Yeah, that's who I had in mind. Oh, no. Yeah. Simpson guy. We are literally going to talk about the news, though, because CBS evening news, the takeover. The only news I watch.

Takeover has happened. Now. Yeah. Very vice. has taken over CBS News and, you know, she spiked that 60-minute story. Miles, did you notice that story over the break? Oh, yeah, that was like the one about

ice or something. Yeah, there were... And then it got leaked. 60 Minutes did a deep dive into like one of the, I think, Venezuelan prisons were people... Venezuela, Salvadoran? Yeah, Salvadoran. Salvadoran, okay. You're mixing up South American countries we're fucking with South East Central. Yeah, sorry, sorry. One of the two.

I don't know. And, yeah, it was harrowing, really fucked up. 60 minutes, like, reported it for six months, got, like, got it through legal. And then she, did you see the term they kept using? No. When describe it, she spiked it. Remember when I used to use that term? You and Anna Hosni, I were like, what the fuck are you talking about?

Spiked it. Yeah. Spiked the story. I spiked them. Yeah. She wouldn't let it come out. And she claimed that it was because this story doesn't move the football forward. Oh, for the administration.

That is insane. She was like, people already have reported this once before. Meanwhile, she like shut down CBS for a whole weekend to promote fucking her Erica Kirk interview where she asked the same questions that she's been asked 3,000 times already on Fox News. Right. Sorry, I'm going to need a closer up of Erica's dead eyes. Can we just zoom in on Eric's... Have you seen those cuts that people were doing of, like, her eyes when she's like, turns it on?

And you're like, what the fuck is that? Yeah. There's like a TikTok trend of like an acting trend of like actors. Like go from loving someone to hating them without moving your face. And it's like, Erica Kirk's face the entire time as soon as they mentioned Candace Owens. And then it changed. And I was like, oh my God. Yeah. Oh, wow.

It was like so creepy. Yeah. So what they first? The first step. I saw the thing where Tony DeCopal was like, Don't worry, this is not news anymore. So Tony DeCopal, the only way I knew him is he was the one who was like trying to fuck with Tana Hessey coach about Israel during that CBS morning's interview. Yeah, he was like, doing a bad job, just being like, come on, come on, man.

Well, he was like, there's stuff in your book that would be found in an extremist backpack. And it's like, oh, so they're not extremists then, are they? But yeah, Tatehisi was, interesting. he stayed on point he was like he was great i saw an interview with him talking about it after the fact and he's like i didn't think it was going to turn into that but he's like the thing luckily because i'm a learned person i've done the research and i know what i'm talking about so when someone wants to come in with these flimsy-ass talking points like we can do that both of the so this he was given the role because he he love israel he's been given the role as the new cvus evening news anchor again a position

like held by Walter Cronkite, the most famous news anchor maybe of all time. And he so people were like, I don't know man, you got big shoes to fill. And he said, I'm going to be more accountable and more transparent than Walter Cronkite.

So he's like, you think Cronkite was good? Dude, fucking sucks. Dude, more like gobshite. Are you serious, dude? I'm reading about his personal life. He has two children with his first wife and they all, the, that, They live in Israel.

They live in Israel. Yeah. So that was that warmed Bari Weiss's heart because obviously the Ellisons are also like Zionists. And they're like, hey, how do we like completely just like contort our coverage to sort of be this way? And she's like, okay, first we're going to elevate Tony DeCopal, the most uninteresting news anchor of all time. I think she did that because of the Tanehese. Yeah, no, it was. 100%.

That's like absolutely why she did. Yeah. Yeah. It's like the girl who got her fucking trans T.A. fired, and now it's like, oh, anyone who causes harm to, like, people trying to do their jobs. They become, like, a national celebrity. Yeah. Did that TA end up getting fired?

I know they were suspended while was reviewed, but I like this quote from an independent article about it. They said, many staffers at CBS News are not thrilled with editor-in-chief Barry Weiss tapping Tony DeCoppel as the next anchor of the network's flag. Ship Nightly News Broadcast describing the CBS morning host as a, quote, mediocre straight white man who only got the job because his views align with Waises. Anyways, he had his chance to shut everybody the fuck up. Okay. How are we pronouncing his name, DeCopal?

DeCopal, yeah. Okay, but I'm also thrown, I thought it was Barry Weiss. Is that? Yeah. Okay. Barry, I don't know. I just refused to pronounce your name correctly. Also, I thought it was a lesbian sell-out.

I thought that's how you pronounced it. She's like, no, we're not like the other conservatives. So in this interview, or in this, it's not an interview, by the way. An interview would be understandable if he was like thrown off his game or something like that. We already saw that he can't really hang in one of those. Right. In this opening to the broadcast, which involves reading, what's on the prompter.

He fucks up so bad. It really, it's reminding me of the moments in a body switching comedy like right after the kid who doesn't know

what the phone just realizes what's up into the body of the adult. I'm a newscaster. Lindsey Lowen trying to do a presentation. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just being like, uh,

what? Jamie Lee Curse, I don't know how to play guitar. Okay, here's Tony DeCopal just launching, hard launching the new CBS And I want to also just, like, pay attention to how he's doing before he fucks up.

