I Just Bit Into A Cat Toy

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "I Just Bit Into A Cat Toy"

Date: February 19, 2026
Podcast: Armstrong & Getty On Demand (iHeartPodcasts)
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty

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Episode Overview

This episode covers a wide range of current events and cultural commentary, including the unprecedented arrest of a British royal, troubling economic trends in the UK and US, shifts in America's food and snack industry, the ongoing societal consequences of social media, and reflections on the impact of technology on youth and society. The tone is irreverent, fast-paced, and characteristically skeptical, with humor interspersed even while addressing serious topics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Prince Andrew’s Arrest and the State of the UK

• Unprecedented Royal Scandal
  • Discussion opens with shock at Prince Andrew’s reported arrest—the first royal arrest in roughly 400 years.

    “A prince, the son, favored son of Queen Elizabeth, much loved Queen Elizabeth, now sitting in a jail cell…” — Jack Armstrong (01:31)

    • The hosts and a British commentator explore how this shatters the perceived insulation of the Monarchy from ordinary consequences.
    • The hosts link the event to a broader sense of British social and economic decline.

      “It really does make you think it feeds into that general mood of collapse, erosion, authority fraying.” — Guest/Expert (02:29)

• Commentary on the Monarchy’s Role
  • Explains what “Republican” means in the UK—those wanting to abolish the monarchy.
  • The monarchy is described as largely ceremonial, mainly tying Britain to its past.

2. Economic Troubles in the UK and the US

• British Economic Policies
  • The UK’s obsession with “net zero” policies is blamed for economic stagnation.

    “You couldn’t do anything… unless you had net zero impact on the climate, which just crushed their economy and their GDP.” — Jack Armstrong (03:09)

• Parallels to the US
  • US is warned it could follow the same path due to similar overspending.
  • CBO projections show US debt exceeding 100% of GDP, compared to living on more debt than one’s income.

3. Food Industry: Cheapening Quality and Cultural Jokes

• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
  • News item: The grandson of the Reese’s inventor criticizes Hershey for lowering quality by using cheaper ingredients.

    “The grandson of the inventor has lashed out at the Hershey company, accusing the company of hurting the Reese’s brand by shifting to cheaper ingredients…” — Jack Armstrong (07:01)

    • Both hosts agree the product’s quality has noticeably declined.
• Nostalgia for Better Food
  • Compares this to changes in Pizza Hut pizza over time—worse ingredients now.

    “It’s kind of like we were talking about Pizza Hut pizza a week or so ago. How that used to be a really good pizza…just aren’t the same thing anymore.” — Jack Armstrong (08:11)

• Classic Armstrong & Getty Satire & Humor
  • Jokingly attribute changes in food quality to the presence of “cat” ingredients.

    “I just bit into a cat toy.” — Jack Armstrong (08:38) “This sausage pizza tastes hard to describe. Feline.” — Jack Armstrong (08:44)

  • Reiterate that this is parody, not an actual legal accusation.
• Fast Food & Fatigue
  • Observes 40% of fast casual restaurant trips stem from “simple fatigue.”

    “We know there’s a reason Olive Garden’s slogan is: when you’re here, you just can’t today.” — Jack Armstrong (10:54)

4. The Social Media Mental Health Crisis

• Social Media Trial
  • Coverage of a landmark trial in Los Angeles over the harms of social media addiction for youth.
  • Quotes from a parent expressing the pain and loss from a child’s suicide linked to Instagram and YouTube.

    “Their self esteem and what girls face, especially on these platforms is horrifying to have to go through…created such a huge mental health crisis in this country.” — Parent audio (19:25)

• Debating Platform Liability
  • Jack questions holding social media companies legally responsible for societal effects that might be inevitable.

    “I just don’t get how you can blame Facebook Meta and Google for something that is just going to be part of all of our lives going forward…” — Jack Armstrong (19:43)

  • Joe clarifies that holding companies liable is different from considering their business models blameworthy.

    “I don’t think you can find them liable, but I think you can blame them. I think you can say this is evil, this is bad.” — Joe Getty (20:22)

• Zuckerberg’s Testimony
  • The hosts draw attention to Zuckerberg’s claim that Meta doesn’t try to maximize user time—calling it obviously false.

    “That is silly. That is like McDonald’s saying we’re not trying to get people to eat more often here…” — Jack Armstrong (21:36)

  • They relate this to all addictive products—from food to sports to TV—observing that endless engagement is always the goal.
• Analogy: Lay’s Chips & Social Media
  • Draws an analogy: “I bet you can’t eat just one” is essentially the same addiction model as Instagram’s endless scroll.

