The Daily Zeitgeist - Weekly Zeitgeist 411 (Best of 12/8/25-12/12/25)

Episode Date: December 14, 2025

The weekly round-up of the best moments from DZ's season 418 (12/8/25-12/12/25)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. I knew it was a bomb the second that it exploded. I felt it ripped through me. In season two of RipCurrent, we ask, who tried to kill Judy Berry and why? They were climbing trees, and they were sabotaging logging equipment in the woods.

She received death threats before the bombing. She received more threats after the bombing. I think that this is a deliberate attempt to sabotage our movement. Episodes of RipCurrent Season 2 are available. Now. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Robert Smith, and this is Jacob Goldstein, and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas, and destructive companies in the history of business.

First episode, How Southwest Airlines Use Cheap Seats and Free Whiskey to fight its way in the airline is the most Texas story ever listen to business history on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts what are the cycles fathers passed down that sons are left to heal what if being a man wasn't about holding it all together but learning how to let go this is a space where men speak truth and find the power to heal and transform i'm mike delarocha welcome to sacred lessons Listen to Sacred Lessons on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Dr. Lari Santos from the Happiness Lab here.

It's the season of giving. And this year, my podcast, The Happiness Lab, is partnering with Give Directly, a nonprofit that provides people in extreme poverty with the cash they need as part of the PODS fight poverty campaign. Our goal this year is to raise $1 million, which will bring over 700 families out of extreme poverty. Your donation will put cash directly in the hands of these families in need, and they'll get to decide how to use it, whether that's school transportation, purchasing livestock, or starting a business. Plus, if you're a first-time donor, your gift will be matched by giving multiplier,

which means more money for those in need. Visit givedirectly.org slash happiness lab to learn more and to donate. That's givedirectly.org slash happiness lab. Hello, the internet, and welcome to this episode of the weekly Zykegeist. These are some of our favorite segments from this week, all edited together into one nonstop infotainment laugh stravaganza. Uh, yeah. So without further ado, here is the weekly zeitgeist. Miles, we're thrilled to be joined in our third seat by a very funny stand-up comedian,

writer, actor, producer, creator, creator of Boast Rattle, a compliment contest, and never seen a podcast where famous comedians rewrite classic movies they've never seen you can and should go stream his special happiness and you can catch his show live in LA on January 19th and at Sketchfest in San Francisco. Welcome

back to the show, The Hilarious. Kyle! Thank you. Thanks for, you know, it's good to be here. Yeah. Great to see you. Great to see you. Great to see you. Nice to hear about your Fender Bender affirming care that you've been giving out. Yeah, yep, yep, yep. He always wants to drive is the thing.

You gotta let him. I used to just be like, well, I would just, you know, turn the car off. I'm like, let him sit in the driver seat,

you know, like basic, I'm driving the car, quote unquote. But now he's like, turn the engine on. And I'm like, yo,

no, full of what? He's realized you've been giving him an unplugged controller this entire time. Exactly. The equivalent. There's been no quarters in the arcade.

Because he watches me drive and he's like trying to work the gear shifter and stuff. I'm like, oh, hell no, this is not, this is not how it's happening. He still doesn't know how to turn the car on, luckily. I keep telling him the hazard light button is how you turn the car on.

And he's like, why won't it turn on? I'm like, I don't know, man. I don't know. Thank you. He's just able to go viral for that. Yeah. Like a kid would just like be famous on the internet for driving a car two blocks to get to the store or something. Yeah, yeah.

Right. Steal his parents car. There's some great early internet videos of like cops chasing down a person and then they come to the door. It's like a seven-year-old. Did you ever- Parents wouldn't take him to McDonald's? Did you guys ever have like those kids who? would drive their friend's cars? Like when they weren't around,

they're like, yo, dude, do you want to take the car out and you're like 14? There's a big trend in eighth grade in Kentucky to steal your parents' car. Oh, really?

Yeah. I definitely, a lot of people would do that. I did cheeky rides to like Blockbuster. Like, that was like up the street. I wasn't driving my friend who was like completely a wild ass kid was like,

dude, my mom's gone, let's go to Blockbuster. And we're like, fuck yeah. We get in the car like we were fucking 20. It was crazy. We were 14.

Wait. How old? Like 14. 14, 15. Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah. I don't think so. I mean, my dad drove like a massive, long automobile.

This is great, the car Mike Erman Trout drove in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. It was the car my dad had. So I was afraid to drive. It's like you're driving the Edmund Fitzgerald down the road. Right. Like, the steering wants to go around once just to get or go take a right turn. Yeah, yeah. You need that, like, that trucker knob on it.

We're a little light on this one. We're going to go around. Yeah, look like the big timers. Every time I go around a corner the amount that I'm like doing this, that's a reference that's getting even older. It's hard to push the pedal in my gator boots, you know? Yeah. Thank you.

And the pimped out Gucci suit. I was very scared of driving cars when I was a kid. I was like, I had a recurring nightmare. I think this came from my mom. I think this is a pretty common thing that you would just like leave the kids in the car and like go into the store real quick. Like with the, you know, crack a window, leave the radio on. I don't think that's a thing.

So, what, are you living a good town? And I would have, I had a recurring nightmare when I was a kid that the car would take off with me in it. Oh, that's so sweet. Even into, you know, driving age, I was very, I was very scared of. There's a lot of sentient car media for kids. That's right. Yeah, that's true. Exactly.

Even the best of them half the time turn into the bad guy. You know what I mean? So you need to, uh, whether you've been decepted in some sort of way. Yeah. Victor points out that I might have just been clairvoyant and I might have seen the Waymo's coming, you know? Oh, that's true. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Stephen King invented those shits, well, incredibly high on cocaine. Yeah, nothing's ever made more sense than everything we've learned about him since seeing anything he wrote. Right, right, right. You've never had to, like, pitch me twice on. Actually, do you know Stephen King was? I guessed. I guess he was, and they all made perfect sense. Yeah.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That makes sense. Makes sense. You know what they left out of the movie that was in the books? I do. And I'm glad it's not in the movies. Thank God those people weren't on as much cocaine when they were adapting. I'm glad movies are shorter than books or we all would have seen all these things that were in the book.

What is something from your search history that's revealing about who you are? The most recent thing I searched this morning was Jen Shaw Outwin. Jen Shaw Outwin. Are you going to meet her there at the prison? Like, in Ocean's 11. Yeah, you'll be leaning against a car, smoking a cigarette. It's very Ocean's 11. We're going to pull a high street.

No, I, yeah, I was wondering, and it's actually tomorrow, strangely enough. Wow. I mean, she's counting down the hours. Yeah, December 10th. Today is Gent Shaw Day for all who celebrate. Yes, she's ready to go. Nice. Are you, so you're a fan.

I'm assuming. Yes. I'm from Salt Lake. Come on. Come on, boys. No, I'm from Salt Lake City, and I've started for better or worse recapping the show for my podcast. And so it's a, you know, I have to be on top of this sort of thing. But I've followed the whole journey.

And I'm just so curious as to what this woman's life is going to be from here on out. Because she, like, ruined thousands of people's lives. and the idea of her actually not being a, I mean, she must be a psychopath. I can't imagine her behavior's really changed, but maybe, I mean, this could be a whole, a new thing that shows me hope and humanity. Who knows? Yeah, she comes back, completely reformed, part of the nation of Islam, and just goes into helping people around Salt Lake City. Right.

