Guaranteed Dance Floor Packer!

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: Episode Summary – "Guaranteed Dance Floor Packer!"

Release Date: August 13, 2025
Host: Joe Getty and Jack Armstrong
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In the episode titled "Guaranteed Dance Floor Packer!", hosts Joe Getty and Jack Armstrong delve into a variety of pressing topics, ranging from geopolitical conflicts and ideological battles to cultural phenomena and the impacts of modern technology. Alongside occasional contributions from Michaelangelo and Katie Green, the duo offers their perspectives, interspersed with advertisements and promotional segments for upcoming events.

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Geopolitical Analysis: Hamas and the Gaza Conflict (00:46 – 05:09)

The episode opens with a critical discussion on the recent Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) airstrikes in Gaza. Joe Getty highlights disturbing drone footage revealing Palestinian militants masquerading as humanitarian workers:

Joe Getty [00:46]: "Newly released drone video shows Palestinian militants pretending to be workers from the world's central kitchen..."

He underscores the severity of the situation, noting the tragic loss of civilian lives and the deceptive tactics employed by Hamas. Getty further critiques the Western liberal left’s perception, citing Eli Lake:

Joe Getty [02:22]: "To quote Eli Lake, who's a brilliant writer in the west, the politics of the Gaza war feature a strange marriage between political Islam and the 21st century Western left."

Michaelangelo interjects, seeking clarification on the alignment of interests:

Michaelangelo [05:09]: "I know you and Eli Lake are about to explain to me why, but is it just as simple as the enemy of my enemy is my friend and my enemy is me, the United States."

Getty responds by elaborating on the complex interplay between Marxism and Islamism, suggesting a temporary alliance of convenience between ideologies aimed at overthrowing Western civilization.

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The Red-Green Alliance and Critical Theory (05:09 – 16:10)

Joe Getty introduces the concept of the Red-Green alliance, describing it as a convergence between Marxist and Islamist ideologies aimed at dismantling Western societal structures. He references the influence of Michel Foucault and critical theory in academia:

Joe Getty [05:54]: "Foucault is that for the neo Marxists, for those who would overthrow Western civilization, he is a godhead to them..."

Getty critiques the academic foundations that, in his view, underpin contemporary social theories and progressive movements, arguing that they contribute to societal decay. He ties these ideas to the rise of critical theory, queering, and other radical ideologies, which he believes are eroding traditional values.

Michaelangelo adds to the conversation by connecting these ideologies to broader societal impacts, such as the proliferation of jihadi sentiments within Western institutions.

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Cultural Events and Political Commentary (16:10 – 25:03)

The conversation shifts to lighter topics with an advertisement segment promoting the Big Three basketball playoffs. This segment is followed by a discussion on Donald Trump's announcement of the Kennedy Center Honors. Joe Getty and Michaelangelo express skepticism and criticism of the awards’ traditional ties to progressive figures, highlighting Trump's selection of honorees like Sylvester Stallone and Gloria Gaynor:

Michaelangelo [16:10]: "Donald Trump laying out the list of the Kennedy Senator honors for the year... It's always been run by progressives... now Trump has taken it over."

They mock the notion of certain celebrities being "guaranteed dance floor packers," underscoring their disdain for what they perceive as elitist cultural recognition.

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Mental Health Policies and Education (23:25 – 33:43)

The hosts transition to discussing recent developments in mental health screening within educational systems. They critique Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's legislation mandating annual mental health screenings for students in grades three through twelve, expressing concerns over the potential for misdiagnosis and the influence of societal narratives on youth:

Joe Getty [24:51]: "...Illinois just signed into law mandatory annual mental health screenings for all public school children in third through 12th grades."

They reference Abigail Shrier's work, "Bad Therapy," highlighting the perceived dangers of excessive mental health interventions in schools and the risk of undermining children's self-identity through suggestive questioning.

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Happiness, Society, and Political Influence (26:22 – 30:59)

In a segment inspired by Arthur Brooks’ discussions on happiness, the hosts explore the decline of societal happiness over the past three decades. They identify four pillars of happiness—faith, family, friends, and serving others—arguing that these have been eroded by factors such as polarization, social media, and the COVID-19 pandemic:

Arthur Brooks [26:22]: "The happiest people do four things every day. They pay attention to their faith or life philosophy. They pay attention to their families. They cultivate their friendships and they try to serve other people through their work."

Joe Getty criticizes the societal shifts that Brooks outlines, attributing declines in happiness to cultural and political turmoil, and the aftermath of pandemic-related policies.

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Impact of Technology and Artificial Intelligence (38:22 – 40:37)

The discussion shifts to contemporary concerns about technology, specifically the role of artificial intelligence in cognitive decline and the potential replacement of human therapists:

Joe Getty [38:22]: "I'm a firm believer in the muscles of the intellect have to be exercised or they go slack."

Michaelangelo shares personal anecdotes about interactions with AI, expressing unease over machines offering emotional support:

Michaelangelo [41:34]: "Do I have the guts to try this driving down the road to my Tesla and say, hey, Grok, had a rough day at work..."

