Armstrong & Getty On Demand – Replay Wednesday Hour One

Date: November 26, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty

Main Theme & Purpose

This “best of” replay episode features Armstrong & Getty’s signature blend of wide-ranging, unscripted discussions. The hour centers on technology and culture, with in-depth conversations about the current state and perils of artificial intelligence (AI), questions around DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) within institutions, aging and longevity breakthroughs, and the peculiarities of modern fitness trends. The hosts blend humor, skepticism, and a sense of impending doom, with tangents into economics and current events, all delivered in their trademark conversational, irreverent style.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Robotics & the AI Race: Are We Close?

Segment: ~04:10–11:00

• Jack and Joe riff on a viral clip of Elon Musk interacting with the Optimus robot, highlighting how underwhelming actual robot capabilities are versus public hype.

  • Jack: “Anyway, my takeaway from that video was we ain’t even close yet. ... We’re not even close to robots taking over yet. Now it’s moving pretty fast. Maybe it’ll be exponentially better in a year. … But the fact that Elon has got a trillion dollar incentive package now from Tesla and he’s focusing mostly on Optimus, the AI robot more than the electric cars. Mm. I don’t know. It seems like we’re a long way away.” (05:00)

• Discussion moves to the global AI arms race, especially the escalating competition between the US and China.

  • Quoting a Wall Street Journal article: “The escalating AI race is drawing comparisons with the Cold War and the great scientific and technological clashes that characterized it. It is likely to be at least as consequential. The AI race between us and China is going to be at least as consequential as the Cold War between us and the Soviet Union.” (06:38)

• The hosts consider whether China, by moving faster and with fewer ethical constraints, could surpass the US.

  • Joe: “Can their AI essentially crush our AI if it gets to, you know, whatever critical stage first...? Unless our AI can trump their AI, they will unleash it.” (08:28–09:13)
  • Jack: “I don’t feel like the population is taking this like the challenge that it is, the way the Cold War was.” (09:32)

• They fret about public awareness and the ethical risks of “unleashed” AI.

  • Joe (wryly): “Instead, you’ll be going about your business. One day you’ll turn around, there’s a robot behind you. You’ll think, wow, that’s weird. Then it’ll sever your head… and you won’t have suffered the fear.” (10:23)

2. Economic Stakes in AI & Tech Bubbles

Segment: ~11:00–13:48

• Jack expresses concerns about economic bubbles tied to AI investment.

  • Jack: “You know, is chip companies trading money with AI companies back and forth and investing [in] each other, and it could bust. And it doesn’t turn out to be what they said, but…”

• They note that leading figures—Elon Musk, Zuckerberg—as well as major nations, can’t all be wrong about AI’s staying power.

• Comparative forecasts: OpenAI expects major operating losses through 2028, while Anthropic aims to break even, highlighting high risks, high potential.

  • Joe: “Amazon never made any money…and obviously came to dominate the landscape in so many different ways eventually.” (13:34)

3. AI in Creative Industries: Music & Authenticity

Segment: ~13:48–16:45

• Discussion of the first AI-generated country song, “Walk My Walk” by “Breaking Rust,” hitting #1 on the digital charts according to a Save Country Music article.

• Ethical quandaries: Should AI-generated music be labeled? Would people care? Does knowing a human’s story make songs more meaningful?

  • Jack: “Do you think I’d like it more if it turns out it’s a human? Maybe...That hooks you.” (15:22)

• Joe: “This guy’s advocating any piece of music made by AI or even partially made by AI must be disclosed as such to the public. Period.” (15:45)

4. Aging, Longevity, & How to Live Well Longer

Segment: ~24:10–33:30

• Highlighting Dr. Peter Attia’s appearance on 60 Minutes, whose research shows physical (and cognitive) capacity falls off dramatically after age 75.

  • Attia: “The marginal decade’s not going anywhere…my goal is to make the marginal decade as enjoyable as possible.” (26:02)
  • Jack: “At 75, both men and women fall off a cliff at 75. … He wants to extend that out a little further. Not your lifespan, but the years that you can actually do stuff and enjoy yourself.” (24:10–25:48)

• Discussion of metrics for health and longevity: Muscle mass, cardio-respiratory fitness, and strength are better predictors than blood panels.