What exactly did she get caught doing? Was it like a Ponzi scheme? It was a, um, no, they were like, contacting mostly senior citizens and telling them that they could, like, launch businesses and then emptying their bank accounts, essentially. Nice. Oh, wow. Yeah, I'm on her Wikipedia page, which really charmingly just describes this as legal issues. Like she got pulled over for speeding.

Yeah, and then goes into wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a telemarketing scheme, which is pretty rough. So this happened. like as she was joining Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, right? Like she became a star on that show and were people like kind of putting it together based on what she was doing on that show or like was the spotlight? Did that have anything to do with her getting caught? I think the spotlight must have had something to do with it, which is why I think like she must be a true psychopath because she had been doing this for a long time and obviously

thought she was never going to get caught. She felt like she could be the star of a TV show and never. I mean, she was right. I mean, like the amount of money she seemed to have never made sense with what the job she was talking about. It was all just very unclear. But I can't imagine that like law enforcement was watching the show and then put it together. Right. Although I mean, that'd be incredible. I do have this little question. Sorry, I'm still on the Wikipedia. Because the scam was like just this version of like business coaching. Like we're going to, we're going to build like a business website for you. I guess it's the draining bank accounts part. That's like not so good. I'm just like, all this stuff is a scam anyway. So I'm just like, yeah, what is the line between this and every other capitalist enterprise that prey on the elderly? I may be just poisoned in that regard.

Yeah. I had to, Bridger, do you, has the recent uptick in, like, I guess, Mormon shit in pop culture, does that instill you with any, like, hometown? Like, are these the, the SLC celebs that, like, you've been waiting for? these are the people I want representing me in my culture for sure no it's it's it's been a very confusing thing for me because especially with like the secret lives of Mormon wives initially I found the show so boring because I was just like these are essentially women I went to high school with I don't understand why this is so interesting people but then like I got into the rhythm of it and then I realized oh yeah this must be so exotic it's often I'm like I feel like I immigrated from another country where I'm like the culture of

Utah is so far removed from what the majority of Americans experience. Yeah. So I can see why it's like people are like, what are they doing? Why do they do any of this? So it's not just like gawk game like the Stanley Cups like came

from the like those reality shows like that that whole trend like came from that. So people aren't just like pointing and laughing. People are like it's like aspirational for people to like look at these people's lives and I think Dirty Sprite also came from there.

I don't have the exact. Dirty sodas, but probably not the probably not the one that's the future drinks. The only one that didn't come from there is dirty Sprite. Did they get the idea from future? What if instead of like having the Pometency, like the cough syrup in there, we put a flavored coconut milk syrup.

I mean, there is like a world where they're just like, we can safely co-op these trends. Until it gets outside of Salt Lake City, basically. Because, like, you know, people aren't supposed to know about this other shit. We can be our own culture and take, you know, if you borrow some words, whatever, who cares? Right. Just kind of integrate them in.

So, yeah. But I think Mormons, I mean, at least since blogging began, weirdly, Mormon women have been very influential on culture. Yeah. This bizarre. Oh, sure. Because, yeah, it's like, it's so aspirational because their lives, at least in photos. over good recipes look wonderful.

Yeah, yeah. Right. The casserole culture. Right, exactly. Is there anything that, so you grew up in Salt Lake City? Yes, yeah. Is there anything that stands out to you

that like you thought was normal and then you like got outside of Salt Lake City and you're like, oh, that's very particular to where I grew up? I was thinking about this recently. I was thinking about like all of the teachers through my public education would, in the morning would be drinking diet Coke. And it occurred to me recently, like, people in other states or other cities, probably their teachers, like, they probably smelled coffee in the school or whatever. Oh, yeah. All my teachers

smelled like coffee all the time. Right. And that just was, I mean, that maybe one in 50 teachers might have had coffee, but I can't remember any of them. So you would see a can of Diet Coke at 7.30 in the morning. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I used to, my first job out of college after being a pool boy was at ABC News and I worked on the same floor as Diane Sawyer and she would house diet coat like she was up for

Good Morning America like four in the morning she would go through like a six pack by the time like I was walking into the office it was fucking crazy so

was she just peeing all the time it just feels so inefficient doesn't that seem terrible doesn't that seem like a terrible way to get your caffeine Kim what is something you think is underrated

Indoor malls Indoor malls Oh my God I do love an indoor mall I just had a day date last week And I haven't been in a mall in forever And we were just walking around And it was lovely

Like we didn't buy anything And it was just fun to window shop We got like little Polaroid pictures in the booths And had some centipan And called it a day It was great I love that

I do love an indoor mall I also love, like, like, Little Tokios and stuff. We'll have, like, indoor malls where it's, like, all these fun, like, Japanese shops and stuff. Little's Tokyo. Yeah. Little's Tokyo. Little's Tokyo. Little's Korea.

Chris Roots. Steve. Ruth's Steakhan. But, yeah, they're very cute. And it's nice to be protected from the elements. Yeah. It really is. Well, like, where I live, it's fucking.

freezing now. So to have somewhere that's warm and can just, I don't know, rack up some steps, that's great. And where do you live? Give us an exact address. Yeah, if you could tell us the address. The indoor mall was such, I don't think people fully appreciate how pervasive and important the indoor mall culture was in the 90s. Like, it was all there was. It was a big fucking deal. It's where all the kids hung out. That's all you did. I was 10 years old. Yeah.

In the morning. My birthday gift was to get a limo to go to the mall. That was my birthday. No, I did that for my birthday too, except for the limo. Yeah. We had to go to my mom's van. But like. I didn't get any gifts.

The gift was the limo. But I felt fancy. But she put an unplugged phone in the back so you would feel fancy like it was like it was a limo. Yeah. We had the best ginger ale. Oh. We would go, like when I was in dance,

we would have like competitions or we'd have like a matinee show and then an evening show for like sleeping beauty or whatever and in between we'd go to the mall and try on prom dresses yeah that's what there was to do at hot topic you know we're talking at our uh Arnold Schwarzenegger icons episode about how many of his movie like his iconic scenes take place in malls like that it was he was he only made sense in the 80s and 90s like really and he made so much. much he was like such a product of that moment that people were like could i see him like kill someone in a mall maybe could i get that in a mall that's like the nostalgia of stranger things one of their most epic scenes from previous seasons was in a mall like the ice cream shop or even um the last of us like anytime there's like a horror movie and it goes back to a mall it feels like it's fun yeah it makes you feel like a kid running from something it was dead fuck it was also Wednesday you can go in there and be the only person in the mall like sometimes it's uh it's wild now it used to be different there's a place in los angeles called the beverly

center that is a massive massive indoor mall that is almost it's almost like a fucking escape room like there's like you go you get in an elevator from the parking garage yeah it doesn't make you're like go through three levels of best buy yeah exactly it's so strange But it was, I think it's in Clueless. It's like the hot place to go in Clueless. It's the indoor mall that they go to in Clueless. It was like the coolest thing. And then the Grove came along and was like,

what if outdoor mall? And everyone was like, we're never going back to indoor malls ever again. And you go in there, it is haunted. It is completely empty in the indoor malls. No, it's why. That happened in every city. Like in Utah, when the Olympics came through, they had the gateway mall, which was like the outdoor mall that was like the new cool

mall. And then like the freaking water coming up that kids run through became a thing at every outdoor mall. Like there was it definitely the rise and fall of indoor malls like during our childhood and then the outdoor mall and now everybody's just on Amazon. Yeah. And now nobody goes to either of them. I lived right by the Irvine Spectrum and it was a fucking nightmare every time. Parking was always miserable. There's people running around. and then, you know, you have to deal with the weather. So the indoor mall, it was so refreshing. Yeah.

