Sydney Sweeney American Eagle Ad Controversy

Summary

American Fever Dream: Sydney Sweeney American Eagle Ad Controversy Hosted by Betches Media – July 29, 2025

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Overview

In this episode of "American Fever Dream," hosts Bea Spear and Sammy Sage delve into the controversy surrounding Sydney Sweeney's recent American Eagle advertisement. The discussion expands to explore broader themes in politics and pop culture, including the influence of political dynasties, the dynamics of modern advertising, and cultural phenomena like the Savannah Bananas' innovative approach to baseball. Throughout the episode, Bea and Sammy blend humor with critical analysis, providing listeners with insightful perspectives on current events.

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1. Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Advertisement Controversy

The episode opens with Bea Spear expressing her concerns about the recent American Eagle commercial featuring Sydney Sweeney. Bea points out that despite American Eagle being a Jewish-owned company, the ad has sparked accusations of promoting eugenics, likening it to Nazi ideologies.

Bea Spear [02:03]: "American Eagle is a Jewish owned company... I think they were so... you need diversity on teams because literally anybody from a marginalized background would have told you that this is a red flag."

Sammy Sage adds that the controversy is partly based on the ad's script, which culminates in the phrase "Sydney Sweeney has good genes," a line that many have interpreted as having eugenic undertones.

Sammy Sage [03:10]: "He starts shouting in the White House. On Hanukkah, mind you, fuck Nancy Pelosi... That's how he talks."

The hosts debate whether the ad's problematic elements were intentional or simply the result of "casual white supremacy" seeping into modern advertising.

Bea Spear [03:55]: "I think it's like casual white supremacy leaked into this ad."

Sammy suggests that the ad could have been effective without the controversial script, implying that the message was undermined by its delivery.

Sammy Sage [03:52]: "Honestly, I really think they, if they just cut the script, it would be a good ad and would be so much more."

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2. The Role of Diversity in Advertising

Bea emphasizes the importance of diverse teams in creative processes to avoid such missteps. She believes that inclusion of marginalized voices can help identify and rectify red flags that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Bea Spear [02:32]: "This is why you need diversity on teams because literally anybody from a marginalized background would have told you that this is a red flag."

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3. Political Dynasties and Their Impact

Shifting from advertising, the discussion transitions into the influence of political dynasties, focusing on the Bidens, the Trumps, and the Kennedys.

a. The Bidens vs. The Trumps

Bea and Sammy compare the Biden and Trump families, highlighting their contrasting approaches to power and public service.

Bea Spear [11:50]: "Trump makes it look like it's okay to cheat, to win, as long as you win... He is a grifter and a liar and a charlatan."

Sammy adds that Trump's ruthless tactics resonate with a segment of the population disillusioned by systemic failures, such as wage stagnation and student debt.

Sammy Sage [12:38]: "The Bidens look like enfeebled... Trump was felt more true to them and... felt like a stronger representation."

b. The Kennedys’ Decline

The hosts critique the Kennedy family's legacy, arguing that their public personas no longer align with the values of progressive leadership.

Bea Spear [15:08]: "We're sort of seeing that all the time now, even with Adelita getting her father's seat in Arizona's District 7... I can't even like the Kennedys, which is like something fun in American to do most of the time."

Sammy echoes these sentiments, suggesting that the Kennedys suffer from a "curse" of recklessness and a two-tiered justice system that protects them from accountability.

Sammy Sage [18:22]: "Their crimes are not victimless... it's so messed up. It's also, it also speaks to this two tier justice system that we have now."

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4. Modern Cultural Phenomena

a. Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball

Bea shares optimistic news about the Savannah Bananas, a baseball team redefining the sport with their high-energy performances and community engagement. They highlight Ashton Lansdell, the first female player on the Party Animals team, celebrating her achievements and the inclusive nature of Banana Ball.

Bea Spear [47:17]: "She played for Ole Miss. She was also on Team USA's baseball team... It's really exciting."

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5. Lightning Round Highlights

In the final segment, Bea and Sammy engage in a lightning round, touching on various topics:

• Plymouth Rock Scam: Bea claims that Plymouth Rock's historical significance is fabricated, advising listeners not to visit Massachusetts expecting authentic colonial artifacts.

• Jeffrey Epstein’s Legacy: They discuss Epstein's relationships with prominent figures, including Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, speculating on the potential fallout from his actions.

Bea Spear [43:55]: "Ghislaine Maxwell should get a pardon or a commutation of sentence."

• Wedding Culture Evolution: The hosts lament the over-commercialization of weddings and express a preference for more intimate and personalized ceremonies.

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6. Concluding Thoughts and Future Directions

As "American Fever Dream" wraps up, Bea and Sammy announce the show's transition from its current format to live sessions on Substack. They express nostalgia for the Tuesday morning broadcasts but remain optimistic about future projects.

Bea Spear [51:26]: "That is a good way to end with Sammy's yearbook quote. You guys, this has been such a blast."

Sammy adds, reflecting on the show's journey and anticipating future discussions.

Sammy Sage [52:21]: "And this is American Fever Dream. Good night."

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Notable Quotes:

• Bea Spear [02:32]: "This is why you need diversity on teams because literally anybody from a marginalized background would have told you that this is a red flag."

• Sammy Sage [03:52]: "Honestly, I really think they, if they just cut the script, it would be a good ad and would be so much more."

• Bea Spear [11:50]: "Trump makes it look like it's okay to cheat, to win, as long as you win. He is a grifter and a liar and a charlatan."

• Sammy Sage [18:22]: "Their crimes are not victimless... it's so messed up. It's also, it also speaks to this two tier justice system that we have now."

• Bea Spear [47:17]: "She played for Ole Miss. She was also on Team USA's baseball team... It's really exciting."

• Sammy Sage [52:21]: "And this is American Fever Dream. Good night."

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Conclusion

This episode of "American Fever Dream" offers a nuanced exploration of contemporary issues, from advertising ethics to the enduring impact of political families. Bea and Sammy provide a blend of critique and celebration, encouraging listeners to engage thoughtfully with the world around them. As the show evolves, audiences can look forward to more in-depth discussions and diverse perspectives on the intersection of politics and pop culture.

Transcript

[Sammy Sage]

This episode is brought to you by JCPenney. And if you've been to JCPenney recently. Yes, JCPenney, you'll know it's becoming the way to find good clothes for prices that still make sense. They've got hidden gems for everyone and every budget with deals and rewards that actually make a dent. If you already shop JCPenney, you feel like you know a secret. But if not, it's time to ask. Wait, am I sleeping on JCPenney? Shopjcpenney.com, yes, JCPenney.

[Bea Speer]

Rise and shine, my friends. I'm Bea Speer.

[Sammy Sage]

And I'm Sammy Sage.

[Bea Speer]

And for the very last time, this is American Fever Dream, presented by Betches.

[Sammy Sage]

News, A show that is not crying because it's over, but is happy because it happens.

[Bea Speer]

Yes.

[Sammy Sage]

You know, this isn't the last of us that you'll be seeing.

[Bea Speer]

No, it's just the last of this particular iteration of the show. We're doing different stuff just because political chit chat show is still too much for people, but by the time we say something three hours later, it's crazy. So we're going to do more. More live stuff. Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

Get a substack thing. But, you know, this won't be the last you'll hear from us, but it will be the last you hear from us on this particular channel on Tuesday mornings with this regular cadence.

