The Dumb Zone FREE - Matt Bruenig on our social experiment and Brian Schottenheimer will be fired in the first month of the season | DZ 6-13-25 PREVIEW

Episode Date: June 13, 2025

Hear the entire episode by subscribing to the show at DumbZone.com or Patreon.com/TheDumbZoneDan comes out of the gate hot with the opinion that teachers should make less because they don't work for two months. Matt Bruenig joins us to talk about Blake's Angelo situation. Then Dan has moved the line up on the firing of Brian Schottenheimer and has some Sch-audio to back it up. Finally, we chat with the "hey dill" guy and if his tiff with Corby was on purpose or not ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Hey now! What you are about to hear is a free preview of one of this week's premium episodes of The Dumb Zone. If you would like to hear this program in full, along with the full archive... Ah, shit. If you would like to hear this program in full, with the archive of all of our past episodes, you can subscribe at DumbZone.com. I wish more people knew that, but the problem, again, I think is just the optics of it, because you're always gonna be able to find cases of guys who are like flaunting it or whatever.

You're always gonna have the fact that ODB picked up a welfare check and a limo, and then people get mad about it. Dude, I almost sent you this last night. Have you seen the guy on TikTok who got deported and documented his whole vacation and he's back a week later? No, I didn't. I mean, and that's the problem is that like, and it's a great video, but like, this guy's like, yeah, they're getting, they kicked the border. Me. They kicked me out and he's like sipping margaritas somewhere in Mexico.

And he's just on the train back. And I'm like, that's not most people. I promise that That one's funny. But I really hope that's not the one that my family sees. No, for sure. They assume that's everyone. These stories are so powerful. And people have a hard time either thinking about aggregate or thinking about, could this be a problem across the board?

Like I said, money is money, right? So you can blow a paycheck on some dumb stuff just as well as you could blow a benefit check on some dumb stuff it's also interesting which benefits we focus on obviously most of the cash benefits are going out to the elderly people and disabled people through Social Security and no one's ever really all that curious about how they spend it I don't even if hardly ever find a study on it, they only like to look at things that are, you know, sort of targeted to the poor. So that's another way in which you kind of escape

that problem. Like in Alaska, which is a conservative state, because everyone gets the check, it just seems like no one really seems to care all that much about where anyone spends it, because it's kind of like, well, you get it, I get it. It's a lot of, it's all our money, just do whatever you want. But if the cash is going to the poor, you're hoping in some way that it improves their

situation or their life. With an elderly person, you're probably thinking, I don't know, their glory days are behind them, who cares? But with my money to this guy, like I want him to have a better day to day experience, and if he blows all the money up front, then I feel like the rest of his week is just the same as it was before we met. Possibly. You know, what's interesting about this guy, and I would love to know, because this comes up a lot with food stamps, is did he, was he, how much was he struggling to get food before?

I mean, obviously he was alive, so he was eating. Like, so it might be that he has through food banks and you know other like Shelters he has a decent source of like consistent food he just makes like not have housing or things like that and so he gets the money and It's like well, just have a you know Yeah An extra special meal like and this is one of those things this is another way in which cash is so I guess it could be Infuriating viewed this way or it could be beneficial in other ways, is you don't really know what the people already have access to.

The thing you want to get, you know, oh I'll give you food, they might have food, but they just might not have some other thing that you're not thinking of, you know? Yeah, I'm not sure it is food stamp situation. I know he gets some sort of money from the government somehow but a part of the reason why I wanted to help was his entire day was trying to get to which church was having a lunch that day, which church was giving out breakfast burritos, which shelter was giving a dinner and so I thought well let me help you eliminate a couple of these per the week. Here's what I can do. But I think and this was a part of our Angelo week, here's what I can do. But I think, and this was a part of our Angelo and I's communication was,

I think he got the card and thought, I don't have to do any of that anymore. And so, and so I felt, and I tried to tell him this the best I could, I just didn't appreciate the pressure he was putting on me that I'm his now benefactor to where he doesn't have to do that anymore. And there was an immediacy of like, I need the money now was putting on me that I'm his now benefactor to where he doesn't have to do that anymore. And there was an immediacy of like,

