The Daily Zeitgeist - Weekly Zeitgeist 387 (Best of 6/23/25-6/27/25)

Episode Date: June 29, 2025

The weekly round-up of the best moments from DZ's season 394 (6/23/25-6/27/25)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. usually the one who drives them. The chances of forgetting them in the back seat are much higher. It can happen to anyone. Parked cars get hot fast and can be deadly. So get in the habit of checking the back seat when you leave. The message from NHTSA and the Ad Council. Over the years of making my true crime podcast, Hell and Gone, I've learned no town is too small for murder. I'm Catherine Townsend. I've heard from hundreds of people across the country with an unsolved murder in their community. I was calling about the murder of my husband. The murderer is still out there.

Each week I investigate a new case. If there's a case we should hear about, call 678-744-6145. Listen to Hell and Gone Murder Line on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jeff Perlman. And I'm Rick Jervis. We're journalists and hosts of the podcast, Finding Sexy Sweat. At an internship in 1993, we roomed with Reggie Payne, aspiring reporter and rapper who went by Sexy Sweat. A couple years ago, we set out to find him. But in 2020, Reggie fell into a coma after police pinned him down and he never woke up.

But then I see my son's not moving. So we started digging and uncovered city officials bent on protecting their own. Listen to Finding Sexy Sweat on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi-Key. Looking for your next obsession? Listen to Hi-Key, a new weekly podcast hosted by Ben O'Kee, Ryan Mitchell, and Evie Audley. We got a lot of things to get into.

We're going to gush about the random stuff we can't stop thinking about. I am high key going to lose my mind over all things Cowboy Carter. I know. Girl, the way she about to yank my bank account. Correct. And one thing I really love about this

is that she's celebrating her daughter. Oh, I know. Listen to High Key on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, the internet and welcome to this episode of the weekly zeitgeist. These are some of our favorite segments from this week, all edited together into one nonstop infotainment laugh stravaganza. So without further ado, here is the weekly Zeitgeist.

Shout out to Zeitgang. So many tips I've been incorporating. I haven't been able to directly respond to everybody because last week I said I'm putting out a call for solicited opinions, solicited facts from how to raise a toddler to a toddler bed. I will say we had one breakthrough last night for the first time. For the first time after like crying at the door and like go back to bed through the door,

he actually gave up and went back to the bed and laid down and went to sleep. And I was like, don't that shit happen at 1230 at night? But I'm taking it. I'm taking it. Yeah, it's a win. We take our wins where we can. So, Zeitgang, I appreciate you all being on this ride, this journey with me. We've been through so much already this year. I really appreciate all the child's rearing things because I need help and I appreciate that. And so does Her Majesty. He hasn't done the thing that my seven-year-old, then three or four-year-old did where he just like the rates you through the door for not letting him in He did he said that to her mad as he black. Why'd you leave me? And that fucked her up, I'm not a lie. Yeah

Yeah, my youngest like went I think I talked about on the show but went full like mean boss on my ass Oh, yeah, like why are you opening it? Do you not hear me? Oh, I get it. It's because you're stupid. You're too stupid to come and open the door. He's like four. I was like, what the fuck is happening right now? You open the door and be like, where did you learn this stuff?

He's just like sleep drunk or something. Anyways, Miles, we're thrilled to be joined in our third seat by the Valley's very own, a very funny comedian, artist who has performed on stages and at festivals across America, runner-up in LA's longest-running comedy competition. You can see her at her sold-out monthly show, Salty AF, at the Hollywood Improv, and doing a fundraising show this Friday. This Friday. Called One Night in the Valley. Please welcome back to the show, it's Holly Bray.

Holly. Woo, hi, thank you so much. Thank you, I feel like we've already been through such a valley journey, because Jack, you talked about your thigh and your song, but I did also already see Miles' thigh on this Zoom. I had to. I talked at Miles' walks. Thank you. I talk about my I talked it, Miles walks it.

I talk about my thighs, nobody's ever seen them. Miles will show you his thigh at the drop of a hat. Unprompted, yeah. He's got the valley tattoo. I'm from the valley too, I have it tatted. I have the area coat tatted on my body. And Holly, last time you were on,

I was out on parental leave, so we didn't get to meet. And so I'm glad now, because'm another fucking Valley legend. Oh, yeah, brother Where'd you where'd you go up in the valley? I was born in Van Nuys and I actually still live super close to Van Nuys Mostly like walking around Van Nuys. What about you? Yeah, I grew up All right. All right. That's me. I love to see it. We love to see it. And look, they said we couldn't do it. They said we're just weird people, valley people. And now we stand at the precipice of podcasting. I guess.

True bedroom eyes. I prefer van eyes. Wow. Appropriate, corny, poor wordplay. Yeah, you did it. Holly, we do like to ask our guest, what is something from your search history that's revealing about who you are?

Sure. My number one, last one was, it said, Hillary Duff and Mandy Moore? Exclamation point, question mark. Because fellow Valley lover, a friend of mine works at a new restaurant who says, Hillary Duff and Mandy Moore are regulars. And my brain broke when he told me this.

And I realized like, it was so telling to be like, oh, those are two people at my age and as a millennial that I would see in public and be stunned into silence. And yet I would see someone way more famous or way more well known and not nearly care as much. You know? But I mean. My big surprise would be, oh, those are two people.

Because I actually in my brain had lumped them together. I don't know how. Wow. Oh my God. I don't know why I didn't realize that they were two people. Woo, hate mail. Get it, get it going. No, I fucked up know how. Wow. Oh my God. I don't know why I didn't realize that there were two people. Hate mail. Get it, get it going. No, I fucked up big time.