[Bea Speer]

And this will be the last time you see this shirt. Don't worry about that either. Okay. So I got this shirt in Texas at a boot barn because I wanted a souvenir. And for like literally two years now, I've been trying to wear it. And I was like, okay, it's. It's like too much. But it's not for today. It's a celebration shirt for today.

[Sammy Sage]

It's perfect. Perfect for today.

[Bea Speer]

It is a fever dream of a shirt, if you will.

[Sammy Sage]

Perhaps if you had headed to a Trump rally at any point.

[Bea Speer]

Well, I could wear it on even like 4th of July or something. But I was like, no, it's too much.

[Sammy Sage]

No, it's too.

[Bea Speer]

This economy.

[Sammy Sage]

No, not in this state of New York. Maybe upstate. I don't know.

[Bea Speer]

We're.

[Sammy Sage]

We're just going to let it rip. Today. We just collected a bunch of thoughts, random thoughts that we're going to discuss as usual. We're not even going to pretend to give it a structure. First thing, I want to talk about Sydney Sweeney and that American Eagle commercial.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

What do you think?

[Bea Speer]

Here's the thing. American Eagle is a Jewish owned company. I Don't know if a lot of people know that because the point that's out here right now is that it's eugenics, it's Nazi ish. And not to say that, that it's not because it is eugenics and Nazi ish, but American Eagle is a Jewish owned company. And so I was like, okay. I just think it's stupid. I think they were so I think this is why you need diversity on teams because literally anybody from a marginalized background would have told you that this is a red flag.

[Sammy Sage]

Here's my take on this is that if you watch it without sound.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

It actually is totally fine. So it you. It seems really weird that people are calling it eugenicsy just based on if you only watch it without sound, it's actually kind of a good commercial.

[Bea Speer]

I get the idea, but for a.

[Sammy Sage]

While I didn't even see it without sound. Yeah, I was just like, I'm whatever. Like I'm just going to let it roll, see what people keep saying. And then I watch it with sound and it's the script that leads up to the end where it says Sydney Sweeney has good genes. That is weird. That's like the eugenicsy part also. People are like, that's something I noticed.

[Bea Speer]

Sydney Sweeney ss. I'm like, no, okay, no, sure.

[Sammy Sage]

I mean, you know what?

[Bea Speer]

I'm not going to defend it. I'm not going to defend it. I think it's more based in ignorance, stupidity and white supremacy as like an oopsie like than it then it was maybe like intentionally made to be secretly eugenics. I think it's like casual white supremacy leaked into this ad.

[Sammy Sage]

Right. If anything it reveals how like foundational it is rather than reveals how.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

How Nazi esque the brand is.

[Bea Speer]

They're like, oh, that was Nazi ish. We thought it was so cute.

[Sammy Sage]

Honestly, like I really think they, if they just cut the script, it would be a good ad and would be so much more.

[Bea Speer]

I struggle with her, Sami.

[Sammy Sage]

Not struggle with her.

[Bea Speer]

I struggle with her because I loved her. In the movie Winner, she plays reality winner. Phenomenal actress. It's such a great story. You know, I like root for reality Winner, the actual person in real life. And then she does stupid shit like this and then I feel weird like talking about the movie because all her drama is like attached to this woman who just needs to get justice for being unfairly put in jail.

[Sammy Sage]

She doesn't get get to object to the script. That's the thing. Like she's just going to say what they Tell her to say that's her job.

[Bea Speer]

Best wishes to you, Sydney Sweeney. I think you lost the Internet, but.

[Sammy Sage]

Honestly, I don't know. I think that it, like, it's definitely like a culture war thing where if you fall on one side, you're like, these people are crazy. I don't see the white supremacy part. And then if you fall on another side or have, like a little bit of media literacy, you could see that it's definitely a dog whistle.

[Bea Speer]

I mean, they still.

[Sammy Sage]

Intentional is another question.

[Bea Speer]

They still gave Nicole Scherzinger the Tony Award after she did all that MAGA stuff. So I don't know. Maybe people have short memories. Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

Half the country is maga.

[Bea Speer]

Well, and the thing. The other. The other part of it being that the genes go towards 100% of the profits or proceeds go towards domestic violence organizations. So then people are being like, there's a. But there was a mission to it. And I'm like, this is why. I think it wasn't intentionally dog whistley so much as casual shittiness. Casual. We. We don't even recognize white supremacy and this kind of horribleness because we just.

[Sammy Sage]

Honestly, I think it would be a great commercial and you'd get the point without the Nazi part. If they just cut the script out, like, just leave it or put music or something. And you can even put Sydney Sweeney as good jeans, because that's. That. That's actually because obviously she's very hot.

[Bea Speer]

So I have to explain it.

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah. And she has good American Eagle jeans. Anyway, last point on this.

[Bea Speer]

People say that this was the best campaign that American Eagle ever did, or this is the biggest get that American Eagle ever had as far as celebrities go. And I will redirect you to the 2023 Pride Summer Olivia Ponton collection, which was actually very thoughtfully done and quite cute. So.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, Sydney Sweeney is Sydney Sweeney. But here's the thing. I bet it's also the biggest check they ever wrote. So. Yeah, he can buy you a big name.

[Bea Speer]

Well, maybe you should have just got Olivia back. We didn't have problems with her little campaign. She did a great job and I'm very proud of her.

[Sammy Sage]

Sydney Sweeney's fault. I know it's the script. Like, she's. She can't really challenge it. Yeah.

[Bea Speer]

So moving on.

[Sammy Sage]

Anyway, I've said that, like, four times because I just want to talk about Hunter Biden and his.

[Bea Speer]

To another. To another fashionable fellow with good jeans, question mark. What? It's different jeans, question mark. Biden jeans. We're going to talk about Biden's jeans.

[Sammy Sage]

Now, if you close your eyes, it's sort of like you hear Joe Biden explaining how to make crack cocaine to you.

[Bea Speer]

Yes, it is. He's very Biden. Remember we met him on Hanukkah at the White House and.

[Sammy Sage]

You did.

[Bea Speer]

I did.

[Sammy Sage]

I didn't.

[Bea Speer]

And I came over and I told you. I was like, I met Hunter Biden. And I'm going to tell you right now, as a full time lifelong lesbian, I get women run away with him and do drugs and bathtubs. He is incredibly charismatic. There is something like very otherworldly about Hunter Biden that is just like the room stops when he speaks to you. And like, I don't know how to explain it. He's. He's got wrists. As the kids.

[Sammy Sage]

If you look at photos of him from like the early 2010s, he's a. Joe Biden was a hottie crime there.

[Bea Speer]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

Jill Biden. Look there. I mean, not that Joe Biden's his mother, but whatever. They're, they're, they're very good looking. And I agree with you, he has a lot of charisma. He also is very much a regular person in terms of like, yes, he's good hang. He watched the guy who was the interviewer. Like, that's someone he watches on TikTok. He watches you on TikTok. He watches Alex Perlman on TikTok. He. Yeah. And also, like, he walked into a random Delaware computer repair place.