    “Your honor, this company’s slogan was ‘I’ll bet you can’t eat just one.’ They knew that it was tricking your brain…” — Jack Armstrong (25:03)

• Tech Skepticism & Luddite Reflection
  • Jack openly wonders if society was better before the internet:

    “I really honestly think we’re better off without the Internet. I really do.” — Jack Armstrong (25:36)

  • Joe suggests this is the “novelty era” and people may later adapt wisely:

    “The internet is a vast opportunity. You got to be a better consumer of it.” — Joe Getty (26:21)

5. Youth, Smartphones, and Social Disconnect

• Changed Social Behaviors
  • The hosts reminisce about pre-smartphone days, when social interactions were in person and unscripted.
  • Jack observes how youth now walk in groups but are all fixated on their phones, missing the bonding and communication of earlier generations.

    “Among the biggest changes of human beings ever in evolution history… in a short amount of time.” — Jack Armstrong (29:31)

6. International Events: Russia, Ukraine, and Iran

• Navalny’s Poisoning
  • Reports Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was killed using a synthetic version of a South American frog toxin—a detail revealed by a coalition of European countries.

    “Frog squeezings are tough to come by… but now they can make it synthetically.” — Joe Getty (33:38)

• Ukraine and Russia: No Peace in Sight
  • Grim outlook on a negotiated peace, with Putin characterized as irredeemable and unconcerned about massive military losses.

    “I don’t know if you’ve ever negotiated with a megalomaniac. It’s tough.” — Joe Getty (34:07)

• Impending Iran Conflict and Potential Israeli Actions
  • Speculation on a U.S. strike on Iran, and whether Israel would act in Gaza during the distraction.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the UK’s Decline and Monarchy

• “Prince Andrew is in a jail cell trying to turn his scepter into a shiv, probably to protect himself.” — Jack Armstrong (01:53)

On Cheapening of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

• “I just bit into a cat toy.” — Jack Armstrong (08:38)
• “This sausage pizza tastes hard to describe. Feline.” — Jack Armstrong (08:44)

On Social Media’s Harm

• “Their self esteem and what girls face, especially on these platforms is horrifying…created such a huge mental health crisis in this country.” — Parent audio (19:25)
• “I don’t see like there’s that much difference between these things.” (Re: addictive snacks and social media) — Jack Armstrong (25:32)

On Tech Skepticism

• “We’re living through… the novelty era of the Internet and social media… you gotta be a better consumer of it.” — Joe Getty (26:21)
• “I love potato chips, so I gotta try those.” — Jack Armstrong (16:39)

On Changed Youth Behavior

• “There’s a big difference between looking around with your own thoughts than staring at that phone, almost certainly taking in useless information.” — Jack Armstrong (27:50)
• “What we’re living through… our perception of everything used to be personal, immediate, and physical…It was 100% personal until a blink of an eye ago…” — Joe Getty (30:02)

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• [01:31–04:59]: Prince Andrew’s arrest and the meaning for the monarchy and the UK
• [06:07–10:07]: US debt, economic parallels, Reese’s scandal, commentary on changing food quality
• [19:25–23:26]: Social media mental health trial, platform liability, Zuckerberg on the stand
• [25:36–30:02]: Tech skepticism, reflections on youth behavior, social consequences of smartphones
• [32:46–34:24]: Navalny poisoning news
• [34:52–37:19]: International tension: Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Israel
• [36:06–37:34]: Final thoughts: website time limits, food choices, youth indoctrination

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Conclusion & Final Thoughts

The episode is a whirlwind of sharp, comic, yet deeply skeptical commentary on the state of Western institutions—royalty, government, commerce, food, technology, and the digital world. The hosts use their conversational, humorous style to highlight concerns about economic trajectory, societal change, the food industry’s declining standards, and especially the pervasive—sometimes sinister—influence of social media and technology on culture and individual lives. Despite the gravity of their topics, Armstrong and Getty manage to keep the tone breezy (with occasional faux-disclaimer reminders about satire), leaving listeners pondering whether the world is going to the cats—or if people are just biting into cat toys.

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For More: Email mailbagarmstrongygetty.com or visit armstrongandgetty.com for hot links and show swag.
Text line: 41529
Episode catchphrase: “Guaranteed human.”

Transcript

[Announcer]

This is an Iheart podcast.

[Joe Getty]

Guaranteed human

[Announcer]

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[Jack Armstrong]

When you're a pro, you gotta do a little bit of everything. A little, a little and even a little. And it helps to have something that works as hard as you do. That's why Valspar has durable high coverage paint for every job. Every time made. For more Valspar pros, head to Lowe's today and talk to a pro rep about saving and money on your next job with Valspar. Signature paint exclusions apply. See valsparpro.com for details. Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center,

[Announcer]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty. Look, this has never happened before.

[Jack Armstrong]

A prince, the son, favored son of Queen Elizabeth, much loved Queen Elizabeth, now

[Joe Getty]

sitting in a jail cell with, we're told, a bed and a toilet in the cell.

[Jack Armstrong]

But no one in the royal family has ever been in this position.

[Joe Getty]

So whether you know the royals or you don't know the royals, this is incredibly shocking.

