The Josh Innes Show - Sarcasm Is Lost On Political Zealots

Episode Date: April 29, 2025

What I've learned in my years of doing media is that there is a shocking number people who just don't get sarcasm. What I've learned in recent years is if someone is super political, they really, really don't get sarcasm Why is this? What caused this? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Interesting that we live in a time where people are so desperate to be angry and so desperate to be offended that they can't spot sarcasm. And I'm telling you that neither side, I'm talking zealots on either side of the political spectrum, have no concept of sarcasm. Because they are so headfirst, just buried into all of this bullshit that they have no concept of sarcasm. That's why the onion works. And that's why the Babylon B works. The Babylon B is there to fucking drive the left wing people crazy. The onion exists to drive the right wing people crazy, right? Like that's why these things exist. And it's hysterical because people have no concept of sarcasm because they are just so angry about everything. Like it was either yesterday or today. Well, I've done it multiple days, but on social media,

I've just posted shit about the dude that prank called Shadur Sanders. Yes, a prank phone call. That is why people are so angry that Shadur Sanders was prank called by Jeff Ulbrich's son, which by the way, Jeff Ulbrich is the guy that was the interim coach for the Jets last year. And this man has one of the most gorgeous complexion to beard ratios I've ever seen. His beard does not have a spot in it. Like if you look at my beard, I'll have a little spot here, a little spot there, right? Some dudes just have gorgeous beards and they have the right beard color that matches the tone of their skin. And it's spectacular. If you look at Jeff Ulbrich last year, his beard is pretty much full on gray with a little bit of black in certain spots and his skin is very tan and it makes the gray beard pop

and it's just beautiful. It's like looking at Kenny Rogers in 1985, right? Like Kenny Rogers up there doing his cover of We Got Tonight with Sheena Easton. Go look up that video. Go look up the video of Kenny Rogers live in concert with Sheena Easton doing their version of We Got Tonight. It's actually a very good duet. It's not as good as Bob Seger because anybody doing any Bob Seger song never does it as well as Bob Seger. Like Metallica's Turn the Page is not as good as Bob Seger's Turn the Page and Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton's version of We Got Tonight is not as good as Bob Seger's version of We Got Tonight but it's really fucking good

because I'm what you might call a Kenny Rogers stan right his beard, like when you think of great beards, there's something about a beautiful gray beard against tan skin and the way it just pops. It's kind of like black dudes who have great beards, right? Like Rick Ross or Teddy Pendergrass. I'm just a big beard aficionado. Not necessarily like giant ZZ Top beards. That's stupid. But if you get the right length on a beard, on the right skin tone, the right complexion, and it just pops, Kenny Loggins had a great beard, but Kenny Loggins' beard was almost stubble-ish, you know? You don't want just stubble, because anybody can do stubble. Although I say that, I can't do stubble because anybody can do stubble although I say that I can't do stubble some people like remember when Hulk Hogan was in the nwo and he had his his old school uh the you know the the

blonde yellow mustache the fu manchu but he kept the stubble around it did he die that I feel like that's out there somewhere and I just haven't heard it. I find it hard to believe that a man's stubble could be as dark as Hulk Hogan's stubble was as a, as a, like as an opposite to how blonde his mustache was. It was spectacular, right? I'm a big beard dude. So Jeff Ulbrich, of course, had like, I'm looking at pictures of it right now. Just, if you look up Jeff Ulbrich, of course, had, like, I'm looking at pictures of it right now. Just if you look up Jeff Ulbrich from last year, do yourselves a favor. Dude was rocking, like, a backwards hat on the sideline, had his gray beard. Like, and if you look at pictures of him when he was a player, it wasn't that good of a beard. But, like, it's gray kind of on the cheek area, and then around the goatee area, it's salt and pepper.

Fuck, this dude's beard was just amazing. So he made a son that does dipshit things, but his beard is just something special. Anyway, let me play a few commercials and we'll get back into that. All right, if you're ready to win some real cash during the basketball playoffs, you gotta check out Pick 6 from DraftKings. When it comes

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are so ready to be angry and mad about something. Like that's why I started doing that. I never thought about just going out and doing fake opinions, you know, like a Phil Hendry, like I'm not some innovator here. Like guys like Phil Hendry are the OGs of this type of shit. But radio is great for that because you know that people are tuning in and out so they don't know that you're full of shit. Even though you constantly tell them you're full of shit, that's the trick of that bit, right? So when I was doing that bit in Philadelphia, the trolling bit, I would do a big deal setting up how I was going to be giving a fake opinion. And I knew the people that were listening at that moment would stick around to hear the fake opinion and hear how people reacted to it. I also knew that there are people tuning in and out like every 10, 15 seconds on a radio station.

