I Took My Watch Off To Strip Search MichaelAngelo?

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "I Took My Watch Off To Strip Search MichaelAngelo?"
Date: November 13, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Armstrong and Getty cover a range of current events and cultural topics with their trademark mix of sharp wit, skepticism, and tangential humor. The conversation shifts from snarky commentary on reality TV to in-depth political analysis and ultimately veers into personal anecdotes and philosophical musings. Notable threads include economic anxiety, inflation, the politics of the Epstein transparency vote, and how American lifestyles and expectations have changed over time.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Cultural Commentary: The Golden Bachelor

[00:03–02:32]

• The conversation opens with a tongue-in-cheek riff on "The Golden Bachelor," poking fun at the show's sappiness and the implausibility of TV romance.
• Jack notes, “Man, that is some sappy S music they played in the background.”
• Joe questions the reality of quick on-screen relationships: "The idea that you're then going to get married is idiotic." [02:18]
• Lighthearted banter about why people (especially women, in their view) are drawn to these shows.

2. Inflation, Economic Messaging, and Political Ramifications

[02:32–07:54]

• Analysis of Trump’s and Biden's handling of inflation—especially public messaging and disconnect from Americans’ lived experiences.
• Persistent skepticism about the effectiveness of political communication:
  • Joe: "No, the White House messaging and Trump in particular have been terrible on this issue. I mean, like, almost suicidally bad. I don’t get it." [03:43]
• Armstrong discusses inflated expectations bred by campaign promises:
  • “People who don’t know a lot about how inflation works thought the prices were actually going to go back to what prices used to be. But that’s not the way inflation works.” [03:50]
• They explore how the psychological impact of high prices outlasts the actual period of inflation and speculate on when Americans might emotionally adjust.

3. Cultural Comparisons: 1950s vs. Today

[08:12–13:57]

• They dissect the meme circulating on social media: “In the 1950s, a single salary could buy a home.”
• Refer to Ben Shapiro’s rebuttal explaining that post-WWII America was a historical anomaly and that people then lived much more modestly.
  • "Comparing our lifestyle right now to the 1950s...it’s not apples to apples or apples to oranges, like apples to golden retrievers." –Joe Getty [12:39]
• Both hosts share personal stories of sharing bedrooms growing up, contrasting modern expectations (private rooms for every child).

4. Personal Tangent: The Dangers of Wet Bedding

[14:35–18:15]

• Entertaining side story from Jack about washing his comforter and attempting to sleep in a cold, wet bed out of sheer tiredness:
  • "I’m gonna try to sleep on top of the wet sheets, under a wet comforter." [15:55]
  • Joe reacts: "Yeah, well, your brain is trying to tell you something. Are you trying to die? Would you like to die? This is how you die." [16:26]
• Relates this back to the luxury of modern domestic life—would never have been tolerated when sharing a bed or room.

5. Epstein Transparency Act & Political Strategy

[18:18–26:38]

• Deep dive into recent Congressional action controversially labeled the “Epstein Transparency Act.”
• Breakdown of media coverage, bipartisan intrigue, and Trump's pressure on Republican members to vote against releasing the Epstein files.
• Outlines the “Pascal's Wager” political analogy:
  • Joe Getty: "I think a lot of Republicans, or at least a handful of them, are making that bargain. ...there’s no loss in me for pretending that I’m fighting bravely against this cabal..." [22:02]
• Rep. Thomas Massie’s warning to colleagues:
  • "If you vote no, you’re covering up for a pedophile. That’s a pretty strong statement." [24:33]

6. Philosophical Detour: Pascal's Wager & Belief

[27:50–30:57]

• Discussion of Pascal’s Wager in the context of Congressional posturing and its usefulness in politics.
  • Delves into whether “pretending” to believe (in God or anything else) is ethically or practically viable.
• Reference to Christopher Hitchens’ critique:
  • Jack: “His argument… was God would know that you were just playing the odds…” [28:50]
• Personal reflections on faith, doubt, and the humanity of figures like Mother Teresa.

7. Radon and Modern Risks

[30:57–31:48]

• Unexpected segue: Joe raises the issue of radon exposure leading to lung cancer in young women, despite non-smoking status. Jack: “I know I have a radon detector because the city makes me, but I didn’t know it’s giving girls lung cancer.” [31:33]

8. Audience Engagement & Listener Feedback

[31:48–32:43]

• Hosts comment on listener feedback, polling their audience’s interest in the Epstein topic:
  • “I’d say it’s running about nine to one—no, you’re not interested. With some very aggressive language about me and the fact that I’m talking about it at all.” [31:56]

9. Transgender Issues in Sports & Political Satire

[32:43–34:12]

