The Daily Zeitgeist - Viral Trends 2025

Episode Date: January 1, 2026

In this special holiday episode, Jack and Miles are joined by super producers Becca Ramos, Bei Wang, Victor Wright and Bryan, The Editor to discuss their favorite viral trends of 2025!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Have you ever listened to those true crime shows and found yourself with more questions than answers? Who catfishes a city? Is it even safe to snort human remains? Is that the plot of Footloose? I'm comedian Rory Scoville,

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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 podcast. I know he has a reputation, but it's going to catch up to him. Gabe Ortiz is a cop.

His brother Larry, a mystery Gabe didn't want to solve until it was. was too late. He was the head of this gang. You're going to push that line for the cause? Took us under his wing and showed us the game as they call it. When Larry's killed, game must untangle a dangerous past, one that could destroy

everything he thought he knew. Listen to the brothers Ortiz on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello the internet and welcome to this special year-end episode of Dernelie Lightgeist, a production of IHeart Radio. This is a

a podcast where we take a deep dive into America's Share of Consciousness. And for the end of the year, we like to take a look back at the year. And on this episode, specifically the most viral stories of the year that we enjoyed the most. We did the top 15 stories, but we also like to reserve an episode to bring on our youngest producers to talk about what went viral, what we might have missed. We're just like the shit that was the most fun. I'm joined, as always, by my co-host, Mr. Miles Graham. Yes. Thank you. Thank you for visiting me. You always say you're going to visit.

You never do. Come closer. Let me see your face. I haven't seen your face in so long. Anyway, yes. I'm living in a... This is a parallel reality because as you hear this, I am horizontal probably. Yeah. Ghost of Yote. Miles was not feeling great. I was just referencing that I'm going to play video games for two weeks. Oh, as they are hearing this, we are in a void of not having to record the show for two weeks. So glorious, we're almost at the finish line. Miles, I'm thrilled to be joined by three Super's producer with a combined age of 45.

We're thrilled to be joined by Super Producer Bay Wang! Hey! Hey. Hey, we're joined by a super producer and an integral part of this year end tradition was on the first time we did it Helps keep us up on our TikToks one of the greats

It's super producer Baccaramo Hello, hello, I'm back baby I missed you all No, we miss you I said don't forget about me now and then look what happened you got all you now you with the culture

now okay well I miss you we miss you we miss you we miss you we miss you we're thrilled to have you back and we're of course joined by super producer Victor right

hello six seven oh six seven it's starting already we're young oh my god so I was like are we going to have enough

viral stories to talk about Did stuff go viral this year? Yeah. 2025? It turns out a lot of shit went viral. We ended up with 17 pages of stories to talk about. We're not going to be able to get to all of those. So instead, we're going to do this like a draft where everybody, we're going to go through

our roster of guests and hosts on this show, and everybody's going to pick their number one story. So you have to choose carefully. We'll go until we hit the hour. Mark. So however many rounds, that takes us. We are going to give the first pick to the first person to come on this format of the show, one of the original super producers of this show, Becca Ramos. Oh my God. Becca, you have the very first pick in the 2025 viral internet trends of the year draft. What's you going with? Zoran. Zoran. Zoron. Zoron. Man, Zorini.

Mom Dami. Mom Dhabi. Don't say it like Cuomo now. Oh, don't do that to me. Don't do that to me. No, he is the people's princess. He is America's mayor. It has been very exciting to live in New York City at a time where there's hope again.

It feels like 2008 Obama. It is crazy here. Hopefully it doesn't go like 2008 Obama. Exactly. Yeah, you don't have the job. I understand. I need the banks to back me. And that is truly how I think everybody in the city felt during the election, post the election.

I honestly, the craziest thing pre the election was the campaigners. Because as someone who's an apartment dweller here in New York City, the amount of people that have come to my door not disturbed my very erratic dogs. and been like, are you voting and who are you voting for? And I was like, yes, I am voting. Leave me alone. Are you doing early voting? And I was like, probably, I don't know.

And they're like, well, what date are you early voting right now? Oh, easy. Oh, my God. Leave me alone. I'm like, I'm voting for Zoron. I'm trying to close the door. I'm voting for Zoran. They're like, no, no, you need to tell me the date in time you're going to be voting for Zoron.

I need to know where exactly you're going to be voting for Zoron. I'm like, so I voted, okay? I voted for Zoron. I was Team Zoron. We've been Team Zoron. We're hoping that he doesn't fall into the clutches of, you know, centricism and the bigotry that is the administration. But, you know, there's hope.

For the first time ever, October was a crazy month. I had never seen so many people campaigning in the streets, excited to see the hottest mayor to come into New York City, physically and electorally. And an Arsenal supporter. Yeah. An Arsenal fan. I thought you were referring to the only stories that went viral for me. me about Zoron were all the stories about how he was going to do a 9-11 every day and all those

cool Cuomo videos. The memes were crazy. And also I want to acknowledge, yeah, the Islamophobia that like perked up during the campaign because I think those of us who voted in the primaries and were shocked that he got, you know, at the official nomination for the Democratic Party. then like a month or two before October or November before like official election day it was like the Cuomo campaigns were insane. I was at the gym and you know they have a public cable at the gym and all the political campaigns would pop up

and then I would see the Cuomo ads and they were like literally Mandami is doing 9-11 he is going to bring this city down in crutches he's burning everything up and I was like he's teaching Arabic numerals to kids. Yeah, it was, like, doing, like, the crazy, like, sepiatone, like, it was, like, all the classics. And I was like, every video begins with, like, the prayer call, you know, like it, like, it's a HBO show in the early odds cutting to Iran. You imagine, like, I used to want to hear this. I used to, I miss the sounds of Dembo playing in the streets.

But now it's the call to prayer. New York has changed. Because you're in your own bubble, right? Like, when you're in the, like, left wing, like, little old bubble, you're like, oh, yeah, of course. everyone's voting for Zoron, Zoron, Zoron. But then you go to a regular place where there's other people like the gym and they have it on all the TVs. You're like, oh my God, I can't believe the way that they're doing it.

It's almost as if so many people agree that shit is too damn expensive. Almost. It's almost like that, but that's actually not the lesson to take. The lesson to take is the Zoran is a talented politician who's got a good smile and that's all you need. No notes. No notes. Please no more talk about affordability. Affordability is a hoax.

Thank you. It's because he's got the Riz anyway. And you know, speaking with Riz real quick, I hope to God this doesn't become, because if we all remember during 2020, if you lived here in New York City during 2020, before Cuomo fell from grace, people were like quomosexuals.

If we remember that, there were Instagram accounts. And that they were sexual predators or, oh, oh, no, you just mean they were, yeah, yeah. You think now that is what it means. But before, people were like, no, no, no, I think Cuomo is so sexy that I

He's saving New York City Thank you Cuomo, Cuomosexual And then it was like actually he is assaulting people So like Cuomo is now He's Italian He's Italian That's just what He's just charismatic

It's just how they communicate With their hands groping people Yeah so I just hope that doesn't Not that I believe though I'll have him Azoram but it is weird to see this sexualification Could you imagine

he's just like what happened all these guys I'm saying like everybody all these memes are like hot sexy mayor Zora yeah people are like now they're like okay we love his policies but we also think he's so sexy and we're like no no we need to step that down just focus on the policies people have to learn stop fucking idolizing the fucking politicians Jesus Christ like it's great of like what a candidacy represents but getting all in on the like the the hotness of it all that That's quick road to discipline. The memes I was seeing on my feed of like, I bet you they're on field. They look for a third. They treat their unicorn really well. I'm like, this is weird. Wow. Wow.

