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Joe Getty
broadcasting live
Jack Armstrong
from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at
Joe Getty
the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now he. Here's Armstrong and Yeti.
Jack Armstrong
I don't feel like people are living what they're telling.
Joe Getty
Pollsters do tell.
Jack Armstrong
So like 75% of people say they're. The economic conditions in this country are
Joe Getty
poor,
Jack Armstrong
yet Mother's Day weekend, we spent more money than we've ever spent for Mother's Day weekend. Now, you pointed out rightly that, well, with inflation, you know, it could have been equal the last year and it would be more. But if three quarters of people think the economic situation in America is poor and their personal finances are terrible, wouldn't you think he'd go down significantly? Like significantly. Also, I'm hearing that Memorial Day weekend, which is coming up, all the experts are predicting the busiest travel weekend in US History in spite of the gas prices.
Joe Getty
Really.
Jack Armstrong
I know.
Joe Getty
And, and airfares are crazy high.
Jack Armstrong
Right. I know. None of this fits together, which is the point I'm making. And then the Wall Street Journal had a big piece because we set records on all three indexes yesterday or day before with a war going on and people with these attitudes and an inflation numbers. I mean, what, what is going on?
Commercial Announcer
Yeah.
Joe Getty
Which is it? Yeah. How do you, how are you at
Jack Armstrong
war with the straight closed and it looking like, boy, it's going to be dicey. And how we get out of this, I don't see how it could be anything other than us attack him again and we're setting stock market records.
Joe Getty
Yeah. Yeah.
Jack Armstrong
If uncertainty is the big, you know, driver of people holding back.
Joe Getty
Yeah. It's long, complicated answer involving several factors. But yeah, I think part of it, the most interesting part of it to
Jack Armstrong
me is that Wall Street Journal didn't have an answer, by the way. They didn't really have an answer.
Joe Getty
No. How could they? More and more of everybody's perception of the world is non personal.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah.
Joe Getty
It's electronic, it's through the Internet, through the web, through the media, as opposed to, no, I'm doing fine. My neighbors seem to be doing fine. I'm checking in with my family. Yep. They're doing pretty well, too. My Uncle Johnny just lost his job, but he's smart, he'll get a new one. I mean, everybody's like, oh, I hear out I almost dropped an S bomb. That would have been funny. I keep hearing how poopy it is out there, yes. My perception is bad.
Jack Armstrong
Bad. Right. So, so it's a.
Joe Getty
That's not entirely it, of course, because inflation hurts.
Jack Armstrong
It's terrible out there. Me and the family, we're going to go somewhere for Memorial Day weekend and stay in a hotel and eat out at restaurants and things that we've always done. But I understand it's really bad for everybody else. Is that what's happening? That's part of it, anyway. Is all working up to this clip from Trump that they led with on Ms. Now today and talked about for like a half an hour because they just thought it was so insensitive of Trump to say this. And I would agree that if you were really worried about being a good popular politician, you probably wouldn't have phrased it this way. But Trump was asked about high prices in America right now.
Joe Getty
What extent are American financial situations motivating you to make a deal? Not even a little bit.
Jack Armstrong
The only thing that matters when I'm
Joe Getty
talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about American financial situation. I don't think about anybody.
Jack Armstrong
I think about one thing.
Joe Getty
We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all.
Jack Armstrong
I'll do my Ms. Now impersonation. Well, there you heard it. Donald Trump doesn't care about your financial situation. Here's a panel of seven people who agree with me shaking their heads. I know, it's. It's amazing, isn't it, Jim, The President of the United States, when gas is name the number, doesn't care about your financial situation. How can you be so callous? Well, I wouldn't have phrased it that way as a politician because you know how it's going to get used. But it was for the negotiating with Iran. It's trying to make it clear to them that I'm under no pressure. You are not pressuring me. I am not feeling the pressure of this, dudes. Right, that's, that's what he was saying.
Joe Getty
Yeah, it's bad messaging. He handed them a club and he. And they beat him with it. He could have done a lot better than that. But, yeah, that's, that's clearly what's going on.
Jack Armstrong
That is the question.
Joe Getty
Terrible way to say it, though. He shouldn't have.
