Fornicating With Scabby Women In The Night

Summary

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Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "Fornicating With Scabby Women In The Night"

Date: March 17, 2026
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty (plus team)

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Episode Overview

This episode weaves through current global events—primarily the Iran war and political polarization in U.S. media—before exploring themes like political addiction, American culture, and the psychological impact of constant news consumption. The show also features their trademark blend of social commentary and dry humor, including lighter moments about St. Patrick’s Day traditions, sports, and personal anecdotes.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Media Coverage and Political Bias in the Iran Conflict

[01:16 – 12:26]

• Armstrong & Getty critique mainstream media’s relentlessly negative coverage of the ongoing war with Iran. They emphasize how partisan reporting (including from The New York Times) may be shaping public perception.
• Example from the Wall Street Journal: Mark Penn and Andrew Stein argue that even Democrats are recognizing the biased framing of the news, “as if the editors took [Trump’s criticism] as a command rather than a criticism.” [03:15]
• Media accused of “rooting for America to lose,” particularly in portrayals of U.S. military actions and alliance with Israel.

  “Many seem to be going beyond that and rooting for America to lose.” – Armstrong [04:35]

• Discussion on the Synagogue attack coverage and omission of facts about the attacker’s Hezbollah ties highlights how media framing can distort events.

  “The Times headline and storyline basically conveys grieving guy takes revenge for innocent family members killed by Israel.” – Armstrong [06:01] “Comes from a family dedicated to killing Jews over the years.” – Getty [06:26]

• Broader point about the infiltration of far-left, anti-Western views into education and media.

2. Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions: Would They Really Use It?

[08:02 – 12:26]

• Analysis of presidential approaches to Iran’s nuclear program, skepticism about whether threats to prevent Iranian nukes are meaningful.
• Trump’s assertion: If Iran ever got a nuke, they would use it within 24 hours.

  “It’s not impossible… they have been stating since their inception… [it’s] worth dying for… to wipe out the state of Israel.” – Getty [08:21]

  • Hosts muse on internal Iranian debates: immediate use as religious fulfillment vs. slow leverage.

3. The Far Left, Social Justice, and ‘Woke’ Activism

[20:23 – 22:31]

• The hosts, citing Bill Maher, question the motives and efficacy of extreme social justice activism:

  “They take it just 10 subway stops too far… You’re not Rosa Parks… You’re just like trying to be this sort of social justice warrior.” – Bill Maher [21:39]

  • Armstrong adds: social justice “cosplay” is more about self-image than meaningful action.

4. Political Addiction and the Illusion of Participation

[15:48 – 32:42]

• The team examines a piece from Arthur Brooks ("Face It, You’re Addicted to Politics"), relating it to their own lives and listeners.
• Many Americans are addicted to ‘spectator politics’—constantly following outrage and “hot takes” without real civic engagement.

  “Freaking out to your Facebook followers about whatever Donald Trump said yesterday is not what Democracy in America author Alexis de Tocqueville had in mind…” – Getty [26:07]

  • Hosts liken it to “nutrition-free substitute” (empty calories), like porn for relationships.

  “It’s a perpetual motion machine because the politicians have figured out that’s where the money is.” – Armstrong [27:20]

• “Hashtag activism” is critiqued as a false sense of participation, absent actual involvement like school board meetings or voting.

  “Taking in opinions, then getting worked up about it feels like you’re participating in the democracy… you’re just getting emotionally worked up about opinions.” – Getty [28:02]

5. The Psychological Impact of Constant News Consumption

[33:15 – 35:06]

• Consuming endless political news and outrage cycles causes “ups and downs” that can dysregulate the brain's amygdala, leading to increased overreaction to negative stimuli and numbing to positive news.

  “If you have lots of ups and downs… it causes you to overreact to negative stimuli and underreact to positive.” – Getty [34:16]

• The result: greater anxiety, depression, and a sense of hopelessness.

  “A well-regulated amygdala being necessary to the security of a free brain, the right of the people to keep and bear thoughts shall not be infringed.” – Armstrong, jokingly riffing on the Second Amendment [34:46]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Our father, England, is now a degenerate drunk, rolling around in the alleyway and fornicating with scabby women in the night.” – Armstrong [20:13] (on England’s changing cultural identity)
• “Wouldn’t lots of people say they're very involved in politics because they participate in that sort of activity?” – Getty [29:27]
• “Empty calories substituting for the real thing describes everything online. Yes, whether it's Facebook friends, looking at porn or this [politics].” – Armstrong [32:05]
• [St. Patrick’s Day riff] “Celebrating by getting hammered drunk and being irresponsible is probably not a bad way to celebrate Irish heritage, as there’s been quite the history of alcoholism among my people.” – Armstrong [36:18]

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Lighter Segments & Side Conversations

Baseball & International Sports

[13:15 – 15:48]

• Guest audio: Aaron Judge (Yankees) talks about representing the USA in baseball; passion of international crowds.
• Commentary on the challenge for Team USA: strict pitch counts due to MLB contracts. “If we just turned our guys loose, our pitching staff should be incredible.” – Armstrong [15:30]

Parenting & Brain Plasticity

[16:29 – 19:00]

• Armstrong shares about playing catch and trying to throw left-handed with his son.

