The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.5 Selena Gomez Taylor Swift Accusations & Scandal, Monstrous Explosion in Detroit, & Today’s News

Episode Date: March 5, 2024

There's 10 Things you should know today... Visit  https://www.cozyearth.com/defranco and use my code DEFRANCO to get up to 35% off your purchase! Go to https://www.stamps.com/phil to get a 4 week trial plus free postage and a digital scale! ====== Get the new https://BeautifulBastard.com Drop before your size sells out –✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Explosions Fling Gas Canisters into the Air After Detroit Warehouse Catches Fire 01:39 - Selena Gomez Accused of Ripping Off Independent Artist 04:49 - Singapore PM Defends Deal to Get Eras Tour Exclusivity 07:30 - Nintendo Switch Emulator Yuzu Will Pay $2.4M to Settle Lawsuit 09:15 - Sponsored by Cozy Earth 10:27 - European Crash Tester Says Carmakers Should Bring Back Physical Controls 12:43 - SCOTUS Temporarily Blocks TX Law Allowing Local Enforcement to Arrest Migrants 15:59 - Biden Limits Credit Card Late Fees 18:37 - Sponsored by Stamps.com 19:44 - Astronomers Discover Evidence of Dark Matter on the Cosmic Web 24:20 - Your Thoughts on Yesterday’s Show  ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Star Pralle, Chris Tolve Associate Producer on Cosmic Web: Chris Tolve ———————————— #DeFranco #SelenaGomez #TaylorSwift ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup, you beautiful bastards. You're watching the Philip DeFranco Show, and we got a lot of news to talk about today. So just hit that like button to train YouTube, let YouTube know you love these daily dives into the news, and let's jump into it. Starting with, what the hell just happened in Michigan last night? Those are hundreds upon hundreds of explosions popping off from an industrial building in Detroit, where they're reportedly owned by select distributors in goo. Two companies that house nitrous oxide tanks and butane, among other items. And reportedly, just before 9 o'clock, the building somehow caught fire, which then caused the nitrous oxide to explode,

and then that igniting a chain reaction that could be heard for miles around. With also ruptured canisters and debris shooting every which way into the suburbs of Clinton Township. With police saying they found some materials landing as far as a mile away. So they also set up a perimeter, evacuated some residents, and urged others to hunker down indoors. With one of their posts reading, we cannot stress enough the danger that is happening right now. Please, please, please stay inside and out of the vicinity. And notably, this is not everyone made it out unscathed, like this one 19-year-old who wasn't even near the building. He was reportedly about a quarter mile away when a flying canister struck him, With the men going to the hospital where he reportedly died at around 4 a.m.

Also, one of those canisters reportedly flew through a windshield of a fire truck and injured a firefighter. But luckily, they survived. With the fire chief also sharing that three fire department vehicles were also damaged, including one that may never return to service. Also, on the note of the fire department, they moved frantically to get this blaze under control. Even trying to get started was a battle of its own, right? Because initially, they couldn't even get close because of all the exploding shrapnel. So they had to wait for things to actually calm down first and then went in and contained the fire by around 11 p.m. Just scary, random and sad news. Though if you or someone you know were in the

area last night, you heard or saw any of this go down, of course, we'd love to hear from you. And then Selena Gomez is now being accused of ripping off smaller independent artists. And specifically the one that we're talking about at the center of the story today is Sarah Baba. She's a Palestinian and Jordanian artist who was raised in Australia and lives in LA. She's done photography, short films, music videos, even more. She's even worked with major brands and publications like Gucci and Conde Nast, garnering a million followers on Instagram. We saw all of this now blow up because she just posted a TikTok highlighting the parallels between her work and Selena Gomez's new Love On music video. Which if you haven't seen, Selena's video has a very kind

of luxurious coastal European vibe. It was shot in a chateau with glamorous outfits, features a lot of people making out. And in Sarah's TikTok, she noted that she had actually filmed two projects in that same location before and then diving into the shot comparisons. First, we have the shot of Selena dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West lounging on a green sofa, replicating the art framed directly above her. In the exact same location, on the exact same wall in my short film from 2023, you have Nylea replicating the art in the frames directly above her. They're also noting visual comparisons between a scene where Selena had a breakfast spread while in a white robe and towel to shots from her work,