They debate the implications of AI's growing presence in daily life, emphasizing the importance of maintaining human cognitive and emotional faculties.

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Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks (40:35 – End)

As the episode draws to a close, the hosts engage in a humorous and speculative exchange about political scenarios, specifically referencing a hypothetical engagement between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, satirizing the blending of celebrity culture with political commentary.

Joe Getty concludes with a reflection on personal experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, lamenting the societal changes and loss of personal freedoms:

Joe Getty [33:43]: "If I had kids in public school at that point, that would absolutely have been true. But for me, in a very conservative county of California of all places, life changed very, very little..."

The episode wraps up with a blend of light-hearted banter and final promotional segments, encouraging listeners to visit their website and engage with their content.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Joe Getty [00:46]: "Those terrorists were using that as a disguise for their terror activity inside Gaza."
• Joe Getty [02:22]: "...the politics of the Gaza war feature a strange marriage between political Islam and the 21st century Western left."
• Michaelangelo [05:09]: "I like to know a lot."
• Joe Getty [26:22]: "The happiest people do four things every day..."
• Arthur Brooks [27:28]: "The happiest people do four things every day. They pay attention to their faith or life philosophy..."
• Joe Getty [33:43]: "But for me, in a very conservative county of California of all places, life changed very, very little."

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Conclusion

In "Guaranteed Dance Floor Packer!", Armstrong & Getty navigate through a spectrum of contemporary issues with their characteristic blend of critique and commentary. From dissecting geopolitical tensions and ideological shifts to pondering the role of technology in human cognition, the episode offers listeners a comprehensive look at the forces shaping modern society. The hosts' passionate discussions, punctuated by sharp insights and memorable quotes, provide a thought-provoking experience for those seeking to understand the complexities of today's world.

Transcript

[Joe Getty]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Jack Armstrong]

IHeart presents the big three playoffs this Sunday. The remaining four teams battle to make the championship in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts with the big three Monster Energy celebrity game. Then Dwight Howard and his LA Riot take on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J Chicago triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with stars MVP Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas power who will make it to the Big Three championship. The no holds barred action starts Sunday at 3P Eastern, 12 Pacific only on CBS.

[Joe Getty]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center.

[Katie Green]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

And now here's Armstrong and Getty. Newly released drone video shows Palestinian militants pretending to be workers from the world's central kitchen. They travel in two cars, one marked with the flag of the humanitarian organization before they're hit by IDF airstrikes. WCK in real time were able to verify that vehicle was not connected to the organization in any way, which means those terrorists were using that as a disguise for their terror activity inside Gaza. Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple areas of the enclave over the past 24 hours, killing dozens of Palestinian civilians. Okay, so in spite of that, it's absolutely documented, undeniable that Hamas guys were masquerading as food relief guys. NPR considers it completely impossible that they would impersonate journalists. Or at least that's what they're saying in essence. And. And those views are supported practically to a person by the American left and a lot of the left in. In a lot of the Western world. What the hell is going on? To quote Eli Lake, who's a brilliant writer in the west, the politics of the Gaza war feature a strange marriage between political Islam and the 21st century Western left. For instance, the Democratic socialists of America. This is Mamdani's crew. Simultaneously support making New York a national hub for transgender medicine and want to globalize the Intifada.

[Michaelangelo]

Yeah, that's. That is a good point.

[Joe Getty]

It supports the bleeding edge of social progressive values while throwing its full support behind the fanatic fascists who filmed their mass murder of Jews and proudly posted the videos to Telegram and Lake in an absolutely fabulous piece that will post. I think he might get paywalled, but maybe not. Talks about how the. What's called the Red Green alliance among people who think about this sort of thing, how it came up and it.

[Michaelangelo]

Really came up in yes, red and who's green here?

[Joe Getty]

Reds is in Communists and green, the color of Hamas and radical Islam in various. Thank you for asking for the clarification to hit for the room. Anyway, a lot of this arose during Iran's Islamic Revolution, 1978 and 79. And he goes into. And it's so interesting, the details of how Ayatollah Khomeini, who is in exile in France, started giving all sorts of really carefully controlled interviews to American and European media outlets and how they were on this PR campaign to convince the west that he's a reasonable fellow. In fact, he's really for democracy. And Lake is writing. Anybody who spent 10 minutes looking into Khomeini knew that he was a hardcore Islamist monster. You didn't even have to try to figure it out. But the left of American journalism and Western journalism and some folks, like in the Carter administration, became completely convinced and, and, and touted in the face of all of this that, no, he was actually a really good guy. Richard Falk, a Princeton professor of international law who met with Khomeini during his exile outside of Paris. Andrew Young, Jimmy Carter's ambassador to the United nations, told reporters that the Ayatollah will eventually be regarded as a saint like this Falk, the Princeton professor. And. And. Cause people were saying there were some on the right who said, look, this guy's a reactionary and a terrorist.

[Michaelangelo]

And he said.