  “Trying to figure out why is it so easy, like, effortless to do this, but this [left] feels like impossible. Why?” – Getty [17:23]

• They discuss how the brain adapts with practice and the value of trying new things.

St. Patrick’s Day Observations

[19:21 – 20:31], [35:43 – End]

• Armstrong notes England’s new animal-themed currency and rails against the erasure of “heroes” for being too white.
• U.S. vs. Ireland: “It’s not about just getting wasted and puking green goo into the gutter like it tends to be in the US of A.” – Armstrong [20:27]
• Shamrock shakes and corned beef sandwiches celebrated in final thoughts.

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Key Timestamps

• 01:16 – Main show begins: Iran war coverage, media narratives
• 03:15 – Wall Street Journal excerpt, bipartisan media critique
• 06:26 – Synagogue attack, Hezbollah details and Times coverage
• 08:02 – Iranian nuclear ambitions in context
• 12:26 – Shift toward lighter content
• 13:15 – Aaron Judge on World Baseball Classic
• 15:48 – Arthur Brooks on addiction to political news
• 20:13 – “Fornicating With Scabby Women in the Night”: England & identity
• 21:39 – Bill Maher on social justice “cosplayers”
• 26:07 – What healthy civic engagement looks like, not just “spectator politics”
• 34:16 – Psychological toll of news turbulence: The amygdala discussion
• 35:43 – Final Thoughts: St. Patrick’s Day and the joys (and sorrows) of heritage

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Tone & Style

• Informal, candid, with the hosts’ signature blend of skepticism, satire, and wry asides.
• Willing to criticize both sides of the political spectrum and poke fun at themselves and their audience.
• Mixes serious analysis with irreverent humor, often leaving listeners with food for thought rather than answers.

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For Listeners New to the Show

Expect critical, often contrarian takes on current events, a deep skepticism of media narratives, and a push for authentic engagement with civic life. The banter between Jack Armstrong, Joe Getty, and their team keeps the conversation relatable—even when tackling complex or heavy issues.

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End of summary.

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[B]

Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my How We do it gaming team take on Gilly the King and wallow two six seven's million dollars gaming in an epic global gaming league video game showdown. Four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against Neo right [e-mail] that's globalgam gamingleague.com everybody.

[C]

Games bring incredible sound into every corner of your home with the new Whimsound smart speaker. Get high resolution Audio with a 1.8-inch touchscreen, smart control and modern design in one powerful speaker for just $299. From Quiet Mornings to lively family gatherings, Whimsound makes every moment sound better and feel better too. Create a home filled with sound you love. Ready to upgrade your sound? Shop now at Amazon and search Whimsound. That's W I I M S O U N D

[A]

broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[D]

Armstrong and Getty.

[A]

And now here's Armstrong and get. General Dan Kaine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned President Trump that Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump acknowledged the risk, but told his team that Tehran would likely capitulate before closing the street. Oh, don't worry about it, everybody.

[D]

Yeah, as I talked about, I was watching msnbc. It's been this way since the war started, but particularly today it annoyed me. That was John Stuart there from the Daily show last night. This, this theme of this war is a disaster. Everybody agrees it's a disaster. It's been disaster from the beginning. And how do we get out of this quagmire? I've even heard the people use that term quagmire. But two weeks in, how can you have a quagmire two weeks in?