I need the money now, I actually need more than what you're giving me because I don't want to have to do all these things. So now I am now feeling worse than I was before because I am now guilty that this guy has to do all the things that he was already doing before me. So I don't know, this has become just such a super stressful situation when I just wanted

to help this man, but it's turned into just so much more than that. You know, a reaction, I was trying to explain to my wife last night, this whole bit. And in telling her, I was like, oh yeah, and the guy has a phone. She was like, he has a phone? And that, that I think is a common yeah that's extremely actually like these guys are yeah there's no again this guy sauna too yeah yeah yeah well

was on 15 yeah this is a thing and I know it's the tiny one it's like an updated version of you know I come from the era in the area of just hearing about welfare Queens non-stop and hearing about like oh they got a car out front and they're you know their neighbor's house it's falling down or they got a satellite or whatever but the thing is now at least we interviewed a homeless guy or a guy who was on house for a while recently on IJB. And the thing is, you've got to have a phone

to be able to access all this government and church and otherwise charity shit. You've got to have a phone. So when you get money, the first thing you do from getting money is get a phone. Now, you may be able to get it for like $30, right? Yeah, actually, when smartphones were kind of being phased in and you know, some people had them and some people didn't, I remember looking into who had them and who didn't because

there were these programs that governments would do these things that were that you needed to be, you know, have a smartphone to access or maybe have access to the internet. And I thought, oh, that's not right. Like I'm going to critique it and say, well, poor people Don't have these things. This doesn't make any sense This is not gonna be a way to deliver this to poor people But then when I went to look at it into it smartphone adoption was faster among the poor than anyone else I mean after you know the initial sort of phase where things were really expensive But once you could start get some cheap Android phones poor people bottom up like really quickly

Because that becomes a way to have phone TV Internet all that kind of stuff in a relatively cheap device like what you would have had to have an order to have all those things Yeah, you can you can do the New York Times crossword every day like Keep sharp in case you need to find a job that requires that kind of mental cutie. That's where things so Yeah, no, I mean, but your wife's reaction is a common one, but you you've got to have one And it doesn't mean that you're like chilling See I've always thought because I I think we could be more socialist as a society Because it does seem like it's always going the other way

And it the welfare Queen thing is like the big thing. And I've seen you know shows on that which show that was a big you know a scare tactic that really worked really well. Because I always I mean I'm among the people who think couldn't you that that they always talk about the top 1% or the 1% of the 1% like the real, real high earners that pay less of a tax burden than you pay on your money. When you scare us about the wealth, like, OK, what if you did something where we're helping these people out

and it's actually not taking my money? It's more taking from from way way up top. He's arrived at a solution. But don't you feel like that the people way up top somehow are good at scaring all of us into thinking actually it's going to affect us terribly when it's really not. It's gonna affect them more and by effect it also to me think Probably doesn't really mean effect except for looking at something like your life is day-to-day life if you had a Hundred billion is also the same if you have four billion, I think

But I'll never know I but I don't have four billion. So I don't know. Yeah Yeah, it's definitely easier to sell these programs if you can get funded through more progressive taxation, that sort of thing. But the countries that do this the most extensively, they kind of have a whole other view of it. It's not so much we're giving money to the poor, it's they design the program so that everyone benefits.

And so in that sense, you kind of circumvent that like we don't think about Public school as like a poor people program. Yeah, because 90% of kids go to public school I know your your wife's a teacher like that's probably now it's South Lake. So that's probably a different setup, but You know, we don't even think about it like that or libraries or public pools and in places that have those You know, it's just kind of a service for everyone health care would be like that as well Potentially if you just kind of a government thing everyone was on Medicare So, you know that kind of thing or even like unemployment benefits you could you may you know, everyone gets unemployed It's on point usually, you know in a given life

Most people are unemployed five six times. So, you know, it's like everyone pays everyone benefits and What it is when you start focusing all the benefits on who you think of is like the least You know those in the most trouble and that that's where people start to think why are they in trouble? What's going on with them? Are they spending it right? Are they coming out? It's like that that's when the scrutiny really, really begins. Like, what do you think, Blake, if you saw on his shopping list, it was ramen and the cheap water. Bonds.

