The Daily Zeitgeist - Weekly Zeitgeist 414 (Best of 1/12/26-1/16/26)

Episode Date: January 18, 2026

The weekly round-up of the best moments from DZ's season 421 (1/12/26-1/16/26)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, it's Joel and Matt from How to Money. If your New Year's resolution is to finally get your finances in shape, we've got your back. Prices, they're still high, and the economy is all over the place. But 2026 is the year for you to get intentional and make real progress. That's right. Yeah, each week we break down what's happening with your money, the most important issues to focus on,

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

Listen to Atonement, the John Polk story, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Dr. Jesse Mills, host of the Mailroom podcast. Each January, men promise to get stronger, work harder, and fix what's broken? But what if the real work isn't physical at all? I sat down with psychologist Dr. Steve Poulter

to unpack shame, anxiety, and the emotional pain men were never taught how to name. Part of the way through the Valley of Despair is realizing this has happened, and you have to make a choice whether you're going to stay in it or move forward. Our two-part conversation is available now. Listen to the mailroom on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, for wherever you get your favorite shows. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyanko Wally. And I'm Hurricane de Bolu.

It's a new year. And on the podcast's Health Stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. Which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that or am I just depressed? Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone. Listen on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, the internet, and welcome to 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. Uh, yeah. So without further ado, here is the weekly zeitgeist. Miles, we're thrilled to be joined in our third seat by a journalist and historian from Kuzon Media, who, you know, from his reporting on it could happen here. He's reported for Esquire, Nat Geo, the nation, Slate, among many others. And his new book is now available for pre-order.

It's called Against the State Anarchist. and comrades at Warren, Spam, Myanmar, and Rojava, please welcome James Stowell. James. Wow, that was a great intro. I really feel better about myself now. Oh, no, you're, I mean, look, your reputation precedes you, man. James, what a weird subject to cover in this American moment. Yeah, no.

I want to be, I pitched his book in like 2022. So here we are, right? Yeah, I know, nearly four years later. But yeah. Amazing buzz marketing. by the Trump administration for viral marketing. You got an in, a DHS or something? Absolutely not.

More is a pity. I have not interacted with DHS in any way, apart from the ways that everyone else has, which is them shouting at me, deploying chemical irritants, etc. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, they love to do that. They do.

It's really out with them right now. We're really passionate about chemistry, you know. Yeah, sure, vapors, smoke. particles. Yeah. Yeah. I think Greg Abbott was like recently saying something about like just with like glee talking about all the pepper balls that were being like fired at protesters.

Like, yeah. Very unpleasant and pepperball. But I mean, I have to assume that they're recruiting a lot of, you know, chemical engineers, people like that and to be like, interested in chemistry. So are we. Yeah. Come on through. Welcome.

Or maybe not. I don't think they are, man. I think they're recruiting in other areas. If anything, they're probably more. Yeah, or like geneticists. Yeah, that's probably. Pretty hot right now. I'm kind of into like phenotypes and stuff, DNA.

Have thoughts about skull shape? Yeah. Come on, Drew. They've got some caliper guys who are coming in pretty soon to do the phrenology. What is something from your search history that's revealing about who you are? I'm laughing at the idea of you bringing me on as like an hour and a half in-depth interview as one of the fans who like, you're just completely breaking with format where no, we got to get down to this fan. This man was so upset by this ending of stranger things and loved everything to that point. What was your question?

Sorry. What's something you think? What's something from research history that's revealing about who you are, Blake? Get back on. Thank you. Sorry. Get back on the rail. I had a joke and then I stopped listening.

That was obviously worth it. So I am doing a show in Atlanta in March, and the last time I was there, I went to Coca-Cola World, which was in college, I think. So four months ago. And I am so young. But so there's this weird thing at the end of it where they have the Coca-Cola, like, recipes from around the world. and the recipes are different in each continent, depending on like the tastes of, or the perceived tastes of the people who live there.

Right. So I was wondering how many sodas that they had there. So I look, the search was Coca-Cola world, how many sodas? And the answer is over a hundred. So you go to like south, or I almost said you go to the continent of South Africa. I was combining South America and South African my head.

So you go to like South America and then it has like, oh, this is what, you know, this Coca-Cola product tastes like, you know, here. And I remember this guy brought his own taster, but it was, they give you like half a shot glass to try them. But he brought a solo cup with him to drink more soda. And this was a grown man. And he got, he puked like halfway because he was drinking like 12 ounces of each soda. And there's over 100 soda. So that's why I was wondering. I'm like, was this guy a lightweight?

Or was he? What did he just have too much cola? Binge drinking Coca-Cola from around the world. It is interesting, though, if you, like, some of them are more sweet. Have you have one, like, you can't taste anything out. You know what I mean? Right. In the same way that, like, if you have candy and then drink a Coca-Cola, it tastes like water.

It all tastes like the last cocoa. I don't know. This is the stuff people, like, take rust off their cars with. And, like, you know, when YouTube was created, it's like, oh, I'll have, 10 gallons of this until my body rejects it. Yeah, they're like this tastes like my teeth hurt. That's what this tastes

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

that is interesting. Like I find the fact that we've taken And so all the people who used to, like, go into government science departments that were well-funded and, like, cure polio and shit like that, like, those people for the past 30 to 40 years have all gone to work for, like, Coca-Cola to, like, create Doritos or, you know, that just have the perfect mouth feel. and just the fact that Coca-Cola is sitting there analyzing the palates of every culture around the world to like make their beverage just like have the perfect like hit the palette like Norway they're presumably being like well these people eat lutefisk so they like it has to be fucking overpowering it has to like make your eyebrows fall out when you taste. Is that herring? Yeah. It gets herring. Yeah. Pickled herring that like turns into something that resemble, I don't know, it has like a,

I feel like the flavor notes that people talk about are lie. The thing that, like, they, they use to dissolve bodies in breaking that. It's like, this is smoked draino. It's cured in lie. Yeah. It's actually lie. It's not just that flavor profile. It is, actually that's what they used to cure it. Aged in lie barrels. Yes. Yeah. With people who rubbed the cartel the wrong way.