one of which was in the same exact room, and continuing. In Selena's music video, she is dancing in the living room, and in I Blank You, Nylea is dancing in the exact same living room, pulling the same kind of daft moves around the exact same furniture. But then I saw this couple making out on the sofa, wearing zebra print on a zebra sofa, and then my friend pointed out and reminded her of another music video I did for Kaiko in 2019, where this couple is making out in all pink on a all pink sofa. But then noted that there were also other similarities,

like a part where Selena and the dancers are all in white while eating, and then a short film with a similar composition, but everyone's drinking, as well as a similar shot of people using old cameras on apparently the same balcony, similar framing and shots of a staircase, similar font use, kind of the list goes on here.

And in her TikTok, Sarah kind of acknowledged a sort of fine line between inspiration and copying, and also saying she knows that she can't claim the location it was shot at, but also saying that this situation has happened to her and other independent artists before. In fact, this isn't even the only time she's had an issue with Selena Gomez,

because back in 2018, people noticed similarities between promotional photos Selena used for her Back to You music video and work Sarah had done. So after this latest incident, Sarah talked to others in the industry and felt compelled to speak out. What I'm about to share happens so often to women of color in this industry. And in this instance, I am an independent artist, but I'm also a Palestinian woman. Oftentimes, white women or men will get hired as directors when I'm front and center of their mood board. And I know that through facts, not speculation,

because eventually information is a way of coming out of the woodwork. Right, Sarah also claiming that the director of Selena's video doesn't even usually shoot in this style or aesthetic, which could make it all the more suspicious, like maybe he was told to do his version of Sarah's work. And so with this, she wanted to ask the world,

when does someone cross the line from being inspired by something to using that work without permission and ripping it off? What we've seen since is that video has prompted a ton of responses. We've seen lots of people pissed off at Selena Gomez, though we've also seen a lot of fans jumping to her defense, accusing Sarah of reaching. Some saying that Selena was just drawing from French films starring Brigitte Bardot. The situation seemingly getting heavy for Sarah, right? She had to turn off her Instagram comments

because of the hate. Though this notably as some big names seemingly have showed support. People like Noah Centineo and Rami Youssef liking her post on Instagram. But with all that said, and as the story continues to develop, I gotta pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts here? And then, in big international entertainment and relations news, let's talk about Taylor Swift and Singapore. Because right now, she's in the middle of performing six shows in Singapore. And those shows have actually caused a lot of tension in Southeast Asia. Some would say it has stirred bad blood, perhaps increased the likelihood of a cruel summer. Or there may be so much bad karma here that people just can't shake it off. I hate myself for all four of those jokes. But the reason for that is those six Singapore shows are her only stops in Southeast Asia. And it turns out that's not an accident. Singapore

actually offered her incentives to make it the only stop in the area. And by incentives, I mean money. With reports of this deal starting before she even got to Singapore, with tons of neighboring countries pissed the hell off. Because their shows aren't just this fun thing for fans, they are massive economic opportunities. I mean, y'all, the Taylor Swift Eras Tour boosted the US economy by close to $5 billion. Every city she stopped in saw a huge spending boost. Naturally, everyone wants a piece of that Taylor Swift Eras Tour pot. But now, the only country in the area that got those rewards was Singapore, which has absolutely gotten slammed by politicians in countries like the Philippines,

where one representative said that this isn't what good neighbors do, our countries are good friends. Knowing that on top of the Philippines not getting the show, it meant that their Swifties had to travel out of the country to go. And as far as how much this grant was allegedly worth,

right now we're seeing conflicting reports with the Thai prime minister saying it was a whopping $3 million per show. This, a Singapore's culture minister said it's nowhere near as high as reports have suggested. Channel News Asia saying it was a whopping $3 million per show. This, a Singapore's culture minister said it's nowhere near as high as reports have suggested. Channel News Asia saying it was closer to $2 to $3 million in total for all six shows. Right now, the exact figure is unknown. Right amid all the speculation and the backlash on Tuesday,

