Bunk Or Fascinating? - Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: Bunk Or Fascinating?
Date: October 3, 2025
Host: Armstrong & Getty (with Katie)

Overview

In this "One More Thing" segment, Armstrong & Getty dive into a historical discussion inspired by a recent Substack column from Derek Thompson. Using the theme "Bunk Or Fascinating," they juxtapose two projects on American history—the 1619 Project and the less-known "1872 Project"—to discuss the origins and significance of the secret ballot in modern democracy. The hosts reflect on how this fundamental shift in voting practices radically expanded political freedom and individuality, sharing personal anecdotes and thoughts on the nature of voting and privacy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Intro: Setting the Theme

The episode kicks off with a tongue-in-cheek contrast:
- "The 1619 project was bunk. The 1872 project fascinating. It's one more thing." (05:49, Armstrong)

2. The Derek Thompson Substack List

Armstrong highlights Derek Thompson and his column, "The 25 most interesting ideas I’ve found in 2025 so far."
The list covers topics like:
- Marriage as a “luxury good”
- Alleged religious revivals among young people
- The fact that “half of Americans don’t get their news from the news” but from social media
The conversation lingers on the religious revival claim (with skepticism), and the prevalence of news via social media.
- "Half of Americans don't get their news from the news. They get their news from social media." (06:30)

3. The Secret Ballot: 1872 as a Turning Point

The hosts focus on #7 from Thompson's list: “Was 1872 the most important year for political freedom in the world?”
- Getty tries to recall what happened in 1872; Armstrong summarizes:
  - Before 1872, voting was a public, communal act, not a private one.
  - 1872: Pontifect, West Yorkshire—first modern use of the secret ballot for a parliamentary election.
  - Quickly adopted by the rest of the Western world; U.S. followed about a decade later.
- “For most of democracy's history, voting was a performative and communal act, with public declarations and even open parades. The secret ballot … is a relatively recent invention.” (07:26, paraphrasing David Bell)
- The secret ballot allowed voting to be an “expression of purely personal choice”—private, individual, and free from coercion.

4. The Social Effect and Individual Freedom

The episode highlights how secret voting transformed not only procedures but mindsets:
- Before secret ballots: “Everyone could see how everyone else voted…you’d be, like, filling it out in front of everybody.” (08:08)
- After: Voting seen as a “personal choice in accordance with an individual's deep beliefs and values” (paraphrased, 08:37)
- Voting booths furthered the sense of privacy and conscientious decision-making.
- Armstrong (reading and summarizing): “Imagine what people would say if the White House said it was banning secret ballots and forcing all voting to be public and thus open a state coercion. Imagine that. And you get a sense of why 1872 can plausibly be considered a formative moment in political freedom.” (09:17)

5. Personal Experiences with Voting

The crew share vivid stories and reactions:
- Getty remembers asking for a Republican ballot in a liberal area and feeling outed:
  - “Everybody, like, turned and looked at me. I was like, 18. I was like, okay. Wow. It was very. It was bizarre.” (09:45)
- Katie’s first presidential election was for Obama; she recalls being surprised she didn’t need her ID:
  - “I handed her my id, thinking we needed an ID to vote. Yeah, I know. I've had that experience several times. Or get up my driver's license. You don't need that. I don't. I find this troubling that I do not need my ID for this. Yes, I need it for everything. Everything I do all day long. But not this. Oh no, that would be oppressive.” (10:21)
- Armstrong jokes about being old:
  - “I voted Harding my first presidential vote. And you regret it, don't you?...I was trying to keep the women's from voting and, well. Right. Rode that wave as long as I could.” (10:40)

6. Tone and Style

The tone is relaxed, slightly irreverent, and leans into personal storytelling.
The hosts blend historical analysis with humor and approachable analogies.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

