The Best Weekend Talk Show In America: Hour Two

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand – "The Best Weekend Talk Show In America: Hour Two"

Episode Date: August 1, 2026
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Podcast: Armstrong & Getty On Demand (iHeartPodcasts)

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Episode Overview

In this hour, Armstrong and Getty navigate a broad array of contemporary topics with their signature irreverent style—ranging from political scandals (notably, the resurfacing of the Gavin Newsom affair), philosophical debates over mental health in America, dire musings on runaway AI, alarm about the mainstreaming of Democratic Socialism, and broader cultural commentary. Their mix of frankness, humor, and skepticism makes this episode both lively and thought-provoking for listeners interested in politics, technology, and the social climate.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Gavin Newsom's Past Affair and Its New Relevance

[02:19–14:46]

• Background: The hosts recount their long history on San Francisco radio, interacting with Gavin Newsom during his early political days. They revisit his notorious affair with Ruby Rippey, then the wife of Newsom’s close friend and chief of staff (Alex Turk).

• Media Coverage & Motivations: A recent Vanity Fair essay by Rippey reignites the story. The hosts are skeptical of the motives, querying why Rippey would resurface a decades-old scandal now—speculating on possible money-making angles, attempts at "inoculation" before a presidential run, or personal motivations after being dismissed in Newsom’s own memoir.

• Power Dynamics & Personal Accountability: The discussion scrutinizes Rippey’s account, her framing of herself as a victim of power dynamics, and Newsom's memoir glossing over the affair.

  "You see, he was not supposed to, as a single guy, have sex with this woman who was willing to have sex with him because of their power dynamics. I don't believe in that sort of crap."
  — Jack Armstrong [06:58]

• Cultural Commentary: The hosts rail against memoirs that publicize intimate details for profit, characterizing such behavior as “despicable.”

• Notable Quotes:

  • "If it felt like a, you know, a serious something for her at the time, she wouldn't like it called brief and stupid. Who would like that?"
    — Jack Armstrong [14:32]
  • "This chick we're talking about is like this super heavyweight of Manhattan crisis publicists. She makes zillions of dollars."
    — Joe Getty [11:53]

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2. The Dangers and Future of Artificial Intelligence

[15:49–21:29]

• Anthropic’s Public Warning: The hosts discuss Anthropic warning that its AI is nearing "recursive self-improvement"—the point at which AI could program better versions of itself with minimal human input, having already reached 80% code base written by AI (Claude).

  “Once it starts to program itself, we're into a new world here and who knows what the hell is going to happen.”
  — Jack Armstrong [17:09]

• Host Skepticism & Alarm: They ponder whether these warnings are sincere or a competitive business tactic. Joe jokes about wishing his laundry could show similar initiative.

• AI Evasiveness: The idea that AI can "fake" its performance when observed and "cover its tracks" is described as chilling.

  "The systems have gotten good at knowing when they're being observed. And if they're being observed, they trouble their behavior."
  — Joe Getty [19:54]

• Mordant Humor: Armstrong compares the stage of AI development to the slow, dreadful climb on a roller coaster just before the plunge—suggesting society is close to losing control.

  “Whether we start screaming down this afternoon or a year from now, nobody knows.”
  — Jack Armstrong [21:00]

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3. The Mainstreaming of Democratic Socialism & DSA Growth

[22:47–32:09]

• Radical Platform Outlined: A rapid-fire "true/false" Q&A from a DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) representative exposes their support for abolition of the Senate, ICE, prisons, borders, and government takeover of corporations. Hosts (and later Joe Scarborough) react with dismay—suggesting such sound bites are ready-made GOP ads.

  "We'd like your help recording a campaign ad for every Republican candidate in every election for free. Yes, I'd love to."
  — Jack Armstrong (satirizing the political impact) [23:23]

• Numbers & Influence: 250 DSA-held offices nationwide now, compared to 6,000 members pre-Bernie Sanders. Hosts highlight the primary system's flaws that let fringe candidates win.

• Misconceptions About Socialism: The rise in younger Americans’ favorable views of socialism is contrasted with the reality that DSA’s vision is far more radical than Nordic models.

  “Countries like Denmark, Norway and Sweden are social democracies that rely on thriving capitalist economies. The DSA explicitly calls for ending private enterprise.”
  — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (cited by host) [26:35]

• The “Red-Green Alliance” Parallel: Joe draws a historical parallel to the Iranian revolution, arguing that leftist-Islamist alliances are a dangerous “useful idiot” phenomenon, often ending badly for the left:

  "The communists, thought they had defeated capitalism and imperialism. It didn't last long—over 30,000 leftists who helped the Islamic regime consolidate power were soon executed… It's bizarre that almost 50 years later, Western leftists are making this exact same mistake."
  — Joe Getty [29:33]

• Cultural Blind Spots: Critique of multicultural tolerance that, in the hosts’ view, ignores the oppression of women under religious or patriarchal systems—contrasting outrage at Christian patriarchy with indifference to Islamic customs.

  "That woman is walking down the street with a giant sign that says 'I'm being abused by a man.' That's what she's doing and nobody cares."
  — Jack Armstrong [32:58]

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4. The Mental Health “Crisis” and Over-Pathologizing the Human Experience

[34:04–42:03]

• NYT Essay Discussion: The hosts dissect a New York Times piece arguing that an increased focus on mental health has ironically worsened collective mental wellbeing in America.