So of course, if they hear me in the middle of it, then they'll go, what the fuck is this guy talking about? And then they'll call and bitch. In a city like Philadelphia, it's a lot easier to do that. Like I tried it in Houston. Houston wasn't as easy to do it in because Houston doesn't give a fuck about enough shit for them to get really angry and call an am talk radio show whereas in Philadelphia they'll call they'll call like a local access show in Reading if they're pissed off about something you say that's's what Philadelphia people do. They are phone call people. So I knew that I'd come back from break and there'd be a new batch of listeners that would hear me say that, you know, Brian Dawg, I would take, you know, random, I would take, I don't know, Tony Romo over whomever, and then they'd get all pissed

off and call. Now it would have to be like a real ridiculous opinion of course and I would tell them that like I'm making this up I'm doing this just to show you how angry these people get and they don't get what I'm doing so I'd get on there and I'd rant and rave and then I'd make sure that in the middle of it I'd very quickly say something like well I'm just making this opinion up as I go along right now because like you say shit fast and you got people worked up enough you your audience will hear you telling that person on the phone that you're making this shit up, right? But the person on the phone is so worked up and so angry and doesn't give a shit that you're making it up that they're still going to be angry. And what you're going to end up with is wonderful, funny, entertaining, engaging radio for the smart people that are not the knuckle draggers that

call these radio shows anyway why do i bring that up sarcasm right sarcasm so like the last couple of days i've been tweeting shit like about how shidur sanders should be or no not shidur sanders about how the kid that prank called shidur sanders so jeffbrich's kid, should be arrested. Or I'll tweet things like, hey, has he been arrested yet? Or hopefully he's kicked out of school, if not jailed, right? I'm obviously making fun of the outrage over the prank call because people are nuts. Like, the people that are worked up over a dude prank calling people are the same people who don't get worked up over, like, real serious shit. You know what I'm saying? Like, I want to see the same people who don't get worked up over like real serious shit. You know what I'm saying? Like I want to see the same level of outrage over a prank phone call

as we see over dudes stabbing a guy like a high school kid at a track meet, right? Like that type of shit. Like you're worked up because some rich kid got fucking prank called. Not some kid that came out the mud. You're talking about some rich ass kid whose dad is Deion Sanders oh no he got prank called no by the way so did like 10 other dudes this year and other dudes the years before but because somehow we've turned Shader Sanders into some sort of weird charity case here we're all outraged and saddened by this so um I'll tweet shit like that just like has he

been arrested yet and like some people will like, haha. But then you'll get the people. And these tend to be right-wing people, right? I got an email from a guy yesterday. And it was a long email, so I'm not going to read the whole thing. But part of it was, why don't you ever make fun of right-wing people like you make fun of left-wing people? Well, honestly, because I think the left-wing people are far more outrageous and bizarre and maniacal than these right-wing people. That's not to say that they are not, but I just, let me put it this way. The things that I'm more passionate about criticizing,

you know, cancel culture and shit like that, that is far more of a left-wing thing than a right-wing thing. So that's why it seems like I make fun of left-wing people more, but I make fun of right-wing people plenty. I'm talking extreme rights, extreme lefts. I don't care because most people that are just right-wing people are not nuts. And most people that are left-wing people are not just nuts. It's the people on the extremes, the most vocal people on social media, the Twitter people, the television people, the view, uh, not even Fox news anymore. Cause Fox news, I don't even know what because Fox News, I don't even know what they do anymore. I don't even know what their identity is. But you know, like the extreme right wing

shit, extreme left wing shit, whatever. Those are the people that are weird. The people that are more, you know, center to either one of those sides, I'm fine with. But why don't you criticize right wing people more? Oh, you mean like when I shit on all those white people that hated Angel Reese during the NCAA tournament and said they hated her because she's black? Ah, yes, you're right. I never criticize those right-wing people. It's only the left-wing people that I criticize. struggle with sarcasm, but I feel like the right wing people, the kinds that have the American flag in their bio, a lot of them struggle more with sarcasm. They don't get that it's a joke, right? And these are people who follow me on social media media not just randos that like see someone