"The 1619 project was bunk. The 1872 project fascinating." (05:49, Armstrong)
"Half of Americans don't get their news from the news. They get their news from social media." (06:30, Armstrong paraphrasing Derek Thompson)
“Was 1872 the most important year for political freedom in the world?” (07:04, Armstrong reading Thompson)
"For most of democracy's history, voting was a performative and communal act, with public declarations and even open parades.” (07:26, Armstrong paraphrasing David Bell)
“Once voting became secret, it became far easier to imagine it as an expression of purely personal choice.” (08:37, Armstrong)
“Imagine what people would say if the White House said it was banning secret ballots and forcing all voting to be public... you get a sense of why 1872 can plausibly be considered a formative moment in political freedom.” (09:17, Armstrong quoting the essay)
"Everybody, like, turned and looked at me. I was like, 18. I was like, okay. Wow. It was very... It was bizarre." (09:45, Getty on requesting a Republican ballot)
“I handed her my id, thinking we needed an ID to vote.” (10:21, Katie)
“I voted Harding my first presidential vote. And you regret it, don't you? Looking back on that.” (10:40, Armstrong & Getty joking)

Important Segment Timestamps

05:49 – Segment open: contrasting 1619 and 1872 projects
06:10–06:50 – Derek Thompson's Substack and key social trends
07:04–08:37 – The birth and impact of the secret ballot
09:17–09:45 – Implications of banning the secret ballot; personal voting stories begin
10:21–10:40 – Voting anecdotes from Katie and Armstrong

Summary

This "One More Thing" episode uses humorous banter and sharp historical storytelling to spotlight the pivotal year 1872, when the secret ballot first emerged. Armstrong & Getty credit this little-known innovation with fundamentally expanding individual political freedom, drawing a line from public, communal voting to the private, conscience-driven act Americans take for granted today. The discussion weaves in Derek Thompson’s thought-provoking list, skepticism toward media trends, and the hosts’ own voting tales—making for a segment that's both educational and thoroughly entertaining for any listener, even those new to the topic.

Transcript

A (0:00)