• Brief news mention: IOC bans biological males from women’s sports.
• Launch of Armstrong & Getty’s new satirical T-shirt: “Ruin the Entire Country. Newsom 2028.”
  • Jack: “Says so much in so few words.” [33:50]

10. Bike Stunts and Teenage Risk-Taking

[34:37–37:29]

• Story of a French student setting a world record for the longest continuous wheelie—93 miles in 6.5 hours.
• Joe: “Just 230 [people] have won the Nobel Prize in physics, but only one person has done a wheelie for six and a half hours.” [36:13]
• Anecdotes about their kids and the hazards of “mobbing” (riding bikes dangerously in groups).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On inflation and political messaging:
  • "People thought the prices were actually going to go back to what prices used to be. But that's not the way inflation works." –Jack [03:50]
• On lifestyle comparisons:
  • "It's not apples to apples or apples to oranges—like apples to golden retrievers." –Joe Getty [12:39]
• On the impracticality of fixing affordability:
  • "If you were going to run for president honestly… I don't think there's that much you can do about it." –Jack [08:14]
• On comparing yourself to others:
  • "Comparison is the thief of joy." –Joe [06:50]
• On the Epstein transparency debate:
  • "If you vote no, you’re covering up for a pedophile. That’s a pretty strong statement." –Rep. Thomas Massie (quoted by Jack) [24:33]
• On audience interest:
  • "I’d say it’s running about nine to one—no, you’re not interested. With some very aggressive language about me and the fact that I'm talking about it at all." –Jack [31:56]
• On wet bedding:
  • "You know, wet and cold is like among the most unpleasant feelings a human being could have." –Jack [16:15]
• On satire and Newsom:
  • "Ruin the entire country. Newsom 2028." –Joe [33:53]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | 00:03 – 02:32 | Golden Bachelor—satire and cultural commentary | | 02:32 – 07:54 | Inflation, Biden/Trump messaging, and emotional impact | | 08:12 – 13:57 | Comparing modern life to the 1950s, Ben Shapiro’s critique | | 14:35 – 18:15 | Personal anecdote: Sleeping in wet bedding | | 18:18 – 26:38 | Epstein files, Congressional debate, Pascal’s Wager analogy | | 27:50 – 30:57 | Deep dive on faith, doubt, and the ability to “fake it” | | 30:57 – 31:48 | Radon and lung cancer | | 32:43 – 34:12 | News: IOC sports ban, launch of satirical T-shirt | | 34:37 – 37:29 | Teen bike stunts, world record wheelie |

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Tone and Style

The tone is conversational, humorous, occasionally sarcastic, and often incisive. Armstrong & Getty present complex issues with skepticism toward both media narratives and political spin, blending policy insight with relatable personal stories and irreverence.

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For New Listeners

This episode is a perfect snapshot of Armstrong & Getty’s core strengths: quick-witted banter, skepticism toward official stories, cultural criticism, and an ability to weave in personal, humorous stories. If you missed the episode, this summary should equip you with key arguments, memorable one-liners, and the context behind the buzziest topics of the week.

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio Studio at.

[B]

The George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[A]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty. I'm here at the end with Peg.

[B]

And that's the way it was meant to be. We are perfect for each other.

[A]

You told me you had confidence in me, that I'd make the right choice. Yeah, I did. I have a ring. And this represents our commitment to love, to give us time to figure out together what our future holds. Wait a second. What do you think?

[B]

I agree. Definitely a match.

[A]

That's for dang sure. I'm not for everybody.

[B]

He's not for everybody, but we're definitely for each other.

[A]

Okay, that's from the Golden Bachelor last night. Man, that is some sappy S music that they played in the background. Michael, you said you have family members who were into the Golden Bachelor? Yeah, my mom and my sister. They watch it. So it's like the Bachelor, except it's an old guy. Yeah. How old was he? 97?

[B]

No, I think he was 63. 63 years old. He's 66 and she's 63, I believe.

[A]

Dude, how long have you pulled this act where you, like, tell a girl and I've bought you this ring to signify the fact that we're going to seriously consider being together and talk it over and see how things turn out? Whoa, wait a second. What kind of commitment is that?

[B]

Maybe the shows, those shows got tired of announcing the engagement of the winner and his chosen one, and they always break up and it become a running joke.

[A]

What? Because they've known each other for two weeks on a television show? The concept is so crazy, but it continues. All right, who are the family members that like to watch it, Michael?

[B]

Oh, it's just my sister. Yeah, my mom and my sister.

[A]

Yeah, your sister, your mom. Okay. Well, I know chicks that they get love. Love blooming. Everybody likes that, right?

[B]

Teach their own. I could see, you know, you'd meet somebody and really hit it off with them. That's entirely possible on a TV show. The idea that you're then going to get married is idiotic.