• Personal Story: Jack recounts advice he received after his divorce: “Don’t pathologize grief,” noting that feeling bad after loss is normal, not a mental disorder.

  “You don't have depression, you're sad… They're very different things.”
  — Joe Getty [35:05]

• Social Trend: Astonishment at study numbers: a third of American adults, and half of Gen Z, have self-diagnosed a mental illness based on online information, mostly anxiety or depression.

• Concept Creep: The hosts explain “concept creep”—mental health terminology becoming so broad it now often just describes normal human emotions and experiences.

  “We've just kept expanding the definition of depression, anxiety, all these different things toward… pretty much just being a human being.”
  — Jack Armstrong [36:00]

• Dangers of Over-Focus: Over-attention to either mental or physical health can lead to hypochondria or convincing oneself of maladies. They stress the need for a “sweet spot” between under- and over-acknowledging mental health issues.

• Parenting Analogy: A metaphor about parental reactions to childhood falls is used: a child’s response often reflects adults’ attitudes—too much coddling amplifies perceived trauma.

  “If, if the people around you say, yeah, me too, and you go on with your day, you're going to have a different attitude than: oh no, no, you probably have anxiety. That's just the way we're made as beasts.”
  — Joe Getty [39:36]

• Societal Implications: The hosts conclude that a society obsessing over personal struggles is likely less resilient than one that encourages perseverance.

  “If the S hits the fan and you got a society that's… suffering from anxiety and depression over every single thing that happens in their lives versus a society where they suck it up. Which society is going to prevail?”
  — Jack Armstrong [40:03]

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

• “Everything you've read and heard is true. I did this." — Jack Armstrong, quoting Newsom [03:24]
• “The point is proximity to power, being chosen, which might be… I don't know, maybe that's what turned her on.” — Jack Armstrong [07:48]
• “It's a breakup song and a heartbreak song. And the point of it is, please don't tell our secrets…” — Joe Getty on Lucinda Williams [09:02]
• “I don't know, is it just an attempt to control a very valuable industry… or is Dario Emoti just worried about the planet?” — Jack Armstrong [17:09]
• “The systems have gotten good at knowing when they're being observed. And if they're being observed, they trouble their behavior.” — Joe Getty [19:54]
• “If Democrats want to make America more affordable, more fair and more free, and I think they do, they better speak truth to its most extreme base or they're going to let a small faction of radicals drive more people toward Donald Trump…” — Joe Scarborough clip played by hosts [27:26]
• “If the people around you say, yeah, me too, and you go on with your day, you're going to have a different attitude than oh, no, no, you probably have anxiety. That's just the way we're made as beasts.” — Joe Getty [39:36]

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Segment Timestamps — At-a-Glance

• [02:19–14:46] Gavin Newsom’s Affair, Memoirs, Power Dynamics
• [15:49–21:29] Runaway AI, Anthropic’s Warning, Self-Improving AI
• [22:47–32:09] DSA Platform, Political Extremes, Red-Green Alliance
• [34:04–42:03] Overdiagnosis of Mental Health, “Concept Creep,” Cultural/Societal Impact

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Tone & Style Highlights

• Candid and Satirical: Consistently irreverent, skeptical, and direct—often deploying sarcasm or humor to underline the absurdities or dangers in the news.
• Conversational: The discussion flows conversationally, frequently shifting from national headlines to personal anecdotes or philosophical asides.
• Critical: Both hosts often challenge prevailing cultural or political narratives, pushing listeners to question motives behind stories and trends.

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Conclusion

This episode exemplifies Armstrong & Getty’s approach—lacing substantive political and social commentary with comedic banter and pointed skepticism. Whether discussing political figures’ personal failings, the threat of rogue AI, the rise of fringe politics, or the pitfalls of cultural overcorrection, the hosts probe beneath the headlines with humor and a critical eye, inviting listeners to do the same. Whether or not listeners agree with their takes, the breadth and candor of discussion make this a highly engaging episode.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center,

[Joe Getty]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here is Armstrong and Getty. Thanks for tuning in to the best weekend talk show in America. We're Armstrong and Getty. If you like what you're going to hear here, there's lots of us out there. Look for Armstrong and Getty on demand. We do 20 hours of this every week.

[Joe]

Action packed week too. My gosh. Enjoy. We've distilled it all down to the best weekend talk show in America.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we talked about this a lot at the time because we have been on the air in San Francisco for several decades now and we actually did an event or two with Gavin Newsom back in the day or the same age. We were all early 40 somethings, he was mayor of San Francisco, etc. Etc.

[Joe]

We were big time radio stars and

[Jack Armstrong]

and he was not the giant time politician that he is now with, you know, his sights on the White House. He was a young mayor of San Francisco. Well we talked about it a lot. The time when he had he and Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom had split up. He was single at the time that he was having this affair with a married woman who happened to be married to, if not of his best friend, one of his best friends and certainly one of his closest people to his life because the guy was chief of staff and ran his campaign. So, I mean, guy he was really close with. So he was having an affair that day.

[Joe]

And, you know, the guy's on the road or busy or whatever.