Like, look at how. He already looks miserable in that sub-body language. He, like, reads with his whole body in a weird way. Yeah, it's as if they put, like, a photo of his, like, mother in a bathing suit, like, on the teleprompter. He's like, is that... Hold on. Where's the... This is confusing.

With Maduro now out, that base of power and influence could be out, too. All right, to other news, as you just heard from Jill. To other news now, to... governor walls no we're going to do mark kelly mark kelly graphics on the screen first day first day big problems here uh are we going to kelly here or are we going to go just showing a package of all mark kelly

he's not even just oh my god it's just pictures or kelly possibly demoted from his retired okay you found the prompter in the navy hegstaff issued what's known as a letter of censure for the arizona democrat over his participation in a video that called on service members to define Okay, what else you got? Swish.

Now we go to Minnesota. Now we go. And then look at this, like, photo of Tim Walsh, too. Like, he's disheveled. I'm like, oh, you're doing the full Fox News thing now. It's like, if it's a Democrat, like the Mark Kelly stuff. We're going to Kelly. Yeah.

Yeah, well, clearly you're going to Kelly. Because there's five photos of Mark Kelly up there. Yeah. What did he say, like, big problems here? What was the first day? Big problems today. Yeah, we fucking know. Like, we know.

Also, this isn't the first. episode of this show, I think people are fucking with you inside the show, probably. Yeah, by fucking... They're fine. You're the fuck up. You're fucking this up. It really, I don't know.

Everything that they've done since she took over has felt like a, they, like an 80s movie where they put a school morning announcement crew in charge of CBS news or something. Like, everything sucks so bad. It's so great to see.

The thing, the guiding principle isn't journalistic integrity. It's, are you malleable enough ideologically, or rather, you have no, like, ideological sort of standards yourself that you'll say anything on air and just be a mouthpiece for propaganda. And that's precisely what they have. Wait, I just heard on, like, watching, I saw, like, Hassan Piker talk about, like, there's, like, this old joke of, like, CIA, like, talking to the KGB and they're like, hey we love your propaganda and the KGB is like oh we love your propaganda and the CIA agents like

what propaganda because they're like so propagandized and that's what this like all feels like it's it's so crazy that they're like it's working like it's like CBS is even their fucking sitcoms are like this Indian dude playing an Afghani guy thanking a soldier for killing his family Like, it's like, and they're buddies. Yeah. It's finally come to fruition with the news at least. All right. On to this new game we're playing called,

guess what Trump is talking about in this speech? I cannot. Don't read the text of what I've written, but just look at these four images, folks. He's, I don't know what the fuck he's talking about. He is going through a full spectrum of wild gestures. I think he's describing the plot of Marty Supreme.

So, So this was from a policy retreat at the Kennedy Trump Center or whatever the fuck it is now. And he was talking about the legislative focus for midterms. And this clip isn't exactly what he's talking about. I just want to get this part out because he said something during this thing that absolutely blew these lawmakersers out of their chairs when he was like, you guys, we got to be flexible on the Hyde Amendment, which is the amendment that creates restrictions against federal funds going to Obamacare funded health care plans covering abortion. So he's telling, he's like, he's like, look, y'all, we got to, we got to let this shit go, like, or we're going to get fucking cooked. I'm like, damn, he, does he actually hearing some actual numbers and reacting to them? The people that like, he just has like a mistress somewhere that needs one. The anti-choice people are like, we've been abandoned. And if Trump goes through with this, they will surely lose in November. But this image specifically is like, right before that, he goes on to talk about how. I guess I wouldn't even say.

Just listen to it. I'll give you context. He basically's like, Melania won't let me dance. What this clip is about. I want to be more effusive. I want to really, yeah. Wow.

But she gets in it. And, huh. And my wife, by the way, my wife. Did he just fall asleep? No, there was like a jump cut there. But like, it was a cut there. But like, it was.

just, he, like, exhausted himself from just those light movies. He's like, hey, okay, where was I? Melania hates when I do this. My wife, she said, you know, she's a very clashing person, right? She hasn't talked to you in five years. It's so unpresidential. I believe this, though. He said, but I did become president.

She hates when I dance. She hates when I dance. I said, everybody wants me to dance. Darling, it's not presidential. That's his impression of the. She actually said, could you imagine FDR dancing? She said that to me. Oh, no, because he had polio, but.

What the fuck? I think, but that's just how, like, she lacks total knowledge of history. So she goes, because you, uh, the, like, FDR? Who should I compare you to? Ah, yes, FDR. Do you know he had polio? I don't think he was, I mean, he might have been with the shoulders. Do you think, um, Melania's double actually told him that or that it was just he was making

this up for the crowd? I don't know. I feel like Malani's doubles coming in. She's a CIA plant. They're just like, we need this motherfucker to stop dancing. It's hurting our credibility. She's just a robot. Yeah, I don't know.