[Joe Getty]

To suppose that Ayatollah Khomeini is disassembling seems almost beyond belief. His political style is to express his real views defiantly and without apology, regardless of consequences, blah, blah, blah. Thus, the depiction of him as a fanatical reactionary and the bearer of crude prejudices seems certainly and happily false. What is also encouraging is that his entourage, of course close advisors, is uniformly composed of moderate progressive individuals.

[Michaelangelo]

I know you and Eli Lake are about to explain to me why, but is it just as simple as the enemy of my enemy is my friend and my enemy is me, the United States. So somebody who doesn't like us is good to. I like.

[Joe Getty]

Right. There's. There's more to it than that. But yeah, the very short version of it is essentially, wait a minute. You want to overthrow Western civilization, I want to overthrow Western civilization. You want to impose Islamism, but I want to impose Marxism. Well, I tell you what, how about we work together, and then when civilization's overthrown, we'll. We'll peacefully cooperate and divide the spoils. And of course, like in every revolution, they kill each other as fast as they can. But there's one more factor.

[Michaelangelo]

You got Jihad in my queer studies. You got queer studies in my jihad.

[Joe Getty]

Two great tastes. It tastes great together. Oh, that's beautiful. Anyway, so this brings us to the connection between something I have been harping about for a very long time, as has James Lindsay and other folks. If there is one Western progressive who illuminates the emergence of the Red Green alliance, it is the French philosopher Michel Foucault, who I've mentioned several times. In 1978, Foucault was absolutely the peak of his influence. He was the post modernist who is revolutionizing universities with his withering critique of the Western Enlightenment and values that underpin modern liberalism. Foucault is literally anti enlightenment, and he is the father of all critical theory. Okay? And I think people have a tendency to think, all right, Getty and Lindsay are paranoid or whatever, or they're conspiracy theorists. I had a friend in high school who was Indian. His parents had emigrated from India and they were Hindus. And in visiting his house and hanging out with his family some, it became clear to me that there were figures in Hinduism that were known and revered to billions of people around the world who I'd never heard of. I would suggest to you, my friends, and you are my friends, Foucault is that for the neo Marxists, for those who would overthrow Western civilization, he is a godhead to them, and you don't know his name, but trust me when I tell you it's incredibly important that you understand. So this guy was incredibly influential in the universities in the 70s, and in 1978, he was commissioned by two Italian newspapers to report on the Iranian revolution. And like one of those, you know, lefty, you know, Time magazine guys who were visiting the Soviet Union in one of their Potemkin villages back the 40s, say, or 50s, he couldn't stop gushing about how great the Ayatollah was, and he was going to get rid of the oppression of Western politics and Zaba Dabadoo. So, and this gets a little complicated, but I'll get to the simple part. Foucault was a major intellectual influence on the late Columbia University Professor Edward Said's Orientalism, Now a post colonialism study Bible, which critiqued how Western imperial writers made Arabs, Muslims and Easterners objects in their narratives and impose their own agenda on their histories. Here is the great postmodernist celebrating Ayatollah Khomeini overthrowing the Western government, even though Khomeini would would execute Foucault and his company the first chance they got. But that was the birthplace of it. And until you understand that postmodernism thing, you don't get critical theory. You don't understand what dei, what it's trying to accomplish. You don't understand queer theory, radical gender theory, all the. The confused adolescent girls getting their healthy breasts removed because they're momentarily confused by, you know, adolescence and puberty and the rest of it. This is all straight back to Foucault and critical theory.

[Michaelangelo]

Clearly, this theory is true in that it is happening. I still don't get how you're not argued out of that position very quickly. If somebody says to you, you realize if you're in Iran, they would. They would murder you immediately. Oh, yeah. So I guess I better pick a different group to work with. I mean.

[Joe Getty]

Right, different philosophy. Here's the thing. And these people are smart. I mean, they're insane, but they're smart. They convince you completely of their premise that Western society. What was that phrase? Have made all other people objects in their narratives and impose their own agenda on their histories. The key philosophy of critical theory is that there is no objective truth there. Don't even seek it. It doesn't exist. All there is is narratives. And narratives come from your culture. And since Western culture is dominant, it has created a narrative that says the Ayatollah Khomeini is a monster, but that's just because they're threatened by him, they're racists, they're othering him. And once you have that down to your bones, then you can't be argued off of it on the basis of me saying they torture and then kill anybody who's gay or transgender because I'm a Westerner trying to lie to them, using my narrative.

[Michaelangelo]

So they don't believe that jihadists would murder gay people, or they think jihadists only murder gay people because of the position we've put them in.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, indirectly. Yeah, the first part. 100%. And. Or we have so dominated them and crushed their spirits and oppressed them that they're acting out in ways that they won't anymore when the Enlightenment comes, when the Marxist revolution comes. I mean, like excusing the crimes of October 7th. You saw that directly. Look, they're under oppression. What do you expect them to do? Yeah, and I don't believe they raped and killed babies. No, they just. They. They just fought back against the oppressor. Self delusion.