Jack Armstrong
That is the question, though, who's under more financial stress? The leaders of Iran can't say the country of Iran because they don't give a crap if the regular people don't have food or water or electricity or whatever else.
Joe Getty
Again, if I'm Going to machine gun you. I certainly don't care whether bread is too expensive for you.
Jack Armstrong
Right. No kidding. But who's under more financial pressure? The leadership of Iran or, you know, the U.S. congress? And I don't know the answer to that. Nobody does yet. But we mentioned earlier this New York Times piece quoting all kinds of U.S. intelligence officials anonymously. Nobody was on the record. They are saying that Iran's stockpile of missiles and missile launchers and all that sort of stuff is still very robust.
Joe Getty
Yeah, most of it's intact.
Jack Armstrong
Which makes you think they're not on the verge of falling.
Joe Getty
Yeah, yeah. I take it with a grain of salt because it's the New York Times, but it seems really well researched and
Jack Armstrong
as I said earlier, and it's still true three hours later. I haven't seen anybody push back on it real hard. You'd have thought if it was easily debunked. Yeah, Somebody from the administration would have come out by now and said, that is absolutely not true. I haven't heard that yet.
Joe Getty
Well, they saw the arse whooping coming, apparently, or when it started. They took their, their missile systems to ground in a big hurry and hit them, fortified them, whatever.
Jack Armstrong
Parked some of their planes in Pakistan.
Joe Getty
Honest broker of the peace talks. The so called hilariously non existent peace talks. Yeah, yeah, it's, it's far from over.
Jack Armstrong
Is it a quagmire. Giggity. Geeky.
Joe Getty
Oh boy, oh boy. I will not use the key word. Stop it. After a few weeks.
Jack Armstrong
What a funny name for a cartoon character.
Joe Getty
Yes.
Jack Armstrong
Who's a pervo.
Commercial Announcer
Yes, yes.
Joe Getty
Oh boy. Meanwhile, Donald J's in China having a conference with old Xi Jinping, trying to work out trade issues and that sort of thing. It is notable.
Jack Armstrong
Hold on, let me ask Claude.
Joe Getty
Oh, standby.
Jack Armstrong
Gotta ask Claude a question. How old is the dictator of China? Okay, go on.
Joe Getty
I'll have the. Xi Jinping is the freely elected President of China.
Jack Armstrong
Oh, that's funny. Claude said China doesn't have a dictator in the formal sense. Okay, give me.
Joe Getty
Yeah, they do in the formal sense, you jackass.
Jack Armstrong
He's 72. He looks older than that. Trump's gonna be 80 next month.
Joe Getty
Yeah. Huh. Anyway, so there they are. And it is notable that our rhetoric toward China has softened a great deal. Donald J. Was a. I loved him being a China hawk in the first term. He woke up a lot of America to the fact that they're not a friend, they're an adversary. Yeah, we do some trade with them, but they're predatory. They steal Everything they're bent on overthrowing. Blah, blah, blah. Much, much more conciliatory these days. Interesting.
Jack Armstrong
They claimed they elected Stalin in elections and Kim Jong Un. And so please don't waste my time. Who do you call a dictator? Claude? They all pretend they were. Santa was. They all pretend they're elected. So would he. Would Claude say that about everybody Wasn't a dictator in the traditional sense.
Joe Getty
Policy is. Whatever he. What's the word? What's the word? Dictate.
Jack Armstrong
And if you don't agree with him, he has you killed right at his dictate.
Joe Getty
He's not a dictator in the formal sense. Good lord. So increasingly in China, they are referring to the United States in both official and quasi official publications and scholarly papers, and the rest as an empire in decline. They say that under Trump, it's validated. She's worldview centered on the rise of the east and the decline of the west. And they used to be kind of envious and admiring of our system and how well it worked, even as they were trying to get communism up and running. But in January, a nationalistic think tank affiliated with the big university published a triumphant report about Trump's first year back in office. The report argued that his tariffs, attacks on allies, anti immigration policies, assaults on the American political establishment had inadvertently strengthened China while weakening the US it's title, thank Trump, called Trump an accelerator of American political decay, with the US sliding toward polarization, ding, institutional dysfunction, and even Latin American style instability.
