Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: A&G Replay Wednesday Hour Four

Date: November 26, 2025
Host: iHeartPodcasts
Featuring: Jack Armstrong, Joe Getty

Overview

This "best of" episode of Armstrong & Getty recaps hot-button issues from recent weeks, focusing on major controversies in sports and culture, the influence of social media on mental health and political beliefs, political maneuvering ahead of the 2028 presidential election, and a wild story involving espionage in Silicon Valley. Equal parts satirical, irreverent, and insightful, the hour is packed with the hosts’ signature blend of sharp wit, skepticism, and cultural critique.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Winter Olympics 2026: Upcoming Ban on Transgender Athletes

[04:03 - 07:31]

• The hosts banter about the upcoming Winter Olympics in Cortina-Milano, Italy.
• A policy shift is discussed: The International Olympic Committee is expected to ban trans women competing in women’s sports.
• Jack Armstrong: "They ain't going to do the whole trans thing this time around. ...They're all about protecting the female category. She’s new and she got elected on the idea of, I'm going to protect women's sports, which is code for, we ain't gonna let dudes participate in our women's sports." (05:32)
• Joe Getty: “Well, of course you’re not going to let men in women’s sports. Then it’s not women’s sports.” (05:45)
• Discussion on new scientific findings highlighting enduring male physical advantages, even post-hormone therapy.
• Reference to Caster Semenya and the difficulties of categorizing athletes with differences in sexual development.

2. Social Contagion and the Transgender Debate

[09:06 - 12:51]

• Discussion of the backlash faced by academics like Colin Wright for suggesting rapid-onset gender dysphoria is a social phenomenon.
• Joe Getty: “He commented two words, social contagion. Within hours, his colleagues denounced him as a transphobic bigot... Incredibly, transgender identification has fallen 50% in two years among college students and adolescents. ...It was clearly a social contagion and people who got their careers ruined for saying it wasn't.” (11:15)
• The rise and fall of transgender identification is compared to the normalization of left-handedness.

3. Antifa and Campus Speech Fights

[12:51 - 13:56]

• Armstrong reflects on missing a Turning Point event at Berkeley that turned violent outside, discussing why activists on both sides are so eager to physically confront one another.
• Joe Getty: “There is a significant group of people that believes the most lunatic rantings of activists. They believe it.” (13:20)
• The irony of "anti-fascists" acting out fascist tactics (beating people up for speaking) is highlighted.

4. 2028 Presidential Rumors: Trump, Harris & Newsom

[14:17 - 20:36]

• Trump toys with speculation about a third-term run, with Armstrong lampooning media credulity:
  Jack Armstrong: “How do you not get that this is him just getting you to dance to his tune to make you leap. MSNBC will have 10 panels all day long about this. Doesn't rule out a third term.” (15:04)
• Kamala Harris floats the possibility of another presidential run; skepticism abounds:
  Jack Armstrong: “Freaking politicians who become rich and famous sign multi gazillion dollar book deals. Don't hit me with your I'm in a life of service bull s. It makes me angry.” (16:10)
• Gavin Newsom’s carefully vague rhetoric and "hard scrabble upbringing" narrative are mocked:
  Jack Armstrong: “Now, officially, he doesn't say anything. ...he never, ever said where he is on trans sports thing.” (20:11)

5. Attitudes Toward Capitalism & Online Influences

[24:14 - 26:33]

• The panel discusses growing youth skepticism toward capitalism and a lack of financial literacy:
  • Clip played of Mark Cuban and Andrew Ross Sorkin agreeing that free housing, rent control, and government-run markets are unsustainable.
  • Joe Getty: “We have a financial literacy problem in America.” (24:39)
  • Jack Armstrong: “It's because the freaking teachers are socialists... they believe in socialism.” (25:08)
• Both left and right are susceptible to radicalization online, with the "manosphere" and extremist influencers affecting young conservatives as well.