You know, the Norwegian. Of course, that guy threw up. He was just like chemical cleaning agents. He's like, this is all bad. It's amazing. He lasted that long. You know, I think he got through two of the continents before, yeah, before he exploded. But it's interesting.

Can I share a brief puking story, which is the worst way to start a story. But my friend, shout out Matt Lieberts in St. Louis, Missouri. It was one of those, you had to drink five shakes at Crown Candy in downtown St. Louis, and they were huge shakes. And you got a T-shirt or whatever. And he drank one and a half, went outside, threw up white, and while he was puking, yelled, it's still cold. Yeah.

That is so funny. It's the best. It's still cold. Yeah. A quote you must have repeated for decades. Yeah. afterwards like that doesn't go away yeah at his funeral to be sad he's still cold yeah little milkshake burps where like a little bit of the milkshake comes up and it's still cold

yeah great great part of the milkshake consumption process it's also that's what life was like before the internet too you know right yeah that's what we did well now we still do it and it's called a ticot challenge the daily zike oh right right yeah sorry uh what is something something you think is underrated, Francesca. So underrated is knowing how to tail someone. Let me explain. Ice was in my neighborhood and around a bunch of, you know, Los Angeles, like Highland Park area and, you know,

I don't want to docks myself, but like, whatever. No, they were all over East Los Angeles. They were all over East Los Angeles, right? And so I got word because you signed up for texts that, you know, that what they were driving and whatnot. And so I had an hour or so. So I was like, let me get in the car. And I have a whistle.

And I went out and number one, don't blow the whistle inside the car because you will blow your ears out. I just learned that. Maybe have the windows down. Yeah, I was stopping and talking to folks who, you know, either gardeners or workers or I went to a car wash that I like, you know, and told them. And, you know, I knew that ICE was picking folks up. And I was like trying to find these SUVs, which are always, they're always like American, right? So they're always like Chevy's. Jeep.

Bagging ears, you see a lot now. Right, like big-ass suburban. And so I was like, damn, I can't, you know, I was just looking around. I couldn't really find him. And then as I'm turning onto this one street, and I'm already in the left turn lane, a car coming towards me in the, like, left turn lane oncoming. The other direction. Yeah.

Is the suburban that looks exactly like it. And my dumb ass, like, wasn't able to pivot in the moment. I mean, it would have been illegal. Would have been a little dangerous, but like, whatever. It was a chill intersection, actually. Like I could have just pivoted and followed him and said, I did the whole loop, had to wait in the light, and then just lost this person. And I'm just saying, I feel like movies make it, I don't know why movies lie. Yeah, they make it seem really easy.

They make it seem really easy, you know, like. Video games, too, especially. And video games. The one thing that I've noticed is a bigger problem, a bigger hindrance in movies where people are tailing or chasing someone is like somebody walking across the street with a big glass pane. Or a giant cake. I feel like that. I guess like, like 80s.

Crates of watermelons. Yeah, crates of watermelon. That's right. But it's hard to tell someone. So I feel like there is like a value. And a lot of people are doing great work now. Obviously, be safe and whatnot. But yeah, I appreciated all the tailors.

Yeah. I think they're called tailors. Mm-hmm. Who, you know, whose names we will never know. No. Yeah. No. No.

Was the person making the left end of the oncoming? Were they being tailed? Were they being wharf? I don't know. They probably had someone on them. Yeah. Nice. They wouldn't know because that person was expert tailor.

Not me. It was like, oh. Who are you really quick? Oh, fuck they love. Just honk at them. What is something that you think is underrated? Underrated? I would, you know, I'm going to say going for a jog.

because, you know, my overrated is reading the news all day, as we tend to do. Yeah. Okay, wrong podcast. Everybody listen to the news every day. Well, you can listen to this on a jog. Exactly. That's what I'm saying. I'm promoting podcasts because that's something that you can do while on a jog, which I do.

You can go for a jog and find out about the Mar-a-Lago dog mask party. You know, jogging, I will say, when I run and, like, Just go as slow as possible. It is really nice. Just do a real nice slow run. I'm not trying to impress anyone. But then I do feel like if I'm like walking. I believe that's called walking.

Look it up. But yeah, but I tend to get embarrassed to do that. And so I'm like, running as fast as again. Oh, you're trying to impress. Yeah, exactly. I need to crowdsources to like any TDZ. Because this is something,

my feet are fucked up so I can't, I'm like literally walking my dogs and that's all I can do. And I have like, flat feet and planter fasciitis. So if any T.D. If any zeit gang people, know what to do for bad feet,

DM me, because I can't run anymore. And I never really could. But like, you know what I mean? I'm like, I want the ability to do the Olympics in my 40s if I need to.

You know? So somebody tell me, I believe in. I feel like they're going to tell you to get like inserts. in your shoes. I have those. I have everything.

I have inserts. I massage my feet every day. Somebody, I'm going to just, what I'm going to do is I'm going to get a piggyback ride from Jack. And I'm going to be like, go faster. You're going to be shocked by how slow I can run.

But how slow? So slow that I'm almost going backwards. You're drafting off an old lady. Yeah. Yeah, it's the opposite. I like to do the opposite of race walking, which is, you know, like this. slowest possible jogger.

That should be in the... If you can have the fastest walker in the Olympics, why couldn't you have the slowest jogger? They did have that thing that was like trending during the Olympics where everybody's like, we need one like normal guy to show like how fast these people are going. Yeah. I'm like, I could be that normal guy.

I could be, I would be like a sickly guy, but... That would be great for every of it. Like gymnastics. You know how hard you? Like, just put me out there on the fucking rings before they said, those. And you're just like, you just try and do one thing.

Yeah. They wouldn't be able to afford your bills after you become a quadriplegic. After my arms are just left up there, but the rest of my body is torn off. Like a tall. Yeah. I feel like slowest runner, once Trump fully like takes over the country

and the world with white supremacy, the like, slowest runner will become like the number one Olympic event. It's going to be like race. walk separated by race. Like, that's what it's going to be. I mean, that's kind of what the Olympics

are already doing, right? Kind of. God forbid, I throw a javelin in an official's face. That's all I say. Throw a little pee on them, you know? Yeah.