[Jack Armstrong]

KATTY K on MSNBC, first time a royal has been arrested in 400 years. So that take it back to the time of Shakespeare since a royal has been elected. So Prince Andrew is in a jail cell trying to turn his scepter into a shiv, probably to protect himself. I assume he has a scepter soft

[Joe Getty]

for that sort of thing. You think they carry it with them? I tell you what, you got arrested back in the day like you were talking about. You'd think, oh, this is going to end badly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Here's another interesting report from another Brit will listen to anybody with a British accent.

[Joe Getty]

Listen.

[Guest/Expert]

Prince Andrew's arrest lands at the top of the British state and to have a senior royal in custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office really shatters that aura of insulation around the monarchy. But I think that it also plays into a wider perception of Great Britain at the moment, which is that of a country crumbling, a country imploding. When you see this happening even at the symbolic top of the Royal family. It really does make you think it feeds into that general mood of collapse, erosion, authority fraying.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. Hadn't. Hadn't groked that myself. But, yeah, their, their, their politics are just diseased and the national spirit is. Is terrible right now.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, in their economy. So I've listened to a couple of podcasts that I've mentioned in the last six months from British reporters talking about, hey, America, we're where you're gonna be in 5, 10, 15 years, whatever the number is, we're already there. We have overspent and time is up and we can no longer afford to keep on the track we're on. And a lot of it for them had to do with their whole ridiculous net zero caring about climate change thing. You couldn't do anything in that country unless you had net zero impact on the climate, which just crushed their economy and their gdp.

[Joe Getty]

Crushed innovation, entrepreneurial spirit. Yeah, just terrible.

[Jack Armstrong]

Then you got Prince Andrew running around giving away state secrets to Provost, touching underage girls. That doesn't help anything.

[Joe Getty]

In return for access to. Yeah, Romanian women of loose morals.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. That's quite a story. I don't know if it's. Do you know what? So it's a small segment of society in England that wants to get rid of the constitutional monarchy system. You know what they call them? Republicans. That's what they call that crowd in England. So if you hear the term republican, it's people that want to do away with the King and Queen having any power whatsoever. I don't know how much power they have. It's a constitutional monarchy, but I don't know how much.

[Joe Getty]

Not really any.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't. Yeah, I don't. I don't think. Not the way I understand it. Is there really any power either? I mean, the Prime Minister, when you're elected, you have to go ask for permission from the Queen or King, but if they said go f yourself, I'm not sure it makes any difference.

[Joe Getty]

It's just an effort to tie Britain

[Jack Armstrong]

to their history back when they were a big deal.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, that's true too. It's just a feeling of continuity that it's tough for Americans to understand. But, yeah, the monarchies are stupid wherever they exist, even though I call for them about once a month.

[Jack Armstrong]

Tough for Americans to understand. For now. I wonder if we will have to understand it at some point what it's like to go from being the world superpower to just another country.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Like happened with.

[Joe Getty]

Great.

[Jack Armstrong]

With England.

[Joe Getty]

Well, now it's time for my trademark. Michael, you remember what my trademark is? Of course, right? Yelling at the staff. No, no, that's not it. Idiot. No, my trademark is to be interesting then depressing. Oh, if you could identify like three or four characteristics of a healthy, growing, dynamic system and a shrinking way past its prime dying system, you'd pretty much have the difference between the US and Britain. But even if you identified those things, nobody would care. They would just vote for more money out of the treasury for themselves. And in a related story, why the federal deficit is projected to surge in five charts this from the Wall Street Journal. U.S. debt will be more than 100% of our U.S. gross Domestic Product by later this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

[Jack Armstrong]

Imagine if you're credit card debt was more than you make a year.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

You would feel like you're in a pretty bad spot, wouldn't you?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And interest rates are rising anyway, if that doesn't depress you, nothing. Well, so perhaps we can move on.

[Jack Armstrong]

Michael, Joe brought us the story about Reese's Monkeys last hour. How about this hour we get to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Can we hear that? And I've got the background information on it. Your clip.

[Joe Getty]

Clip Peanut butter on my chocolate.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you got chocolate in my peanut butter.

[Joe Getty]

Two great tastes that taste great together. Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Real milk chocolate. Good old fashioned peanut butter. Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

[Jack Armstrong]

So why is peanut butter cup in the news today? I. I love or loved a peanut butter cup in my life. I've always found them delicious. But the grandson of the inventor has lashed out at the Hershey company, accusing the company of hurting the Reese's brand by shifting to. Shifting to cheaper ingredients in many of its products.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, like not the prime cuts of monkey in the Reese's Peanut Butter cups.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hershey acknowledges recipe changes, but said Wednesday that it was trying to meet custard. Demand for innovation. High cocoa prices has led Hershey and other manufacturers to experiment with eating less chocolate in recent years. And a different kind of chocolate, blah, blah, blah, for replaced milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut cream. When did this happen? Has this already happened? Because I feel like I had a peanut butter cup fairly recently and I didn't think it was very good. And I've always loved them. Do you know, Michael, has it already occurred, the cheapening of the peanut butter cup?