Outdoor malls feel like you have to walk further for some reason. Yeah. I don't know why. Minnesota mastered the indoor mall arts, the indoor everything arts. Yeah, cold places. That is kind of a cool place where you just like, they're like, we made our entire downtown have an indoor mall running through, like, from building to building.

You just walk through a mall. They do that in, like, Pittsburgh, too. Like, when I went to, I went to Carnegie Mellon, and they would connect the, like, sometimes you would never have to go outside to go from class to class. But Minnesota's, the Minneapolis Mall has a friggin' amusement park in it. I know. That's great. It's so cool.

What's the Great America Mall? Yeah, the Mall of America. Yeah, it's in Minnesota, I think. Yeah. Okay. Matt, what is something you think is underrated? Underrated? I would have to say, listen, I, this, I don't know this,

person actually is underrated. But he was recently in the news as being bad at acting, and I disagree. Paul Dano. Oh, come on. Paul Dano is underrated by Quentin Tarantino very specifically.

And I... That is the implication of these questions. What is underrated and overrated by Quentin Tarantino? Right. What is Quentin Tarantino want for Christmas? Right. And it's, I don't know, feet picks, probably. yeah feet picks we have paul dano before you hey quentin and before you finish saying what do you want for

he responds feet picks yeah yeah that's why he hates paul dano his awful feet just hideous little pigies he wouldn't show i bet you he didn't show them hogs i bet he was just like i'm not gonna do it and he's like come on man you know just as weird fucking bullshit yeah no but paul dano is like uh even even with the like outpouring of support for him after quentin and Tarantino trashed him for no reason. I was still, there was part of me that was like, no, but seriously, he is probably, I mean, since the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman,

he's probably like the best actor in Hollywood. Whoa, so you're a real Danno head. I'm a big old Dano head, dude. He's so good. Even in his bit role in the Sopranos where he just played AJ's weird friend, crushed it. I didn't even know he forgot about that.

Yeah, he was AJ's weird. friend. I forget they were like, I forget what they're even talking about, but I was just like, yeah, that kid's weird. I got to follow his career. So yeah, Paul Dano's my guy. Freaking me out. Yeah. Yeah, Dano's good. Quentin Tarantino has lost his marbles there. I said it. Yeah. I'm going, I'm going there. Guys lost his marbles a little bit. Absolutely. What if I defended of like, we've all had a mic shoved in our face and said dumb stuff. Okay. We've all had that happen. So who knows? If he could do it again, I bet he would take it back. I'm sure he would. Yeah. I'm sure he would. Yeah. I do need Paul Dano. I like him as an actor as well.

I need him to come out and give us the backstory because either way, it's fascinating. If there is like something that he said no to that Quinn Tarantino wanted him in, that's great. If he, like, is there something that happened behind the scenes or if it's like completely out of the blue also very interesting yeah also hilarious if it's just literally get in there dano i know get your hands dirty a little bit yeah we need we really do need to know what the backstory is behind that because it's such a random person to hate especially someone who is so clearly a good actor like objectively to yeah you know what's your favorite dano besides you know being the weird friend and apprentice i mean i mean other than there will be blood the most obvious dano movie um honestly uh i

think uh love and mercy his portrayal of young brian wilson is like okay that that to me is might be the best biopic out there like music biopic and uh it's so funny that like what's what's the name of the guy who played mike love no no no no no the guy who played Mike loved to play Brian Wilson. Dude, that would have been hilarious. He's just like, I'm doing it. No, he'd love it. He will love it.

This is what Brian would have wanted, man. It's like Brian was still alive at that point, too, but he's still talking about him as if he's dead. Yeah, you know, the guy who played Freddie Mercury and Bohemian Rhapsody, you know, was just like Rami Malik. Malik, yeah. Like, the fact that he, you know, one best actor for that there's so many music biopics that have like best actor oscars for

you know the lead and that is this is the only one that i think is deserved paul dano playing young brian wilson he did it so perfectly it was my theory on that is that hollywood can be fooled every time with a set of a set of fake teeth a hundred percent yeah tooth acting is is real and you put some fake teeth in there like whoa he's like a different person wow that's crazy the same thing as like my kids putting on like Dracula teeth on Halloween and like looking in the mirror and being like oh my god I look like a real vampire oh my god cool yeah tooth acting man yeah they should just create a separate category for best tooth acting yeah they it stops being the hack to win right best prosthetic that fooled me yeah fucking whoa whoa whoa There's a separate Hall of Fame for it With baseball and performance-enhancing drugs It's just like, yeah It works on me too

I'm just saying that like you We shouldn't punish people Who are playing characters who have fine teeth Right, you know Exactly. What could he do about it? Yeah What's something that you think is overrated? Therapy

Thank you Don't need it Stop telling people to go to it People don't, you know, look, I understand that everyone is in this, like, wellness, like, you know, like thing now. It's like this era of like, oh, I go to therapy and I work on my problems, you know, fine, good for you. But some of us are out here crushing it by just like, just putting, you know, like taking those problems and just putting them down deep, deep inside. and letting it, you know, stew. Marinate for a bit.

And I'm one of them. Like, I had not needed therapy, you know, for years. I've not needed it. With baby shit. That is baby shit. And I have a baby now. And now I'm like, oh, good. Now I have someone to talk to.

Yeah. My kid is my therapist. Exactly. And that's healthy. Yeah. And that's good. I taught her one phrase, how do you feel about that? And I have her say that over and over as I'm talking about my sexual dysfunction.

That's right. We're learning about each other. I remember reading a story about how someone tried to bullshit you once, Matt, and they wound up in the fucking hospital. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That happens a lot. I have a pretty amazing bullshit detector.

It's sort of a rubber glue type thing. Nice. Where you try to bullshit me, whatever you bullshit bounce up me and sticks to you. and then you go out of the hospital. Yeah. It does sometimes some people do confuse you with a brown noser because your bullshit detector is like you need to get right up on the bullshit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

But you're not brown nosing. I don't brown nosing bullshit. That's right, exactly. In fact, that's why I don't like therapy. Because every time I went, when I used to go to therapy. And after a while, I was like, first of all, why are you so obsessed with me? I would say that to my therapist. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I'd be like, you should be paying me. right and you never yeah you sound healthy no this is good so listener this is good advice and you should definitely listen to matt on this it sounds healthy people think that they're all their problems will be solved with therapy maybe maybe not I'm built different yeah my problems are solved by grinding you know what I do I grind I cry I rise and grind I cry and grind and you just kind of you just have to like let your feelings you know like go deep down

you have to push them there you push them deep down inside to quote the wire way down in the hole yeah yeah watch some TV talk about Paul Dano for a bit fucking problems are over find out what you want for Christmas

and if you do go to therapy here's a I would never but go ahead no no and this is for the audience not you just for the whole audience because I don't need it you don't need it at all and if someone tricks you if someone gets their claws in you

and makes you go to therapy there's a fun phrase to use and you say we're at time when I fucking say we're at time I find that's very helpful yeah that's right that's right that's how you teach them

to respect you yeah exactly you go in there and you punch the clocks that's right you punch the biggest clock in the room that's right yeah first night get their name wrong I guess we get another

mispronounce their name you know I did I did have a therapist who mispronounce my name for a full month. Is that true? Yeah. And I didn't correct. Your name is not hard to pronounce.

