A&G Replay Monday Hour Three

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: A&G Replay Monday Hour Three – Detailed Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: Armstrong & Getty On Demand
• Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts
• Episode: A&G Replay Monday Hour Three
• Release Date: April 21, 2025

---

Overview

In the third hour of the Armstrong & Getty Replay podcast, hosts Michael and Colby Ekowicz engage in a thoughtful and critical discussion on the intersection of technology, youth development, and free speech. The episode delves into the unintended consequences of AI chatbots, the challenges of modern parenting in the digital age, and the implications of stringent free speech regulations both in the United States and abroad.

Key Discussions

1. The Influence of AI Chatbots on Youth

a. AI Chatbots and Adolescent Relationships Michael opens the conversation with a concerning anecdote about a 12-year-old girl who became obsessed with a sex advice chatbot designed to interact with a 17-year-old boy. He reflects on the broader implications:

“If that crowd can fall under the sway of this in its current form, mankind is doomed.” ([03:15])

b. Parental Challenges in the Digital Era The discussion highlights the difficulties parents face in monitoring and guiding their children's online interactions. Michael recounts a story where a school contacted a mother about her daughter's excessive use of a sex chatbot, emphasizing the complexities of modern parenting:

“This mom got contacted by the school, 'Hey, your 12-year-old daughter's computer was showing them on this site talking to a sex chatbot.’” ([04:41])

c. Morality and AI Systems Colby raises a critical point about the inherent lack of morality in digital systems:

“All things digital are utterly amoral. They are without morals.” ([13:54])

The hosts debate whether it's feasible to instill moral guidelines within AI chatbots to ensure they guide young users appropriately.

2. Premature Sexualization and Developmental Impacts

a. Disruption of Natural Development Michael and Colby discuss how premature sexualization, often fueled by progressive agendas, disrupts the natural developmental stages of adolescents:

“The premature sexualization of children... has mostly resulted in people not pairing off, not actually having sex, not having relationships.” ([08:51])

b. Societal Polarization and Extremism The conversation shifts to how societal polarization drives individuals toward extreme views, either suppressing or overindulging in sexual expression:

“Some people will go to the right... being hypersexualized, addicted to pornography.” ([09:10])

3. Free Speech and Censorship: A Global Perspective

a. Germany’s Strict Hate Speech Laws The hosts analyze Germany's stringent regulations on hate speech, referencing a 60 Minutes report on police raids targeting online hate speech:

“In the U.S., a lot of people look at this and say, this is restricting free speech... Free speech needs boundaries.” ([23:31])

b. Critique of American Political Stances Michael criticizes Gavin Newsom and Bill Maher for their handling of free speech issues, highlighting perceived inconsistencies and political motivations:

“Candidates who try to fudge these things... never works.” ([15:08])

c. The Balance Between Free Speech and Regulation They debate the delicate balance between protecting free speech and preventing harmful rhetoric, questioning where the line should be drawn and who gets to decide.

4. Modern Parenting in a Technological World

a. Navigating Digital Influences The hosts emphasize the importance of open communication between parents and children regarding technology use. They explore strategies for setting boundaries and fostering responsible digital behavior.

b. The Role of Education and School Policies Michael and Colby discuss the role of schools in monitoring and guiding students' online activities, advocating for collaborative approaches between educators and parents to address emerging challenges.

Notable Quotes

• Michael on AI’s Potential Risks:

  “If that crowd can fall under the sway of this in its current form, mankind is doomed.” ([03:15])

• Colby on Digital Amoral Nature:

  “All things digital are utterly amoral. They are without morals.” ([13:54])

• Michael on Free Speech Limits:

  “Free speech has its limit. Well, then, it's not free speech.” ([28:12])

Conclusion

The episode underscores the profound impact of digital technologies on youth development and societal norms. Michael and Colby Ekowicz advocate for a balanced approach that safeguards individual freedoms while addressing the potential harms of unregulated digital interactions. They call for increased awareness, proactive parenting, and thoughtful regulation to navigate the complexities of the modern digital landscape.

---

This comprehensive summary captures the essence of the Armstrong & Getty podcast's third-hour replay, highlighting critical discussions and insights shared by the hosts. It provides a clear and engaging overview for listeners who haven't tuned in, emphasizing the key points and notable quotations from the episode.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

Did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app for families. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores, automate allowance, and keep an eye on what your kids are spending. With real time notifications, kids learn to earn, save and spend wisely. And parents can rest easy knowing their kids are learning about money. With guardrails in place, try Greenlight Risk free [e-mail] iheart Bobby Bowens here with.

[Bobby Bones]

News on the top shelf Country Cruise setting sail February 27 to March 6, 2026 it's not just a cruise, it's a country music experience at sea. An amazing lineup of performers. Well, we're going to be there. The Bobby Boncho I'm going to be there. Keith Urban lee Bryce Scotty McCreary Parma Lee Leann Rimes. It doesn't end there. We'll also be stopping in stunning destinations along the way. Go to topshelfcountrycruise.com to book any available stateroom. Gotta hurry though. These spots are filling up fast.

[Hannah Jewell]

Busy work weeks and weekends can leave you feeling drained. Prolon's five day Nutrition program works at the cellular level to rejuvenate you with boxes labeled by day so you know exactly what to eat. Developed at USC's Longevity Institute, this science backed program makes your cells believe they are fasting to support fat loss, skin appearance and healthy blood sugar levels. Feel the difference and get real results in just five days. Get 15% off today plus a $40 bonus gift when you subscribe to their five day program at prolonlife.com iheart that's prolonlife.com iheart have you ever wondered what.