Yeah, I mean, what? A couple of CDs. This is the funny thing about it, because I'm sure it is, if he had his regular life of going to a different homeless shelter or church every night to try and find a meal but now one of those days he's eating torches like he's got a better week than he had the previous week yeah and that's what you'll settle in at yeah and that's what and what's what's the

what's the big leap he can make I think that's another interesting question putting putting aside you know is he like rationally what's the what's the big leap he can make I think that's another interesting question putting putting aside You know is he like rationally? What is he? It's not clear to me that he does he understand that this like would accumulate into savings to see is it does he think it's like Use it or lose it. He happens. He can't like rent a place with it Yeah, may just kind of be like look. This is nice, but it's I can't it's not like transformative So the best I could do is just make make life a little get avocado on it see to me this whole thing though The second you told us this it was to me like when Elon and Trump got together

Or when the Kyle boys Cowboys hired Schottenheimer. It's like this won't end well. This is not going to end And right now we're seeing it already. I wonder if he's spending on others? I mean I don't know you guys know these prices better than me but it could be he's taking his friend the torches. Well the few times that I've ordered food I know it's for him and I know he eats a lot so I don't think it's for other people but that would be very noble if it was. Yeah. I just and maybe we just maybe we got off on the wrong foot that he spent most of it in one sitting on Tacos, but I didn't give him any parameters on how to spend it right I The reason I love my james you you said to a guy. I just want who has found himself homeless

Here's $25 a week. And now you're thinking, I'm going to count on him to spend it exactly like I would. Yes. And this is why I love this, Matt, is because I feel like every day I'm witnessing a policy thing play out in front of me. We're like, he had these intentions.

And he's like, I'm going to do this because it's going to make me feel good. He wasn't all that clear about it like, he had these intentions and he's like, I'm gonna do this because it's gonna make me feel good. He wasn't all that clear about it, but he had the idea. Now afterward, the guy's mad, he's mad, nobody's really benefiting. And I'm like, oh, this is just how this works. This is how the government and people are. The other thing that's interesting about it is that you are following specific dollars, whereas he has other money.

So we don't know the net effect of all of it. Like if you're really trying to study it, you would say, well, it could be great to look at all of a sudden, or maybe he was already doing that occasionally and now he's putting on the debit card and like he buys other stuff. Like I wonder, he probably buys $25 worth of stuff each week that you would find you would approve of right and so place that yeah Unfortunately, it's putting some of it on the card and some of it not and we don't know what the net effect was like What's his incremental spending from the 25? We don't really know because he could be substituting different payment methods

You know, I'm not trying to poke hole, but it's, but it does, cause people do that as well. They'll be like, well, what do you spend the food stamps on? It's always funny cause it's like, well money is fungible, right? So like if I spend the food stamps on it that frees up cash that I could spend on something else. Like if I wanted to buy liquor, well, now that I have food stamps, I have more money to buy liquor with because previously my liquor money had to spend on food but no one like

follows that chain of reasoning what do you think so what was your first thought when he started doing this my first thought listening yeah just I was just thinking I'm glad it's not the liquor stores and like cigarettes and whatever because that's usually what I would whatever, because that's usually what people get the most upset about. But yeah, to me, I was like, I don't know. But even before hearing what I was thinking this won't end well, just hearing

that he started doing this, did you think, this is a good idea? No, it's not a good idea. That's like a personal call. Yeah, but Matt has opinions. Yeah, I don't know. I guess it's not a good idea. That's like a personal call. Right? Yeah, but Matt has opinions. It's a fun idea. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I guess it's very interesting that you can see what you can spin.

I think he should block his number and just No, I'm not going to do that. It just feels like You can start creating incentives and stuff for him, you know? Like if you really want to gamify it. We were talking about some challenges. Like, don't laugh. This is serious economic

Why didn't he come intellectual intellectual bum fights like we put him through little teasers and Yeah, if he contributed to the content picking games, that would be great. Oh, he's definitely picking games Yeah, little scavenger hunt. I don't know Definitely picking games. Yeah, a little scavenger hunt? I don't know. All right, well. I think if he had just put, you put it, you should have had him in a D at the DZGSE in a dunk booth

and people had to pay $5 for it. And this is the problem, this is a leading socialist. All proceeds go. This man speaks for my movement. He's like, how do we commodify the poor and turn them into that? Make them wet. It all boils down to Blake is a big jerk because he didn't give him enough money to transform his life.