notably you had Singapore's prime minister confirming the existence of the deal and then defending it. Because he was apparently asked about it while attending a summit in Australia with Reuters reporting that he responded, Our agencies negotiated an arrangement with her to come to Singapore and perform and to make Singapore her only stop in Southeast Asia. It has turned out to be a very successful arrangement. I don't see that as being unfriendly. The New York Times reporting that he added, if we had not made such an arrangement, would she have come to someplace else in Southeast Asia or

more places in Southeast Asia? Maybe, maybe not. And notably, he said this was funded by a post COVID tourism recovery effort. He also at the time speaking to a source who noted that this kind of agreement is called a radius clause, saying while they are actually a standard in the industry, this one's a little bit different, because usually it's to get exclusivity within a few hundred miles of a city, not barring entire countries from hosting a concert as well. But this also is you had one professor telling the outlet that of all the places for Taylor to stop in the region, Singapore just makes the most sense because it's safe for young women and has great transit access to the rest of the area. People also noting that Taylor stopped there before and during one of her era shows there, she revealed that she has a familial tie as her mother

spent part of her childhood there. This is notable not only because there is a debate around whether Singapore was right or wrong for this deal, but also it brings up the question of is this going to become more common in the future? And there we've seen differences, some speaking to CNBC, calling this strategic, comparing it to when countries vie for the rights to host major sporting events. But this also, as others have argued, that it is selfish to screw over neighboring economies. But where do you land on this? And then Nintendo just did it. Some of you all successfully called it.

Nintendo killed Yuzu, right? That Nintendo Switch emulator that we talked about last week. Despite longstanding protections for emulators, the company behind it has decided to fold and kill off not only Yuzu, but also another emulator it makes for the 3DS. And on top of that, it'll also be destroying and deleting hardware and software that made Yuzu possible. Although notably, the internet is still the internet, and most of it is floating around on the internet already. Also, the settlement has them paying Nintendo $2.4 million and admitting that Yuzu is, quote, primarily designed to circumvent and play Nintendo Switch games,

which was probably thrown in for safe measures since a judge still needs to approve this settlement. And as far as what the company is saying in a post on their Discord, you had a lead developer going into more detail about the situation, although it kind of reads like a gun was pointed to their head. Saying, We see now that because our projects can circumvent Nintendo's technological protection measures and allow users to play games outside of authorized hardware, they have led to extensive piracy. In particular, we have been deeply disappointed when users have used our software to leak game content prior to its release and ruin the experience for legitimate purchasers and fans. Now, despite that, there are theories out there that user developers admitted to knowing the piracy was rampant and possibly condoned it privately. And if those messages existed and they got out as part of discovery during the suit, very likely would have doomed them as well. So

instead, we're just seeing them fold. Though again, technically, this is not over. A judge still needs to approve all this, although it's incredibly unlikely they wouldn't. And also, it's not like this is the complete end of Yuzu or other emulators. People still have them floating around all over the place. Though this does damage the idea that there are reliable and safe emulators out there. Because as people who are obviously not me,

who have dabbled in this space, they'll tell you that at times it's very hard to find an emulator that isn't plagued with malware. But with this news, we are seeing some people say, you know, there is a silver lining here. Because Yuzu bit the bullet and settled, there won't be a precedent set. So at least on paper, emulators are still good to go.