Again, that's how his brain goes through. I'm dancing. And my wife doesn't like it. And then I'm, uh, uh, uh, you're 79. They're like, you must be hospitalized again. Yeah. You need another, you need to ace another cognitive exam. I mean.

He seems. like he's out of his fucking mind. Yeah, yeah. And it's, I mean, like, with all this shit with Venezuela, too, you're just like, this truly is, like, I don't even know what his ideas are anymore. Like, he, because I don't believe in his capacity to, like, have a real idea more, like,

that he's able to be talked into shit. And luckily, this sort of intersects with something he wanted. Yeah, yeah, he's just like, he's been doing that for a while. Yeah, he's always been that way. Yeah, he's, like, silly faces and just being like, eh. You're like, I liked Trump's first album. I know. That's when he was real. That's when he wore the leather suit.

When he was in that crouch. Cofefe? Come on. Yeah. That's when you had to hamburger, man. Yeah. All right. Do we know who's running Venezuela yet? Trump did say me recently. Well, he, they keep saying, yeah, Miles.

Yeah, me. They keep saying like, well, we're, they, the more people ask, like, who is the go-to person, the more they avoid it, like Marco Rubio. Like, they don't say, like, like, they don't say, like, like, Like, who in our administration is, they'll just be like, the royal we, you know? But he's also said, he's like, it could be Rubio, could be Stephen Miller. And then he's like, but ultimately it lies with me. So he said those names and then just came back to Trump.

He's like, and it's all me. But while that's happening on the American side and the U.S., we continue the charade of freedom-making, despite how out in the open, the intentions of Trump are, oil and rare earth minerals. Remember when he almost died of COVID? I just referenced Stan Chera yesterday. Yeah. Don't let me go out like Stan Shera. Yeah.

Again, he still does trying to figure out like who do we award puppet president to? And that has been the big thing. And we talked recently about how the Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Carina Machado basically sealed her fate by not immediately handing over her prize to Trump. But despite all that talk of how she's in no way close to getting the endorsement, she hasn't stopped trying. she recently went on Hannity, basically, and Hannity, like, softballed it to be like, all right, girl, I'm going to give you a shot, okay? Let's do it. I'm going to ask you. You think, are you going to give this thing to Trump? And her answer, she's still kind of like can't fully be like, oh, hell yeah.

She's like, you know, kind of won it. Right. Did you at any point offer to give him the Nobel Peace Prize? Did that actually happen? I had read that somewhere. I wasn't sure if it was true. Well, it hasn't happened yet. But I certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe the Venezuelan people, because he's a surprise of Venezuelan people, certainly want to give it to him and share it with him. What has, what he has done, as I said. I'm sure he'd be, I'm sure that be just as good.

He'd be cool to just. He loves sharing. He loves sharing. What? Even, like, there's, how? Like, does he just want the trophy? like yes yeah literally that's it so then why doesn't she just give him the trophy like i don't understand you could you could have all your dreams because she's also a fucking idiot they're all so dumb

i mean and she's done everything you know like she told trump she's like dude come through dude take all of our oil and shit dude it's all good we love that kind of liberation give me a toy i want your toy give me a But again, like, this is just becoming more and more clear that this is just a greedy oligarchical oil grab. Because now Trump is saying that American taxpayers could foot the bill for oil companies, like they're revamping of Venezuela's oil industry. Who's going to pay for us running Venezuela? Yeah. Oh, we are. Not from your own, like, presuming this happens, right?

So this is what Trump is saying, quote, a tremendous amount of money will have to be spent and the oil companies will spend it. And then they'll get reimbursed by us. or through revenue. And right now, the energy secretary, Chris Wright, he's like apparently going to meet with the representatives of Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and the Goldman Sachs Energy Clean Tech and Utilities Conference are at the Golden Sacks Energy Conference in Miami this week.

So they're fully going to get all the fucking gas and oil lobby goons together and be like, how do you want to fucking carve this thing up, all right? Let's see you do that. Yeah. Wait, I was going to save this for the media thing later, but there's this. tweet that I saw that's at strike underscore DR and I think it's a screenshot of somebody else's meme but it's like a person scratching their hair because they have like dandruff and it's like

I have oily hair and then it's just a bunch of like U.S. soldiers planting their flag in the person's hair. Jesus Christ. Yeah. Yeah. I mean this it's just so transparent and like you see people like Paul Singer who's a billionaire who gives a ton of money to Trump. He's like he's I think he bought Conoco Phillips at a cut rate because of the embargoes and sanctions against Venezuela and he stands to make so much money like this is all purely about these guys setting themselves up to secure a fortune in a post-Trump America like is what the fuck is what are they thinking like they're not thinking about right now these people are trying to line their pockets as quickly as fucking possible before the fucking clock runs out I literally I'm like I'm so surprised they

haven't found a way to just turn like find get a machine that's like a human meat grinder into gold yet like that's literally like all they've been doing he told he said that he told the oil companies before yeah and they were it's funny too because they were like no he didn't tell us before that's where i'm like i'm having a hard time believing like the oil companies like that we didn't know we didn't hear that i mean they're usually so honest yeah yeah absolutely i mean they were so honest about climate change from i'm just buying a bunch of extra don't dish soap to to try to do what I can. To put on a poor duck.