Okay. Great first pick. Rebecca Ramos. We're moving over to you, Miles Gray. For your first pick, the overall second pick of the internet virality 2025 draft, what's you going with? Mine is absolutely a. Italian brain rot. It's got to be.

It's, it is the store, like, the one that I have the most trouble believing was this year. Although I will say Zoran, I was like, wait, what was happening was at the beginning of the year, but like, he was nobody. He was nobody. Yeah, people were like, it would be cool. Like, I think this guy might get 10% of the boat. So that is wild.

But Italian brain rot, the fact that that was not a thing I was aware of the beginning of the year. I'm still not aware. Can you? Okay, so I'll let you know. We love 6-7 in with this. It's separate. No.

I mean, you could if it's like things that your friends who are teachers told you about. Yeah. It's just like a thing that overtook that entire. And like it's similarly stupid as fuck. Like it's just point-less. It's closer to the skibbitty, though. It's closer to the skibbitty toilet, I think. This is exactly.

This is more skibbitty than 6-7, I would say. It's, oh my God, I feel old. Skibbitty, Skibbitty is that. Last little shit. Yeah. He's eternal. But again, this was like one of those things, like I said, if I get a lot of my, like, news from what's happening with like the real youth from my friends that are teachers, my one

homie who's a music teacher, just was like, dude, my kids are losing their fucking minds watching this Italian brain rock content. And I'm like, what are you fucking talking about? Like, what are these words strung together? What are you mean? I'm like, what do you mean Italian brand? He's like, he's like, you don't know about this? And I'm like, absolutely not.

let me play a video the video really that kicked it all off that became stuck in my brain for months because once you hear it you can't unhear it before I play this

Italian brain rot is basically a bunch of these AI generated made up characters with Italian sounding names that have just entered the brains of kids everywhere

so here's a video where a guy's doing the typical rank these AI brain rot Slop characters according to your reference. Here we go. hear ambiently all the time. Tump Tum Tum Tum Tum Sajor.

He's in my brain irrevocably to the rest of my life. Is Tum the word for tree? People are saying it's like a mashup name that like Sahur is an Indonesian word and Tum or whatever is tree and Chinese like not exactly in Italian word. Anyway, this is when I went on deep internet research on these characters. That's all that that's all it is. Like there's no like shows or like videos where they're doing stuff.

It's just like the silly word and like ranking them. People are doing shit with those characters. Where's this shared cinematic universe, Miles? Yeah, I think for the reason why I can't get out of my mind is because these names are so dumb, but familiar and fun to say that I cannot get it out of my mind. And I think it's just the perfect encapsulation of like AI slop, like making our brains twitch. And, you know, just watching how this is now becoming. like so normal now for like young people that I'm like kind of I really generationally like look at it all. I'm like man, this is so fucking different. These kids are laughing.

Jampanzini Bananini is built different. Jimpanzini Bananini is great. For me, it's always tum, tum, tum, tum, sahor because it's so absurd. Mm-hmm. And it doesn't like, like, all the other ones are like rhyming. Like you kind of get where it's coming from and then tum-tum-tum-sahor. It's, I think it's like just people also discovering that the Italian language is fun to say. And, like, play with. I think we've always known that for decades.

We've always known that. These damn kids, they don't know. They don't know from the Italian language. People are making money off of this, too. I went to the Philippines this year. There's all kinds of plush toys of Toom Toom Toom Sohor. And like all of that shit is everywhere. Which has got to be kind of wild because if it's AI generated, like then who owns the IP?

The IP. It's like for everyone. It's like anyone can now sell your own Toom Toom Toom. so or whatever nonsense. Yeah, it's really intellectual. Yeah. It is very intellectual. That's a really good point.

It's so dumb. It's intellectual. All right. Up next, a resident intellectual. Bay is up on shit that like I don't even have the beginnings of a way to know what the fuck they're talking about. Bay, you've got the number three pick in the 2025 virality, viral. stories of the year draft. Where are you going with

it? Okay, I'm going with Chinese maxing. Okay, guys. Yeah, so this is something Chinese maxing. I see it everywhere. I need someone to help me understand what China maxing, Chinese maxing is. Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about.

I'm going to be straight with you. Are you serious? Yeah. I'm going to be straight. I like a phase, like, embarrassed for you right now. Are you always embarrassed for me? And that is stasis. That is where we start from.

And I only know because Bowen's been posting memes. Yes, yes. Some of your friends are going through a really Chinese time in their life. Yeah. You know what? You don't even know. So anyway. Okay, let's show the Jimmy O Yang one.

Okay. Let me put the Jimio Yang one. Okay, so Jimmy's singing. So Jimmy O'Yang is singing with the text saying, You met me at a very Chinese time in my life, which is every day. This video is like reached peak celebratiness, you know, obviously. So that's why Jimmy O'Yang is making this video. But, you know, a lot has led up to that.

Like he's wearing like an Adidas Chinese. Like a work coat, but it's like an Adidas one. like a pretty like big drop I think like earlier this year or something like that and the song like people have been saying go by wrong and then the other one that's like the rapping

it's like the Chinese rap song right because I see black people even singing that song that Jimio Yang is singing and I'm like what what is that song is that a popular song in China or it's just like a song that feels like the most Chinese and so people are singing

significant this one in this video, it's like, it's like a famous, just song that like people sing on like, I don't know, like TV shows or, you know, like, China, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. And then the rap song, I'm not sure if it's big in China

actually, I'm not really sure, but it is big here. So, okay, I it's weird because I only saw China maxing because I saw this guy on Instagram. So he's also doing stuff. This guy says he's been a turn

Chinese also like a rocker guy yeah but then and then oh I'm tired of being not Chinese so this guy famously is white so this white guy is even lamenting he wants to be

Chinese yes yes yes so what is what are the vibes we're chasing with China Maxing? It's just basically like I I think it's just like a bear because obvious, like, you know, the fall of the West is here, you know? Right, right, right.

And we're just like, you know, we're sick and tired of working. We're sick and tired. Yeah, yeah. I mean, this does. There's a rat race, you know. This does track with a lot of the mainstream stories we were covering where it's like, you know, China coming out with their version of AI. And it's like, yeah, we don't spend that much money and it actually works or Wembinghamma going to China and the off season and coming back with superpowers.

Well, I think it's also that, like, this is like weird Cold War sinophobia is just wearing thin. It's just the same thing like with Islamophobia, like this whole thing of like, try, like, what are they doing? It's like, yeah, I don't know, man. The quality of life actually seems pretty good right now. Yeah. Compared to like, we're doing shit like people are rationing firewood for people who can't

afford electricity in the United States. So I think it's like one of those things are, baby formula. and like people can't get like basic needs. Right, right. And everything, like we even talked about that story about those like Ford executives who went to like a Chinese car manufacturing plant

and they're like, guys, we're fuck. Yeah, yeah. Like we're so behind. They were truly talking about it like it was a work of sci-fi. They're like they have these things called lights off factories where you don't even have to be there. They don't even have the lights on. And like the robots are just in the dark building their cars in like 17 minutes.