He thought I said Nat. Nat. And he kept calling me Nat. Like King Cole? Yeah, like King Cole. And I didn't correct him, you know, because eventually I was like, well, I haven't yet paid him the check. So I gave him the check for the month. And I was like, well, surely he'll read my name on the check.

I really wanted to avoid that. And then he, and then he, and then, and the, and then, and the, and the, next session he called me Nat again and I was like I'm sorry we have to stop yeah my name is Matt yeah and he said why didn't you tell me and I was like I don't know because I'm scared because I have an avoidant personality shouldn't you know that why am I here right that's why I don't need therapy I have a there are certain people in my life who just from when I was a kid refused to believe that my name is not Zach and they will continuously after, you know, BLA, just they want to default to Zach.

You know, that kind of works. I think I have come off as a Zach. You do come off as a Zach. I never thought about it that way, but you are Zach O'Brien. Fuck. We found another one. You're wrong. Yeah.

I'm the one of the wrong. Your dad's wrong. Your mom's wrong. Everybody wrong. No, my parents are both Zach people. They call me Zach. They wanted to call you. It's on your birth certificate.

Yeah. So who's calling you Jack, actually? thing is it just you yeah it's me and the intro to this show uh that's about it okay so it's like a stage name it's a it's a character miles created it's a chair name yeah let's take a quick break we'll be back to talk about times person of the year don don't don't don't pipe bomb explodes in the front seat of environmental activist Judy Barry's car. I knew it was a bomb the second that it exploded. I felt it ripped through me with just a force more powerful and terrible than anything that I could describe.

In season two of Rip Current, we ask, who tried to kill Judy Berry and why? She received death threats before the bombing. She received more threats after the bombing. The man and woman who were heard had planned to lead a summer of militant protest against logging practices in Northern California. They were climbing trees and they were sabotaging logging equipment in the woods. The timber industry, I mean, it was the number one industry in the area, but more than it was the culture.

It was the way of life. I think that this is a deliberate attempt to sabotage our movement. Episodes of Rip Current Season 2 are available now. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. For 25 years, I've experienced. What I've explored what it means to heal, not just for myself, but alongside others. I'm Mike De La Rocha.

This is Sacred Lessons, a space for reflection, growth, and collective healing. What do you tell men that are hurting right now? Everything's gonna be okay on the other side, you know, just push through it. And you know, ironically, the root of the word spirit is breath. Wow. Which is why one of the most revolutionary acts

we can do as people just breathe. Next to the wound is their gifts. You can't even find your gifts unless you go through the wound. That's the hard thing. You think, well, I'm going to get my gifts. I don't want to go through all that. You've got to go through the wounds you're laughing. Listening to other people's near-death experiences, and that's all they say.

In conclusion, love is the answer. Listen to sacred lessons as part of the My Goutura Podcast Network, available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Dr. Lori Santos from the Happiness Lab here. It's the season of giving, which is why my podcast is partnering with Give Directly, a nonprofit that provides people in extreme poverty with the cash they need. This year, we're taking part in the Pods Fight Poverty campaign. And it's not just the Happiness Lab.

Some of my favorite podcasters are also taking part. Think Jay Shetty from On Purpose, Dan Harris from 10% Happier, and Dave Desteno from How God Works, and more. Our goal this year is to raise $1 million, which will help over 700 families in Rwanda living in extreme poverty. Here's how it works. You donate to give directly, and they put that cash directly into the hands of families in need. Because those families know best what they need,

whether it's buying livestock to fertilize their farm, paying school fees, or starting a small business. With that support, families can invest in their future and build lasting change. So join me and your favorite podcasters in the Pods Fight Poverty campaign. Head to give directly.org slash happiness lab to learn more and make a contribution. And if you're a first time donor, giving multiplier will even match your gift. That's give directly.org slash happiness lab to donate. Hi, I'm Radhi Dvlukaya and I am the host of a really good cry podcast.

This week, I am joined by Anna Runkle, also known as the crappy childhood fairy, a creator, teacher, and guide helping people heal from the lasting emotional wounds of unsafe or chaotic childhoods. We talk about how the things we went through when we were younger can still show up in our adult lives, in our relationships, our reactions, even in the way we feel in our own bodies. And Anna opens up about her own story, what helped her notice the patterns she was stuck in and how she slowly started teaching her body that it is safe now. So when I got attacked, it was very random. Four guys jumped out of a car and just started beating me and my friend.

And they broke my jaw on my teeth. I was unconscious. Then I woke up and I screamed. and I screamed because even though I didn't know who I was or where I was, something in me was just like, hold on, wait, they could kill me and I'm not going to let that happen. I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to get through this, and I did. Listen to a really good cry on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And we're back. And how much you guys up on Katie Miller? Katie Miller. What? Interestingly, I. I was not aware that she was Stephen Miller's wife. I didn't know he had ever had any relationship with another human being. Doesn't it seem strange?

Doesn't it's children? Yeah. You can't imagine that man reproducing. It's very weird. Sexually. I assume like a sort of a budding process or like something like it coming at him like regurgitating another version of himself out of his mouth. Yeah.

That is very vivid to me, but every other version of human reproduction and not. I can't see it. No, absolutely. There's a wild clip where, like, his wife went on the Jesse Waters show. And Jesse Waters is, like, you know, doing a host of Waters world. All comedy's world. He's doing, like, a poor man's version of Don Draper. Like, he watched Mad Men and was like, this, this is it.

This is what I'm doing for the rest of my life. And he has her on. And he's like, and you're, of course, married to the sexual Matador. And, oh. We don't know what that meant, but they both started laughing so hard that it was like, wait, what? She thinks it's a joke.

It's like a mega. Oh, or it's like a mega inside joke. I guess. But it also seemed like they were fucking, like was what was the impression that she and Jesse were. Yeah, that she and Jesse were because like they had like a very warm energy as they

talked about her husband being a sexual matador, which feels like, feels like it could be an inside joke between people. Yeah, people who are cheating on their spouse being like, yeah, every time you try to have sex with him, he's like, whoop, out of the way. Not this time, baby. And then they laughed way too hard about that. But yeah, so she has started a shitty podcast where she just like shows off complete lack of

conversation skills. She's made some really memorable appearances on debate shows where she's so easily be frazzled, it feels like she's engaging in self-harm by even, like, appearing on the panel. There's one where, like, the person just, like, won an argument with her. And rather than just, like, you know, you don't, it's not like they were like, winner or anything like that. You just move on to the next thing. But instead, she just started screaming that she was going to have them deported. She was like, you better get your papers in line. It was like, really, she just went full villain, movie villain, like, right away.

that's what's the content of her podcast it's just that hopefully yeah it's just her talking to people about how yeah having people they say something like nice but not quite nice enough she's like you better get your fucking papers in order called you better get your fucking papers in order with Katie Miller

every guest is just dragged to my screen but she's also done a really good job of pretending that her family is a victim of, I guess, like, anything. So when people in their Arlington neighborhood were like, get this human trash the fuck out of here, kind of, like, not really. They protested in the most gentle way that somebody could protest while, you know, saying the truth. They wrote, Miller is praying on families.