This is an iHeart podcast. Hey, it's Bobby from the Bobby Bones Show. I had an incredible time at this year's iHeartRadio music festival and even got the chance to hang out with Diplo and Bailey Zimmerman while I was there. How did Ashes come together? Diplo I pulled up real quick. He was about to leave on tour. You're about to jump in your tour bus and we had like three hours. It was really cool. He literally just like randomly showed up to my house and I'm like, oh hey Diplo, what are you doing? He's like, I have a song that I want to show you. And I was like, okay. You can listen to the full episode out now, wherever you get your podcast. And big shout out to my friends at Hyundai for making this possible. Had a blast cruising around festival weekend in the all new Palisade hybrid. In the heat of battle, your squad relies on you. Don't let them down. 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So I came across this substack fellow by the name of Derek Thompson who's really an interesting guy and thinker and recent column of his was the 25 most interesting ideas I've found in 2025 so far. And. And it really varies widely and it's all really interesting. It includes some stuff we've talked about on the show like that marriage is rapidly becoming a high quality luxury good. Only the affluent are continuing to get married. Just statistically speaking. He talks about alleged alleged religious revivals. Talks about the fact that half of Americans don't get their news from the news. They get their news from social media. Yeah, which means they follow influencers or let the news feed wash over them. Or both. That revival thing is interesting. I've seen a lot of info on that that they're just tons that I think on CBS News the other day about tons of young people getting baptized. Like bigger numbers than they've had in decades. Yeah, this guy disputes some of it, but I didn't find his reasoning compelling. But here's the part I wanted to get to and it's funny, I'd not really been aware of this as a fan of history. On his list of the 25 most interesting ideas he came across number seven was was 1872 the most important year for political freedom in the world? Okay, let me think for just a second. What happened in 1872? Something around reconstruction? I don't know. Kind of sort of. Certainly 1872 better come with both fists flying if it wants to take on 1776. But in the essay Freedom, the author David Bell points out that for most of democracy's history, voting was a performative and communal act, with public decorations and even open parades. The secret ballot that most Americans associate with the ballot box is a relatively recent invention, at least in modern Western history. It was in 1872, the town of Pontifect in West Yorkshire, Britain, held an election for parliament that they decided should take place by secret ballot. Others deemed the experiment a success, and within decades, most of the Western world adopted this method of voting. Wow. So I did not know this. How did it work beforehand? You would, like, fill it out in front of everybody, or the powers that be would say, oh, there's Joe Getty voting for the Republicans again. Interesting. Wow. There's no secrecy. Previous elections in the west had largely involved public meetings, often highly raucous ones, in which everyone could see how everyone else voted. Such settings made it difficult to conceive of the act as anything other than an expression of communal, as opposed to individual preference. But once voting became secret, it became far easier to imagine it as an expression of purely personal choice in accordance with an individual's deep beliefs and values. Another change encouraged this shift. The development of voting booths in which closed voters could, before marking their ballots, commune solemnly with their consciences. US began to adopt the secret ballot a decade later. By World War I, the secret ballot was nearly universal in Western democracies. I thought I knew most stuff. I did not know that. I did not know that stuff. No, I didn't either. Is that funny, Katie, that I thought I knew most stuff? Most things, yes. Then he writes, imagine what people would say if the White House said it was banning secret ballots and forcing all voting to be public and thus, thus open a state coercion. Imagine that. And you get a sense of why 1872 can plausibly be considered a formative moment in political freedom. That's a pretty good one. Yeah. So, too, the first time I went to vote, I grew up, obviously, in a very liberal area. And I walked up and they had a whole stack of, you know, ballots right there. And I said. And I handed them my little thing that you had to turn in. And they said, oh, we don't have any of those. Could we get a Republican ballot, please? And everybody, like, turned and looked at me. I was like, 18. I was like, okay. Wow. It was very. It was bizarre. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. That ain't supposed to happen. I know it's not. Now. I know that's not supposed to happen. Yeah. The whole primary Thing where you have to like, say out loud which way you swing. I've always felt uncomfortable because since I was aware of voting at all, I just always assumed. Of course, it's a secret ballot. I don't have to declare what I am to you, right? Poll worker or activist or whatever. It's none of your damn business. You're young. What was your first presidential election, Katie? Obama. Obama. First one to vote in. And I also was chuckled at for handing her my id, thinking we needed an ID to vote. Yeah, I know. I've had that experience several times. Or get up my driver's license. You don't need that. I don't. I find this troubling that I do not need my ID for this. Yes, I need it for everything. Everything I do all day long. But not this. Oh no, that would be oppressive. Nice. I'm old. I voted Harding my first presidential vote. And you regret it, don't you? And I regret it. Looking back on that. There you go, Jack. You sell for the hype. I was trying to keep the women's from voting and, well. Right. Rode that wave as long as I could. Well, I guess that's it. Hey, it's Bobby from the Bobby Bones show. I had an incredible time at this year's iHeartRadio music festival and even got the chance to hang out with Diplo and Bailey Zimmerman while I was there. How did Ashes come together, Diplo? I pulled up real quick, he about to leave on tour. You're about to jump in your tour bus. And we had like three hours. It was really cool. He really just like randomly showed up to my house and I'm like, oh hey Diplo, what are you doing? He's like, I have a song that I want to show you. And I was like, okay, you can listen to the full episode out now, wherever you get your podcasts. And big shout out to my friends at Hyundai for making this possible. Had a blast cruising around festival weekend in the all new Palisade hybrid. In the heat of battle, your squad relies on you. Don't let them down. Unlock elite gaming tech@lenovo.com Dominate every match with next level speed, seamless streaming and performance that won't quit so you can push your gameplay beyond performance with Intel Core Ultra processors for the next era of gaming. Upgrade to smooth high quality streaming with Intel Wi Fi 6e and maximize game performance with enhanced overclocking. Win the tech search power up@lenovo.com looking to build before next spring. Order now with Morton Buildings and get site Prep savings by October 31st get ahead of winter weather and save big through the end of October on select projects during Morton Buildings Winter Build Sales Event. If you need a garage, a stall barn, a storage building for an rv, boat or other vehicles, a shop for your farm hobbies or car restoration projects or anything in between, take advantage of this special savings now. Morton Buildings uses quality materials and expert craftsmen with an industry leading warranty to ensure your addition is built stronger, lasts longer and looks better. We'll be working all winter long, but the building spots are limited. With offers this great, why wait? Visit MortonBuildings.com and click Get Started. Today, certain restrictions may apply. Savings offer on new building purchases by October 31, 2025. Building delivery required by April 30, 2026. Contact your local Morton office for more details. This is Justin Richmond, host of Broken Record. Lexus is a company that believes in the importance of setting a standard, which I can appreciate as someone who holds themselves to lofty, if not ridiculous standards, especially with the car I drive. 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