[A]

I remember last week we highlighted a center left person saying, hey, with this wild partisanship over the war is awful. It's destructive. And here's another piece. This one happens to be in the Wall Street Journal by Mark Penn, advisor to Bill Clinton and Andrew Stein, who's a New York City mover and shaker politician. A center left guy on Iran is only bad news fit to print. They point out that media partisanship has been worse than ever. They say, quote Trump, we are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran militarily economically and otherwise. Yet if you read the failing New York Times, you would incorrectly think that we are not winning, he wrote Friday morning on Truth Social media. Pick up Sunday's Times, they write, and it's as if the editors took that as a command rather than a criticism. War sends more tremors through a shaken World Economy, reads a headline on the top of the front page with the speculative subhead Fallout from prolonged conflict with Iran could bring catastrophic Consequences. Among the catastrophes the article cites in Kenya, tea growers and traders worried their exports to Iran would rot on the dock. The other story above the front page fold is a critique of the Defense Secretary Hegseth's vengeful rhetoric grew from experience in Iraq. Inside the paper are six more pages of war headlines, almost all relentlessly negative. And again, these are a couple of Democrats writing just traditional Democrats. There are disdainful pieces about the secretary of state and about this central US Ally in the effort above others. More US War alliance with Israel is reshaping Mideast but as but carries risk and Netanyahu is war he always wanted but on Trump's terms. There's more economic gloom. Seized oil tankers are costing us tens of millions and Oil price surge rattles weak Pakistan economy. Then they go into some of the good things that are happening that are getting ignored completely. Like the Times, much of the news media seems determined to advance a narrative that Mr. Trump is wrong about everything and that the US is getting its clock cleaned by a powerful Iranian war machine that has successfully made the transition to new leadership. Journalists have the right and duty to report bad news, not to fall for Pollyanna reports from the government. But many seem to be going beyond that and rooting for America to lose.

[D]

100% rooting for America to lose. That is absolutely the tone. Well, really acknowledging that we've already lost. Now what do we do?

[A]

Right? But it's so bad rooting for America to lose against an enemy that is the world's biggest state sponsor of terror, that has killed thousands of unarmed protesters, that has stockpiled thousands of ballistic missiles while seeking nuclear weapons which its rulers promised to use against the US And Israel. Largely absent are even the most basic stories analyzing Iran's losses and the fate of their supposed leadership. Why? What seems to be driving coverage is reportorial partisanship and the Democrats determination to oppose this president no matter what. We'll see again how that works out for them. And then the Free Beacon doing a wonderful job talking about the New York Times drawing bipartisan condemnation for its coverage of the Attack on the synagogue in Michigan last week that critics faulted for seeming to justify the attack. Here was the headline of the print Times news article on Saturday synagogue attacker lost family members in Lebanon. Airstrike in print. The time fails to mention at all that according to the Israeli government, at least one of the family members was a Hezbollah terrorist Online.

[D]

Two brothers that were Hezbollah commanders. So you had two family members in Hezbollah.

[A]

Right. Online the Times quoted an anonymous Lebanese official who said the family members were not Hezbollah members. That may seem like a subtle detail, but it generates a totally different storyline. The Times headline and storyline basically conveys grieving guy takes revenge for innocent family members killed by Israel. Right. The other take would be more like would be murderer in Michigan was a terrorist fanatic like his brother in le.

[D]

Yeah. Comes from a family dedicated to killing Jews over the years.

[A]

The State Department's special envoy to monitor and combat anti Semitism during the Biden administration, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, wrote that the Times headline suggests that because he lost family members in Lebanon trying to kill Jewish children is sorta okay.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Finally reported that brother of terrorists was a Hezbollah terrorist. Finally days later.

[D]

Yeah, that's a problem. That is a serious problem.

[A]

It really is. There are a bunch more examples, but you get the idea. I've said, you know, many times and we'll continue to that are allowing the far, far left to infiltrate our teachers, colleges, then our elementary through grade 12 schools and our universities is the biggest problem we have in America. And I believe that because we are going to see perverse beliefs and self hatred in all sorts of aspects of our society now for years and years to come. I mean utterly unsupportable, bizarre one sided beliefs planted by the neo Marxists who want to tear down Western civilization and we let them take over our schools. Good Lord, I want to punch myself in the face right now to bring

[D]

it down to the base level again as we have several times. They've been trying to get a nuclear weapon for years and years. It wasn't just Trump who said they're not getting a nuclear weapon. Obama said they're not going to get a nuclear weapon. Biden said they're not going to get a nuclear weapon. W. Bush said it and Clinton said it. We've been saying it for a long time now. I remember many presidents saying that about North Korea. North Korea. Then they got one because we didn't actually do anything to stop it. Were we going to allow North Iran to actually end up with the nuclear weapon? I think probably if you have Kamala Harris or something. They'd keep saying don't, we will not allow Iran, but you weren't going to actually do anything to stop them from getting it. Now Trump just said he's sitting in the Oval Office with the Irish Prime Minister and they're celebrating St. Patrick's Day and talking about the war, taking questions about the war. He just said that if Iran had ever successfully gotten a nuke, they would have used it within 24 hours. I believe that's an interesting question. I don't know if they would have or not, if they would have hung onto it to use it for leverage for other things, but it's not impossible. I mean they have been stating since their inception that their biggest goal on planet Earth and it's worth dying for is to wipe out the state of Israel. So it's not impossible that they would have used it within 24 hours. Finally we got the weapon. We can destroy the entire state, Israel and everybody around it. Let's do it. That's not a crazy thought because remember

[A]

they're actual religious fanatics.