Although this entire thing has made it very clear that unless a company has the funds to fight off Nintendo, they probably won't be around for long. And then, you know, I'm the kind of guy that when it comes to certain things, like I don't understand what a big deal it is. Like with betting. Like when I was a younger Philip DeFranco,

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thing? Because for the European New Car Assessment Program, which tests car safety features, they're saying we're already at that point. And in particular, they're tired of cars having more and more controls on touchscreens. And said in a recent statement, the overuse of touchscreens is an industry-wide problem with almost every vehicle maker moving key controls controls on touchscreens and said in a recent statement, the overuse of touchscreens is an industry-wide problem, with almost every vehicle maker moving key controls onto central touchscreens, obliging drivers to take their eyes off the road and raising the risk of distraction crashes. And adding new Euro NCAP tests due in 2026 will encourage manufacturers to use separate physical controls for basic functions in an intuitive manner, limiting eyes off road time and therefore promoting safer driving. Of course, with this, that doesn't mean that touchscreens are going to die.

They just want key features like your horn, hazard lights, turn signals, and windshield wipers to be dedicated physical controls on the car. But some of the cars that predominantly have this problem being Teslas. Versions are coming out that have things like their turn signals on the steering wheel itself as haptic buttons, which the Euro NCAP isn't a fan of. But here's the thing. They are not a government agency, so they don't actually have the power to force car companies to change. But they are a highly respected safety testing company, and a five-star rating is a huge selling point for manufacturers. So while they can't force

them, they will be trying to pressure these car manufacturers, with them trying to promote change by digging points off of cars that don't have those physical controls. While that likely wouldn't make it so that a car would fail any safety test, it could make it far more difficult to get those coveted five stars. Also, for the majority of Americans that are watching, we have a similar system here in the States. It's called the Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick. But as of right now, our version of this group, they've yet to care about touchscreens.

So that, at the same time, is there's actually been consumer pushback in the States that have led to manufacturers actually adding buttons and knobs back. And that's because in addition to consumers actually wanting them, studies by a group like AAA have found that touchscreens are probably pretty dangerous. With AAA, finding that touchscreens could distract

drivers for upwards of 40 seconds at a time. Are you talking about half a mile at 50 miles an hour? And so with this, I got to ask, if you have a car that has a touchscreen or, you know, a lot of its features on a touchscreen, does it bother you? Do you think it's less safe or are you just now thinking about that now? And do you think that this is something that we're going to see legislation on? I've seen some people kind of compare the touchscreen situation with texting and driving back in 05. Technically, you were allowed to text and drive and everyone kind of knew that it was dangerous. But then one, it took lawmakers a while to actually crack down on it. And two, even longer for police to consistently pull people over for it. And three, if you ever look out your windows, it appears that, you know,

everyone is still texting and driving. I imagine the rate is drastically different from when it was legal. And then in massive legal news, we are seeing a huge fight play out between Texas, the federal government and the courts, because we just saw the Supreme court temporarily block enforcement of a Texas law that would allow state and local police to arrest migrants, even if they're seeking asylum. Now,

of course with that, it is already illegal to enter the country without authorization under federal law, but by also making it a state level crime, Texas can give local police some of the same powers of border protection and other federal immigration officers hold. And specifically, the law would create a new criminal offense that makes it illegal under state law to enter Texas from Mexico without authorization. A first offense there carries a misdemeanor punishment of up to

six months in jail. But repeat offenders could face felony charges that carry up to 20 years in prison. Though very notably here, the law would also allow a judge to drop charges against a migrant if they agree to return to Mexico, even if they aren't from Mexico. And so with this, you have Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other supporters of the bill arguing that this is just necessary to address what they believe are holes in the federal immigration system, saying that it'll reduce crossings, something they've accused the Biden administration of failing to do. That, of course, despite Republicans in Congress killing the bipartisan border deal. But this also, as many opponents argue, this law is a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution, because enforcing immigration between international borders is a power given to the federal government.

This is, there are also concerns about whether Mexico would actually accept non-Mexican migrants who get deported by Texas officials, with legal scholars saying they'd actually have no obligation to do so, especially because states are usually not recognized as having the authority to deport people to other countries. But then also beyond that, the fact that the Texas law doesn't have an exception for people seeking asylum also creates some serious problems, because that ability is literally enshrined under federal law.