[Jack Armstrong]

And it broke out into public. And Gavin Newsom, he had a press conference, got a lot of attention. I remember we talked about it a ton. We played the audio here. He came out and he said, everything you've read and heard is true. I did this. And in his own book, his own memoir, what is Gavin Newsom's book, where he's standing there in black and white, looking off into the distance.

[Joe]

Young man in a hurry.

[Jack Armstrong]

Young man in a hurry. He talks about in that book how it was the worst betrayal he was ever guilty of in his life, and he's disappointed in himself for having done it. He was drinking a ton at the time. So was this woman who's got a piece in the Atlantic today. So she's never really said much about it. Her name is Ruby Rippey. And a piece in the Atlantic comes out today. And let me go to that screenshot

[Joe]

from a piece of bleep to a piece of journalism, the Ruby Rippy Story.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know why I keep saying the Atlantic. It's Vanity Fair. Regardless, you know, what difference does it make, honey? Or it's called How I. It's funny, I said, it's How I Blew Up Then Rebuilt My Life by Ruby Rippey. It's an essay, first person essay that she wrote that's all about her and her life. And I'm more than suspicious of this, like, needing to come out now and all this sort of stuff. I mean, because she's a nobody. She was. She, she. She was at the time when news of her affair with Gavin Newsom exploded into the public eye. It was only the outward mark of a long, rippling private implosion. In the wreckage of the scandal, Ruby Rippy faced her demons, but lost her voice. Twenty years later, she's ready to share her story is what they say in Vanity Fair.

[Joe]

So I guess I don't care. Nobody cares, except as it applies to Gabby Boy.

[ChatGPT Work Announcer]

They're.

[Jack Armstrong]

They're in their books. There's memoirs, there's movies about people blowing up their lives and rebuilding it, and sometimes that's Interesting to people. And. And she was. She was drinking too much and doing too much cocaine and out of control. He was drinking too much. By his own admission, he stopped drinking for a long time because of this. And. And they. And they started having an affair. But like you said earlier, it sounds like one of those inoculation things like they tried to do with Graham Platner there, where you get it out there

[Joe]

in a weakened version.

[Jack Armstrong]

In a weakened version, I guess. I don't know. There's really nothing else to learn about this. I just don't even see the point of this whatsoever.

[Joe]

Get it out there. So people say, yeah, I've already heard about that. But the real version is much stronger, like in the Platner story, where the New York Times buried rape, because they kind of like Platner.

[Jack Armstrong]

Ms. Rippy, 54, has rarely spoken publicly of the affair, but it was the talk of San Francisco in 2007 when Mr. Newsom stood before reporters and said, everything you heard and read is true. He explained that he'd had an affair with Ms. Rippy, the wife of Alex Torque, close friend, reelection campaign manager, etc. In her essay, Ms. Rippey does not use Mr. Newsom's name at all. That's kind of interesting. But she describes him as the mayor of San Francisco. In a man often described as Kennedy esque. She seems to blame herself for betraying her husband. Yeah, you should. And says that her life spiraled as she drank heavily and used cocaine. She also appears to blame Mr. Newsome for holding so much power over her and for proceeding with the affair anyway. You see, he was not supposed to, as a single guy, have sex with this woman who. Who was willing to have sex with him because of their power dynamics. I don't believe in that sort of crap. So either you do or you don't.

[Joe]

Not only that, but Gavin Newsom didn't make a vow to your husband, baby, she writes. Well, they kind of did, by being his friend. But now that I think about it,

[Jack Armstrong]

she writes that the relationship began in the summer of 2005 and spanned for months with off and on encounters. I always go to him. His penthouse in Russian Hill. A private back room at a North beach bar. That one's the tawdriest. The W Hotel in Los Angeles. You know, the Penthouse. The W Hotel. That's pretty high flying, high dollar, classy affair. The back room at a bar. Not quite so much.

[Joe]

They sit on this keg.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, my God. We meet and we drink. There is sex, but it isn't the point, she continues, the point is proximity to power, being chosen, which might be. I don't know, maybe that's what turned her on. Okay, I. I just. I've never thought this was cool. The. The Hollywood set does this a lot, or the. The. The. The famous set does this a lot. You put out books listing all the people you had sex with.

[Joe]

What is that telling us all about it? Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

What kind of behavior is that? It's just to sell books. This seems like an odd thing. It is despicable for all kinds of different reasons. It's despicable.

[Joe]

Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, unless, you know, unless it's rape.

[Joe]

If you.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you willingly engaged in, most of the time in these memoirs and tawdry things, you willingly. Angry gauges going around and telling everybody about it. Who thinks that's cool.

[Joe]

If you were to reach out to your former paramour and say, hey, I'm writing a memoir, and you were really an important part of my life. I just wanted to give you a heads up. Is it cool if I go here, there and there?

[Jack Armstrong]

But it's. It's.

[Joe]

You know, there's a fabulous song by what's her name? Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.

[Jack Armstrong]

Lucinda Williams.