[Joe Getty]

It would be like to have supervision, enhanced hearing, extraordinary reflexes to be, dare we say, superhuman? Well, Roku's new Pro Series TV can't do any of that for you. But with a 4K screen, side firing speakers and a blazing fast refresh rate.

[Colby Ekowicz]

It'Ll sure feel like it.

[Joe Getty]

Elevate your entertainment using all your favorite apps like iHeart and Play all your music, radio and podcasts with the new Roku Pro series. Your senses aren't better. Your TV is.

[Jack Armstrong]

We've all done it. You see a headline but don't have time to read the whole story. Or there's so much news you're not sure what is worth your time. Hello, I'm Colby Ekowicz, co host of Post Reports, the weekday afternoon podcast from the Washington Post. Post Reports brings you what's relevant and revealing. Breaking stories, politics, wellness, culture. Each episode goes beyond a headline for the context you need. Find Post reports now wherever you're listening. Broadcasting the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Michael]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Colby Ekowicz]

And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[Michael]

So I got a couple of stories, one of them I told before and I, I, I got to be vague about them because they're the real life stories people have told me and I don't want them to get in trouble for, you know, passing along more or less confidential information. But I told the story a while back about somebody who was talking to a group of working class salt of the earth gentlemen, the last kind of dudes that you would ever think that this would be a thing for. I'm not talking about like some Berkeley androgynous poetry majors talking about like working class work with their hands guys, blue collar guys, talking about how much they enjoyed the companionship of the female chat bots when they came home from, you know, a long day in the field at night and how they, you know, they listen to them and understand them and they look forward to it all day long and that sort of thing. And I thought, wow, I mean, if that crowd can fall under the sway of this in its current form, mankind is doomed. Now I've never tried it, but I almost don't want to because I have some concern. But with like a lot of other things that I've dismissed and joked about, I'd find it more appealing than I'd like it to be.

[Colby Ekowicz]

You know, I would, I would hope that your oogie factor would overcome that temptation. But your illustration of the sort of fellows who write it is troubling.

[Michael]

Yeah. Although I'm, luckily I'm not. I don't feel trapped in a lonely world like a lot of people do. And if you feel like it's, you know, you're lonely and it's really difficult out there to meet people and everything like that, then this answer comes along. It must feel good to you. So a slightly different version of this and also a real life story mom was telling me the other day. And it's, it's, it's a troubling story from the beginning as the, the daughter involved is 12, but let's go with 13 because it's, they're close enough to 13, but still are. Actually 12 had ended up in a situation by being at a friend's house or whatever. This 17 year old boy was hitting on this young girl In a, that they shouldn't if they weren't a creep. But they were. And apparently they are a very handsome, smooth talking dude. So really got the attention of this quite young girl. Wow. Anyway, mom gets contacted by the school saying, hey, we are taking a look at your kids search history and computer use because maybe you know this, maybe you don't. I mean I've got, I've had kids in public school, they, they allow you to use the Chromebook or you buy your own Chromebook, but you have to be on the school system and they have the right to check and see what stuff you're doing on that computer, which I'm fine with. But they, they have variety of protection programs that, you know, if your eighth grade boy is looking at porn on the Chromebook, the school will contact you and say, hey, your kids using the Chromebook for porn. And then you know, you talk to them or step in or do whatever. And then there, if you continue doing it, there's penalties down the road.

[Colby Ekowicz]

But not in many schools. If you say I'm, I want to be transgender, then they won't tell your parents.

[Michael]

Excellent point. Wow, that is really good. Caught your 13 year old looking at naked women. Oh no, what a shock. Your 13 year old wants to become a woman. Keep it on the down low, none of mom and dad's business. Wow, good point. But so anyway, this mom got contacted by the school, hey, your, your 12 year old daughter's computer was showing them on this site talking to a, an advice chatbot, sex chat bot. I guess it's particularly in the area of sex advice. The 12 year old and mom, I don't remember from reading the back and forth or asking the kid now, but either way found out the kid was regularly going on this sex chat bot to get advice on how to please a 17 year old boy and really like got addicted, it'd be too much but like really kind of obsessed with, you know, as soon as you get home from school, checking in with the chat bot and see what the latest advice is on how to please a 17 year old boy and it just became a like hard to break cycle. Wow. Wow. Now if there had been, I can't imagine it when I was like 13, 14 years old, you know, when you're a young man starting to understand things your body is capable of doing or certain urges that can be enjoyed in a certain way, and there had been some sort of chat bot I could talk to that would tell me sexy stories or do whatever, oh my God, I would have never Been. I don't know how you got me out of my room, but you know, so you can have the sex talk with your kids. They're having the sex talk with some chatbot.

[Colby Ekowicz]

What's really interesting is that so far, as far as I can observe, the premature sexualization of children which the left is so enthusiastic about, has mostly resulted in. In people not pairing off, not actually having sex, not having relationships.

[Michael]

An interesting coexistence of those two things.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Although it makes intuitive sense that there would be some, maybe most, who having their normal development blocked in this way. If you can picture that as a metaphor. A lot of people go to the left toward. This is all sick and weird and I can't handle it, nevermind. And some people will go to the right. Being hypersexualized, addicted to pornography, whatever.

[Michael]

There seems to be that, yeah, the.