[Bea Speer]

He's a. He's just, just a guy. He's just a little guy. Hunter. But he is incredibly dynamic and people were surprised how much he swears. That's a Biden thing. They swear constantly. It's an Irish Catholic thing, though, too. As I. Let's bring up my. My medals. My. We have. Okay. How long has it been since we made a religious reference? This might be our longest.

[Sammy Sage]

Been what, six, Six minutes.

[Bea Speer]

And already dropped the Catholic. He. He's just. Yeah. They were like, I'm so surprised he swore so much and he called people out so much. We were standing in the White House and he was asking about at that time if AOC had gotten the oversight chair, and she didn't because Nancy Pelosi put her finger on the scale. And that old guy who passed away, his name, I don't remember now.

[Sammy Sage]

Connolly. Yeah, got it.

[Bea Speer]

And he literally starts shouting in the White House. On Hanukkah, mind you, fuck Nancy Pelosi, right? Fuck her. Fuck her. What she did to my dad. Fuck her. And what she's doing to aoc. Fuck her. And what she's doing to the future Democratic Party. I was like. But he. That's how he talks.

[Sammy Sage]

Not wrong.

[Bea Speer]

No. He's very defensive of his father, as we saw.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, the thing is, like, he's not wrong about her, but not necessarily for the right reasons. Like, yes, I do think that the family is. They're sort of. And you see this with other families where I think there's, like, family supremacy. Do you know what I mean? Like, there's some families that just feel like they are. Like, we're very proud to be. Like, we are the American family.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah. We're special.

[Sammy Sage]

But not just. Not just with, like, famous families. Like, you could have this in sort of like.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

In your town.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

Like, they think, like, they're the best. Like, there's this, like, incredible pride in being part of this family. And because you are part of it, you, like, can't be wrong. Almost, like, by default, you guys are right.

[Bea Speer]

Because who's the family in your hometown?

[Sammy Sage]

I would have to think about it.

[Bea Speer]

Okay, I'll tell you who mine is. Simonetti.

[Sammy Sage]

Don't do that.

[Bea Speer]

No, it's in a good way called. No, I'm saying in a good. Simonetti is the name of, like, the town. Okay. So I came from Shelton.

[Sammy Sage]

Oh, the town. Not the people.

[Bea Speer]

No, it's the name of the people who are like, the family of that town, I'm saying. And not in a bad way. They're wonderful people. But it's like, Shelton, Connecticut is very synonymous with the Simonetti family because they have Simonetti cleaners. They own the funeral home, they own the nursing home. They own shops downtown. They were the pharmacist. But Simonetti is like, the name you think of when you think of Shelton, Connecticut.

[Sammy Sage]

Okay. I hear that. Honestly, my obvious family is kind of like this where, like, sages are winners. Like, we win. I'm like, you, like, relax. Like, it's. What if you don't, like.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

You know, so. Yeah, like, that kind of. That kind of energy where. And the Bidens have that. And obviously, I think that that really played into how his term ended and even why he ran for President in 2020, 2024.

[Bea Speer]

It.

[Sammy Sage]

It really, like, they. They all kind of judge each other up. And I don't know, it had me thinking that the Bidens and the Trumps are kind of like they're not mirror images of each other, but they're sort of both examples of, like, extremes of American family dysfunction. Yeah. The difference being that like, the Bidens strive to embody good values in public service and they want to have that shine, even if it's not perfect. And then Trump, the Trump's like, spurn the value of humanity and they cheat and they lie and they don't care. And America basically got to choose which, which one they wanted. And they looked at the two options and they saw that Trump was. That that latter version was felt more true to them and, you know, thought that that was going to be a stronger representation. And the Bidens just kind of looked like enfeebled at the end.

[Bea Speer]

They did. Also, Trump makes it look like it's okay to cheat, to win, as long as you win. And I think that people saw that as an easier path because playing by the rules hasn't been working out for Americans in many ways. And so even though he's a grifter and a liar and a charlatan, this idea that like, fuck the system, it fucked me, I'm gonna win anyway by you would do it to me too, if you had the chance. That sort of ruthlessness is something that I think people resonated with, especially as this country continues to have wage stagnation, student loan debt crisis, can't buy a house, food is expensive. So they're like, I played by all the rules, I did what I was supposed to, and I still got shit. I'm gonna be like a Trump and just like bulldoze my way into the next thing. Or maybe they thought that he was gonna open a path for them that, that the academic elite didn't or whatever.

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, every, there's, this is what I keep coming back to. Like, there's so many people in the world.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

And there's so many. And even one person's decision or reasoning for something is not like, fixed. So yeah. Some people thought, screw this system, and why wouldn't you, if you're that sort of swing voter that we know is, is very much in play and your industry and your, your towns have been totally hollowed out. And, and every, every big, big policy is just a transfer of wealth to the wealthier, like Covid. And you know, you're going to fall for, for Trump, you're going to fall for that and you're going to feel like you want that to represent you. Especially in contrast to Biden, who they think lied to. Like there's this equivalency.

[Bea Speer]

They also think he talked down to them. Right. Trump made it okay for you to say the F slur and the R word. And that felt like, you got something. And Biden was like, we're going to be the best, and we're going to.

[Sammy Sage]

Be, you know, I mean, even Biden, like, when the Supreme Court released that immunity decision for Trump and Biden comes out and he makes a speech and he's like, I'm not going to make use of that decision. It's like, first of all, they weren't.

[Bea Speer]

Going to let you.

[Sammy Sage]

But it's this, like, oh, well, I'll play by the rules. And you should all play by the rules, because that America still exists where you can play by the rules and win. But people are like, no, it doesn't. I've observed this for. I've lived it for, you know, two decades at least. And, yeah, I think that, that really, the. The, like, Hunter and Don Jr also strike me as sort of similar, but, like, Hunter's the real. The real version. And. And Don Jr. Is the one that, like, is. I don't know.

[Bea Speer]

They're both the same kind of wannabe daddy's boy and fail sons. Yeah. And it's just not gonna work out that way to come off of these two families. For a quick second, though, this is why I say I don't vote for any political dynasty. I don't want Christine Pelosi to be the next senator from California or congresswoman or whatever the hell they're trying to plan for that. I would never vote for a Chelsea Clinton. I think what the Obamas have done with their children is really incredible. And the fact that, like, the daughters are not even using their last name on their new projects. They're just using their first name or some other brand name. Like, they're not trying to be a part of a political dynasty. They're like, we are private citizen. We want to be. Obviously, they have privileges.

[Sammy Sage]

I mean, everyone knows who they are. Of course, everyone has privilege.

[Bea Speer]

But they're not trying to, like, make this a political dynasty.

[Sammy Sage]

And also, it's because their mother hates it.

[Bea Speer]

Right. Because she sees what it is. The Clintons, you know, Chelsea's not in politics, but she has, like, her own nonprofits and all this kind of stuff. I just. I'm not here. The reason why we did America, the original ethos of this was no political dynasties, no kings, no nobility, no aristocracy. And we're sort of seeing that all the time now, even with Adelita getting her father's seat in Arizona's District 7 and recognize that she's a wonderful progressive and all these different things. But there's this kind of it's like.

[Sammy Sage]

Of all the people, you're the best because it's your dad and that you ran on.