[Joe Getty]

I'm with you, Jack. I'm eating them and yeah, they're not

[Jack Armstrong]

as good, like noticeably crappier by quite a bit in my experience.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. I Don't eat candy because I'm not a child. But it's kind of like.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's kind of like we were talking about Pizza Hut pizza a week or so ago.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

How that used to be a really good pizza. And I feel like. Feel like the ingredients changed.

[Joe Getty]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Over the years.

[Joe Getty]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

And just aren't the same thing anymore.

[Joe Getty]

Honey. Why is cheese spelled with a Z in their ingredients? Well, they. They ask themselves a question. Many companies do as economies change. Do we want to compete on price, on quality?

[Jack Armstrong]

I just bit into a cat toy.

[Joe Getty]

Why is that?

[Jack Armstrong]

That's weird.

[Joe Getty]

This sausage pizza tastes hard to describe.

[Jack Armstrong]

Feline. Yes. No. We. We have no reason to believe that.

[Joe Getty]

That is certainly not.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, no, no, no parody or satire

[Joe Getty]

or some lack of stray dogs running around Taco Bells is just a coincidence. Better evidence. Better. Better efforts to animal control.

[Jack Armstrong]

All of this is parody and satire. Whatever words you have to say to keep yourself out of legal problems.

[Joe Getty]

Clearly, clearly intended to be ridiculous.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. So ridiculous. So far from the truth, your honor, that no normal person could believe it was meant to be true.

[Joe Getty]

Right. I would ingest a Pizza Hut pizza right now.

[Jack Armstrong]

Happily.

[Joe Getty]

Including the cat sauce. I mean the saus.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh no, you took it a step too far, Joe. Getty took it a step too far.

[Joe Getty]

They make fine pizzas and I would eat zero cat. I'm reasonably certain of that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Negligible amounts of cat.

[Joe Getty]

Practically

[Jack Armstrong]

hard to measure the amount. That little is enough.

[Joe Getty]

Oh boy, oh boy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's perhaps reset and come back.

[Joe Getty]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

And talk to our lawyers during the break. And then we'll be right back.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty

[Announcer]

sink into affordable luxury. Annabe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out. With stain resistant slipcovers and a cloud like frame duvet. Everything goes right in the wash. Plus the modular design lets you change the look of your space. And anytime visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your home shop up to 60% off site wide. With sofas starting at just $699 and a 30 day money back guarantee. Shop [e-mail] offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Jack Armstrong]

A new study into our food habits found that 40% of trips to fast

[Joe Getty]

casual restaurants begin with simple fatigue.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, we know there's a reason Olive Garden's slogan is when you're here, you just. You just can't today. Yeah, that's funny. I just can't today.

[Joe Getty]

Wow, there's a lot of truth there.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, it is.

[Joe Getty]

That could be like the entire frozen pizza Industry slogan, I'm not cooking,

[Jack Armstrong]

I just can't today.

[Joe Getty]

So a couple of brief things for you, then back to the incredibly interesting significant social media trial at the bottom of the hour, huh?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe Getty]

So a couple of things. Number one, this is a great point from Nellie Bowles in the Free Press. She says don't tell me to be scared of waymos. Here's a 92 year old who crashed into a grocery store in the Westwood neighborhood LA last week killing three people.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh yeah, I remember hearing that story.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, video is crazy. She hits a bike list, zooms into the store. As of now, she reportedly faces no charges for these three deaths. But you gotta take away these people's licenses, blah blah, blah. And you've got the waymo that quote unquote hit a little kid who ran out behind parked cars. The thing stopped mirac or slowed miraculously quickly, barely hurt the kids, spared a life. It was a miracle of technology and it was portrayed as, oh, these dangerous rogue Waymo cars. It's really crazy the way media can twist the story.

[Jack Armstrong]

It is. And I'm not exactly sure why, because media's lefties. I think they would be pro electric, you know, and they're always into safety. Waymos are safer than people driving. I don't know what's going on there.

[Joe Getty]

You know, I've been describing the media as lemmings for a very, very long time. And I think there's a certain personality type that goes along. They are not, they don't appraise things based on the truth but on the social acceptability of them. And they just go along with the crowd. And so they just repeat the same crap everybody else repeats in the mainstream media. And I think that skepticism about or perception that auto self driving cars are super dangerous, I don't know. For some reason that's just what their people tell them to say.

[Jack Armstrong]

So they say, or just not safe enough yet when they're already safer than. Although I am, I am confused about that statistic. As I've said before, if you eliminated like the bottom 15% of drivers, are they safer than most drivers? I don't know if that's true or not.

[Joe Getty]

Great question. Yeah, don't know. Then we got this from the fabulous Matt from Fremont, the anti Eileen goo. The goo gone if you will, of figure skating. Katie, that was smooth.

[Jack Armstrong]

Very good.

[Joe Getty]

Thank you. Yeah. Ran across this. Matt writes while reading about Alyssa Liu, the only American with a shot at meddling in the women's figure skating bubble. Her father fled from China after the Tianmen Square massacre.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Liu, who grew up in Oakland, was targeted by China as part of the same project that brought Eileen Gu into the communist fold for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's interesting.