Not like on their house. They wrote it on the sidewalk of their street in really nice, like, light-colored chalk. Like, it was like a nice blue, and then, like, it's like very Easter egg colors. It's like, I mean, it is, it is kids chalk. It is the only sidewalk chalk that really there is, right? Yes. I don't have kids, but it feels like it's always we got that exact best out.

It's that or white chalk, you know? Yeah, they don't have like dark, jewel tone. Right. And you know the millers really like white chalk. Oh, yeah, of the white chalk. I just, there's something about it. There's something about it that I just prefer. But she, so she responded to that by saying people were making terroristic threats to her and doxing her.

And it got so bad that they had to list their nearly $4 million mansion, which, like, when you think about that, that sucks, you guys. And, like, we're all, we're all for pushing back against fascism on this show. But, like, when you have to list your $4 million mansion. It can't be uncomfortable. I've been through it so many times. I know. But think about all the new rocks they have to buy now for their new mansion. Yeah, exactly.

But we got the police report about the protests and the analysis by the police, who, again, don't, they're not fully against overdoing it to protect people who live in $4 million homes. That's kind of the police thing. But this Arlington police report kind of undermines her characterization of the protests. They said the messages were non-threatening and alluded to political issues such as immigration, transgender rights, DEI, and white supremacy. Arlington County Police, welcome to the resistance. That's right. Acab, for the next 20 minutes no longer includes you. Yeah, so that's just a quick check-in with them.

We do like to. The saddest, weakest people. These people also are like. white people are the supreme the master race is really struggling i guess is what i'm saying oh it's really it's hard andrew we're having a hard time okay we have to find neighborhoods without sidewalks it's very difficult that's right do you think does the handwriting in this i guess we're this is a podcast but the handwriting in this um in the still from the from katie miller is like so neat that it has that kind of like

she drew it herself right like the blacks rule from the black laws matter protests that was clearly written by a Trump supporter or the woman who I just think they would have gone more over the top if they had done it themselves if they were writing it there's that young woman from New Jersey who recently got caught

claiming that she had been like zip tied and like had Trump whore carved into her back, I think. And then it was revealed, her case fell apart when it was revealed that her accomplice who had like found her and taken the pictures of her to share with police had recently Googled where to find zip ties. And they were like, oh, okay. And then that she had recently Googled scarification expert.

So scarification expert. Yeah. I mean, she reached out to some. to do the cuts for to actually doing it I mean that there was the the girl that did the had the the backwards B on her face

for Barack and like a fake black eye I'm just saying at least at least they're making progress yeah all right are you guys Vegas people at all you ever go to Vegas? Absolutely not I mean

there is literally there is literally the the like the highway exit I guess or the split on the way going to Vegas and it's literally like Vegas or Salt Lake City like you could make your choice

right there are you in America I'll just say yes and everyone who's listening to this podcast with me on before probably already knows that yeah so I was there recently there's a new Slade article about the somewhat of a vibe shift happening in Vegas

where a lot of the stuff, like they interview a lot of people in Las Vegas who were like, you used to get a stake this thick for $6. And now, like, those days are all gone. And the numbers are not promising. The hotel occupancy is cratered. Yeah. Flights to Vegas have cratered. Nobody from Canada. Like, Canada used to be a large portion of the tourism in Vegas. It's so surprising to me that Canada needed to come down there. Canadiens don't seem like Vegas people. Yeah.

Oh, there's plenty of garbage people in Canada. I was at a poker table with someone from Montreal and it reminded me that some of them really are Vegas people. Yeah. You just find that it's just because

you haven't been to Vegas, so you haven't met the Canadian Vegas. Too much. You're just not. Okay, that's where the no. Yeah. Absolutely not.

come from. There's even a air carrier that, like, used to fly low-cost flights from Edmonton and, like, other Canadian locations. They've had a 60% drop-off in people flying to Las Vegas. So there's, like, some very straightforward explanations for this. Tourism's down nationwide. It's just not as much down as Vegas is. But there's also something that's been happening over the past couple decades that is endemic to America, which is, that they were taken over by private equity. They've been taken over by private equity companies, and the private equity companies are just finding any way that they can

to lead people dry. So, like, all of those, like, free giveaways and things like that, where the idea was, like, get people here, and then, you know, the gamblers will pay for it. And amazingly, like, as tourism has cratered, gambling profits have gone way up. like which it's the exact story of the pandemic like so what they did is they during the pandemic not as many people were coming so they changed the rules of a bunch of the games like blackjack no longer pays out at like 1.5 now it pays out at like 6 to 5 so they've like yeah and then you're having your notes here i have a bit on the not a bit i have something to say about roulette sorry you go ahead well roulette is you

used to be like one of the better deals that you could get, like essentially if you hit, they would pay you out for like as, you know, about the right odds. The only thing that like keeps it from being completely even odds are the green zeros that they had, the zero and the double zero.

First, it was just one zero. And then they were like, guys, I got a fucking crazy idea. A second zero. And during the pandemic, they had another brainstorm. They were like triple zeros.

I'm just saying. And so they just keep adding these spots. For the record, triple zeros are like illegal in Europe. Like if you're a casino operator, you double zero is frowned upon. Triple zero is like fully illegal. Yeah. Like it is such a juicing of the odds towards the house

that is like truly disgusting. But yeah. So they do all these things to make gambling more like worse for people, more expensive. And then they do it during the pandemic to be like, we got it. We got to stay afloat. And then they just never take it away. And it's like all of the inflation. Yeah, that's everything. Exactly. That's everything. Like, and even during the pandemic, like, all these companies that were supposedly like struggling to stay afloat are reporting

record profits. It's just like, how are they getting away with this? Part of it is that gambling is a thing that you can become physically addicted to. Oh, right. And mentally addicted, too. So, agree. But, like, changing the odds, like, you might lose some people, but you hit the floor of the whales and the addicts, and they will just pay at whatever odds forever. Yeah. Forever. It's really, really, really sad and gross.

I don't know why. It's what we call inelastic demand, which is what private equity goes around looking for, and they just find anything they can. And it really, it feels like, like, we talked about this when they first started doing it during the pandemic, that everything started feeling like airport prices. You know, like before you would like go into an airport and you'd be like, why is this bottle of water $7? Like, that's crazy. But like, you know, it's because they have you captive. And like, you can't go anywhere else to get a bottle of water. And now it's just like the whole capitalist like ecosystem is just like, yeah, you can't go anywhere.

We're doing this just everywhere. It's just airport prices all the way down, you know? The thing I've noticed is charging for sauce. Have you noticed now if there's a sauce, you have to pay for the sauce? Oh, yeah. It's ridiculous. Sauce should always be free. Yeah, free sauce.

It's helping you sell more food. Yes, I'll buy more of your food if I can dip it in something. Right. Oh, God. Yeah, the vaguest thing is like, I mean, the thing is, it's like, as someone who isn't even particularly a believer in capitalism, I don't, I truly don't understand why no casino owner has just been like, hey, we're just going to zag what everyone else is zigging and just charge less for this shit that we already will definitely still be making a profit on. it's really weird to not just be like, hey, this is the casino that you can afford to bring your family.