And we actually saw all those claims backed up by a federal judge in Texas who temporarily blocked the law from going into effect last week. With that judge, who notably is a Republican nominee, arguing that the law not only violates the Constitution, saying that it conflicts with federal laws for handling deportation and asylum,

while also simultaneously interrupting the federal government's role in foreign diplomacy. Then we saw the conservative, slanted Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reverse that decision over the weekend, ruling that the law can go into effect as soon as this coming Saturday while the case plays out in court. But then we saw the Biden administration immediately respond by appealing that decision, claiming that the law would profoundly change the status quo that has existed between the United States and the states

in the context of immigration for almost 150 years, and adding that allowing it to go into effect would create significant and immediate adverse effects on U.S.-Mexico relations and create chaos. And all of that brings us to the big new Supreme Court decision. Yesterday, you had Justice Samuel Alito, who oversees cases that come from the Fifth Circuit, blocking the appeals court order from taking effect until at least March 13th, which now gives Texas until next week to argue its case or why the law should go into effect while the legal battle plays out. And so what happens next here is key. If the Supreme Court allows the law to be enacted while the case winds its way through the courts, it would bring massive sweeping changes to the immigration system as we know it, upending the balance of power between states and the federal government. With that,

one expert explaining, if they uphold this law, it will be a whole new world. It's hard to imagine what Texas couldn't do if this were allowed. But regardless of what happens in the next week, right, this case is very likely going to be making its way back up to the Supreme Court, which actually ruled on a very similar matter not so long ago. Right back in 2012, the Supreme Court struck down a very similar law in Arizona that gave state police certain authority to enforce immigration policies. With the court at that time ruling that the federal government has the primary role

in determining immigration policy. But if the court ultimately takes up the Texas case, these questions would be revisited by a much more conservative Supreme Court, one that has shown they do not mind undoing past precedent. And this also is there's more pressure for SCOTUS to take up this case because the Texas law seems to be empowering other states to take similar actions. And this

including Arizona again, where the legislature literally passed another bill allowing local enforcement to arrest migrants. Though notably there, the state's Democratic governor vetoed that proposal just yesterday. But the main takeaway here is that this Texas case is absolutely massive and we're going to have to keep our eyes on it. And then, you know, pretty much anytime someone says elections have consequences, it's usually followed by some news that's very bad. But today, it gets to be another example of it actually being good. With the two that we're touching on, starting with Arizona, where you have Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, who beat out Carrie Lake, announcing that she's wiping out the medical debt for a million people in the state.

Right, announcing that she's using $30 million in American Rescue Plan funds that President Joe Biden allocated to the states to erase $2 billion in medical debt. And as far as if it's going to impact you, the people that erase $2 billion in medical debt. And as far as if it's going to impact you, the people that it does impact should be notified soon. Also, reportedly, the credit score will be automatically adjusted. And then the second bit is that today you had President Biden announcing that he's giving back $10 billion to the American people. And those savings being what the White House expects low-income credit card holders to enjoy every year from now on. Because today they unveiled a new set of rules limiting the fees that credit card companies can charge customers who fall behind on their bills, which according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is about 45 million people.

So under this policy, companies can't charge more than $8 unless they can explicitly point to data showing they impose higher fees to make up for losses, which I mean is an absolutely massive cut to the status quo. Because the bureau says that some financial giants, they charge an average of $32 per month for late or missed payments. And this is in 2022, the credit card industry raked in over $14 billion from late fees alone. So right now, this new policy is set to take effect later this spring. Not if the big banks have anything to say about it, because it is all but inevitable they're going to sue the CFPB to stop the regulation. And their argument is going to be that they're only trying to help their credit card holders by charging them more. The president of the Consumer Bankers Association telling the Washington

Post, by normalizing being late on credit card payments, the administration is knowingly putting consumers' financial health at risk. Because you know, those late fees, they don't want to have them there, but it's just, it's a bit of tough love. That's why they're actively making your life worse. Not because it also makes them

just a ridiculous fuckload of money, but also if they are successful in stopping this rule, the White House is only getting started. Because Biden was scheduled to meet with his top advisors today and reportedly plans to unveil a so-called strike team to be run by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. But I'm looking to probe anti-competitive pricing practices in areas such as prescription drugs, groceries, housing and

financial services. And this is the FCC also aims to introduce a proposal today that would ban so- called bulk billing, which is where landlords charge everyone within a single apartment building or office for cable, internet or satellite service, even if they don't want to participate. And this also is the Department of Agriculture's moving to regulate contracts and poultry pricing with the goal of lowering prices for farmers. And if it feels like this is touching almost everything, that's because this is just the latest escalation in Biden's war on junk fees since he skewered them during last year's State of the Union address.