I know. But yeah, I mean, I wash my hair with to keep the U.S. A whale out. Yeah, he's like, yeah, but your shit is real fucking dry though. It actually creates more dandruff

because my scalp is so dried out. But yeah, I mean, like somehow we've become like a more grotesque nation. I mean, aside from like the legality and the lawlessness of it all, like this is putting a huge target

on America's back. And like, Scandinavian countries are already making proclamation. are like, bro, if they try to pull up on Greenland, like, we will defend the Danish homies. They're like, Sweden stands with you, Finland stands with you. Denmark is basically saying, if they come for Greenland, that is the end of fucking NATO. Like, what the fuck are we talking about? Like, you're going to come.

And then we're over here like, okay, but we're, we also stand with you. Get us out like, you know, we're like, please. Yeah, someone, stop, someone invade us, please. I mean, like, even for all the talk of like, we're running it now, it's like none of this is going to be easy. You know, like, there's, no one is like, oh, my God, we're so ready to embrace this Trump regime. At best, Trump chickens out and moves on because of like the global pressure and acts like nothing happened. And at worst, all these freaks that are in his ear looking for a way to line their pockets, like, we'll get him to actually trade blows with allies or something. It's not like, not a good menu of options right now.

No, seems bad. Seems bad overall. Yeah, yeah. It's no, no. It's no. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We'll talk about Stranger Things.

Hi, I'm Dr. Priyanko Wally. And I'm Hurricane de Bolu. It's a new year. And on the podcast's health stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. Which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be.

I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that or am I just depressed? We talk to experts who share real experiences and insight. You just really need to find where it is that you can have an impact in your own life and just start doing that. We break down the topics you want to know more about. Sleep, stress, mental health, and how the world around us affects our overall health. We talk about all the ways to keep your body in mind, inside and out, healthy.

We human beings, all we want is connection. We just want to connect with each other. Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Ed Zittron of the Better Offline Podcast, and I want you to join me at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, starting January 6th through January 10th, 2026. We're doing 10 radio-style podcast episodes about the world's biggest tech conference, and we're going to dig into the latest and weirdest gadgets, gizmos, and horrible AI gear that the tech industry is desperate to sell you.

while covering the biggest stories in Silicon Valley as the AI bubble threatens to burst. I'll be joined by David Roth, Chloe Radcliffe, Adam Conover, Corey Doctoro, Edon Gweso, Jr., Robert Evans, and an incredible cast of the greatest talent in the tech media, with over 18 hours of interviews, commentary and bizarre stories, all told from the Better Offline pop-up studio connected to its own open bar. Today I did five hours of back-to-back panels on an official intelligence. It included a number of great moments, including an entire room full of people, laughing about people losing their jobs due to artificial intelligence.

Will we make it out alive? There's only one way to find out. Tune in starting January 6th through January 10th, 20206, and listen to the literal best tech podcast ever recorded. Listen to Better Offline on the iHot Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you happen to get your podcasts. Are you desperately hoping for change in 2026, but feeling stuck?

Just spinning your wheels in old routines and bad habits? I'm Dr. Lari Santos, and in a new year series of my show, show, The Happiness Lab. I'm going to look at the science of getting, well, unstuck at work, unstuck in your relationships, and even unstuck inside your mind. I am the absolute worst culprit when it comes to getting into these ruminative loops and just driving myself crazy. We'll look at ways to reignite your sense of purpose, rediscover your values, and get more creative. We'll also explore how to design a life that feels more fulfilling. It's sort of like

the game of life. I don't know if you ever played that game. Oh my gosh, yes. You take the car along and you try and get money and you try and get degrees and you try and get to the end where either you have a mansion or a ranch or a shack. And once you get to retirement, you're done. What about the whole path along the way? So join me to get unstuck in 2026. Listen to the Happiness Lab on the IHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your shows. You know, we always say New Year, New Me, but real change starts on the inside. It starts with giving your mind and your spirit the same attention you give your goals. Hey, everybody. Michelle Williams, host of Checking In on the Black Effect Podcast Network. And on my podcast, we talk mental health, healing, growth, and everything you need to step into your next season, whole and

empowered. New Year, Real You. Listen to Checking in with Michelle Williams from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We're back. And we're back. We're back. And we're back, folks. And we're back.

We're back. And we can look forward to a lot more comedy from me as I descend into dementia. Go deeper. So, Stranger Things. Dementia. Beautiful girl. She was a beautiful girl. Like the dancers.