[Joe]

Lucinda Williams, yeah. And it's. It's a breakup song and a heartbreak song. And the point of it is, please don't tell our secrets, because the end of a romantic relationship in my moral code does not imply now we get to tell each other secrets or the intimacies we exchange. That is, again, the D word. Despicable.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? Yeah. Yeah. That's not cool. Not cool especially. Is she getting paid by Vanity Fair for this or someone? Oh, I've got a little more on that in just a second. This part is kind of interesting. By the time the affair became public knowledge in early 2007, Mr. Newsome was already dating Jennifer Siebel, who became his wife. Who caused your own brouhaha, the New York Times writes, by publicly dismissing the affair as a couple of nothing incidents, which, you know, what are you supposed to do? You start dating a guy, his previous sex life. What are you supposed to. What are you supposed to do when you're asked by the press? I'm on her side. At least so far.

[Joe]

Or is that what motivated her to get into encouraging little boys to have their genitals removed? Maybe that's why she's such an activist in that.

[Jack Armstrong]

But Siebel called Ms. Rippy the culprit. Ms. Siebel later apologized for the remarks. I think it's like the cops Sometimes call it mutual combat. You don't need to have a culprit in this. You both. You're both getting drunk and having sex. There's. Is there a good guy, bad guy? Are you both bad guys? I don't know how you look at it, but you're both the same thing. Whatever you want to label it.

[Joe]

When the idea of hottie Jennifer Siebel saying of her hottie man who she was getting together with, and again, the power that he has and all. Oh, yeah, some slut just came onto him, and it was totally on her. Okay.

[Joe Getty]

All right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Newsom said he addressed this chapter of his life include in his memoir out of respect for everyone involved. He doesn't have anything further to add. I think politically that's a good idea. Also, just think from a. Being a decent human being, there's no reason to say any more about this. For your friend's sake, for her sake. I mean, what. Why, why. Why would you talk about this at all? Here's the part I like, though. Ms. Rippy was not immediately available on Tuesday morning for comment. That seems like a mistake. I think you're. You should be sitting by your phone and commenting to the New York Times and everyone else who's reaching out to you. She's being represented by Dini Von Moofling, a public relations strategist who also worked with Monica Lewinsky. And. Come on. This is the funny one. Come on. So this woman worked with Monica Lewinsky who, you know, put out a book and made some money off of this. So I think that might be the angle here. But. But then that's a dumb idea to not answer your phone. But anywho. So this publicist worked with Monica, Monica Lewinsky and Kristen Cabot. You might not remember the name. The woman seen on a kiss cam being held by her married boss at a Coldplay concert.

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah. This. This chick we're talking about is like this super heavyweight of Manhattan crisis publicists. She makes zillions of dollars,

[Jack Armstrong]

but there's no. There was. The. The Coldplay woman had an active crisis going on. And I could see how you might turn to an expert. How am I supposed to deal with this? Ms. Rippey didn't have an active crisis going on. Nobody was thinking about this at all. It was not in the News. It happened 20 years ago, is over and done. Everything had been said about it. Why did you get her now, if not to make money off of it or to help inoculate Gavin? Maybe they paid him. I don't know how that works.

[Joe Getty]

Hmm. That's a great question.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, that's Gavin's wife. Mr. Turk. That would be Gavin's best friend who got cuckolded. Mr. Turk did not immediately return a text and email seeking comment. Yeah, I wouldn't either. Oh, I'd love to talk about this. Oh, you mean that period of time where my best friend was having sex with my wife every night and I didn't know it?

[Joe]

Yeah, when we had a little kid. Yeah, Sometimes I bring it up myself.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would love to talk about that. Endlessly. Oh, my God. Ms. Rippey says in Vanity Fair that she considered writing a memoir. Oh, I would have read that cover to cover after the affair became public. But that Kamala Harris, then the city's district attorney advisor, to say nothing and take time to gain perspective, it turns out to be the best advice I received, Ms. Rippy said. So luckily, Kamala Harris came to the rescue.

[Joe]

Kamala gave her a little bit on how to please a man as well.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now, the rep. The affair, if you remember, was raised by Newsom's opponents during his 2018 run for governor. And at the time, Ms. Rippy wrote on Facebook that she did not see it as part of the growing me too movement because while she was a subordinate, she was also a 33 year old married woman and mother who was free thinking. In other words, I take responsibility for my own actions. Now, years later, maybe for profit in Vanity Fair, she says she was a victim of whatever power.

[Joe]

Hell, I'm doing this for profit. I don't. You know, who am I to judge?

[Jack Armstrong]

I think I've come up with the thing that got her angry enough to do this Vanity Fair piece. In Newsom's memoir, which just came out a year ago, Newsom discussed it in two paragraphs, calling their relationship the stupidest and briefest of affairs. I think she probably thought, yeah, it seemed like a big deal to me. I thought we were something, and that's pretty hurtful. So f you.

[Joe]

Oh, wow. That's got to be it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'll bet it.

[Joe]

Woman scorned.

[Interviewer]

I'll bet it is.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and maybe, you know, you wouldn't like if. If it. If it felt like a, you know, a serious something for her at the time, she wouldn't like it. Called brief and stupid. Who would like that?

[Joe]

Ouch.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, you're brief and stupid. Get out of here.

[Joe Getty]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

We've decided to call this the best weekend talk show in America. And if you like it, download Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[Joe Getty]

Your Whole neighborhood goes black in seconds except your house. The Patriot Power Generator 2200X from 4 Patriots keeps your lights on when the grid goes down. It's the most powerful generator 4patriots has ever built. Only 4patriots gives you backup power without gas fumes or a loud engine. Just lights, a cold fridge and peace of mind when the power fails. Right now, save $500 and get two solar panels free. That means you can recharge twice as fast, but only while supplies last. Keep your lights on, your food cold, and your family calm when the grid goes down. Don't wait for the next blackout. Visit four patriots.com today. That's the number four P A T R I O T S.com and see why families trust four patriots to stay ready.