Right, right. I think, like, to me, like, when I see all this, too, it feels like part in two and also realizing how cooked America is and you're just like fed this like diet of like, well, these other countries are fucking not as good as America. And now people are like, wait, hold the fuck up. And they're like, yeah, actually, I'm China maxing now. Exactly. And it's like, it's a lot of also like, you know, we're in 2025 now and like, you know, we've been to Japan. We've, you know, we've done the K-pop stuff, you know. Right, right, right.

Yeah, yeah. It's like, we're hopping around Asia. We're like, now it's your turn. Now it's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, Marxist, like, hipsters aren't, like, they're not hipsters anymore, you know? It's like a big ideology now, you know? Right, right, right. We're getting, we're having business meetings with, like, 10 million cigarettes and like, you know.

Right, right. No, I mean. So. Yeah. Shout out people recognizing the deep squat that Asian people do. Yeah, yeah. And that. So check your knees.

Check. A lot of people are like, dude, I can't. People have trouble squatting. like that because of their knees. Right. Well, American has just been leaning against shit their whole lives.

Yeah. We found out that like that's the thing the KGB was like, you can tell an American spy because they'll be leaning against shit. Everyone in America is always leaning. And yeah, in China,

they're squat and they're sturdy. You got a squat. Look. You know, I'm getting sturdy. You could be quite honest. You got a squat. I'm in the subway. I'm squatting.

I'm not leaning against the walls. Hell yeah. I'm squatting. You're down low. I'm down low. I'm like, you know. scrolling my phone, squatting, waiting for the

hell yeah. And Becca, did you know when you were doing that, that you were Chinese maxing? I, you know what? Now I know. That's the most Chinese thing about it is like, she didn't even know. She's natural.

She didn't even know. It was like in, it was a name. It was just a part of me. It was a name. Yeah. Smoking a cigarette squatting. Yeah. So Bay, Becca is invited to the,

what would we say? Cookout. Hot pot. Yeah. Okay, cool. The dim sum. Pull up. Pull up.

Yeah. I'm not even going to ask if I'm invited. I know the answer. You're invited, Jack. I, what? You're fine. Amazing. Yeah. Yeah.

This is great. Like, you have a whole list of things here, many of which I don't know shit about. Double happiness. Don't know what that is. Nanjing. These are a cigarette. Oh, these are all.

Happiness. Don't know what that is. Brands. Oh, these are all cigarette brands. Got it. Got it. Yeah. And, you know, I actually did.

smoke a Dong Hua one of those recently and I was like damn this is so crazy actually tastes so good and like Well what makes it different than a regular cigarette I don't smoke cigarettes at all but And you're not China Maxing I'm so sorry I'm squatting with a joint

I actually don't know obviously you know probably different ingredients or whatever like tobacco Does it taste like dirt? Because I feel like that's what American cigarettes tastes like There's like a flavor to it. It's like a Takes you to flavor country? Yeah, it's flavor town, maybe, and it's like, and it's not like, I don't know, it's not

like bitter, you know what I'm saying? Interesting. Yeah. All right, guys, you've got your homework. Start smoking Chinese cigarettes. Get you a pack, dude, a double happiness. Great pick coming in at number three. Number three is always a big pick in the NBA draft.

That's where Jordan was picked. That's where a lot of Jason Tatum. So I expected something strong from Bay there. Up next, we're bringing in the youngest member of our team, the youngest person maybe in the United States. Coming in at 19 years old.

It's super producer Victor. Right. Hi, so my pick isn't even on the draft. It's not in this dock. And it's not anywhere to be found since we hovered it earlier this year. You're Chinese maxing right now. It's Chinese matching to go off.

Fuck, yeah. It's the AI cat video stories. Do you guys remember this? We do. I do. They do weird stories and I'm going to put one in the chat. It's not my favorite. I just kind of pull it up.

But it gives you an idea and they were everywhere this year. Yeah, these blew up. These were huge. This is a great pick from Victor. I was worried. If I'm being honest, I was worried. He said, I'm going off prompter. I totally forgot about this.

But yeah, these were like the most. popular thing this year. It like transcends generations. Like older people love this too. I've watched hours of this. This is like embarrassing. Yeah, I just sit at home watching these.

So these are AI videos of adorable kittens and like you're like, yeah, okay. I know what to expect. Adorable kittens, people love adorable cats. But then they give them like tragic stories. Yeah, like it's always a villain. Yeah.

yeah the cats are always like crying and being like emotionally abused then another kitten's like it's okay that you have braces and then he's like oh okay shorty have watched a lot of these but not the cat ones I have been obsessed because I have two weiner dogs I get served a lot of the the weiner dog ones where there's weeder dog ones yes I know the rhythm is just sorting all y'all they're like you're a weiner dog they're like these weiner dogs that are like cooking in this like Japanese like village Like, they're, like, in, like, the mountains, and, like, they're cooking, like, food in these little cabins.

And it's so, let me, I'll see if I could buy one. Hold on. Wow. I'll explain, like, the ones I usually find, there's, like, an unimaginably evil stepmother who throws her baby cat out of, like, an airplane or a boat. And the baby cat survives on an island. Is the stepmother a cat? Yes. Yeah.

They're almost all cats. and there's usually a cat remix version of Rihanna. Was it Shine Bright like a diamond hanging in the background? Cat version being, Meow, me, meow, me, meow. Yeah, like that. Sorry. I just wanted to make sure I got that out of you.

Billy Elish is also a frequent, like, cat remix version. And I think she heard about it and sang the cat version at one of her concerts. So it's, it hit the mainstream. I love it. I've watched so many hours of this and you just it feels simple is it because like it's innocent it's not challenging you

you're not have to watch war crimes be committed like that's true but it's also just it gets bizarre like one is oh let's watch this the way you just stop talking Victor I'm sorry yeah we bet on the weiner dog

equivalent which is weiner dog cooking, kind of. Put some honey on a plate. Putting honey on a little plate. Looking at a rest. This one is definitely a more nice one. The second one I sent is like more the ones that I mean.

Something is wrong with that egg. The way it was just leaking. These are all AI videos. So like things are weird. Miles, they did not get a dog to do that. I was, I thought so. I was like, how the fuck is it holding on to that egg shell?

I say, how do that? I said, how do you do that? I said, how do you do that? I don't know what is that time. Okay. This is actually is so common because the one Victor showed is... Was that butter? It was buttered.

It was buttering and like flour was coming out of the butter. Yeah. I think it was trying to be folded in, but again, the AI wasn't that great. It wasn't catching. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But what's interesting is this is so much more photo realistic where the one that Victor sent more felt like a brass. It's doll universe.

