Armstrong & Getty On Demand – “Bare Ass Jane”

Date: November 3, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jack and Joe bounce through the latest in British royal scandal, question the current value of college, dissect grade inflation at Harvard, reveal the man behind football coaches’ secret strategy books, and debate socialists’ rise in American cities. They also share their signature irreverence as they cover polling on the government shutdown, policies around food programs, and closing with wry riffs on Neanderthals and the ethics of cloning ancient humans.

Main Discussion Themes

1. Prince Andrew’s Continued Fall from Grace

[03:35–05:30]

• The duo riffs on Prince Andrew's loss of royal titles amid scandal.
• They discuss the sensationalized media headlines:
  • “Ex Prince Andrew allegedly had 40 prostitutes brought to a Thailand hotel on a five day taxpayer funded trip.” [04:17]
• Commentary on the British public’s tolerance for royal family excess.
• Sarcastic suggestions on how Andrew might support himself, “I think he’s got all sorts of weird royal guy wealth. He’s just been stripped of his titles but I’m sure they bought him off. So he doesn't like become some sort of, you know, hoe for the tabloids.” [03:57]

2. The College Shake-up and Harvard Grade Inflation

[05:30–16:34]

Palantir's "Meritocracy Fellowship": A College Alternative

• Palantir Technologies is recruiting high school grads for intensive fellowships instead of college.
  • “Alex Karp’s thesis: existing American universities are no longer reliable or necessary for training good workers.” [06:18]
• The fellows get a four-week seminar covering the foundations of Western civilization.

Critique of Modern College Value

• Joe mentions how little practical knowledge is now gained in college compared to the 1980s.
  • “I learned a lot in college in the 80s. I’ve learned much, much more after college.” [08:02]
• Criticism of soft curricula and the decline of hard knowledge:
  • “It’s all this soft, ridiculous learning theory, including radical gender theory and the rest of it crap, and very, very little hard knowledge.” [08:26]

Harvard’s Grade Inflation

• Stats: In 2005–6, 25.5% of Harvard grades were A’s; by the mid-2020s, it’s 59%. [10:51–11:00]
• Student reactions to proposed grading reforms:
  • “One college student was so distraught, she, quote, skipped classes and was just sobbing in bed the whole entire day.” [11:22]
  • Other students fear stricter grading will reduce enjoyment:
    • “I can’t reach my maximum level of enjoyment just learning the material because I’m so anxious about the midterm...” [12:40]
• Joe and Jack lampoon the “ridiculousness” of this:
  • “Show up and fog this mirror. Oh well, we didn’t need the mirror fog. Just give him an A. I mean, just continue breathing. They’ll give you an A.” [11:33]

Broader Effects

• The rise of “everyone’s a straight-A student” and negative incentives throughout education.
• “The grade inflation thing is a real problem all the way through education.” [13:27]

3. The Analytics Revolution in College Football

[22:12–26:10]

• Discussion of Michael McRoberts, a data analyst with no football playing experience, whose “Game Book” is relied on by over 100 college football coaches for analytics-based in-game decisions.
  • “His most impactful work is a compilation of football strategies... assembled into something called the Game Book.” [22:50]
• Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin: “If you really follow it, you’re gonna be much more aggressive than the old way of thinking.” [24:03]
• Jack speculates about the next frontier: “Wait till AI gets a hold of these numbers and can factor in a whole bunch of other stuff week by week.” [26:01]
• Takeaway: Football (like other areas of life) increasingly driven by data and analysis over gut instinct.

4. NYC’s Socialist Political Shift & Economics Philosophy

[30:01–33:45]

• Satirical riff on a Saturday Night Live skit about socialism in New York.
• Discussion on Zoran Mamdani and a generational political divide.
• Jack, on Mamdani’s genuine socialism:
  • “Not like socialists like we all said Barack Obama’s a socialist... This guy actually is a socialist. Like, member of the party socialist.” [30:51]
• Joe: “When [DSA] were founded, it was like, we need a bigger social safety net. Now they are empty the prisons, open the borders, abolish the police, seize the means of production... borderline Communists. Oh, and flaming anti-Semites.” [31:01]
• Listeners’ take on capitalism: “All other economic systems in quotes are actually political systems, which, of course, is true. Free market is an economic system.” [32:20]
• General concern about NYC as a “socialist experiment,” but with characteristic humor.