Seems effective. All right. Let's take a quick break. We'll be right back to talk about some news, unfortunately. Sorry, Vince. New year, new goals, and in this economy, A better money plan is more necessary than ever. I am Matt.

And I'm Joel. We are from the How to Money podcast. And every week we help you to spend smarter, save more, and make sense of what's going on out there. If you want 2026 to be the year you finally feel in control of your money, we're here to give you the tools and advice to help you make it happen. Listen to How to Money on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every January, we're encouraged to start over. But what if this year is about slowing down and learning how to understand ourselves more deeply? What if this year is about giving ourselves permission to feel what we've been holding and knowing that it's okay to ask for help?

I'm Mike De La Rocha, host of Sacred Lessons. This is a podcast for men navigating stress, emotional health, fatherhood, identity, and the unspoken pressures were taught to carry alone. We talk honestly about mental health, about healing generational wounds, and about learning how to show up with more presence and care. If you want a healthier relationship with yourself and the people you love, then Sacred Lessons is the podcast for you. Listen to Sacred Lessons with Mike Dolorotcha on America's number one podcast network, IHeart.

Follow Sacred Lessons with Mike Delocha and start listening on the free IHeart Radio app today. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyankawali. And I'm Hurricane de Bolu. It's a new year. And on the podcast's Health Stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. Which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that or am I just depressed?

We talk to experts who share real experiences and insight. You just really need to find where it is that you can have an impact in your own life in start doing that. We break down the topics you want to know more about. Sleep, stress, mental health, and how the world around us affects our overall health. We talk about all the ways to keep your body in mind, inside and out, healthy. We human beings, all we want is connection. We just want to connect with each other. Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone. Listen on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, this is Dr. Jesse Mills, director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health and host of the mailroom podcast.

Each January guys everywhere make the same resolutions. Get stronger, work harder, fix, what's broken. But what if the real work isn't physical at all? To kick off the new year, I sat down with Dr. Steve Polter, a psychologist with over 30 years' experience, helping men unpack shame, anxiety, and emotional pain they were never taught to name. In a powerful two-part conversation, we discuss why men aren't emotionally bulletproof, Why shame hides in plain sight and how real strength comes from listening to yourself and to others. Guys who are toxic, they're immature, or they've got something they just haven't resolved.

Once that gets resolved, then there comes empathy as in compassion. If you want this to be the year, you stop powering through pain and start understanding what's underneath, listen to the mailroom on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. And we're back. And yeah, so this weekend was a weird mix of we talked about the video that was released where they were like, check and mate. We got the video from the shooter's perspective. And I think you're going to see some shit here that's going to change your mind. And it was like worse. It was worse than the other angle.

Yeah. Yeah, it's just one of my colleagues. mention this when we were talking about it, like in our work chat. It is the sort of thing that your lawyer would fight to keep out of disclosure in court, right? And this person, they just tweeted it. They just put it out there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not a lot of thought going into it.

But I think it's also interesting, too, like it, I was saying on yesterday's episode that on some level, maybe they think that would help justify it to their base, which is like, well, there's at least you got this angle of the wife saying something back to the ice officer, which in their mind, because a lot of people jumped onto that details, like, why is she getting out of the car trying to confront the ICE officer and like, what do they think's going to happen? So in some way, I think they were trying to take it from the headline, which is like this mother who is killed to like someone who was protesting ICE, who is also a mother who was killed. Right. To try and give people just sort of like that weird, logical, you know,

bit of something that like MAGA needs to completely contort their brains and be like, That's not what I saw, actually. It's this other thing now, and that's okay now, and I don't have to talk about it because it makes whatever uncomfortable or maybe not. Back talk is a capital offense. It was kind of the implication. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so Chrissy Nome attempted to go on CNN, and then Jake Tapper was just like, so if anybody gives any sort of pushback at all to the, Homeland Security, they should be killed.

She was like, yes, absolutely. And then he was like, here's a video of January 6th. Yeah. How are we making sense of that? And she didn't really know what to say to that? No. Great answer. No.

So here's a Tapper just playing all the body cam footage we've seen from January 6th and just sort of narrating to be like, okay, so interfering with long enforcement is a capital effect. and how about this? By this standard, would any of those officers being justified in shooting and killing the people causing them physical harm? Every single situation is going to rely on the situation those officers are on. But they know that when people are putting hands on them, when they are using weapons against them, when they are physically harming them, that they have the authority to arrest those individuals.

The president pardoned every single one of those people. And make sure that they're getting justice for them. for their actions going forward. President Trump pardoned every single one of those people. And every single one of these investigations comes in the full context of the situation on the ground. And that's when... It's just, again, it becomes a bunch of words the whole time.

Yeah. Well, it's all in the context of the, the context of people beating them with... We just said beating with weapons. We just saw a clip of that, smushing them in doors, punching them, using bears... I thought she was going to say, do these people be deserved to be arrested?

They said every single one of them. Every single one. But she went every single one of these situations is a case-by-case thing, which again, this is just, I'd imagine the hallmark of any authoritarian regime to be like, no, what you're seeing is not what you're seeing. And in fact, everything we do is justified. And if you disagree with me, you are actually the bad one. Yeah. There was more, like, it goes on to where she keeps insisting, like, you know, like this guy, the person who, this ice agent who shot her was, is. was doing a defense.

We know that he was justified in doing it. And Jake Tapper pretty quickly is like, I feel like you just, there's no investigation. We still don't know what's going on in the investigation. You've clearly made up your mind. Is that a benefit or is that a disservice to this ICE agent that you so clearly care so much about? And it's interesting because here she does like another word salad thing that like causes Jake Tapper to just audibly grown because again, it's another non-answer.

It's just a bunch of what about it? and deflections? I think obfuscation is his kink, and I think he's actually coming a little bit. But go out. Go ahead. Well, you let your ears decide. Yeah, let your ears decide. I'm wondering if you're not doing a disservice to the officer

by reaching a conclusion before the investigation takes plans. I haven't urged you say once what a disservice it's done for Mayor Fry to get up and to help ice to get the F out of his city. And AOC to stand up before she had any of the and call this officer a murderer.