[D]

They actually believe this stuff.

[A]

It's not a pose like all of our politicians who just pose and pretend to hold their beliefs. These people have actual bone deep beliefs

[D]

for whatever reason, you know, mainstream and left leaning America believes only Christian weirdos can actually believe some of the things they say and do. Evil things, Muslims spouting it or whoever. Yeah, well they, they wouldn't do anything or it doesn't matter, I don't know what they think.

[A]

At risk of wearing it out. That's because these, the kids, the young people in particular have been brought up to believe what you just stated. Once you, if you at least try on for size, agreeing with me that this is all from the neo Marxist philosophical schools of the 20th century, blah blah, blah, you know, Michel Foucault and then the rest of them just ask yourself, like in this example, are they criticizing the Western civilization version of this and pretending that the non western versions of this are actually good? Because there's only one explanation for that. You've been trained to despise Western civilization. That's the only explanation for thinking the Baptists down the street who are against abortion are a mortal threat to you, but the fundamentalist Muslims who would murder you for what you believe are not.

[D]

It's pretty odd. That's a good question for history that we'll never know, thank God. Would they have actually used the nuke to wipe Israel off the map? They've been saying they would for, for a half a century. I mean, if they did it, it wouldn't have been crazy to think, well, they told you they were going to, so what did you think was going to happen?

[A]

I can promise you this. Your analysis before was spot on. There would be a significant segment of Iranian leadership that would say we need to use the nuke to wipe out Israel right now and fulfill Allah's will. Then there would be the other coalition that would say, no, no, no, no, we can use it to extract, you know, concessions for years and years and years to come. We can't. We can't use it yet. But that, that conversation would be had on a daily basis.

[D]

Absolutely. Be voices would be saying, we finally got it. Let's do it. Let's kill every Jew in Israel.

[A]

Earn our martyrdom.

[D]

Wow, that's an interesting one. For what do they call that? History? When you write the counterfactual or whatever, there's a name for it.

[A]

Alternative history.

[D]

Alternative history. That's an interesting one. Any thoughts that? Text line 415295 KFTC less serious stuff on the way.

[A]

Armstrong and Getty

[B]

hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my Howie Do It Gaming team take on Gilly the King and Wallow267's million dollars gaming in an epic Global Gaming League video game showdown. Four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against Neo right [e-mail] that's globalgamingleague.com everybody

[E]

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[F]

You feel like a kid again? You feel like the kid laying out your jersey before you go to your first All Star game or something like that. It's, it's just been a special moment and I think the coolest thing has been being a part of this, seeing every single guy in this room who's been the the best at their craft Just seeing how much they want to win, how much they check their egos at the door. It doesn't matter if there's MVPs, Cy Young winners, All Stars. Each guy checked their ego at the door and stepped in here and threw on the usa and, you know, they're representing our country the right way. So it's. It's been an absolute blast.

[D]

That's Aaron Judge, one of the greatest baseball players who's ever lived playing for the United States of America. He's a Yankee, and he's been talking a lot, as I've heard other players talk, about how these crowds have been greater than, like, anything they've played before in Major League Baseball. Just super passionate, super crazy passionate people rooting for the teams and people and the players playing hard. It's not like, you know, NBA All Star Game, where they're going through the motions. They're playing hard. And yesterday we thought, we're gonna face Italy again, which had been pretty exciting if that happened, since they beat us the other day. Italy got knocked off by Venezuela. So now we're gonna play Venezuela, a country that we. Joe took their leader out of there to their. You know, they're probably happy about that, but we're playing Venezuela.

[A]

Trump's gonna deliver the discombobulator right at the dugout. Right, right. Just for key moments in the game.

[D]

Don't use it on what's his name, the San Francisco Giant. You know, I don't want that to happen.

[A]

You know, I'm going to suck a little of the fun out of it. I've got to.

[D]

That's Joe's job.

[A]

Oh, that's what I always do. One of the main problems the US Coaches have is that the Major League Baseball teams who have these guys under contract, the pitchers especially, are, like, really uncomfortable with having their guys used much, I'm sure, because they've got so, so much money invested in them. And so there are very, very strict limits on pitch counts and how often they. Stuff like that. So the managers have to be looking at, like, a. A chart of, oh, we can't use Jim anymore, even though he's perfect for this situation because he threw four innings, you know, four nights ago. So they're really limited in that way, which is too bad. I mean, because if we just turned our guys loose, our pitching staff should be incredible. But. Yeah, what are you going to do?