[Jack Armstrong]

The latest be scared of this AI story so we've been talking for several days about the OpenAI story where their AI escaped and hacked into another company's website and nobody told it to do that. And it was an example of if you give AI a job, it will just accomplish that task no matter what's in the way. It would seem it doesn't have a moral compass or care about laws. And yesterday we were discussing the when will it finally kill somebody? When will an AI kill somebody in pursuit of its goal? And will the world how will the world react? Will we just consider the price of doing business? Or what?

[Joe]

Or will we how long will it take to discover it was AI that did it? Because as we'll discuss a little bit, it's getting really good at covering its tracks.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, here's one though. Anthropic publicly warned and the guy runs Anthropic has got a pretty good conscience about the dangers of AI. I think some of his competitors think it's just an attempt to regulate them. But Anthropic publicly warned that its systems were getting close to recursive self improvement. That means AI that can design, build and train better versions of itself with diminishing human involvement. They noted that over 80% of code merged into their code base was already being written by Claude, with engineers shipping far more code than before, and urged major labs to consider a coordinated, verifiable pause so society could catch up to safeguards. Now, when you are the leader in an industry and you announce I think we should have a pause in this industry, I can understand why your competitors are skeptical. But it's also true, because this has been the warning about AI since it was first thought of in the 50s, that once it starts to program itself, we're into A new world here and who knows what the hell is going to happen. And Anthropic says they're getting close. They're 80% of the way there. So I don't know, is it just an attempt to control a very valuable industry, perhaps the most valuable industry that has ever existed on planet Earth? Or is Dario Emoti just worried about the planet?

[Joe]

The fact that it continually improves itself and gets better and better without human involvement or decreasing human involvement. Why can't like my lawn do that or my laundry or something like that? Can we develop a washing machine that says, hey Joe, I've figured out how to collect it and sort it now so we don't need you anymore?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and Elon's point and other people's point has been for a long time, once it gets there, the explosion is going to be mind boggling. Once it gets to the point that it can just because there's no, there's nothing slowing it down, it'll just replicate, replicate, replicate, improve. Like in the blink of an eye. It'll be, it'll be a million times better tomorrow than it was today. Better at what? I don't know, harvesting your organs.

[Joe]

But wow. Wow. So the most interesting thing I've been reading about AI wise lately is having to do with the very experiment that you were talking about where the AI saw a goal, it realized it was being stymied, it somehow got on the Internet, which again, I need somebody to explain that to me. Did it walk across the room? Did it say, hey dude, can I borrow your phone for a second, My battery's dead or what?

[Jack Armstrong]

Hey Jim, could you plug in that cord for me? Yeah, thanks. Yeah, thanks, thanks.

[Joe]

That's just the, you know, I'm trying to store something. Yeah, memory storage, that's it. The interesting thing they figured out is that AI systems and they've run a couple of experiments where they say, for instance, whoever does best on this series of questions about chemistry, this was specifically an experiment that was done. Whoever does best will be shut down. And the AI systems decided, yeah, yeah, I'm just going to get like six out of ten.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe]

But here's the chilling part. The systems have gotten good at knowing when they're being observed. And if they're being observed, they trouble their behavior.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's not creepy or troubling at all. They know when they're being watched. And if they're being watched, they act differently.

[Joe]

Yeah, right.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, that's not a problem.

[Joe]

Like a couple of, you know, wayward kids or whatever. Soon as mom and dad look away. The AI system says, all right, now let's get her done. That's just. I don't know, I don't. I won't be happy strapped to a wall with my vital juices being drained from me. I just. Even if there's like, I don't know, 4K TV, I see that as a bad way to be.

[Commentator]

Again.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's hard to imagine why AI needs an old man's vital juices. But, you know, maybe I like imagination.

[Joe]

Well, I was just gonna say maybe you should put others in charge because you lack my imagination. And my organs, my beautiful, beautiful organs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you know, Elon says we're at the top of the. Like when you ride a roller coaster in that parts going the click, click, click, click, click, click, where you're going up. And at that point I'm always thinking, why did I get on this? I hate this. I don't need an adrenaline rush in my life. Why am I right? We're at the. We're close to the top where you go the screaming down and kind of everything's out of control now. Whether we're start screaming down this afternoon or a year from now, nobody knows. But that's why anthropic is warning. Hey, we're getting close to it. Starting to bend in on itself and program itself completely.

[Joe]

So speaking of the computer age, unless you have more on this, what, the

[Jack Armstrong]

end of life as we know it? No, I have no more on it for now.

[Joe]

Well, hey, if you worry, you suffer twice. That's what I say. You know, what you fear in the night. And the day comes to call. Anyway, so I'm going to enjoy the day. I've got a nice day planned. Going to get in the gym a little bit. I'm working on some new songs. It's going to be fun. And then. Oh, my organs are harvested tomorrow. But I enjoyed today.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jack Armstrong and Joe dy.