[Bea Speer]

It was my father's seat. No, it wasn't. It was District 7, Arizona's seat. There is this whole idea of it's my father's, it's my whatevers. This is my. I, who loved the Kennedys, am starting to think the Kennedys are like, we said. What? The Kennedys are kind of a scam. What's going on with the Kennedys right now? I can't. I'm like. I can't even like the Kennedys, which is like something fun in American to do most of the time.

[C]

We see you getting after your fitness goals, but what about those money goals? You can count on credit karma for.

[Bea Speer]

A clear view of your finances and.

[C]

Your progress, helping you see results so you can keep checking off those financial personal bests and find your way to money. Progress never felt so good. Intuit.

[Bea Speer]

Credit karma karma you can count on.

[C]

Download the app today. Going on vacation. We're here for it with kids who turn a back seat into a courtroom drama over whose tablet is louder, whose charger is faster, and why. Watching the same cartoon for the hundredth time as a human.

[Bea Speer]

Right?

[Sammy Sage]

Yep.

[C]

We totally have vehicles to handle that. Because whether it's a road trip or a business trip where your flight's delayed, Your phone's at 2% and your dinner, whatever's open. Yeah, Here for that too. Enterprise. We're here for it.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, I think it's. It's problematic how people look at the Kennedys and then you have someone like RFK Jr. Who gets that shine from being a Kennedy. When you ever have a wise. I mean, he would be like probably in prison.

[Bea Speer]

Let's be honest.

[Sammy Sage]

I told you that I recently read that book Ask not about the Kennedy women and the. The shit these people did and proudly did got away with. Every day is so disgusting. It's like the Trump's almost.

[Bea Speer]

Well, there's no way it's different.

[Sammy Sage]

It's different.

[Bea Speer]

It isn't. It isn't. Fred Trump and Joe Kennedy, the dad, the grandpa.

[Sammy Sage]

Quite similar.

[Bea Speer]

Very similar. Very similar type of toxic American ambition, if you want to call it that.

[Sammy Sage]

Like, here's what I would say about the. The Kennedys. People talk about the Kennedy curse. There. There is no curse. They are just each. There's so many of them and they're each so reckless every single day of their lives that eventually you're going to.

[Bea Speer]

Hurt yourself or others and.

[Sammy Sage]

Or other. And others Frequently. And I think that it's really underrated. Their crimes are not victimless. The way that they've treated people, RFK, like, you know, RFK Jr. Is the relevant one now. But the way that some of these men, these men have treated people and that they live off their name and they do not get in trouble because they are Kennedys is so messed up. And it's also, it also speaks to this two tier justice system that we have now that I think is really apparent to people, especially when it comes to the Epstein stuff. And that's why I think people are not just going to like, let it go. But yeah, you're a Kennedy, so you got whatever you want.

[Bea Speer]

Jack Schlossberg had. I just again, he's a Kennedy, right? So he's eccentric. And there's all these things with it. I'm just like, I don't know what, I think the Kennedys owe me, right? Like they don't owe me or this country shit. They're just some other family. But they do get, they are sort of like when you think of American families, they're the one that comes up. And Jack does get a lot of opportunity because he's, you know, the only grandson of Jackie and JFK and whatnot. And then I'm like, jack, what are you doing, my boy? I'm so concerned that you're squandering an opportunity or a moment or something that I. But I'm also twice his age and I don't fudgeing know, maybe this slaps for some people what he's doing.

[Sammy Sage]

I mean, you know, I, I don't follow him like so closely that I can speak to be an expert on him. But my feeling on him was always like, oh, it's a joke. It's all a performance. Like this whole thing is a performance.

[Bea Speer]

I think he was at one point and I wonder if. But I, I think what scares me is the level of power that Kennedys have. And what started off as something that felt very powerful and in line with like progressive values and maybe like getting young people to vote or doing whatever is now feeling a little bit sometimes, often extremely toxic and accidentally homophobic, accidentally misogynist in his humor. Some stuff like that freaks me out a little.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, I again, like, I don't follow closely enough to know like exactly what he said or what. Like I, I can't speak to every statement. But my feeling is more that like he can do this performance because of who he is and not have people think this man's insane. Like that, that's the difference is it's like everyone's like, oh, the Kennedy kid is doing this weird stuff. It's like, okay, I, I get it, I guess, but that's.

[Bea Speer]

He's very upset about the new JFK junior documentary type show that a lot of people are doing. JFK junior's back, baby. He's. He's, he's back and he's like a Princess Diana figure for a lot of people where we're like very. The wife with him. Yeah. But, yeah, you know, Ryan Murphy has a show coming out that Jack has a lot to say about. There's other documentaries on CNN coming up. I don't know how many kids are out there now that are like, you know, purebred Kennedy anymore. I guess we gotta wait and see. Who? Jack Schlossberg. What do you mean?

[Sammy Sage]

Like they've never been.

[Bea Speer]

No, but they really sort of hold on to this idea that JFK and Jackie and Jack Schlossberger like that, you know, like the, the top tier Kennedys. And then there's like, you know, RFK Jr. And his side. They all think that they're like on some different.

[Sammy Sage]

I get what you're saying. You're saying. Yeah, yeah, I get what you're saying. I highly recommend that book. Ask not. Yeah, it talks about how like a whole Camelot idea was basically fashioned by Jackie Kennedy in order to secure her husband's legacy as like this young American family rather than being like a dirty cheater.

[Bea Speer]

Well, and the thing we don't remember.

[Sammy Sage]

About a celebrity of the time, the.

[Bea Speer]

Kennedys, is that Jackie was a Bouvier. And that's really the American family that you want to follow. That's like Gray Gardens, you know, like little Edie, Big Edie, the Bouviers. Like, that's what the Kennedys and the Bouviers were extremely weird people. Like just very eccentric, unusual, reckless people. And then to come together in this way, it's kind of like.

[Sammy Sage]

Like that's true. Yeah. Well, the thing is, it's again, I think it's like this weird family supremacy. Like when you think you're the best, like you can only marry the best and you can only keep doing things to display your supremacy and like your superiority. And there is like a little bit of a eugenics piece to it.

[Bea Speer]

Yes.

[Sammy Sage]

Where it's like, we wouldn't marry someone who like education.

[Bea Speer]

Hey, you know who else? Well, this is the downfall of all these, like fucking families. Going back a couple weeks now to the Coldplay Cheater. Situation. So we talk a lot about the guy, this. The astronomer, CEO. That woman was married to a Cabot from Massachusetts. Like the fucking cheese. Okay, so, like, that family also is. Usually you marry into that kind of family. Pretty untouchable. To be caught up in a scandal as pedestrian as the Jumbotron at a Coldplay concert. This is the end of the American dynasty. The Cabots aren't even safe.

[Sammy Sage]

You know what I. What I find to be egregious about that? That I just learned last night that the CEO is trying to sue Coldplay.

[Bea Speer]

Oh, Christ.

[Sammy Sage]

It's like, are you kidding me?

[Bea Speer]

Get over it.

[Sammy Sage]

Are you joking? It's like you. Have you met a consequence?

[Bea Speer]

Well, he's about to, because there'll be no cheese for him. Can you imagine cheating with a cheese baron's wife like you?

[Sammy Sage]

I don't know. I don't know. What. How. How. The cheese baron.

[Bea Speer]

What if you.

[Sammy Sage]

I don't know how much.