People with no New Year's Eve plans were treated to the series finale of Stranger Things. dropped on December 31st. It did knock Netflix offline for a minute because they love to do that. They do it every single time. Like they could have fixed it five times ago, but

they love it when people are like, oh my God, Netflix crashed just as it hits 1 a.m., of course it fucking did. Did you guys see when that happened with the love is blind reunion? They did it live. That shit was,

crazy. Yeah, it was a mess. Yeah, sometimes they just fuck up, jangling, like, whenever they try to do live sports, and it's like, uh, this has been frozen for five minutes. It's because they've been like, they've been a pigeon sending like DVDs back and forth to like update the computers

in their little envelopes. They're like, fuck. That was, uh, man, did you, if we missed the, we didn't, do we even talk about that Jake Paul? No, yeah, we haven't even talked about Jake Paul getting his, man, getting his ass fucking beat. That meme was so great. It was so great. Oh, man.

I mean, it was a good knockout, too. Yeah, it was satisfying. So great to see. That guy, Anthony Josh, was in a terrible car. Yeah, that was really sad, like a week later. It's like, we can't even have one, like, thing. Yeah. Like, it has to be ruined.

Did Jake Paul put the hit out? Like, what happened? I don't know. I don't know. But anyway, if now, you're the assassin, Paul. Can you tell us, how would you have done it? How would you have done it? Don't act like you don't know.

Listen. Would he? I don't know. Does he have? And I learned from the Diddy Documentary, okay, how to kill people. Jesus Christ, if I did it, Paul of Gagnallon, the biography. Shut up, Paul of B. Simpson. You guys are like, oh, what media would you recommend?

I'm like, oh, O.J. Simpson. This new book by O.J. Ginalin. So they did drop it in movie theaters, which is giving me some hope. It's weird. So they keep doing this. They will put their, like, films out. like an episode of their shows out in movie theaters. It will do well.

Like, this one apparently made $25 and between $25 to $30 million. But they, like, won't report it. Like, they don't want to admit that they're doing well in theaters because they want theaters to be dead. Yeah, right. This is, like, me with the gym. I'm like, yeah, I'm feeling better or whatever. Like, it's fine.

Right, right? Isn't it good? I don't want to talk about it. Kind of over it. Yeah. Actually, I think I should try eating ice cream again. You look so happy. That's the first sign.

Maybe. Yeah. That you're ready. So the finale itself, Miles, you watched it. Pahlvi, are you a stranger thing? Okay, I'm going to be honest. I was a stranger thing. And then there were like too many Zionists.

So I'm like building myself back up to watch the last part. You know what I mean? The Gellman and Snap of it all. I have to get my head out of that aspect. I was just, like, sick of it. No, I was definitely having visceral reactions to seeing Brett Gilman, like, all the time. I was, like, but yeah, the finale was, I don't know, for me, like, I think it kind of, because they go, they, this isn't a spoiler. Like, obviously throughout, they're going to have, like, little flashbacks where you see, like, season one.

And that's when I was like, it was, if they could have just gotten more seasons out of, like, maybe three years out of these kids' lives, I would have been more on board. Like, the aging with them thing, I just, it was not feeling it. as much but again there was like a meme of like Millie Bobby Brown looking confused but like her lips were pursed in like such a weird way that's also like a bummer too like because she got all this

Botox and shit done and like you're you're such a young person she got Botox done oh yeah her face is like do you not see her face yeah I haven't watched it since season one there's so many memes where it's just her like face and they're saying like they're putting some dramatic dialogue caption yeah and her face

her lips are like yeah Yeah. And that was also a bummer too to watch because I'm like, damn, man, look what these, this is like, look what show business did to these, like, young people too. I'm like, oh, fuck, what is this? I know. It's also like, I, that's also becoming more and more true for me and, like, just watching anything is like if it's a person who has like a lot of work done, like, too much or very obvious or poor plastic surgeon, it takes me out of it. I'm like, I missed fucking the 90s where there were like character actors who looked up and I loved them. Not even fucked up, like, just normal people. Like, again, like, we- Just like a person that is an age. Yeah, where it's also like every dude has to be ripped and every, like, every female lead needs to be so fucking striking. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

You don't know what's going on. But, like, that's the other thing is like the guys, like, I can't tell as much when they've had stuff done. Like, sometimes you can, but it's not as frequent. But they have to be, like, insanely ripped, which you could be like, okay, you can achieve that naturally or whatever. But with, like, the women, it's, like, so disheartening because I'm like, you don't look like a person anymore.

Wait, are the little boys that were in season one, are they ripped now? No, no, no, no, no. Absolutely not ripped. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. And that's why I'm not watching the gym. These little stringy-armed kids are going to defeat fucking Vector, bro?

Vechner? I don't think so. So the finale itself has proven to be, a bit divisive. Is that the one where it looks like the Lincoln Park song? Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. Wait, which one are you talking about?

Like the Lincoln Park music video. They'll have like three images of stranger things in there. It's like fire. And then there's like the Lincoln Park music video is one of the pictures. Oh, God. Okay.

Oh, I've seen people compare. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. This is the one we're talking about. That's the finale. So people, rather than just be despondent, depressed, that the show is over, disappointed.

Has there been a mystery box type show like this where it's like set up 14 different, really intriguing, difficult to answer mysteries and then like, where they've like landed the plane on all of it, like in a way that people were like, yeah, it was actually they fucking nailed it. Because it didn't have lost. It didn't happen with how I met your mother.