For individuals, well, call them out, Jake. Spend as much time calling them out. I have provided you with facts and information to back up every single word that we have said and every single part of this investigation. And if you don't like it, that's fine. But we're going to continue to do the right thing to keep the American people safe. That was not us. Coming a little bit during that answer.

That was Jake. That was Jake groaning. Because again, it's just like, oh, a stone wall. You're talking about something this consequential. And it's just, you get just, just fucking nonsense. Just chest passed right back to you. And yeah, it doesn't bode well, too, that then you then have Tom Holman, who's the, you know, borders are. He also had to go on the Sunday shows, too, to do their whole, like, presentation to mainstream media about why this is okay.

Kristen Welker, pretty much point blank, was like, look, the way you're talking, the way Christy Noam's talking, she called Good, a domestic terrorist. Can we just define what that is? Are you saying anyone who doesn't like ICE or is protesting? And this is, you get this very eloquent answer back from Tom Holman. Terrorists, just to be clear, is anyone who protests ICE a domestic terrorist in the eyes of the administration? I can't say that. You know, it's a case by case basis. But, you know, if you look up the definition of terrorism, is there violence?

Is there a threat of violence based on an ideology that wants to change the way the government does what we do? Look at the definition of terrorism. Was Secretary Nome correct to label her a domestic terrorist, Mr. Homan? Look, we don't know what, I don't know what Secretary Nome knows in what I know. I can tell you what is what they did is illegal. And if you look up as a definition of terrorism. Here it goes. It goes right back to it.

Very narrowly. If you, again, I mean, like that term terrorism is made to sort of use by the states to describe people that are like against me. But again, in American culture, it's like, that means the boogeyman, Al-Qaeda 9-11, and you're one of these people now. Because what you're just, again, purely off the definition of like, they are against what we're doing and trying to change the, like, through a political ideology, therefore it's- You're not allowed to do that. Yeah. In America? You're not allowed to do that.

Right. Try and change what we're doing? Yeah. Voice display? Nah. Is it cool if I sound a little bit drunk while I'm making this point? Is that cool? Yeah. Or my dentures are really loose.

Does he always sound a little bit? That's what I always call him the, he sounds like a drunken barn cat all this. You got to understand. Do you, Chris Secretary, no. I got to put my dentures in a little bit better today. Yeah, it's wild.

James, I'm curious too. Like in the context, especially in your book, you're talking about people who also find themselves in quite extraordinary situations, you know, people living their lives

and then they come up against a state that is violently trying to upend their way of living deeming everything they believe in or their way of life illegal. What is, where do you kind of put the, this, this situation right now sort of in the context of a lot of the things you've seen in terms of, you know, people-led revolutions and things like that. Yeah, man, it's not a good situation that we're in right now. No, no, no.

Fuck. Oh, I was hoping you'd say this is actually. I was saying that when they say anybody who protests against them as a terrorist, I was hoping that that's actually the sign that they're usually going to call it off. Yeah. That's their last step before they decide. Yeah, we're good here, actually. I remember in 2020, early 2020, I was speaking to this young guy.

It was part of the unit called the Gen Z Army in Myanmar. And really, like, really nice young man, right? He was kind of one of the reasons I wanted to write this book, because the way he talked about how they organized himself. lines up with what I would consider to be anarchism, right? They didn't have authority structures. They obtained consensus before doing stuff. And he was like, yeah, for years, we'd hear the government talk about terrorists.

And we'd be like, well, shit, that's awful. Hope those guys die. And then we saw the government, we saw the military seize, like, the power from the elected government, right? Not a great election, but election nonetheless. And now they call us terrorists. and we're not terrorists, and we realize that that's just shit that they say. They are the ones who are trying to make people afraid and to execute political change through fear.

And I thought it was really interesting to see him. And that word in Burmese that he was using is very loaded, right? It's a word that I wouldn't want to use to describe them still. I sometimes don't even use rebels because I know it can be translated in that way, and people can feel like it's disrespectful. But for him, he's like, yeah, I can give shit and call me what they want. They're out there killing people. Like, they're doing worse stuff than calling me names.

And like, it's very clear which one of us is the bad guy here. Right. Yeah. I mean, again, that, especially in American culture, it's such a thought killer as a description when you say terrorist. Yeah. Bad, instantly bad. No further analysis needed.

If you say, oh, domestic, oh, domestic terrorist means, a person that lives here and is bad versus the other one, which most people just go, they just think like Islamic extremism or something like that and just lock it all in together. They go straight to ISIS and yeah, because they use the same sort of language that in rhetoric they've used for the last three, three, four decades to describe like other kinds of extremist terrorism. Like it's a whole network, okay, that they're part of a network, you understand. And, like, they're in a cell of other terrorists in this network rather than, I think, what most people saw, I feel, which is like, this is just a person who, again, is in their community saying, what the fuck is going on?

I'm going to record this. And sure, maybe getting, being in the road, maybe, quote, unquote, illegal or a violation. But in terms of that leading to a summary execution or just being shot, just without any kind of violation. anything. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's where most people are like, yeah, but that's, this is a lot. And yeah, I'm, I'm wondering, too, how when it will, like, how quickly American people also see, like, how cheap this, this sort of descriptor or like just casting anyone is getting in the way as terrorism or terrorists will kind of hold up. Because they seem to really think that that is their, like, sort of rhetorical strategy here. It's keep saying this person is a terrorist or anyone that is. doesn't like ICE as a terrorist.

And maybe we have enough logical cover to keep doing this. Yeah. And it's, I mean, I think, I think a lot about like, this situation in Myanmar, right? Like how it began is like these big peaceful protests. And it became a revolution that now has liberated half the country from the government. And like, there were little, there are little Rubicon, say, crossed all along the way.

Another river crossing reference. But this time, like, I remember the first time, the cops shot someone. And people were just like, shit. Like, these are the stakes, right? Like, this is the game we're playing. And there's a choice there that people have, right? It's like, do, and this happened in the Syrian revolution that happened all across

the Arab Spring, right? It's happening in Iran right now. People were like, well, are we willing to play a game where the stakes are our lives, or are we willing to live the rest of our lives subject? And obviously in the U.S. in theory, we have elections coming up, but that's not necessarily the case, but that wasn't the case in Myanmar. in Syria and it's not in Iran. And people were like, you know what?