[Bea Speer]

Cracker Barrel. Who's the other big. He's like a craft guy or something. Oh, it's gonna start another. Another drama. Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

Okay. But speaking of interviews, Hunter Biden was obviously, you know, did himself pretty freewheeling. But you know who else I saw being interviewed? This Texas State Representative James Talarico. Went on Joe Rogan. And this man is amazing. And I actually think he should run for president. I don't want to be premature about it. I don't know everything about him, but on some level, who gives a fuck about experience when you have Pete Hegseth running the military?

[Bea Speer]

Yeah, that's all done.

[Sammy Sage]

And it's like, do we need experience? Like, do we need people who know how to do the old way anymore?

[Bea Speer]

They gotta bring back, I think, federal influence. President. If they bring back federal employees, doesn't matter who the politician is. Yeah, sure.

[Sammy Sage]

Many, many such. Many such issues that need to be addressed. But this James Talarico seems like such a lovely man.

[Bea Speer]

What about senator for Texas?

[Sammy Sage]

So he can, what, sit and be a. Be Susan Collins? Like, I don't why, like you. This is a rare man. He is a proud, progressive Christian. He was a teacher. He did teach for America. He has a really, like, socially forward, socially progressive background in terms of. He's worked with marginalized communities. He's really gotten his hands dirty in that sense. He's been in the Texas state house since 2018. So it's not like he's, you know, he's in his fourth term in the state House, but whatever. Yeah, it's pretty.

[Bea Speer]

Get a bigger platform. It's important. Better.

[Sammy Sage]

But, but the thing is, he could get a big platform in a week.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

You know, like he, and, and the way he talks about his faith is really what, like, you know how it's such a turn off to hear the Christians talk about their, their like hypocrite. Because it's just hypocritical.

[Bea Speer]

No. Now they're owning it with toxic empathy and eminent grace.

[Sammy Sage]

But you know how it's like all this, it always feels so hypocritical. This guy feels like he has the right idea. Like he really basically takes it down to like Jesus's main teachings of love your God, love God and love your neighbor. And he talks about abortion.

[Bea Speer]

Should we play the clip?

[Sammy Sage]

We could play it.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah, let's play the clip. Because I thought this was incredible too.

[C]

What do you think is the biblical.

[Sammy Sage]

Evidence to support the opinion of being pro abortion?

[C]

Mary is probably my, my favorite figure in the Bible. She's an oppressed peasant teenage girl living in poverty under an oppressive empire as a Jew. And she, she has a vision from God. God asks for Mary's consent.

[Bea Speer]

I never even thought about it like that. Like the idea that Mary has consent and that, that's the basis of his thought here is like, only you can't force people to create life. Whether that's because they, you know, experience some sort of assault or abuse and then they get to choose, or they just choose that they don't want to create life, they should have that choice.

[Sammy Sage]

So I never thought about it from that perspective of the Christian teachings. But, but in Judaism, abortion is, is allowed. It's, you know, in religious communities it's definitely not like the first highest preference.

[Bea Speer]

Right.

[Sammy Sage]

But it's not like they're like, it's like it's okay, they're not trying to have a teenager be pregnant. Like that's not happening. Like that is incest. Like, like all those exceptions, quote, unquote. Like they're all very liberal about like those quote, unquote, that kind of thing. And so I think he really like takes it from that. So now he's in seminary. He's, he's went to a seminary to like actually learn more about his faith. And the, the way that he had gotten, I think a bigger profile is because he spoke out against displaying the ten Commandments in schools. And his reasoning was basically like, you will base, you make every other faith feel marginalized. And we were founded on the separation of church and state. So he talks all about the founders and their basis for believing that. And how real faith and real religion is about being concerned with the most vulnerable. So the kid who is, you know, a Christian sitting in a Christian school, you know, of course they're gonna feel like the Ten Commandments are. Are good or whatever. But he also thinks that this, like these hollow, hypocritical faiths push people away. And he's absolutely right. So he is a really. Just honestly, like, please listen to this guy tell me he wouldn't make a good president.

[Bea Speer]

I'm going to. My sister went to Catholic school. They got the Ten Commandments hanging everywhere. They start with prayers all the time.

[Sammy Sage]

Kind of their whole thing in Catholic.

[Bea Speer]

School, they didn't turn out any better than anybody else. So I'm going to tell you. So having it on the wall does not make you believe it even more. It just makes you performative.

[Sammy Sage]

Hate it even.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah. You're like, all right. It becomes casual and it becomes sort of like a joke. Right.

[C]

If you're thirsting for asphalt, melting your.

[Bea Speer]

Work boots, tape measure has anger issues. Nail guns, talking smack again.

[C]

And hard hat baked onto head level refreshments, we definitely have that. Cool off with Gatorade Summer Blaze. Available only at Circle K. When you're.

[Bea Speer]

Feeling the heat, Circle K makes your day.

[C]

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[Bea Speer]

Speaking of Christians and Catholics, though, I was hanging with Sharon McMahon this week.

[Sammy Sage]

Cool.

[Bea Speer]

And she at the National Governors association in Colorado. And she taught me how to needlepoint. Wow. So not so. But we were talking about religion and the way that it shows up in the stuff that was going on at the governor's meeting. And she was saying because she has, like, more experience with like, the evangelical Christian world, that they are changing. Like a lot of the talking points that they had before where it used to be hate the sin, love the sinner was like the thing, and now it's eminent. Grace is this term that they use that means that God has already decided who's getting saved and who's not. You won't know until you get to heaven. And your entire life, no matter what you do, God will be chasing you with his eminent grace. And you won't be able to Escape it. And so no matter what you do throughout your life, no matter how bad you are, at some point, if you recognize and accept the eminent grace, then you are saved. And I was like, that sounds non consensual. But also, then why do all the Christians have to be mean to me until then? If God's eminent grace is just chasing me, I'll just like, wait for it to catch up with me, I guess.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, you know, it's funny, having been exposed to a lot, like a lot of religious thought theory, that's always what it comes down to. And it's not. It's like, at the end of the day, if God's the final judge, who makes you the judge? That's why I always struggle. You're not the better. Okay, so why don't you get to tell me?

[Bea Speer]

Yeah, I don't. Bumpers in the lane to God. All right, I'm bowling by myself. I've got it together. I'm going to figure this out. But now, in addition to that, the deep Christians who couldn't be more hateful. Like, I'm not talking about Christians. I'm talking about the actual hateful. Yeah, down. You know, that way. Are now saying they came up with a new term. And I do not want to talk about this woman, but it's called toxic empathy. And it's this way that they are now describing the fact that empathy is a sin. And I, I, we don't have, yeah, we don't have time to do it on this show.

[Sammy Sage]

Just make up new sins, chase it.

[Bea Speer]

In your own time. But just be warned that this term toxic empathy and the idea that empathy is a sin is out there for these, like, deep right wing, very sick in my mind Christians, according to, to.

[Sammy Sage]

A Christian podcaster, empathy is a sin. You don't just get to, you don't get a microphone and then get to decide what a sin is. Isn't that what cults do?