The ultimate mystery box show. They had so many loose ends. It pissed me off. And that's how I met your mother. Picture saying Gravity Falls did it well. I've heard good things about Gravity Falls. We'll take your word for it, Victor. So people are taking this well, I'm sure, that they're showing.

So they've got, instead of getting depressed, they've gotten busy. They've come through with what they're calling the conformity gate theory, which claims that the so-called last. episode actually ended in a fake reality constructed by the villainous Vecna. Ah. Who ended like Crampus did, the movie. Oh, we all know the ending of Crampus. Yeah, where they all, and they think they're fine, but spoiler, spoiler, spoiler,

they're all in like a Christmas snow globe at the end. Oh, they are? Oh, fuck. Wait, that's the end of St. Elsewhere, right? Isn't that like a famous TV show ending where the, kid, like the whole movie has taken place in the mind of a

autistic child looking at a snow globe. Yeah, they crampist it. We call it crampas. You've chosen the most famous movie of all time. That is such a cop out when they got, dude, it was just a snow globe. I was not when they did that in one episode

of Saved by the Bell was Zach and the Rippers. Yeah, yeah. I was fucked up. I was like, dude, Zach's famous now? this show is going to be awesome. Yeah, that was like the one series when Colin Hank's in Dexter was like the main bad guy and he was just

like hallucinating like the other bad guy. You're like, what? You went this long like, dude, this guy was hallucinating the whole time. Yeah. And that one Vector Notary's BIG song, it was all the dream. Yeah. It was like, wait, this whole album?

Yeah. Word Up magazine was a dream. Yeah, used to read it. The whole damn thing. Maybe we're all part of his dream. Oh, my God. So Netflix has teased a big announcement today, January 7th. Uh-oh. And so conformity gaiters, not the, like, crocodile gator, but like we're calling them conformity gaiters are claiming that you guys were picturing, you guys are picturing conformist alligators, I know.

Yeah, a thousand percent, actually. I had to clear that up. I was like, these fucking alligators. Status quo gators, pool. Sick of them. See you later. There you go. Gator.

So the conformity gators are claiming that the real episode will drop today, which I think that would be fucking cool. That's why I think it's not going to happen. Exactly. But like that is using the Netflix of it all to your advantage where you're like, we can drop a new episode any time. And like we can claim that like this is a thing that, you know, is all done. and then it's like, psych, there's a twist

that is this whole extra hour that we're dropping on you. That would be so cool. Because Netflix also did WWE Raw yesterday and it was Stranger Things themed, but I'm like, but it's after the release. It's over. What are you idiots doing?

Yeah, like they had like the whole setup and they had every match was like chapter one, the blank versus the blank, you know? Oh, they're really leaning. They set it up like stranger things, but I was like But didn't everybody who wanted to see it already watch it? Sure, sure.

Well, you got to get people to keep up. We got some clues here. Okay. Which usually not a sign of a real world conspiracy because they don't usually leave you clues. But if they were doing a TV show. If I did it. If I were to do a TV show. If I show ran it.

So one shot of D&D dice add up to 43. Oh, my God. Not fucking numerology. That was so sad. I thought it was bad at first, but look, it ended on the 42nd episode. So they, that could be, this is the 43rd, we've got the 43rd coming out. Not convinced. Not convinced, Pallaby.

A row of books kind of spells out X a lie, hitting at the scenes in the dimension X reality were a lie. Okay, still not convinced. So people pointed out The prevalence of exit signs Were a clue that the reality was fake Oh Mm-hmm So in the Truman Show

If you'll remember Right There's like exit Also in most public spaces That adhere to fire codes But people were like See It's like Truman show

It's like my high school Right Okay Yeah Okay There was a continuity error A handle changed colors So, that would be weird.

In Game of Thrones, they had a water bottle. The Starbucks, they had a Starbucks cup. Yeah. And that's how they told you, they clued you in that the season was going to sustain it, dude. The copyright thing is also, that is such deep digging. What's the copyright thing? This is where they lose me. So a TikToker, I'm on board with like, if they do drop a new episode.

like that I would think those are great like very subtle clues to throw in their like room 4243 stuff a TikToker is arguing that the final three episodes were not legally registered by Netflix which people are like so that proves did anyone check on the TikToker

the validity of what the TikToker said nope oh no no no no no I trust a user at freaky stranger things upside downer to really to really crack the case but like why would they not register that it's not like you would have a different legal status for an episode that's true

why would you why would you have a different legal status for episodes that were like a misdirect be like you didn't ask 33 told me that they had listed more episodes but then took it away so I think there's probably going to be another That would actually be a good clue. As 33 really told me that.

Just be like me when you watch and go, man, get the fuck out of here once the show ends and then just turn it off and go on with your life rather than be like, it couldn't have been an L like that. I can't be that invested in anything. No, no, no, no. I got Lord of the Rings and then I was satisfied. You know what I mean? I'm like, I got the one thing I cared about and then now I'm done caring.