[D]

Coming up, I got this interesting piece about people being addicted to following politics, and it's how. It's. How unhealthy it is that is a slightly different version than anything I've ever seen before. And that clearly seems to be true. And I feel like I know people. I don't feel like I'm that way. And I do that, this for a living. I don't feel addicted to following it at all. I begrudgingly follow it to be able to talk about it on the radio. I could walk away from it tomorrow following politics, I think quite easily, as opposed to being addicted to it. But I know people that seem to be. I've even said to a few people, I know you think you'd feel better if, like, maybe you didn't follow. Maybe I took a week off following. I just. I just can't. Just afraid I'll miss something.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

All right. How good that is. Speaking of sports, though, I was playing. I've been playing a lot of catch with the football with my son because the weather's been so nice and wanting to get some exercise. He's been wanting to get more exercise because he. He told me last week, he said, I got to get my act together. And one of the ways he wants to get his act together is getting more exercise. Yesterday we were eating, and he said, I have hit rock bottom.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[D]

You're 14. I hope if you have hit rock bottom, this would be good news. Yes, Katie.

[A]

Oh, that's amazing news. Yeah.

[D]

That's the best time to hit rock bottom. Yeah. If this is your rock bottom, congratulations. Your life is going to be fantastic. But we were playing catch of the football, and I was trying really hard. I've never put a tremendous amount of effort into trying to throw with my left hand. I just thought it'd be interesting to

[A]

try to do something you get injured with your right hand.

[D]

No, just to do something you don't normally do. And trying to figure out why is it so easy, like, effortless to do this, but this feels like impossible. Why?

[A]

Is it somebody else's arm?

[E]

Yes.

[D]

It's really interesting that that occurs in

[A]

our brains, neurological pathways.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Isn't that amazing?

[D]

And I wondered because, like playing musical instruments, the first time you try a new chord on a guitar or a piano, it feels like that. It feels so. Like this is impossible. And two days later, it can be completely natural. So I just wondered if that would happen with trying to throw left arm. Hit a lot of neighbors, cars that way, though.

[A]

Yeah. I'd read somewhere that, wow, the fact that you're getting it out of your yard is impressive. I'd read somewhere that it's good for your brain to do that. To do stuff with the opposite hand and rewire and blah, blah, blah. And so for a while, I was determined to do everything with the opposite hand. For a while I just forgot after. But it is an interesting feeling and you do improve really quickly. I can't tell you the number of people who've said, hey, I really would like to just play some basic guitar. Can you show me the basics? And I'll say, yeah, absolutely. And I'll, you know, try to show them a G and a D chord, maybe an E minor, maybe throw in the C if they seem really into it, which are if you know those four car chords. Folks, there's like 795 songs you can play that, you know, But a lot of people, they just find it awkward and they just quit.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Because it feels like you'll never overcome it, but you will.

[D]

Yeah. And the brain adapts so quickly, the muscle memory and all that sort of stuff. It's fascinating to me.

[A]

Oh, just push through that first 15 minutes.

[D]

Yeah. Any who you're addicted to politics. It's ruining your life. So why do you keep doing it? Among other things that we could talk about. I hope you can stick around.

[A]

If you miss it, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty.

[D]

Trump just said. He said he's talking to the Prime Minister of Ireland because it's St. Patrick's Day. Trump just said that Barack Obama did not want the bust of Winston Churchill in the Oval Office during presidency and claimed that Obama sent it back to England. I don't know. I find that hard to believe. The first part might be true. I doubt he sent it back to England, but who knows?

[A]

Oh, that reminds me. I was hoping to squeeze this in at some point. England is just another sign of their shrinking from their greatness and their loss of their cultural sense of themselves, partly as they've allowed rampant immigration. They're going to take the heroes of Britain off their currency and go with squirrels and foxes instead, put on animals. Because Churchill might be too controversial or too many of the people were white and that sort of thing.

[D]

Right.

[A]

It's just unbelievable. Our papa, our. Our father, England, is now a degenerate drunk, rolling around in the alleyway and fornicating with scabby women in the night.

[D]

Metaphorically.