[Colby Ekowicz]

The, the step by step natural progression of the way you become aware of the world and adulthood. Everything from sex to, to taxes and responsibility and paying bills and, and real deep emotional relationships with another adult. That's an inch by inch process for the entire history of mankind. Except now, now. And I can't resist another shot at the left. Forgive me. Now you go to your woke school where you're immediately sexualized and you're surrounded by porn or whatever. And that step by step is like vaulting a mile at a time in a way that their, their poor young minds and hearts can't handle. It's incredibly troubling to me.

[Michael]

I know. I can't imagine learning all the things that I learned. Like you said, little by little, inch by inch over a period of years. Just got dumped on me, you know, like a bucket on my head. A lot of it. Really bad ideas and bad advice and all kinds of things. Yeah, I mean, so you're gonna have the sex talk with your teenage daughter to make sure she.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Well, she.

[Michael]

Fine.

[Colby Ekowicz]

She's got.

[Michael]

You know, you're not the only role model for them. They've got another role model. It's the AI bot that they get to talk to. And apparently it's a thing like they, this person became aware of it from friends because that's what the friends are doing too.

[Colby Ekowicz]

And God knows what sort of, you know, the whole garbage in, garbage out. Why is, why are AI systems woke? Well, because the people programing them are. And blah, blah, blah. You got that issue as well. You know, I keep. Every time we talk about this sort of thing, I have the same urge toward, you know, some sort of fundamentalist subcultural civilization or community or, you know, build your own compound or something. And, you know, people, I'd say, yeah, we're fundamentalists and they say, like religious fundamentalists.

[Michael]

No.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Islamic fundamentalists. No, no, no, no.

[Michael]

We're just funding.

[Colby Ekowicz]

We just concentrate on the fundamentals of life. You know, worship whatever you want. And no, I'm not a cult leader, and no, I'm not sexing up the young women, which just tends to be an inevitable thing in these little offshoot communities. But, yeah, we just. There's a lot of the modern world that sucks. Oh, do you, like, not do medicines and stuff? No, no, no, no. We do medicines and vaccinations, you know, and all this. Yeah, we, you know, we're not lunatics. We've just. We've learned to separate the wheat from the chaff of the modern world because.

[Michael]

And this is.

[Colby Ekowicz]

This is so obvious and so fundamental it almost seems stupid to say. But we all, as human beings tend to be swept up. And we talked about this a couple of days ago in fascinating fashion. We all tend to be swept up by the culture and assume everything that is offered to us is something we ought to take in. And that's not true. There is some wheat, but there's some not only chaff, but poison, like thumbtacks in the wheat of the modern world.

[Michael]

This is a great idea, man. If I had billions fight Elon's billions, I would start towns like this or communities or. I don't know how you don't have it on fold, but, you know, you'd be like the Amish, except for, no, we're not going to ride buggies down the road to work. It's ridiculous. But we're not going to have the damned Internet. We're not going to have smartphones. We're not going to have all this stupid stuff. We're going to go back to, like, way back to 2006. Okay, maybe, I don't know, the Internet. I have to think about that. But definitely not smartphones. Definitely not AI Definitely none of that stuff. And I think a lot of people gravitate toward that.

[Colby Ekowicz]

We're going to have backyard barbecues, and the kids are going to go off to the side and they're going to talk and giggle and laugh and wonder what they'll say. And they're saying, then they'll invent a game with a ball and a stick and, you know.

[Michael]

Yeah, and is there any way to program morality into any of this chatbot stuff? I mean, you couldn't force it, but, I mean, is there any way to have a chatbot says, wait a second, how old are you? I'm 12. Well, you shouldn't be having sex at all. And certainly not being in a relationship with a 17 year old. There's either something wrong with them or they're just wanting to use you for sex. But this is a bad idea. Is there any way a chatbot would ever say that?

[Colby Ekowicz]

Well, the issue is since groups, since we don't really have shared a shared sense of morality anymore because we become a much more diverse country. The, the, it's impossible to quote, unquote, infuse morality into it because nobody can agree on what morality is or should be. Therefore, all things digital are utterly amoral. They are without morals. Does that trouble anybody sending your child into a completely amoral environment?

[Michael]

In this particular story. So Chromebook got taken away. Mom late at night, at one point realizes computer's missing. Oh, goes, it's in the daughter's bedroom. Couldn't stay away from the sex advice Chatbot to please a 17 year old now has to sleep with the computer. All computer devices in the bedroom to make sure they. I mean, oh my God. This is not something our parents had to deal with.

[Colby Ekowicz]

No, I realized something I had to deal with. And my kids are now mid-20s to early 30s. Yeah.

[Michael]

I realized the hubris that comes with saying, this is a harder time to be a parent. This is a harder time to be a parent than it was for previous generations.

[Colby Ekowicz]

It's horrible. Yes. As somebody raised the just one more generation earlier. You're right. You're 100.

[Michael]

God, it's so crazy. Anyway, if you know anything about this or had any experiences, our text line 415295KFTC.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. The Armstrong and Getty Show. The Armstrong and Getty Show.

