Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: I May Get Bigger Boobs Just To Thank Them
Date: February 4, 2026
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty

Overview

This episode of the Armstrong & Getty Show tackles the state of American media, the dying trust in legacy journalism, changing news habits in the social media era, and significant developments in the medical field regarding gender transition surgeries for minors. They also discuss nostalgia, cultural homogenization, quirky local customs (Pittsburgh’s parking chair tradition), and recent news about the Clintons’ testimony concerning Jeffrey Epstein.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Decline of Legacy News Media

• Washington Post Layoffs: The hosts discuss mass layoffs at the Washington Post, reflecting on the broader crisis of trust and finances in major news outlets.
  • "[Washington Post] readership has halved in the last couple of years and this is not good. ...We cannot function as a society like that." — Wolf, [04:51]
  • Jack asserts the irreparable loss of public trust in such organizations:

    "You need to accept that that horse has left the barn. Those big organizations lost their trust years ago. ...They flush their credibility down the toilet and it's gone." — Jack Armstrong, [05:35]

• Changing News Consumption: Discussion about younger generations never accessing legacy outlets and relying instead on social media and niche sites.
  • "If you're under 30, you've never even heard of these things. And if you have, you've never checked them out." — Wolf, [06:02]

Charity & Sustainability in Journalism

• Many political publications have always survived on donations or foundation support; there's skepticism about whether large-scale objective reporting is still viable.
  • "There just might not be a model for being able to hire reporters that do the very expensive job of...digging up information, writing a story about it over weeks." — Wolf, [08:24]

Clickbait, Echo Chambers, and the Incentive Problem

• Tucker Carlson Example: Sensationalism attracts more clicks than deep reporting.
  • "He just realized all the money is in salacious headlines and clicks. ...Nobody clicks on the good, solid journalism that you took weeks to put together." — Wolf, [09:15]
• Echo chamber effects and the economic realities of modern media are highlighted.
  • "The echo chamber, the commentariat will talk about these articles a lot, but...not much at all [in ad dollars]." — Jack Armstrong, [09:56]

The Collapse of Shared Truth

• Armstrong & Getty lament the lack of shared knowledge, even among guests at the same dinner table, due to algorithmic social feeds and fragmented media consumption.
  • "What's our shared knowledge of the world out there anymore? ...You could have a dinner party...They're all sitting at the table with completely different information about hot top stories." — Wolf, [13:52]
• But Jack argues that legacy media is no antidote:
  • "Face the Nation and the Washington Post...they're just another example of exactly what you're talking about." — Jack Armstrong, [15:28]

Medical Establishment and Gender Transition Policy

• Breakthrough Medical Guidance: The American Society of Plastic Surgeons releases guidance against gender transition surgeries for minors, advising delay until at least age 19 due to insufficient evidence on long-term benefits.
  • "The new ASPS guidance acknowledges that there is insufficient evidence to prove that irreversible gender related surgical interventions have long term benefits for adolescents and therefore recommends that surgeons delay...surgery until a patient is at least 19." — Jack Armstrong, [20:54]
• Surging legal liability concerns:
  • "The first successful lawsuit has happened against psychologists and a doctor. $2 million and there's going to be, I think, a flood of these." — Wolf, [22:36]
• Jack responds to "cash grab" worries:

  • “It’s interesting that you went to cash grabs when we’re talking about people who have been permanently altered by experimental treatments.” — Jack Armstrong, [23:09]

• Social contagion factor noted: sharp recent drop in youth identifying as transgender.

  • "Meanwhile, in the last two years, the number of adolescents identifying as transgender has been cut in half because it was a social craze, always was." — Jack Armstrong, [23:27]

Political News: Clintons to Testify on Epstein

• Bill and Hillary Clinton are compelled to give video testimony in a House investigation relating to Jeffrey Epstein, under threat of contempt of Congress.
  • "The Clintons must have thought that the hammer was going to come down anyway. So Bill and Hillary are going to be questioned about the Epstein files." — Wolf, [27:04]
• Opinions on whether the Clintons have anything to hide or if the exercise is political theater.
  • "I suspect very strongly this will be a non-event. ...I'm no great defender of Bill. ...Do I think he was friends with Epstein probably. Hot chicks were at parties. Underage chicks, knowingly, I doubt it." — Jack Armstrong, [28:46]