Yeah, very cartoonish. This really feels like, what is this? Like if my grandmother was still alive, I would show this to her. What is he making? I'm chariotic maxing with these. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Whoa, the smoke is coming into the thing. Into the waffles. Into the waffles in this video. Yeah. Yeah, very therapeutic these videos. There's also like a genre of cat video. I've seen a lot where cats are like on someone's front porch, like playing the accordion or something.

and then the person like comes out and I was like, hey, stop it. Yeah, like it's like door camera. Yeah, because it looks like it's a door camera. It can like hide the AI stuff a little bit. So it actually looks realistic. There's also a animal AI story

that I should acknowledge, fooled my ass, which is, which was the animals jumping on a trampoline. Oh, yeah. That was a big thing this year. Yeah. That I was like, guys, the animals have found the trampoline. The way I was like,

Catherine, Super Producer Casals was like, Jack. Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack. That's not even close, you fool. Oh. Yeah. What's, are you giving one too? What's yours? What's your top story? My top story, Miles, and I'm glad you asked, is a rapture talk, the TikTok moment where we got to find out that a bunch of Christians thought they're about to be raptured and then just glory in the day on the internet where they thought they were, like, this is a thing that has happened historically. repeatedly, and you get to see very smug people be like, all right, so here are tips for those of us who are going to heaven, and then for you guys who are watching us ascend,

here's how you're going to want to do that because you're going to be left behind, you sinful fucks. And then, you know, you get to check it on them a couple days later and be like, hey, how you doing? It was great because it had the same texture of viral TikTok, trends where there's like kinds of videos you do to get in on the trend and a lot of people like how I'm preparing for God to take me away like yeah like there's some great AI videos of that

too yeah go out yeah number one go outside don't get stuck to the ceiling like Willy Wonka the thing I found really interesting about this this trend that's the only trend I have a take on is that oh it's Brian the editor oh shit yeah is that is that hyper religious people in America, mostly white, took what a black man said seriously and acted on it. Like what? Did. It sure did. Doesn't make any sense. Well, he's from Africa. I wonder if that was the other thing. They're like, well, he is from. Black man wants equity. Get the fuck out of here. Black man says the entire world is ending and they're just on board. It doesn't make any sense. It's about the message. That's what it was like the world is ending. Okay. Come on up.

Come on up. Finally. Yeah. Someone's talking the truth. Yeah. And there were definitely like some that were mixed in there. There were jokes. But there were a lot of people who were like, okay, so I've sold my car.

Getting ready. Getting ready to go. Why'd you sell it? What are you going to do with the money? Yeah. Sorry, Brian and I had the exact same thought. I kept hearing that. I was like, for what?

I mean, this was our favorite creator, I think, was O Panku. This guy. would always take camera show like Minecraft animations and be like this is exactly what the rapture is going to look like so get ready this guy is previs for the rapture yeah don't scroll this is the rapture and how it's going to happen so check it out right

boom this is my guy boom trumpet sound right trumpet sounds right trumpet sounds it's giving 9-11 look who pulled up look who pulled up okay Jesus returned Okay, boom. Boom. Jesus returned.

Look at that. Disappeared. Wow, y'all. The souls, the dead. Souls are gone. Look at this baby. Look at this baby. Boom.

Wow. Yeah. So just great work by that guy. Wait, does one of them disappear? And the other one's like, with their tongue just in the air. Couples. No, they both disappear. I think a nun.

A nun pops up from the shrubs behind them. clocks them and then they vanish. That's weird. Yeah, yeah. The thing I also love about it was like, this guy not even like quoting the Bible at all. He's like, here's going to happen. Boom. Trump is sound right.

There's a baby. Boom. Gone. That was in Revelations. You didn't read that part? No, but I'm talking about just how. Just generally all of his stuff is like not even in the text of it. It's just all very tangential.

I mean, that's what Christianity is now. Yeah, yeah. It is vibes. And that's why I'm suing my professor. for saying I couldn't argue Christ vibes against sociology or whatever. All right. That was round one. Let's take a quick break.

We'll come back for round two. We'll be right back. Who would you call if the unthinkable happened? I just fail and started screaming. If you lost someone you loved in the most horrific way. I said through shot 22 times. The police, right? But what if the person you're supposed to?

post to go to for help is the one you're the most afraid of. This dude is the devil. He's a snake. He'll hurt you. I'm Nikki Richardson, and this is The Girlfriends, Untouchable. Detective Roger Golubski spent decades intimidating and sexually abusing black women across Kansas City, using his police badge to scare them into silence. This is the story of a detective who seemed above the law. until we came together to take him down. I told Roger Galuski, I said,

you're going to see my face to the day that you die. Listen to the girlfriends, untouchable, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 in with Michelle Williams from the Black Effect Podcast Network

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have you ever listened to those true crime shows and found yourself with more questions than answers? And what is this? How is that not a story we all know? What's this? Where is that? Why is it wet?

Boy, do we have a show for you? From Smartless Media, Campside Media, and Big Money Players comes Crimeless. Join me, Josh Dean, investigative journalists. And me, Roy Scoville, comedian, as we celebrate the amazing creativity of the world's dumbest criminals. We'll look into some of the silliest ways folks have broken the laws. Honestly, it feels more like a high-level prank than a crime. Who catfishes a city? And meets some memorable anti-heroes.

There are thousands of angry, horny monkeys. Clap if you think, she's a witch. And it freaks you out. He has x-ray vision. How could I not follow him? Honestly, I got to follow me. He can see right through me. Listen to Crimless on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

Your podcast. Dad had the strong belief that the devil was attacking us. Two brothers, one devout household, two radically different paths. Gabe Ortiz became one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officers in Texas. 32 years, total law enforcement experience. But his brother Larry, he stayed behind and built an entirely different legacy. He was the head of this gang, and nobody was going to tell him what to do. You're going to push that line for the cause.

Took us under his wing. and showed us the game, as they call it. When Larry is murdered, Game is forced to confront the past he tried to leave behind and uncover secrets he never saw coming. My dad had a whole other life that we never knew about. Like, my mom started screaming my dad's name, and I just heard one gunshot. The Brothers Ortiz is a gripping true story about faith, family, and how two lives can drift so far apart and collide in the most devastating way.

Listen to the Brothers Ortiz on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. And Becca, we're back to you. Oh, my God. You've been given a lot to think about. Oh, yeah. Round two, maybe round three. We'll see.

I mean, I'm assuming round two will go a little bit quicker because the stories aren't quite as impactful. but we'll see. Oh, okay. So many. I'm going to do Macha being performative. I thought that was a really funny, weird pivot

where it was like, basically all of a sudden the TikTok men are like, no, no, like to be cool and to like get girls, you have to like like matcha.

The performative male thing, yeah. Yeah. And then the Asian community was like, what if we just enjoy matcha? Can we not enjoy match? This is our drink.

And now you're telling men that it is like performative to enjoy matcha because they're trying to appeal to femininity in women. It was such a brain rot circle of like how Gen Z wants to be appealing to one of them. Right. Or like mating call. I was completely unfamiliar with this one.