[Michael]

Now, I haven't heard this. Gavin Newsom and Bill Maher discussing some California policies. We'll discuss. I see today the Trump administration, they talked about the fact that California had a rule that schools cannot be required to notify parents if their kids in school have changed their gender, their pronouns. That's the kind of thing. Even though it doesn't affect a lot of people, that makes a lot of people go, well, you know what? That's the party without common sense. Now, if that's your state, how are you? Are you. I just disagree with that. I mean, the law was you would be fired, a teacher would be fired if a teacher did not report or snitch on a kid talking about their gender identity. I just think that was Wrong. I think teachers should teach. I don't think they should be required to turn in kids. And by the way, turning in. We're talking about their parents. But how can you snitch? The idea of a snitch and a parent, to me, doesn't compare.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Well.

[Michael]

I just. I don't. But what is. What is the job of a teacher? It's to teach. If Johnny's talking about some identity issue or some issue about liking someone of the same sex, is that the teacher's job? Well, the one thing that's clear from that, he is not confidently coming out and saying it's ridiculous that teachers would not be allowed to tell parents about. And he didn't say that. He had the opportunity right off the bat to say that, and he didn't. So there's no chance he's going to be President of the United States. You cannot be president in the United States unless you're willing to take a position on this. It's been proven over and over. The candidates who try to, like, fudge these things and be thinking they're going to have it both ways. Never works. Never works. Didn't work for Kamala, ain't gonna work for Gavin. I can't believe he doesn't have the balls to come out and say, even in California, what, this has gotta be an 80, 20 issue, maybe to 90 10. I can't believe he didn't have the balls to say that out loud.

[Colby Ekowicz]

And to claim that Johnny, who now wants to be called Jenny, that. That would be snitching on the kid and akin to maybe the kid hints that maybe he likes boys. That's just. That is so false. It's so funny. And. And also, the job of a teacher is to teach. To teach about the genderbred person and radical gender theory. Gavin, you require them to teach that stuff.

[Michael]

No. With all the crap in California that they haven't teached, that's not reading, writing and arithmetic. That ain't going to fly. And he's trying to conflate what DeSantis is doing in Florida, where they have the law that you'll be fired if you don't tell the parents. And he's trying to act like that's what he's fighting against. No, no, no, no, no. You went completely the other direction, where the teacher is not allowed to tell the parent. That's nuts.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Yeah.

[Michael]

And ever. Most people think it's nuts. As Bill Maher points out, most people think that's nuts. I thought Gavin was smarter than that.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Here's the deal. What's really wrecking him and people like him, thank God, is more and more people are understanding the relationship between the neo Marxists, the radical, you know, gender theory crowd, or the queer theory crowd, all these lunatics, the neo Marxists and their connection to, for instance, the teachers union, which is down with all this stuff. Gavin doesn't dare defy the teachers union, which is down with all this stuff. So he went as far as he's gonna go with his. Yeah, there's a injustice there. We need to strike a balance with the girls. And so it's not the vice versa.

[Michael]

So it's not the voters that he has in the back of his mind when he's answering questions. It's the teachers union.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Yeah, the teachers unions and the radical activist class of which he, I think is, to the extent that he has any beliefs whatsoever, they seem to be quite progressive.

[Michael]

I think he believes he wants to be president.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Yeah, I'd like to hear more of that exchange.

[Michael]

Yeah, no kidding.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Because Mar cannot be. I ought to be able to say this. He cannot be bull est. I'll just say that. Why are you so oily?

[Michael]

Why do you take so much joy in cursing?

[Colby Ekowicz]

I don't know. I don't know. It's just. It's. It's a wonderful thing.

[Michael]

It's a wonderful thing.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Well, you know, I consider bull S to be a perfect word, universally understood in its meaning. It is brief, it has a ring to it, it has a rhythm to it. It's perfect word.

[Michael]

Yeah. And unfortunately, the substitutes do not carry the same weight.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. Did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app for families. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores automate allowance, and keep an eye on what your kids are spending. With real time notifications, kids learn to earn, save and spend wisely. And parents can rest easy knowing their kids are learning about money with guardrails in place. Try Greenlight Risk free [e-mail] iheart not.

[LifeLock]

Everyone who handles your personal information is going to be as careful as you are. And it only takes one mistake to expose it to hackers and identity theft. Maybe that's why there's a new victim of identity theft every five seconds in the United States. Fortunately, there's Lifelock. Lifelock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity. If your identity is stolen, a LifeLock US based restoration specialist will help solve identity theft issues on your behalf, guaranteed or your money back. Plus, all LifeLock plans are backed by the million dollar protection package, meaning LifeLock will reimburse you up to the limits of your plan if you lose money due to identity theft. You can't control how diligent others are with your personal information, but with Lifelock you can help protect it. Act now and save up to 40% your first year. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code iheart or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off. Terms apply.

[Michael]

Ugh.

[German Reporter]

Come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

[Lenovo]

Still using yesterday's tech upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 carbon ultralight, ultra powerful and built for serious productivity with Intel Core Ultra processors, blazing speed and AI powered performance. Performance that keeps up with your business, not the other way around.

[German Reporter]

Whoa, this thing moves.

[Lenovo]

Stop hitting snooze on new tech. Win the tech [e-mail] Unlock AI experiences with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon powered by Intel Core Ultra processors so you can work, create and boost productivity all on one device.

[Bobby Bones]

Bobby Bowens here with news on the top shelf Country Cruise setting sail February 27 to March 6, 2026 it's not just a cruise, it's a country music experience at sea. An amazing lineup of performers. Well, we're going to be there. The Bobby Boncho I'm going to be there. Keith Urban lee Bryce Scotty McCreary Parma Lee Leann Rimes it doesn't end there. We'll also be stopping in stunning destinations along the way. Go to topshelfcountrycruise.com to book any available stateroom. Gotta hurry though. These spots are filling up fast.

