The Daily Zeitgeist - The “Are You Dead?” App, Huffing Zohran Fumes To Get By 01.14.26

Episode Date: January 14, 2026

In episode 1989, Jack and guest co-host Mort Burke are joined by comedian, Blake Wexler, to discuss… At Least Zohran Is Getting Busy, The Trump Administration Wants Us To Believe That They Havana Syndrome-d Venezuela, Finally An App To Ensure You’re Not Dead, Now Stranger Things Fans Are Convinced That ChatGPT Wrote The Finale and more! US used powerful mystery weapon that brought Venezuelan soldiers to their knees during Maduro raid: witness account This Pain-Inducing Acoustic Device Used to Control Crowds in Azerbaijan Might Be U.S.-Made How to Dodge the Sonic Weapon Used by Police Are You Dead?: The viral Chinese app for young people living alone An App Called ‘Are You Dead?’ Is Climbing the Apple Charts A record share of Americans is living alone Why humans are increasingly choosing to live alone Rising numbers of people found long after death in England and Wales – study The Backlash Against Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things 5’ Documentary, Explained Stranger Things Fan Tweet: "is that a f**kin chatgpt tab i see" LISTEN: Victory Lap by Fred again.., Skepta, PlaqueboymaxSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mort, are you here all week or is this an isolated Miles incident? Miles is ducking you, Blake. Yeah, I get it. Yeah, just we did one episode earlier and then just this, I think. Nice. You can't, you can only handle so much more, really. It's like one day a week, kind of a vibe. I understand completely.

And it's polite that we realize that about our personalities. Can you do the rest of the week? No. No more than one more. I'm a little much I like to do things a little bit differently Around here

We like to do things a little bit differently Sometimes I have a little too much fun Always said by the worst boss That you've ever had We like to have fun We're a bit of a family around here Oh you're a pervert Oh yeah

Okay good You're handsy You're cheating on your wife. Okay. Yeah, yeah. The old ball and chain. Oh, that sounds like you have a good marriage. We like to have fun around here.

A little too much fun, some would say. HR would say that, actually. HR has said that. I like to make people stay and drink with me afterward. I start talking about my marital problems to the young women on the team. I have a gun in my drawer. I don't use it. I don't use it, but I like to know it's there.

Yeah. Can anybody help me think out why my son hates me? We have fun. We have fun. We have fun. We have so much fun. Like a family. This is an I-Heart podcast.

Guaranteed Human. This is Dr. Jesse Mills, host of the Mailroom podcast. Each January, men promise to get stronger, work harder, and fix what's broken. But what if the real work isn't. physical at all. I sat down with psychologist Dr. Steve Poulter to unpack shame, anxiety, and the emotional pain men were never taught how to name. Part of the way through the Valley of despair is realizing this has happened and you have to make a choice whether you're going to stay in it or move forward. Our two-part conversation is available now. Listen to the mailroom on the

IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. Hey, it's Joel and Matt from How to Money. If your New Year's resolution is to finally get your finances in shape. We've got your back. Prices, they're still high, and the economy is all over the place. But 2026 is the year for you to get intentional and make real progress. That's right. Yeah, each week we break down what's happening with your money, the most important issues to focus on,

and the small moves that make a big difference. Kick off the year with confidence. Listen to How to Money on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm John Polk. For years, I was the poster boy of the conversion therapy movement. the ex-gay who married an ex-lesbian and traveled the world telling my story of how I changed my sexuality from gay to straight. You might have heard my story, but you've never heard the real story. John has never been anything but gay, but he really tried hard not to be.

Listen to Atonement, the John Polk story on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyanko Wally. 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. Hello, the internet, and welcome to season 421, episode three of

DERDALEY, GICE! Nine! It's a production of iHeart Radio as a podcast. We take a deep dive into America's shared consciousness through the day's news. We also have a new weekly history version of the show dropping each Monday morning, where we do a deep dive into the history of a different icon. We did Santa with one Blake Wexler right before. Christmas. We just did Elvis on Monday with Chris Crofton where we discussed the weird self-imposed

Truman Show bubble that he lived in where he thought he was like a master at karate. There's some great footage. There's a book written by one of his bodyguards and most of the book is about how Elvis had telekinetic powers. Yeah. And like his beliefs about himself started infecting everyone around him. They didn't infect me, and I was able to watch footage of him doing a karate display, and it's very clear that everybody around him is just, like, selling out. Like, there's one part where they keep, like, punching him in the stomach

and being like, ah, my hand. But, like, they're clearly, like, doing something. It's, like, me doing, like, karate fighting with my kids where they try to make me look good, you know? You're too powerful, king. You can tell they're not trying. Yeah, if they do call me king. But you can look for those episodes on Monday mornings.

We're in the archive. They're all up there. Can I push for a Grumpy Cat episodes? I feel like really America's love. We're so lost because we've all forgotten about Grumpy Cat. I've forgotten about Grumpy Cat. I need to look into that. I might need to be on there.

Here's an icon. It's Wednesday, January 14th, 2026. My name is Jack O'Brien, aka Baby Shoes. Doodoo Doodoo for sale. Do do do do never worn. Do do do do never worn. That one, courtesy of DBA Nighthawk. A nice blend of Baby Shark and the Ernest Hemingway short story.

Shortest short story of all time. I like to add a line to that. Baby shoes never worn. Baby didn't like them. Baby's fine. Baby did die. I know. Like, Arrow's like so fucking poignant.

Like, that baby clearly died. Babies grow so fast. Yeah. I gave away so many baby shoes that were never worn do-do-do-do-do in my time. Because babies grow so fast. And also, like, when I first found out that we were having a boy, I was like, this kid's going to wear Jordans. Hell of it. And babies don't like to, first of all, babies don't need shoes.

Right. Very often. They don't wear them very often. And those cute little pudgy feet. are just begging to be, don't cover those up with Jordans. Don't get, exactly. They're good enough on their own. I'm thrilled to be joined in our second seat by very funny Canadian actor, writer,

improvisers, podcast is rebrand, has a very funny special called Spiritually Filthy on YouTube. He just nightmare flipped into the Zoom. It's Mort Burr! Nightmare flip! Are these still skateboard things you've heard of? Yeah, okay, so nightmare flip, that's funny. that's like from the kind of post-internet version where like there became a bunch of like YouTube skateboarders who sort of started doing like sillier named sillier tricks. It's kind of a circus trick. I'll take it. Yeah. Yeah, I'll take it. Okay. Well, that is what you did to enter the Zoom. Your nightmare flipped in. Nightmare flipped to podcast, yeah. What is a nightmare flip? I don't even know. It's probably like a nolly double hard flip or something weird. Probably something that's what I was going to guess too. It probably looks terrible, I bet. The more complex a trick gets the. easier it is to make it look terrible.

Right. Just my opinion. And it's a, you have to be watching it in extreme slow motion to even understand, like, what happened at all. Yep. Yeah. Like, we've got the Winter Olympics coming up and 90% of the Winter Olympics is just like, I don't know what just happened, but the people on the microphone seem to be like, holy shit, they pulled off.