It's a good one, Jack. I'll drop a link in the chat. I do have matcha painted on the outside of my cup so that people think I'm drinking matcha when I'm drinking actual coffee. Although it's fairly obvious. basically the overarching of like the performative male archetype right so there's like all these memes about the performative male archetype and it's basically just like gen z kids boys leaning into like femininity to like attract women right like the danglingering like the baggie pants like beanies rolled up three times you know like things they've seen three bags the booboos is it reading outside they took it to the max at these competitions there'd be dudes with a arm full of open three yeah three boats with a matcha, the luboos, all the stuff.

It was pretty funny. And then I loved the Asian community fighting back and being like, I am not going to let you call macho performative. I'm going to enjoy my matcha. Fuck all. Yeah, like, how come y'all are just jumping in suddenly like, this is performative? Well, no, the performative part is that it's a perpetually full macha.

Yes. It's someone who doesn't like matcha, getting matcha to show people that they're like down. Culture. Yeah. Yeah. That they're interested. And then they'll leave you where you're at. They're not making you get a drink on the first day.

We can get a macho. Is that the same time where they'd be like, yo, if a dude is like carrying like a big bag, like not like a backpack, like he's also trying to come off as like not threatening kind of thing. Like the type of bags. There's a,

there's a contest in the chat. If you want to see what these people look like. What do you want to see? Like a big bag? Yeah. Like a giant tote. Yeah, like a tote bag. Yeah, like having a big tote wearing like a frayed sweater

with maybe some loafers The thing was like, it's like there'd be a dude at a Clero concert sitting down reading a book. Yes, yes, this is perfect. Yes, exactly what I'm talking about. Oh, wow, they got Clero blasted. It's always Clara.

It's always Clero. See, everybody got the tote bag. For me, it's Piny Kill, but I'm old. And you got the shirt. I got the shirt. Oh, yeah, he got a little man. Oh, this is a performative male contest. Yes.

Which is also a viral. thing this year of like contests. Like people showing up in public to physically performing. I felt like when I was in New York like three times this year twice, there was something happening in Washington Square Park where there was a contest. Because there was a Pedro Pascal lookalike contest in New York. There's a Timi Chalemi lookalekhawai lookal like contest in New York. I feel like there was like one other one.

And that meme archetype in general is very connected to this. Yeah, yeah. As well. It is funny to see like. camera hanging. Like, we used to just do dance battles. We lost the arts. We lost the art.

Yeah, but now it's like, These are the same Asians. These are the same Asians. It's just the younger ones. This is the Bay Area that video was. Yeah, yeah, area. If it was in New York or L.A., it would be more white. Probably.

Oh, my God. And the dangly earring, I saw that reference on a, I don't think so, honey recently on Last Culture, Oh, yes, Lucy Dacus is, I don't think so, honey. So that is in the same category? Yes, but hers is actually giving a little bit of empathy to those who are of the dangle-earing diaspora. So it's like it doesn't, some people just want to put that on. And maybe that's how they're experimenting with being a good person.

Exactly. Yeah, I don't want mach. Like, I like machina. I don't want it to be a problem. I don't want it to make me seem like, I'm not. putting feelers out to be like, hey, macha. You know what I mean? Yeah, you got to wear a shirt that announces that on the front, though,

where it's like, yo, I'm only drinking this matcha because I actually like it. Like, I'm actually not even approachable. I'm a wife guy, okay? I'm drinking this matcha just because I like it. All right. Great pick, Becca. I feel like so much more informed about all the wrong decisions I'm making. Miles Gray, you're up next with the second pick and the second round.

of the 2025 viral stories of the year draft. What's you going on? Oh, my God. This is tough. I think if I'm going off of purely something that I've really enjoyed, it's just been these, this comedy group from Australia, mates rates on TikTok,

and they just do this thing where they're like doing names of like fake South African people. And they're just improvising. I love it so much. And I can't get, this is a thing I've also been sharing with my friends a lot, where we'll take names. I've definitely shared this on a piece of media I've liked, but it's got, they're just good. South African names be like, Hey, what's leka, Macreca, Cobus Creek. Nice to see you here in Jobus Creek. I'm so happy to

show you around later. Hey, mate, I'm Robbie Bosch. I can sell you some great diamonds. Just don't ask where they came from. Hello, guys. It's Jiao de Clerk. Have you met my son, Faf? Hey, man, Peter Borsal. Thanks for coming to my brach. Hey, I'm Como Bozak. I'm from Braidisha. Sorry, didn't mean to say that. Let's go hunting later. Zimbabwe. Again, these are just, this has been a year of finding a bunch of really just fun, stupid videos. Another one, I do have to shout out, is this one dude, Sir Spence, who I found really funny. There's just one. Sir Spence is very funny.

Doing a video about, he's just playing beer pong and he's hitting the dudes. This guy is white, okay? And he is hitting these people with the patois in a way that's fucking really, really on point. So I got to give it up for this one. Yes, Sir Spence is great. Anyway, so a lot of my videos are white people pretending to be other people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I actually saw something similar to this recently

and it was like people making fun of how the Canadian accent has become Jamaican like these white people Yeah, who are like, no, I'm not even going to imitate it actually. The Toronto Mandom? That's the Toronto Mandem accent. Oh my God. Our writer J.M. was just on our year end episode. You should have heard him. Yeah. He was like,

What's up, Broski? He called us Kioski. Yeah, he said this show is Bared ass, fam. And I was like, huh? Yeah, yeah. He said we looked like a couple of Bukti's. I don't,

and I think that was cool. But yeah, that was another huge thing. I've had so many of these like weird vocal stims go off and it's been weird South African names, probably Toronto Mandom speak. Yeah, they say like two twos or whatever.

I don't know what does it even mean? Two twos, fam. There's like a whole like whole series where a guy's just in malls in Toronto. asking people questions and a lot of the time it was like this can't be real but it i think it is all right up next bay wang you got the third pick in the second round of the draft i i now realize that we've done this backward usually when you do a draft it goes in reverse order but i wasn't ready uh so i think i think it's better this way we're not doing snake style bay what is your pick in the third pick of the second round of the top viral

stories of 2025. Yeah, so I only really came up with one, but now that we're on second round, the, okay, so like the Charlie Kirk face swaps. Oh, yeah, that's a pretty recent one. Yeah, it's a recent trend. And, yeah, there's this one with like Ariana Grande, like, and him. Wait, that people are swapping his face onto her. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. Oh, gosh, she looks great, actually. she looks really good yeah I think that's like the first like swap that was like kind of like

what the hell yeah yeah yeah Christ this is the man this is like also just scary yeah

yeah some like this also goes along with like those cat porch videos Jackie you were talking about is like this is also bred such a new era

of like meme that is like reality but AI is enabling some really I saw one video where a dude is driving in his car with his girl and it says they got like a like car play screen in the car and it says incoming call from throat goat and his girlfriend looks over she goes who's throat goat and it cuts to the guy just driving off the cliff and they're both in the car and it looks so realistic and then the other time you're just like

mashing together like old clips from like 18 or something to a 70s movie where a car goes off Cliff. Right. Seeing it all now realist. He's like kind of a whole new thing where I'm like oh god, this texture is becoming way more eerie in a way that I don't know. Who is Charlie Kirk face swapped with in that video? I don't really

know actually. It's like a rapper. Yeah. I mean he looks great. Yeah, somebody sent me this like a long time a while ago and it was the first one I saw. I was like, whoa. Oh wow. Wow. Wow. Brian, the editors in the chat

put in, like, Grand Theft Auto 6. I'm like, why is he posting that? And I zoomed in and it's like, oh, it's Charlie Kirk. You're like, that's Cash Patel. No, that's Charlie Kirk as Charlie Kirk as Cash Patel. Yep. I'm going to need you to stop, Brian.