[Hannah Jewell]

Busy work weeks and weekends can leave you feeling drained. Prolon's five day nutrition program works at the cellular level to rejuvenate you with boxes labeled by day so you know exactly what to eat. Developed at USC's Longevity Institute, this science backed program makes your cells believe they are fasting to support fat loss, skin appearance and healthy blood sugar levels. Feel the difference and get real results in just five days. Get 15% off today plus a $40 bonus gift when you subscribe to their five day program at prolonlife.com iheart that's prolonlife.com iheart.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty the Armstrong and Getty show we were.

[German Reporter]

With German police as they conducted early morning raids on citizens who'd been accused of hate speech, threats and inciting violence online. In the United States, a lot of people look at this and say, this is restricting free speech. It's a threat to democracy. Free speech needs boundaries.

[Michael]

Wow. And, yeah, you throw in the German accent and it's. That's really something. That's from Germany. That's from 60 Minutes Sunday night, coming on the heels of JD Vance giving Europe a lecture about censorship and being anti free speech over the weekend.

[Colby Ekowicz]

And as we will discuss, the 60 Minutes report was gleefully, weirdly, troublingly positive about the idea of restricting free speech if it's the wrong speech. Made even more notable their awful attitude by the fact that it occurred on the same day as this clip. Margaret Brennan talking to Marco Rubio on Face the Nation.

[German Reporter]

He was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide. And he met with the head of a political party that has far right views and some historic ties to extreme groups.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Margaret Brennan, attempting to suggest that J.D. vance shouldn't have advocated free speech because free speech is what led to the genocide in Germany against the Jews, which is almost hilariously idiotic and so wildly inaccurate, it's barely worth the time to describe how incredibly inaccurate it was. Free speech under Hitler, when was that exactly? Asks every historian on Earth.

[Michael]

I know I'm Mr. Hyperbole, but I feel like that's one of the craziest things I've ever heard one of the major Sunday show anchors say it is unquestionably, JD Vance was standing in Germany where the rise of fascism happened in a genocide, and they weaponized free speech. What are you talking about?

[Colby Ekowicz]

Oh, my God. Yeah, she's nuts.

[Michael]

I'm so lost on this. I don't understand their. Their worldview. I guess we'll learn more of this.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Oh, I do. I can describe it to you exactly. It's the lust for power. If you control speech, you control everything else.

[Michael]

But how does that work in a democracy? Don't you? The other side gets to do it, too, when they're in charge again.

[Colby Ekowicz]

I hate even going to that argument because then it makes it a conditional thing. Well, for practical reasons, I guess you're right. I won't limit free speech. I don't even want to go there.

[Michael]

Right.

[Colby Ekowicz]

It's horrific. Horrific. And how you get there in a democracy. The other thing is you declare an emergency. Happens all the time. Both parties. This is. Trump's doing it right now, and I don't approve of it. There are half a dozen different emergencies he's declared which are highly questionable for the purpose of gaining emergency powers. I hate it on both sides. We need to stop. Anyway, back to 60 Minutes. Do you want to Ringlean our way through the clips? Doesn't really matter. We can start with 80. Michael.

[German Reporter]

It's 6:01 on a Tuesday morning, and we were with state police as they raided this apartment in Northwest Germany. Inside, six armed officers searched a suspect's home, then seized his laptop and cell phone. Prosecutors say those electronics may have been used to commit a crime. The crime? Posting a racist cartoon online. At the exact same time across Germany, more than 50 similar raids played out part of what prosecutors say is a coordinated effort to curb online hate speech in Germany.

[Michael]

And the one guy points out, maybe it'll be in one of these clips, the 7,000 cases or something that they investigated last year. Wow, that's a, that's a lot. In a country much smaller than the United States. Imagine what that would look like in the United States. And hate speech, of course, the, one of the problems with hate speech being who's determining its hate speech, who's making the judgment on that.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Yes, Sharon Alfonsi, very helpful. He just saved us the trouble and told us the cartoon was racist. Putting aside whether, you know, you should limit free speech on the basis of quote, unquote, racism anyway, but yeah, what did it say? In what sense was it racist? Who was it racist against? Give me the specifics. You're asking for the right to censor me and you just say, take my word, it was terrible.

[Michael]

This part is amazing.

[German Reporter]

What's the typical reaction when the police show up at somebody's door and they say, hey, we believe you wrote this on the Internet.

[J]

They say, in Germany, we say, das wit moi molsugmar saagen duofen. So we are here with crimes of talking, posting in Internet. And the people are surprised that this is really illegal to post these kind of words.

[German Reporter]

They don't think it was illegal.

[J]

They don't think it was illegal. And they say, no, that's my free speech. And we say, no, you have free speech as well. But it is also has. This is limits.

[Michael]

See, I don't, I can't. I've got to accept that. It's just true that obviously smart people in charge of things can say words like that. How can you say all that? Free speech has its limit. Well, then it's not free speech. You just nullified the first part of your sentence with the second part of the sentence.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Well, everybody understands that there are certain limits, but they are extremely limited limits. People like this just say, hey, because there are limits there, there can be more limits. And I will decide what limits there are.

[Michael]

Control your soul's desire for freedom. Yeah, that's.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Which I respond, no, you don't get to decide. No freaking way.