Yeah. And then you have to like watch it in extreme slow motion to even tell what's happening. Yeah. It's like, that boy in. the snow did a lot of flips. All right. Mort, we're thrilled to be joined in our third seat by a brilliant comedian, writer, actor, his no special daddy long legs.

You must go watch now on YouTube. You got a lot of YouTube homework, folks. One of your favorite guests. And yet, on the other hand, not to question your judgment listeners, but he's the coiner of the phrase plumpers to describe his thighs. Please welcome the brilliant, the hilarious, the riding of recumbent bike and short shorts. It's Blake Waxler!

This is Blake Waxler, aka, now my legs are bigger than your wife, even if she's six foot four. Hey guys, how are you? Thick and beautiful. Thick and beautiful. Frumpy cat.

They also call me. Frumpy cat for months. What's his grumpy cat? You show up in the night. Closed grumpy cat. Why don't I remember who grumpy cat is? Are you serious? The cat was horribly depressed, but looked like a normal cat.

Oh, yeah. He's the only cat who clinically had suicidal ideations since he was rumpy cat. That's correct. Undeniably, so. Yes. Blake, how are you doing? Oh, my God, I'm great. Things have never been better.

Regionally. Um, on my street. are good. On the street that I live on, things have been really, really good. And other than that, yeah,

other place my neighborhood, hell. But no, everything, yeah, everything's good. Nice. Now I'm great.

I'm happy to see both you. More, this was such a nice surprise. I thought I was going to see Miles. I was fucking pissed off. Miles is talking you yet again. My wife and I got an argument. Because I was going to see Miles.

Sorry, it's just got to see Miles. Babe, why didn't you say anything? I'm up against it. He's being an issue in our marriage, all right? We were discussing the 76ers, both of us 76ers basketball fans, and they are a fun team.

Against all odds, I'm not depressed by this basketball season for the first time in a long time. That is true. I think that is where the bars should be, like, not even joking, is that that is, they're not depressing, and there have been, like, actually a couple moments of joy. So I'll take it. They've got a really great young player at Maxie. They've got a, perhaps, I would argue, the rookie of the year, VJ.

I would agree. And our highest pay player for the next, you know, 10 years, unfortunately, is no longer ambulatory. But beyond that, I think we can all be happy. And just the fact that our best player is like pretty, pretty washed at this point. while in B, takes the pressure off. No, I'm not like,

we got to get to the finals this year. I'm like, we're not getting, like, this is just fun. We're just kind of a fun team. It's just in general in life, don't have expectations.

Yes. Because, yeah, and I think that this is the greatest symbol of that, they have no expectation. And then you'll surpass them every single time.

I think Plato said that with a T. Plato. My friend Plato, PLA, Y, DO, who's a fucking idiot who falls down the steps constantly and isn't hurt.

He's a heating and bad guy. He's a smart guy though. I mean, still a philosopher, but... Absolutely. He does say things for sure. But he is addicted to crate him. Yeah. He loves it.

He loves it. He loves it. He loves it. Blake, 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 the things that we're talking about today. We did a long segment on yesterday's trending about the Democratic Party's inability to stand up in the face of the fascist takeover of our country by the armed Gestapo that is ICE. We're going to look on the brighter side of things and take a look at what Zoran's been doing for his first week in office last week. Not bad.

There's some stuff there. So we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about, I just can't quit. We just can't quit Havana syndrome. As a nation, the story Havana syndrome is back again because the Trump administration wants us to believe they Havana syndromeed Venezuelan security guards when they kidnapped Maduro. Apparently, they paid eight figures for like the Havana syndrome device that I believe is not

actually a device and was actually like a mass psychogenic illness. But we'll talk about that. We'll talk about there's finally an app to allow you to let people know if you're dead or not. So it's coming out of China. Then we'll talk about stranger things and the continued inability for fans to grapple with the finale of that show. All of that plenty more. But first, Blake, we do like to ask our guests. What is something from your search history that's revealing about who you are?

I'm laughing at the idea of you bringing me on as like an hour and a half in-depth interview as one of the fans who like, you're just completely breaking with format where no, we got to get down to this man. He was so upset by this ending of stranger things and loved everything to that point. What was your question? Sorry. What's something you think? What's something from your search history that's revealing about who you are, Blake? Get back on time.

Thank you. Sorry. Get back on the rails. I had a joke and then I stopped listening. That was obviously worth it. So I am doing a show in Atlanta in March. And the last time I was there, I went to Coca-Cola World, which was in college, I think. So four months ago.

And I am so young. So there's this weird thing at the end of it where they have the Coca-Cola like recipes from around the world. and the recipes are different in each continent, depending on like the tastes of, or the perceived tastes of the people who live there. Right. So I was wondering how many sodas that they had there. So I look, the search was Coca-Cola world,

how many sodas? And the answer is over a hundred. So you go to like south, or I almost said you go to the continent of South Africa. I was combining South America and South African my head. So you go to like South America and then it has like, oh, this is what, you know, this Coca-Cola product tastes like, you know, here. And I remember this guy brought his own taster, but it was, they give you like half a shot glass to try them. But he brought a solo cup with him to drink more soda.

And this was a grown man. And he got, he puked like halfway because he was drinking like 12 ounces of each soda. And there's over 100 soda. So that's why I was wondering. I'm like, was this guy a lightweight? Or was he? What did he just have too much cola? Binge drinking Coca-Cola from around the world.

It is interesting, though, if you, like, some of them are more sweet. Have you have one, like, you can't taste anything out. You know what I mean? Right. In the same way that, like, if you have candy and then drink a Coca-Cola, it tastes like, it all tastes like the last cocoa. I don't know. This is the stuff people, like, take rust off their cars with.

Right. And, like, you know, when YouTube was created, it's like, oh, I'll have, uh, 10 gallons of this. Yeah, right. Until my body rejects it. Yeah, they're like, this tastes, this tastes like my teeth hurt. That's what this tastes is.

Right. It tastes like my... It tastes like my molar. It tastes like I can still feel my wisdom teeth, which were taken out on my 22nd birthday. They're back, baby. Go, go, go, or old. That's so interesting. Like, I wonder, that is interesting.

Like, I find the fact that we've taken, so all the people who used to, like, go, into government science departments that were well-funded and cure polio and shit like that. Like those people for the past 30 to 40 years have all gone to work for like Coca-Cola to like create Doritos or, you know, that just have the perfect mouth feel. And just the fact that Coca-Cola is sitting there analyzing the palates of every, culture around the world to like make their beverage just like have the perfect like hit the palate like like Norway they're presumably being like well these people eat lutefisk so

like it has to be fucking overpowering it has to like make your eyebrows fall out when you is that herring yeah it's pickled herring that like turns into something that resemble I don't know, it has like a, I feel like the flavor notes that people talk about are lie. The thing that, like, they, they use to dissolve bodies in breaking that. It's like, this is smoked draino. It's cured in lie. Yeah. It's actually, lie is not just that flavor profile. It is, uh, actually that's what they use to cure it. Aged in lie barrels. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. With people who. rubbed the cartel the wrong way. You know, the Norwegian. Of course, that guy threw up. He was just like chemical cleaning agents.