Jack Armstrong
Well, and you think that's all Trump's fault, though? I think that's a. That's truth mixed in with Trump derangement syndrome. Acting like these are the sole a perpetrator of our polarization in politics. Give me a break.
Joe Getty
All right, I got to hit you with the last sentence of this, Michael. Get the scary, scary sound ready. Scary music. At this turning point in history, the authors wrote, what we hear is the heavy and haunting toll of an empire's evening bell. I don't know what an evening bell is. Must be a Chinese thing. But it's heavy and haunting. That's the point.
Jack Armstrong
Relative to the rest of the world, are we in decline or no? Clearly it's a rough patch. Clearly we are, don't you think, in decline in relative to the rest of the world compared to the past 50 years. Oh, how are we not in decline?
Joe Getty
Well, but, but by that definition, who's not in decline?
Jack Armstrong
I'm just thinking of our ability to influence things all around the world.
Joe Getty
Oh, yeah, yeah. In terms of economic independence. Yeah. We're more, you know, on the hook for, you know, cooperating with people we don't want to cooperate with, including on critical industries sometimes, which is has been a mistake.
Jack Armstrong
Obviously you can't stay on top forever.
Joe Getty
It's a rough patch. Yeah, no doubt. But that's history. I am completely convinced that the unbelievably great Post Cold War 20 years of peace and prosperity interrupted maybe by 911 was just so bad for the US in a lot of ways because we have a way of human beings of assuming that what is will always be, even if like for the rest of history it hasn't been. We think, all right, whoa, we got it licked. It's like when Alan Greenspan I'm going deep into the weeds now, but when Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Fed back in the day, announced that, hey, we figured out inflation, figured out managing the economy. No more recessions, no more inflation, everybody. That's over. That was crazy, wasn't it? He said with a perfectly straight face.
Jack Armstrong
I always related to sports dynasties at some point because they all decline at some point. And at some point you kind of come to believe that we're going to win just because our uniforms we have. We're wearing the Patriots uniforms or the Lakers uniforms or the Bulls uniforms or whoever with the dynasty was. But if the players ain't the same or they're old and slower or whatever, doesn't matter. Yeah, the uniform didn't win it.
Joe Getty
So the US Is in a rebuilding year. That's the way I see it. They'll be fine.
Jack Armstrong
Well, I think we'll be fine. I think, you know, AI Is going
Joe Getty
to wipe out the whole world. But yeah, well, we'll be as fine as anybody else as the Robot Wolves come for our throats. Literally. Japanese. I've always said Chinese, Japanese Robot Wolves are selling like hotcakes in Japan.
Jack Armstrong
What kind of AI it did.
Joe Getty
What kind of effing AIs Is what the type of AI it is. Yeah, that's a. It is what the f type of A.I. s it is. What the type of A.I.
Jack Armstrong
it is. That's what we're asking. It's on everyone's lips. Okay, more on the way.
Joe Getty
Armstrong and Getty.
CJ Toledano
This week on Point game with me, C.J. toledano and Isaiah Thomas. It gives us thoughts on who he thinks is going to come out on top of the Spurs Timberwolves series. Take a listen. At the end of the day, I'm
Joe Getty
a big Ant man fan.
CJ Toledano
I love his game, I love his mentality. But my favorite is the spurs, and I think this series is going to go seven. Yeah, and I think the spurs is going to figure it out and win in the end. But Anthony Everest isn't letting up and he's looking like himself. Even if he's not 100%, he's playing aggressive enough to make you feel like he's 100%. This has been brought to you by DraftKings. The Crown is Yours Point Game with Isaiah Thomas as CJ Toledano releases new episodes every Tuesday on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to download the DraftKings sportsbook app now and use code Pointgame to claim your profit boost. That's code Pointgame to get a boost every day of the NBA Player Playoffs in partnership with DraftKings. The Crown is yours gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-My reset New York call 877-8-HOPENY or text hopeny. Connecticut call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org on behalf of Boothill Casino in Kansas. Wager tax pass through may apply in Illinois 21 plus in most states. Void in Ontario. Restrictions apply. Bet must win to receive bonus bets which expire in seven days. Minimum odds required. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG Co Audio Limited Time Offer
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Joe Getty
quite honestly, this is there's not a lot of upside to these summits. It's not like there's gonna be a transformational breakthrough in US Chinese relations.