5. Government Shutdown: Real Impact or Media Hysteria?

[33:45–38:49]

• Discussion of polling about the government shutdown:
  • “Over half of Americans are very concerned about the government shutdown. I would put myself on a scale of 1 to 10, a zero in terms of very concerned.” [35:42]
• Both hosts question the veracity or significance of polling indicating 86% of Americans are “concerned.”
• Reflection on personal experience:
  • “It has had zero effect on my life... Maybe part of that is I’m fortunate enough to not... be on any government programs, so I wouldn’t notice the shutdown.” [34:07]
• Jack theorizes people are “media-conditioned” to worry.
• Skepticism extends to who is truly affected:
  • “Are two thirds of Americans being affected by the government shutdown? I just find that hard to believe.” [37:02]
• Joe: “When it’s over, it will go away and nobody will think about it again. Nobody’s going to the polls a year from tomorrow thinking about the government shutdown and who to blame. Nobody.” [38:19]

6. Food Subsidies & The Surplus Dilemma

[34:35–35:13]

• Jack shares an anecdote about government cheese and school food programs:
  • “Schools now provide breakfast and lunch... for every kid, whether you asked for it or not. And almost all of it goes in the trash every day. Taxpayers are paying for it.” [34:43]

7. “Bare Ass Jane”: Drunk Judge Scandal

[39:10–40:22]

• Amusing coverage of alleged incident:
  • “Drunk judge caught with her pants down. Peeing in public as cops haul away interfering husband.” [39:14]
• Hosts break down the absurdity:
  • “The problem with that is that’s poor judgment. To have your pants down in public.” [39:48]
  • “Pull up your pants, Rube. Also, should we clone the Neanderthal?” [40:13]
• Sets up for their next podcast where they’ll dig deeper.

8. Cloning Neanderthals – Science or Mad Science?

[44:48–50:45]

• Joe is especially engaged, having 99th percentile Neanderthal DNA:
  • “I, Joe Getty did my 23andMe thing... I found I was at the time in the 99th percentile of the most Neanderthal genes...” [45:29]
• New discoveries about human/Neanderthal interbreeding and the expunging of Neanderthal DNA, especially from the Y chromosome.
• Jennifer Raff, biological anthropologist:
  • “That is one of the most unethical things I can possibly think of to attempt, full stop.” [47:09]
• Ethical, biological, and practical challenges of actually trying to “resurrect” an extinct human species.
• Book recommendation:
  • “If you haven’t read the book or listened to the book Sapiens, it’s so fascinating, all of this stuff.” [50:15]
• Out-of-time—promises more on drunken judges next hour.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Show up and fog this mirror. Oh well, we didn’t need the mirror fog. Just give him an A. I mean, just continue breathing. They’ll give you an A.” — Joe Getty [11:33]
• “I killed myself all throughout high school to try to get into the school... Now rather than being killed by them.” — Quoting Harvard freshman [13:32]
• “If you really follow it, you’re gonna be much more aggressive than the old way of thinking.” — Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin on the Game Book [24:03]
• “Not like socialists like we all said Barack Obama’s a socialist... This guy actually is a socialist. Like, member of the party socialist.” — Jack Armstrong [30:51]
• “Over half of Americans are very concerned about the government shutdown. I would put myself on a scale of 1 to 10, a zero.” — Jack Armstrong [35:42]
• “Drunk judge caught with her pants down. Peeing in public as cops haul away interfering husband.” — Joe Getty [39:14]
• “That is one of the most unethical things I can possibly think of to attempt, full stop.” — Jennifer Raff on cloning Neanderthals [47:09]

Timestamped Guide to Key Segments

• [03:35] Prince Andrew & Royal Family Satire
• [05:30] Palantir vs. College—Meritocracy Fellowship
• [10:30] Harvard Grade Inflation Deep Dive
• [22:12] Football Analytics & The Game Book
• [30:01] New York City Socialist Politics & Economics
• [33:45] Government Shutdown Polling & Skepticism
• [34:35] Food Subsidies & School Lunch Anecdote
• [39:10] “Bare Ass Jane”—Drunk Judge Scandal
• [44:48] Cloning Neanderthals: Progress, Ethics, and Weirdness

Tone and Style

The episode is classic Armstrong & Getty: irreverent, rapid-fire, full of pop culture and political zingers, but with honest questions about societal values, the future of institutions like college and government, and what happens when data and technology upend everything from football to genetics.

This summary covers all the important topics and memorable moments, with clear structure and attribution, so you can follow the show’s content and flavor even if you missed the episode.