[A]

Metaphorically, yes. Oh, speaking of the British Isles in that part of the world, I just wanted to mention very briefly, we were talking about St. Patrick's Day and how it is in the US versus Ireland, and we never really got beyond the opening sentence. It's a huge deal. In Ireland, absolutely. Huge deal. But it's a big cultural family bands and crowds and dancing and heritage and that sort of thing. It's, it's, it's not about just getting wasted and puking green goo into the gutter like it tends to be in the US of A. Anyway. So there's a contrast. Now on a completely different topic. We, we both have a personal interest and a professional interest, I think, in understanding the dynamics of the far left in the country. What they believe, why they believe it, how they believe it, what they really want, that sort of thing. Because unless you diagnose a problem, you can't solve it. Unless you understand people and where they're coming from, it's difficult to argue effectively against them. And Bill Maher, a traditional center lefty, is thinking and writing, talking about that very topic these days. Here's Bill.

[G]

The kind of super woke people they live to have themselves thought of as the good people, as the social justice warriors. So they're always looking for some new marginalized people to champion. And of course the very thought of it is noble. And I get it. And I'm an old school liberal, 100%, always been there, there for this. And they take it just 10 subway stops too far. Places where it's, it's just about making them feel like they're doing something. And you know what? You're not Rosa Parks. You're not anybody who's doing anything. You're just like trying to be this sort of social justice warrior.

[A]

Yeah.

[G]

And there's no war that needs to happen here. Boy scouts, girl scouts, there's no hate crime happening. Okay. It's just about the way it really is with boys and girls.

[D]

Lots of examples of that.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. It's self congratulatory. Look at me, I'm a hero. When you don't do anything really, but dress up in your caffeine, pretend to be a revolutionary, you're a cosplayer.

[D]

That kind of fits into, in a slightly different way, what I was about to talk to this piece in the Free Press, Arthur Brooks. Face it, you're addicted to politics. It's basically the idea that we've convinced ourselves that to be good citizens, particularly good people of our political tribe, we need to pay attention to everything. But it's not actually helping the country, it's just making us miserable. It doesn't strengthen democracy to pay attention to all, everything all the time. All it does is wreck your mood. I'll just read a little bit of it. I thought it was pretty interesting. Political News is ruining your mental health. What were you reading right before this article? Probably some news, most likely about the war in Iran, which is dominating coverage in ancillary topics such as the effect on the economy and markets. Along the way, you most likely encountered and felt compelled to consume some political news and opinions. This is what we do, by the way. I don't mean humdrum policy stuff, what Congress voted on today or the like. Instead, I mean horse race politics and lightning rod punditry. And this lowered your well being. That's the thing we should all think about after we take in a bunch of hot takes. And again, I'm working a little counter to the way I make my house payment here, but after we take in a bunch of hot takes, are we happier than we did or are happier at that moment? Are we less happy? How often do you consume news and you end up less happy?

[A]

It depends on the nature of it. It really does.

[D]

I think it depends on. Well, yeah, the nature of it, the kind of. The kind of source you go to. I hope that we're not that way. There is plenty of stuff out there that I feel like is that way and I tend to stay away from it because if you, if you go for more nuanced coverage, it is not as misery making.

[A]

Right.

[D]

Because it's not all, clearly this is right. Clearly that is wrong. We're headed to hell in a handbasket.

[A]

So, yeah, I. Speaking for myself, and I hope you know this comes across, I'm much more into helping people understand what's happening and the ideas behind what's happening as opposed to just quote, unquote, owning the libs and drinking their delicious tears. Now that doesn't bring me any satisfaction. I would like to convince people of the things that I think bring prosperity to this wonderful country of ours.

[D]

So following who's up, who's down, who created the latest outrage is a national obsession, says Arthur Brooks. See, that's the stuff I'm not interested in really. Who's up, who's down doesn't. I don't freaking care. It. That just does not matter to me. But apparently it does to some people. We can't get enough of monitoring. The situation is in quotes because that's the question they actually asked in a 2023 survey of American adults. About a third said they follow national politics very closely. While 62% of Americans consume news about politics and government often or extremely often, which is 30% percentage points above the next highest area of news interest.

[A]

Wow.

[D]

Why so much about politics? I remember when Nobody ever talked about it. Fine. You might say it's natural and healthy to form strong opinions about the president or his opponents and talk about them with friends. To watch political shows or listen to politics podcasts, to read or watch political punditry several times a day. This surely is evidence of a good informed citizenship, right? Actually, no. As the political scientist, I don't know how to pronounce his name. Last name, Hirsch has argued persuasively. In the age of modern communications, the obsessive consumption of political news and commentary has, for millions of people, replaced the kind of participation that characterizes healthy democratic activity. Freaking out to your Facebook followers about whatever Donald Trump said yesterday is not what Democracy in America author Alexis de Tocqueville had in mind when he wrote, a nation may establish a system of free government, but without the spirit of municipal institutions, it cannot have the spirit of liberty. Participating in municipal, municipal institutions is being involved in all kinds of different building blocks of democracy. It's not getting outraged over Facebook posts.