Fuck you, we're all going to come out now. Like, more of us will show up. Tens of thousands of us will show up at this young woman's funeral in Myanmar, right? And be like, we're not afraid of you. And those little Rubikons that they cross, like are what made their movement what it is today because they weren't, they considered it to be worth it, I guess. And like, that's what every movement has to face. and it's pretty disturbing to think that that's what we're facing in the U.S.

But, yeah, if you can be executed for a trafficking fraction, it's kind of where we're at, right? Like, people can be killed in the street and the government is going to investigate and find themselves innocent in five minutes on Twitter. Right. Right. Yeah. It's pretty bleak.

What's wild is, like, you know, a lot of people always say, like, it's all of these weapons we use abroad are coming back home to roost, you know, the same, this is the same justification the U.S. military will use to kill innocent people in other, in quote, in war zones. And like, well, that was a terrorist. And like that looked like a family. But that's your just description to kind of keep things moving along to not, you know, to not bring people's attention to the humanity of it. And yeah, I mean, I think that's where seeing all that is really, yeah, it's, it's, it's alarming, which is like, it doesn't even suffice in terms of like a word to, I feel like Susan Collins right now. I, it is alarming.

right now to see what is happening. But yeah, we're going to ask questions and wait for the investigation to happen. And it feels like the DHS crossed like three Rubicon's in the last week, basically. Oh, they love, they're just skipping over those motherfuckers. They're skipping the Rubikons. Yeah. And I'm also curious, like, because rhetorically, too, you see out of the administration more and more of this, like, ethno-nationalist propaganda come out from official channels as

like these like, you know, very Nazi-inspired posters or phrases and things like that. Do you see that as sort of them trying to like shore up support from people that will be receptive to sing that kind of message? Or do you think that's them projecting onto the viewing public? This is what this is the hymnal we're singing from now. You can get in line. Like what or is that just trolling? I mean, how do you look at that and sort of like a larger power picture of it all? Yeah.

And I think some of it's just trolling, right? Some of it's just like they get a little, little excited thrill because they've got some, like, someone who's probably like 21 years old is manning that Twitter account, right? Right. And so some of it's like they've been doing it for years and now they're doing it on a government website and it's very exciting for them. But yeah, I think some of it is trying to tie that narrative to their narrative, right? Or to try and like gradually move their base towards this open blood and soil position, which like they haven't really been that subtle about to begin with. Right. But, like, that's where they're at now.

Like, it moved, and their Overton, you know, about the Overton window, right? In the window of acceptable political discourse. Like, it's, like, the Overton window is blown up the wall in terms of, like. It's a hole in the building, right? Yeah. Yeah. That side of the building is gone now. Timothy McPay expanded the Overton window of the Oklahoma City federal building.

Yeah. And I feel like because nothing sticks to them, that they can just be like, yeah, we're going to do that. but yeah, why not? It'll reach the audience that we want it to reach and it'll piss off other people, but the pissing off other people doesn't have any consequences. Right. So we're just going to keep going.

Right. Yeah. Or it's just owning the lips, right? Which is a goal and an end in itself. Yeah. It's funny. Right. Which is odd. I mean, not odd. I mean, like, there's such a fundamental misreading of America from like the MAGA politicians. Because, like, you even see quotes or like,

like from DHS spokespeople, other politicians saying like, you got to quit protesting. Like saying it like, knock it off. Like quit protesting DHS and ICE guys. Like let them do their jobs. And you're like, what quit protest? What as if you didn't expect this to be the natural reaction of human beings to see people just kidnapped by armed goons or entering people's homes like that?

That it's like, guys, quit protest. What's going on? What's with all this protesting now? And I'm curious, that's the other part, is do you see anything in sort of the actions of the current administration as like sort of like the hallmarks of a truly like sort of weak regime trying to project as much power as possible? Or how do you look at their actions in terms of like what, you know, how the structural integrity of their movement is. Yeah, yeah. I mean, what they're going for is like there's this thing at the end of chapter seven of 1984 that I think about a lot where this Orwell says, people fucking love to. be wrong about Orwell, I guess. I should just start there. Like, the amount of people who

like to cite Orwell, whilst also being the sort of people who Orwell signed up to kill in the Spanish Civil War. Like, in 1984 was written about the Biden administration. Just wanted to put that out real quick. Yeah. Mostly concerned vaccines and your kids not going to school, having to be in the same space as your kids and you hate them and they hate you. And yeah. Yeah, that's what it's, it's a book about divorced dads in lockdown. He says the party told you not to trust your eyes and ears. It was their final most important command. And like, that is where we are at this week.

Yeah, yeah, right. But that is a 10-year project. Donald Trump riding down at an escalator 10 years ago, shit-talking Mexican people 11 years ago. Right. And they have gradually been stacking bricks since then to get to this place. where they can, like you said earlier, right, they can post a video of a dude who is for some reason

filming on his personal phone whilst doing cop shit who then shoots a lady three times in the face and be like, see, seems totally cool. Like, because they're going to tell you it's totally cool and you're going to watch it and believe them. And like that is the totalitarian project, right? That like they can intervene in between the external world and you drawing conclusions from the external world.

and have you draw the conclusion that they won. Right. Like, there's, that's scary, right? If whatever percentage of people will buy that. Right.

Yeah. And it's, it's not just a problem, I guess, with Republicans. Like, there's like a sort of conspiratorial wing of Democrats.

You do the same thing. But it is overwhelmingly a problem right now because the government is using it to justify murdering people. Right. Yeah. That is what we should be focused on. And it, that's pretty scary,

man. Like, I mean, any state that resorts to violence, like, deliberately does it because that is the nature of the state. It doesn't mean that they're threatened, right? Like, the state at its core is the entity that controls violence in a geographical area. Sure, sure. It always has been, right? That's what the state does.

And only one allowed to, yeah, use violence. Yeah, right. They have the monopoly on the legitimate violence, the barbarian definition of the state, right? So, like, I think them using violence is not an indication of, weakness, but them having to resort to violence so much that's why they've gone so hard on this blitz, right? Right.