[Joe Getty]

But her dad told the CCP to F right off. China apparently then sent groups of spies to harass and intimidate Lou and her father. In retaliation, the US State Department had to put special protection in place to protect her. Have you heard that story? No. She's a darn good figure skater too. Seems like a nice young lady. And Matt writes, thought it was interesting to see the flip side of the Eileen Goo coin. Not everyone wants the dirty commie coin they're offering.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, Eileen Goo is probably too smart for her own good. She's like super brilliant and has twisted her logic into making this make sense. Why the media goes along with it, I do not get. I mean, that just seems like so obvious. You're American born, going to Stanford, and you're skating for the communist Chinese. I mean, it's a ready made story of interest, but they portray it the other direction.

[Joe Getty]

It's awful. It's unforgivable.

[Jack Armstrong]

Like it's just a feel good story. Isn't this great at all?

[Joe Getty]

This is pretty. She's rich. She's rejected America. Yes, she's our friend. Say the media isn't that cool that

[Jack Armstrong]

she values her mom's cultural heritage so much that she's skating for China, you morons.

[Joe Getty]

And then, Katie, you might appreciate this. Michaela from Michigan dropped us a note. If you ever want to write us an email, it's mailbagarmstrongygetty.com we feature some emails early in the show. Hour one of the show. I don't know. Maybe we'll change that. Sprinkle them in. I don't know. But Michaela from Michigan is with child and is cursing me for introducing her to Kio's Pete potato chips. Oh, yeah, that was. I was upset with you for not

[Jack Armstrong]

sharing and now I am upset with you for sharing.

[Joe Getty]

Really?

[Jack Armstrong]

I haven't tried them yet. They're that good. Huh?

[Joe Getty]

They're so good, Jack. She was a fan since she was in high school and now is birthing and raising children.

[Jack Armstrong]

I realize very old. I realize it's meant to be a compliment, but that's not how it lands.

[Joe Getty]

Hey, one foot in the grave. What are you going to do? Darn you. She says. How do you sleep at night keeping those balsamic vinegar and sea salt chips? They're freaking delicious. The ruffles crisp in the most perfect way. I'm addicted. Did my pregnancy brain just order six more bags? Because shipping is high. Yes. Yes, it did. Yes, definitely. Don't sleep on the honey popcorn. Oh, wow. I. Honey popcorn.

[Jack Armstrong]

I love potato chips, so I got to try those.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, they're so good. They are not inexpensive, but health wise.

[Jack Armstrong]

They any healthier or are they just also just potato chips?

[Joe Getty]

Checking around to see if I have an S to give. I don't. Katie, what kind are you eating? Oh, the salt and the vinegar ones.

[Jack Armstrong]

I can't get off that flavor right now.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, it's a great flavor. It's a good flavor. Cheese and onion. 1. I'm telling you, that's. I dream about it at night. Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jack, I don't know what's going to be going on by the time Katie's first kid is of school age, but I know right now I've had a handful of conversations just in the last week with parents about smartphones and social media and stuff like that. If you're a parent and your kids are older than, like, I don't know, eight, it's just a constant thing on trying to figure out how much they're plugged into the bad world that is out there, how much they've accessed the world of drugs, sex and rock and roll or whatever in a way that was impossible for us when we were younger. Coming in contact with the worst actors out there. And it's addictive. So that's why I think the social media trial that's going on in Los Angeles right now, so interesting. We got a couple of more clips from that coming up. Zuckerberg was on the stand yesterday, will be on the stand again today. I assume they're going to talk to somebody from Google at some point.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I wish we could get Marxism sucks and your teachers are insane onto Tick Tock somehow. Actually, the communist Chinese are promoting the opposite of that, but seems like the only way to reach the kids.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, the two most dangerous ones, Tick Tock and Snapchat, wisely settled out of court before this trial began and are kind of off the hook.

[Joe Getty]

I can write a check for 5 million bucks and we don't get dragged through the headlines.

[Jack Armstrong]

Done well, and they probably are. Would be much harder for them to justify their thing. Snapchat, which seems to be designed by someone who hates parents, by the way. But we got more on that coming up in a second. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty

[Announcer]

sink into affordable luxury. Annabe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out with stain resistant slipcovers and a cloud like frame duvet. Everything goes right in the wash. Plus the modular design lets you change the look of your space anytime. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your home shop up to 60% off site wide with sofas starting at just $699 and a 30 day money back guarantee. Shop [e-mail] offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Joe Getty]

They take a vulnerable child. Well, all kids are vulnerable. Their self esteem and what girls face, especially on these platforms is horrifying to have to go through that. And it really has created such a huge mental health crisis in this country.

[Announcer]

If they take responsibility then they're going to have to change their business model and how they do business.