[Bea Speer]

Yes. And these are Calvinist Christians. I don't know. I'm learning, I'm trying to learn about this stuff because I like to try and like, reverse engineer it. Because the thing about growing up Catholic was we were in on the joke. We were kind of like, all right, yeah, we're going to sit here. Jesus was cool. He did a lot of dope shit. That sounds great. I'm going to go home. I want to see my little Passion play. I want to wear my cool little jewelry. I want to have my nice little saints.

[Sammy Sage]

Stations of the Cross.

[Bea Speer]

Stations of the Cross. Then I want to go home. So. But with them, they. And it is interesting to me that this is being more and more led by women because I knew, you know, you'd had like really toxic Christian pastors in the past, but they were typically men, and now we have the female podcaster Christian stuff. And I'm like, can you say more.

[Sammy Sage]

About, can you say more about what toxic empathy is?

[Bea Speer]

So it's this idea that the progressive left is using your empathy as a Christian to toxically make you feel empathy for immigrant families being torn apart by ice, make you feel empathy for starving children in Gaza, make you feel empathy that it's toxic, that the left is weaponizing your empathy as a Christian to get you to care about humanity or to care about gay rights or trans people. Because no, you shouldn't use your empathy for any of that empathy. The, the left, the radical left lunatics are testing you like Christ in the desert. And your empathy can be weaponized in a toxic way to turn you from the Lord type shit. Look, we. I don't have the. I'm not limber enough for their mental gymnastics, but that's the, that's the take.

[Sammy Sage]

Okay, I've heard something that, like, rings in this category, which is. It's not quite that, but it's like that people are so open minded that they'll like believe anything and. Yeah, is that what she's trying to say?

[Bea Speer]

Like, so. Something like that. Except they're literally saying, when you feel empathy, stop yourself because that could be the devil testing you.

[Sammy Sage]

Who do you get to feel empathy for?

[Bea Speer]

Only no empathy.

[Sammy Sage]

Good.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah, no empathy is good. Just the Christian podcasters. Just the leader. Yeah, I don't know. They're just trying to make people feel alone. This is the thing. If you divide people, you keep driving this rugged individualism, they'll continue to feel alone. The whole point of church's community, no matter what your religion is. That's why you gather in person together for a collective message. And you usually do service projects. They're trying to take all of that away and make church an esthetic and also make it something to commodify and also make it something to give you moral superiority and high ground and sort of like immunity from having to participate in society. And that's why it's bad.

[Sammy Sage]

Okay, What I'm seeing it as is basically just a kind of stop sign for feeling anything about marginalized people.

[Bea Speer]

Yep, it's a white supremacy, just like stop like that all white community they're building in Arkansas, which, like, aren't there Several all white communities in Arkansas, I'm sure. Maybe not identified as like. But you guys are going so extra. The all white community in Arkansas because they believe that they deserve to have their culture preserved. I would love to know what that culture is.

[Sammy Sage]

No blacks, no Jews, no gays.

[Bea Speer]

We're out. I don't want to go there. So I don't either. Identify it for me.

[Sammy Sage]

I know. I'm just saying where. Where on the outs. I think there should be blacks, Jews, and gays.

[Bea Speer]

I would love that.

[Sammy Sage]

Towns. Yes. That would be great.

[Bea Speer]

It's New York City. And I'll meet you at the cubbyhole. It'll be great. And then we'll walk over, get a nice bagel at Cats. We're right in that neighborhood. It's perfect. Yes.

[Sammy Sage]

That's where I live.

[Bea Speer]

Yes.

[Sammy Sage]

Literally. What. What a. What a blessed idea it would be.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

No, that's why God's chosen. Vulnerable.

[Bea Speer]

Yes.

[Sammy Sage]

That's. We could call it the community. The toxic empathy community.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah. When we'll test you, we'll be like.

[Sammy Sage]

Are you gonna be like, do you feel bad for these starving children or do you have an excuse?

[Bea Speer]

You can't come in. You can't come in if you don't.

[Sammy Sage]

Or can you justify this?

[Bea Speer]

This is why I feel like gay bars should be allowed to be gay bars again. Because, like, I think.

[Sammy Sage]

Are they not?

[Bea Speer]

No, they're like, so sanctuary cities for bachelorette parties now. And it's. It's a little bit tough, and so that's annoying. It's. Okay. Look, I understand that women don't have safe spaces that they feel they can go to hang with their girls and not get roofied or hurt. And so coming to the gay bar was kind of like. It was sort of like you always had. It was the girls, the gays, and the theys at the gay bars. Right. But then it really started to become a thing where it was like. I think with the popularity of drag, people were coming to the drag shows, and they should. Right. Straight people should absolutely give those girls their money and whatnot. But the idea of, like, now it's like, too much where there's more straight people at the gay bar than not. And then it's sort of like that. It's diluting the culture. And so there's a lot of it. Yeah, there's a little bit. But go to drag shows. You know when straight people should go to the drag brunch. Go to that all day, baby. That's for you. The early shows, the 7, 8 o' clock drag shows come to that. Come with your family. Have. Give those girls all your money. Okay.

[Sammy Sage]

Don't tell them.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah. Just have a good time. But, like, come. Come 9, 10pm Gay people are trying to, like, meet people. Yeah, right. They're trying to. Well, they're trying to, like, be in community with each other and dance and relax and kick back. So when you see, like, 20 girls come through in a bachelorette party dressed like the American Revolution or pit bull, it kind of wrecks the vibe.

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah. I don't really. I agree with you. Like, as someone who would do that on a bachelor wouldn't. I wouldn't go late. But at about, like, if I were to do a. I've done a drag brunch on it.

[Bea Speer]

Sure. And that's fine. Of course.

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah. That's what it's for.

[Sammy Sage]

That's. But don't. I don't really see the point. 30pm And I don't really get why you'd want to.

[Bea Speer]

Because they. Because, like, like. Well, I just want to dance.

[Sammy Sage]

That's not your.

[Bea Speer]

Well, I wanna. I don't know. Okay.

[Sammy Sage]

But there's a million places you could. I guess. I guess your point is about the, like, roofing. But I've. But honestly, like, I don't think that, like, straight, gay, whatever it is. Like, I don't think that necessarily means you're not gonna.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

Get roofied if it's also people are there.

[Bea Speer]

It's the ogling of the gays that also becomes a problem with some of these parties. And I'm not. If you're cool. I'm not talking about.

[Sammy Sage]

That's why you need a show.

[Bea Speer]

You know who I'm talking about. These bachelorette parties that have, like, a checklist. And one of the things on the checklist is, like, kiss the girl before you get married. So then they go to the gay bar and they, like, leave the lesbians alone. Okay. We have enough.

[Sammy Sage]

Same penis forever.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah, we have enough going on. I will say, in defense of the Straits, some of y' all have come up with some really clever bachelorette party themes. I think it's the second wedding or the millennial weddings that we're seeing a lot more.

[Sammy Sage]

But that's probably a late first wedding.

[Bea Speer]

American Revolution was one where people dressed like people from the American Revolution, which I thought was hilarious. Pitbull. There's. There's a bunch of goofy ones, and I'm like, this is fantastic. I did not go on my friend's bachelorette parties when they had themes because I was like, my friend Katie did Gem and the Holograms, which I thought was a really good one, but I was like, I don't want to dress up.

[Sammy Sage]

We never had themes.

[Bea Speer]

I went to theater school. Sammy. Everything is. Every day is an opportunity for a new costume.