I mean, his administration's gone after airlines, which often hide the full cost of a ticket until travelers reach the checkout page, banks, which fuck over depositors with huge overdraft fees, and hotels, which often surprise guests with extra charges when they try to check into their rooms. And now, as Biden's gearing up for another State of the Union this Thursday, he's reportedly planning on hitting on many of these same themes, which also, in general, will set the stage for this upcoming November. And then, you know, in life, we got to keep moving because opportunities do not wait for us. And this is especially true when it comes to our business. And one way to keep moving is to make

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no long-term commitments or contracts. Just go to stamps.com slash phil. And then scientists just discovered something that may reveal the secret structure of the universe. And they're trying to hide it from you. Not really. I just wanted to be dramatic, but it's still super cool. So to start this off, we're going to go from the smallest thing all the way up to the biggest thing. So first there's you, and then there's earth, then our solar system, then the Milky Way galaxy, which I mean that alone contains more than 100 billion stars. And then there are some 1 or 200 billion galaxies on the low end of estimates.

Or as high as 2 trillion on the high end. And that's just with the observable universe. We have no idea how big the rest of it is. Though, it could be many times larger than what we can see. And that's without mentioning the possibility of a multiverse that contains endless versions of Spider-Man. But, if we stick to just this universe, and just the portion that we can see. And that's without mentioning the possibility of a multiverse that contains endless versions of Spider-Man. But if we stick to just this universe and just the portion that we can observe, we find something surprising. Rather than being randomly distributed all over the place, galaxies are in fact weirdly organized. They tend to gravitate together into clusters of

galaxies. And then those clusters in turn group together into superclusters. With astronomers estimating we can see about 10,000 of those in total. And then the vast majority of clusters and superclusters come together to form by far the single largest structure in the known universe, the cosmic web. And that's literally what scientists call it because it's shaped like a giant spider web. And they've actually known about this for several decades now.

But as telescopes and supercomputers have become more powerful, the pictures become clearer. The galaxy is tending to clump around the nodes where different threads in the web meet. Those threads appearing to consist of long streams of gas running for tens of millions of light years between the nodes. So it's believed that this cosmic web forms the grand architecture of our universe. But there's one problem. When smart people do the math, the gravity from all the galaxies, gas, and other matter making up the web shouldn't be enough to

hold everything together. So they figure that there must be something else adding that extra gravitational force, but what? And that is where dark matter comes in. Now to be clear, our tiny mushy brains still aren't quite sure what the fuck dark matter comes in. Now, to be clear, our tiny, mushy brains still aren't quite sure what the fuck dark matter actually is. It's invisible. It's intangible. We're not even 100% certain that it actually exists. But scientists infer that it does because of the effect that it appears to have on regular matter. And the first guy to discover this was a Caltech astronomer by the name of Fritz Zwicky in 1933. With him sitting down at his observatory and adding up all the visible mass in one galaxy cluster. And he realized it just wasn't enough

to account for the gravity needed to hold it all together. So he concluded that there must be some invisible mass creating the gravitational pull. And he named this substance dark matter. But for a very long time, no one really took him seriously, which you know is kind of understandable, right? It sounds crazy. But in the 1970s, other astronomers,

namely Bira Rubin, came to the same conclusion. And they quickly started to see it everywhere. The professor of theoretical astrophysics telling Caltech magazine, whether it is the motion of galaxies or the fact that dark matter bends light or the expansion of the universe or the growth of structures in the universe,

there are many different types of measurements that have been made and every single one of them fits the same paradigm of dark matter. So it's now believed that dark matter comprises as much as 85% of all mass in the universe, which is absolutely mind-blowing because we've never directly observed it and still have no idea what it's made of. But scientists guess that it is a missing mass in the universe, which is absolutely mind blowing because we've never directly observed it and still have no idea what it's made of.