AI and Stock Market Volatility

• The rapid rise of AI tools and their abrupt impact on financial markets.
  • "Rapidly expanding artificial intelligence capabilities helped erase $300 billion in market value on Tuesday. ...Anthropic's legal tool can review contracts, perform other industry specific functions. ...LegalZoom, Thomson Reuters, RELX...stocks plunged 15%." — Jack Armstrong, [31:27]
• Anticipation that the “golden age of chatbots” will end as monetization (ads, paywalls) becomes universal.
  • "One of them is going to decide to put ads in ChatGPT or Grok or whatever. Then they're all going to follow suit...You're either going to have to pay a lot more or see tons of ads every time you go on there and ask a question." — Wolf, [34:10]

Nostalgia and the Loss of Local Culture

• Armstrong & Getty reflect on whether longing for the past is simple nostalgia or justified criticism of homogenized modern America.
  • _"Modern nostalgia can't hold a candle to old timeiness." — Jack Armstrong, [35:05]
  • "I remember when nostalgia was fantastic, but those days are over." — Wolf, [35:00]
• Local color: The Pittsburgh “parking chair” tradition, a rare example of regional culture persisting in a big-box, chain-store America.

  • "If you dig out a parking space, like in front of your house on the street, you put a chair there until...she parks her car there because you cleared it, it's your space. ...It's not just a tradition. It's the law." — Jack Armstrong, [41:58]

  • The term “jagoff” and stories from Pittsburgh highlight enduring local customs in contrast with cities where such traditions are vanishing.
  • "The parking chair, like the pierogi, has become a kitschy emblem of Pittsburgh. ...T-shirts proclaim respect the parking chair. Tiny chairs dangle on Christmas trees." — Jack Armstrong, [45:49]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the end of shared national narratives:
  "We cannot, honestly...We cannot function as a society like that." — Wolf, [04:51]
• On failed media self-correction:
  "I agree with everything you said five years ago. ...That horse has left the barn. ...They flush their credibility down the toilet and it's gone." — Jack Armstrong, [05:35]
• Nostalgia versus decline:
  "I'm not nostalgic for when it worked better. That's not nostalgia. That's things have gotten crappier, which I don't think you can probably call nostalgia." — Jack Armstrong, [39:56]
• On transition surgeries and minors:
  "A minor can't determine that. That's what being a minor is. ...That's why you're not held accountable for crimes the same way or all kinds of different things." — Wolf, [21:54]
• On the homogenization of America:
  "I despise the absolutely uniform, big box hell that spread across the country." — Jack Armstrong, [41:36]
• On regional resilience:
  "The parking chair, like the pierogi, has become a kitschy emblem of Pittsburgh. ...T-shirts proclaim respect the parking chair." — Jack Armstrong, [45:49]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:04] Washington Post layoffs and state of journalism
• [08:56] Economic realities of news, clickbait, and niche audiences
• [13:52] Collapse of shared knowledge and news echo chambers
• [20:54] American Society of Plastic Surgeons' guidance on gender transition surgeries for minors
• [22:36] Lawsuits over gender transition surgery and liability
• [23:27] "Social craze": drop in adolescent trans identification
• [26:19] Bill & Hillary Clinton to testify on Epstein investigation
• [31:27] AI tools' effect on the stock market and legal industry
• [35:00] Reflections on nostalgia and cultural homogenization
• [41:58] Pittsburgh’s parking chair tradition and resistance to cultural homogenization

Tone

Fast-paced, sardonic, and conversational with frequent asides, wry jokes, and a blend of skepticism and nostalgia about America’s present and future. The hosts’ signature banter is present throughout, mixing deep concern over media and cultural trends with self-deprecating humor.

Summary

This episode blends biting commentary on the collapse of legacy journalism and trust, emerging social and medical controversies, impacts of AI on the economy, and the disappearance of local culture in homogenized America. Armstrong & Getty offer criticism, humor, resignation, and the occasional glimmer of hope for quirky regional resilience amid technological and societal tumult.