retweet something and get angry oh look and these people follow me which is an indicator that they at least know who i am and at least kind of know what i'm about so i say things like why has has shitter or as a jeff olbrich's kid has the shitter sanders prank caller been arrested yet and i'll get people why the hell should he be arrested bro what the hell did he do he didn't even commit a crime and then they'll start listing shit that like other left-wing people have done them or you're the what about when the white guy got prank called which is not an invalid point but you obviously don't get that I'm fucking around now in their defense it's easy to look at something in text and not see

the sarcasm. But to me, an opinion like, hey, this person should be arrested for prank calling Shader Sanders is such an outrageous over the top viewpoint that you should know that I'm just fucking joking. But people don't get that. What you learn is that people are so angry politically and that's kind of what makes it fun. That's the hard part is like I miss fucking with people on the radio. The problem is you've got to have management types that are so committed and know what you're doing and understand what you're doing and believe in what you're doing to the point that they can put up with the constant blowback that you're getting from people. If you never listen to, oh, who am I thinking of? Phil Hendry. Phil Hendry is one of the most brilliant radio guys of all time. The problem with Phil Hendry is what he did never really made sense in a morning show

or an afternoon show because none of it was real. All it was was Phil Hendry doing random voices. Like Phil Hendry was the real person he would take the phone calls the phone calls were all voiced by Phil Hendry so he would take a phone call and then talk with himself on the telephone seamlessly you had no clue you couldn't tell there was no fuck up there was no slip up there was no oops he talked as the person who was supposed to be on the phone but into the microphone and vice versa none of that ever happened guy was the most brilliant radio person that has ever lived more brilliant than Howard Stern more brilliant than anybody whoever you think is the most brilliant radio person that's ever walked the face of the

earth Phil Hendry was because Phil Hendry found a way to take this medium and find what was kind of unique about it and turn it into like this world. Like he was like the OG troll. And by that, I mean, not a lazy type of troll that just goes to social media and just, you know, has a basic opinion that he knows is going to piss people off and is not doing it for a purpose. Like when I was trolling in Philly, my purpose was to show you that nobody actually pays attention to what you say. They just want to be angry. And I told the audience that. I told the audience that when I got on the air in Philadelphia

and people would get angry over the dumbest shit. The first thing I ever got in trouble for in Philadelphia, one of the first things I ever said on the radio that I ever got in trouble for, was saying that Tony Romo is the best quarterback in the NFC East. Mind you, at the time, the NFC East quarterbacks were Tony Romo. Let's see. It was Nick Foles. It was Eli Manning. Now, granted, this was at the end of 2013, beginning of 2014. So the time of Eli Manning winning Super Bowls and shit, that was over. And I want to say RG3. And I said that I think Tony Romo is the best quarterback.

I had no idea that you weren't allowed to be positive about anything cowboy related. I thought people had at least a level-headed enough mind to be like, okay, the guy's fine. I hate him, but he's fine. That wasn't the case. I got lectured on that. I would get lectured about like, and then like I would get a list of things basically that these are the opinions you really have to have to make the

Philadelphia people like you. Like that's how, like no offense to the Philly people, but that's how kind of soft that town is, is that there's like a blueprint for the people that you actually have to hate. And if you don't hate these same people, you'll never fully be accepted by these people. Like that was never the case in Houston. I never had a boss go, Hey, here's the things you have to like and have to hate in Houston. Right? Never got that in Philly. It was like, all right, Cowboys, Tony Romo, feel free to call him Tony Homo. That's fine. Uh, let's see. You have to hate blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank. You also have to feel that this Eagles player was overrated. You have to feel like this Eagles player was underrated. Uh, you have to hate Donovan McNabb. You also really have to feel that this Eagles player was overrated. You have to feel like this Eagles player was underrated.

You have to hate Donovan McNabb. You also really have to dislike the coach, all this shit. And I'm just like, okay, cool. And that's why trolling there worked. That's why that bit worked there because these people were irrational and they'd react in such a weird way that you could do that. But anyway, back to Phil Hendry. Phil Hendry realized that there was fuckery that could be done on this

just by having people deliver weird opinions. Then you get real people reacting to the bullshit. But at least he did it in a way where he's on the phone, having a phone call with a fake person, and he's the fucking fake person. And these people are outraged. And the opinions are so outrageous that there's no way somebody should be able to get angry about them because if you actually listen you're like this is a stupid opinion that no one could get mad about because there's no way anyone actually believes this but the bit was people would call up and they'd be outraged by what these people were saying even though it was so