This is way, way too distracting. Jesus, queen. Yeah, yeah, haunting. All right. Great pick, Bay. We're over to Victor. it's your pick man what do you got

I think I'm gonna have to steal one of Becca's I'm sorry Becca I mean they were for the community It's okay For the community He's going for the steal How far into the summer I turned pretty did you get

Because that's like Victor was big on Summer I think about it Like twice a day If I'm being completely honest I've seen the show three times now Once on its own And then twice

With two different people running commentary over it. The Summer I Turn Pretty is insane. How far did you go, Becca? I'm going to be honest. I only got a few episodes in. I, because, okay, my sister-in-law is 22, so she's a bebe, and she was like, Becca, you have to watch Summer I Turn Pretty.

And so she was over all the time, and she would put it on. And I'm like, Ashley, what is this? This is crazy. I, and then I just kept being caught up with the memes, but I, like, couldn't sit down and, like, watch it. because every time I would watch it I would get frustrated because I was like

I hate that she's been called Belly I think that's an ugly ass nickname I'm gross I'm like and then like the ring memes I was like yeah girl what do you mean and also I didn't understand it

because like from what I understood of the show aren't they rich why does she have such a tiny tiny ring and then she went to Paris and was having her little like Emily Impali moment and she met a hot guy in Paris hooked up

I was like, yeah, girl, live your best Paris life. Don't know how you're living in that apartment. Very Emily and Paris Corps. And then she was like, I'm still thinking about Conrad. And it's like, girl, you live in Paris. Yeah. Why are you thinking about him? Man, this is the first time her majesty was having motherfuckers over to watch this shit at midnight.

I was like, you got a kid. What the fuck is this? Yeah. But Miles, you got pulled in too. And then you started having problematic takes. The Victor was like, I, I, I witnessed our boy Victor lose respect for you. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

But lose respect for you. This is the take again that I, I, I'm not talking about narratively. I'm talking about straight up who can get it, okay? And it's team Jeremiah for me, not Conrad. I'm sorry, I think Jeremiah is more beautiful than Conrad. And I think Conrad's hair, Conrad's hair is a mess. They fucking all, if I had hair, if I had hair, I wouldn't be looking at. like that. But objectively, the man in Paris

was the hottest one, so why are we even thinking about these boys in the United States? The thing that was getting me in trouble, though, is people said that I, narratively, the character, I think Jeremiah is better than, this is, I was, I was fighting people off in my own house

when her majesty's friends are, wait, oh, you think, let me tell you about this. This is why this is wrong. I'm like, I'm just saying. Yeah, I came over too that day. Yeah, you did. You did. You did. You did. But instead you just threw shit all over my car. Yeah.

Well, because Miles, you and I had a very similar experience from what you were telling me where your wife and my wife

just had it on. Right. And we're like, now, fuck that. I'm gonna do like, man things or something. Yeah,

exactly. Sharping and hacks with my teeth. And then you go like, what did she just say? Right. He's like, yeah.

Oh, you're into it now. Why is she saying that? And then I'm like, shut up, shut up. I need to listen. I didn't know what's

I was like, wait, why are he telling her that he loved her? isn't she about to get married to the other one? Yeah. This is a mess. This is a mess.

I got stressed. I was like, I can't do this. It's just stupid. It's just like one of those things. I think it feels like probably super deep when you're younger. And then I think what happened for like millennials was that it was like relatable, this kind of like mess or whatever. Not to say that like this is a good show.

But they were like, I like the themes that are in here a lot. Yeah. Yeah. I get in the constant arguments I'm like this is not well written If I can give like a compliment to the show Because I think the show is completely not well written It's just there's no actual issues

Other than people wanting to be shitty to each other Right Season one I'm someone who likes putting seasonal things In the background like there's always a Christmas movie playing Or a Halloween movie playing Season one has really nice summer aesthetic It's got that you're at the liquor store buying beer for the pool party and that feels

like if I just mute it it's like aesthetically nice you know every movie needs to do like yeah we were just talking about how eyes wide shut just like has like a layer of Christmas over it exactly like you're just like yeah that like adds so much like yeah diehard

didn't need to be a Christmas movie but it is you know just make it summary make it like have a very coherent vibe do not change seasons in your movie do you hear me I'm sorry the passage of One place. All right.

What about you, Jack? All right. I mean, I'm getting incredible value. I feel like this is almost cheating. It's our number two story of the year, but it also belongs here. Yeah. And it is the Cold Play Kiss Cam couple. Like, that's, this is like getting Yokic.

This is like getting Yokic at the end of the NBA draft. Like, this is fucking, this is the one. This one, the viral story of the year, the viral moment of the year. I drafted Sam Bowie. you know that my grandfather drafted Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan I know that when I said that I didn't mean to imply that but it is one of the most famous draft blunders

yeah yeah it's okay it's okay no we're over it as a family we're totally over it's it's the great it was our less bloody Luigi Mangione of the year in that like you know we all got to take this motherfucker down like a CEO

of a fucking AI streaming company. There was a lesser version of this where there's the video of the guy stealing the kid's hat. A tennis player, the US Open gave his hat to a kid and a CEO just like reach it

and was like, yoink. But yeah, those two, like moments of CEOs behaving badly. Like this is what people should be doing for like a YouTube channel. Create a YouTube channel

where you just have cameras on CEOs at all time. They're going to do something fucked up. And we will be here for it. surveillance capitalism. Yes, exactly. Like, we don't need, yeah, they watch us and, like, time our bathroom breaks. Let's use AI to just, like, get some drone cameras that lock on them and just, like,

follow their every move. The people are hungry for CEOs behaving badly and doing cancelable shit. Let's go. This is what I request for 2026. All right. We're going to take a quick break, and then we're going to come back and they're going to explain the internet to me. We'll be right back.

Who would you call if the unthinkable happened? I just fell and started screaming. If you lost someone you loved in the most horrific way. I said through you got 22 times. The police, right? But what if the person you're supposed to go to for help is the one you're the most afraid of? This dude is the devil.

He's a snake. He'll hurt you. I got you. I got you. I got you. I'm Nikki Richardson. And this is The Girlfriends, Untouchable. Detective Roger Galoopsky spent decades intimidating and sexually abusing black women across Kansas City, using his police badge to scare them into silence. This is the story of a detective who seemed above the law until we came together to take him down.

I told Roger Galoopsky, I said, you're going to see my face till the day that you die. Listen to the girlfriend. Untouchable on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 in with michelle williams

from the black effect podcast network on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts have you ever listened to those true crime shows and found yourself with more questions than answers and what is this how is that not a story we all know what it what's this you where is that why is it wet boy do we have a show for you You. From smartless media, campside media, and big money players comes crimeless. Join me, Josh Dean, investigative journalists. And me, Roy Scoville, comedian, as we celebrate the amazing creativity of the world's dumbest criminals. We'll look into some of the silliest ways folks have broken the laws.