[Jack Armstrong]

Talking about Instagram and YouTube specifically and the role it plays in making kids miserable and how addictive it is. And like I understand why that mom there is so upset there. There are moms in the courtroom there whose kids have committed suicide, parents in the courtroom, whatever. And obviously that would be an unimaginably awful. But I just don't get how you can blame Facebook Meta and Google for something that is just going to be part of all of our lives going forward and we're going to have to figure out how to navigate it.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I got a quibble. I don't think you can find them liable, but I think you can blame them. I think you can say this is evil, this is bad, this is not good for me, my heart, my soul, my children, my family. This is something we should shun.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you think they should not be in the business and let somebody else do the business just out of morals?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, no, no, no. It's the same reason I don't go to strip clubs or smoke pot or a number of other things that are legal. But they're just a bad idea.

[Jack Armstrong]

Me on the stand yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg, who is a gazillionaire and owns Facebook Meta, said Meta no longer sets goals to increase time spent on apps and focuses instead on making services useful. I mean, all these distinctions of we're just so useful that people stay on it all day long as opposed to we're trying to keep you on in an addictive way. I mean, these are very squishy ideas.

[Joe Getty]

Well, he's a liar.

[Jack Armstrong]

Plaintiffs introduced internal documents suggesting past efforts to grow user engagement and time on the app, creating tension with that claim.

[Joe Getty]

Creating tension with that claim. That's a hell of a way to write it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. So Zuckerberg actually said yesterday that let me find the exact wording because I thought it was so good. Quote, not trying to maximize the amount of time people spend every month on the app. You're not. That is silly. That is like McDonald's saying we're not trying to get people to eat more often here and more when they get here. I mean that's what you're in business for. And which is fine by the way. You get to do that. And just the idea that Thomas the Tank Engine wasn't trying to get you to tune in again tomorrow. Or Blue's Clues when Steve at the end of the show would say see you tomorrow. See. So when he said see you tomorrow, that was actively trying to keep your kid engaged in the show for another episode.

[Joe Getty]

Damn cliffhangers.

[Jack Armstrong]

How can I resist? Of course it was.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, boy. Zuckerberg had the chocolatey faced kids saying he didn't eat the cookies. Feel to him.

[Jack Armstrong]

I can't believe he didn't go that far. I thought the defense was going to be we're doing the same thing every product on earth does. We're trying to sell as much of it as we can to people just

[Joe Getty]

like we're trying to make it enjoyable.

[Jack Armstrong]

Ford is trying to hook you on Ford cars for the rest of your life. You know, I've used all the other examples. McDonald's TV shows, sports. The NFL wants you to watch the next game. That's why they keep teasing the next game. During this game they scrolled immediately to the next game because I was one of the knocks on Instagram. There's no end to the scroll. The endless scroll is designed to addict you. So is going from the, you know, touchdown in this game to the kickoff of the next game. I mean, I don't see the difference really.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

I hate what product. I wish they didn't exist. But I don't, I don't understand draw. Drawing those lines between what Facebook is doing and every other product on earth.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. I think it might become a question of if they have said, look, we've realized our product screws up kids brains, the physical function of their brains to their detriment. But we're going to keep doing it. That's a different question. That's a more specific question.

[Jack Armstrong]

Would that, that might, that might really hurt meta in that they'd get sued for billions of dollars. But wouldn't another company do the same thing but just not say out loud that they know it's addicting kids?

[Joe Getty]

Well, no, I think once that precedent is set and everybody understands the mechanisms of how your brain changes and whether TikTok. It absolutely does. Whether they do the same things in similar enough ways that they'll be liable as well. Yeah, it'll all come crashing down.

[Jack Armstrong]

So, so crashing down in what way? What would it look like?

[Joe Getty]

Oh gosh, just unlimited liability for screwing up kids brains. But what would the companies do? Significantly change their algorithms? Probably in a deceptive way that this court spend the rest of our lives trying to catch up. I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, so are you only looking at it as a problem for addicting kids or for adults also? Are they?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I don't know if you're going to get as much liability there. And I hate freaking liability lawsuits, most of them. Again, I fall back. I just want people to be aware of who these people are, what their products do to them, and then make an intelligent decision whether you want to be part of that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Who was it? Lay's potato chips who had the slogan I bet you can't eat just one? Was it lace?

[Joe Getty]

Painted lace? I think so, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Whichever. It's true. It's very difficult to eat just one. Your honor, this company's slogan was I'll bet you can't eat just one. They knew that it was tricking your brain by making the taste dissolve instantly into wanting more of their product, which is. Causes obesity. I mean, I just, I don't see like there's that much difference between these things.

[Joe Getty]

No, it's, it's a good comparison.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I hate the social media thing. I wish it was never invented. I'm such a luddite. I really honestly think we're better off without the Internet. I really do. I heard some people mocking people like me who say that sort of thing the other day on a podcast, just thinking it's ridiculous. But I really think the world is better before the Internet, certainly raising kids.

[Joe Getty]

You know, what we're living through, it just occurred to me is the novelty era of the Internet and social media. And I think that's. I think future people and generations will have a better understanding of the Internet is a vast opportunity. And good stuff, great stuff, neutral stuff and terrible stuff is available there. You got to be a better consumer of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I hope you're right.