[A]

Right.

[D]

Or tweeting angrily at people or retweeting angry tweets.

[A]

Sure, yeah.

[D]

And Hirsch, the person who studied this, called this sort of spectatorship, a form of hobbyism, digestion of politics for emotional entertainment as opposed to actually being engaged in the process. That is so clearly true.

[A]

And it's a perpetual motion machine because the politicians have figured out that's where the money is.

[D]

Right.

[A]

So that you're not going to get a zillion dollars worth of small contributions online because you've got some really smart legislation brewing that's going to help the infrastructure place. I laughed as I was suggesting it.

[D]

Right.

[A]

That's the important stuff.

[D]

What's. What's that phrase for the one to no one hashtag activism. So that's the first time we, like, noticed it and mocked it is like people who have all the hashtag, you know, bring the girls home or hashtag repost or whatever, like you've done something. So. But we're all doing that to a certain. Well, not all of us, but a lot of us are doing that to a certain extent. That. But taking in opinions, then getting worked up about it feels like you're participating in the democracy while. While you're not attending a city council meeting or, you know, voting on a lot of different races, you're not paying attention to or whatever the heck, not actually participating in the democracy. You're just getting emotionally worked up about opinions. How do we break out of. It's. It's, you know, it's similar to a Whole bunch of the other stuff, the online stuff, it's all the same. It's the same thing as looking at porn. Kind of feels like you have a sex life. You don't.

[A]

Right. It is a nutrition free substitute for the real thing. Virtually everything online is that.

[D]

And it extends to sex, politics, all kinds of different things. Yeah, it's all the same problem. You feel like you're have a relationship with a chat bot or because you have lots of friends that you comment on every day on your Twitter feed, you've never actually met them. And it's a very surface level relationship. You retweet each other or whatever. And then the sex thing with porn, especially for guys, just all this stuff that is completely made up. And so we do the same thing with politics. We feel. I'm very political. I'm very political. I read all of the angry tweets and I retweet the most, the funniest ones. I'm very involved in politics.

[A]

A lot of people say my game is top level.

[D]

Wouldn't lots of people say they're very involved in politics because they participate in that sort of activity?

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

When you're not actually involved in politics at all.

[A]

Yeah. I think this may ultimately be a discouraging segment and I hate that. But the other problem is that the government has gotten so vast, it's involved in so many aspects of life that people, you know, you're wrong to think the government is here to solve all your problems. But I get why people think that. And so everything you do, everywhere you go, you think the government ought. I'm not, not you, you, my good friends. But a lot of people think the government ought to be involved in like everything you do all the time. And so it's natural to have that weird, incredibly shallow, you know, exchange of quote unquote ideas like we're talking about. It's just, it's ever present but never significant.

[D]

Yeah, let me hit you with this paragraph because I thought it was pretty darn interesting. If you're doing all this stuff we were talking about, particularly around politics, you are probably trapped in an abusive, parasocial relationship with politicians and political media. You're being psychologically manipulated with emotional ups and downs in a way that makes you easier to control for partisan or economic reasons. And this is probably also harming your mental health. Almost certainly.

[A]

I think we need to identify, for instance, rage baiting. If there is some gender bending teacher who's trying to pervert the minds of six year olds, I want to know about that. But how often do I want to know about it? How often do I need to know about it? I already know it. So how often do I need to click on that and watch that or retweet it or what have you?

[D]

That's a good question.

[A]

And the answer is, the answer is not never. Because, you know, for instance, to me, the infiltration of our education system is the biggest problem we solve or that we face rather. But you don't need to wallow in

[D]

it or maybe are you doing anything else? So if all I'm doing is clicking on them and getting more upset. But I still have never attended a school board meeting or done the research to look into who's running and voted or anything like that. But I click on all the stories about how bad the schools are and get really mad.

[A]

Right. I don't know how we break out empty calories. Substituting for the real thing describes everything online. Yes.

[D]

Whether it's Facebook friends looking at porn or this.

[A]

This is.

[D]

This one is probably. Well, it's worse for the country. You can't run a democracy that way. For your own, like, personal happiness, having not real relationships is not very good either. Yeah, the enough to get by thing, though the way human beings are built, it's. It's just, it's. It's the empty calories you always talk about, but it's enough nutrition. I'm not going to die.

[A]

So. I feel you're dying inside. I'm joking.