[Michaelangelo]

That's a scary thing to be up against. There's way too many people to believe it.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, and they're in our schools, folks, our elementary schools, our high schools. And our colleges and our grad schools. That is one of the dominant philosophies, if not the dominant philosophy in our educational complex. Which is why I'm always saying it's the most important problem that faces America. Bigger than China. It's this century nightmare. Jihadism.

[Michaelangelo]

Thank you man.

[Joe Getty]

Well, post Marxism, but cultural Marxism, post modernism, neo Marxism, whatever you want to call it, thank you.

[Michaelangelo]

It's interesting because back then when Mitt Romney was running for President and after 9 11, jihadism did seem like the biggest problem in the world. And it's a problem, no doubt. But I'm more worried about neo Marxism and the foothold it's got in the United States and western culture than I am about jihadism by a lot.

[Joe Getty]

Right, Right. Yeah. My final word. And folks, I apologize in advance, I'm going to use a bad letter here if you think. I don't know. That seems kind of paranoid. These effing people wrote effing books. Their effing names are on the effing spines and they effing describe precisely what they're effing going to do and they're doing it precisely as they effing described. End of screen.

[Michaelangelo]

Troubling again.

[Joe Getty]

Societies are brought down by their own decadence.

[Michaelangelo]

If you're interested in this stuff man, go to YouTube and just type in James Lindsay. He's got some unbelievable YouTube videos about this that are so damn interesting.

[Joe Getty]

And a great place to start is for the hundredth time his book with Helen Pluckrow's cynical theories. It's, it's great.

[Michaelangelo]

So you want a completely different gear here please. Donald Trump. Donald Trump just announced the Kennedy Senator honors for the year. The various celebrities that they are going to be honoring and the list is like, like you'd expect and we'll have that when we come back.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Katie Green]

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[Jack Armstrong]

The reviews and ratings are in and Ice Cube's Big three is the surprise hit of the summer and to cap off the season, iHeart presents the Big Three basketball playoffs this Sunday at 3pm Eastern. The remaining four teams battle it out for the right to make the Big three championship in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts with the Big three Monster Energy Celebrity game where your favorite stars compete in big three three on three basketball. Then the first of two semifinal games features the Dwight Howard and the LA Riot taking on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J's first place Chicago triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with stars MVP Michael Beasley and Lance will make you Dan Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas power who finished the season winning five straight weeks to capture second place. Can Glenn Rice, Greg Monroe and Paul Millsap stop Miami's physical assault? Or will Miami and Beasley put an end to Dallas winning ways? Who will make it to the Big Three championship? This no holds barred action starts Sunday at 3pm Eastern, 12 Pacific only on.

[Unknown]

CBS together celebrating one of the most revered singers of the American disco era, Gloria Gaynor, best known for her chart topping 1978 hit I Will Survive.

[Michaelangelo]

There you go. So Donald Trump laying out the list of the Kennedy center honorees. And I'm not laughing, joking because of the people Trump picked. Really? I mean, I hate the whole thing. I've always hated the whole thing and it's always been run by soup. I learned from the book. What was that book about how we armed.

[Joe Getty]

Remember that book?

[Michaelangelo]

Charlie Wilson's War. Learn from Charlie Wilson's War how big a perk being part of the Kennedy center thing is in Washington, D.C. if you're a congress person or whatever, you can get all kinds of stuff trading for you. Get a seat there. I mean it's like the one of the most prestigious things you can have and it's always been run by the progressives and it's always been progressive stars and musicians that get to go and comedians that get to go up there and give their speech about how great Clinton is and how awful Reagan is or whatever. It's always been that way. I've always hated it. So now Trump has taken it over. The the elite of entertainment has gone nuts about how awful that Is so they hate the fact that he's gonna do his crowd now, but he did his crowd. And he came and announced the annual Kennedy center honors today include Sylvester Stallone. We loved him in Rambo, didn't we? And the crowd cheers and stuff like that. And then he mentions Gloria Gaynor and I Will Survive, which apparently is a song that he plays all the time at Mar a Lago. You know, when he's DJing and he's got the iPad and he plays music for. For everybody. YMCA and I Will Survive are his two go tos.

[Joe Getty]

I know that guaranteed dance floor packer.

[Michaelangelo]

Yeah, exactly. He also went with British actor Michael Crawford, who I didn't recognize, but that is a guy who is in Phantom of the Opera. And Trump really, really liked that musical. So there you go. And country music star George Straight will be all honored this year. How much time we got left, Michael?

[Joe Getty]

Got about a minute 30 here.

[Michaelangelo]

Minute 30. We better get to it quick. This is brand new, hot off the presses. Trump saying something to read the whole Putin hymn summit. I want to hear this in the back.

[Unknown]

Yeah, please.

[Jack Armstrong]

Mr. President, how were your calls this.

[Joe Getty]

Morning with European leaders?

[Jack Armstrong]

And was it your call not to.

[Joe Getty]

Invite President Zelensky to your meeting with Putin?