[A]

Well, not a TV show.

[B]

They've abandoned it because it's like just.

[A]

All the weird stuff that's going on.

[B]

In other news, this coming out of the shutdown. President Trump's approval on the economy in an AP poll is 33%. But the Treasury Secretary urges Americans worried about affordability to be patient.

[A]

There is the inflation line.

[B]

We've got that under control, it's leveled out.

[A]

That is going to start turning down.

[B]

Then there's the income line. I would expect in the first quarter.

[A]

Second quarter of next year, those two.

[B]

Lines are going to cross and the.

[A]

American people are going to start feeling better. Are they? I actually heard a. What I thought was a pretty good story on NPR today about this. They're going with the angle that when inflation was bad, Joe Biden was telling Americans it wasn't. And you could say all day long the economy was great. Joe Biden was out there saying, the economy's the best in the world. And you go to the grocery store and get gas and everything like that. And you would think, holy crap. Now you have almost exactly the same thing going on with Donald Trump going around saying the economy's the best in the world, the best it's ever been, man.

[B]

It don't feel. Look at the stock market.

[A]

Yeah, but don't feel that way when you go to the grocery store or buy anything.

[B]

No, the White House messaging and Trump in particular have been terrible on this issue. I mean, like, almost suicidally bad. I don't get it.

[A]

As we talked about yesterday, he ran on I'm going to lower prices, which is not really what he meant, but that's what he said. And people who don't know a lot about how inflation works thought the prices were actually going to go back to what prices used to be. But that's not the way inflation works.

[B]

Right. So.

[A]

Yeah, so even if you got inflation down to 2%, people still be. A lot of people would still be pretty unhappy because things are expensive. Like I've been saying since the inflation thing took, I don't know how long it takes before you get used to new prices, to where it no longer shocks you. But I'm not there yet. I'm not there yet.

[B]

I don't know about everybody else. Oh, no, no, not even close. You know, it's very much like the whole I'll solve the Ukraine, Russia thing in one day, which I realize it was her hyperbole. How about one month? How about one year? How about ever? And just making outlandish promises about the economy. Then when they don't materialize, telling Americans, no, you're wrong, it's great.

[A]

That's just.

[B]

That's insane messaging.

[A]

Yeah, Yeah. I was.

[B]

You could have come into office and say, you know, the day of the inauguration, you could say, look, the economy super screwed up because Biden was terrible at it.

[A]

True.

[B]

It's probably going to take a solid year to two years to straighten things out. But we're going to bring down that inflation level. We're going to see if we can even roll prices back a little bit. That's going to be tough because the way inflation works, but by God, we're going to do everything we can to make your life more affordable. That would have been great. And then people have had a little bit of patience. But between the bad messaging and the tariff thing, it's just. I'm not shocked his approval numbers are that low.

[A]

30%. That was his, like, bulletproof number that he was so good on all through the first term. And while he was running that in immigration, he. As we've said many, many times, he's.

[B]

Got.

[A]

The common man, the common touch, better than practically anybody who's ever run for president in the history of this country. But it is quite possible on this one that a guy that looks at the stock market to see how the economy is doing doesn't get that for everybody else who. That isn't their number one concern. Every single time you go to the grocery store, you're shocked. Every time you eat out, you're shocked at what it costs.

[B]

Mm. Shop for your kids clothes, whatever.

[A]

Oh, yeah. It's just amazing. And I don't know what you do about that. So that. That's. That's one angle. I find the psychology of all this interesting because at some point, we'll get used to the new prices and they will no longer shock us, and that will just be. We'll be back to regular life. Like, I don't know how long that takes. So that's kind of an emotional thing. And it's also kind of an emotional thing. Whether you're happy or not. It's got a lot to do with comparing yourself to other people. And if you perceive that other people have more than you, you're less happy. Whereas if you perceive that other people have the same as you, you're happy with the same stuff. It's just human nature. And it's interesting.

[B]

Comparison is the thief of joy. Yeah.

[A]

And everybody does it. Wait a second.

[B]

Where's my watch? I try very, very hard not to do it. Every time I catch myself doing it, I say dumb.

[A]

Stop it. Comparing yourself to other people.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

I'm sorry to get sidetracked, but I don't have my watch on and I never take my watch off. I must have taken it off in my sleep.

[B]

Was it when you strip searched Michelangelo? I know you do that before every show just to make sure he's not hiding Any weapons, you know, prison style.

[A]

I took my watch off to strip search Michelangelo.

[B]

Well, you had to, you know.

[A]

Oh, God.

[B]

Took him a minute, folks.