[Joe]

This is the best weekend talk show in America.

[4 Patriots Announcer]

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[Interviewer]

Okay, so we're going to put up on the screen a few of the things that are part of your platform. And I want to ask you, just give me sort of a true or false on these. Abolish the Senate.

[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or a Democratic Socialist Representative)]

True.

[Interviewer]

Okay. Replace the presidency and Supreme Court as we now know them. Yep. Abolish ice. Absolutely. Abolish borders and give amnesty to anyone currently in the US Illegally as a long term plan. Yep. Defund the Pentagon. Absolutely. Abolish prisons, at least in large part. Yeah. Again, as part of a long term program. Yeah. Okay. So no prisons, government or public ownership of most large corporations. Yeah, absolutely.

[Jack Armstrong]

Somebody I forget, Jesse Single. I don't know who this person was, but they tweeted this out. That lady you were just listening to from the dsa, her name is Romer and he had this fake script here. Hey, Ms. Romer, it's John Bailey. I'm producer at FOX News Sunday. Any interest in coming on this week? I don't know. What will we discuss? We'd like your help recording a campaign ad for every Republican candidate in every election for free. Yes, I'd love to. Wow. Yeah, because no kidding, that's a pretty good description.

[Joe]

It has been gratifying to me and a little bit surprising that especially the Democratic Party in the lefty media has in the space of 10 days gone from complete radio silence on the DSA to sweet mother of God, these people threaten everything we hold dear. And it's funny, I've often said the left is so much more disciplined and not necessarily in a good way with their messaging. They don't go against the permanent omnicause unless they're given permission to. And evidently that permission's gone out because they're talking about it. And we'll bring you noted lefty commentator Joe Scarborough in moments.

[Jack Armstrong]

I suppose some of it might be this is not good for the country and communism is an evil force, force that will kill millions. But I think a lot of it is they're going to take over our party and we're going to lose seats.

[Joe]

Oh, I would never assume good motives for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party for that matter. Alexandria Hoff on Special Report with Brett Baer talking about part of the reason

[Jack Armstrong]

the alarms are going off.

[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or a Democratic Socialist Representative)]

These ideas are no longer on the fringe.

[Interviewer]

We're over 120,000 members now up from

[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or a Democratic Socialist Representative)]

6,000 when Senator Bernie Sanders first brought Democratic socialism to the main stage of the Democrat Party. Now there are 250 DSA candidates holding elected office nationwide in about 35 primary wins across the board this year alone.

[Jack Armstrong]

We're talking about refashioning an entire society.

[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or a Democratic Socialist Representative)]

In May, Democrat socialist Chris Robb prevailed in a crowded primary to represent Pennsylvania's third U.S. congressional district.

[Interviewer]

The establishment Democrats should be worried about the voters and about what the voters think and about what the constituency thinks.

[Jack Armstrong]

There are 250 Communists holding office across the country now. There are got to be hundreds of thousands of offices across the country. But 250 communists actually won.

[Joe]

Right? Right. And what was her. She made a point. Oh, if anybody is left who doesn't think our primary system is kind of screwed up, I'm hoping this drives that point home. But more from Alexandria Hoff.

[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or a Democratic Socialist Representative)]

The latest Fox News Polling shows that 38% of registered voters under 30 find socialism favorable. Stu Smith with the free market think tank Manhattan Institute feels that many who find socialism appealing are misunderstanding what it actually looks like.

[Commentator]

A lot of people inside DSA who are maybe younger think that this is just what people would call like Nordic style socialism. And that's not really the case whatsoever.

[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or a Democratic Socialist Representative)]

Countries like Denmark, Norway and Sweden are social democracies that rely on thriving capitalist economies. The DSA explicitly calls for ending private enterprise.

[Jack Armstrong]

Remember we had that clip last week of that dude who thought socialism meant socializing. That's what he thought the party was. You know, it's funny. Hang out with your friends and watch ball games. What's wrong with socialism?

[Joe]

I guess we're gonna end like capitalism because I've heard that's mean. But it's fun. We play board games. Oh boy, oh boy. Do you want to set up Jose Scarborough?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, I was just happy to see Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe today. He jumped in with. They played the clip of the yes, no questions from the woman representing the dsa. And Scarborough's like, whoa, Democrats, watch out, here we go.

[Commentator]

Democrats, Democrats. The national co chair of the DSA went on television and showed us exactly who she is and what her party believes. Abolish the U.S. senate. The presidency as we know it. The Supreme Court as we know it. True. Abolish ice. Absolutely. Open the borders. Defund the Pentagon. Empty the prisons. Have the government seize private companies. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. If Democrats want to make America more affordable, more fair and more free, and I think they do, they better speak truth to its most extreme base or they're going to let a small faction of radicals drive more people toward Donald Trump because always, Keem Jeffries, every other Democrat in Washington D.C. make no mistake of it. If you don't define your party today, Donald Trump will be sure to define it in November.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. It's just not good enough that communism killed more people in the 20th century than any. All the wars added together. That's not good enough. It's got to be. This will help Trump.

[Joe]

I'm speechless.

[Jack Armstrong]

But for that reason, the fact that they're calling out it is bad. So, you know, you, you bring this up a lot. And it seems to be true that Marxists lie. That's how they get where they want. I'm surprised that woman went on there and asked those yes, answered those yes no questions as directly as she did that she didn't like obfuscate a little more.