He's like, this is all bad. It's amazing. He lasted that long. You know, I think he got through two of the continents before, yeah, before he exploded. But it's interesting. Can I share a brief puking story, which is the worst way to start a story. But my friend, shout out Matt Lieberts in St. Louis, Missouri. It was one of those, you had to drink five shakes at Crown Candy in downtown St.

Lewis and they were huge shakes and you got a t-shirt or whatever and uh he drank one and a half went outside threw up white and while he was puking yelled it's still cold yeah that is so funny it's the best it's still cold yeah that's a quote you must have repeated for decades afterwards like that doesn't go away yeah at his funeral to be sad he's still Oh, yeah. Little milkshape burps where like a little bit of the milkshake comes up and it's still cold. Yeah. Great,

great part of the milkshake consumption process. It's also that's what life was like before the internet too, you know? Right. Yeah. That's what we did. Well, now we still do it and it's called a TikTok challenge. The Daily's like, oh, right, right. Yeah.

What is something, Blake, do you think is underrated? Underrated, uh, you heard, coats. So it was underrated. You heard me right. I didn't stutter. No, no, you won't. You refuse to. Jack's trying on a new attitude.

It's pretty embarrassing. Yeah. Yeah, I'm thrilled. You were comfortable enough to try it out with me that I can test this out. I think it's great. And please continue this throughout the show. But so when you didn't stutter.

We're a family here, Blake. All right, when we were here. Yeah. We're a family here. here and I will be emotionally abusive. Yeah, for that exact reason to keep with the theme. Underrated vents under, like arm vents on a jacket or a coat where sometimes, you know, it's winter here on the East Coast.

And if you can unzip underneath, like, or it could be like, the back is too hard because you don't want to be, you know, seen the back zipping. But you do sometimes go from a cold temperature inside, but you don't want to take off the whole coat. So to have these vents, it can allow you to still get some air circulating without like, you know, because my face, I'm a, my face gets so red often when I come in from like cold weather to like restaurants. The temp change is too much.

The temp change is tough. And Guinness, which is Eero, which is another thing where if I drink Guinness, my face also turns red. But no, I think these are, and it's, it doesn't seem like that big of a lift to put these in more jackets, you know, like they're not unfashionable. You can't see the zipper really. So just, yeah, throw those in there. Yeah. I like that.

Yeah, as a sweaty, you're a gentleman now and again. I support that. Has anyone ever tried it on T-shirts? Because I feel like I could use those like everywhere. So I could stop sweating through my T-shirts all the time. Did you ever own pants that you could zip off the bottom part of the pants and have shorts? Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, I think I did. Big time. Yeah. Do I have them? Do I have I ever? Are you wearing them? Am I wearing them? I have some from, you know, my kids are Cub Scouts.

And so that's a big part of the Cub Scout wardrobe is having pants that unzip around the knees. And then you go. But like don't hide the zippers. So you're just, you just have like zippers around your knees. They look terrible. I wore them at my wedding. You look great. You look great.

I have a hat that I zip the top off of. when I want to wear a visor. I've randomly, I've never worn a tank top in my life until like two years ago. It changed, it's, it changed my entire existence, I think. I haven't gone there yet, but I'm thinking about it. The tank top. Dude, in California, like in LA, it just gets so hot and sunny that at some point you're like, okay, it's like a convertible for my, for my shoulders.

Let's do this. And I, the fun bit you get to do is I always worn my, I do warn my wife before I wear it, Not to get too turned on. That's a fun little bit we have. Yeah, yeah. Just text her before she comes up, just so you know. Heads up. Yeah.

You might want to avoid the living room. In case you have somebody coming home with you, just don't let them in. It will all be too horny. Did you guys ever have, just speaking of convertible clothing? My wife and I realized that we both had the same idea for an invention when we were kids. And I feel like 80% of people. had this idea for an invention, which is shoes that grow with you, like shoes that adjust and, like, grow. Whoa, interesting.

I think in, like, my third grade science project was like, guys, I've got the invention that's going to change the future. And then I think I've, like, read that, like, people in history tried to make it happen, too. And it's just like it doesn't make any sense. Like, in theory, it's okay. And then practically it's like, we have to like put so much shit into that. Like just it just makes more sense. Yeah, we need a new material. They'd have to spend what they're spending on AI to get that to work.

Right. Yeah, exactly. One day though, one day. I think it's worth the investment. I'm picturing it almost like a like a bus, like one of those longer buses where they part of it. It's not all metal. It's some of it's like rubber, which. Yeah.

Yeah, I was studying buses for the past six years and this is in my, thesis, but part of its rubber, like accordion style, you know, so I wonder if that's how it works. And we don't have to workshop this right now. No, it's a good idea. Because mine included, like, a wheel that you would turn to, like, get it to expand out. Like a, like, almost, yeah, like a roller skate key or something. Yeah, it also. Kids all know what that is, right?

We're still roller skating. We're still all roller skating. They can't stop roller skating these little kindergartners. I, uh, it also changes. the Ernest Hemmingway poem. Right. Exactly. That's what I'm trying to avoid is for anyone to ever have baby shoes that were never worn in any way that wasn't

completely tragic. Blake, what is something he thinks overrated? Oh, you know, most great things start with um and then a long pause. I don't know how to say this, but bath robes actually. Bath robes are overrated. I think they're overrated where I don't see what, I guess the premise of a bathroom. This is how fucking dismiss if I am the bathrooms.

I can't even comprehend why you would wear one. So I guess if you have time to get out of the shower and then, or for me, my hour and a half bath that I take each day, you would then wear it and then just chill for a little bit. But I think the risk of, this is the. opposite of the vents in the coat where I don't like risk of exposure. I don't like that. I just feel like it doesn't cover enough. Yeah, yeah. And I would like just get dressed or be naked in private is my, with no eyes.

Get dressed or yeah, I just don't really see the time for it. And you keep your clothes, right? You stay dressed in the shower, right? You don't like to be naked at all. thank you for asking so yes and I do I do also have a bathroom mannequin that I will like put the outfit on

yes before I put on the clothes just to see what it looks like and then I yeah yeah yeah you don't want to leave up any and I turn the mannequin away just so he doesn't have to see me so he doesn't have to see me change and it is a him it is yeah it's a it's a man and it is horrifying it's a turtleneck and a ski mask

it's like this can't be a stuff that you can't imagine So I had an experience where I had the same feeling that bathrooms are underrated or overrated. And then I put one on after taking a shower and it like dried me off. And I was like, oh, that's why they're made of towel. Is bathrobe or just like a towel suit that you put on and it dries your body off? That made them make sense to me for the first time. I'm not saying that I feel like we should be wearing them all the time, but I am kind of saying that, actually.

No. Yeah. Just when wet. It's, I feel like they look so much more comfortable than they are. You know what I mean? That being said, I do think there's an exception with the way Tony Soprano wore his bathrobe where he was wearing already like shorts and a T-shirt. Yeah.