All right. Victor has some cold water to dump on this as a stranger thing. as their fans are known. He says these conspiracy theories are dismissing some of the horrible interviewers from the creators of the show. One big thing in the finale is that there were no scary monster protecting Vecna. Oh, shit, these are spoilers.

But anyways, basically, they responded that, like, they're throwing shit out. It reminds you of, like, Dineris forgetting about the Iron Fleet at the end of the game of Thrones. It's just like, no, the creator

were just like, I don't know, man, let's just like get this over with. He wouldn't have predicted it, but he's all knowing in these, oh, sure, man, whatever, do. Get your check and get out of here. Thanks for the memories. Thanks for the memories. But Stranger Things is a, I'm just saying, it would be cool because it's a show predicated on validating unhinged conspiracy theories. Like, it's based on the Montauk Project conspiracy theory.

And so if they did, like, make it so that these conspiracy theories, Like, they, they left a tiny little trail of breadcrumbs for people. It would just make me so happy. It would be dope if they basically Kendrick Lamar'd you and they dropped this other episode and it was just. And you're like, oh no, they dropped again. But that's too hip-hop. That's too hip-hop. That would be the ultimate.

I think the strangest thing is thinking that they were that thoughtful. I think that's the strange thing of all. To Victor's point, yeah, to Victor's point, it's like, bro, they were not. I do not give a fuck. Maybe the stranger thing was the frustration we built along the way. Paul of you, Ghanalin, we're going out on that. Leave them laughing. Leave them laughing.

Where can people find you, follow you, laugh at you like they just did? As of Sketch Fest, in a week and a half, the 17. Zindabodies is my improv group. It's all South Asian. And then we have facial recognition comedy the same day. And that's stand-up, South Asian, Middle Eastern, North African. The lineups are out. The tickets are up.

Please buy a ticket. My Zite Gang. Listen, you guys come to my shows in other cities, and I love you so much. Oh, as South. San Francisco is active with Zite Gang. Every time I'm up there, they show love. The Zikang community is active, sir. They're so great.

Also, more, I feel like, I don't know what your numbers are, but more of my friends are like, I've been listening to you. I've been listening to you on this pod. Our numbers are not good. Bad? As anecdotally, it seems like you guys are doing good. I'm paying people to give you that perspective. The listeners have been shown up.

We love y'all. And now show up in San Francisco, y'all. Yeah. And then a few days before that, in L.A., my show with my friends that's based on being very online is on the 14th at the Elysian. It's called Second Streams Comedy. You are encouraged to be on your phone.

We're going to do... Yeah, we're going to do a little online bits. We're going to have amazing. stand-ups. I'm very excited. And then facial wreck in L.A. on the 23rd at 10 p.m. at the comedy store. We've got to go live again, Miles. This is all making me realize.

We've got to do another live. I was just thinking about that. It's been three years. It's been no, it's been six fucking years. Six years? Remember, our last show was in Toronto at the end of February. And you guys were in a super spreader event. Oh, that's right.

Yeah, yeah. We caused COVID. That's why we stopped doing it. I was. in a lab in Wuhan. The government made us stop. Ciphering a blunt on the streets of Toronto with 20 people. That was so fun. Toronto was so. Have you been to Toronto? No, I haven't actually, but I really want to go.

We fuck with Toronto, man. Heavy. Oh, two tools. Two tools, Kroski. Amazing. Is there a work in media you've been enjoying? Okay, guys, I don't know how I miss the boat on this, but I hadn't, I guess I didn't, I wasn't. familiar with his game. But I knew Guillermo del Toro was amazing. And I've seen some of his,

but didn't realize it was his stuff. I fucking loved Frankenstein. I'm like, now I want to go on a del Toro, like, right? Like, I want to watch all of his shit now. I'm like, let me see you fuck that fish, man. I don't care. You know? You didn't see that one? I didn't see that. I made all the jokes about it, but I never saw it. I know. I heard it's really good. I'm like, I love, and all the things he's saying in real life about like AI and like how he takes inspiration from people that he respects like just all of it his whole tour and like everything he's been doing I'm like I fuck with you that's cool yeah I'm trying to think about my favorite my favorite del Toro the question you didn't ask me it would have to be nightmare alley I liked a nightmare alley more than I think

most people for some little weird I'm a little twisted I haven't seen I'm a bad Pacific Rim for me, dog. Is that him? Yeah, that's it again, we're a talk movie. We all start, if you see, um, uh, fucking, what is this, uh, Peter, who did Lord the Rings? Peter, um, Peter Jackson. Peter Jackson. He did, um, this fucking crazy movie in like 1991 that was insane.

Like, they all start out doing like, the, it's really fun to watch their first, like, very camp. Is it dead alive? It was like some. Yeah, dead alive. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. It was like, I remember watching it in college and being like, this is crazy.

I can't believe he made both of these movies. But it's fun to watch your favorite directors like earliest works, especially if they are not like Nepo people. Oh, of course, Pons Labyrinth, he made. Pons, that's a classic. Yeah, I am. Amazing. Miles, where can people find you as there a work in India you've been enjoying?