Honestly, it feels more like a high-level prank than a crime. Who catfishes a city? And meets some memorable anti-heroes. There are thousands of angry, horny monkeys. Clap if you think she's a witch and it freaks you out. He has x-ray vision. How could I not follow him? Honestly, I got to follow me.

He can see right through me. Listen to Crimless on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Dad had the strong belief that the devil was attacking us. Two brothers, one devout household, two radically different paths. Gabe Ortiz became one of the highest-ranking law enforcement. officers in Texas. Thirty-two years. Total law enforcement experience.

But his brother Larry, he stayed behind and built an entirely different legacy. He was the head of this gang and nobody was going to tell him what to do. You're going to push that line for the calls. Took us under his wing and showed us the game, as they call it. When Larry is murdered, Gabe is forced to confront the past he tried to leave behind and uncover secrets he never saw coming. My dad had a whole other life that we never knew about. like my mom started screaming my dad's name and I just heard one gunshot the brothers Ortiz is a gripping true story about faith family and how two lives can drift so far apart

and collide in the most devastating way listen to the brothers or tease on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and we're back and quick speed run through some of these stories. Jet 2 Holiday, I saw referenced all over the place. I didn't see any of the memes, though. Can you explain this to me? I can't believe you have it. You didn't see the memes? That's crazy.

I might have, but I just probably like skipped out of them too fast. I don't know. I didn't do a lot of like being on Instagram or TikTok with the sound on, you know? I don't know what the origin of the song. Like I think it came from obviously British commercial

based on the accent. It's like looking forward to a jet two holiday and then it's like a bunch of like it's like an airline commercial on airline tickets but the concept of the meme is that like something bad happens to you and then they play the music

and I don't remember why or how we got there but it was a referential moment for people who had a rough moment and they play this over I don't know that was a horrible explanation so it's like a bad

it's a bad moment from vacation and it's like well Welcome to Jet 2 holiday. Let's say you were walking and then you like ate shit. And then it would be like, welcome to a Jet 2 holiday. Okay. So it's the holiday version of like when during the Olympics a couple years ago when people were like, so I didn't make the team and then like showing themselves like eating shit trying to do a dive or something like that.

Got it. All right. The question was posed. Is dense bean salad this year and women eating two cups of beans a day to fix all their problems? What is this trend? I don't know about this. I honestly thought this was 2024, to be honest, but the internet also, if now what's time? But a dense bean salad is a new concept, I guess.

I've been making dense bean salads over a long time. But instead of making a salad with lettuce, you make it with beans. So, you know, it's high in fiber. People are solving their, you know. So it's just bean salad. It's just bean salad. Yeah, yeah. It's just various four.

And then people just being like, it marinates in the fridge all week to get the best flavor. And it's like, yeah, if you've been like meal prepping, like the rest of us who are poor forever, you would know this already. So it's the thing that's existed outside this year that's just like people are kind of finding out about. Yeah, they're trying all these different dense beans salad. And there's now like different white girl. I do specify that it is white girls. Influencers making these dense beans salads. And I'm like, they've been around forever.

Like I make this one that is like almost like a Greek salad, like a pasta salad. but I add like a shit ton of cheese and that's my 10-speed salad that I eat like at least once a month Okay I have a follow-up question

real quick Is that different because there was a woman who brought I thought bean salad to a potluck and then no one ate it and the internet was like

No we fuck with you You're cool That did happen But I think that was like a separate thing Because I think it was like A potluck Where it was like a Thanksgiving

Potluck And it's like Why are you bringing that To Thanksgiving? potluck, to a Thanksgiving potluck. It's like, that's not, that's not the vibe. People want mac and cheese. Yeah.

You know, they want yams. They don't want a dense bean salad. You know, that was not on my Thanksgiving. That's for lunch. Yeah. That is a lunch thing. Yeah. I just felt bad because I think she was like crying and shit.

And it's like, oh, babe, you know. And I think the repopularization of the dense bean salad came from that of people being like, no, no, no, they're cool. Yeah. Which they can be cool. And maybe she just made a bad one. And that happens. No, not everyone's going to hit.

I've been on bean salads, okay, guys. So nice try, the internet. One that I meant to draft at some point, but didn't get drafted, was the moment that Twitter made people's locations public. And we found out, like, all of these Trump influencers are from Bangladesh. Oh, my God, I didn't know that. Yeah, that's a great one. There was a day where, like, there's one called, my favorite tweet was from Grease Menace,

who retweeted this thing. that said America First, that was their handle, and the writing was, thumbs up if you're a Trumper who loves God. And it's a blonde woman hugging her blonde baby in like the most Midwestern-ass kitchen possible. And they tweeted, laugh my ass off, this account is in Bangladesh. So are they bots based in Bangladesh? Yeah, it's just all bots.

It's just the whole megastphere is made up of bots. Of course. From other countries. Yeah. All right. Any others. that people wanted to hit on the way out. Just drive by.

It was a bad bunny year, bitches. It was Wepa, Wepa, Wepa, Wepa, Puerto Rico everywhere. We are out here. He has sold out 10 nights in a row at a stadium in Mexico City, 65,000 cedar. Ten nights in a row. Residency in Puerto Rico sold out every day. It was crazy as somebody who went. it was a very cool year to be

Puerto Rican. It was a very exciting year to be Puerto Rican, but we're not going to get our foot off your next in 2006. We're still going to be out here. Still coming. I mean, the Super Bowl in 2026. Exactly. First, all Puerto Rican Super Bowl, but you're not allowed to plan in the Super Bowl unless you're

Puerto Rican. You can only be Puerto Rico. Those are the rules. Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, I got a lot of ambient updates on that. What happened this year that this was like the year of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City? Because it's been around before, but this year just seemed like everyone was on it. Like Bridger-Wineger just gave us a Real Housewives update in his overrated, underrated

a couple days ago. It just came back, Salt Lake City. I think we're only like a handful of episodes in the season, maybe like four or five. So that's part of it, that it just came back. But also that it is probably the best franchise right now. Like all the other franchises have been quite boring, especially Beverly Hills right now. If you're comparing Beverly Hills, it's like just started to. Salt Lake. Because I think the three that are on right now active is Salt Lake, Beverly Hills, and Potomac. Potomac is like rounding out their season. We're in the middle of Salt Lake and we're at the beginning of Beverly Hills. And it's just like from moment one absolute drama. Like I think they started off season one with all the all the episodes are blurry to me right now. But it was like Todd cheating on Bronwyn in broad daylight. Like he was like on a plane.

sexing somebody and like a random person saw it over his shoulder like an old man and that rules that was like top tier um meredith assaulting so like one of the main housewives got cheated on by her house husband very publicly yeah like but these are godly people from salt lake city exactly and i think that's like part of the lore is that like oh my god these women don't even drink drink coffee yes but i would say Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, that one is crazier because they actually don't drink. I would say the Salt Lake City Housewives do drink. That has always

been kind of the weird crux where it's like some of these women like Lisa are like devout Mormons but still drink. But the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, they don't drink. Some of them did. Only like a couple of them but like most of them are very sober. So you're like

with Secret Life and Mormon Wives was you're like, I can't believe these women are saying these things out loud, fully sober. You're like, oh, you're talking about your husband. Having a reality show where the people on it don't drink is like trying to make a cake without flour. It's like, wait, well. You think, but you can't do that. But secret life of Mormon wives is absolutely fucking nutty. Like, just Jack, to give you table staves, one of the Mormon wives lets her husband drink her pee because it tastes like pretty pebbles.