Yeah. And then would wear a bathrobe over it. That I will do. every once in a while. And that's, that's pretty nice. Yeah. Well,

that's, I was interested when you said, risk of exposure, Blake, yeah, it's, it's, you're concerned that it's going to pop open and your front's going to be out.

Yeah. Correct. Yeah. And everyone else is scared. It's not just me. Nobody should ever have to. Your regional community. Yeah.

My regional community. That I can't stop talking. They don't want to see Blake's front. I can tell that I'm wrong about this because my wife loves bathrobes. And, Like, so I just, anytime there's something having to do with quality of life that she's into, and I'm like, Pff, okay. She's always right.

I try it. And it's always, it's always good. So she's always, like, figured something out more than I have. But I am going to side with you on this and find out why I'm wrong later. Yeah, well, you text me why we're wrong. We fucked up because, yeah, 100%. So producer, Catherine, is team bathroom also, towel version for drying off. soft version for around the house.

Oh, so she's saying there's two, there's two types. There's like the towel robe and then the wear around. Yeah. But for you, Blake, we don't, none of us like the idea of a bathrobe for you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. There's a danger, you know.

Catherine knows I can't read, so she put that comments. She put that thought in the comments, so I'll never see it. Yeah. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back and we'll talk about some news. We'll be right back. New year, new goals, and in this economy, a better money plan is more necessary than ever. I am Matt.

And I'm Joel. We are from the How to Money podcast. And every week, we help you to spend smarter, save more, and make sense of what's going on out there. If you want 2026 to be the year you finally feel in control of your money, we're here to give you the tools and advice to help you make it happen. Listen to How to Money on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyankawali. And I'm Hurricane DeBolu. 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. A new year doesn't mean erasing who you were.

It means honoring what you've survived and choosing how you want to grow. It means giving ourselves permission to feel what we've been holding and knowing that it's okay to ask for help. I'm Mike Dolorotcha, host of Sacred Lessons. This podcast is a space for men to talk openly about mental health, grief, relationships, and the patterns we inherit, but don't have to repeat. Here, we slow down. We listen. We learn how vulnerability becomes strength and how healing happens in community, not in isolation.

If you're ready to let go of what no longer serves you and step into the year with clarity, compassion, and purpose, sacred lessons is your companion on your healing journey. Listen to Sacred Lessons with Mike Delo Rocha on America's number one podcast network, IHeart. Follow Sacred Lessons with Mike Delo Rocha and start listening on the free IHeart Radio app today. Hey there, this is Dr. Jesse Mills, director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health and host of the mailroom podcast. Each January guys everywhere make the same resolutions. Get stronger, work harder, fix, what's broken? But what if the real work isn't physical at all? To kick off the new year, I sat down with Dr. Steve Polter, a psychologist with over 30 years' experience,

helping men unpack shame, anxiety, and emotional pain they were never taught the name. In a powerful two-part conversation, we discuss why men aren't. aren't emotionally bulletproof, why shame hides in plain sight, and how real strength comes from listening to yourself and to others. Guys who are toxic, they're immature, or they've got something they just haven't resolved. Once that gets resolved, then there comes empathy as in compassion. If you want this to be the year, you stop powering through pain and start understanding what's underneath, listen to the mailroom on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

your favorite shows. And we're back. apparently a lot of different bathrobes. You got Fuzzy for winter, Waffle or Jersey for summer. When we're talking Jersey, is that like basketball short? Quality.

I think it's Trenton. Yeah. Trenton is Jersey. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. T-shirt. Okay.

That makes us. That is nice. Trenton makes the world tics. It does. All right. Hey, let's talk about the tri-state area where Blake Wexler lives. Mm-hmm.

So you'll have, You can let me know if we're wrong here, but the early reporting seems promising around Zeran's first week in office. And I know you're deeply embedded there. So that's why we wanted to have you on. But he's on a spree. Mr. New York, they call him. That's right.

They keep calling that. Yeah. They are on a spree of executive orders to tackle his biggest priorities, affordability and housing. This is just refreshing. It's like, oh, you can do that the other way. You can do it where it's not just like, and not having white skin is illegal, and you all owe me $30. And so just a quick rundown.

Executive Order 3 revives the mayor's office to protect tenants. Executive Order 5 creates a body identifying bottlenecks in the city's notoriously arduous permitting and approval process. Executive Order 8 directs multiple departments to collaboratively conduct public rental rip-off hearings throughout the city, which we're already adjudicating those on Twitter. I don't think we need some sort of official body, I guess. And then a, but this one jumped out of me. Executive Order 9 establishes a task force to combat junk fees and hidden charges that inflate prices at checkout.

Executive Order 9 targets subscription traps, the business practices that make it easy to sign up for a service, maddeningly difficult to cancel. Just those two feel, like I don't think those are the biggest priorities, but just the idea that someone would do something in the interest of consumers, as opposed to the people who are predatory capitalists

who are like trying to sell them stuff and market to them, feels so foreign to me. It makes me feel emotional a little. What is this in 1970s? Yeah, exactly. So I'm starting to tear up over here. Am I feeling any hope whatsoever?

Is this not making me frown right off the bed? Right. We're so desperate that there was like some state legislature who introduced a bill that proposed to make movie theaters, make movie theaters list the actual start time of the movies. And we were reported on that. We were like, well, Jesus, that sounds the fuck. That's amazing. Could you imagine?

if they did something like that that wasn't just like, come here, sit down here, now you've got to watch all our shit dummy. Now you've just wasted 45 minutes. I was talking about how over the break I took my kids to see, Avatar,

go home avatar. And because I'm a bad parent, apparently my nine-year-old has not stopped making machine gun sounds ever since I did. And the movie credits, or sorry, the movie trailers, didn't start until 30 minutes after the listed movie time.

It was just ads for 30 minutes. It was fucking unbelievable. But anyways. Well, at least Avatar is probably really short. And, you know, like your kids were able to retain their attention span throughout that four and a half hour movie. Yeah. Yeah.

And then one of the, one of his major campaign promises, universal child care, which was dismissed as pie in the sky when he proposed it. On Thursday, January 8th, he was joined by New York State Governor Kathy Hokel to announce the rollout of free child care for two-year-olds in New York City, backed by $1.7 billion in state funds. So that's funded for two years. I don't know. It's just always, they're always like, yeah, right. Nice try, asshole. It's stunning, dude.

Yeah. Unrealistic. No, we got to give billions of dollars to these, you know, these fired off. office workers so they can arrest brown people in LA. How would we ever give any money for child care? Yes, exactly. And it's, and it's not like child care is so fucking expensive. I mean, like, you know this, but like in, even in my community, but all, all, it's

so hard not to do it to speak seriously ever. But even in like, where I live in North Jersey, it is per child around $3,000 a month for child care. Yeah. And it's like you need to have a set. You need to bring another person into your home to have a full time job to without health care. Yeah. To pay for your child's child care.

