Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "I'll Plant My Banana Tree Next To My Cow"

Date: October 15, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong, Joe Getty, Katie

Overview

This episode of Armstrong & Getty explores rising living costs in America (cars, groceries), cultural and social trends (decline in trans identification, viral youth memes), the impact of technological advances such as AI-generated videos, problems related to immigration and voting law, public health crises like the ‘tranq’ drug epidemic, and a humorous segment on non-alcoholic wine for pets. The episode’s tone is candid, witty, and often irreverent, as the hosts unpack heavy topics with a mix of data, anecdotes, and satirical commentary.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Soaring Cost of Living in the US

[00:27-02:27]

• Car Prices & Loans:
  • The average price for a new car exceeds $50,000; loan rates up to 9%.
  • Used car prices dip slightly as sales slow.
  • Pre-COVID, new cars were about $35,000 and 0% financing was common.
  • Jack Armstrong: “9%. Oof.”
• Grocery Inflation:
  • Steaks selling at $32.99/lb; overall grocery inflation remains high.
  • Jack Armstrong: “I gotta start raising cattle. How would a cow do indoors?”
  • Bananas up 6.5%, coffee up 21%, beef up 13%.
  • Katie: Admits buying bananas often but ignoring the cost — “I have no idea, rich man. I haven’t got the slightest idea what that handful of bananas I buy costs.”
  • Humorous riff on growing bananas and coffee at home: Jack Armstrong: “Maybe in the same room I keep my cat.”

2. Historical Parallels: Inflation and Social Anxiety

[02:11-03:48]

• Reference to a 60 Minutes segment with Andrew Ross Sorkin about parallels to the 1929 stock market crash, credit card delinquencies, and financial instability.

3. The Decline of Trans Identification in Youth

[04:26-08:27]

• Multiple surveys cited:
  • Trans or queer identification among U.S. undergrads dropped from 6.8% (2022-23) to 3.5% (current).
  • At Brown University, rates went from 5% to 2.6% in one year.
  • Jack Armstrong: “The share of trans identified students has effectively halved in just two years.” [05:03]
  • Interpreted as evidence of social contagion abating, particularly among adolescent females.
  • Jack Armstrong: "Gay and lesbian are stable because gay people know they’re gay…It wasn’t hot like non-conforming was. And heterosexuality has rebounded by around 10 points since 2023." [08:06]
• Katie: Links this to historical mass hysteria like the Salem witch trials.
• Jack Armstrong: “It’s just a craze. … My heart breaks for the parents who got blackmailed, terrorized … now have done irreversible things to their children.” [09:31]

4. Voting Laws, Immigration, and Bureaucracy

[19:48-24:03]

• Discussion of Minnesota’s “licenses for all” law and committee hearings:

  • Non-citizens can obtain driver's licenses, raising concerns about potential for illegal voting.
  • Jack Armstrong: “Yeah, you can show up, show your driver’s license as an illegal with a license and they will let you vote. … Will anything be done about it?” [22:05]
  • Debate over whether this is intentional or bureaucratic oversight.
  • Reference to similar issues in California and so-called “voter harvesting.”

• Federal case on racial gerrymandering in Washington state:

  • Redistricting resulted in the dilution of the Hispanic conservative vote.
  • Hosts criticize Democrats for using race as cover for power grabs:
    • Jack Armstrong: "Dressed up in a moral argument that they don't mean. End of rant." [25:55]

5. Public Health Crisis: 'Tranq' Drug Epidemic

[25:55-30:00]

• Examines the 'tranq' (xylazine) crisis in Philadelphia:
  • Horrific injuries (“auto-amputation”), with almost 40% of overdose deaths involving ‘tranq’.
  • Katie: “Most recent studies show...even if you just do fentanyl, 30% of fentanyl powder has got tranq in it.”
  • Jack Armstrong: “So their limbs fall off?” [29:57]
  • Discussion of “bluetoothing” (injecting the blood of already-intoxicated users)—highlighted as a desperate practice in parts of Africa.

6. Artificial Intelligence: Animation & Adult Content

[13:41-16:19, 31:59-39:05]

• New AI tool (Grok by Elon Musk): allows users to animate family photos for comic or emotional effect.
  • Katie: “You can go back to pictures from many, many years ago...all of a sudden they're smiling and waving to you.”
• Discussion of ChatGPT (OpenAI) founder Sam Altman deciding to allow adult content, forecasting a “race to the bottom”.
  • Jack Armstrong (with wordplay): “Has he crossed the Boobicon?” [32:14]

7. Culture & Memes: The 6-7 Phenomenon and Collective Experience

[33:30-38:10]

• Viral youth meme "6-7":
  • Kids adopt the meaningless phrase for social bonding.
  • Some schools now ban the saying.
  • Katie: “We’ve created these things that have no meaning or value but just because you know what it means…Now we feel like we’re a part of something and it’s got no more meaning than that.” [34:16]
  • Jack Armstrong: “Our only real shared experience is designed to be as polarizing as possible.” [37:02]
• Listeners note lack of common culture beyond polarizing politics; meme culture fills the gap.

8. Humor & Oddities

• Non-Alcoholic Wine for Pets [16:27-17:44]:
  • New Zealand company makes pet “wines” with names like "Sauvignon Bark".
  • Joking about dogs joining in wine tastings and using Grok to make pets “talk”.
  • Jack Armstrong: “Now he can be, thanks to more money than Sense wines from New Zealand.” [17:12]
• Self-aware banter, riffing on advertising tropes, and playful audience interaction.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Jack Armstrong: “I gotta start raising cattle. How would a cow do indoors? ... I gotta have a cow.” [02:00]
• Katie: “Bananas, I buy bananas regularly, but I do not pay any attention to what they cost. I have no idea, rich man.” [03:48]
• Jack Armstrong on trans identification: “The share of trans identified students has effectively halved in just two years.” [05:03]
• Katie: “What’s the correct number? It should be close to zero, shouldn’t it?” [07:23]
• Jack Armstrong: “It’s just a craze. … And you shouldn’t be … taking them to the gender clinic to get pumped full of chemicals and get carved up … my heart breaks for the parents who … now have done irreversible things to their children.” [09:31]
• Jack Armstrong: “Yeah, you can show up, show your driver’s license as an illegal … and only if you know in the future somebody says, ‘Wait a minute…’ will anything be done about it.” [22:05]
• Katie: “This first sentence is super gross…Exposed tendons and bones, wounds that attract maggots and a foul smell for dead tissue.” [26:40]
• Jack Armstrong: “So their limbs fall off?” [29:57]
• Jack Armstrong: “Has he crossed the Boobicon?” [32:14]
• Katie on the 6-7 meme: “It’s both very meaningful and not the least bit meaningful at the same time.” [34:16]
• Jack Armstrong: “Our only real shared experience is designed to be as polarizing as possible…We’ve figured out the modern world.” [37:02]

Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:27] – New car prices & grocery inflation overview
• [03:28] – Food inflation statistics
• [04:26] – Positive story: decline in youth trans identification
• [09:31] – Commentary on social contagion, irreversible decisions
• [19:48] – Voting laws and Minnesota committee hearing
• [25:55] – "Tranq" zombie drug segment
• [33:30] – The 6-7 meme and collective experience
• [31:59, 32:14] – AI & adult content, “crossing the Boobicon” joke

Tone & Style

The episode balances earnest concerns (rising costs, youth trends, addiction, policy critique) with dry humor, personal stories, and playful jabs—making for an engaging, fast-paced listen.

For more, listen to Armstrong & Getty On Demand: “I'll Plant My Banana Tree Next To My Cow” (October 15, 2025).