And they said that out loud. Mm-hmm. So. Oh, yeah, that is weird. You should get that checked out. That sounds like diabetes. Exactly. That's what everyone's saying.

I agree that that's weird and I would never do it. Yeah, I mean, they probably do have diabetes. I mean, they drink, like, soda. And they put, like, flavoring. But I'm saying that is the level that they're willing to, like, the Mormon wives are on, like, a different level that they're, like, willing to put anything and everything on their TV screen. But Salt Lake, in terms of the housewife universe, I think they just bring it every

episode. They bring intense drama, whereas, like, a lot of the other franchises right now, they're a little boring. Or, like, it's, like, it's, like, they take. making like full season arcs to get through storylines, whereas like every episode of Salt Lake is like storyline after storyline new, new, new. Just like boom, boom.

Like Mary's son is back in prison for like his drug shit. And then she reopened her church. Brown one's dealing with her. Mom living with her and also being a nightmare and telling her that like it was her fault she got pregnant like at 18 or whatever. And also her husband's cheating on her. Sounds like a lot of their husbands are cheating on them. they're always cheating. That's like kind of, you know,

table stakes of housewives, I feel like. It's like, I feel like a lot of housewives join housewives so that they can start their divorces. You know, it's like giving themselves a platform, it's financial stability so that they can like leave these bad marriages. So Bronwyn's was like, that was, you know, everyone knew

the writing was on the wall from the first season she joined last week or last season to this season. We were like, I'm not surprised, but it is interesting to see it come out so frequently that she was just like, yeah, he was like absolutely sexing on this plane and you're like, oh. And then Meredith is like clearly a drunk and like also a pill popper and she's like spewing hate speech to these women and then being like, what are you guys

talking about? I didn't do any of that. Doesn't remember any of that. No, I don't recall. And you it's it's absolutely slanderous that you would even say that I'm doing any drugs. And you're like, girl, listen to how you talk. This is crazy. Oh my God. And then the main character, like the most intriguing character from the history of the show, Jen Shaw, is getting out of prison, just got out of prison. And it's, it is honestly the most anticipated release from prison I can remember since Tupac. Like, usually someone goes into prison and then when they get out, like by that time,

you've kind of forgotten a little bit, but everybody's like waiting out there. Like, is she out yet? Yeah. And like, people think she's really going to come back to housewives. But Andy's been very, very firm that he's like, no funny business. she's not coming back. And I think it's interesting that he is so firm on this,

considering there is so much other, like, bigotry and issues and racism within the housewives that, like, this is for him, this is the hill to die on. I find it interesting. But I'm glad he's dying on it,

I guess. Like, out of all the things, Roney is still a fucking nightmare. Like, they had to wipe that whole cast because of racism and then come back to more racism. Like, they got a whole new cast, and then that whole cast.

was racist. And you're like, you're like, how did you fuck up twice? You fired legacy cast because there were races, rightfully so, brought in a whole new cast, and then there were more racist in the previous cast. Those are all just people's, like, friends, all the, all the executives' friends

from New York, basically. Yeah. It was crazy. It, like, blew up so bad that they, like, haven't brought it back. They were like, oh, God, season two of the new cast was so diabolical. We don't even know what to do. And they just put a pause on Roney. They're just, yeah.

Roney being real house was in New York. Thank you so much. Thank you guys so much for joining us. Becca, where can people find you, follow you, follow you at Bex, B-E-C-C-S-Ramos on all platforms, but also I have an exciting update as my Wepa-Dum comes to fruition. I am launching a podcast February 3rd, 26. It's called Welcome to A Barrio, and it is about Puerto Rican history, culture, really just bridging the community of those of us here on. on the mainland to those on the island. So if you had fun with Bad Bunny this year, if you are interested in Puerto Rican history, culture, news, food, anything, really, if you're just interested in any of those things generally, I think you'll have a lot of fun with the show,

and I'm excited for it to come out. So you can follow the show account, W-T-E-B-Pod, W-T-E-B-Pod. Yeah. Amazing. Super producer, Bay, where can people find you? Or do you care for people to find you? Well, I, okay, so I made like a work account now, guys.

Hey, there you go. Y, it's at A-B-B-E-E-I-B-E-E-I, yes. A-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-E-I-B-E-E-I-E-A-B-E-E-B-E-E-B-A-B-E-B-A. And, yeah, go listen and watch Bombing with Aragondre, and also go listen to Jenna World. Jenna World, yeah. And Becca, we've been all, like, working on it. Yeah. Dream team.

Victor, do you care to be found? Sure. You can find me on Instagram. Victor Wright, 438. Right is spelled with a W. And, yeah, check out Geno World as well as the Daily Zikeist, which you're already listening to. So that'd be great.

Daily Zikevist. I'm going to write that down. Doing what you're doing. Brian, the editor, where can people find? You can find me on LinkedIn, posing as an absolutely psychotic recruiter. That's where they come from. Amazing.

You can find me on Twitter, Jack underscore O'Brien. On Blue Sky, Jack O.B., the number one. And on Instagram, Jack underscore O underscore Brian. I've made my account public. I don't know why. We'll see. Oh, to share TDZ clips and not have them only go to my aunts. All right.

That's going to do it for this year in Internet. virality. We are back. I think we got one more year-end episode to go. And then we're back with fresh updates about whatever the fuck has been happening over these past two weeks in the new year. Hope everybody's having a great holiday. And we will talk to you all soon. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. The Daily Zykeyes is executive produced by Catherine Law. Co-produced by Bay Wang. Co-produced by Victor Wright.

Co-written by J.M. McNabb. And edited and engineered by Brian Jeffreys. Have you ever listened to those true crime shows and found yourself with more questions than answers? Who catfishes a city? Is it even safe to snort human remains? Is that the plot of footloose? I'm comedian Rory Scoville, and I'm here to tell you, Josh Dean and I have a new podcast that celebrates the amazing creativity of the world's dumbest criminals. Crimeless, a true crime comedy podcast. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Who would you call if the unthinkable happened?

My sister was y'all 22 times. A police officer, right? But what do you do when the monster is the man in blue? This dude is the devil. He'll hurt you. This is the story of a detective who thought he was above the law until we came together to take him down. I said, you're going to see my face. to the day that you die.

I got you, I got you, I got you. Listen to the girlfriends, untouchable, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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. mention 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I know he has a reputation, but it's going to catch up to him. Gabe Ortiz is a cop. His brother Larry, a mystery Gabe didn't want. want to solve until it was too late. He was the head of this gang.

You're going to push that line for the cause? Took us under his wing and showed us the game, as they call it. When Larry's killed, Game Must Untangle a Dangerous Past, one that could destroy everything he thought he knew. Listen to the Brothers Ortiz on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.