It's insane. Yeah. And now like what an elite, like what a great thing for families like just to have that in a place that. Yeah, just was so what a great way to make a place affordable like find him finding different ways to make that place more affordable to where it's not just. I mean, like obviously housing. things like either the most important thing, but that helps right off the bad. It's really, really cool. Yeah. And it's so frustrating to like, this is pie in the sky thing. It's,

we made all of this up. We invented all of it. Money, homes, contracts, like, purchasing land. We invented all of it. So guess what? We can change it. Yeah. All right. And now, now's the part where we're talking about what do we think his angle is here, guys. What's he trying to? What's his payout? How's he going to fucking, how's he going to fuck us? well he also is putting in more public restrooms which is as again in terms of the things that are really really important that's number one and it's number two but sorry i do have to i have to go um but i number one or number two number three so but no it's like and he did even use that as an affordability thing which is a great point where you will, if you have to go into a coffee shop, buy something in order to use the restroom.

Most of my expenses are that. A hundred percent. That's where most of my expenditure are coming from. I always get nine coffees. I don't know why. Yeah. I could just buy one. I don't know.

15, 15 cappuccinos, I guess. It's also my kink, just knowing which I've just like walking around the city, being like, I've shit in that place. I'm shit in that place. Yeah. I'll get one coffee, but it's one of those like catering like things where it's just this massive cardboard box that I just drink out of as I walked down the street. And I have to keep going in the bathroom.

Just set up shops for a little bit. Just shaking and burning yourself. Have a nice work day in there. Yeah. And burning yourself. But even something like that, it's like, oh, this is a problem that you all have if you're like walking around New York for the day. And it's like, oh, God, like where do I ask? Where do I go?

And it's like to add public restrooms is such a big thing too. Yeah. And like, and public space. Like the more and more everything gets owned, the less people are able to be and exist. And using the restroom is a huge part of existing in public, you know? Yes. So much of the entire process that we have in this country at this point is just so isolated from just like asking what people, like most people are experiencing. And like that also goes for like corporations when like they'll create a product that people like.

And then it immediately becomes like a conversation with them and the marketing department and the advertisers of like how to, you know, make, make line go. Like, it's just every single aspect of our world is just like not focused on serving people in any respect. And so just the idea of something like, well, people like have to go to the bathroom when they're out and about in this city working one of their fun. jobs. Like, the idea that someone would just ask that question seems revolutionary. Right. And the simple thing of like, okay, we're not going to force you to buy a rice, crispy treat or a brownie or a coffee, whatever. Like, we're not going to take that last final moment where you actually, you badly need to shit to like just, you know, stab you for another nine bucks or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. And also, like, you could create a workforce to help

clean those things and you're creating jobs that are directly serving a basic human need, you know? The people who voted for you. Right. You know, directly. Yeah. Anyways, I give him two weeks. Yeah, now he's on his way out.

We're very pro-crapping on this episode, which I like. Yeah. Okay. Back to the weird world of everything else. The Trump administration just rolled out a, a narrative they want to tell us that the way this comes to us is that a social media influencer shared an unverified interview with a Venezuelan security guard who was allegedly on the scene during last week's attack and possibly because it helps distract from the fact that they're

executing citizens on the street, the Trump administration then shared the story. So Carolyn Levitt tweeted, stop what you were doing and read this, followed by a bunch of American flag emojis. And then proceeded to share a story that is like a fucking scene out of a horror movie. She's like, this is going to make you guys feel patriotic. And the story is that Americans used a mystery weapon that brought Venezuelan soldiers to their knees. According to the unnamed guard, when the American forces arrived in Venezuela, they came packing very advanced tech that didn't look like anything we fought before. So, like, I think they want you to picture the men in black.

weapons. The quote, sonic weapon caused bleeding from the nose and made their heads feel like they were exploding from the inside. And this is again the one where she's like, stop what you're doing, guys. It makes you proud to be an American that these people are going into a poor country and using sci-fi weapons to make people's head explode allegedly. But it seems like they're claiming that the U.S. is Havana syndromeing Maduro's troops. We've talked before about Havana syndrome, where a bunch of diplomats in quotes, likely CIA operatives, in many cases. But, you know, government employees stationed abroad were having weird experiences where they would be like, I feel like I stepped into a beam of sound and then like started experiencing these weird symptoms and like headaches and all sorts of bad things. and my research on it would seem to suggest that a lot of those cases were people, I don't know, first of all, they recorded it.

One person was like, I actually got it. I got the thing. I recorded the sound beam that was sent and, like, attacked me, and people analyzed it. And it was like a type of cricket that doesn't exist in the United States that they were hearing. But then when people, when neurologists actually investigated it, they found that like the symptoms that the people were suffering from, even if those people had suffered a brain injury, like the brain would actually heal from physical trauma. And the only time that like this, these symptoms last this long is usually when it's something called a function disorder, which is something that is like basically locked in to, like, it's a psychogenic. thing where they like kind of they're not intentionally making it up but they have a thing that they think happened to them and it creates symptoms essentially that's my theory on what is mostly going on there but it the the trouble administration bought or actually the Biden administration bought what a device that somebody told them was the Havana syndrome weapon for eight figures at the

end of the Biden administration and then they've been studying it for a year and they claim that they're now using it. And this is such a advanced weapon. People have pointed out, sonic weapons reportedly have a very narrow beam. So the best way to avoid them is just to, quote, move off to one side. Shuffle. If you shuffle. Just like turn your head. The thing that you would reflexively do. anyway. It is actually the best defense. But just whether this is even happening at all is a real question. First of all, we do know about long-range acoustic devices and they don't create like long-term damage. They just, you know, create very unpleasant sensation to the people who are suffering from them. I'm pretty sure. And also like she posted the story about this person talking about this thing that she did. You know what I mean? Like this year. You guys came in with this text, so wouldn't you know what's happening?

Why do we have to get an interview with this guy? Like, it's so, like, stupid, magic-y, like, weird smoking mirrors bullshit. Yeah, it's like when Trump retweeted the video of him giving a speech about how there's, we now have med beds, which is like this sci-fi conspiracy theory where people think that there are these, like, pods that people can go into and, like, age backwards and be cured of all diseases. And it was just like an AI video that a conspiracy. see theorist created and here. Look at this.

Look at this thing that I guess I said, we have access to. Uber nerds, man. Yeah. It's so up their alley. This is like the perfect equation where it's big weapon. Right.

They love big weapon. It's big weapon high tech that only the U.S. has. So that's really exciting for them. And it's something they're too stupid to explain. And also believe, therefore, that everyone is too stupid to not know that it's stupid.

Or it's like it's big sound. You know, nosebleeds. I know what that is. So it makes your nose bleed and your head hurts. It's, it's something that could be very easily explained by, to your point, Jack, like maybe like six other things,

you know, but it's so up their alley and they just run with it. And we, yeah. We do have weapons like this. These have existed. The Pentagon has access to this. It's just it doesn't fit with like what Havana

syndrome was, it doesn't, I don't think, make your nose bleed or, it's clear, like, I just want to read you this exchange that ends the, quote unquote, interview with the Venezuelan security guard, who is apparently, like, witness to his, you know, countrymen being attacked by this, interviewer. So do you think the rest of the region should think twice before confronting the Americans? Security Guard, without a doubt. I'm sending a warning to anyone who thinks they can fight the United States. They have no idea what they're capable of. After what I saw, I never want to be on

the other side of that again. They're not to be messed with. It just turns into a night conversation. It just turns into a wrestling promo at the end. Yes, exactly. Anyways. He started saying a website afterwards. He gave a promo

code at the end of the interview. That's right. All right. Let's take a quick break. We'll be right back. New Year, New Goals. And in this economy, a better money plan is more necessary than ever. I am Matt. And I'm Joel. We are from the How to Money podcast.