[D]

I knew you were gonna add an I'm Jo Getti to that.

[A]

Saw it coming, did you?

[D]

Yeah, well, yes, but you're dying inside. I'm just.

[A]

I'm joking. All right, let's end on the line.

[D]

We all need to break out of this, though. Let's all commit to breaking out of this.

[A]

All right, I'm in. Are you in? We're in. Hurry.

[D]

We're gonna end on the line now or when we come back.

[A]

When we come back. You brought us down so bad. I don't know if there's any getting up.

[D]

You can't handle the truth.

[A]

You're to blame.

[D]

Oh, we will finish strong.

[A]

Next, Armstrong and Getty.

[D]

So I kept reading about the psychology about people getting unhappy with the news floor or whatever it can be with a relationship. It could be you've got a up and down spouse that sometimes they're in a great mood, sometimes they're in a horrible mood and you know which to predict or whatever, or boss or whatever. And I didn't know this, but it makes sense. People that have Frequent ups and downs, especially for people prone to depression. It disregulates your amygdala.

[A]

Oh.

[D]

Part of your brain's system that regulates emotional processing in a way that biases a person to. So if you have lots of ups and downs or you engage in lots of ups and downs like you could by taking in news, it causes you to overreact to negative stimuli and under react to positive. That's just the way we're built for some reason. So if we undergo a lot of ups and downs, we start overreacting to the negative and underreacting to the positive, which defensive crouch, I guess, which obviously exacerbates the situation. So if you have any of this in your life, I don't know, dealing with a spouse or a kid or a boss. I'm trying to come up with examples, but you start. Well, yeah, you start making the bad stuff worse and the good stuff worse. You make everything worse. That's the way our brains are made. Why is that?

[A]

I don't know. We suck.

[D]

That's fascinating.

[A]

A well regulated. It flitted out of my head. Amygdala. A well regulated amygdala being necessary to the security of a free brain. The right of the people to keep and bear thoughts shall not be infringed.

[D]

That's a good one right there.

[A]

Thank you. It would have been good. It's final thoughts.

[D]

I'm strong again.

[A]

It's final thoughts. It's final thoughts.

[D]

I'm strong to get it. Get ready with Katie Green and Michael Angelo. Here's your host for final thoughts, Joe Getty.

[A]

Let's get a final thought from everybody on the crew to wrap up things for the day. Wouldn't that be delightful? Let's begin with Michelangelo, our technical director. Michael, final thought.

[D]

Oh, yeah. I'm afraid that Jack will come and run in and grab me, but I'm

[A]

gonna say it Anyway.

[D]

Jack, it's St. Patrick's Day. McDonald's has Shamrock shakes. Those are really, really good.

[F]

They are.

[D]

My son wants one before they go away. Yeah, I swore off dessert, so I can't have have one.

[A]

Mintylicious. Wow. Katie Green, who has a wacky Irish themed T shirt on your final thought. I am very much looking forward to

[D]

the corned beef sandwich in my future. Cool. Put a little horseradish on it.

[A]

Oh, come on. Hell yeah. Is right. Jack, a final thought for us, man.

[D]

I'm gonna look out for those ups and down situations in my life, see if I've got any of those. I have to think that through. I didn't know that. It exacerbates the negative and brings down the positive. Nobody wants that.

[A]

My final thought is, given the history of the Irish people, celebrating by getting hammered drunk and being irresponsible is probably not a bad way to celebrate Irish heritage, as there's been quite the history of alcoholism among my people. Does that fight anybody, though?

[D]

Is that a cultural thing or a genetic thing? Do you know?

[A]

I don't know. It probably had a lot to do with how much misery there was in Ireland for quite a long time. Could be that was their only comfort.

[D]

I think that's the reason for the Russian drinking.

[A]

Yes, agreed.

[D]

Armstrong and Getty wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.

[A]

So many people. Thanks. A little time. Go To Armstrong and getty.com Many pleasures await you there, including the hot links, Katie's Corner, the Ag Swag store. Pick up some swag.

[D]

I will be peeing green by the end of the day. Okay, see you tomorrow. God bless America. Armstrong and Getty.

[A]

I don't care about the Oscars. I mean, I truly don't. And I don't have a lot of time to watch movies. The only way I'm gonna watch a movie is if they can combine the Bob Dylan movie, Tim Chalamet's Bob Dylan movie with the ping pong. So it's Bob Dylan playing ping pong. I would watch it. What is it, 11?

[D]

Eight or eight?

[A]

11. I can never remember entire show on the podcast.

[F]

Armstrong and Giddy on demand.