They straight up murdered a white lady in the middle of the day. And it probably does matter that it's a white lady in this country still, right? Because a lot of suburban folks can see themselves in the lady driving the minivan after dropping herself from school. Yeah, right. Dropping her kids at school. And if they can do that and walk away from it without consequences, that's pretty bad.

Right. It's pretty bad for any checks on power. So I guess we're going to find out in the next few days here. Yeah, America, the place where it's like, well, I have to see it happen to someone exactly like me before I figure it out. Yeah, but she doesn't look that much like me. Right. Yeah. Do you see anything in the very beginnings, nascent U.S. resistance that kind of you've seen elsewhere that, you know, you've talked about kind of resistance, witnessing some of these resistance groups like the Gen Z Army?

But, like, you know, I think a lot of people in the U.S. feel helpless or like, well, what could we do? And, you know, there's also people who are protesting and resisting. but what um just how do you how do you view like the state of american resistance yeah i think so like the reason i wrote the book like it's not it's not like to be clear like a guide book or explaining how to do things but i hope it reminds people that really beautiful things can happen out of really dark times and like again if i go if you go back to the early arab spring or perhaps the early protest in mehama as a better example right in 2021 after the coup first everyone went out with funny signs.

Like, I can remember one person had one that said, say no to dictatorship, yes, to relationship. And like, stuff like that,

right. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, there was like, a lot of, a lot of, like young adult,

sexual tension. Yeah. Like, don't fuck my country, fuck my friend and that has a little arrow and stuff. But they were doing that because they thought

that if they were funny and peaceful, the world would be like, these guys are cool, we should help them. And the world did not do shit, right? And for,

for months people adhered to the idea of peaceful protests because they genuinely thought it would help. And like, people are hero doing to peaceful protests because they generally believe that it will make a difference. And I hope it does. But like one potential direction is the direction, I guess, at Myanmar. I don't think that's a direction that US will go in necessarily, right? Like, I think it's quite unlikely that US will fragment in the way Myanmar has done because we don't have many of the factors that they had. But every one of these revolutionary movements starts like this, and some of them end up in open-arm conflict, right? The Arab Spring was the same, right?

It was thousands of people coming out into the street like we've seen in Minneapolis, right? Like, that is how these movements that result in change, well, they all begin that way, right? Nobody wants to be fighting against the government because it's hard. lots of people die. And so everything, I guess, begins where we're at. Not everything by any means ends where they are at. But I can see. And I think so much of the young people in Myanmar,

especially so much of their discourse on politics was informed by having the internet, learning English and learning from people in the US. So they just assumed that the same tools would work there, right? But you had a different state calculus there, right? if they can kill 150 people in a single day at a protest that they did in Myanmar. That's a whole other scale compared to what we're dealing with in the U.S. And it's understandable why things have gone in the direction of people fighting back there. Yeah.

It is interesting. Like the tone of the signs, I feel like we're a little bit different this weekend. Yeah, no one's trying to be funny anymore. Yeah, L.A. definitely, we've had some real, you know, funny sign. I mean, like every American city, too. this weekend felt it was truly about like, like saying like Renee Nicole Good was murdered. Ice are murders.

A ball. Like just a lot of the, it became less about who has the best SpongeBob meme. And it translated. Not to say that every sign was like that, but now that you say that, that was an observation I had from the weekend. Yeah, yeah.

I mean, you saw that in 2020 as well, right? Like, I don't think anyone was trying to be funny about the murder of George Floyd. No, no. People were fucking mad. And they should, yeah. Like the funniest things were just, like, insulting cops. Like that's, yeah, oh, that was a creative insult to, to, to, yeah, for a police officer. But that was like the extent rather than like, what's my quip about this unjustified police killing?

Yeah. And those skits where they like dressed up as cops and like kept like slipping on ice and like, or like slipping and then their gun would go off. That was a real. That's a real video, Jack of the ice guy slipping. There's like a whole mixtape that I felt like I've seen like five. different videos of people. Just being like, I'm going to run on this icy sidewalk. Comedic genius.

Yeah. I mean, the vest doesn't protect your cockyx, okay? Just so you know. Let's take a quick break. We'll be right back. New year, new goals, and in this economy, a better money plan is more necessary than ever. I am Matt. And I'm Joel.

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Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, this is Dr. Jesse Mills, director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health and host of the Mailroom podcast. Each January guys everywhere make the same resolutions. Get stronger, work harder, fix, what's broken. But what if the real work isn't physical at all? To kick off the new year, I sat down with Dr. Steve Polter, a psychologist with over 30 years' experience, helping men unpack shame, anxiety, and emotional pain they were never taught to name. In a powerful two-part conversation, we discuss why men aren't emotionally bulletproof,

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Welcome to the podcast, dude. All right. exciting new technology in the world of our dystopian hellscape. There's a new app. This is one of the most popular apps in China right now. It doesn't involve AI or online shopping. I know. So you're probably going to stop listening.

But wait. Fuck this. Fuck this. I only like apps that involve AI and online shopping. It's just literally a way to tell everyone that you haven't broken your neck in the shower or choked to death on a chock. The app is called Are You Dead? Question mark.

It's currently the top paid app on China's Apple App Store. That's the thing that gets me is that it has the nerve to be paid. It works by having users tap a green button with a Pac-Man-esque ghost on it every day. And if they fail to check in for two consecutive days, the app emails an emergency contact. That's it. That's the app. It's just being like, hey, can you touch this button? Okay, good, you're not dead.

Hey, can you touch this button? Okay, good, you're not dead. Hey, you haven't touched the button yet. All right, we're going to tell some people you're dead. We'll wait until tomorrow. It's literally, yeah. You could just be sleepy. So we're going to wait.

I mean, what an incredible example of how lonely this modern lives have become. So first of all, just it's a stressful thing to have a hanging over your head. Oh, fuck, I forgot to email my app. God damn, I'm still fucking alive. I haven't hit this fucking button. Like, I can't sleep the night before I have to, like, go somewhere, you know, like, wake up and, like, go on a flight or something because I just, like, will dream the whole night of, like, missing the flight.