And every week, we help you to spend smarter, save more, and make sense of what's going on out there. If you want 2026 to be the year you finally feel in control of your money, we're here to give you the tools and advice to help you make it happen. Listen to How to Money on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyanko Wally. And I'm Hurricane de Bolo. It's a new year. 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. 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 I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A new year doesn't mean erasing who you were. It means honoring what you've survived and choose how you want to grow. It means giving ourselves permission to feel what we've been holding and knowing that it's okay to ask for help. I'm Mike Dolorotcha, host of sacred lessons. This podcast is a space for men to talk openly about mental health, grief, relationships,

and the patterns we inherit, but don't have to repeat. Here, we slow down. We listen. We learn how vulnerability becomes strength and how healing happens in communities. not in isolation. If you're ready to let go of what no longer serves you and step into the year with clarity, compassion, and purpose, sacred lessons is your companion on your healing journey. Listen to Sacred Lessons with Mike Delo Rocha on America's number one podcast network, IHeart.

Follow Sacred Lessons with Mike Delo Rocha and start listening on the free IHeart Radio app today. Hey there, this is Dr. Jesse Mills, director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health and host of the Mailroom podcast. Each January guys everywhere make the same resolutions. Get stronger, work harder, fix, what's broken? But what if the real work isn't physical at all? To kick off the new year, I sat down with Dr. Steve Polter, a psychologist with over 30 years experience, helping men unpack shame, anxiety, and emotional pain they were never taught to name. In a powerful two-part

conversation, we discuss why men aren't emotionally bulletproof, why shame hides in plain sight, and how real strength comes from listening to yourself and to others. Guys who are toxic, they're immature, or they've got something they just haven't resolved. Once that gets resolved, then there comes empathy as in compassion. If you want this to be the year, you stop powering through pain and start understanding what's underneath, listen to the mailroom on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. And we're back. Baby, we're back. Welcome to the podcast, dude.

Welcome. I like that. Welcome to the podcast, dude. All right. Exciting new technology in the world of our dystopian hellscape. There's a new app. This is one of the most popular apps in China right now. Doesn't involve AI or online shopping.

I know. So you're probably going to stop listening. But wait. Fuck this. Fuck this. I only like apps that involve AI and online shopping. It's just literally a way to tell everyone that you haven't broken your neck in the shower or choked to death on a Cheeto.

The app is called Are You Dead? Question mark. It's currently the top paid app on China's Apple App Store. That's the thing that gets me is that it has the nerve to be paid. It works by having users tap a green button with a Pac-Man-esque ghost on it every day. and if they fail to check in for two consecutive days, the app emails an emergency contact. That's it.

That's the app. It's just being like, hey, can you touch this button? Okay, good, you're not dead. Hey, can you touch this button? Okay, good, you're not dead. Hey, you haven't touched the button yet. All right, we're going to tell some people you're dead.

We'll wait until tomorrow. It's literally, yeah. You could just be sleepy. We're going to wait. I mean, what, like, what an, incredible example of how lonely this modern lives have become.

First of all, it's a stressful thing to have a hanging over your head. Oh, fuck, I forgot to email my app. God damn, I'm still fucking alive. I haven't hit this fucking button.

Like, I can't sleep the night before I have to, like, go somewhere, you know, like, wake up and, like, go on a flight or something. Because I just, like, will dream the whole night of, like, missing the flight. Like, the second I download this, I'm just dreaming about forgetting to hit the button and the entire world thinking that I'm dead.

Like, that's it. That's so funny. It's like, whenever I do the same thing, if I have like a 6 a.m. flight, I'll be a good boy and get in bed at like 8.30 and then just be stressing out. Yes. And be bored. I'll be bored and stressing out and be awake rather than getting the requisite sleep. Yeah, it's so funny. That's good.

I got 15 minutes of sleep where I just had a panic dream about like trying to. run to catch my flight and getting shot in the face by ice. But the app is booming thanks to the rise of one-person households in China. And people are critical of it because there's an app called, Are You Hungry that they're just basically spoofing being like, where are you dead? How about that? But I do think we're maybe a year away from this taking off in the U.S.

I can't imagine people paying for it, but they'll find a way to like make it sell you stuff. Still not dead, then you. There's some vitamins. Yeah. That you can, yeah. I just, I wanted to immediately upon my death publish a very cool obituary for myself that I've written.

Yeah. Well, now you can. I like that. Now it can be auto distributed to the New York Times and the Washington Post. More, maybe that's the premium content that you would get with this app, is that you get a obituary written, not by you, but by AI.

No, right, by AI. And now we have solved the one problem with this app is that it didn't embrace AI enough. Yes. Oh, that's why I didn't like this app. Yeah, it can't embrace AI that way. I want an AI photo of me driving the first monster truck. And then it's like, this is more than his 21st birthday or whatever. I just, you know what I mean? I want me like, yeah.

Guys, I think we, I think we can finally quit. the podcast. I think we just came up with our billion dollar idea. This is crazy. And we thought elongating shoes was going to be the one, but it's actually this app. I really thought I was fucking eating with that one when I was nine. It was like, it's funny that my wife and I both came up with that invention. We were both like fourth graders in our science fair being like, uh, well, it was nice knowing you losers. Well, we weren't billionaires. Get fuck. That is like a, that's a much more realistic version of a soulmate. You know what I mean?

Like we all sort of think it's this kind of romantic sunset experience, but it's way more like the weird things you both have a good idea. Yeah, just like a weird. Yeah, we have a lot of those. It's kind of funny. It's actually just Mr. Wonderful and his wife and whatever that relationship was like. I don't think it was good.

Those are not our relationship goals. No. Didn't they like kill someone with a boat or something? They, someone died from a boat. they were driving. Okay.