That's all I'm hitting. Dude, Hilary Duff and Manny Moore, they like objectively not the best actors. Okay, I'm going to need you. Oh, now Jack breaks. Oh, now. Duff Gang just pulled up. Thank you. Now look, I wasn't a fan of let the rain fall down but her acting

Anymore a lot of dude come clean is such a good karaoke song. Yeah, once you get to that part You know, I know but it made me think like I want to know who if you saw somebody in public That is not like mega mega famous but to you matters public that is not like mega, mega famous, but to you matters too much. Who would stun you into silence that you're like, Oh shit, I would be, you know, I'd actually leave. I saw Desus nice in Highland park. Uh, I don't know who that is. Is that from DeSemero?

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, you should know. Yeah. Fantastic. Is he related to Hilary Duff? I don't know. Is he related to Jesus Christ, this Desus nice? But that was a moment when I was, oh, shit, it's Desus?

And I was, I didn't even tell, I didn't say anything that I even clocked him, that I was just like, oh, there's Desus, okay, okay. I just kind of played it cool. Yeah, but it's like an act, it's like to me, when I'm drunk and I don't want someone to think I'm drunk, and then suddenly I'm like, be don't want someone to think I'm drunk Why you drooling oh

Sorry, sorry. Yeah, just over enunciating things. Yeah Walking with a top hat. You're like Good day, sir Walking the way that the t1000 and termininator 2 runs with my hands just like very straight. 90 degree at the elbow. Yeah, exactly. This is normal. For me, I want a real jaws kick right now, but the only person who's left a lot,

I mean, can they be dead? Because if I saw Roy Scheide, I'd be. That's cheating. I'd be freaked out because he passed away a long time ago. Yeah, yeah. And then would you like beat him with a spiked bat because he's a zombie and you know that's your duty? Yeah. Fuck.

That's a much different game. Get back in your grave. There's definitely podcast people who are like that. I'm a big fan of the Blank Check podcast. I got to see Griffin and producer Ben down at the iHeart podcast. Oh, that's right. You were a geek. Oh my God. You're the producer Ben down at the iHeart Podcast. Oh, that's right. You were a geek. Oh my God. Yeah.

You're like producer Ben. You were calling him producer Ben. You're like- Producer Ben. I did call him producer Ben. He was like, can you not do that? I like how we both basically said podcasters. Yeah, that's right. Aw, that's so cute.

Yeah. I mean, it's what we do. It's who we are. Holly, it's who we are. Holly, it's who we are. Tam, what's something you think is overrated? I'm going to be hated for this by both of you. But I think... You guys. Garlic. I fucking hate garlic.

You hate garlic? I hate it. I hate the smell. I hate the taste. I hate the taste it leaves in my mouth. My husband came into the bedroom the other day with a smell of garlic and I kicked him right out. And that night he had farts that smelled like E. coli. It's not right. It's wrong. It's not right.

It's wrong. Just real quick, couple of things. Fuck you. First of all, fuck you. Do you need to be invited in to enter a building? This is just a random question. It has nothing to do with your reason. Yeah. Yes. How are you looking in the mirror? Let me see the backs of your hands real quick. I'm the Nosferatu. Yeah. You gotta look at them fingers, chat. She seemed a little like insecure the way she brought up pointy fingers.

Yeah, just don't like pointy fingers. Wait, but are you like, if you taste garlic, if you taste garlic, you're like, I'm off, I can't eat this. Or you're just saying, you're just saying going hard, going OD on the garlic is not your thing. Yeah, going OD or, you know, I can like, I'll just take it out of my recipes altogether, but it's not that I hate the taste. It's just what it does to me after it's not worth it.

Is there a thing you can take to sort of help that? I don't know. Is there? I don't know. Like my dad can't eat raw onions and he used to be able to. And he takes like some thing and then he eat raw onions. I mean, I I'd love to know what it is I'd love to be you know actually I think oh, I have you know yeah, try that Maybe it's just indigestion and that's all it is. Yeah Alright, who knows and then I'm like cuz how are you gonna eat a chimichurri? Well, I don't guys

I don't I don't I can't I Guys, I don't I don't I can't. I had a barbecue the other day and I left out a whole ass bowl of chimichurri and my fucking dog went on top of the table and ate the entire bowl. You don't know. You do not know the shits he took. Oh yeah, that's pure oil. Pure oil, like squirting hot. Like so embarrassing on my walks.

It was just like flying across the yard. A trail of chimichurri. You're like, hey, oh, cute dog. Psst, psst, psst, psst. Oh, oh, oh. You're going to, I'd pick it up, but I don't even know how to with this bag. I'll just lay a bag on it like a cadaver at a crime scene. Here we go. Draw a chalk outline around it. I'll just lay a bag on it like a cadaver at a crime scene

Draw a chalk outline around it So how am I supposed to like garlic after that? Yeah, I get it. That's fair. There are times when The garlic is coming off someone like Okay, I know I was eating a lot of garlic last week when we are at that happy I'm just saying like there are times, you. When someone's had too much to drink and you can smell them coming, there are times when I've had too much garlic and it's just like you enter the room and you're like, whoa, somebody. Yes. And yeah, I'm so scared of smells and of smelling always that I feel like it's just my insecurity. That's what it is sure I'm always aware of my breath

I'm always aware of the stenches around me. Were you a stinky kid? No, I okay So you just had that fear just generally because you didn't want yeah, I get that Yeah, and my sister's the same way. We're both like we're very aware of when someone has cotton mouth Y'all looking at each other. You're like, yes, we're like fucking cotton mouth king over here. Remember the cotton mouth kings? Fuck it. Remember about to go see them tonight.

Yeah. You hear it. You see it. You like it. I feel it in my bones. Yeah. That's sometimes it happens on a podcast and it's. It's tough. Oh, and you can hear it?

