Armstrong & Getty On Demand — "I Like To Know When I Am Doomed"

Episode Date: January 14, 2026
Podcast Host: iHeartPodcasts
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Guest: Anastasia Bowden, Pacific Legal Foundation

Episode Overview

This episode of Armstrong & Getty dives deep into the cultural and legal battles of modern American discourse, focusing on:

• The social volatility amplified by internet culture and social media "mob mentality"
• Media and political hyperbole vs. fact-based dialogue
• The Supreme Court's oral arguments around transgender participation in female sports
• Legal distinctions, philosophical quandaries, and societal implications of “sex” and “gender” in law
• An enlightening discussion with Anastasia Bowden of the Pacific Legal Foundation about the current state and likely outcomes of Supreme Court cases affecting Title IX

The tone as always is lively, skeptical, and sometimes irreverent, blending humor with pointed commentary.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Challenge of Modern Discourse & Media Hysteria

- Social Media Outrage & ‘Bomb Chucking’ (03:27–09:50)

• Opening bit: The hosts mock contemporary “identity” labels and online activism, with a satirical “trans indigenous” protestor that highlights social confusion and performative activism.
• Political hyperbole:
  • David Frum tweet exaggerates Trump “preparing to kill Danish NATO comrades,” using Greenland as a flashpoint—hosts and Ian Bremmer push back against this rhetoric.
  • Quote (Joe Getty, 08:18): “My view is I think it’s essential to be honest with people and not hyperbolic. Focus on serious threats … Especially because the latter diminishes credibility of those offering criticism.”
• Media reward structure:
  • The team reflects on whether they could have been more successful “playing the game” by being provocateurs, but acknowledge they don’t want to sacrifice integrity (10:17–11:46).
  • Quote (Jack Armstrong, 10:49): “I’ll bet it feels pretty good … you get in front of a crowd and you say exactly what they want and they’re cheering.”

- Existential Fretting & The Doom Meter

• Cynical optimism vs. resignation:
  • Joe Getty wonders if measured discussion can win out over mob sensationalism.
  • Quote (Jack Armstrong, 09:50): “I like to know when I’m doomed and we’re doomed because then you don’t bother trying anymore.”
  • Internet-fueled mobs and human tribalism are discussed as major threats to rational debate.

2. The Supreme Court, Gender, and Sports

- Setting the Stage: What’s at Stake? (15:37–22:27)

• Supreme Court heard oral arguments on whether states can restrict participation in girls’ sports to biological females.
• Hosts are sharply critical of the linguistic and philosophical “confusion” injected by “radical gender theory.”
• Irreverent humor about names and terminology.

- Key Arguments from the Courtroom (16:46–22:03)

• Ketanji Brown Jackson introduces terms like "cisgender" and "gender identity," which the hosts lampoon.
  • Quote (Jack Armstrong, 17:28): “She said cisgender girls don’t get to play…and that would make us like—the guy’s like, ‘Oh my God, that’s not even a thing. We’re talking about sex’.”
• Justice Samuel Alito pushes the essential question:
  • “Do you agree that a school may have separate teams for boys and girls? … Then we gotta define what a boy and a girl is, right?” (20:09–20:24)
• The logical infinite regress of trying to draw lines between “boys who are girlish enough” to compete is highlighted—it’s “enormously burdensome for everyone.”

- Spicy Supreme Court Back-and-Forth

• Legal technicalities meet common sense: What actually defines "boy" and "girl"? Can you base it on testosterone? Is such line-drawing even possible?
• The oral argument exposes the logical, practical, and legal absurdities of extending gender fluidity to competitive sports.

3. Interview: Anastasia Bowden, Pacific Legal Foundation (25:48–39:02)

- The Current Legal Landscape

• 23:30–26:00: Bowden explains that 27 states have passed laws restricting sports participation to biological sex—with public opinion and science now largely backing these laws.
• This Supreme Court case could either simply validate those state laws or have much wider effects (“Does it mean that states must separate by biological sex? Or does it merely mean that laws that choose to separate by biological sex are constitutional?”).
• Humanizing the issue: Female athletes’ real-world experiences of unfairness when competing against biological males.