6. Mental Health, Medication, and Social Media Trends

[26:33 - 34:12]

• Trend of antidepressants popularized by influencers (#LexaproBaddies, LexaHo, ZoloftGang) on social media discussed.
  • Many young women glamorize SSRIs; when negative effects emerge, those stories receive less attention.
  • Joe Getty: “Millennial and Gen Z influencers, some paid by telehealth companies, evangelize antidepressants on TikTok and Instagram using hashtags like Live Laugh, Lexapro, Lexapro Girly, Lexa Ho and Zoloft Gang.” (28:26)
  • SSRIs’ side effects (blunted affect, libido lowering) widely underdiscussed.

Generational Shifts in Mental Health Identity

[30:45 - 34:12]

• Stat: 73% of Boomer men say mental illness doesn't define them; 72% of Gen Z women consider mental health part of their identity.
• Joe Getty: “Both Gen Z men and women view their mental health as an important part of their identity at a rate over five times that of boomers...” (32:09)
• Hosts ponder how this cultural framing encourages medicalizing normal emotional rough patches.

7. Espionage: Sex, Spies, and Silicon Valley

[38:00 - 41:38]

• Reports that Russia and China are sending attractive young women to seduce Silicon Valley workers—sometimes marrying and having children—for espionage.
• Jack Armstrong: "That's a heck of a commitment to your country that you're gonna meet a guy, woo him, marry him, have kids with him. I mean, that's really caring about your... wow." (40:00)
• Joe Getty: Notes the shift to “whole of society” espionage using ordinary citizens, not James Bond-style operatives.

8. Academic Bias and Harvard’s Reputation

[41:38 - 45:40]

• Harvard slashes its PhD admissions due to budgets; skepticism about value of most PhDs for the workforce.
• Reports of overt left-leaning bias among university staff and administration.
• Host reads anecdotes of hypocrisy in campus event oversight.
• Joe Getty: "That's the opposite of what a university ought to be. Polar opposite." (45:27)

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “They ain't going to do the whole trans thing this time around. ...They're all about protecting the female category.” — Jack Armstrong [05:32]
• “It was clearly a social contagion and people who got their careers ruined for saying it wasn't. Good lord, were you a victim of an angry wrong mob.” — Joe Getty [11:15]
• “There is a significant group of people that believes the most lunatic rantings of activists. They believe it.” — Joe Getty [13:20]
• “How do you not get that this is him just getting you to dance to his tune... MSNBC will have 10 panels all day long about this. Doesn't rule out a third term.” — Jack Armstrong [15:04]
• “73% of boomer males essentially said, no matter what psychological challenges I face, I will not let them define me. 72% of Gen Z females said mental illness is an important part of my identity.” — Joe Getty [30:45]

Noteworthy Moments

• Joe Getty’s satirical riff on academic studies stating the obvious about gender advantage in sports. [07:06]
• Armstrong’s biting satire of politicians’ “public service” narratives. [16:10]
• Commentary on influencers paid by telehealth companies promoting antidepressants. [28:26]
• Discussion of “whole of society” espionage—ordinary tech workers as spies—underscoring new international security realities. [40:14]

Episode Structure & Flow

• [03:35] Show begins, replay hour noted
• [04:03 - 13:56] Sports, Olympics, transgender athlete policy, social contagion, campus protests
• [14:17 - 20:36] Trump/Harris/Newsom and 2028 speculation
• [24:14 - 26:33] Capitalism, rent control, online culture
• [26:33 - 34:12] Antidepressants, mental health, generational identity
• [38:00 - 41:38] Espionage scandals
• [41:38 - 45:40] Harvard, academic bias, campus politics

Takeaways

This episode weaves together cultural, scientific, and political trends, always with the hosts’ irrepressible irreverence and skepticism. Key issues include the complex fallout of sports gender policies, the risks of social media amplifying fads both benign and dangerous, and the deepening political divides shaping American discourse—both on campus and online. For fans and newcomers alike, the banter delivers both laughs and critical food for thought.