[A]

I got sidetracked. So then the other thing is, because this affordability issue is going to be the issue that both parties are wrangling over, no doubt, for the next year leading up to the midterms. And I don't know if there is an answer from either side politically. The answer is to seem like the party that cares the most about it in terms of actually doing anything about it. That's a whole different question. But you got to seem like the party complicated that cares about it.

[B]

Well, then let me just say, if the Republicans lose on that point, after the debacle of the Biden administration and the Democratic Congress, I mean, that'd be like losing a football game. You're up 50 to nothing in the fourth quarter that. Well, I'm going to don my Armstrong and get the F y' all looking party T shirt proudly on that day.

[A]

Well, if you were going to run for president honestly, completely honestly, to me, because I don't think there's that much you can do about it. You just said, look, this is the way inflation works. You know how a new car cost $2,000 in 1965 and now they cost $40,000. Inflation just. Things get more and more expensive over time. What? We had a period here where inflation happened really, really fast, and it's shocking to us and it's gonna take years before we get used to these prices or wages catch up and there's nothing I can do about it. I mean, that's the way. I mean, that would have been the honest thing.

[B]

Yeah. Or you could rephrase that and just say, we're going to stop prices from rising anymore from rising so quickly. We've got to slow it down and we have the plan to do it. That'd be good enough, I think.

[A]

But he said prices will come down. And then the idiotic media, much of whom I don't think understand how inflation works either, talk regularly about. And prices haven't come down yet. Well, they're not going to. They're gonna stop going up so fast. Anywho, this meme is seems to be back, at least on social media. I heard Ben Shapiro on somebody else's podcast the other day addressing it. He got hit with the whole. But look, in the 50s, on a single salary, you could own a home. It was based on the stat that got everybody's attention last week that the median first time home buyer is now 40. It was 29 in 18 in 1981. It is now 40 years old. Started there. So you used to be able to just dad working, buy a home, live the American dream. And Ben Shapiro, in that he's a very smart guy sort of way, broke it down the way we have broken it down many times over the years. That the combination of that was a blip in time after World War II, when the entire manufacturing sector of the world disappeared and we were the only manufacturer of everything, combined with the fact that those people were living a much less extravagant, extravagant lifestyle than everybody does now. Tiny houses, Ben Shapiro actually said, and I think he was right. If you had to live in the house your parents or grandparents lived in, depending on your age, you would think this is a crap hole because it's tiny and a little rundown. That's what I grew up in, a tiny, a little rundown home. Not, you know, the giant McMansion everybody thinks they ought to have. And so from both ends it was a blip in time historically and just a completely fanciful view of what life used to be. Nobody flew anywhere back then. Nobody. You drove to the local lake in.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

My final point on this, just because we've talked about this a lot. The key to this, though, that I haven't said yet is we've got to do away with this whole comparing life Today to the 50s and acting like we're getting screwed, whether it's by Republicans or Democrats. It's. It doesn't make any sense in all the ways that's been laid out a bunch of different times. But as long as we're going to hang on to that, we're doomed. The comparison is the thief of joy. We're comparing ourselves to something that one, was a blip and two, never really happened the way it's being displayed. So our politics are going to be miserable until we finally come to grips with that.

[B]

All right, two. Two points. Number one, yes, you're right. It's not just not apples to apples or apples to oranges like apples to golden retrievers. Comparing our lifestyle right now to the 1950s for inst. Second, fascinating Joe getty revelation. I have never in my life had my own room. Everybody has their own room in most modern American households, right? Yeah. I was with my sister in our little apartment when we were young, and then my brother was born, we moved to a new house, and I was roomed with my brother. Then I went to college. I always had roommates. And then I got married while I was still in college. You've never had my own room.

[A]

It's pretty great.

[B]

Yeah, I'm fine.

[A]

I. I shared a bedroom with my brother, and it would. It would have seemed crazy to make me. My kids share a bedroom. It would have seemed crazy. I don't know why. I mean, but that's a difference in lifestyle right there. Of course. Everybody needs to have their own room. No, that was the exact opposite. When I was a kid and we're not 150 years old, my little brother.

[B]

And I would play Nerf hoops for hours at a time.

[A]

And every. Everybody I knew, if you went over to their house to play they a bedroom, their brother or sister was there. Everybody.

[B]

So again, apples to golden retrievers. Come on, folks.

[A]

That's a good one. Any thoughts that? Text us 415295K.

[B]

FDC Armstrong and Getty.

[A]

I think we should play for you maybe. Next segment, what one prominent Republican House member said about those who aren't willing to vote to release the Epstein files. He's putting pressure on his other Republican House colleagues to vote yes next week on the Epstein transparency Act. And he brings it pretty hard. So we'll get to that at some point. So this will make you all think less of me? I think less of myself, but.

[B]

Oh, so last night, Last session's good for the soul.

[A]

Yesterday, I. I don't wash my bedding very often. Speaking of never having your own room, I have way too good start. I have.