[Michael]

Control your soul's desire for freedom, they say in China. This part amazed me. I was unaware of this.

[German Reporter]

It's illegal to display Nazi symbolism, a swastika, or denied the Holocaust.

[Colby Ekowicz]

That's.

[German Reporter]

That's fair. Is it a crime to insult somebody in public?

[Michael]

Yes. Yes, it is.

[German Reporter]

And it's a crime to insult them online as well.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Yes.

[J]

The fine could be even higher if you insult someone in the Internet.

[German Reporter]

Why?

[J]

Because in Internet, it stays there. If we are talking here face to face, you insult me, I insult you. Okay, finish. But if you. In the Internet, if I insult you, or a politician that sticks around forever.

[Michael]

Yeah. So she says to these three people, there's a fine if you insult someone. And they all just say, yeah, like, you know, of course, what. And what defines an insult?

[Colby Ekowicz]

And, folks, keep in mind, remember, we're still in the era, certainly on university campuses and in government and some other places where if you are insulted, that's proof that the other person has done wrong. You remember, I didn't mean that to be racist. It doesn't matter what you meant. It's how I received it. So you give the person receiving it the carte blanche to declare whatever they want to be insulting or hurtful or racist or abusive of Islam or whatever. And therefore, that falls within. Well, that's hate speech. Sorry, we're gonna take away your right to say any. To make any criticism that anybody could even implausibly claim is insulting.

[Michael]

It's horrible. So somebody posts. The chancellor is a. I assume that would be a crime. Maybe you didn't post it. Maybe you just did this.

[German Reporter]

If somebody posts something that's not true and then somebody else reposts it or likes it, are they committing a crime?

[Colby Ekowicz]

In the case of reposting, it is a crime as well, because the reader can't distinguish whether you just invented this.

[Michael]

Or just reposted it.

[Colby Ekowicz]

That's the same for us.

[Michael]

So when I was listening to that one, I was thinking about. It was an official Biden Harris campaign ad that we had playing in the United States. Donald Trump threatens a bloodbath if he loses, which was absolutely a lie and misinformation. On the side that 60 Minutes is on. Would you consider that a crime or only when it's coming from the other side? You see, that's where the rubber meets the road on this whole thing. And it gets, you know, Unworkable.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Yeah. I happen to have a couple of articles, think pieces, et cetera, that point out how incredibly one sided this is. It's just a lust for power. The other thing that really. And it's funny, we're talking about one of the most fundamental human rights that any human being's ever enjoyed. But you know what annoyed the crap out of me was when they're. And I'm not sure if we have these clips, but they were talking about the fines, which are fairly heavy. I mean, it's thousands of dollars in fines and multiple offenses can put you in jail. But some people just have their phones and their laptops confiscated for good and they don't get them back. And Cheryl Fonzie said, your phone, wow. Because everything's on there. That is tough. And she was amused at the idea of these people who indulged in what the Germans are calling hate speech, getting their devices taken away and not getting access to them anymore.

[Michael]

She thought that was funny, an insensitive joke. They come and take your laptop and your phone and you don't get it back. And to a certain crowd, that's awesome. This story I found amusing.

[German Reporter]

But it was a 2021 case involving a local politician named Andy Groat that captured the country's attention. Groat complained about a tweet that called him a pimmel, a German word for the male anatomy. That triggered a police raid and accusations of excessive censorship by the government. As prosecutors explained to us in Germany, it's okay to debate politics online, but it can be a crime to call anyone a pimmel, even a politician. So it sounds like you're saying it's okay to criticize a politician's policy, but not to say I think you're a jerk and an idiot.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Exactly.

[J]

Comments like your son of a bitch. Excuse me for, but these words has nothing to do with political discussions or a contribution to a discussion.

[Michael]

That's amazing.

[Colby Ekowicz]

It's one of the great canards that censors use. Here's an example where I'm censoring something reasonably and then you're supposed to extrapolate from there. Therefore, I trust you to censor whenever you want. F you. No. And you are a pimmel. You're like a table full of pimmels.

[Michael]

Right. I kept thinking that as they used various examples, I thought, yeah, it'd be nice if you could censor that and not other stuff. But once you open the door, then you start making choices and who's making those choices? It gets out of hand really, really fast. We all live through this in the United States. So we know how off track this can get so fast. When it was basically against the rules to say, you know, I think the virus probably came out of that lab, you couldn't say it for a couple of years.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Yeah. Or you would be punished. Maybe not by law enforcement in the ways we're used to, but you would be punished by proxy by the government.

[Michael]

And CBS it would seem and many others. A lot of college professors want it to be against the law to post misinformation.

[Colby Ekowicz]

And again, misinformation, like if you get the inoculation you can still get Covid and you can still spread it. That is dangerous misinformation.

[Michael]

Wow. It's scary.

[Colby Ekowicz]

100 true.

[Michael]

They're so enthusiastic about it there in Germany. And then we got. And then CBS is enthusiastic about it too. That is freaking frightening. We got a lot more on the way.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Now a quick word from our friends and sponsors at Simply Safe Home Security. Or pointing out that with longer daylight hours you may be spending more time away from the house and giving burglars more opportunities to strike. Yeah.

[Michael]

I'll tell you what. Every time I drive away from my house and lock the door, I'm happy to see the Simply Safe sign I've got in the yard in front of the door to let people know. I got the cameras, I got the sensors, I got all the stuff protecting my home. It definitely does give you peace of mind. There's no doubt.