[Unknown]

No, just the opposite. No, no. We had a very good call. He was on the call. President Zelensky was on the call. I would rate it a 10. You know, very, very friendly. I know the leaders because I was at NATO, as you know, I took it from 2% to 5%. 2% that wasn't paid. 5% that is paid, which is trillions of dollars in defense capability. No, it was always going to be. I was going to meet with President Putin and then after that, I'm going to call the leaders and President Zelensky. I'm going to call President Zelensky and then I'll call probably in that order, the leaders. There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting which will more productive than the first, because the first is I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing.

[Joe Getty]

Hmm. Don't feel like I gained a lot from that, other than he's got more or less planned a second meeting with Putin and.

[Michaelangelo]

And he. And Europe's involved and Zelinsky's involved, and he called it a ten and he didn't. He called him President Zelinsky and didn't have anything negative at all. Didn't even hint anything negative. So I'm happy with that.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah. But I mean if they've already agreed on essentially a second meeting, the fear of it stringing along, stringing along is, I mean it's, it's almost a certainty, isn't it?

[Michaelangelo]

Guaranteed. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Secret happiness. Next Armstrong and Getty.

[Katie Green]

Let's be real. Life happens, kids spill, pets shed and accidents are inevitable. Find a sofa that can keep [e-mail] Starting at just $699, our sofas are fully machine washable inside and out so you can say goodbye to stains and hello to worry free living. Made with liquid and stain resistant fabrics, they're kid proof, pet friendly and built for everyday life. Plus, changeable fabric covers let you refresh your sofa whenever you want. Neat flexibility. Our modular design lets you rearrange your sofa anytime to fit your space, whether it's a growing family room or a cozy apartment. Plus, they're earth friendly and trusted by over 200,000 happy customers. It's time to upgrade to a stress free mess proof sofa. Visit washablesofas.com today and save that's washablesofas.com offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Jack Armstrong]

The reviews and ratings are in and Ice Cube's Big three is the surprise hit of the summer. And to cap off the season, iheart presents the big three basketball playoffs. This Sunday at 3pm Eastern. The remaining four teams battle it out for the right to make the Big three championship in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts with the Big three Monster Energy Celebrity game where your favorite stars compete in big three three on three basketball. Then the first of two semifinal games features Dwight Howard and the LA Riot taking on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J's first place Chicago triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with stars MVP Michael Beasley and Lance will make you Dan Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas power who finished the season winning five straight weeks to capture second place. Can Glen Rice, Greg Monroe and Paul Millsap stop Miami's physical assault? Or will Miami and Beasley put an end to Dallas winning ways? Who will make it to the Big Three championship? This no holds barred action starts Sunday at 3pm Eastern, 12 Pacific only on CBS.

[Michaelangelo]

Moments of anxiety, of Loneliness so many.

[Joe Getty]

People who suffer from different experiences of depression or sadness, they can discover that.

[Michaelangelo]

The love of God is truly healing, that it brings hope.

[Joe Getty]

That's your Chicago Pope right there. Well, he's the Pope of everything everywhere, but he's from Chicago. That's Pope Leo, if you need them. Talking about happiness. Speaking.

[Michaelangelo]

I didn't, I didn't recognize his voice. Okay.

[Joe Getty]

Speaking of which, there are a trio of stories that we really don't have time for because we're going to do something related, but we'll get to them eventually. Alarming new study finds smartphones are ruining our brains at unprecedented speed. And it specifically has to do with young people graded on a variety of psychological factors. And it's, it's miserable. In fact, it's catastrophic.

[Michaelangelo]

Do you need that to know that? I don't.

[Joe Getty]

No, I don't. But it is striking how striking it is. Then this story. When did all these people become therapists? As AI threatens creative careers, writers, actors and musicians are pivoting to pursue masters in psychology and social work. And it's actually not that nutty. A lot of like writers are saying, you know, I've spent my entire career trying to understand human psychology and write convincing characters and what would people do in this situation? So they're all becoming counselors.

[Michaelangelo]

I know a therapist who kind of got into it late ish in life and making lots of money, more clients than they can handle. I don't know if that's going to last through Chat GPT, because we've talked about what a great therapist it seems to be. But you know, since, since, since COVID there's. There's more demand than supply in the therapy world.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah. I just, I worry these poor bastards are going to get their degree in, you know, social work and psychology and whatever and Chat GPT, you know, AI is going to replace therapists. But anyway, I wish them well. And then finally the third story we're not actually going to get to the fabulous Abigail Shrier, who is fabulous, is talking about the now widespread like Illinois is just signed into law. Their child mutilating governor JB Pritzker signed into law law Mandatory annual mental health screenings for all public school children's in third through 12th grades. And the title of our article is Stop asking if. Stop asking kids if they're depressed. So I say children are wildly suggestible, asking repeatedly if they're mentally ill. She might just decide she is right.

[Michaelangelo]

Because I had. I don't think I'd ever even heard of the concept of depressed when I was in third grade, but if you explained it to me, I might have decided, huh, maybe I'm depressed. Yeah, I had never thought about it before, but if I was told we're going to do mental health screening on your son, I'd say, no, you ain't I. I'd like to know a lot.