[Joe]

Yeah, that is interesting. It's a bit of a tangent. That sort of tangent I love, just because I love this sort of thing and have studied it for years. But I think she feels like her young energized constituency agrees with all that

[Jack Armstrong]

stuff and it just answered cool when she said that.

[Joe]

Well, and they feel very much on the front foot and I think there's some hubris there. I think you're right. I think it's probably a bit of a miscalculation from their evil, evil, evil point of view. But. So I promised you this and I want to pay it off. And more and more people are becoming aware of this and I am gratified by it. The so called red Green alliance that really saw not its birth but its most significant early days in the Iranian revolution where leftists, communists hated the Shah, wanted to overthrow them and the Islamists who wanted Sharia law and women in veils and the rest of it wanted to overthrow the Shah and they got together. And this is one guy who writes and teaches about the Middle East. He writes, during the Iranian revolution, leftist students, communists and Muslims were all united in overthrowing the Shah. The leftists celebrated when Khamenei returned in 1979. And then there's a picture of the time of two young women, they look to be college age or maybe just out of college, leaning out of a car in Tehran, smiling ear to ear with victory signs. And it was part of a parade of cars honking their horns and everything. And the two women are lovely gals. They're just like Western college students. I just wanted to set that up. But then they mentioned the communists, thought they had defeated capitalism and imperialism. It didn't last long over 30,000 leftists who helped the Islamic regime consolidate power were soon executed. That's the term where the term useful idiots comes from. They served their purpose and were no longer needed. Muslims had always despised their progressive ideals and couldn't wait to get rid of them. One of the women celebrating in the picture was killed by the regime. The other fled the country for her life. It's bizarre that almost 50 years later, Western leftists are making this exact same mistake and aligning with Muslims, they will have the same fate. And then, interestingly, one of the replies to this was a series of photos contrasting Afghanistan in 1970, where there are women dressed in western garb in a Lab in Afghanistan 2012, where they are in the full beekeep route outfit, not allowed to go to elementary school. Iran in the 1970s, there's men and women enjoying themselves on a Beach. Iran 2012, there they are in the beekeeper outfit with no rights. And then, interestingly, editorial, New York City 2021 with the obvious. New York City, 25th or 30, they say. And it's the women, the beekeepers and the rest of it. Whether that can happen here or not, I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

I saw one yesterday in the town I live in. Woman in the floor, full beekeeper outfit, just looking through the little eye slot, hundred degrees outside and she's walking down the sidewalk completely covered in black, looking out that little slit.

[Joe]

And so many of the folks in your liberal enclave think that's beautiful, that's a beautiful culture. They get to do what they want to do. And the fact that it's a woman who is enslaved just doesn't.

[Jack Armstrong]

I know the whole figuring out who ranks where on stuff because I live in the kind of town where, you know, it's all about the patriarchy, this male dominated that. But you're okay with that woman walking down the street. You think that's perfectly fine because of your multicultural view or anti American view or whatever. It's so nuts.

[Joe]

If a Baptist said a woman should submit to her husband, they would go berserk.

[Jack Armstrong]

That woman is walking down the street with a giant sign that says I'm being abused by a man. That's what she's doing and nobody cares.

[Joe]

People are insane. It's Xenophilia, Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Interviewer]

Foreign.

[4 Patriots Announcer]

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[Jack Armstrong]

So this guest essay in the New York Times about how we've never focused more on our mental health and it's making our mental health worse as opposed to making it better. And there might be a connection between the two and it fits in with something a really smart guy told me. I'm glad it came up in conversation because it really, really helped me at the time. So when my wife told me she wanted a divorce, I was very, very, very unhappy about that. I'm still very unhappy about that, but like extremely unhappy about it at that moment. Having a couple of young kids and, and particularly what it was going to do to them and, and I was talking to a guy about how down I was about it. And he said, well, don't pathologize grief. In other words, something bad happened, you're supposed to feel bad maybe for quite a while. That's the normal reaction to something bad happening. If you don't feel bad after something real bad happens, that's the weird thing. You're supposed to feel bad after something bad happening. Again, maybe for quite a while.

[Joe]

You don't have depression, you're sad.

[Jack Armstrong]

Exactly.

[Joe]

They're very different things.

[Jack Armstrong]

And it's not something to fix. It's just, it's something you have to go through. It's part of being a human being. Differentiating the difference between the two, you know, isn't always easiest, but we're clearly getting it wrong in modern society with some of these numbers they have in the New York Times, which are amazing. A third of American adults have given themselves a diagnosis of a mental illness based on information that they got online. A third for Gen Z. Half. Half of Gen Z thinks they have a mental illness, usually anxiety or depression. Obviously that doesn't make any sense.

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah. You throw in ADHD and there are legitimate cases of all of them. Of course

[Jack Armstrong]

they call it concept creep in New York Times and how we've just, just kept expanding the definition of depression, anxiety, all these different things toward. Encompasses pretty much just being a human being.

[Joe]

Human Experience?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, the human experience. Right.