Yeah. It's distracting. You can hear their mouth open. You're like, oh, Jesus. Guys, there's nothing worse. I just grabbed both my tits while I said that because it hurt. I did the moth last two weeks ago. Oh, you did?

And I was like, I'm like, I I get cotton mouth when I'm really nervous. And they were like, well, you, we don't allow water on stage. And I was like, I have a disability policy is that you can, you can hear the crinkling of the water bottle. And they were like, no, we don't allow, but like, we don't encourage water. So you, and I was like, I need water on stage. I had a traumatic experience where I my lips. I don't know. I made some shit up and they put a water bottle as an.

That's good. They're like, if I can talk into this mic and it's going to sound like someone's trying to peel apart like a fruit roll up from the plastic. Yeah, you don't want that. Then it's just like, you know, when your lips dry up and you're like, it's like a turtle in the middle of the desert. And just those white little spittle flecks of the corner of the mouth. Oh, I read about that in my book.

My aunt had that. One of my favorite TikToks is this is a woman, this black woman. She's like, tell the people with the spittle in the corner of your mouth, do you want me to beat the shit out of you? Like it's just the video and I'm like, yes. It's a disease. It is, like they must, it must be a problem.

You know, like I don't know how they're not aware of it. I think it makes sense that your sensitivity to olfactory distress is what has kept you Like, I don't know how they're not aware of it. I think it makes sense that your sensitivity to olfactory distress is what has kept you from ever being a smelly person because I think that's what it is. It's just an obliviousness, you know, to just like what I'm putting out there with my mouth. I did raise my hand in science class in seventh grade and the guy next to me, I turned around and he was going pew but it's because but it's because I I was just starting to smell like armpits and I I didn't know there was like one hair you know oh god sorry about that I was trying to find this video on

tiktok one dance video came up how shady is it when you're in a silent waiting room and then it's just like oh, yeah And like doing annoying things like by Lado Rocky Like you know that video do you see that trend Man that shit that shit was blasting the other day in this like silent fucking room I was like, I'm sorry the most obnoxious like tick-tock noises came out of my phone many apologies Zell what some of you things underrated? Cerise Castle, I think you're in mine So I think Cerise's LA's best journalist like working right now She was a guest on my podcast the inner cities and we did it on YouTube

And it's the first time we did that and it worked out really well But like Cerise has this ability to find local LA stories that have impact Nationally, and I think she's prominently known for exposing sheriff games back in 2021 With her piece on LA Taco. She has now moved to a new group called Capital in Maine and she has been Following the story of A.B. Hernandez. A.B. Hernandez is a student athlete who has been targeted by their own school superintendent for being trans. And she has been performing very, very well, but she's also being beaten by other young women

who have identified as women since birth. So just proving that there's really no case here. And she's having adults who have no children in the school whatsoever come to her meets and harass her. And she was also targeted by President Trump and a true social statement, which I think, again, Cerise is like Cerise has been on top of stories that have such deep resonance and that you may not even be realizing is happening in your community.

And I just love her death. So check out Cerise, follow her on everything. Follow any journalist she suggests to follow because I gotta be honest with you, also doing a podcast where we talk about the news, I basically stopped looking at American journalism when it comes to stories about America. Like mainstream?

I go to The Guardian, I go to like Le Mans, cause I speak a little French. But when it comes to, yeah, like when it comes to stories about America. Like mainstream? I go to the Guardian. I go to like Le Mans because I speak a little French. Uh, but when it comes to, yeah, like when it comes to stories, I'm looking directly at the intercept, I'm looking like occasionally wired, wired, still good. But like, it's hard. So you got to support these. Yeah. 404 media. Yeah.

Yeah. Theresa's the best. Yeah. Just like hyper local, like deep reporting on stories. And so fucking, just so devoted to truth and speaking truth to power. And at any, I mean, like just thinking of the. Like the harassment she was getting after the LASD gangs thing and just does not stop her.

I don't know if she ever said this publicly. She had to hire a bodyguard during that time. Yeah, we heard about that, yeah. Yeah, like it's crazy. She's the best, she's amazing. Totally. What is something you think's overrated? Unions that don't support other unions,

and this one might get me in trouble. So this spring, the Writers Guild of America, which I've been part of since 2014, their staff voted to unionize. And I am very thrilled for them. I was a Writers Guild captain during the strike in 2023, the entire time. We could not have won that without the staff. I don't know if people realized it. It wasn't just writers out there. The administrators of the staff, the lawyers of the staff, the accountants of the staff, they were all there setting up our pickets

and managing them for us and occasionally like dealing with like emergency response in instances. So they are amazing. They were the backbone of the strike. When the staff decided to organize, they were met with what I would consider to be a little more resistance than I would hope from another union.

And it was really disappointing. The most upsetting thing of this is that the WGA fired a labor organizer named Fatima Moreta. And Fatima was an organizer for LA hotels before she came to us to help out. And she really did this groundwork to make it more than just like TV writers demanding more money. We were picketing and marching with hotel workers

in this town and we showed up at their rallies. It was really, really amazing. And I felt really for the first time, particularly being like a working class kid whose mom had a union job. And that's the only reason I was able to go to college and become a writer from Fresno, which I feel like people don't understand how far that is from LA, even though it's not really that far from LA. It's very far from LA. I felt a kinship and a community that I have not really felt all the time. I, without being in the actual thing,

in the actual like Writers Guild Staff Union, which is what it's called, the Writers Guild Staff Union, I don't know what happened. They said they let her go from cause, but the union itself is asking the Writers Guild to reinstate Fatima, and I really support this. I really, really am saddened that this has been the reaction of the Writers Guild, because I showed up at 3 a.m. for pickets

because my union asked me to. When I was harassed by studio lots during this picket, I still showed up. When I was sometimes harassed by WGA members who didn't like me asking them to not get hit by a car, I still showed up. And I will always have more solidarity with Fatima, who is an immigrant who worked for working class people

in this town, than I ever will the white millionaires who are constantly giving speeches and telling me what to do that time. I'm really upset. If I could give a piece of action to Zeitgang, like go to their Instagram, the WGA staff union Instagram, and just follow them and say, congratulations, that's all you have to do.