Jack Armstrong
That can't be. But there are downsides. But there are potential downsides.
Joe Getty
To me, it's more success is more
Jack Armstrong
the avoidance of downsides than it's gonna be. Then it's gonna be big upside. I think there you go. That's probably a better way to look at the whole summit between Trump and the dictator Xi. Just trying to avoid downside. So I got in an argument with Claude and I decided to go back to it. I asked, I was wondering how old President Xi is President using my finger quotes, right? How old is the dictator of China? Claude responded, china doesn't have a dictator in the formal sense, but he is 72 years old. So I followed up. During the commercials, was Saddam Hussein a dictator? Claude said, yes. Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq from 79 to 2003. Widely classified as dictator, blah blah blah. Goes through all the different sort of stuff, elections, whatnot. I said, well, they pretend to have fair elections just like they do in China, do they not? And they called both of them president. You're right that both held managed elections and used the title president. The parallel is real on those points. Saddam's election famously returned 99%, 100%. The different being the politburo blah, blah, blah. And then it goes on to say, uh, China is usually classified as a one party authoritarian state where the Communist Party rules. That was until she changed the rules in 2012. She changed the rules on how the party works and gets to stay president. What would you call that?
Joe Getty
And anybody who shows the slightest doubts of his rule is purged and jailed. Your skepticism again, what's the word? Dictates all policy. Right.
Jack Armstrong
It's just interesting. You get argument in arguments with these chat bots.
Joe Getty
Yeah, they must be plowing through.
Jack Armstrong
Your skepticism about the elections and president titles is well founded.
Joe Getty
Thank you.
Jack Armstrong
Thank you.
Joe Getty
You're too kind.
Jack Armstrong
I think I won that argument.
Joe Getty
Yeah, yeah, don't. Don't be all conciliatory. You were wrong and I was right. You know, that reminds me, it's one of the reasons I didn't get a grad degree is, you know, in political science and law too, to some extent. But your professors are arguing about doctrines and definitions and like charts. Well, the real world is going on.
Jack Armstrong
Right. I thought.
Joe Getty
I don't have any patience for that crap. Let's get out. Let's go out and get our knuckles dirty and get our fingernails dirty, whatever that expression is.
Jack Armstrong
Better than being attacked by a robot dog, by God.
Joe Getty
Robot wolf. Even worse. Japanese robot wolves, they're attributing the rise in demand for the wolf shaped robot known as the monster wolf, which.
Jack Armstrong
That doesn't sound good.
Joe Getty
No, that's. That's a good name though, for like a. A metal band. Kind of old school, though. You'd probably play like a lot of Steppenwolf covers in deep purple.
Jack Armstrong
I wear black denim, I'll tell you that.
Joe Getty
Oh, of course you do. But it's developed by this Japanese machine parts manufacturer and they've seen a surge in sales amidst. Amid an increase in bear attacks and sightings in Japan.
Jack Armstrong
How many attacks have they had? So you're buying a robot wolf for the very rare possibility of a bear attacking you?
Joe Getty
Well, they hired a giant turtle monster to fight the giant lizard monster. And Gamera versus Godzilla. Yeah.
Jack Armstrong
Well, what y' all got the robot
Joe Getty
dog in here for? That's what they're asking in Japan as well.
Jack Armstrong
What y' all got that robot dog in here for?
Joe Getty
Can we hear that one more time, Michael? Well, what y' all got the robot
Jack Armstrong
dog in here for? I like the way she's. She's not really put off by the fact that she. I assume she's probably seen the first robot dog of her life and she acts like the unique thing is that it's here.
Joe Getty
Well, she's calling for accountability, certainly. But interestingly enough, the Monster Wolf robot is usually used to repel wild animals that can damage agricultural areas such as boar, deers, bears, but they've tripled the orders. And you look at this thing, it looks almost like a cartoon wolf with flaming red eyes and big ears and stuff like that, but evidently it's pretty effective. The beasts see that at the edge of the field and they think, let's destroy somebody else's field as it patrols up and up and down.
Jack Armstrong
I need one of those. Oh yeah, go everywhere with me.
Joe Getty
Oh yeah, nobody'd mess with you.
Jack Armstrong
That's right, me and my robot. Did he come across somebody with a bigger robot?