That's right. You got to do the whole thing. You did a good thing. It demonstrates the limitations of the private, you know, we really got to pull this make it more systematic, you know. Yes. It tends to be more stable people feel like they can rely on you know what cuz that's a common thing too is When you say to somebody like oh, I support you know higher social floor than through taxation and etc They're like well. Why don't you just give your money to charity? Why don't you just give it to a church? It's like well because like I don't believe in the delivery system at the granular like private level now

some people would say well it's insane you would believe it at a government level, but I don't think that's a solid retort to I think people should receive more assistance, just saying, well, why don't you just give it to them? You know what I mean? I think about different roles for different institutions.

The government is actually very efficient in sending checks out. Social security runs on like less than 1% administrative expenses, because hey, they don't have to go harass people for money, they just tax it from you and you you know, just comes in. I always think about like the government is here to knock out those dollar the things that the dollars can can deal with That they're in a really good position to do that because they have the power to tax They know where everyone lives. It could kind of do it really systematically But for kind of soft touch things That's where civil society church charity that sort of thing is going to be more common people who are struggling with addiction Or who need very kind of personalized interaction or have like domestic violence issues.

That's where the state I think is going to be a little bit too ham-fisted to come in but where private charity can really be much more helpful. We haven't had Brunig on the show in quite some time, so I keep notes when I listen to your show about things I want to bring up to you. So when you were in high school, you were a guest on the Wild Ass Circus on the ticket. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. OK. Yeah. At one point, TC was TC, you know, because TC has these long tapes and stuff he thought maybe than he you know DC

You know he didn't we couldn't find once you're gonna listen was it I don't know whether it be like hey listen to all the Well, that circus episodes until you could find me I bet if we if we got if you you know, I should contact the Dick Hunter and he I'm sure he remembers me because I was on multiple times on his show and even did like bits and stuff So thank you Angelo listen to him Listen these four hours a night and if you hear any man I don't think it makes you an asshole if you if

Things arise that you feel like he could help you with if you provide him the opportunity. I'm not saying it's a necessity maybe he could mark audio for a cowboy game and could he fade and put the fades on the front and back? Alright. And then so we know Brunig was like a an instigator at school. What was the Nazi thing you had that you're running for office or something and you said we're not Nazis? I don't know yeah I just said that I was the only candidate who had denounced the Nazis and that was my main platform which was true but also got me disqualified from the race yeah a high schooler who learned about the when did you stop beating your wife did you ever tell Jake you have to remember this,

you were talking somewhat recently on a podcast about the hat you wore on hat day. Oh yeah, yeah. The Girl Scone Wild Hat. Yeah, no that was a great, yeah. I was in junior high, I'd gotten a Girl Scone Wild Hat, I don't remember where, I actually now think I got it from Dick Hunter that I think he had it

Great amount of sense. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so I think he probably thought it was funny and gave it to me I thought it was funny too. And so yeah I wore it on hat day and then I also had brought a backup hat and they told me to take it off and then I refused and then Subsequently out of sight I put on a different hat and then eventually like the administrators came and they were they were trying to Figure out what was wrong with my hat. So I had a multi-layered kind of game that I was planning. So as a 14 year old Could you imagine standing all, no I remember there,

I don't know that we had one quite to his level, but you'd have a kid that you're like, they got what we have on smarter than them. There's nothing they can do. Yeah. And you just kind of just follow them. Yeah. All right, well, I think we've solved poverty.

Yeah, I think so. Oh yeah. So keep the bet going. Hey, I was gonna say, I think we've solved poverty. Yeah, I think so. Oh yeah. So, keep the bet going. Oh, hey, I was gonna say, I think I'm gonna try a first creamy run this weekend. Somebody told me, Andrew Plum, he sent me the video of him making his ice cream. He puts like a sugar-free jello pudding mix in it. Mm-hmm. Okay, you've heard you that baby and I thought you sent me but he I'd not seen that one before yeah my base is a

240 grams of Fairlife whole milk and then 10 grams of the vanilla sugar-free Jello pudding mix okay that'll get you a nice little vanilla throw in the mix ends that sort of thing okay that's what's what I do. Good deal. All right. Well, you have a great weekend, Matt Brunig. Go follow Matt Brunig. Go to Patreon. Search the Brunigs. Throw this in the show notes.