[B]

Not going well? No, not at all.

[A]

Speaking of you saying you've never had your own room in your life. I have way too often had my own room, and I've had my own room now for quite some time. And I sleep alone, and so it's just me. So I don't get around to washing my bedding that often. So I washed all my bedding, sheets, pillowcases, and comforter and got them all washed everything. Like, I don't dry my comforter because I like the color of it and I don't want the color to fade out, so I don't dry it. I spread it out on the bed and let it dry, which is what I've done in the past.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And if you have enough time, it works.

[B]

Katie, are you all right with that or what? On top of the freshly washed sheets, getting them all wet again, creating a mildewy situation.

[A]

Well, it didn't have long enough to dry. And when I got into bed and it was way late and I was tired, it was so wet in my bed, my sheets are wet, the comforter's still wet, and it's freezing cold. You know, just how water feels colder and everything like that. So it's cold and wet. And I thought, thought I really should take off these wet sheets and put on dry sheets.

[B]

But I'm so tired.

[A]

I'm gonna try to sleep under these. On top of the wet sheets, under a wet comforter.

[B]

Wow. Even though it's freezing cold here on Admiral Byrd's expedition and you know you're hoping to survive, I thought, surely my.

[A]

Body heat will warm up a little spot here.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

And over time, it will dry out in the middle of the night.

[B]

Oh, without a doubt.

[A]

That's only logical. And I just kept laying there. I was like, so cold and so uncomfortable and miserable. You know, wet and cold is like among the most unpleasant feelings a human being could have.

[B]

Yeah, well, your brain is trying to tell you something. Are you trying to die? Would you like to die? This is how you die.

[A]

So I laid huddled in a ball under those wet sheets, on top of the wet sheets, under a wet comforter. So I'd wet on both sides of my Body just laid there uncomfortable awake, hoping it would go away all night long.

[B]

Like you escaped from the chain gang in Mississippi and ran off into the.

[A]

Woods as the hounds bayed and the.

[B]

Deputies pursued you and you had to curl up under a pile of leaves and sleep.

[A]

The night I was the New Orleans escapees, that's who I was. It was horrible. And I kept thinking you should really just get up and get some dry sheets or move to the couch or do something. But I was so tired. It just seemed like so much work.

[B]

It's more work for your body to try to not go into hypothermia because your so sheets are wet. Do you finally drift off in your sponge like atmosphere there?

[A]

I didn't fall asleep but I woke up. You know I'm very, very, I'm very, very tired because I had trouble sleeping and every time I would wake up I'd love it. Oh that's right. I'm sleeping on wet sheets under a wet like oh wow. It was so incredibly unpleasant.

[B]

That is some exciting celebrity lifestyle you live in there.

[A]

So every time you rolled over was there a giant st. Splash squish. Well I couldn't really move cuz I had carved out one warm little my body heated kind of made it a little bit warm if and I moved a little bit. It was freezing. Freezing cold. Yeah, yeah that's so again, I don't know what that says there probably much that that says about my personality. I certainly couldn't have been sharing a bed with anybody who would have thought that was okay. Yeah sure, I'm with you. We'll just lay here under the on the wet sheets and be cold all night long. Makes sense to me.

[B]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[A]

Despite the optics here, there's just nothing.

[B]

Connecting the President to any crime or any wrongdoing. He has said he did nothing wrong. Even the victim Virginia Giuffre said he didn't do anything wrong. And so I think the issue continues to dog him politically but legally there's.

[A]

No hook there for him. I thought that was interesting that NBC Evening News their reporter on the story of all the Epstein emails that came out yesterday. Democrats leaked some out and then the Republicans put out way more with the idea I think that it would 1, give it more context and 2 just like flood the media with so many it was difficult to talk about them. But the NBC Evening News even they they went with there's nothing to tie Trump legally to anything that you know would be a problem for him which still is the case.

[B]

Well and, and the Fact that they had Congress and the White House and access to all of this stuff through the DOJ for a very, very long time. And they would have kneecapped Trump with delight if there was anything there. If that turns out to be a wrong theory, please let me know. Until then, I will let others, you know, delve into this.

[A]

So the House voted yesterday and there are plenty of Republicans who voted along with Democrats to move forward with what Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, is now calling the Epstein Transparency Act. And they, he said today they're going to vote on it next week. So there's going to be a full House vote on that, and then everything will come out. And then you got a mix of Republicans, Democrats, including maga, Republicans who want it, but Trump does not. Trump is pressuring Republicans to vote against this. So that's that. On some of the emails that came out yesterday, some of the ones that are getting the most Talk. In a 2011 email to. To Maxwell, the. The chick that's in prison, Epstein referred to Trump as the dog that hasn't barked, writing that he said a victim. They had the Democrats release of it just said victim because they didn't want the name out. The Republicans later then put out the fact that it's that I can't pronounce her name. Joffrey, Virginia, girl that killed herself. Yeah, recently it was her. But anyway, Epstein wrote that Virginia had spent hours at my house with Trump, but Trump's never once been mentioned in these investigations. Okay. Hours with. In the same house, the talking. What?