- Slippery Slopes & Line-Drawing Dilemmas

• The conversation explores absurd hypothetical consequences if line-drawing isn’t based on straightforward sex:
  • Could universities create separate chess teams if men perform better at chess? “Does that now mean that schools can create a remedial program for men and exclude women?”
• Hosts are adamant that only immutable characteristics (like biological sex) should define protected classes under civil rights law.
  • “It seemed pretty clear to me, and I’m not a constitutional lawyer, but you have a self evident class, male and female, that has never in the history of humankind been disputed…” (30:20)

- Potential Issues for Title IX and Beyond

• If “gender identity” supplants “sex” in Title IX, the law’s original intent is undermined, leading to endless, cumbersome individual assessments.
• Bowden suggests the court will likely take a “narrow” decision, but might have to confront whether transgender people constitute a protected class.
  • Justice Barrett, in a previous concurring opinion, argued that transgender status is not “immutable” (as race or biological sex is).

Notable Quotes:

• (Anastasia Bowden, 26:00): “Public opinion has really turned and I think that will no doubt have an influence on the court. But yeah, the argument was really interesting, really spicy.”
• (Anastasia Bowden, 38:22): “Being trans is not an immutable characteristic… it’s a huge class of people that’s constantly changing based on a whole bunch of decisions and different traits.”
• (Jack Armstrong, 35:22): “Cool and uncool could not be a protected class. Or fun and a real drag. I mean, for instance.”

- The Absurdity and Public Attitudes

• Hosts and guest express exasperation that society and the courts are “having to answer or ask and answer these questions about the most intrinsic and obvious facets of human life.” (34:38)
• Discussion about the balance of civil rights law—do physical distinctions matter or only self-proclaimed identity?

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Satirizing elaborate identity language, including “trans indigenous” and “trans pigmented”, exposing how far identity discourse has wandered.
• Jack Armstrong’s refrain: “Don’t cede that ground to the radicals. Don’t use their invented terminology.” (44:47)
• The mental image of politicians “riling up” their base (“bomb chuckers”) purely for adoration and media attention.

Important Timestamps

• 03:08–09:56: Media outrage and online mob mentality; can calm, factual discussion win?
• 09:50: “I like to know when I’m doomed…”—theme for the episode.
• 15:37–22:27: Clips and commentary from the Supreme Court’s oral arguments on transgender athletes in women’s sports.
• 25:48–39:02: Detailed interview with Anastasia Bowden, insight into the legal framework, possible outcomes, and the reality of Title IX.
• 44:47: Mini-rant: “Don’t cede that ground to the radicals…” regarding language.
• 45:13–45:45: Quote from the Free Press: what is “female”, public perception, and the joy in difference.

Episode Summary & Takeaways

• Media and political discourse: There’s a war between fact-based dialogue and hyperbolic, audience-pleasing "bomb chucking." The latter is winning—for now.
• Supreme Court case: Debates about transgender athletes reveal serious logical, legal, and societal quandaries about definitions of “sex” and “gender.” The outcome could impact far more than sports.
• Interview insights: Public opinion has shifted; 27 states have passed “biological sex in sports” laws. Defining protected classes in civil rights law will shape the legal future for gender and sports.
• Philosophical frustration: The hosts and guest bemoan having to debate issues so basic as “what is a man, what is a woman”—but acknowledge the legal system must address them.
• Final advice: Avoid the negativity of online comment sections; don’t mindlessly adopt fashionable language that muddles basic concepts.

Notable Quotes

• “My view is I think it’s essential to be honest with people and not hyperbolic. Focus on serious threats… Especially because the latter diminishes credibility of those offering criticism.”
  — Joe Getty, 08:18
• “I like to know when I’m doomed and we’re doomed because then you don’t bother trying anymore.”
  — Jack Armstrong, 09:50
• “Don’t cede that ground to the radicals. Don’t use their invented terminology.”
  — Jack Armstrong, 44:47
• “If we think female means human beings with low circulating testosterone, then of course, anyone who fits that category should be allowed to play in female sports. But most Americans do not take that view about what a woman is and never have…”
  — Quoting Free Press, 45:13

Conclusion

A quintessential Armstrong & Getty hour: incisive, skeptical, and often hilarious, the episode both mocks and mourns modern identity politics while illuminating the profound social and legal issues at stake in the Supreme Court's gender sports cases. The takeaway: facts matter, language matters, and—unfortunately—American society is locked in ongoing battles over reality itself.