Armstrong & Getty On Demand — “Cheeseburger Emergency!”

Date: December 11, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Podcast: Armstrong & Getty On Demand (iHeartPodcasts)

Episode Overview

In this episode, “Cheeseburger Emergency!”, Jack and Joe dig into several stories making (or not making) headlines: Florida's Attorney General waging legal war over gender transition procedures, the U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker and global sanctions evasion, a New York Times exposé involving a transgender patient secretly recording surgery staff, debates about medicine and identity, and plenty of moments of levity—including a passionate ode to cheeseburgers. The show navigates serious cultural issues, mixes in personal anecdotes, and features the team’s signature irreverence and wit.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. General Manager of the Day: Florida Attorney General James Uffmyer

• Topic Introduction ([03:12]):
  • Joe names Florida's Attorney General as "general manager" of the day for writing lawsuits against hospitals over "mutilating children in experimental sex change procedures."
  • Joe Getty: "This is an enormously impactful story, and it's getting practically zero coverage." [03:21]
  • Jack and Joe preview an in-depth discussion later.

2. Secret Surgery Recording: NYT Transgender Patient Story

• Discussion ([04:01-06:02]; [36:21-40:12]):
  • Jack recounts a New York Times story about a transgender cancer patient who secretly recorded her own surgery.
  • Joe: "How often is the human body on the table the main topic of conversation? The procedure obviously is going to be discussed, but are there comments like, 'What is this tattoo?'" [05:04]
  • They consider both the ethics and awkwardness of being a medical professional recorded—whether medical staff ought to police their speech, even with patients under anesthesia.
  • Jack: "How outraged should we all be that conversation was had while this person was under anesthesia?" [05:41]
  • Joe: "Not in the least." [05:48]
  • In a later segment, Jack details specifics of what the patient overheard: staff confusion about gender, updating of medical records to 'male', and the challenges for hospitals handling trans identity versus biological sex in medical files.
    • Jack: "What is the hospital supposed to do? Certainly, from a medical standpoint...you gotta leave it 'male.'" [39:40]
    • Joe: "You're a dude, dude." [39:42]
  • They reflect on the legal and ethical gray area this creates for care providers.

3. Venezuelan Oil Tanker Seizure & Global Sanctions

• Initial Conversation ([06:08-09:52], [16:35-17:30]):
  • Jack and Joe discuss recent U.S. military action boarding a Venezuelan oil tanker.
  • Jack describes military analysis suggesting the seizures are meant to uphold international oil sanctions amid "ghost," "shadow," or "dark" fleets—freighters moving embargoed oil under false flags.
    • Jack: "There are many...giant oil tankers...everybody knows they're Iranian oil or Russian oil or China getting oil to North Korea...the world just puts up with it."
  • Joe expands: "You got an evil, violent narco state that exports crime...and one of their...revenues, oil. So, yeah, I don't think this is a coincidence..." [09:05]
  • Later recaps: News outlets differ in their coverage; ABC highlights U.S. seizure, NYT notes history of 'faked location,' Fox frames it as Venezuela accusing the U.S. of piracy. ([16:34])
  • Discussion on U.S. motivations—whether it's about Venezuela, Russia sanctions, or simply that "we've got a quarter of the world's biggest Navy sitting right there, might as well not put up with it." [16:55]

4. Cheeseburger Emergency / Food Talk

• Segment kicks off with Elon Musk quote ([10:12]):
  • Joe: "If I had to say, like, there's only one thing you could ever have for the rest of time...it would probably be a cheeseburger, because cheeseburgers are amazing."
  • Jack: "Elon Musk, ladies and gentlemen, and I agree with him 100%."
  • Extended riff on best foods and the allure of cheeseburgers ([10:29-11:05]).
  • Jack: "I don't know if I can make it through the entire four-hour show without Doordashing a cheeseburger at this point...just a matter of where." [11:51]
  • Joe analogizes: "It's not the right blood type, but it won't kill you. It's an emergency. You need blood now. You need a cheeseburger now." [12:11]
  • “Cheeseburger Emergency” becomes a running joke.

5. Pressing Headlines & Morning Roundup

• Katie Green’s News Run-Down ([15:22-21:05]):
  • Obamacare subsidies, Republicans' lack of alternative healthcare message
  • Fun interlude: Cow jokes (ground beef, "udder catastrophe") ([16:05-16:24])
  • U.S. oil tanker seizure, Fed Chair warning of overstated jobs numbers, U.S. teen use of AI chatbots, Australian teens skirting social media bans, hungover Russian soldiers, rise in average child's allowance, and a Babylon Bee satire headline.