[B]

Well, and she said Trump never did anything inappropriate. And I would like to think at this point I have earned a little credibility as neither having Trump derangement syndrome nor being some sort of always Trump honk. I call him as I see him. He makes me insane at least half the time. There's nothing here.

[A]

Yeah, maybe the most interesting one to me and see that was on Claude, let me go to what chat GPT dug up for me was the fact that emails showing Epstein offering to help Russia understand Trump with one message quoted Churkin. That was the Russian guy he was working with was great. He understood Trump after our conversations. It's not complex. So he was working with some Russians to help them understand Trump. Why are you helping an enemy of the United States understand Donald Trump? Because you understand Donald Trump.

[B]

Gee. Because you're a sociopathic monster and you'll just do whatever it brings you. Money or sex.

[A]

Yeah. You know, if NBC Evening News is willing to just state it plainly, there's nothing Tying him legally to any of Epstein's problems. After yesterday's email dump, I don't know where this is going.

[B]

If you can just separate yourself from the partisanship or rooting or whatever you want to say, and look at this as kind of a political scientist. It's such an interesting and weird coalition of people demanding, quote, unquote, transparency. From the Pizzagate paranoid conspiracy crowd to the Democrats who just want to smear Trump to Republican Congress. People who are like, I think, who is the great philosopher who their bargain was that, look, if you espouse belief in God and you live a godly life, if there is a God, you're saved. If there's not, well, what the heck, it doesn't really matter. Whereas if you go the other side, if there's no God, it doesn't matter. But if there is a God, you're screwed. So, you know, you might as well live a godly life. I think a lot of Republicans, or at least a handful of them, are making that bargain. Look, people who don't care about the Epstein thing, the Joe Getty coalition, who thinks there's nothing there, they won't penalize me for demanding the release of the papers. They're worried about other stuff. They just roll their eyes. But there's no loss in me for pretending that I'm fighting bravely against this cabal of sex crazed pizza proprietors or whatever the hell shape it's taking these days. So they get the credit and there's no real harm.

[A]

Well, Trump's pressuring people really, really hard to vote no on this thing. It's the first bipartisan anything I can remember in like, a decade.

[B]

Yeah, but weirdly, weirdly bipartisan.

[A]

So let's hear from Representative Thomas Massie. He's a Republican, he's on one of the big committees around this, and he's trying to convince Republicans that they need to vote for it, even though Trump wants him to vote against it. I've already had a couple Republicans tell my office privately that they're going to vote for it. And I think that could snowball to be, you know, the deal for Republicans on this vote is that Trump will protect you if you vote the wrong way. In other words, if you vote to cover up for pedophiles, you've got cover in a Republican primary. But I would remind my colleagues that this vote is going to be on your record for longer than Trump is going to be president. And what are you going to do in 2028 and 2030 when you're in A debate either with a Republican or a Democrat, and they say, how can we trust you? You covered up for a pedophile back in, you know, 2025. That's pretty strong. So he's presenting it as well. If you vote no, you're covering up for a pedophile. That's a pretty strong statement.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then you got to come out and say, no, I don't think I. I'm trying to cover up for a pedophile. I just don't think there's any more to the story. But that's a tough one.

[B]

Yeah, I would agree. But the problem with this, and the real. One of the reasons I get so frustrated with it, is as long as there is a victim's name redacted, if every chapter, verse, page and book, every file of this is released completely, but there's one redacted victim's name, that will be enough to fuel the conspiracy theories for the rest of my life.

[A]

Pascal is the philosopher. Pascal's wager is what you were talking about. Popped into my head. Pascal's wager on the whole idea of, you might as well pretend there's a God, because if you turn out, you know, you're right, you're good. If you're wrong, what's the harm? And so you're thinking that with that, this vote here, it's certainly going to pass. There will be enough Republicans and practically all the Democrats vote for it next week, and so it will pass. And more of this. I almost dropped an S bomb. More of this S is going to come out, and then I hope it's like, okay, we didn't find anything more juicy than Epstein saying he knew there were girls there.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

That doesn't say anything.

[B]

We'll hear a vague mention that Trump was at some sort of party, and that'll be news for two days. Yeah. Okay. All right, great. But. But, you know, yes, there is the.