Bring the kids. Well, I mean, yeah. Or whatever. Or you, the person who might not be in the 1%. There's a market for you. Come to this casino. The only really fun night I've had in Vegas was that there was a casino

that had like a Burger King in it. And I think that was it. It wasn't like, like, there were no... I think you were in a Burger King. Yeah, it was in a Burger King with slot machines. No, it had a Irish theme. There were people, like, little people walking around with, like, leprechaun costume.

Wait, what? And it was, like, the lowest limit. Like, you could play craps and, like, not lose all your money within 30 minutes. And, like, that's where I, like, learned to play craps. Like, you could play the whole night. And it was just... I think it was in the basement of, like, a real casino. And they're just like, I don't know, let's read it out to them.

And they just everything has gone the other direction. Now like all the blackjack tables are $50 minimums. And yeah, I mean, it is like the story of like maybe this is just a starker example of how private equity works. But like they literally have no regard for the future. Like even. Exactly. This is a predatory industry, but let's imagine it sort of wasn't. Like the way the way you keep this industry alive.

is by introducing young people to the fun of gambling. Right. And again, I realize as I'm saying this, this is insane, and maybe this is just better in general. But yeah, they're like pruning their next market away forever. You just drive it off a cliff and then find another thing to drive off a cliff. Yeah. That's exactly.

Yeah. So anyway, I mean, there are worse things to be driven off a cliff, I guess. There's plenty, many, many. I know. It's interesting. It's this thing that by nature is like to bleed people dry, and they're like, this is not bleeding people dry enough. How do we keep?

Right. It's capital. Just leave it alone. It was so profitable. We remove the friction of the blood leaving their body. It's a little slow for my taste. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, this is what they've done to, like, veterinary care, like the veterinary care industry over the past two decades has been taken over by private equity. And they were like, man, these fucking people will pay anything. to keep their pets and so now they I just had this happen yeah everybody is having this happen now got the same procedure

basically a year apart and it was six times more expensive the second time it was fucking crazy pants my friend was just banned from her vet because they were charging so much that she got in a fight with them

yeah yeah oh yeah like they're they need bouncers at you know vet clinics now but yeah so So, like, things, like, we had a super producer Anna Hosnia on yesterday talking about this. She was just there for, like, an F, she was there during an F1 event. So, like, they're still, like, chasing the high end of things, you know.

Yeah. But then things like The Thunder Down Under Dance Review, the Australian-centric, like, Chippendales, is going away. You know, that's really troubling. For the record, Magic Mike is superior. That's exactly what she said. She was like, it's not, it's not the worst thing in the world. But everything that is like kind of shitty and like feels like you're in Vegas is going away. Like the free drinks, like you can get, you can maybe flag down a waitress for a free drink over the course of a night like at the hotel or at the casino.

It's really like, yeah, I guess like so clearly like we just want your money right now in a way that. It already was like that, but it somehow more. This is kind of the ultimate version of private equity taking something over because it is like the whole formula was already set up. Yeah. Yeah. Tough. Yeah. Yeah.

So gambling revenue is up. Everything else is way down. And that's it. There's also this paragraph in there where like you see how this is being described with the people in Vegas like who make the decisions and have money. Oliver Levat, this is a Slate article, I'll link off to via the wayback machine. Oliver LeVat, a real estate consultant at the Denston Group, Denstone Group, by the way, Black Rock is one of the private equity companies that is like fully taken over, who serves as an advisor to several Vegas casino properties said I needed to understand that cheaper games are no longer economically prudent in the city. Between inflation, what's causing that? upkeep. And the real villain here, labor costs, including a Nevada minimum wage that jumped to

$12 last year, LeVat argued the salad days of low minimum blackjack have been legislated out of the fray. After all, it is telling that no matter how much Vegas tourism declines, the city's gambling revenue continues to take up. That's not an after all. That's a counter to everything that guy just said, everything is, like, they're still making more and more money, and you're complaining about, like, having to pay people a living wage.

But also, to these fucking business geniuses, it's like, you need low-cost blackjack players so that they become high, like, limit blackjack players. How do you not know this? Start that way. Right. Yeah.

Yeah. It's really, really, really. I mean, like, like, all places that private equity. Like, they literally have just, like, goldfish level, these alleged business geniuses cannot see beyond, like, a one-year horizon. It's, right. And this is why, I guess it's not to. Yeah, like, it's the explanation for, like, why we don't have toy stores in America anymore. It's, like, they took over toys are us, and they have no future, they have no, like, sense of the future. All they're doing is extracting as much wealth from the thing as possible, and then, like, discarding it. And they still do great.

And, you know, it doesn't, like, the system set up where there's, like, no disincentive for them to do that. And so everything's just getting worse except for the yacht sales for people who work in private equity. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We'll talk about Liam Neeson and Pam Anderson and pooping at work. We'll be right back. May 24th, 1990, a pipe bomb. explodes in the front seat of environmental activist Judy Barry's car.

I knew it was a bomb the second that it exploded. I felt it ripped through me with just a force more powerful and terrible than anything that I could describe. In season two of RipCurrent, we ask, who tried to kill Judy Berry and why? She received death threats before the bombing. She received more threats after the bombing. The man and woman who were heard had planned to lead a summer of militant protest against logging practices in Northern California.

They were climbing trees and they were sabotaging logging equipment in the woods. The timber industry, I mean, it was the number one industry in the area, but more than it was the culture. It was the way of life. I think that this is a deliberate attempt to sabotage our movement. Episodes of Rip Current Season 2 are available now. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, Dr. Lori Santos from the Happiness Lab here.

It's the season of giving, which is why my podcast is partnering with Give Directly, a nonprofit that provides people in extreme poverty with the cash they need. This year, we're taking part in the Pods Fight Poverty campaign. And it's not just the Happiness Lab. Some of my favorite podcasters are also taking part. Think Jay Shetty from On Purpose, Dan Harris from 10% Happier, and Dave Desteno from How God Works, and more. Our goal this year is to raise $1 million, which will help over 700 families

in Rwanda living in extreme poverty. Here's how it works. You donate to give directly, and they put that cash directly into the hands of families in need, because those families know best what they need, whether it's buying livestock to fertilize their farm, paying school fees, or starting a small business.

With that support, families can invest in their future and build lasting change. So join me and your favorite podcasters in the Pots Fight Poverty campaign. Head to give directly.org slash happiness lab to learn more and make a contribution. And if you're a first-time donor,

giving multiplier will even match your gift. That's give directly.org slash happiness lab to donate. For 25 years, I've explored what it means to heal, not just for myself, but alongside others. I'm Mike Delarocha. This is Sacred Lessons, a space for reflection, growth, and collective healing. What do you tell men that are hurting right now?

Everything's going to be okay. on the other side, you know, just push through it. And, you know, ironically, the root of the word spirit is breath. Wow. Which is why one of the most revolutionary acts that we can do as peoples just breathe. Next to the wound is their gifts. You can't find your gifts unless you go through the wound. That's the hard thing.