But scientists guess that it is the missing piece in the cosmic web, keeping all those nodes and threads strung together by the force of its mysterious gravity. So that as space.com put it, the cosmic web traps galaxies like morning dew on a spider web. And the big news that this entire journey has been leading to is we now have evidence of this.

Because in January, a team of researchers in South Korea published the results of a breathtaking new study. With using hawaii's subaru telescope to peer at what's known as the coma cluster and it's also known as able 1656. it's a cluster of over a thousand galaxies some 321 million light years away from earth which sounds incredibly far but also on a cosmic scale like it's actually very close so the proximity as well as how huge it is makes the coma cluster the perfect place to hunt for dark matter and here's how they did it first they observed the light coming not from Coma itself, but from other stars and galaxies behind the cluster. Then, because gravity causes light to bend, they can see how much light bent as it traveled through the Coma Cluster,

and then use that to calculate how much gravity is acting upon. And with that, since larger bodies of mass create more gravity, they could calculate how much mass must be in the cluster. And when they did this, they found that not only is the mass from its regular matter too small to account for all the gravity, but so is the mass from even the dark matter associated with its galaxies. So from this, they concluded that there must be dark matter between the galaxies too,

with it located in those threads tying the whole cosmic web together. And you can see the dark matter here represented by the green clouds over the cluster and distant galaxies. So that means that if this is what we think it is, we now have the first ever indirect observation of dark matter on the cosmic web.

And at this point, if you're like, okay, so what, Phil? Why should I give a shit about the cosmic structure of the universe? And to that, I would say, one, find a nicer way to ask that question. Two, because it's just fucking cool. And three, because this discovery takes humanity

one step closer to understanding the evolution of our universe over the past 13.8 billion light years. From the tiniest, densest dot to the unfathomably vast expanse. And if we can figure out our past, then maybe it'll help us figure out our future. Anyway, I apologize to anyone that was too high for this segment. I'm also sorry if it gave you visuals of a dark matter spewing spider god. But for everyone else, I hope you enjoyed this segment because personally, I found it really cool. Thank you for listening. And then finally, today we have yesterday today,

where we dive into the comments on yesterday's show and we talk about what you're talking about. So actually today, the first comment will be my own. Philip DeFranco said today's show was a bit late because our main two editors were out sick today. I told them not to lick doorknobs. What are you going to do? Boys will be boys. Very happy. We're still able to get today's big show out for you.

I even dusted off my editing laptop to pitch in. I'm not as fast as I used to be. So I'm sharing that here for two reasons. One, I know not everyone actually dives into the comments. I don't want you to think the 4 p.m. Pacific time is like the new standard of what we're doing. The goal is to eventually get back to a 2 p.m. posting time, though in the interim, we're closer to like 3 p.m. Pacific.

And two, I kind of want to just be transparent about the growing pains with what we're doing. Recently, we made the big jump from the average show length being 14 minutes to now around 30 minutes. And honestly, I've really loved it. I feel like the show is becoming even more of what I want it to be. And it's been awesome to see such a great reception from y'all. Then also a part of this growth is knowing, and we talked about this before we had any sort of issues, that to sustainably put out these 30 minute shows, we have to hire more. So that means among the new hires, editors. Which

again, to be clear, because people online were just running with stuff yesterday. I did not fire anybody. Nobody quit. Two people were sick. The craziness of that. And then even today, we were down different people when other people came back, which is part of the reason we put out listings weeks ago to get job listings. We're currently testing some people. And again, all of this is to explain what we're experiencing right now are just little bumps in the road. All in the pursuit that even on the days where a bunch of life happens to a bunch of people and there are issues, we're still able to give you this new 27 to 32 minute show and ideally even more top-notch content when everybody's in and honestly again i'm so proud we were able to pull off