[A]

Question of why did he have Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace pressured so hard yesterday to vote no? Trump had the FBI director, the attorney general, leaning on them. You got to vote no. They voted yes because their constituents believe that there's a pedophile ring being covered up with many major figures in our government that need to go down.

[B]

Right, right. Yeah, I would. I cannot come up with a completely innocent explanation of that. I can't. It doesn't look good.

[A]

Wouldn't the best thing politically be for Trump, say, I agree, get it all out there? Yeah.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

But he's not.

[B]

That's what I would but he's not well. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Quick word from our [e-mail]. if you're looking for holiday deals, here's one tip. Hackers are too. Wait, what? Fake e commerce sites, phishing scams, bogus shipping alerts, cybercrime spike during the holidays. Like to see Santa swinging both his big gloved fists at these people. How dare they do this on the holidays. But it's true.

[A]

I've been getting a lot of these fake UPS emails and I didn't order anything. You're just hoping I did. And then I'll click on it.

[B]

Sure. Yeah.

[A]

You get real time antivirus, firewall, FireWall, password manager, VPN backup, identity protection, the whole family. Webroot's been protecting people for over 25 years. And now you can get it for 60% off. But only with our link.

[B]

Yeah, Jack was describing Webroot. Total protection with all those features and more in one. Head to webroot.comarmstrong that's webroot.com armstrong 60% off for a limited time. That's right. You heard 60% off. Make smart shopping your new holiday tradition. Live a better digital Life with Webroot. Webroot.com Armstrong More on Pascal's wager, which.

[A]

I find more interesting. The Epstein thing. I believe in God, so I don't have to pretend anything. But Christopher Hitchens, the atheist who would go around the world debating various Christian thinkers and try to convince them that they're wrong. His argument, I always thought was pretty good on the Pascal wager. So you believe in a God that you could pretend to believe in and he wouldn't know that. Or he would know that and he'd be okay with the fact that you pretended the whole time. And then at the end on the judgment, you say, well, that's good enough.

[B]

Yeah, I don't. I. The word pretend, I think, is prejudicial. I've. I use the term live a godly life, which may have been prejudicial on the other side. I don't speak French, so I don't know the original, you know, actual statement that Pascal made.

[A]

Yeah. I believe the idea is not just live a godly life, it's a believe in God, you might as well believe in God, right?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, I think so too. Yeah, that was my understanding.

[A]

But if you're faking it, just in case there is God. Well, exactly. And Christopher Hitchens argument was God would know that. That you were just like, playing the odds like you think, you know, you got a 75% chance here, so you might as well go this direction like you're betting on a football game.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. You know, I. I believe what I believe. It's funny. I have a great humbleness about this topic as people, you know, struggle with this sort of thing. I feel like I've walked up to a nuclear reactor that's going wrong, and the technicians turn to me and say.

[A]

What should we do?

[B]

I'm like, you're asking the wrong guy. You got to figure that out.

[A]

My son, who. My youngest, who calls himself an atheist currently, but he goes back and forth, I said, well, about two thirds of the time I believe this, and about the third of the time I don't, which is where I am. The particulars of it. I'm not going to get into the particulars, but, yeah, and, you know, it's. Lots of people are that way.

[B]

Oh, my God. Yeah. It's struggling with. Cited in both the Old and New Testaments, including.

[A]

And I always bring this up because I think it was really interesting after Mother Teresa died, when they were going through her letters and everything like that, and they were released in book form. She had many letters in there throughout her life where she doubted the existence of God. And she'd say things like, I fell for a fraud. I can't believe I've been living this life, and God doesn't exist. I mean, so she. If she's gonna go through those periods of time where she doesn't buy it all, well, then, you know, give yourself a little slack. I agree completely one way or the other. Of course, back to Christopher Hitchens. He wrote a book about the evil of Mother Teresa and how she should be thrown in prison for her evil. Or like that. But it's a different topic.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Oh, and of course, you know, he was a brilliant, brilliant man, an unbelievably gifted writer, but smoked cigarettes and died of lung cancer far, far before his time, which still ang. Actually angers me because I so would like to hear his opinion on various things that are happening, you know?

[A]

Yeah, I would love to, too. He would have absolutely destroyed woke.

[B]

Oh, he would have been such a valuable soldier against that. But he smoked. On the other hand, young women are getting lung cancer right now at alarming rates. Young women have never smoked. And it's radon in various parts of the country where there's a great deal of radon in the soil. It's a radioactive element. And I was just reading that the other day. Get a radon detector, folks, or, you know, bang up a little Radon map of the United States. I found it so interesting.

[A]

I don't know anything about that. I know I have a radon detector because the city makes me, but I didn't know it's given girls lung cancer.

[B]

Yeah, Yeah. I was shocked. Yeah. Frightening numbers of young women, although they're generally able to catch it in time because it's so weird that young women have that sort of symptom. And, and so they, they report it early, but I don't have it in front of me.