  • Attia: "When you look at things like cardiorespiratory fitness, when you look at muscle mass, when you look at strength, they have a much higher association than things like even cholesterol and blood pressure." (27:49)

• The importance of staying physically and mentally active, skepticism of quick fixes and longevity snake oil.

  • Joe: “He’s going to turn you into an Olympic athlete. ... How could they not help you live longer? It looked like an enormous amount of work.” (28:21)
  • Anecdote: Jack knows people who fly to foreign capitals for phony anti-aging infusions.

• Animal analogies and the link between purposeful activity and prolonged vigor.

  • Joe: "You are an animal. ... Beavers don’t have long happy retirements." (30:58)

• Honest, relatable fitness confessions:

  • Jack: “I go to the gym every single day and I feel better. I feel better now than I felt when I was 40. I’m 20 years older than that.” (31:48)
  • Joe: “I’m so damn lazy. I gotta get it.” (33:38)

5. DEI in Academia & Security: Critiques & Examples

Segment: ~37:52–45:57

• Coverage of a National Review editorial about an academic leader who opposes viewpoint diversity, equating dissent from leftist orthodoxy as “fascism.”

  • Joe: “It is absolutely stunning coming out and saying no, we don’t have intellectual diversity cuz anybody who doesn’t agree with us is a fascist.” (40:08)

• Jack notes current leftist circles conflate conservatism with evil, not simply different political philosophy:

  • “It’s flat out evil and should be given no air whatsoever. Which is nuts.” (40:18)

• RealClearPolitics report on DEI at the Secret Service, including a plus-size model kept on the payroll despite failing fitness standards.

  • Joe: “DEI is insidious. It’s a tool of Marxist takeover and it devalues every person of color or minority or woman or whatever who gets a gig because they’re suspected of being a DEI hire. ... End it everywhere now.” (45:53)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I don’t feel like the population is taking this like the challenge that it is, the way the Cold War was.” – Jack Armstrong (09:32)
• “Instead, you’ll be going about your business. One day you’ll turn around, there’s a robot behind you. You’ll think, wow, that’s weird. Then it’ll sever your head… and you won’t have suffered the fear.” – Joe Getty (10:23)
• “We will all have a final decade of life. My goal is to make the marginal decade as enjoyable as possible.” – Dr. Peter Attia via 60 Minutes (26:02)
• “DEI is insidious. It’s a tool of Marxist takeover and it devalues every person of color or minority or woman or whatever who gets a gig because they’re suspected of being a DEI hire. ... End it everywhere now.” – Joe Getty (45:53)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 04:10 – Elon Musk and the awkward state of humanoid robots; AI not as advanced as presumed
• 06:38 – The AI arms race: US vs. China, “next Cold War” analogy
• 13:48 – AI-generated country songs top the charts; authenticity in music
• 24:10 – Dr. Peter Attia on longevity, functional decline after 75, real lessons about aging well
• 37:52 – DEI and the decline of viewpoint diversity in American universities
• 41:09 – DEI and practical implications: Secret Service fitness standards, public confidence

Tone & Language

The show’s banter is irreverent, candid, and accessible, often mixing gallows humor with earnest skepticism:

• Joe: dry, sardonic (“Looking forward to having your organs harvested.”)
• Jack: practical, occasionally exasperated (“Do you think I’d like it more if it turns out it’s a human? ... That hooks you.”)
• The duo frequently reference their own routines, doubts, and aging journeys, providing a relatable and casual vibe.

Conclusion

This highly engaging “best of” Armstrong & Getty episode takes listeners through the anxieties and absurdities of the coming AI age, the ethics and economics around new technology, the looming reality of aging, and the pitfalls of institutional DEI. Their signature warmth, blunt skepticism, and humor bring depth and personality to current events—and plenty of memorable “did-they-really-say-that?” moments.

For more, visit armstrongandgetty.com.