If you are a WGA member, and this is the first time you're hearing about this, you need to ask your captain why this happened and let them know that it upsets you because she was an amazing labor organizer and it's really really sad what the guilds do. They're not even talking about it. They said they were she was fired for cause and I know enough people in the staff to know that that's not a good enough answer is all I will say. Yeah. Yeah. So this is the staff of the guild. Right.

The people who work for the guild. The people who keep the guild running. Yeah, newly formed in April. They fired her the day before they announced their formation, which is sus. Writers Guild Staff Union is what you should look for on Instagram. Just follow them.

And if you're in the guild, be nice. Be nice about asking the question. Yeah. There you go. All right, great, overrated, be nice. Be nice about asking the question. Yeah. All right. Great. Overrated, underrated. We are going to take a quick break. We're going to come back. We're going to talk about... We're going to check in on our friends at The New York Times, see how they're dealing with all this upheaval, all the stunning, shocking changes. We'll be right back. In sitcoms, when someone has a problem, they just blurt it out and move on. Well, I lost my job and my parakeet is missing.

How was your day? But the real world is different. Managing life's challenges can be overwhelming. So what do we do? We get support. The Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council have mental health resources available for you at loveyourmindtoday.org. That's loveyourmindtoday.org.

See how much further you can go when you take care of your mental health. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future had to shoot your gun. Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this Taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Inc. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One, Taser

Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple podcasts. The summer of 1993 was one of the best of my life. I'm journalist Jeff Perlman and this is Rick Jervis.

Rick Jervis We were interns at the Nashville Tennessean, but the most unforgettable part? Our roommate, Reggie Payne, from Oakland, sports editor and aspiring rapper. Jeff Perlman And his stage name? Sexy Sweat. In 2020, I had a simple idea. Let's find Reggie. We searched everywhere, but Reggie was gone. In February 2020, Reggie was having a diabetic episode. His mom called 911. Police cuffed him face down. He slipped into a coma and

died. I'm like thanking you, but then I see my son's not moving. No headlines, no outrage, just silence. So we started digging and uncovered city officials bent on protecting their own. Listen to Finding Sexy Sweat on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Over the past six years of making my true crime podcast, Hell and Gone, I've learned one thing. No town is too small for murder. I'm Catherine Townsend. I've received hundreds of messages from people

across the country begging for help with unsolved murders. I was calling about the murder of my husband. It's a cold case. I've never found her and it haunts me to this day. The murderer is still out there. Every week on Hell and Gone Murder Line, I dig into a new case, bringing the skills I've learned as a journalist and private investigator

to ask the questions no one else is asking. Police really didn't care to even try. She was still somebody's mother. She was still somebody's daughter. She was still somebody's sister. There's so somebody's daughter. She was still somebody's sister. There's so many questions that we've never gotten any kind of answers for. If you have a case you'd like me to look into, call the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. Listen to Hell and Gone Murder Line on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We're back. We're back. Yeah. I just want to read the headline and then the subhead from the New York Times on Zorin's mayoral win, primary win. Said, Mondani's success and mayoral win, primary win, said, Mumdani's success in mayoral primary reverberates beyond New York City. Yeah, that makes sense.

Feeling it here in LA? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then as Zoran Mumdani pledges major changes after his apparent primary win, national Democrats are looking for lessons and Republicans see a new political target. That's how you know he's doing the right thing. for lessons and Republicans see a new political target. So that's how you know, that's the headline that you would have if the Democrats like that sounds like it's bad news for the Democrats. Yeah. The Democrats are looking for answers or lessons. And the Republicans are licking their chops.

I mean, that is for them because he's showing that like, if you actually give people what they want, they will vote for you. And now the Democrats are going to have to do that for shame. What I didn't read the article when they say they're looking for lessons, did they mean that to say this is potentially a new path for Democrats? Like they can learn from this or they're like, how did they fuck up and not added to Cuomo, not win lessons? It's a little bit of that. I mean, there's there's a lot of donors in there who are like, well, we're just going to have to solidify behind mayor Eric Adams now.

And then there's one donor who said, I feel like people misunderstood my $250,000 for Cuomo for real enthusiasm. It was basically, Oh, looks like Cuomo's coming back. We don't want to be shut out. Let's try and get on his good side. I wish I had $250,000 I could spend unenthusiastically. Yeah. Oh, don't mix that up for enthusiasm.

That's a cool quarter million just to keep my name a little just in the conversation. Don't take that for anything else. I don't want to be shut out. But yeah, I mean. I mean, it was that or another house that I could flip. So I just decided I'd one less flippable house. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. I already have five of those.

Yeah. But it's just, I don't know. It seems like so much of the democratic establishment is powered by either people voting for them or donating to them because that's who they think always wins and they're like the lesser of two evils that's really like how where their power comes from and their brand is currently catastrophic failure to do the obvious thing they needed to do to win. Yes. That's what the last big moment they had.