[Joe Getty]

It's going to be like the difference between watching a good solid news show or a great drama and watching Jerry effing Springer every single day. People will start to make those decisions.

[Jack Armstrong]

I hope you're more optimistic about that than I am. I hope you're right. I love that. I would love it, if it happened the way it happened with tobacco, once everybody found out, oh, this is poison and it's addictive on purpose and there's nothing good for you. You know, there's. There's a fair amount of social stigma around smoking and the percentage of people who smoke is a lot less than it used to be. And it's frowned upon by a lot of people. Can that happen for staring at your phone and everything?

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. I'm actually not that optimistic about society. Quote unquote. I think society is screwed. I just think individuals will start to get smarter. More and more individuals will get smarter and smarter about it every once in a while, including the kids.

[Jack Armstrong]

Every once in a while I'm struck anew. I live in a college town and I was just sitting at the stoplight and here, two guys with backpacks, obviously walking from classes back to their dorms or whatever they're doing. And they're walking along the bike path and they're both staring at their phone as they walked. And just the idea that not that many years ago that didn't exist at all. They would have been looking around. There's a big difference between looking around with your own thoughts than staring at that phone, almost certainly taking in useless information. It's not like they're probably reading Shakespeare

[Joe Getty]

or whatever and they would have been talking to each other. We used to go. The fraternity where I lived for a chunk of my college years was two longish blocks away from the seven, 11 and 12 months a year we would go gulp. We would get a big gulp because that was our caffeine of choice back in the day. And you'd always yell, hey, gulping. Who wants to go? You'd end up with 3, 4, 10 guys going to get gulps. You had to have your gulping glove. In the wintertime you had to have at least one glove because you couldn't hold that thing all the way home in the winter. In Champaign Urbana, Illinois.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's funny.

[Joe Getty]

But it was, it was a hoot. Yeah, it was always a hoot. My God, I long for those days. I can't imagine we all would have trekked down, their eyes on our phones, not exchanging a word. It hurts my heart to even think

[Jack Armstrong]

that we had the same thing. I lived in a duplex and we were a couple of blocks from the stop to shop, which had 25 cent hot dogs. And me and a couple other guys would walk over there, but yeah, and talking the whole way and laughing and having fun. And I know because I Live in a college town that now you would be all three of you staring at your phone, not talking to each other.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Which is weird. And. But, but, but I just. I don't know if it's going away. And hey, by the way, just in

[Joe Getty]

case you're wondering, Gladys is on her break. She joined the AFL CIO last week.

[Jack Armstrong]

She's union now and we just told.

[Joe Getty]

She gets like an hour break every two hours.

[Jack Armstrong]

We just two through two really reminiscing stories on there's no harm.

[Joe Getty]

Stubbed out her cigarette. Now she's back. I'll play the harp when the union says I have to.

[Jack Armstrong]

Not until Gladys flicks her cigarette on the ground and then stomps it out with her sensible shoe, sits down and plays her damn harp. Because we were reminiscing. That's gotta be among. I was thinking, sitting there at the stoplight, watching these two people walk, among the biggest. I said to my son, this has got to be among the biggest changes of human beings ever in evolution history, hasn't it? In a short amount of time.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And in a kind of bigger scale, what I'm always talking about, our perception of everything used to be personal, immediate and physical. It was what we heard ourselves, what we saw ourselves, the ideas we exchanged, the people we knew. It was 100% personal until a blink of an eye ago, evolutionarily speaking, when the written words started to get passed around. And then broadcast media and all but the Internet, you know, the entire world, all the time, the worst people in the world can jump onto my phone and try to persuade me of something that's like a tenth of a tenth of a tenth of a blink of an eye and we have no idea how to handle it.

[Jack Armstrong]

So the tobacco companies got hit with. I should look it up, read amazingly large judgments. Many, many, many billions of dollars. So if that happened to Facebook and Google and then you got These other close to 2, 000 lawsuits going forward based on how this one turns out, will all these companies have to be so damn careful about their addictive qualities. I just don't know if it would make a dent. I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

I think they're the. Some of them are the greatest minds of our generation. They. They will find ways to keep it going right and get around the laws.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do you have any thoughts on that? Our text line is 41529. Zuckerberg's back on the stand today.

[Joe Getty]

You know how I'm always saying that the problem with gun control is you're trying to outlaw A machine. And so they just change the machine and it's a different machine. Imagine that with an algorithm.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, no kidding.

[Joe Getty]

This algorithm is outlawed. Zuckerberg would guffaw at that.

[Jack Armstrong]

I assume that's what he sounds like when he laughs.

[Joe Getty]

A lot like that.

[Jack Armstrong]

We'll finish strong.

[Joe Getty]

Next Armstrong and Gettys.