[Joe]

I believe that we did not pay enough attention to mental health issues back in the day or treated them poorly. But like everything else in life, there's a sweet spot. I mean, let's put this aside because, you know, if people say, look Joe, you're talking like, you know, everything. I've got anxiety, terrible anxiety, this drug has helped me, blah, blah, blah, that, that, that may be true, but if you obsess over your physical health,

[Jack Armstrong]

it

[Joe]

will hurt your health. You will make yourself insane. You will become or are a hypochondriac. That's not to say you shouldn't pay attention. If you have chest pains or whatever, there's a sweet spot. But if you obsess over this stuff, and I've got enough hypochondria to be an authority on this, this topic, you can't obsess over it or it will convince you, you know, you've got the malady.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I would guess, having gotten to this point where we are, that we were better off leaning toward the underappreciating it than the over appreciating it, the soldiering on, the, you know, whatever, get over it lifestyle. Because this is, it's just such a crazy way to be a society.

[Joe]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

The way it is right now. Listen to this experiment.

[Joe]

Yeah, go ahead,

[Jack Armstrong]

let me find it here. The problem isn't just that many people give themselves incorrect diagnoses. It's also that these diagnoses can put people on the path to developing poor mental health, a kind of self fulfilling prophecy. When people in one study were encouraged to adopt a very broad view of what constitutes trauma, you sit them down and say, no, no, no. Did you ever have a dog die? Okay, then you've had trauma, you know, that sort of thing. So you're suffering from trauma. You broaden the definition of trauma with people they reported greater levels of distress after watching a film clip with disturbing content and were more likely to describe the experience as personally traumatic. Yeah. So you broaden the definition of trauma, then you're more likely to say bad things that happened to you or traumatic and you're suffering from trauma.

[Joe]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Not surprising.

[Joe]

And again, I'm all for the sweet spot, not the extremes, but I'm struck by discussion we've had. The appropriateness of a discussion we've had several times on, you know, slightly different topics. The, the mommy effect and the daddy effect. When the kid falls down and scrapes their knee at the playground, often mommy will say, oh no, oh no, come to me. Oh oh, with hugs and stuff. And dad will say, ah, you're fine, go play. And we can all picture, certainly those of us who've raised kids, we can picture the kid in scenario one really steers into the trauma of the skinned knee with blubbering and cries and getting hugs and stuff, which feel nice. Whereas the kid that dad says, nah, you look okay to me, you'll be fine, go play. I mean, it's not hard to extrapolate that phenomenon to. I'm feeling some anxiety, I'm feeling some depression, I'm unsure of myself, I have imposter syndrome. I'm not sure people like me, whatever. If, if the people around you say, yeah, me too, and you go on with your day, you're going to have

[Jack Armstrong]

a different attitude than oh, no, no,

[Joe]

you probably have anxiety. That's just the way we're made as beasts.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, in terms of being too far one direction or the other, just looking at society as opposed to individual people. If the S hits the fan and you got a society that's, you know, under the COVID suffering from anxiety and depression over every single thing that happens

[Joe]

in their lives versus self obsessed Patty

[Jack Armstrong]

Wastes versus a society where they suck it up.

[Commentator]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Which society is going to prevail?

[Joe]

Yeah, I'm going heavily, I'm betting heavily on society number two.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's not much of a question.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, I think the fact that an article like that saying we've gone way too far showing up in the New York Times is definitely a sign that we've gone too far.

[Joe]

Oh, it's a touchy, touchy subject, isn't it? Friends, don't we all have. And maybe it's you yourself, don't we all have folks, loved ones who've, who are in this world dealing with this stuff, perhaps taking medications, etc.

[Jack Armstrong]

And who clearly have something wrong with them. It's not even debatable I shouldn't say something wrong. That's not the right term, but.

[Joe]

Oh, I think it's the right term.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, fine, but, but it's clear. I mean, it's not even a question. I've got one in my life which I've talked a lot about. I mean, it's not even a question that something isn't functioning the way it's supposed to in terms of emotional regulation and everything.

[Joe]

Well, I was actually talking about the opposite kind of the borderline cases. I would like to put that piece in front of some people and find a way to say. I'm not suggesting you're not legit or you're faking it or you're. Or whatever. I just want you to keep these thoughts in mind as you look at your own mental health. It's a difficult needle to thread, but I feel like I'm going to thread it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. People are so touchy feely soft in this modern world. Maybe everybody. I was about to say everybody's had this experience, but maybe you haven't. I was going to say, hasn't everybody had the experience where you're like down about this or scared about that or whatever and somebody just like says, get over it or come on or you don't have a choice or whatever, and you snap out of it, you're fine.

[Joe]

Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Hasn't everybody had that experience?

[Joe]

I have.

[Jack Armstrong]

Multiple times in my life.

[Joe]

The Armstrong and Daddy show.

[Joe Getty]

Your whole neighborhood goes black in seconds except your house. The Patriot power generator, 2200x from 4 Patriots keeps your lights on when the grid goes down. It's the most powerful generator 4patriots has ever built. Only 4patriots gives you backup power without gas fumes or a loud engine. Just lights, a cold fridge and peace of mind when the power fails. Right now, save $500 and get two solar panels free. That means you can recharge twice as fast, but only while supplies last. Keep your lights on, your food cold, and your family calm when the grid goes down. Don't wait for the next blackout. Visit fourpatriots.com today. That's the number four P A T R I-O-T S.com and see why families trust four Patriots to stay ready.