Well, they have to let them fail so that in nine months, then they can say, look how they failed and we'll all be dead, but they can say that. Right. Look how we killed our base. Whoops. It's really giving Nico like the Luca trade. I know it's just back up. I just like what the Democrats did in the 2024 election, where like they came in had like a little spark at the start and we're like, we're going to call them weird. We're going to like talk

about price gouging and shit like that. And then immediately started tacking right and just ignoring what everybody in their base knew they should do. Yeah, it's giving Nico 98% of their fans and supporters would have done a better job than they just did. And it was a highly public, highly consequential series of decisions that they just did. And it was like a highly public, highly consequential series of decisions that they just failed at in a way that we were like, well, that seems wrong, like over and over repeatedly. You know what I mean?

Yeah. Yes. And it's the same thing they did in 2020. I'm still upset about March 2020 when Bernie was doing okay. And then like Amy Klobuchar and Buttigieg and everybody was just like, oh shit, let's just jump behind the centrist. And it's them attacking what their voters actually want. Like they, it's, we're never going to freaking learn this lesson of doing slow fascism is what I think the Democrats are pitching to us.

Cause it's like, they keep saying like, oh, democracy is in danger. We have to do things that like actually energize people. And then Zoran comes out here and is like, I'm a freezer rent. I'm actually going to do some price controls for food. I'm not saying you got to shop at the NYC grocery store, but there will be stores to shop at the green room. Do it. I don't care.

I'm going to make buses fast and free. None of this is bad like the fact that the Democrats which is supposed to be the opposition party have Like, you know, Hakeem Jeffries I think a couple like right after the election Finally said like I'm gonna sit down and talk to this Zoran Mahtab really really like a year into his or but two years Into him running for this seat. You finally decided that you're going to you're going to stand for the guy who is not the sexual predator. You're going to stand for the guy who was not killing people's grandmas.

And like it's I'm still trying to understand why Andrew Cuomo thought he could come back because it's like that was three years ago, dog. Like some of us have like covid brain, but not that I remember my grandma that you did. The established, I mean, I think all these establishment Democrats, whether they're like part of the infrastructure of the party or the politicians themselves, they just think it's, it's still 1998 or some shit. Like they're thinking is stuck there and they don't even see like what the, um, what the consequences are of them constantly knocking back

a perceived leftist or hyper-progressive, ultra-left wing policy in favor for something that looks more like 2004 Republicans. I feel like their pitch is, fascism you can sleep through and he's like, change that you can believe in. They're like, I think we want the fascism you can sleep through. I think that's what people prefer. They've been doing it for like a decade now.

It's brunch fascism is what you can get. And that's pretty what. And some people are insulated enough that they're fine with a world like that, but the majority of us that live in this country are absolutely not. And I think they don't realize that every time they knock one of these policies back, they're saying, fuck you to all the people that stood to benefit from that policy. They don't realize that every time they knock one of these policies back, they're saying fuck you to all the people that stood to benefit from that policy. They don't realize that. But when they say every time they don't take action on police brutality and shit like that,

they lose people. Every time they've pumped faked codifying row, they lose people. Every time they don't take aggressive action to fight corporate greed, they lose people. Every time they fucking fail the dreamers, they lose people. So how the fuck do they think they're going to get them back by being like, well, we're going to do some really cheeky rezoning to help, uh, some, you know, this luxury condo will have 14 affordable units within it. Like at a time and place of our choosing.

That's the summary of it. Just being like, we're going to do that at a time and place of our choosing. That's the summary of it just being like, we're gonna do that at a time and place of our choosing. Yeah. And also, I don't think they realize, you know, because again, so much of the power in the Democratic Party is either old or is capitulating to the old, i.e. Hakeem Jeffries. And it's just like, they don't realize the word socialism is not, it's not 1958. Like kids aren't scared of that. Like, yeah, it looks like 1958 in the script.

I mean, they talk like it's 1958. I mean, like day after, not even a day after he wins. It's just like, there's going to be a 9-11 in New York. It's going to be his fault. It's like, yeah. Okay. First of all, whatever. I don't know where to begin with that, but like. Oh, cause it was Giuliani's fault too?

Is that the logic? Yeah, I know, right? Or you're just merely saying because he's a Muslim that that equals 9-11. Okay, cool. Yeah. So your naked Islamophobia also ain't hitting. Yeah, but like, I don't think, I don't think my niece, I have a five sister, so I have a billion nieces and nephews. I don't think these kids, like they're not even kids anymore.

Most of them are young adults, but like I, socialism is not a scary thing to them. Like a lot of them, they grew up in a world where they could see a kid in a country that had like socialist leaders. Fine, they're perfectly fine. I'm, Anne Hedda, I'm a big fan of France. I talk about it way too much, as my friend tell me,

but like the mayor of France is a socialist. And honestly, yeah, Anne Hildago, she's this amazing socialist who has been pushing through like things like making France even more, sorry, mayor, I said mayor of France, forgive me. Don't judge me French people. Okay, I was for a second, I was like, we're sounding real American right now.

I know, I'm so ashamed, Miles. Oh God, you have no idea how deeply you cut me by pointing that out. The mayor of Paris. I was confused because I was willing to be like, oh, maybe this is just a position I didn't know about. No, no, no, no, no, I wish. Mayor, actually I don't wish.

But like Anne Hildago, the mayor of Paris, specifically the city of Paris, which is not France, I know that French people forgive me, is a socialist and has been making the city bikeable and walkable. And guess what? She's not the most leftist party in the country. There are wonderful things that can happen

if your party makes their core, we actually want to distribute wealth and resources. And younger people know that. And frankly, I think they finally understand that we've been conning them this whole time with this idea that like America just is The best it's like no we can I got I got fucking tick-tock like I can see people going to like on vacation for months And that's what China wants. That's why they're undermining us. Yeah, that's how they that's how they win once. That's why they're undermining us. That's how they win. America is like an ultra sports car from the 80s, but every year you get further from the 80s,

the more it looks like shit. You know what I mean? And you're like, I don't know, bro. Pulling up in that, it looks fucking weird now. And people are like, hey, man, it's a Ferrari or whatever. It's a DeLorean. These things could really go for like 15 seconds. But like what Zorn is know, his policies aren't necessarily like capital S socialism either. Like these are things like that you would have seen FDR like get behind. It's like, Hey man, we got to make some food affordable. How about we expand the ability for people to take care of their kids?