6. Personal Development Anecdote—Resting 'Pleasant' Face

• Jack's Story ([21:08-23:11]):
  • Jack describes making a conscious effort to smile and present a pleasant expression, which "changed [his] life." Noting that others respond far more positively.
    • Jack: "It's become muscle memory. But now, anytime people come near me, I immediately go into my pleasant face...people will react better to you. They really do." [21:47]

7. Florida Lawsuits: Gender Medicine & Starbucks

• Deep Dive ([28:21-35:07]):
  • Joe gives details on Florida AG James Uffmyer’s two major lawsuits:
    • Lawsuit against Starbucks for alleged illegal race-based hiring quotas
    • Second, more under-reported lawsuit: Florida vs. major medical organizations (WPATH, American Academy of Pediatrics, Endocrine Society) over gender-affirming medical care for children
  • Joe recaps the AG’s position: groups "failed to disclose the risks, limits, and evidence" about gender medicine; “behind closed doors they knew the evidence was weak.” [James Uffmyer, 30:54-32:17]
  • Jack and Joe reframe the debate: lack of genuine medical necessity, the ethical crisis of affirming surgeries on minors.
    • Joe: "We will look back on this with horror...people will be astounded that the various authorities...allowed these experiments to take place."
  • Discussion of how American pediatric/medical organizations diverged sharply from European countries that reversed course on child sex changes after reviewing the evidence. The influence of activist groups.

8. Listener Mailbag Highlights ([43:43-47:27])

• Freedom-loving quotes (Will Durant, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Christopher Hitchens)
• Commentary on social media interactions—blocking rude people and “reading the room”
• Reminders about subscription management and quibbles about show commentary on political figures
• A running joke about Kate Moss and sibling anecdotes
• Reference to previous show’s “sluttiest mammals” segment, segueing into cultural observations

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Florida Lawsuits and Gender Medicine

  • Joe Getty: "This is an enormously impactful story, and it's getting practically zero coverage." ([03:21])
  • Florida AG James Uffmyer: "For years these groups insisted the recommendations were settled science. But behind closed doors they knew the evidence was weak. They knew the outcomes uncertain and the risks very real. Parents were not told the full story. In fact, some parents were told that if they didn't put their kids through permanent life altering...procedures like double mastectomies and castration, that their child would commit suicide." ([30:54])
  • Jack Armstrong: "None of that is new news obviously, but man, when it's laid out like that, it's just unbelievable." ([32:17])
  • Joe Getty: "We will look back on this with horror..." ([33:27])

• On the Surgery Recording Story

  • Jack Armstrong: "How outraged should we all be that that conversation was had while this person was under anesthesia?" ([05:41])
  • Joe Getty: "Not in the least." ([05:48])
  • Joe Getty: "Present as a man, a woman, an ostrich, rodeo clown, whatever you want, but medically speaking, you're a male. End of discussion." ([39:47])

• On Sanctions and Tanker Evasion

  • Jack Armstrong: "There are many...giant oil tankers...everybody knows they're Iranian oil or Russian oil or China getting oil to North Korea...the world just puts up with it." ([07:15])
  • Joe Getty: "You got an evil, violent narco state that exports crime...and one of their...revenues, oil. So, yeah, I don't think this is a coincidence..." ([09:05])

• On Cheeseburgers

  • Joe Getty (quoting Elon Musk): "If I had to say, like, there's only one thing you could ever have for the rest of time...it would probably be a cheeseburger, because cheeseburgers are amazing." ([10:12])
  • Jack Armstrong: "I don't know if I can make it through the entire four-hour show without Doordashing a cheeseburger at this point..." ([11:51])
  • Joe Getty: "It's not the right blood type, but it won't kill you. It's an emergency. You need blood now. You need a cheeseburger now." ([12:11])

• Funniest Moment

  • Cow joke riff:
    • Jack: "What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef." ([16:05])
    • Katie Green: "What do you call a cow jumping over a barbed wire fence? An utter catastrophe." ([16:24])
    • Joe: "Glorifying bovine humor." ([16:32])

• On Personal Transformation

  • Jack Armstrong: "It has changed my life. It is one of the biggest things I’ve ever done...If you can actively change that, people will react better to you. They really do." ([21:47])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:12] — Florida AG story preview
• [04:01] — NYT/Transgender patient secret recording
• [06:08] — Venezuelan oil tanker sanctions discussion
• [10:12] — “Cheeseburger emergency”/Elon Musk food riff
• [15:22] — Headlines with Katie Green (Obamacare, news roundup)
• [21:08] — Jack’s ‘pleasant face’ life hack
• [28:21] — Florida lawsuits deep dive (gender medicine and Starbucks)
• [36:21] — NYT secret surgery recording story expanded
• [43:43] — Freedom quote mailbag, fan mail, and anecdotes

Overall Tone & Style

The episode blends Armstrong & Getty’s libertarian-leaning realism, skepticism toward groupthink and “official narratives,” darkly comic takes on current events, and a healthy dash of self-deprecating humor. Even as it tackles cultural hot-buttons like gender medicine, it swings easily into personal anecdotes, fast-food cravings, and bits of jokey camaraderie.

Summary for New Listeners

“Cheeseburger Emergency!” weaves together the serious and the silly: the show investigates underreported stories like Florida’s legal offensive on gender medicine, debates ethical dilemmas from the frontline of modern medicine and identity, and takes listeners through global politics, economics, headlines, and the time-honored importance of a good cheeseburger. If you’re interested in clear-eyed commentary, sharp humor, and don’t mind a little irreverence, Armstrong & Getty serve up a lively, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud spin on the news that matters.