ridiculous it was brilliant if you It was brilliant. If you never listen to Phil Hendry, go listen to old Phil Hendry shit. It's great. And that's kind of like how I felt about radio. And that's why probably what got me in trouble in St. Louis is eventually like these people were so outrageous and the shit they were obsessed with. They took the music way too seriously. They took everything far too serious. And I just wanted to make fun of them for it because it was ridiculous. Like they'd sit me down, you know, these people here really care about the music here. I'm like, the song's 50 fucking years old. They've heard it 15,000 times in their lives. Who the fuck cares about the music? If you want the music, go to the fucking iPad, go to your iPhone, listen to Apple

music. Like who gives a shit they've heard Joan Jett one trillion times who cares if I make a joke about Joan fucking Jett but like that's the shit that would get people angry you know the fun part was actually like going like making fun of the dudes for having like the music just being creepy because classic rock is actually mostly like 95% creepy old white dudes lusting over high school girls. And it's just fun to make fun of them. People would get so mad. I'd be like, well, I mean, obviously Christine 16 is just a song about some perv sitting around a school, which literally the lyrics of the song are, I come to pick you up outside the high school

and whatever. And I'm like, literally it's creeper shit. And I'm like, literally, it's creeper shit. And they're like, no, it's not. Why are you going to be so mean about the music? What's funny about people in class, I know I'm all over the place here, but what's funny about classic rock listener people is at some point, they were like the counterculture people that were like, fuck you, dad. I'm listening to Bachman Turner Overdrive and I don't give a fuck, man. And then like now you listen and they're the people that bitch.

It just shows you the circle of life. No matter what happens in life, no matter how cool you think you are at a certain age, no matter how counterculture, no matter how many times you're smoking in the boys room or you're skipping class or you're listening to Black Sabbath and your parents are like, oh, that's the devil's music. No matter what you are when you're 17, 18, 19, 20, at some point you will be 68 years old and you will be calling a radio station complaining because the guy on the radio said that fucking Brown Sugar is kind of a weird fucking song and that she's only 17's creeper fucking anthem. And they're like, wait a minute. And then they bitch and they're like, this guy's talking too much on the radio. So I hope I don't get to that point. Hopefully

like that story we told earlier in the wacky news thing, maybe Jilly will just shoot me before I get to that point in life. I often think of that. Like, I don't want to get to a point in life where it's just like old man yells at cloud, but then there's part of me that does want to be old man yells at cloud because there's a power that comes with old man yells at cloud because that's a point in life that you don't give a fuck about anything. We all care about something. Even when I turn on this podcast every day, I'm concerned that I'm going to say something that's going to fuck up my chances of getting a job. I have a governor on me when I'm on here. I'm reserved. If you'll believe it, I'm reserved when I get on here. Like, there'll be days I've recorded 20, I'll be dead serious with you.

There are days I've recorded 25 or 30 minute episodes of this and did not post them. Because I'm like, I wonder if that's going to come across in some way that's going to keep me from advancing in the world. So I just don't fucking post it. And I hate it. I feel like a pussy when I do that. I sit here and I'm like, Josh, you used to have big fucking American brass balls, like the balls that takes to sell real estate, brass fucking balls. And I'll sit there and I'll go, Josh, you had no fear at one

time. You turn on the microphone and you just said shit and you were fucking good at it. You're the fucking man. And now you're on a fucking podcast and you're afraid to say shit. And it's true. Like I live in that kind of fear. You's true. I live in that kind of fear. You know who doesn't live in that kind of fear? Some dude that's 80. That motherfucker gives zero fucks. Doesn't care what he wears. Doesn't care what he looks like.

Doesn't care how he dresses. Doesn't care what you think about him. Doesn't care if you're offended by it. Does not give a fuck. So there is an element of that that's appealing. But then there's the flip side of it, which is you're probably going to be in a fucking home. Your family is going to ignore you. You're old. You shit yourself. You pee yourself. Coughing forces poops to come out. Like, do you really want to live that life? And I don't. So the pros and the cons, I think the cons outweigh the pros

of making it to 80. Anyway, I was all over the place there. All that to tell you that both sides of the spectrum are very easily offended by things and are very susceptible to sarcasm. Although I feel the right-wing, like, Trumper people, like the real angry ones, tend to be more hostile towards sarcasm. They're a little slower on the uptake on the sarcasm. But both sides are angry and can't pick up on sarcasm.

Anyway, more to come.