[Joe Getty]

More about this before you do.

[Michaelangelo]

What, what this is. What is this going to look like?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Abigail, who has written a couple of really important books, including just last year she published a book called Bad Therapy, An Investigation into the Surge in Adolescent Mental Health Diagnoses and Psychiatric Prescription Drug Use. Anyway, that. Yeah, go ahead.

[Michaelangelo]

My knee jerk, like with my local school system is if I heard they're gonna do mental health screening testing on your son, I would think, okay, they're gonna sit him down and say, do you ever sometimes feel like a girl? Are you sure you don't. Have you ever just. Have you ever. Do you like musicals or have you ever played with dolls? You can be honest here. Interesting. So do.

[Joe Getty]

I mean, do you know your gender is different than, you know, the sex the doctors guessed at? Right. Right. So, anyway, there's plenty there, and we, we will. Absolutely. But the point is, I think we're all kind of. A lot of people are searching for. For what we used to have or had more. Anyway, I mentioned Arthur Brooks yesterday, did an interview with Brett Baron, Special Report a couple of days ago, talking about his new book, which is all about the actual pillars of happiness. Let's start with 31 here, Michael, and we'll, we'll pick and choose a few more. What are things that we need to think about on the happiness front?

[Arthur Brooks]

Well, to begin with, ordinary citizens around the country, they want to be good citizens. They want to pay attention. They want to know what's going on. I admire that. But the truth of the matter is that if you watch too much politics, they're not there to make you happy. On the contrary, they're there to actually win you over. And the way that they do that is through fear and anger. That's what politicians do. So people have to be very careful how much of that they're looking at. This is a bad influence. This is walking through a bad media neighborhood sometimes. So a little goes a whole. Goes a pretty long way. Maybe 15 minutes in the morning, in Special Report at night. And that. That should do you pretty well.

[Michaelangelo]

Thank you for the little ad there at the end.

[Joe Getty]

So one might say, dudes, you talk a lot of politics on your show. Well, that's one of the reasons that we try very hard to. Our, our idea is to help you understand what's going on and help ourselves understand what's actually happening in the world as opposed to the, you know, the, the rhetoric, politicians whose interest is just whipping you up and making you money. So I feel like we kind of are trying to do the opposite of that anyway, Mr. Brooks goes on. This is the key right here. 32.

[Arthur Brooks]

The happiest people do four things every day. They pay attention to their faith or life philosophy. They pay attention to their families. They cultivate their friendships and they try to serve other people through their work. Faith, family, friends, and serving other people through your work.

[Michaelangelo]

Those are the.

[Arthur Brooks]

Those are the happiness pillars. That's the happiness 401k plans.

[Joe Getty]

He didn't mention many hundreds of thousands of followers online.

[Michaelangelo]

I'm rock solid on one and two. I think four, practically 013. So, you know, so, yeah. 75. What is that, a C minus?

[Joe Getty]

You know what? Yeah, you're past. So once again, it's family, friends.

[Michaelangelo]

Faith was the first one.

[Joe Getty]

Faith. That's right. And. And other people. That's right, sir. And then he talks about how when people engage in online bitter snark, they actually get less happy. And it describes in the book how they did these studies.

[Michaelangelo]

That doesn't surprise me a bit either.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. It's not like you dance around. Touchdown. Dance. I got him. Yeah. This is great. I'm really having fun. No, you're just consumed with anger. I heard this.

[Michaelangelo]

I've heard this before, but I heard it again yesterday. This meme of, sorry, honey, I'll be to bed in a minute. Somebody just said something on the Internet that wasn't true and I have to fix it.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And then they talk a little bit about how exercise is really good. It resets your brain in a way that's incredibly powerful. Anybody who does it knows that that's the case. That's the best thing I can do. Speaking for myself, if I'm really in a foul frame of mind is just to. Just to get my blood flowing, my heart pumping anyway. But then he gets. Well, 35 takes care of itself.

[Michaelangelo]

Michael Rowland, do you think we're getting more happy as a culture or less?

[Arthur Brooks]

Less so. And that's really pretty alarming. I've been looking at data going all the way back to 1990 and we find kind of things ticking down. Remember, faith, family, friends and work are the happiness habits. And all four of those things have been in decline over the past 30 years. Then there's been these storms as well, these kind of hurricanes of happiness in 2008, 2009, when everybody got. Got smartphones and they got social media apps on their phone. Terrible for happiness. What happened with polarization? We're being encouraged to hate our neighbors because they don't vote like us.

[Joe Getty]

Awful.

[Arthur Brooks]

And last but not least, of course, was our response as a nation to the coronavirus epidemic locking everybody down. More loneliness, more depression. Those things have been real bad for our happiness.

[Joe Getty]

Putting aside the constitutional horror of the COVID shutdowns, the crime against, the assault on people's souls, particularly children, We've talked about it plenty here. It is cruelly under discussed in society.