[Sammy Sage]

You're right. I mean, I would definitely dress, like, in theme of the place, like we're doing. But that's also like, okay, I'm going to the beach. I'm gonna wear a bathing suit.

[Bea Speer]

I'm hoping that. That weddings make a turn and elopements become popular again, because weddings have just gone so far, you know, it's, like, so crazy. Speaking of American culture, they're getting. Well, they're. They're coming back for sure.

[Sammy Sage]

Okay. Before the pandemic, they were, like, on this, like, Marie Antoinette curve. Now then post pandemic, I actually think it. Or dirt. It became like, you could do a lot of different types.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

And you could have smaller weddings. And, like, you didn't have to invite your whole. Everyone.

[Bea Speer]

You know, I like.

[Sammy Sage]

And now I feel like.

[Bea Speer]

Or no, I like the. No wedding party. I like the wedding party.

[Sammy Sage]

Just agree. I always thought that was, like, weird. Like, it all feels very handmade to me. Like, what do you have to, like, wait on me because I'm on the bra.

[Bea Speer]

Get ready together, Have a blast, do whatever with your girls. But when it comes time for the day, maybe you don't need nine people that you. One from high school, one from elementary school, two from college, my best friend from work. Who's going to be in the audience. I need people in the audience.

[Sammy Sage]

A lot of other friends. But you don't have to wear. It's. It's more about, like, for me. I don't like the idea of, like, everyone wears the same, like, weird color.

[Bea Speer]

Like, no.

[Sammy Sage]

No. Okay, so that's that on weddings.

[Bea Speer]

All right.

[Sammy Sage]

I don't know how we got.

[Bea Speer]

All right, well, we have. We have 10 minutes left, so let's do lightning round. All the things we wanted to say, we didn't get to say really quick.

[Sammy Sage]

Okay. You have, like, five things on here.

[Bea Speer]

I do. Number one, I want everyone to know that Plymouth Rock is a scam. It was a story that was made up 121 years after the alleged arrival of Plymouth Rock. Don't go to the back to Massachusetts being a scam and a disappointment. Don't go back.

[Sammy Sage]

How big is the rock?

[Bea Speer]

It's the size of my desk. It's a small rock. It's not even the rock.

[Sammy Sage]

How do they Know that that's the one.

[Bea Speer]

It's not. They just picked one, and we're like, this is it. And then you go, and you're disappointed. Don't go.

[Sammy Sage]

Why did they do that?

[Bea Speer]

Because tourism, I guess. I don't know, but it's big. Okay, Sammy, you go.

[Sammy Sage]

I mean, I didn't believe that there was going to be a rock.

[Bea Speer]

I did, because I grew up in Connecticut, and our education system is extremely colonial.

[Sammy Sage]

My random take is not that random, but I'm bringing us back to Jeffrey Epstein. And you know how he and Donald Trump fell out back in 2004? We. Or 2000? 4004. 2005. So did we talk? Did I tell you, like, why that happened? Because of the house?

[Bea Speer]

Well, yeah, the real estate deal. The auction.

[Sammy Sage]

The real estate deal. So Epstein wanted to buy this.

[Bea Speer]

This house that used by Les Wexner, his financier. Yep.

[Sammy Sage]

Yes. Originally. This is in Palm Beach. He brings Trump because he wants. He thinks Trump's a good contractor, even though he is innumerate, in the words of Michael Wolff, he. He thinks he's a good contractor, and he wants to know where to, like, move the pool. Trump then wants to buy the house from Epstein. So Epstein's like, what the fuck? Like, this is messed up. Epstein knows that Trump doesn't have the actual money to do it, so he tells the bet. He tries to tell the bank, like, he can't afford it. Trump then comes up with the money and makes, I think, puts up the most that it's ever the highest price for a house.

[Bea Speer]

Mm, 41 million.

[Sammy Sage]

Trump has claimed a few things. He's claimed that they fell out because he found out Jeffrey Epstein was into young girls. He claims that because of this house. But Epstein told his brother that what happened was he knew Donald Trump didn't have the money and that if he was able to come up with it, he must have been fronting for somebody. And he gets this house. So Epstein's like, yeah, he's fronting for somebody. Trump then turns around and sells the. Sells that house for double the price four years later to a Russian oligarch. And that was what was the most expensive real estate deal. And so it was Epstein who realized that Trump was in with shady people. And then Trump made it like, oh, I think this guy's into young girls. That's our favorite. Our favorite men. What do you think is going to happen here with Epstein, with all the Epstein stuff?

[Bea Speer]

Oh, I think Elaine's got a pardon or a commutation of sentence. Absolutely. I Think she'll get out? I'm already seeing.

[Sammy Sage]

Here's the one.

[Bea Speer]

I don't know if I could move on. They're already moving on. I can see it.

[Sammy Sage]

You think it's gonna move on?

[Bea Speer]

Yeah. Not everybody. I think Trump will try to move it on. I think the Clintons are also trying to move it on. Seeing Hillary Clinton post about Gaza for the very first time was interesting timing, though she should, because things are really quite atrocious. So. Because Bill's in there, you know, he's. Did he.

[Sammy Sage]

They were friends.

[Bea Speer]

The thing that people don't remember about Jeffrey Epstein, because we always think of him as the pedophile trafficker. There were adult women that he also traffick. So just because adult meaning like 19, 19 to 24. But I'm saying. And I'm not even accusing Bill Clinton of having sex with one of those women. Right. We don't know that. But I'm saying the idea. I'm not. There will be many people caught in this dragnet. Some of them will be pedophiles, some of them will be opportunists, others will be folks who are into weird orgies. Right. He was doing a bunch of diddy shit, too. Bringing in different people that he was prostituting. You can't prostitute a child, first of all. That's rape. And. And even the girls who were slightly of age were being promised lives and he. He held immense power and sway over them. So you can't prostitute somebody who can't really give consent. But there was all that shit going on too. So I think we'll see a dragnet of a lot of different people's names. And I think Trump is hoping to move people on to those folks. I don't know that anybody does move on, but I will tell you that the Russian bots are all up in my comments and have found my Epstein stuff and have seeded in there. She was a victim. She was too afraid to speak at her trial. Why was she afraid to speak at her trial? He was dead. He was. Ipsy was already dead. Why was she afraid to speak at a trial?

[Sammy Sage]

Well, because I think that this was about more than him.

[Bea Speer]

He, you know, why is she so good now?

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah, no, no, no, she's not. But I do think. I do think she could have been afraid to speak at her trial.

[Bea Speer]

But that Friedeline T shirt lady out there. Another I. Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

No, that's insane because let's be honest, I don't think this could have happened. This ring, the. Without her. She was the one Doing the hustle. She was the one finding the girls, grooming them, doing the operations. If Jeffrey Epstein walked up to these girls, do you think they'd be like, yeah, let me come give you a massage? Like, she was the key to the entire operation?

[Bea Speer]

Jeffrey Epstein did not have a sex trafficking empire until he was in his mid to late 30s. And that is when he met Ghislaine. Right. He didn't have any of this shit before her.

[Sammy Sage]

He was also his own number one client.

[Bea Speer]

Right?

[Sammy Sage]

Like, he was sex obsessed and, you know, sort of was the, like, man behind the curtain. But she was the one actually making it happen.