Yeah, find me everywhere at Miles of Gray. Please tap into the new soccer podcast that I'm doing. with Jamel Johnson and Chris Martin called A-Nit Footy, where we discuss our favorite team Arsenal Football Club and the goings-on of the English Premier League and other soccer issues broadly. Kind of having a moment right now. Super fun.

With Arsenal, it's kind of... Over six points clear at the top of the table. Also, I feel like it's going to be more popular in the U.S. Because, like, Zoron's been pushing soccer. Zorn's a big Arsenal fan. Look, we're going after some big Arsenal fans. Will it be Zoron? I have no phone.

If you get Zoron on that show before we get on the show. Dude, he's like, if he comes in and he's like inspecting, he's like, oh, like, why does your landlord paint over this? Yeah, he just gets you evicted. He's like, yeah, do it in L.A. Do it in L.A. Do it in L.A. Can I test your tap water really quick? Yeah. Oh, that's not good. So check that out. Give it a, give it a subscribe, if you will, or a rating if you like.

But no, no pressure. No pressure. Just do it if you haven't. We haven't asked people to do that since before the pandemic. Yeah. You and rate our show, guys. Daddy is also important. It's hard to remember that. Maybe and now I'm realizing why the numbers are. We were just talking about how not sentimental we are.

We like miss all these milestone episodes because we're just so in the, just the flow of doing a show every day that. Yeah, it's like a daily thing. It's like hard to celebrate when it's like every fucking day. But you guys should throw, oh, throw a party. What's, what anniversary do you have coming on? I don't like to have a TDZ party. Probably 2,100.

We can. Drink. Yeah, yeah. Times a hundred. It times a hundred. All right. You can find me on Twitter at Jack underscore O'Brien. On Blue Sky, Jack O, B1, on Instagram at Jack underscore O underscore Brian.

Jack, you fucking stop it. That sucks. Let me have the most generic name and also all different names. I know. Well, because everybody, my name is very common with the Irish, as you know. I like to tweet from John Atridge, who said, seeing the guy next to me reading a novel, you know none of that happened, right? Stupid. And then I liked Eden Granger's pitch for Tinder, but for nearby people that have a printer you can use.

Yeah. Which I feel like that's all we need. We don't need all these printers. And it was just called printer? Yeah. It's just called printer with TR. Printer O Matt. Yeah.

PR and T. You can find us on Twitter at Daily Zygeist, also on Bluska at Daily Zykeist. We're at The Daily Zygeist 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 that people might enjoy? Yeah, I think the new track from ASAP Rocky, Punk Rocky, punk Rocky. Winona's track

Yeah, yeah Winona Ryder is in the video Many people in the comments of that Are like Damn, she's in this more than she's in stranger things True, true, true True, true It's dope, it's not

It's not like some kind of the straightforward rap That he does There are people, Brian, the editor was saying potentially like Danny Elfman may have collaborated with him on the music Oh, it says no, absolutely He says his sometime collaborator Danny Elfman contributed to string arrangements

So what a what a weird album that's going to be. It's going to be dope. Like the album that's coming out, there's like Jessica Pratt is on a track. There's a lot of interesting stuff. So check it out. Listen to it as soon as possible.

Yeah. And he was also even in, if I had legs, I would kick you. Check that out. Yeah. As soon as possible. Rocky.

All right. Well, we will link off to that in the footnotes today. The Ikeyes is a production of IHeartRadio for more podcasts from My Heart Radio visit. The IHeart Radio app, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

That's going to do it for us this morning, back this afternoon to tell you what is trending. And we'll talk to you out then. 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.

Hi, I'm Dr. Priyankowali. And I'm Hurricane de Bolo. It's a new year. And on the podcast's Health Stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about. our health. Which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that, or am I just depressed? Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone. Listen on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zittron, host of the

Better Offline podcast. And this January, we're going to go on the road to beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada, of the Consumer Electronics show, Tech's biggest conference. Better Offline's CES coverage won't be the usual rundown of the hottest gadgets or biggest trends, but an unvarnished look at what the tech industry plans to sell or do to you in 2025. I'll be joined by David Roth at Defector and the writer Edward On Gueso Jr. with guest appearances from behind the bastards Robert Evans, it could happen here's Gare Davis and a few surprise guests throughout the show. Listen to Better Offline on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts from.

Hey everybody, it's Michelle Williams, host of checking in on the Black Effect podcast network. You know, we always say New Year, New Me, but real change starts on the inside. It starts with giving your mind and your spirit the same attention you give your goals. And on my podcast, we talk mental health, healing, growth, and everything you need to step into your next season, whole and empowered. New Year, Real You. Listen to checking in with Michelle Williams from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Are you desperately hoping for change in 2026, but feeling stuck? I'm Dr. Lari Santos, and in a new year series of my show, The Happiness Lab, I'm going to look at the science of getting, well, unstuck, unstuck at work, unstuck in your relationships, and even unstuck inside your mind.

I am the absolute worst culprit when it comes to getting into these ruminative loops and just driving myself crazy. Listen to the Happiness Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your shows. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.