So we're going to keep it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, allegedly. Yeah. But it is a very bleak, but it does say, Mort as you were mentioning, says very bleak things. This made me Google, like,

is, are we seeing a rising number of people being discovered, like long after they died, you know? And that, there's an article in The Guardian from a couple years ago, being like ever since 1980, the number has just been going up and up and up

of people who are like, aren't found for a year. Like, people just don't notice that they're gone. Like, it's, when you find, when you, like, read about people being discovered dead, it's always,

like, these days, I feel like it's so often, like, they had a, an appointment with, yeah, or like,

if they had a pet, people notice the pet barking or something, like that. But like we don't, we're not in community. So unless there, there's a fucking like a lost number sequence that they have to punch in every day at the same time. Yeah. Nobody notices, which is fucked up. I truly, community, I think, is the most, talking to underrated. I think it's as important as like food and sunshine for people. And I think that's what we're starting to really, really learn. Like, it needs to be way more focused on as a way to like be a healthy human be. you know we're learning it theoretically but like not like we right we continue to live more and more

isolated lives because we're seeing the consequences of that which is like total radicalization totally like people just believing all kinds of insane shit you know yeah but it's we're more profitable as like individuals living in our little separate matrix cells where we're just being like piped in food and never have to interact with other people in reality yeah i think we're like two years away from being everyone having like a 24 hour podcast, you know, which is just like a device on the phone that just records everything you're doing. Yeah. Blake is typing furiously ever since we talking about. Speak slower. Not to get, not to get even more rich than we already have made ourselves on this podcast, but how about a similar app, but for pets where your pet can hit a button

to let you know if it's still alive? Yeah. Yeah, we'll call it. Are you a dead dog? Are you a dead dog? Are you a dead dog? And you can have a whole community of like, is that guy's dog dead? Like, who's dog's dead? And that's the name of the app. Who's dog's dead? And it won't, it'll be H. It'll be W-H-O-S-E.

Well, it's like, oh, wait, no, that's right. W-H-O-A-Postri-S dog's dead. Who is dog dead? This is very dark, but you know those buttons that people teach their dogs to use that say, like, hungry or outside. There's like, there is one that you have to bring your, dogs after it's passed it touches paw to there goes, I'm dead.

I'm dead. Dying. Passing. Passing's nicer. See, God, we're getting. See, that's so much lighter. In America, it will be called, am I, have I passed? Am I passed?

Have I crossed the rainbow bridge? And in England, it'll be like, have I fucking shuffled those mortal coil or whatever? Fucking Shakespeare bullshit. Shakespeare is bullshit, right? We all agree. Total bullshit. Old, it's old. It sucks.

Corny. Corny. Corny is very corny to me. No one. No one. Well, speaking of Shakespeare, it ain't got shit on Stranger Things, all right? We talked last week about how Stranger Things fans were in denial and believed that the show had a fake out ending and that they were about to drop the real ending the next day, which they were. they were right that it would have been cooler

than what actually happened what actually happened is like no that didn't happen they just had like a mediocre finale to a mystery box show which is basically how all mystery box shows end is like you create a mystery everyone's like oh what's in the box and then you like add more stuff that's like

man I really want to know what's in that box now and then you just like keep adding stuff and then at the end is like oh well that's that's what we all kind of assumed was in the box the whole time. That's not. That's it. Anyways, so they were like, okay, so they gave us the fake out ending, which was the one that everybody had guessed and like nobody was surprised by or satisfied by. But there were all these clues all along being like, psych, this is happening in a fake world and now they're going to drop a mystery episode tomorrow that was like, this is actually,

they wake up and realize that that wasn't the real ending. And then they do a whole new ending that is actually satisfying. unless it's not, in which case that one will also be a dream until, et cetera, et cetera, until add infinitum or however that's pronounced.

Anyways, they did not do that. I think that would have actually been a cool way to break the format. You use the format of Netflix to fuck with help people, but they didn't do that. Instead, they did release a documentary called One Last Adventure,

the Making of Stranger Things Five, and it has sparked more anger from disappointed fans who believe that their worst suspicions have been confirmed. People have latched onto the creator's admission that they didn't have a, quote, finished script for the finale when they went into production on the last season, which is how a lot of TV always works, like particularly TV. Like, they don't write, this is one of my beefs with TV over movies. Like, they go into the story and don't know how it's going to end. And so they're, like, kind of making it up as they go along.

And so it's not always, like, a cohesive, like, it has more in common with soap opera plotting than it does with, like, a novel or a film, you know, a lot of the time. Limited releases are often cooler because they have their own, like, vision and there's closure and stuff, yeah. Yeah. And it's a bigger problem when it's such a high budget fucking show. Oh, my God. It's like, all right, well, I guess we blew all our money on the flying around freak stuff that's going on earlier. So I guess this is the only way we could end this because they have to shoot them in a basement. You know, like, this is the only choice we have.

How can we end this show only in this basement is the only way they can figure it out? Yeah. And like, God bless, stranger things and all of its fans, but like it started out. being fairly derivative of like a bunch of 80 stuff you can't expect it to be like this grand visionary, beautifully articulated masterpiece.

It's like a teen's on bikes thing. It's kind of fun, you know? I wonder how many of the original fans just hadn't seen like E.T. and Goonies and we're just like, holy shit, these guys are on another level. And it's like you were saying, Jack, like

it's because they're like, we don't have any, we don't have God anymore. I did say that on trends. Well, yeah. A lot of trends, like, yeah, people have nothing to believe in. So they need a bunch of, like, child actors to save their, like, save their dream and sense of wonder for them. It's really sad. These are the stories that we have to create meaning with now.

Oh, my God. That's such a good quote. We don't have God anymore. It's like you were saying. God is dead. Long live stranger things. Mr. Positive. I'm saying that there was no God.

If you also think about how people, like, react to the Bible, and then, you know, they're like, actually, my interpretation of this is that Jesus is coming back to Earth tomorrow. And then, like, Jesus doesn't come back tomorrow. And then they're like, okay, like I said, we're just off a little bit. Anyways, yeah, I do feel like these sorts of stories have taken. on a new seriousness that they didn't use to have. Back when people were like, okay, I have like a religion that I believe in. And then I go home and watch like, you know, fucking leave it to beaver or whatever.

Yeah. And with the Bible thing, too, it's, I mean, people are, it's because to have to go and, like, reconsider that would mean you'd have to change. Like, instead of being like, maybe I got this wrong, maybe Jesus doesn't come back tomorrow. Maybe the entire thing is actually just a metaphor for love and their fundamentalism is ridiculous. you'd have to examine every aspect of your life, you know? So it's much easier to be like, no, no, no, it's coming. I just got the date wrong. They're going to put on a whole new stranger things,

and it's going to be exactly what I thought should happen. Right. I do love this quote from because people were like, the duffers are like working on next level. Like the way they were thinking about this finale is like fucking 5D chess. And so like to think that they would have ended it like that and not had like a secret ending episode that was going to drop in the few. that they were using Morse code in the background to communicate to us about is crazy.

Like, these guys are like next level. They weren't just remixing old elements of like already great shows. This quote from the documentary, just shows that what next level think is there. This is from Matt Duffer. He said, we went into production without having a finished script for the finale. That was scary because we wanted to get it right.

It was the most important script of the season. Oh, the finale? The series finale Was the most important script of the season? Damn, dog. Fucking next level shit. Right there. Don't trust brothers.

You can't put any faith in guys who are related to each other as siblings. You just, what good has ever come of trusting two brothers? The Cohn brothers. I can't think of a C, huh? The Cohn brothers? Even, they're all fucked up. I say with no evidence whatsoever. He's a last.

They're serious. They're sick fucks. They have a bad sense of humor. Some people are mad because at one point they show one of the Duffer brothers, or sorry, one of the writers' laptops and they, people like zoom in on the tab and they're like, those two of the tabs look like Chad GPT, which they do look like chat GPT. Which they do look like chat GPT. you can't guarantee that they are.