You think, well, I'm going to get my guess. I don't want to go through all that. You've got to go through the wounds you're laughing. Listening to other people's near-death experiences, and it's all they say. In conclusion, love is the answer. to Sacred Lessons as part of the My Goutura Podcast Network, available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, I'm Kelly, and some of you may know me as Laura Winslow. And I'm Telma, also known as Aunt Rachel. If those names ring a bell, then you probably are familiar with the show that we were both on back in the 90s called Family Matters. Kelly and I have done a lot of things and played a lot of roles over the years, but both of us are just so proud to have been part

part of family matters. Did you know that we were one of the longest running sitcoms with a black cast? When we were making the show, there were so many moments filled the joy and laughter and cut up that I will never forget. Oh, girl, you got that right. The look that you all give me is so black. All black people know about the look. On each episode of Welcome to the Family, we'll share personal reflections about making

the show. Yeah, we'll even bring in part of the cast and some other special guests to join in the fun and spill some tea. Listen to welcome to the family with Telma and Kelly on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And we're back. And we wanted to check him with Tim Poole because Tim's a friend, okay? We might not agree on everything. But, you know, again, beanie surgically attached to his head. very famous podcast. Everyone knows him,

everyone loves him. Everybody knows him. Everybody's like, his podcast is so popular, except we can't prove that anyone listens to it. Well, clearly someone must listen to it. Yeah,

at the Kremlin. Yeah, because he's so good. And someone at the Kremlin has given him a, what, $100,000 a week? Was that his? I think that was,

I think that's what he was getting. Yeah, good for him. So he has, It was revealed, I think this year, that he was being funded by the Kremlin, by Russia. He has just come out and said he may have to put the tools down, boys, because of all the costs associated with his safety. There was a point last year, or like, you know, around the time that the Kremlin shit came out where he was like, this podcasting shit is just too expensive, dude. It's like, I have to pay this guy. I have to pay that guy.

I got to, it's fucking crazy. And I can report from the inside. Yeah. I think everyone here can report the costs of podcast. Yeah. And it is not a low area for entry. Especially your podcast. I mean, you don't have anybody making you, I mean, we have, you know,

super producer Justin, right, Brian the editor making us look good. Nobody's making you look good. Yeah. So you're just out there. But he's not you, Blake. He's a guest. No, I'm sticking up for a match. Oh, oh, no, no.

Not me. Justin, no edits on it. No, I'm talking about Tim Poole, man. Tim Poole's got nobody making him look good. Sure, sure, sure, sure. And I look good naturally, so I knew he wasn't talking about me. Yeah. No, that's what I thought.

Okay, sorry, keep on. Yeah, edit that in. Double it. Make that the whole show. Double it. Way that on a loop. But he has said that he's, in addition, to the very high cost

of making a podcast where, you know, I guess there's no hair might make a budget because he has a fucking beanie on always everywhere. But, you know,

he does have to turn those cameras on. It's cold and rush it. Press some buttons. He said he's had to hire round the clock security because people want to kill him.

And the costs are now exceeding revenue. So again, he was already claiming before that the costs are too much. Now he's claiming that the cost

or too much because everyone trying to kill him. And he did report that people were shooting his house. Now, the police got wind of that. They were like, wait, what? There was a fucking shooting at your house, man? Like, that's really a big deal to us.

House slaughter? Yeah, you're a white guy. This is big news to us. Property is people. We understand. We're going to cut. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And so they looked into it. And according to the police, reports of shots fired at this residence cannot be substantiated at this time, according to Berkeley County Sheriff's Office. Berkeley.

Is he in Berkeley, California this whole time? It's Berkeley, Siberia. Oh. Yeah, I actually have no idea where this is. They also added that pool has refused to release security footage recording, recorded the night of the alleged shooting. Why? you don't want to see that man it's actually it's too scary one of his 50 German shepherds he hired for security got hit right

oh my god I love it like the the best way to like do a pledge drive if you're a right wing like grifter podcaster is you know this is equivalent to turning on NPR and hearing you know the wait wait don't tell me guy to like pitch in and get a tote bag with all of them though it's like they're trying to kill me right for telling the troops mpr should try that they really should peter seagull being they're trying to murder us uh yeah he uh it it is possible that because the doj exposed that he was basically a russian sock puppet in this past year they were bankrolling his entire podcast operation and maybe because that exposure caused the Kremlin money hose to turn off.

That that is why he has an unrealistic expectation of what it costs to run a podcast. Right. Yeah, clearly. Or, you know, he's just scared and he had to hire. I hired the entire SEAL Team 6 to protect my home. All six of them. To protect my fucking podcast operation. Yeah.

I mean, the funniest thing. is Timothy Poole expecting us to believe that he's on anyone's radar you know what I mean? Like, come on. No one's trying to kill you.

Nobody cares. No one cares. This is not, you know, there's no way it's real because nobody knows who you are. Like he lost relevance a long time ago. He's a low cow now.

Yeah, yeah. He just, yeah. I mean, Russia, maybe that is why he's scared. If he was getting a paycheck directly from the Kremlin, I guess that would be bad. Yeah, that's actually a good point. Maybe he is scared of the Russians. That's right. That would be sick.

So scared that he won't show you the footage of them shooting his house. All right. And finally, there's a new trendy answer to what's your favorite Christmas movie, and it is eyes wide shut. Are you guys eyes wide shut heads? Certainly not ahead, but I heard... Eyes wide shut-ins. I did hear, vaguely had someone explain this,

and I already forgot the explanation. I guess because it happens during Christmas? Happens during Christmas. There's a lot of atmospheric lighting. I have a thing that I bring up so much on this show that Miles literally rolls his eyes and starts making the jack-off hand motion every time I do, but that the holiday season, based on when the most podcast, common birthdays are of the year. The holiday seasons are Humanities Mating season. So it's a

hornier part of the year than people give it credit for. And this would be one movie that actually, you know, puts the X in X-mas. Sure. I know what you said. Do you guys know what I mean by that? I know what you mean. Do you know what I mean by? I know, Blake looks confused. I think, oh, Blake, just got a real horny smile on us. So I, that's, no, it's interesting because December is when I fucking. fucking a mask because it's so cold. My eyes get so cold. I have to warm my eyes with the mask.

So this does check out. It's one of those eye masks, one of those like sleep masks. Yeah. It is. Well, I don't want to see. I don't want to see. What is this, a drawer?

I'm fucking a drawer. I can't see anything. I guess a Gimp mask would be a good one. Because Gimp masks don't have eyes, right? But they're so fucking expensive. Unless they earn them. Yeah. Yeah.

You got to earn those. you'll just give eyes away yeah everyone got it's a meritocracy but yeah it does happen at christmas there's a christmas party that they're at that like kind of kicks the whole thing off when he runs into his old friend and saves the woman from the OD and meets the person who I mean he knows this doctor guy but the doctor guy who's played by what's that director's name who Stanley Kubrick Roman Polickeye uh no Woody Allen oh damn sydney pollock the director bill cuddney polly the guys played by sydney pollock is people think is like an epstein figure and like that's the first time we see him it's his christmas party he he comes in to save a woman from an od and

sydny pollock's character is pulling up his pants as the woman has like already odied man i really need to see this movie again it's i don't remember that like i'm trying to think of what i remember from that movie i remember a lot of uh walking outside yes he does do a lot of wandering around like he's in a dream yeah the novel it's based on i think is like called something to to that effect that it like it and the whole thing feels like it's happening walking outside like it's in a dream the book yeah does have the book at the end of it i think more books need to have the book on it yeah it's hard to tell yeah but but but people think A lot of people are saying that it's especially relevant this year because of the Epstein case. And specifically that Kubrick, have you guys seen the room, the documentary about all the conspiracy theories in the shine, like all the theories around what the shining means?