Like, the second I download this app, I'm just dreaming about forgetting to hit the button and the entire world thinking that I'm dead. Like, that's, that's it. That's so funny. It's like, whatever. I do the same thing. If I have like a 6 a.m. flight, I'll be a good boy and get in bed at like 8.30 and then just be stressing out.

Yes. And be bored. I'll be bored and stressing out and be awake rather than getting the requisite sleep. Yeah, it's so funny. That's good. I got 15 minutes of sleep where I just had a panic dream about like trying to run to catch my flight and getting shot in the face by ice. But the app is booming thanks to the rise of one person households in China. and it's people people are critical of it because there's a there's an app called are you hungry

that they're just basically spoofing being like how are you dead how about that but i i do think we're maybe a year away from this taking off in the u.s i can't i can't imagine people paying for it but they'll they'll find a way to like make it sell you stuff still not dead then you There's some vitamins that you can, yeah. I just, I wanted to immediately upon my death publish a very cool obituary for myself that I've written. Yeah. Well, now you can. Now it can be auto distributed to the New York Times and the Washington Post.

More maybe that's the premium content that you would get with this app is that you get a obituary written. Not by you, but by AI. No, wait, right. By AI. And now we have solved the one problem with this app. that it didn't embrace AI enough. Yes. Oh, that's why I didn't like this app.

Yeah, it can embrace AI that way. I want an AI photo of me driving the first monster truck. And then it's like, this is more than his 21st birthday or whatever. I just, you know what I mean? I want me like, yeah. Guys, I think we, I think we can finally quit the podcast. I think we just came up with our billion dollar idea. This is crazy.

And we thought elongating shoes was going to be the one. But it's actually this act. truly did. I really thought I was fucking eating with that one when I was not. It was funny that my wife and I both came up with that invention. We were both like fourth graders in our science fair being like,

well, it was nice knowing you losers. Well, we weren't billionaires. I think that that is like a, that's a much more realistic version of a soulmate. You know what I mean? Like we all sort of think it's this kind of romantic sunset experience, but it's way more like the weird things you both

yeah, just like a weird. Yeah, we have a lot of those. It's kind of funny. It's actually just Mr. Wonderful and his wife and whatever that relationship was like. I don't think it was good. Those are not our relationship goals. No. Didn't they like kill someone with a boat or something? Someone died from a boat they were driving. Okay. So we're going to keep it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Allegedly. Yeah. But it is a very bleak. does say, more as you were mentioning, says very bleak things.

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

of people who are, like, aren't found for a year. Like, people just don't know, notice that they're gone. Like, it's, when you find, when you, like, read about people being discovered dead, it's always, like, these days, I feel like it's so often, like, they had a, an appointment with, yeah,

or, like, if they had a pet, people notice the pet barking or something like that. But, like, we don't, we're not in community. So unless there's a fucking, like, lost number sequence that they have to punch in every day at the same time, nobody notices, which is fucked up. I truly, community, I think, is the most, talking to underrated. I think it's as important as, like, food and sunshine for people. And I think that's what we're starting to really, really learn.

Like, it needs to be way more focused on as a way to, like, be a healthy human being, you know? We're learning it theoretically, but, like, not, like, we continue to live more and more isolated lives because- We're seeing the consequences of that, which is, like, total radically. globalization total like people just believing all kinds of insane shit you know yeah but it's we're more profitable as like individuals living in our little separate matrix cells where we were just being like piped in food and never have to interact with other people in reality yeah i think we're like two years away from being everyone having like a 24 hour podcast you know which is just like like a

device on the phone that just records everything you're doing yeah blake is typing furiously ever since Hold on. Speak slower. Not to get even more rich than we already have made ourselves on this podcast, but how about a similar app? But for pets, where your pet can hit a button to let you know if it's still alive. Yeah. Yeah, we'll call it, are you a dead dog? Are you a dead dog? And you can have a whole community of like, is that guy's dog dead? Like, who's dog's dead? And that's the name of the app. Who's dog's dead? And it won't, it'll be H. who will be W-H-O-H-O-H-O-A-O-Postri-S dog.

Those like, you know those buttons that people teach their dogs to use that say like Hungry or Outside, there's like there is one that you have to bring your dogs after it's passed and touches paw to there goes, I'm dead, I'm dead. Dying. Passing. Passing's nicer. See, God, we're good. See, that's so much lighter.

In America, it will be called, have I passed? Am I passed? Am I passed? Have I crossed the rainbow bridge? And in England, it'll be like, have I fucking shuffled those mortal coil or whatever.

Fucking Shakespeare bullshit. Shakespeare is bullshit, right? We all agree. Total bullshit. Old, it's old. It sucks. Corny. Corny.

Cornies. Very corny to me. Uh, no one. No one. Well, speaking of, uh, Shakespeare, it ain't got shit on stranger things, all right? Mm-mm. We talked last week about how stranger things fans were in denial and believed that the show had a fake out ending and that they were about to drop the real ending the next day, which they, they were right that it would have been cooler than what actually happened. What actually happened is like, no, that didn't happen.

They just had like a media. mediocre finale to a mystery box show, which is basically how all mystery box shows end. You create a mystery. Everyone's like, oh, what's in the box? And then you, like, add more stuff that's like, man, I really want to know what's in that box now. And then you just like keep adding stuff.

And then at the end is like, oh, well, that's what we all kind of assumed was in the box the whole time. That's not, that's it. Anyways, so they were like, okay, so they gave us the fake out ending, which was the one that everybody had guessed and nobody was surprised by or satisfied by. But there were all these clues all along

being like, psych, this is happening in a fake world, and now they're going to drop a mystery episode tomorrow that was like, this is actually, they wake up and realize that that wasn't the real ending. And then they do a whole new ending that is actually satisfying, unless it's not,

in which case that one will also be a dream, etc., etc. etc. Never has. Until add infinitum or however that's pronounced. Anyways, they did not do that. I think that would have actually been a cool way to break the format. You use the format of Netflix to fuck with how people,

but they didn't do that. Instead, they did release a documentary called One Last Adventure, The Making of Stranger Things Five. And it has sparked more anger from disappointed fans who believe that their worst suspicion. have been confirmed. People have latched onto the creators of mission that they didn't have a, quote, finished script for the finale when they went into production on the last season, which is how a lot of TV always works, like, particularly TV. Like, they don't write, this is one of my beefs

with TV over movies. Like, they go into the story and don't know how it's going to end. And so they're, like, kind of making it up as they go. long. And so it's not always like a cohesive, like it has more in common with soap opera plotting than it does with like a novel or a film, you know? A lot

of the time. Limited releases are often cooler because they have their own like vision and there's closure and stuff. Yeah. And it's a bigger problem when it's such a high budget fucking show where it's like, all right, well I guess we blew all our money on the flying

around freak stuff. going on earlier. So I guess this is the only way we could end this because they have to shoot them in a basement. You know, like, this is the only choice we have. How can we end this show only in this basement? It's the only way they can figure it out. Yeah.