But if he doesn't have time to write it, he's too busy counting his money. What do you expect? We just, in many ways, we feel like this is a like top three most important script of the season, the series finale.

So I will just make another appeal for, if you are, only you know Duffer Brothers in the writing team behind Stranger Things. Only you know if you're writing chat, using chat gpt to write these finalities. But if you are, please just go online and steal the best online theory,

or don't steal it. You're already stealing intellectual property of others by using chat GPT. Just reach out to the fan who came up with a theory that rules and just pay them money to use it. That's going to be so much better than your chat GPT bullshit.

Yes. And to the person who is coming up with a theory, make your, own work. Like you're, these people are actually, they're sort of brilliant. They're better writers than the writers,

you know, it's like make your own show. You've got a studio in your pocket. Yeah, there you go. By the way, that would make a good movie. If they,

if they did go and, like, reach out to a fan and then, like, a fan got, like, pulled in onto the set

of strangers, like, that would be a good movie. Somebody cares more about the show, you know, that are like so invested. To the making of Stranger Things 5. That would be better than a documentary

where it's like, And we actually thought that this episode was important. Yeah. And so we, like, wrote it a couple weeks before we had to shoot it. So the NHL, I got really into hockey this year, so I didn't have as much time to work on the series finale. But we knew it was on the to-do list, for sure. It was on there. They also shot themselves in the foot calling it stranger things.

They just, everything had progressively stranger. So, of course, they're going to run out a strange stuff. That's true. There's only so many weird things. Really good point. Nice try, guys. You should have called it strange things. One strange thing.

One strange thing. And that's all we promise. And no more. Blake Waxler, such a pleasure having you, as always, on The Daily Zike. Guys, where can people find you, follow you, all that good stuff? Yeah. Thank you guys for having me. This Friday, I have a show in Brooklyn, January 16th at Littlefield.

It's the first time I've ever headlined in New York. So come see that special guests. Michael Longfellow from Saturday Night Live and Brittany Carney, who's another great comic. So fun. And then it's going to be a great show. So if you haven't gotten tickets, please get those. It's at 8 p.m. A very reasonable time.

And then I'm going to be in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Rumpa, Pumpum on January 31st. And I'm going to be in Atlanta on March 5th. So please come to one of those shows. And I hope to see you in Brooklyn on Friday. All right. Congrats on the headlining, man. That's awesome. Oh, thanks, Mort.

Thank you. Is there a work of media you've been enjoying? Yes, there is. So there's a stand-up comedian named Chris Fleming, who I think might be the funniest person in the entire world. Funniest man alive, maybe, yeah. Truly. And I know he's an HBO special coming out at some point,

but he posted, he posts these really long reels that against, in his words, the advice of all of his representation where he'll just post them on his, on his Instagram. And he posted one the other day where it's about children on like movable, or on luggage,

like rideable luggage and how it's one of the greatest threats facing us today. And it is so funny. Like everything he does is so perfect. And like his actouts are great. So go to Chris Fleming's Instagram which is Chris Fleming Fleming.

And I just watch all of this. He's the best. So funny. Yeah. Amazing. Mort where can people find you? Is there a work in media? You've been enjoying.

Yeah, at Mort Burke on Instagram. I'm doing some, I got some stand-up coming up, which is going to be fun, doing a show at the, let's see, sorry. Oh, at the Astronaut Club in Arcadia coming up, which is going to be fun. It's on the 15. Only astronauts allowed, though, right? Yeah, exactly. It's astronaut lounge, so it's like a bunch of kind of grizzled old. Those little weirdos.

and then I'm doing a show called Laugh Therapy at the Strait Theater, Hollywood, on the 17th, which is going to be fun. And dude, I'm just going to co-sign Chris Fleming. I think that's, he's, he is like, he's our answer to AI. Like, there's no one funnier than her than him. And I would say, like, they, it's kind of because he's from Boston, right? Like, being that person and being born and raised in Boston, like, he had to develop this engine of brilliance to, like, survive. there's this amazing i knew chris when we were in boston together and there's this great photo of chris where it's to your point more it's chris fleming what chris fleming looks like and how chris dresses at a super bowl party with dain cook like gary goldman who played football for boston college like all these like you know fucking like quote unquote alphas or whatever and it's one of my favorite photos ever it's a very obscure reference i think that's from like 10 15 years ago but but But, Chris is unreal.

He talks about it. And he's like, he talks about that party. And he like, he gets weird and he accidentally sits on the armrest next to Bill Burr and that like kind of sneezes on him. And then he shows that when he shows the picture, he plays that drop kick Murphy's song that's like in every Boston movie. I'm a sailor. Oh, that's great. All right. You can find me on Twitter at jack underscore O'Brien, on blue sky at Jack O'Bee the number one on.

Instagram at Jack underscore O underscore Brian. So many. So I like to keep you on your toes. I like this. I also like Chris Flennie's one of the funniest people currently in existence. I also like this tweet from Chris Takio said during business negotiations, I'll have my assistant bring in a giant novelty check, which I'll sign quickly and have them leave.

I'll sign the giant check like it's nothing. It's an everyday thing for me. It sets the tone for the meeting. You can find us on Twitter and Blue Sky at Daily Zykeyes. We're at The Daily Zyxitekeast 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. With Miles Out, we do like to ask super producer Justin Connor if there is a song that he thinks that people might enjoy. Oh, Justin. Yes. Is there a song that you think that people might enjoy? Yeah. This is a precursor to a song that went viral last year

when producer Fred again live streamed this beat that he was making with Plack Boy Max. I believe Miles suggested that version of the song. But since then, a final version of this has been released on an album that just got dropped earlier this year called USB. There's an amazing sample from Dochi on it, punchy bass line, some high energy bars from Skepta. It's just a really good banger of a song.

So this is Victory Lap by Fred Again, Skepta, and Plac Boy Max, and you can find that in the footnotes. Footnotes? Is plaque spelled like the stuff on teeth? Like a plaque you would win, but... Oh, yeah, yeah. That's much better. Jesus Christ.

I don't know. The Daily's podcast is a production of IHeartRadio for more podcasts from my heart radio visit the IHart Radio app. Apple podcast, wherever you listen to your favorite shows. That's going to do it for us this morning. We're back this afternoon to tell you what is trending, and we will talk to you all then. Bye. I meant to mention this when I did a show in San Diego this weekend, a member of the Zite gang came down.

Shout out. Danielle, I meant to say you on the podcast that I forgot, but we got a Zite fan. Bye, Daniel. Ooh. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye. Snarfima. The Daily Zite Guys is executive produced by Catherine Law. Co-produced by Bay Wang.

Co-produced by Victor Wright. Co-written by J.M. McNabb. Edited and engineered by Justin Connor. This is Dr. Jesse Mills, host of the Mailroom podcast. Each January, men promise to get stronger, work harder, and fix what's broken? But what if the real work isn't physical at all? I sat down with psychologist Dr. Steve Poulter to unpack shame, anxiety, and the emotional pain men were never taught how to name. Part of the way through the Valley of Despair is realizing

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