[Bea Speer]

Right?

[Sammy Sage]

So we'll. We'll see. We'll see you on Wednesday night.

[Bea Speer]

Wednesday night to talk about it. Next thing I want to talk about good news, you know, about banana ball. The Savannah Bananas, they're like a. They've created, like, a new version of baseball where they do the flips and they dance and it's really. It's huge. It's huge things called banana ball. And the Savannah Bananas is like the big team, but now they have multiple teams in this league. So the Party Animals have signed the first girl to the baseball team. She is number one on the Party Animals. Her name is Ashton Lansdell, and she played for Ole Miss. She played boys baseball for Ole Miss. She was also on Team USA's baseball team. So what I think is so interesting and wonderful about this is the Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball. It's a huge thing. Like a huge cultural thing.

[Sammy Sage]

And not that I'm aware of.

[Bea Speer]

Well, yeah, you're a coastal elite. Sammy, we're talking about.

[Sammy Sage]

I am.

[Bea Speer]

Regular people stuff.

[Sammy Sage]

So she like Hunter Biden.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah, Hunter Biden knows who they are. So she's playing for this team. She's an incredible player. Team USA baseball player. And I think it just opens up this idea of, like, intramural sports, but where she wasn't a softball player. She was a baseball player at Ole Miss.

[Sammy Sage]

Girls and boys sports.

[Bea Speer]

Girls and boys sports. And so it's really exciting, and folks have really been responsive to her being there. And it's just been really awesome and I think is super fun. That was my good news.

[Sammy Sage]

That.

[Bea Speer]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

Okay. That's a good news. I have no good news.

[Bea Speer]

What do you got?

[Sammy Sage]

Bank of America did issue a warning about extreme dollar flight and dollar collapse. So there's that.

[Bea Speer]

That's in there.

[Sammy Sage]

So the debt. The debt is tied into that. A military catastrophe. You know, you never know on military catastrophe.

[Bea Speer]

Our skies are not protected from drones, and the golden fucking dome isn't going to do shit for us because we're not worried about missiles. We're worried. So, yes, military catastrophe. There we are.

[Sammy Sage]

Military catastrophe. These wars could just not end ever. There's also the, like, slow death of we are economically isolated and which is. Which is happening. It's just like no one talks about that in America because that doesn't make it into the American media. What else? You know, China and Russia and Iran have been waging an information war against us. Our brains are all turning to mushrooms. It's happening.

[Bea Speer]

Ghislaine Maxwell should get a pardon. Some of y' all out there, the mush is, yeah, if this were World.

[Sammy Sage]

War II, we would be on the battlefield, dead.

[Bea Speer]

Yes. We would not know what we were doing.

[Sammy Sage]

No, the battlefield is the algorithm and we're all fucked. That's how I wanted to share. How the world order would collapse. But you know, there. There could be turnarounds. We could. You never know. And one day, us millennials, we millennials.

[Bea Speer]

When we take over. Amanda Lippman. When we're in charge. Amanda Lipton.

[Sammy Sage]

We're in charge. Yes.

[Bea Speer]

Read her book. It's such a good read. Or start yourself a little needlepoint project like me, you and Emily. And Emily. This is propaganda. No, this is propaganda for you, Sammy. Sharon was like, sammy's gonna see your project and see how fun it is, and then she's gonna want to be a needle pointer and organize a girls trip to England where we can like sip tea and needlepoint. I was like, I. I'll go to.

[Sammy Sage]

England, but I won't needlepoint. I'll read.

[Bea Speer]

I said. I said, I don't. I'm not sure that she'll needlepoint, but she'll might do something else. But she could still be in the chat, join my needlepoint tick tock accounts someday. No, I. I'm just. It is really fun. It's quite healing to do something with your hands and doing something repetitive is apparently like very healing for you too. That's what Sharon was saying.

[Sammy Sage]

So anything that isn't scrolling on your phone is healing at this point.

[Bea Speer]

I know. So that's what I'm doing. That's what I'll be doing. Doing. In the time I get back from recording American Fever Dream, I will be doom scrolling less and I will be needle pointing more.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, we will see you.

[Bea Speer]

That's our final thought. This is our last.

[Sammy Sage]

We'll see you when we see you.

[Bea Speer]

See you when we see you. I see. This is the thing. It's like, it's like graduating high school, but then you're going to, like, stick around town. That's how I feel. I'm like, okay, well, I'm not going to this school, but I'll see you tomorrow. And I'll be around town.

[Sammy Sage]

That is how it feels.

[Bea Speer]

We're in our town era.

[Sammy Sage]

Should we play? As we go on, we remember as.

[Bea Speer]

We go on, we can sing it. My. Mine was, I believe the children are our future.

[Sammy Sage]

That was your yearbook quote.

[Bea Speer]

No, that was our. Our song. Our song. Oh, where it was greatest love of all. It was something Whitney Houston, but it was something, like, very absurd that nobody could sing.

[Sammy Sage]

I don't remember if we had a song. I don't think so. What was your yearbook quote?

[Bea Speer]

Oh, gosh, I don't remember. All I remember about my yearbook was that I posed, like, with a rose over my shoulder in a black, like, off. You know, like a black.

[Sammy Sage]

Oh, you could do, like.

[Bea Speer]

No, we all have the same thing. We all have the same thing. The boy said, wear a black tie and a black suit jacket. And I had to wear this, like, velvet bolero thing with the rose over my shoulder. I would show the picture if I wasn't so absolutely horrified.

[Sammy Sage]

No, we got to wear whatever we want.

[Bea Speer]

No, we didn't.

[Sammy Sage]

My yearbook quote was Katharine Hepburn. If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.

[Bea Speer]

That's a good one. See, that's a good way to stand by it. That is a good way to end with Sammy's yearbook quote. You guys, this has been such a blast. I have loved every second of American fever dream. And who knows? Maybe we'll bring it back in the future someday when political talk shows can last more than three hours before the news completely changes. But in the meanwhile, catch us on substack. We'll be live tomorrow night with Katie Fang talking about all things legal. And there'll be shit talking and speculating on Tuesday nights most of the time. So you can check us out there. And let me be so clear. When we say we're on the sub stack, we mean our personals. Okay? So you're going to be at under the desk news on substack.

[Sammy Sage]

Amisages.

[Bea Speer]

Yes. And then we have different guests. We have Katie fang. We had Tristan Snell. We have all kinds of different cool people. So at under the desk, Sammy Sagesays, come hang with us. It's free. You don't even have to subscribe if you don't want to.

[Sammy Sage]

And we will miss you. We thank you.

[Bea Speer]

We love you. Thanks for tuning in.

[Sammy Sage]

And for the last time, for the.

[Bea Speer]

Last time, I'm V. Speer.

[Sammy Sage]

And I'm Sammy Sage.

[Bea Speer]

And this is American Fever Dream. Good night.

[C]

Martha listens to her favorite band all the time. In the car, gym, even sleeping. So when they finally went on tour, Martha bundled her flight and hotel on Expedia to see them live. She saved so much, she got her seat close enough to actually see and hear them. Sort of. You were made to scream from the front row. We were made to quietly save you. More Expedia made to travel Savings vary and subject to availability. Flight inclusive packages are atoll protected betches.