[A]

But anyway, by the way, on a very non scientific polling of you, whether or not you're interested in the Epstein thing, I'd say it's running about nine to one.

[B]

No.

[A]

You're not interested. With some very aggressive language about me and the fact that I'm talking about it at all. But if you are, if you are like into it or whatever, give us a text. I'd like to hear what that's all about. I think most of you don't care.

[B]

I guess not a huge turnout via email, but it is.

[A]

It's the first thing. It's the first thing Congress did after they came back from the longest shutdown in our history. And it's the first big bill they're gonna vote on next week.

[B]

And that will be cited by historians of the future as the moment the United States of America began to die.

[A]

Maybe you might be right. If you have any thoughts on that text, line 415295 KFTC.

[B]

Armstrong and Getty. The International Olympic Committee announced it will ban biological males from competing in women's Olympic sports. Better luck next time. Randy Weingarten.

[A]

What?

[B]

That had to be a visual of the mannish looking evil. Evil head of the teachers union. I think she's the former president, but she's still evil. Randy Weingarten. By the way, business before pleasure. Gotta get to this. I am so excited. This could be my favorite Armstrong and Getty T shirt ever. We were brainstorming yesterday, came up with this absolutely lovely design. It says, let's see, Hanson. Was that just a me? I haven't seen was to the crew. Come on. Oh, there it is. It is entitled with very nice fonts. Ruin the entire country. Newsom 2028.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Yes. That's good and powerful.

[A]

Says so much in so few words.

[B]

Ruin the entire country. Newsom 2028 available.

[A]

You laugh.

[B]

I laugh. Have you come available now at the Armstrong? You get a superstore.

[A]

Have you trademarked that? Because I could see that being a popular national T shirt.

[B]

I Have absolutely trademarked that.

[A]

Of course, fake Chinese knockoffs being sold all over the place like the maga hats.

[B]

You can't stop real Chinese knockoffs. Anyway, Armstrong and getty.com mentioned this earlier. Here's this young Frenchman. Oh, that reminds me. Next hour. You know how I've got my features like a look in the China cabinet. I've got a new one.

[A]

Oh boy. Does it have music? What?

[B]

Does it have music? Of course it does. Stay tuned for a new idiotic featurette.

[A]

This.

[B]

This young Franchman, 19 year old engineering student at the university. Unpronounceable in. In somewhere France. Loved doing wheelies on his bicycle and riding around doing a wheelie like my son. Young men do and have for many, many years.

[A]

It's more of a thing now than it's ever been though. Riding long distances and in particular riding at people and cars to try to frighten them and then you turn away at the last second. That's the thing.

[B]

I had someone do that to me and that was one of the scariest moments.

[A]

My son, I've forbidden him to ride at people or cars, but he does this all the time. We're riding. He gets up on his back wheel. He can ride faster than I can on his back wheel than I can ride on both wheels. But he'll ride straight at a parked car and it's just, ah. And then he just, he swings at the last second. You try to get as close as you can like he's. He's clipped his pedal on, on telephone poles before. You try to get as close as you can before you turn on your wheelie.

[B]

So this 19 year old Froshman did a wheelie for 93 miles. Six and a half hours.

[A]

That's incredible. What kind of bike was he riding? Is it an SE bike?

[B]

Probably to two wheels and pedals. I'm looking at the picture. I don't know really much about bikes. Let's see, he. He broke the record by 43 and a half miles. And as Jason Gay points out in the Wall Street Journal, think about it. In human history, 12 people have walked on the moon. Just 230 have won the Nobel Prize in physics. But only one person has done a wheelie for six and a half hours.

[A]

Our executive producer Hansen was just complaining about it in his part of town. Also mobbing. That's what my son and his friends call it. They go mobbing and they get a bunch of bikes and they go riding around and they're on their back wheels and causing havoc.

[B]

I would call the cops. Somebody did that to me. It's a reckless bicycle. Bicycle is a vehicle. My little town, I grew up in Chicagoland went on like a six month kick of giving out traffic tickets to bicyclists. You should have like rolling through stop signs and stuff like that.

[A]

You should have been the mayor of the town in Footloose. That's the kind of person don't let anybody dance.

[B]

I believed in it. I would report my friends for violations. No, I was kidding.

[A]

It was funny.

[B]

Some bitter old people must have complained at the city council or something like that. There's like a six month period where they were giving people two dollar tickets for rolling stop signs on a bike.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Please. Anyway, but we didn't do anything nearly this dangerous. Call the police folks.

[A]

If this is the worst kid my thing my son does as a high schooler I'll be pretty pleased at the end.

[B]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[A]

This is an I heart podcast.