And like, God bless Stranger things and all of its fans, but like it started out being fairly derivative of like a bunch of 80 stuff. You can't expect it to be like this grand, visionary, beautifully articulated masterpiece. It's like a team.

Four. Teen's on Bikes thing. It's kind of fun, you know? I wonder how many of the original fans just hadn't seen like E.T. and Goonies. And we're just like, holy shit. These guys are on another level. You know what I mean? And it's like you were saying, Jack, like, it's because they're like, we don't have any, we don't have God anymore.

I did say that on Trenton. Well, yeah. You know, on Trenton's like, yeah, this, people have nothing to believe in. So this, they need a bunch of like child actors to save their, like, save their, their dream and sense of wonder for them. It's really sad. These are the stories that we have to create meaning with now. Oh, my God.

That's such a good quote. We don't have God anymore. It's like you were saying. God is dead. Long live stranger things. Mr. Positive. I was saying that there was no God. If you also think about how people like react to the Bible and then, you know,

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

Like, instead of being like, maybe I got this wrong, maybe Jesus doesn't come back tomorrow. Maybe the entire thing is actually just a metaphor for love and their fundamentalism is ridiculous. You'd have to, you have to examine every aspect of your life, you know? So it's much easier to be like, no, no, no, it's coming. I just got the date wrong. They're going to put on a whole new stranger things and it's going to be exactly what I thought should happen. Right. I do love this quote from because people were like, the duffer.

are like working on next level. Like the way they were thinking about this finale is like fucking 5D chess. And so like to think that they would have ended it like that and not had like a secret ending episode that was going to drop in the future that they were using Morse code in the background to communicate to us about is crazy.

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

It was the most important script of the season. Oh, the finale? The series finale was the most important script of the season? Damn, dog. Foggin next level shit right there. Don't trust brothers. You can't put any faith in guys. who are related to each other as siblings.

You just, what good has ever come of trusting two brothers? The Cohn brothers. I can't think of a sick. Huh? The Cohn brothers? Even they're all fucked up. I say with no evidence. It's a last.

They're serious. They're sick fucks. They have a bad sense of humor. Some people are mad because at one point, They show one of the Duffer brothers, or sorry, one of the writers' laptops, and they, people, like, zoom in on the tab, and they're like, those two of the tabs look like Chad GPT, which they do look like chat GPT. And you can't guarantee that they are, but if, I mean, he doesn't have time to write it. He's too busy counting his money. What do you expect?

Right. We just, in many ways, we feel like this is a, like, top three most important script of, you. of the season, the series finale. So I will just make another appeal for if you are, only you know Duffer Brothers and the writing team behind strangers things. Only you know if you're writing, using Chad GPD to write these finale. But if you are,

please just go online and steal the best online theory or don't steal it. Just you're already stealing intellectual property of others by using chat GPT. Just reach out to the fan who came up with a, theory that rules and just pay them money to use it. That's going to be so much better than your chat GPT bullshit. Yes. And to the person who is coming up with a theory, make your own work. Like these people are actually kind of brilliant.

They're better writers than the writers. You know, it's like make your own show. You've got a studio in your pocket. Yeah, there you go. By the way, that would make a good movie. If they did go and like reach out to a fan, and then like a fan got like pulled in onto the set of strangers like that would be a good movie to somebody in and it cares more about the show you know that are like so invested to the making of

stranger things five that would be better than a documentary where it's like and we actually thought that this episode was important yeah and so we like wrote it a couple weeks before we had to shoot it so so the ncho i got really into hockey this year so i didn't have as much time to work on the series finale but We knew it was on the to-do list for sure. It was on there. They also shot themselves in the foot calling it stranger things. They just everything had it progressively stranger.

So, of course, they're going to run out of strange stuff. That's true. There's only so many weird things. Nice try, guys. You should have called it strange things. One strange thing. One strange thing. And that's all we promise.

And no more. All right. That's going to do it for this week's weekly. Zykeist. like and review the show if you like the show. It means the world to miles. He needs your validation, folks. I hope you're having a great weekend and I will talk to you Monday. Bye. Hey, it's Joel and Matt from How to Money. If your New Year's resolution is to finally get your finances in shape, we've got your back. Prices, they're still high and the economy is all over the

place. But 2026 is the year for you to get intentional. and make real progress. That's right. Yeah, each week we break down what's happening with your money, the most important issues to focus on, and the small moves that make a big difference. Kick off the year with confidence. Listen to How to Money on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm John Polk. For years, I was the poster boy of the conversion therapy movement, the ex-gay who married an ex-lesbian and traveled the world telling my story of how I changed my sexuality from gay to straight. You might have heard my story,

but you've never heard the real story. John has never been anything but gay, but he really tried hard not to be. Listen to Atonement, the John Polk story on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Dr. Jesse Mills, host of the Mailroom podcast.

Each January, men promise to get stronger, work harder, and fix what's broken. But what if the real work isn't physical at all? I sat down with psychologist Dr. Steve Poulter to unpack shame, anxiety, and the emotional pain men were never taught how to name. Part of the way through the Valley of Despair is realizing this has happened, and you have to make a choice whether you're going to stay in it or move forward. Our two-part conversation is available now. Listen to the mailroom on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyanko Wali.

And I'm Hurricane de Bolo. It's a new year. And on the podcast's Health Stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that or am I just depressed? Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone.

Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.