And, you know, but these, again, these are things that are just straight to the point because he's consistent around the concept of shit costs too much. And we need to do something that the people will actually feel like when you say it, they go, ah, yes, that rather than bureaucratic, like wonk talk. And they're like, oh, great. A 3.3% like what? Like you start talking shit like that. People don't understand free buses.

Yes. Right. Price controlled supermarket. Great. Yeah. You know, free things for, for new parents. How dare you. Yeah.

But that's why I think it's so dangerous. So difficult for the mainstream media to deal with is just the one thing that they had that the Democrats had was the idea that they were the practical path. Socialism is nice in theory. You can't win elections. It scares people. People wildly vote for it. Yeah. And then everybody votes for it. I think now they're like, well, you can't actually do it. But I just want to read this other quote from the article. But with Democrats shut out of power in Washington and focused on taking back the House next

year, it remains unclear how closely senior lawmakers will embrace Mr. Mamdani as they try to flip battleground districts where his far-left stances might alienate voters. There it is. Of course, no acknowledgement that this very publication, where this is being written, was saying this very same thing about his policies in New York City. Right.

They were like, New York is tacked right and traditionally, they've been open to voting for Democrats and Republicans. Also, this is said elsewhere in the article. It is the fucking capital of capitalism. It is the capital of capitalism. They just voted for a socialist and they're like, well, that couldn't work anywhere else.

Also, that it couldn't work there. As far as I know, those people don't eat food or have babies to take care of. that couldn't work anywhere else. Also that it couldn't work there. A day ago. As far as I know, those people don't eat food or have babies to take care of in those battleground states. So I don't know if these policies will fucking appeal. Like are you be for real? Yeah, where is this place they're talking about? Because like, I will, okay, granted, again,

I come from Fresno, California. It's a very conservative part of California. They may still be afraid of the term socialism. But if you just talk to people about, yo, do you want your house to be less expensive? They're down. Would you like eggs to just be a normal fucking price again? Absolutely down for it.

Do you have a problem giving a new mother some supplies to get started with? No, what kind of monster would, no one is against these policies. They're against the fear mongering that you do around it. They're against this idea that somehow raising the tax on the wealthiest people in your town is going to impact most people when in actuality, if you go back to when you keep talking about what America was great, those people would have been paying like 50% taxes.

It's insane. Yeah, I mean, like, and then I think people, people are beginning to realize that like all the fear around, you know, wealth, like progressive taxes on the wealthy, they're ambiently getting all that fear from the media that they fund. You know what I mean? So like at a certain point, it's actually like, do I know somebody who's actually gonna get fucked over by these progressive wealth taxes? No, actually, I stand to benefit from all these other policies. So this is a decent thing.

There's also like the amount of just bed pissing from the Democratic consultant class is so telling that I think that they are, I think they do see that they are losing their grip a bit like on the party and because this is where it's getting real. Like we've been saying since the election, like the next fight for the Democrats is who is going to be at the wheel of this party? Is it going to be the progressive? Is it going to be where all this energy is right now? Or are they going to do everything they can to just rest control again

and drag this thing to the right? This one strategist told a political quote, it is extremely alarming that the only candidates who genuinely excite our voters are the ones making absolutely insane promises on politically toxic positions. That's their take on what has just happened. That's how they're trying to spin that is that like this is all fucking stupid. It's quote, leaving us in the spot of trying to execute on bad policy and losing terribly, or failing to keep our promises and reinforcing the idea that all politics is bullshit. Yeah, okay.

Okay. So again, I think we're saying all of their reflexive habits of just spending money on studies and going for a superficial deregulation and like zoning reform is just not working anymore. And I think this must be, this feels kind of like probably what never Trumpers were thinking when Trump stepped on the scene in 2015 that were like, they did fucking everything. They're like, bro, get this guy out of here. He's done know what the fuck time it is. Like we have our own neocon shit that we're on, that we're really we've protected this thing.

We have all the money. We control the media. Let's see if we can get this guy out the box. But they fucking couldn't. They could not. They couldn't. And he's still fucking one. And I think he just again, he had an appeal, sadly, to the voters that felt like the party wasn't really following through on their like racial grievances. And Trump was there for that.

And they're like, Yeah, you know what? That's kind of what I'm kind of what I've been missing, really. And in this in this end with Mumdani, he's appealing to the voters who are fucking sick and tired of the Democrats just failing to deliver and just talking around things getting better. And they don't realize that that's what's happening. It's like, the shit gets hollowed out and somebody's offering what you want. They're all gonna move this way now No, and there and again you look at all the money they spent trying to smear mom Donnie like all the those fucked up Attack ads trying to paint him as a terrorist and shit and he's still fucking one And I think again there's I think they're they're starting be like, fuck man, like, but we don't do stuff

that's going against the status quo. We're the constant gardeners of the status quo. And he won by getting people to go out again. Like, can we just acknowledge that the big factor of the last presidential election was a lot of people just did not wanna vote because you gave them the choice between the crazy guy that they had experienced already and somebody who was doing a fucking whistle stop tour with Liz Cheney. Like we need to excite people. Yeah. Yeah. They were like, you know, what would be a good idea is if we ran against Trump with

something that is as close to Jeb Bush as possible. The person that he beat in the very first place to make it clear to everybody. Please clap. Yeah. Please clap. Yeah. Yeah. I was going to add, did you guys see Bill Ackman's frantic midnight tweet?