[Michaelangelo]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

I think there's a huge mass of people who, they don't understand the damage they did and they feel that they did the right thing and that they're heroes.

[Michaelangelo]

I hate you people.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Michaelangelo]

If you feel like you're a hero for that, then I hate you with a deep, deep, deep hatred that will keep me from being happy.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. You see it still, people talking about how, you know, anybody who was the least bit hesitant over the COVID vaccine or anybody who didn't think young soldiers need to get it, or anybody wanted to open schools. The most powerful teachers unions in the nation are pitching the idea that they are heroes for keeping the kids at home alone.

[Michaelangelo]

I traveled quite a bit during COVID and I said that in a certain setting one day, and a person said, oh, my God, you traveled during COVID Weren't you concerned about spreading the disease all over? And just like, no. They had flew for practically nothing and the hotels were like giving the rooms away.

[Joe Getty]

It was awesome. Right? It's. It's several times a week I run across some person, whether they're, you know, progressive ninnies or, or somebody, you know, of a more reasonable point of view, but they're talking about how life changed so completely and fundamentally during COVID Yeah. And if I'd had kids in public school at that point, that would have absolutely been true. But for me, in a very conservative county of California of all places, life changed very, very little. We had barbecues, folks, we had get togethers with friends. We went drinking. We got together after golf. There were very, very few changes to our lives. And nobody got sick disproportionately or died. Those who were weak and vulnerable, some lost people they loved. And I don't mean to minimize that grief in the least, but all of that was misplaced and it's terrible. And if we ever have another pandemic, it's the last thing we should do. And I'm not bragging or anything, or look how brave I am. No, I'm saying everybody wants to understand. The, well, part of it was just stubbornness. And I. I will not let people do that to me if I don't want them to anyway.

[Michaelangelo]

Worried about it?

[Joe Getty]

Well yeah. Well yeah. I mean it all goes into the same thing. It said that's how you formed the belief that that was wrong. But in a weird way I think people need to be unhappier about what happened to them to then because you know one other factor of happiness that you hear about a lot from, you know, the learned is that if you have some sense of self determination that gives people satisfaction. And I think empowering people to say what was done to you during COVID was all awful. They convinced you and authority figures that it was for your own good, but what they did to you was terrible. Now go forward in your life knowing that and with the courage to stand up for yourself. I think that's empowering to people.

[Michaelangelo]

I flew into San Diego a couple times like 80 bucks a ticket. Stayed at the Hilton and the Gas lamp for I think $75 a room. It was awesome.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Compare recent prices folks. You'll get his point in an empty airplane.

[Michaelangelo]

Oh God, it was so great.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, no traffic.

[Michaelangelo]

Bring back Covid. Bring back Covet.

[Joe Getty]

Except for the school part and the freaking masks.

[Michaelangelo]

Yeah. Oh yeah. We'll finish strong.

[Joe Getty]

Next Armstrong and Getty.

[Katie Green]

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[Jack Armstrong]

The reviews and ratings are in and Ice Cube's Big three is the surprise hit of the summer. And to cap off the season, iHeart presents the Big Three basketball playoffs this Sunday at 3pm Eastern. The remaining four teams battle it out for the right to make the Big Three championship in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts with the Big 3 Monster Energy Celebrity Game where your favorite stars compete in Big 33 on 3 basketball. Then the first of two semifinal games features Dwight Howard and the LA Riot taking on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J's first place Chicago Triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with stars MVP Michael Beasley and Lance will make you Dan Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas power who finished the season winning five straight weeks to capture second place. Can Glenn Rice, Greg Monroe and Paul Millsap stop Miami's physical assault? Or will Miami and Beasley put an end to Dallas's winning ways? Who will make it to the Big Three championship? This no holds barred action starts Sunday at 3pm Eastern, 12 Pacific only on CBS.

[Joe Getty]

I'm a big believer in love. Will she actually get engaged to the famous Chiefs tight end Mr. Kelce? At this particular point, the betting markets say there's only a 26% chance that it happens this year.

[Michaelangelo]

That's an analyst on CNN for some reason giving the betting odds of whether Taylor Swift mayors marries her football player boyfriend. You go back a few years and it's hard to imagine why CNN would have an analyst.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, well, although the Taylor Swift getting engaged to Travis Kelsey betting analyst did put the number at 26, which seems low to me. Jack.

[Michaelangelo]

Which seems od specific. Not around a quarter 26.

[Joe Getty]

Almost as if they're trying to make horse ass seem like science, right?

[Michaelangelo]

Exactly. Exactly like they plugged in all these different sicker circumstances into a formula, an algorithm and came up with 25.8. We'll round it to 26%.

[Joe Getty]

We had our Taylor Swift supercomputer run 5,000 simulations to predict whether. All right.

[Michaelangelo]

In some simulations, Travis Kelsey has a season ending injury. In some simulations, the Chiefs win the Super Bowl. In some simulations, Taylor Swift loses her voice or gets fat.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. See you've got. That's why science is involved in supercomputers. You need to take all of that into consideration. It's not as simple as. She's hot, he's hot. They're young. Yeah, but they. No, no.