People's Policy Project. He had an op-ed in the New York Times last month. Oh, OK. And it's about some of this sort of stuff. Should you have to work to be able to have health care? No, you should die poor II Okay, we'll throw that in there so go search burning after you're done with the wordle Because it's in the New York Times. That's Matt burning

Back to Brian Brian Brian Schottenheimer. Okay, so let me jump around to some other audio from his press conference the other day. Brian Schottenheimer. This is a new thing. I'm you know, the more I listen to him, we're learning bingo things. He likes to bring up his dad. He likes to bring up intentionality and he needs to kind of let you know. Here's the thing. He's like 50 something years of let you know here's the thing he's like 50 something

years old you know but no one's ever really heard of him yeah so he has to kind of keep reminding you that he's been in the league a long time I don't change I mean I'm just I'm who I am I'm authentic I think you guys know that or are learning that about me the business has changed a lot from when I got in this crazy business I grew up around it obviously you guys know that but you know so the point is he's got to keep reminding you like I've been around a long time like yes no one was looking to hire me this time or really never but but look I've been around like you don't Mike McCarthy doesn't have to keep telling people that he's been around a long time because you

know about his oh he developed this quarterback he did this then he moved on and did this and then he you know Shanahan any of these guys you don't really have to say but he loves to talk about, the old days and then remind you, like, actually, yes. Um, here, another bingo thing is, he does like to, uh, and I think this is a trick, Bob Knight used to do it to me, to say, great question. And you feel a little good inside, man. It sucks. It sucks so bad how good it works.

It's like when you are making a draft pick at your fantasy draft and you hear a couple guys go, oh yeah, good. Like, oh yeah, I found, I asked a good question. The coach of the Cowboys said good question. You know, Nico used to do that to you guys a lot. Yep. Yeah, but those were good. The things I was saying to Niko were...

Don't you think it's a manipulation tool a little bit? Absolutely not when I said it, but then when Jake would say something, yeah I could tell he just wants... Trying to get on the good side. But for me, I could tell he really... it's kind of like the Hooters waitress is kind of into me where she's just doing it because that's her job when she talks to you. Anyway, how would you guys rank this particular question? We've asked you about Joe Milton, the backup quarterback. Do you want your backup quarterback to be, to replicate Dak and do the same mannerisms, all that kind of stuff, or do you want a little, have a different part of the game that he can rank? What do you guys think? No, they should be complete opposite. We have two different playbooks in our system,

one for our starting quarterback, one for our backup quarterback. I actually think that's not a bad question. You know, Todd, that's a great question. I just wanted to play that just to let you know. Might be a good question. Might be a fine question. Might be just a regular question in this press conference.

But is it a great question that should cause me to say, my gosh, how did you craft that one? Todd, that's a regular question in this press conference, but is it a great question that should cause me to say, my gosh, how did you craft that one? Todd, that's a great question. How did you ever come up with that? I'm going to keep working on it. Here's some comedy I don't get, which is a lot of the world. Well, I mean, you're dealing with shoddy. But maybe you guys can explain it to me.

You know, Joe is a tremendous athlete. He's a tremendous young player. He's developing along with Dak. Dak? And you guys, some of you guys caught that. Some of you guys a little slow. I'll be honest with you guys. Yeah, I did. There's worse things to go viral for I guess like saying not saying good night, bro. But Again, he doesn't pay attention to social media except I know it's what I can go brow. Can you run it again? Okay, you know Joe is a tremendous Athlete he's a tremendous young player. He's developing along with Dak

and He's a tremendous young player. He's developing along with Dak and You got some of you guys caught that some of you guys a little slow I don't know do we know is that a thing? Is that something somebody will tell us? Yeah. Yeah, that's why I'm bringing it up. Yeah We've noticed something on the bingo card. And this is one of them. So these guys want to learn how to do it the right way. I would say we're doing a good job. Is it perfect?

No. Do guys end up on the ground? Of course they do. It happens. He loves to answer a question with a question. Oh, who is Brian Schottenheimer? I'm a people person.