I heard about people were saying him and Elon's tweets were real something that night of the primary. What was his? Oh, there it is. So it's, again, he's not, I'm not saying Bill Ackman is a part of the Democratic Party. I am saying he's one of these people who would literally give money to anyone who would stop a progressive from doing anything. But like, he literally said, I woke up in the morning gravely concerned about New York City. I thought, what has New York City become that it avowed socialist has supported who supported defunding the police whose

solution to lowering food prices is city-owned supermarkets who doesn't understand that freezing the rent will only reduce the supply of housing who has no experience managing organizations let alone a city of a hundred million hundred billion dollar budget and two trillion dollar economy and who believes that chance of Globalizing the Intifada are acceptable wins the Democratic primary and it's just like Every time I see something like this, by the way, that's the first paragraph of I don't even know how it's Yeah, yeah, but like he is looking literally for anyone to run against him and basically saying I will fucking destroy Democracy in the city of New York before I allow these people to have a progressive leader right and as they see what time it is

Yeah, absolutely And I'm my big fear and concern and I'm sure there are smarter people working with Zoran who who have thought about this is that the Democratic, the mainstream establishment Democratic party having the chance to get like Bill Eichmann money will trade the city of New York for that money and that is what I think we all need to be looking out for because if we don't, if I'm judging the Democratic party for the next election based on how strongly they support Zorahann going out because like the man Did it he did it he fought he fought an established? Democratic machine legacy nepo baby. He fought the billionaires were giving him money

He fought the the general racism of America and he got people to show up and if you can't get behind that I Don't even know if this country even has an opposition party to the Republicans anymore. And I mean, that's where I think talk, like serious talk has to be about like, where does this energy go? Because it can't be trusted with the Democrats at all. Yeah.

But I mean, it has to, right? Like the Democrats just need to fucking step up because yeah, and good luck. But again, the thing is, right, all of these, this donor class, the consultant class, they see that all this energy is coming from young people, normal people who aren't wealthy and are starting to realize, bro, this, this inequality is fucked up and for them, they're like shit man. They're fucking realizing I'm catching on. Oh, we're fucking drink

We've been drinking their fucking milkshake for centuries now and they're getting behind policies that are actually going to address that I don't want to live in that world. We need to stop him. Have you guys ever seen Dark Knight Rises? There's a guy who went on MSNBC and was like, they're talking, eat the rich. Have you ever seen Dark Knight Rises, the part where they make the stockbrokers walk on frozen river and then they fall through? That's, I mean, I'm just saying, like that's, like he was a lot of stammers. Yeah.

He was evoking Bane, which is always the sign that they're in a, in touch with reality. I think people forget how Gotham City got how Gotham was people were treated like shit And eventually a rich person got got and one rich person was like, maybe I'll do something about All right, let's take a quick break we'll be right back We'll be right back. In sitcoms, when someone has a problem, they just blurt it out and move on. Well, I lost my job and my parakeet is missing. How was your day? But the real world is different.

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This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple podcasts. The summer of 1993 was one of the best of my life. I'm journalist Jeff Perlman, and this is Rick Jervis. We were interns at the Nashville Tennessean, but the most unforgettable part, our roommate Reggie Payne

from Oakley, sports editor and aspiring rapper. And his stage name, Sexy Sweat. In 2020, I had a simple idea. Let's find Reggie. We searched everywhere, but Reggie was gone. In February 2020, Reggie was having a diabetic episode. His mom called 911. Police cuffed him face down.

He slipped into a coma and died. I'm like thanking you. But then I see my son's not moving. No headlines, no outrage, just silence. So we started digging and uncovered city officials bent on protecting their own. Listen to Finding Sexy Sweat on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Over the past six years of making my true crime podcast, Hell and Gone, I've learned one thing. No town is too small for murder. I'm Katherine Townsend. I've received hundreds

of messages from people across the country begging for help with unsolved murders. I was calling about the murder of my husband. It's a cold case. I have never found her. And it haunts me to this day. The murderer is still out there. Every week on Hell and Gone Murder Line, I dig into a new case, bringing the skills I've learned as a journalist and private investigator to ask the questions no one else is asking. Police really didn't care to even try. She was still somebody's mother.

She was still somebody's daughter. She was still somebody's mother. She was still somebody's daughter. She was still somebody's sister. There's so many questions that we've never gotten any kind of answers for. If you have a case you'd like me to look into, call the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. Listen to Hell and Gone Murder Line on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Finally, some good news. Kind of actually. Yeah. What? He ran into Florence and got married. Shout out pissed off Italian people. No, I was going to say just good news because I can believe in love again. Oh, oh yes.

After things went south with that last marriage, he found love again. With that damn Mackenzie. With that damn Mackenzie, this guy find love again with, you know, a new person. And they say, and this is the person that he was caught texting. I love you alive girl. So it's also a sign that, you know, romantic poetry is not dead. He is that now they're getting married in Venice and they were like, renting the city. They were like renting the city. They're like, shut down. Yeah.

We're going to shut down chunks of your city. Uh-huh. Which like happened. Like I've been places where like all of a sudden they're like, yeah, yeah, no, you can't come inside this like national park or something because like rich people are here recently. I saw her someone people were getting married, like in front of the pyramids in Giza. Yeah.

What the fuck? Okay, sure. Anyways, him being third richest person in the world, there was some attention and the people of Venice were not thrilled that their city was being shut down. There's been a long running sense that the city values rich tourists over the people who actually live there. And so they start there too. Also there. I know you believe it.