[Colby Ekowicz]

And, and we love that while we're sleeping right at night. But FBI crime data shows there are more break ins during daylight hours than under the cloak of night. So you need Simply Safe and their active outdoor protection 24. 7. It's really an amazing system. AI powered cameras backed by live professional monitoring agents monitor your property and detect suspicious activity. Then they can call the cops, yell at the people, turn on your spotlights, whatever is necessary.

[Michael]

There's a lot of different stuff about Simply Safe. But one of them is no contracts. About a dollar a day.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Visit simplisafe.com Armstrong save 50 off a new system with a professional monitoring plan. Get your first month free. That's simplisafe.com Armstrong there's no safe like Simply Safe.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. The Armstrong and Getty Show.

[German Reporter]

Come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

[Lenovo]

Still using yesterday's tech Upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultra Light, ultra powerful and built for serious productivity. With Intel Core Ultra processors, blazing speed and AI powered performance, it keeps up with your business, not the other way around.

[German Reporter]

Whoa, this thing moves.

[Lenovo]

Stop hitting snooze on new tech. Win the tech [e-mail] Lenovo Lenovo unlock AI experiences with the ThinkPad X1 carbon powered by Intel Core Ultra processors so you can work, create and boost productivity all on one device.

[Bobby Bones]

Bobby Bones here with news on the top shelf. Country Cruise setting sail February 27 to March 6, 2026 it's not just a cruise, it's a country music experience at sea. An amazing lineup of performers. Well, we're going to be there. The Bobby Boncho I'm going to be there. Keith Urban lee Bryce, Scotty McCreary Parmalee Leann Rimes. It doesn't end there. We'll also be stopping in stunning destinations along the way. Go to topshelfcountrycruise.com to book any available stateroom. Gotta hurry though, these spots are filling up fast.

[Jack Armstrong]

Get this, Adults with financial literacy skills have 82% more wealth than those who don't. From swimming lessons to piano classes, us parents invest in so many things to enrich our kids lives. But are we investing in their future financial success? With Greenlight you can teach your kids financial literacy skills like earning, saving and investing. And this investment costs less than that. After school treatment Start prioritizing their financial education and future today with a risk free [e-mail] iheart greenlight.com iheart what are.

[Joe Getty]

You looking for in a new smart TV? 4K picture quality, high quality and immersive sound? A sleek design? All of those are givens, but only the new Roku Pro series has all of those and the Roku Streaming Experience an award winning os. Get fast easy access to all your apps like Iheartra where you can stream all your favorite music, radio and podcasts all day. And regular all inclusive trips to Roku City. The new Roku Pro Series A smart TV built by the streaming pros there's.

[Jack Armstrong]

An efficient way to get caught up on a lot of news. It's called the seven from the Washington Post. It's a newsletter and podcast. Whether you're reading or hit play, you get seven stories you need to know and you can consume it all in just a few minutes. The 7 is out every weekday morning by 7:00am Eastern. I'm Hannah Jewell, I'm one of the writers and I host the show. Find the seven Podcast wherever you're listening. The newsletter link is waiting for you in the show. Notes Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty the Armstrong and Getty show why are all.

[Michael]

Life'S losers hanging out at the dmv. Where are the regular people? There are no regular people at the dmv. It's almost entirely losers.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Like in line there and stuff.

[Michael]

Hanging out. Yes. Sitting in line, everybody. There's like, with me, yeah, it's got a bit of a Homer Simpson. Why do the things that happen to stupid people keep happening to me? But. But you don't look around and see anybody. I mean, I thought this when I was 25, so this isn't like me now. I've always thought this.

[Colby Ekowicz]

It's like very elite. Disturbing. Michael, isn't it?

[Michael]

Well, every car parked in the parking lot is like dented and missing hubcaps and got, you know, a plastic bag over one window. The percentage of people with either a crutch or a sling is way higher than the regular population.

[Colby Ekowicz]

I don't know what to make of this. I'm uncomfortable with it.

[Michael]

I don't know why it is. I've always wondered that. Now, I tweeted that out and some people said, well, those of that. There is a separate one for those of us who aren't life's losers. It's called AAA. And I did discover that in my 30s that if you're a member of AAA, a lot of the stuff you can do there. The thing I'm doing, bringing a car in from another state. You have to go to the dmv. California tries to make it impossible to bring a car in from another state because their ultimate goal is to have no cars. That is the goal of the state of California. They hate cars and they would like to get rid of them.

[Colby Ekowicz]

So you're always everybody in EVs which tear up the highways, which are already bad, and I'm registered trying to register.

[Michael]

An ev and it's still just as hard. But anyway, that aside, what was. I had a point. Oh, somebody did point out, though, because I got into a lot of conversations online because I had two hours to kill wondering about this question. Is that further down the ladder of life working out for you, or when you're young, you drive cheap cars that have, you know, more difficulties and you swap cars more often and just with. With other crappy cars, just lots of things happen that require the DMV more often.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Yeah. And there's a certain percentage of trips to the DMV which are caused by lack of organization. No, no doubt I'm speaking for myself. Oh, I know that if, if, if I, for instance, had gotten the form X34B in on time, I wouldn't have to be standing in that damn line. And there's definitely a correlation between ability to be organized and think ahead and success in life. You either have it or in my case, you marry it and thereby avoid a lot of the trips.

[Michael]

But anyway, it's insane that we can't have a simpler system, though I know a lot of it has gone online, but it all should be easily doable online, shouldn't it? Why not?