No. Tell me about it. It's good. We're not doing plugs yet. There's some that's like it's about colonialism. There's one that's about how Kubrick helped fake the moon landing. Oh, yeah, I remember that. Yeah.

But there's, like, great evidence for all of them. There's just, like, so much shit in a Kubrick movie that you can, like, support anything. I love it. But this one is explicitly about, like, a dark, rich sex cult, you know? Right. This Hollywood Reporter article on this says, what Kubrick captures is a world where someone like Jeffrey Epstein becomes almost inevitable, a dark nexus of money, secrecy, impunity, and male sexual desire warped by institutional power.

It's so funny because the movie is so much more boring than that. Yeah, it is like, it has, it has like wild shit happening in it, and the vibe is like very much like, what, why is this so sleepy? Yeah, like, why am I sleepy watching an orgy? It is kind of crazy. I also have a like a general distaste for movies that are like we're a sexy fucking orgy movie

and I'm like I've seen porn I want to watch Dix go in and they don't show that In a crowded theater you yell that Yeah I yell it yeah My whole family's here like I want to see Dix go in during this Christmas movie This is bullshit

So yeah I remember being like Very bored by it But maybe it's better than I Maybe I saw it at a weirder time in my life. Yeah. Now that I'm not going to therapy anymore, I should probably check it out again. It's going to fuck you up.

Yeah. It's going to tear through you. But yeah, I mean, there's always widespread conspiracy theories about Kubrick movies, but about this one, people are really saying, like, this was explicitly about Epstein, and he was killed as a result. Because it was made in 99, Epstein's operation started in the mid-90s. There's a 2024 clip of the co-writer of Pulp Fiction Roger Avery on Joe Rogan's podcast, so he's a cool guy, where he implies that Kubrick's death was suspicious and explains that the original ending was supposed to make it clear that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were going to hand their daughter over to the Pito cult, as he calls it. There is weird shit in that last scene.

Like the movie ends with them walking around a toy store, like being like, so what do we learn here? how do we save our marriage and it ends with Nicole Kim and being like I guess we have to fuck in the toy store but there are like people have pointed out there's like weird like people in the background walking around like making furtive like looks at them and like their kid and people have like speculated that like the cult has not like in fact let him get away and then something's going to happen with his kid like at the end after. the end of the movie. But yeah, apparently this has become an obsession with Gen Z. They're on board. I mean, good for them. You know, I like when they, they get excited about a movie, you know? Yeah, me too. I'm here for it. That's fun. That's a fun thing to get excited about. They might be a little too excited. They've linked the theory, or one of the theories links the kidnapping of Madeline McCann

and the supposed kidnapping of the daughter that actually doesn't happen in the movie but is just a thing that the co-writer of Pulp Fiction said was supposed to happen to the movie. The one problem with that is that Madeline McCann wasn't even born until

1999, so he would have had to like really have like some pretty some pretty incredible planning. Yeah, that is, yeah. And I don't I don't think I even know this story. Yeah. The Madeline McCann story?

Yeah. I don't know Madeline McCann. You don't know. I can't just say that reference. No, it's a weird thing. It's not the Lindbergh situation. Who is who is Madeline McCann?

I have no idea. All right. I just thought you guys would know. Yeah, I'm no idea. But it's just them being like this future crime. It's connected. And like the victim was not born when the movie came like wrapped. Yeah.

Small detail. One detail that like it, These online conspiracy theories for me are always like, okay, that's bullshit. This seems like bullshit. And then there's like one detail where you're like, wait a second. So Reddit theorists have pointed out that Larry Salona, the journalist who broke the story of Epstein's death and Maxwell's arrest, is actually name checked and eyes wide shut. His name is the byline of an article about the death of the woman that Tom Cruise thinks saved him at the orgy, which like it's a, says ex-beauty queen in hotel. drug overdose. The byline is Larry Salona, and people are like, no, the only reason they did that

is because Salona was the production's media consultant. But that seems like connective tissue to me. Like this person who eventually broke the Epstein story was the media consultant on this movie. So like he could speak to like this world of, you know, obviously like that's part of like what he reports on so he could speak to this world of like crazy shit that was happening. That does seem like a pretty good connection to me. This movie was at least somewhat informed by the real powerful people sex trafficking that was happening at the time, you know? Yeah, could be.

It could be. You'd figure it would be the movie would be more interesting. I got to see it again. I got to see it again. I got to see it again, because I know I've tried twice. I was unimpressed. Therapy has really made people tolerate that movie as being boring. And now that you're not therapistized.

Yeah, therapy is actually just a form of hypnosis that makes you think eyes white shut is good. That's an opiate. That's the conspiracy nobody wants to talk about. But yeah, I mean, the idea for the movie comes from a 1920s book that is like based on ancient, like, secret society. So it's not like she, it's not like this guy called you exactly. So like this guy gave Kubrick the idea for the movie. It was like a movie about a weird shadowy sex cult. And then maybe this guy was like, oh, you know, this reminds me of this guy, this New York financier, Jeff, Jeff Epstein. I don't know if you're familiar with him. I've ever heard of him. Yeah. But I mean,

None of this is like, like the, he, he was also thinking about casting, like, first of all, he first started planning eyes wide shut, like, after he made 2001. So it was like, he'd been working on it since the 60s or early 70s. And like, he was at one point thinking about casting Woody Allen in the movie, which would have really. That would have worked. That really would have fucked us all. Yeah. It would have ruined everything. Yeah.

I don't think it would have gone so well. No. But anyways, interesting thing. for you to know about the new thing. So when somebody's like my favorite Christmas movie, eyes wide shut, you can now have an informed, semi-informed,

dumb conversation about how it's all based on real conspiracy. You know, see, maybe. There's part of me that goes like, you're in that conversation. And what's your favorite Christmas movie? And a guy goes,

oh, die hard. And you go, oh, I got one better for you. Eyes wide shut. Really? Why?

And then the longest. explanation about Jeffrey Epstein and like the byline was by the guy I'm good at a party man I'm good at a party We can't come to this party

This sucks No you did a great job But I can't imagine anyone Trying to make the case Without eventually being committed You know what I mean? Yeah I'd be like

You ever been to a psych ward Yeah I like eyes wide shut They almost had Woody Allen in it And then it would have been better That's all they say. It's like,

you want to drink, buddy? You want to hang out a little more? I've already had a lot of them. Yeah, I can tell with that. What's six more? 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, uh, means the world to miles. He, he needs your validation folks. Uh,

I hope you're having a great weekend and I will talk to you Monday. Bye. We're going to be able to be. I'm Robert Smith, and this is Jacob Goldstein, and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas. about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas and destructive companies in the history of business. First episode, how Southwest Airlines use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline is.

The most Texas story ever. Listen to business history on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I knew it was a bomb the second that it exploded. I felt it ripped through me. In season two of Rip Current, we ask, Who tried to kill Judy Berry and why? They were climbing trees and they were sabotaging logging equipment in the woods. She received death threats before the bombing. She received more threats after the bombing.

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