They've got that issue there. Whoa, hold on. Then wait a, you have to go to Venice, Italy to find that clash. That's like Nashville and they cut down all the cherry trees to, so the NFL draft could have their stage. The whole town was like, what are you doing? Those are like historic cherry trees. And they're like, we'll replant them. And then some arborists like waited and it was like, you can't replant them.

And they're like, we're still going to do it. So we're cutting them down there. They're like, we're still going to do it. And I was like, no, we're going to do it. We're going to replant them. That's not possible with the cherry tree. Yeah. But that's, we're going to do it. Well, we're saying to do it. We're going to replant them. That's not possible with the cherry tree. Yeah, but that's we're going to do it.

Well, we're saying it is just for the purposes of moving along this conversation. Right. It's a lot like the it's a lot like the global hyper normalization. It's just like, yeah, but that's what we're going to say. We don't need experts to weigh in on this. We're going to plant them. We're not cutting Medicaid. Okay. I don't know where you keep hearing that just because you're reading the bill that we're trying to, you know, get votes on right now. We're not doing that. It's just, you're like, wow, full of full-on authoritarianism. But yeah, the fucking banner they unfurled and like the square, it said

with Bezos laughing, he said, if you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax. Yeah. Nice. With a picture of Jeff Bezos laughing uproariously and they really caught a bad angle. I think normally he doesn't look like a super villain from Superman, but they, they just must've caught him at a bad angle because he's more like, actually

that's what he looks like. Sorry. Nevermind. Yeah. He's got like human growth hormone, Mr. Magoo kind of thing. That's right. Basic bitch too. Fucking Florence. Like, I mean, that's the thing human growth hormone Mr. Magoo kind of basic bitch to fucking Florence

Okay, I think about these guys In his Chris Venice, whatever. I mean, that's the same shit Bar let's run a cigar bar. No, I want from I'm kind of crazy You know, I'm kind of a guy who thinks outside the box You know how I am always about innovation and everything, how I decided to make packages go faster. Well, another thing I thought about was, I'm gonna rent a cigar bar for my fucking bachelor party.

That guy sound crazy or what? He's like, we're flying in master cigar rollers from Cuba to roll them fresh right in front of us. He's gonna roll them on the casino floor because I think outside the box. Now, don't be off put by the fact that they're blindfolded with a bag over their head. They just can't see where they are while they're doing the rolling.

And I want you guys to experience something wild for the actual ceremony. I'm going to take you to a city where no one's ever been before. Yo, you ever asked your stow on the beheaded, on a decapitated head of a peasant before? Oh, you got to fucking try it dude. It was sick parties. I've never even heard of this place. There's the streets are fucking water.

Yeah, you're not going to believe this. I just heard about it. They've got these things called gonbolas. Gon bowling. Gon fishing. You go in them and it's like a car and that's where you go on the street. So protesters were like, we're going to fuck up the event. We're going to protest.

We're going to swim in the canals to block the waterways. And it actually worked. They're moving the wedding outside of the city center. Protesters are claiming a victory, you know hell yeah shout out to them hell yeah no because they were like all the all these people like 200 billionaires descend you know it's like fucking oprah and shit and he wanted trump and oprah wainfrey mick jagger evonka trump yeah at first when i was like they when they said the amount of private jets that were about to hit venice i was like oh the people of it of Italy, you could really do something special with all those

important people's jets there in one place. But I'm sure that place is locked down like fucking who knows what. But the way they were talking was like, all these people are now booking up the water taxis and all these other modes of transportation to get to the city center for the wedding. So like their whole plan was like, okay, we'll bet you can do that. But we are literally going to block the canals with shit that floats and our bodies. So good fucking luck. And that was enough of a threat. So I really appreciate that. I really appreciate that. All right. That's going to do it for this week's weekly zeitgeist.

Please like and review the show if you like the show. Means the world to Miles. He needs your validation folks. I hope you're having a great weekend and So If a baby is giggling in the back seat, they're probably happy. If a baby is crying in the back seat, they're probably hungry. But if a baby is sleeping in the back seat, will you remember they're even there? When you're distracted, stressed, or not usually the one who drives them, the chances of forgetting them in the backseat are much higher. It can happen to anyone. Parked cars get hot fast and can be deadly.

So get in the habit of checking the backseat when you leave. The message from NHTSA and the Ad Council. Over the years of making my true crime podcast Hell and Gone, I've learned no town is too small for murder. I'm Catherine Townsend. I've heard from hundreds of people across the country with an unsolved murder in their community. I was calling about the murder of my husband. The murderer is still out there.

Each week, I investigate a new case. If there's a case we should hear about, call 678-744-6145. Listen to Hell and Gone Murder Line on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jeff Perlman. And I'm Rick Jervis. We're journalists and hosts of the podcast, Finding Sexy Sweat.

At an internship in 1993, we roomed with Reggie Payne, aspiring reporter and rapper who went by Sexy Sweat. A couple of years ago, we set out to find him. But in 2020, Reggie fell into a coma after police pinned him down and he never woke up. But then I see my son's not moving. So we started digging and uncovered city officials bent on protecting their own. Listen to Finding Sexy Sweat on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Looking for your next obsession?

Listen to High Key, a new weekly podcast hosted by Ben O'Keefe, Ryan Mitchell, and Evie Oddly. We got a lot of things to get into. We're going to gush about the random stuff we can't stop thinking about. I am HiKey going to lose my mind over all things Cowboy Carter. I know. Girl, the way she about to yank my bank account.

Correct. And one thing I really love about this is that she's celebrating her daughter. Oh, I know. Listen to HiKey on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.