[Michaelangelo]

I didn't get to this the day AI robs my students of the ability to think. This is this college professor who says students have told her that they feel like their ability to write or think has diminished since they started using AI. Well, well, I'll take their word for it. I can't believe it happened that fast. Although I wouldn't have believed that my ability to read long form books would have been damaged as quickly as it has been by smartphones.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I just. I'm a firm believer in the. The the muscles of the intellect have to be exercised or they go slack.

[Michaelangelo]

Yeah, like all real.

[Joe Getty]

Probably not a great metamor. If I was a smarter guy, I'd have a better metaphor for you. But you know what I mean. Yeah.

[Michaelangelo]

Your muscles go atrophy super fast if you don't use them. See, the astronauts, I mean, like ridiculously fast. And I'm sure obviously our brain does to a certain extent, or parts of our brain with the whole paying attention reading thing. It's troubling. And then the most interesting thing that happened to me yesterday probably has got to be the Grok story that I've already told of driving in my Tesla. I was on my way to a meeting and as. And I was thinking about this meeting and I thought, just for fun, since Grok is now in the Tesla screen, I just said, hey, Grok, I'm going to this meeting. And I got a blah, blah, blah. I laid out the scenario. And Grok said, inner voice, well, here's what you should do. Why don't you blah, blah, blah. And if they react this way, you could say that. Do you want any other suggestions? I said, nah. And she said, cool, you got this.

[Joe Getty]

And I thought, what the hell just happened? What the hell just happened? But as we discussed early in the show Chat, GPT just put out his their edition number five, whatever they call it, and they're getting real blowback from users because it's dropped some of that not only am I human, I'm your buddy and I believe in you stuff. People liked it better when it was doing that.

[Michaelangelo]

Maybe some people need the kind of football coach, cheerleader thing in their life for some reason. I don't need a computer program to say, great, you got this. To me, that's just freaking weird.

[Joe Getty]

Right? Well, and I, I will think, wow, that's interesting. That provoked emotional response in me. That's a machine. How odd. But I think a lot of people just go, I feel good. It's final thoughts. I'm strong again. It's final Thoughts.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's final thoughts.

[Joe Getty]

I'm strong again.

[Jack Armstrong]

Get ready with JD Green and Michael Angelo.

[Joe Getty]

It's Final Thoughts. I'm strong again.

[Michaelangelo]

Here's your host for Final Thoughts, Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Hey, let's get a final thought from everybody on the crew to wrap up the show for the day. There he is, pressing the buttons. Michelangelo, Michael, what's your final thought? Okay, I'm gonna make this prediction. Mark my words. I think this is gonna happen. Trump lets Putin invade Vancouver and he gives up Ukraine. What do you think? Wow, Vancouver isn't technically ours, but that's a hell of a deal. That's what makes it such a trumpy deal. Katie Green, our esteemed newswoman, has a final thought. Katie, talking about COVID brought back the memory of a well now past friend who read me the riot act for flying to see my parents during that bizarre time.

[Michaelangelo]

Oh, really?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And hey, I'm alive. I made it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Whoo.

[Joe Getty]

You gotta let grandma die alone. Otherwise you're a bad person. I swear to God. Anyway, Jack, final thought.

[Michaelangelo]

Do I have the guts to try this driving down the road to my Tesla and say, hey, Grock, had a rough day at work. My kids are ungrateful. I think I'm gonna just drive my car into the next cement abutment. Oh, no.

[Joe Getty]

See how Grock reacts. Oh, hey, I hear you, brother. Let's do this.

[Michaelangelo]

You got this.

[Joe Getty]

Considerably more cheery. I was wandering around in our our remodel area yesterday at home and was admiring the work of the carpenters who are building the roof. And so much more goes into it than I'd realized. And it's the skill is and. And care is amazing. So I salute Yi who builds stuff. It's real. I really admire you.

[Michaelangelo]

Armstrong and Getty wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.

[Joe Getty]

So many people think, so little time. Go to Armstrong and getty.com. a lot of great clicks there. The hot links, Katie's corner. Drop us a Note [e-mail]. pick up a T shirt or a hoodie while you're there. It'll be chilly soon enough. Cool.

[Michaelangelo]

We will see you tomorrow. God bless America.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

There were so many great moments on today's Armstrong and Getty show.

[Unknown]

But perhaps none as great as this.

[Joe Getty]

But they're willing to sound like it's shearing day. We need your wool. And you over there. We need your mutton. Yes. Yes. Slaughter me. Take my maid. I have no will of my own.

[Michaelangelo]

Bye bye.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Iheart presents the Big three playoffs this Sunday. The remaining four teams battle to make the championship in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts the with with the big three Monster Energy celebrity game. Then Dwight Howard and his Ellie Riot take on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J Chicago triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with stars MVP Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas power who will make it to the big three championship. The no holds barred action starts Sunday at 3pm Eastern, 12 Pacific only on CBS.

[Michaelangelo]

This is an iHeart podcast.