yesterday's show but then as far as comments not left by people named philip defranco there were a lot of comments about a lot of conversation around dating we talked about the evolution and de-evolution of dating ai getting integrated with hodag sharing, as someone who met his wife online, online dating was so exhausting. It was years of grinding with little to no results, quitting and coming back a year or so later. It was already so hard back then. I can't imagine having an AI help someone interact with me and allow me to meet the genuine person. Also, in certain cultures, you don't meet people in person unless you two are interested in dating. And when you actually meet in person, it's supposed to mean you two are seeing each other or dating. Imagine that person

is almost nothing like they say they were because they were using AI. And say the Bratz doll, say. As a member of Gen Z, I feel confident in saying that the gradual decline in third spaces in public areas are a big reason why we're not dating in person as much. No loitering laws forcing you out of establishments after half an hour or preventing you from just hanging around your neighborhood. Not to mention that most places in the U.S. are not walkable and are very reliant on cars, meaning that even when you do leave your house, you're still in your own personal bubble. There aren't as many places to meet people anymore. That being said, I met my partner back in high school and we've been best friends ever since. But we only started dating like three years

after graduation, so it's still possible, especially if you have hobbies that require you to leave the house. Like I implied, there aren't many places you can go without having to spend money. And honestly, I think what you touched on, the third place is, it's even bigger than just dating. I think it's part of the loneliness epidemic we're seeing right now. You know, a lot of people had work and home and then the third place to do stuff. And then the pandemic happened and that was like a whole fucking bunch of stuff. But then also part of that brought the rise of remote work, work from home, which, hey, has worked fantastically for us. I think most all of us at the company love the time that we're getting back for our life where we're not having to commute. But that's the removal of a standard second place interaction with other human beings.

And I think to a certain degree for some people, like removing that commute to work, it can make other commutes seem even bigger. And that's in addition to what Brad's mentioned, that a lot of places also cost money. I mean, just to speak personally, I am very naturally an introvert. Like every week I try to make sure that I go to like two standard third places. One is a standard trivia night out with friends and the other is kind of a, it's always like a little different. During football season, I'll either do like top golf

or a, I'm so lame, an escape room in the morning and then go watch the Chargers or the Rams play. Also when the weather sucks less, I'm that annoying friend that's like, hey, you want to go on a hike? And damn it, y'all, you're sending me down the rabbit hole. I think this is all also connected to a loss of fun.

Like in the past year, I've really reevaluated my life and gone like, what do I find fun? And not allowing myself to include things like, oh, binging a show or reading a book. Those are things I can enjoy. Even playing a video game. Those are things I can enjoy, but they're not fun like maybe when I was a kid and I was playing like Halo 2 multiplayer. And I found, you know, going to a third place, doing something I can suck at. I suck at pool. I've played pool like seven times in the last two months. Being with a friend or two, shooting the shit, right? Put

yourself in situations where you can have that easy laugh. And so I guess I'll close this out by saying something that maybe one person finds helpful. Putting yourself out there, whether to meet someone or just to do more. Think of it like working out. The idea of it when you haven't done it in a while sucks. But what I found is that very much like with working out, you find the energy to do it by doing it. Those initial first times just take a little extra mental power. And I guess like with working out, there are the energy to do it by doing it. Those initial first times just take a little extra mental power. And I guess like with working out, there are a lot of readily available options that cost you money. But there are also a lot of things you can do, alternatives that you can do

for no money or very little. Being the nerd I am, I will push, once again, hiking and trivia nights. If money is an issue, just nurse a water or a soda or a beer. But that is where today's show is going to end. As always, thank you for being a part of these daily dives into the news. Also, a big thank you to everyone jumping in on the new beautifulbastard.com sale. Also, if you haven't yet, definitely get in on it. But hey, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in.

I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow. You on my mind a lot Don't need no time, watch I don't know how I got You in my pocket spot Yeah, that's babe, with you every day You like my oxygen