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[Guest/Expert]

The naturally occurring toxins of the South American Anthony dart frog were used to murderous effect by Russian authorities to kill President Vladimir Putin's leading irritant, opposition figure Alexei Navalny. That's according to an investigation by the uk, Sweden, Germany, France and the Netherlands announced ahead of the second anniversary of Navalny's death. They said studies of samples from Navalny's body left them, quote, confident the rare substance epipatidine killed Navalny given by touch or injection and likely a synthetic version. Lab made, said an expert.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, lab made. Oh, okay. Because I was about to say it, I'm kind of surprised that they used some toxin from a dart frog to kill Navalny when he was in prison, because they could have killed him however they want. They could have hit him in the head with a brick. I mean, nobody was going to get any, have much, get much information out

[Joe Getty]

of that prison, right? Indeed. And frog squeezings are tough to come by there in Siberia, but now they can make it synthetically. I mean, what's AI gonna do to that? Is every murderous, you know, SOB in the world gonna be.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you opened the show with, I believe, noises of pessimism about the Russia, Ukraine peace deal.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, no, yeah. There's still gonna. Ain't gonna work it out.

[Joe Getty]

No, no, there's still unbridgeable gaps between the two countries. Plus Putin's a Megalomaniac. I don't know if you've ever negotiated with a megalomaniac.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's.

[Joe Getty]

It's tough.

[Jack Armstrong]

He has no interest in quitting, even though he's currently losing 35000 men a month, which is an unimaginable number.

[Joe Getty]

Right. That can't last forever.

[Jack Armstrong]

You wouldn't think so, no.

[Joe Getty]

No. Mystery though, how that one ends. Good Lord, it's so grim. Hamas is refusing to disarm and so we could see a return to action there in the gritty sandy alleys of Gaza before too terribly long. I hope the college kids have got their keffiyehs handy. They didn't, you know, like give them to Goodwill or something. They'll need to break those out again.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, we've talked a lot over the last four hours. All the reporting is that it's quite likely we attack Iran and it'll be a mult weeks war, not just a quick hit and run. I wonder under the COVID of that if Netanyahu does whatever he's got to do to clean up Gaza because they wouldn't get a heck of a lot of attention while we're at war with

[Joe Getty]

Iran if he can avoid the appearance of like a major campaign and just, you know, surgical, quick and brutal. Yeah, 100%.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. We're gonna. According to the reports, it's like we're gonna bomb Iran. We've got assassins in there. There's all going to be all kinds of strategic taking out their weapon systems. It's gonna be, it's gonna be quite the story.

[Joe Getty]

And do we see the discombobulator used again? Discombobulator, Right. The brain, whatever the hell that.

[Jack Armstrong]

They ain't got much to give you.

[Joe Getty]

They gonna give you what they got

[Jack Armstrong]

through the four hour workdays battle. It's time for final thoughts. Thoughts. Here's your host for final thoughts, Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

All right, let's get a final thought from everybody on the crew to wrap things up for the day. Michelangelo, our technical director, will lead us off from the control room. Michael, final thought. You know, I could see websites having some sort of time limit. So you're gonna be scrolling on these things and all of a sudden then a screen will pop up and say, you've been on here for two hours. Don't you think you should stop? Yeah, yeah, I wonder.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would like that. I think, I think I can set my phone up for that. I should do that though. I wouldn't mind having a little thing pop up and say it's been 15 minutes. Dude, you said you're gonna look at it for like two minutes, right?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Katie Greener steamed News one has a final thought.

[Jack Armstrong]

Katie traveled over the weekend. The airport I was in had a Pizza Hut. Long lines. No stray cats in the area though.

[Joe Getty]

Oh boy now.

[Jack Armstrong]

So people were in line for Pizza Hut. Yeah, it's funny.

[Joe Getty]

Solid, inexpensive. Zar.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now while we're on that topic, I, I told this story at the time and it's still true. I remember which, I don't remember which major airport I was at though. But they had like a healthy place, salads and stuff like that. Real airport was packed, busy and a McDonald's line at the McDonald's you had to wait for a long time. No line at the healthy spot. What do you need to know about our obesity problem?

[Joe Getty]

America?

[Jack Armstrong]

People would rather stand in line than eat a salad.

[Joe Getty]

My final thought is it dwarfs every other challenge we have including war with Iran or the economy, even the national debt, the indoctrination of our children in government schools. I think it's the worst thing happening in America.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, we're gonna pay for the price for it I think for many years to come. Armstrong and Getty wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.

[Joe Getty]

Perhaps the ultimate price. So many people. Thanks a little time. Go to armstrongandgetti.com Got a lot of great hot links. If you want to drop us line you can do it. Mailbagarmstrongygetti.com pick up some Angie swag. I was just wearing the hot dogs our dogs T shirt. It makes a real statement about you are not going to reject reality just because progressives tell you to.

[Jack Armstrong]

Will we be at war with Iran? But the time we talk to tomorrow, I don't know. See you then. God bless America.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

They meet every day and talk about

[Joe Getty]

the way the world has gone astray. Jack and joke they mixing jokes for all you good folks and podcasting for later in the day. Subscribe to the podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand Armstrong and Getty.

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[Joe Getty]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.