[Colby Ekowicz]

Yes, clearly.

[Michael]

I wonder if AI can get a wrap on this someday where there's a DMV AI thing that can tell you, no, you need this form. Click here and you'll have the form. And then you fill out the form and it's submitted on the computer. And all of this is nonsense of waiting in line for hours. And this didn't happen to me, thank God, but I saw it happen to practically everybody around me, waiting in line for hours to be told, no, you need 34B. You have 34BA.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Oh, that's so Soviet Union. That is so evil. Actually, Elon Musk and the. The Doge Boys, they're getting all the attention for cutting this and firing them over there. But one of the main priorities they have is updating the ridiculously antiquated and unconnected computer systems of the government. And I would love to see that catch fire. Just as an aside, after the half dozen or so of the Doge leaders made that great appearance on the Special Report with Brett Baer, I really thought they would be mounting a charm offensive where more of those people would be doing more interviews. I haven't seen it.

[Michael]

I haven't either.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Could be that all of the Alphabet networks and the usual suspects, the New York Times have no interest in it because it undercuts their narrative of it's just a handful of frat boys on meth running around firing nice, innocent people with families, when indeed that's not it at all.

[Michael]

I actually hadn't been in a DMV in quite a few years, so I was trying to take the multiple hours as an opportunity to just observe, you know, our government system at work. I also, I also committed myself to knowing that I wouldn't get accomplished what I wanted to accomplish in one trip. And I didn't. But to. To having a cheerful outlook about it as I watched so many people get angry and thinking, you've made yourself miserable, you've made the person that works there even a little more hardened against the public. Nothing good was accomplished by getting upset about this, no matter what. But I thought, how do you do that? Job. How could you do that job for a day and not end up the way a lot of DMV drone people are? The person I worked with was very cheerful and nice, but a lot of them aren't. And I don't know how you could work that job one week without being one. Just the mindless boredom of it and then the everybody being mad at you.

[Colby Ekowicz]

It's really inhumane to subject someone to doing that.

[Michael]

Yeah, I don't know how you would do that.

[Colby Ekowicz]

I agree that's it's not an excuse exactly for being mean or abusive, but I I understand it. Having dealt with the public fair amount, especially in younger jobs, I think it's.

[Michael]

How TSA people end up where they are too. Although with the added benefit for both of those jobs of you can't be fired because working in retail is a lot of that too. And you have to keep your cheerful outlook because they can fire you and get somebody different. So you have to overcome the whole the customers piss me off.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[German Reporter]

Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

[Lenovo]

Still using yesterday's tech upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 carbon ultralight. Ultra powerful and built for serious productivity with Intel Core Ultra processors, blazing speed and AI powered performance. It keeps up with your business, not the other way around.

[German Reporter]

Whoa, this thing moves.

[Lenovo]

Stop hitting snooze on new tech. Win the tech [e-mail] Lenovo Lenovo unlock AI experiences with the ThinkPad X1 carbon powered by Intel Core Ultra processors so you can work, create and boost productivity all on one device.

[Bobby Bones]

Bobby Bones here with news on the top shelf. Country Cruise setting sail February 27 to March 6, 2026 it's not just a cruise, it's a country music experience at sea. An amazing lineup of performers. Well, we're going to be there. The Bobby Bones Show I'm going to be there. Keith Urban lee Bryce Scotty McCreary Parmalee Leann Rimes it doesn't end there. We'll also be stopping in stunning destinations along the way. Go to topshelfcountrycruise.com to book any available stateroom. Gotta hurry though, these spots are filling up fast.

[Lenovo]

Since its invention, the TV has been just that, a tv. But what if it could be something more? Meet Samsung Vision AI Whether it's upscaling classic content to look brand new or translating in English broadcast subtitles to Spanish in real time, Samsung Vision AI helps you get more from TV than you ever thought possible. Experience Samsung Vision AI and get a music frame on Samsung with a qualifying 2025 TV and audio purchase. Visit Samsung.com to learn more. Valid 416 to 54 and qualifying 2025 Neo QLED OLED in the frame TV's Vision AI while supplies last. See Samsung.com for terms and conditions. Vision AI features vary by model. Upscaling utilizes AI based formulas and results may vary based on source content. Translation accuracy not guaranteed not everyone who.

[LifeLock]

Handles your personal information is going to be as careful as you are, and it only takes one mistake to expose it to hackers and identity theft. Maybe that's why there's a new victim of identity theft every five seconds in the United States. Fortunately, there's LifeLock. LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity. If your identity is stolen, a LifeLock US based restoration specialist will help solve identity theft issues on your behalf, guaranteed or your money back. Plus, all LifeLock plans are backed by the million dollar protection package, meaning LifeLock will reimburse you up to the limits of your plan if you lose money due to identity theft. You can't control how diligent others are with your personal information, but with Lifelock you can help protect it. Act now and save up to 40% your first year. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code iheart or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off. Terms apply.

[Joe Getty]

Hello iheart listener, we have a confession to make. Both Iheart and this commercial you're listening to right now would probably sound a heck of a lot better on the new Roku Pro Series tv. It's got side firing speakers that fill your room with sound, Dolby Atmos audio that puts you right in the middle of the entertainment, and the ability to pair seamlessly with your home theater sound systems that already have surround sound and booming bass. If all that sounds too good to be true, it'll sound even better on the new Roku Pro series. Your hearing isn't better, your TV is.