Joe Getty
Wolf Dog Talk to Monster Wolf Update on the situation. America's University is coming up in a moment. Stay with us Armstrong and Getty.
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Jack Armstrong
This just in. The Department of Justice is investigating that suspicious trading around the oil market when Trump would make his announcements. So the Trump Justice Department is looking into what the hell is going on there. I would think they could nail that down pretty easy. They can figure out who was making those trades? I think so. I don't know if they can convict anybody, but they could certainly make an uncomfortable media story for a lot of people.
Joe Getty
In the words of Bob Dylan, I can't help it if I'm lucky. So this is not a Campus Madness update. It is just kind of a digest of stories about education and more on College than K12. But Jason Riley, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant editorialist with the Wall Street Journal writing about what a great issue school choice is for Republicans. And he goes into the Trump tax credit thing to provide credits if you donate the money to nonprofit organizations that grant scholarships. If you know about how this works, you know, if you don't, it'd take too long to explain. But it doesn't spend any state money. And it's an opt in program though. And all the Republican governors have said, yeah, that sounds like a wonderful idea. And most Democratic governors are holding off out of deference to the teachers unions who are saying, no, don't do this, even though it doesn't take any money away from any state, money away from schools, from government schools. But Kathy Hochul in New York has joined Jared Paulus, Polis Paulus in Colorado. No conservatives they to opt into the program because it's just, it's irresistible. And he's talking about the polling and yes, school choice polls. So. Well, one of the reasons I get so frustrated with Trump and his sloppy, sloppy messaging is that it's a 1 in 10 to hold onto that. The House after a president of one party gets elected, would you say roughly
Jack Armstrong
1 in 10 chance or doesn't happen very often.
Joe Getty
Yeah. And I feel like this is the 1 in 10, but I don't know, they keep stepping on their own tie, if you will. How about this one? Princeton, which is allegedly the number one university in the United States, although who gives a crap? It's changing its 133 year old honor honor code over a cheating fears. The faculty has voted to require proctoring in all in person exams starting this summer, reversing a policy set in Place in 1893.
Jack Armstrong
What's proctoring?
Joe Getty
Students pledge, I will not cheat if I do heave my ass out of the university. It's a code of honor. But on Monday the faculty voted. Yeah, nobody's got any honor. Everybody's cheating anymore. So proctoring is essentially supervisors, guards.
Jack Armstrong
You know, I'm dealing with this with my kids. It's where using AI, if you're writing a paper or something like that, where it crosses into cheating is not as easy as you think.
Joe Getty
Right.
Jack Armstrong
And you know, you start asking it some questions and it's, it's got a couple of sentences there about the topic. You just asked about it. And so I'm supposed to not use that fantastic sentence right there with that information. Okay, I won't, I'll change.
Joe Getty
How do I switch those two words around?
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, if I change two words, am I still cheating or.
Joe Getty
Yeah, and what if I'm in a class that I suck at? I've tried and I've tried. It's like I remember trigonometry and I tried calculus for like six weeks in college. I just, my brain doesn't work that way. But I need it to pass so I can just fulfill that requirement and get back to studying that which I'm passionate about.
Jack Armstrong
Right.
Joe Getty
I could easily see somebody rationalizing that they might be wrong. Because Jack, when you cheat, you know who you're cheating. Would you like me to tell you? I'm ready to tell you you're cheating yourself.
Jack Armstrong
And then what about the idea that, you know, the people that succeed are going to be the people that know how to use AI? Maybe, maybe being able to ask a couple of AI chatbots questions phrased different Ways and pick out which ones are the best versions of what they gave you to craft the paper is the skill you need for the future.
Joe Getty
That's research. Yeah. In a survey of over 500 seniors, 30% reported that they personally had cheated on an assignment or exam. You know the number's gonna be higher than that. I don't know about you. I'm skeptical about every survey I take where I'm asked to confess to sins. Like, how does this software work exactly that. They can't tie it back to me.
Jack Armstrong
I am not a cheater. And like, I never looked at anybody's paper in school or anything like that. I would never do that. Or sometimes answers to tests would be floating around and I never engage in that. But I think I absolutely would have used AI to help me write papers, and I would have justified it in my own mind. This is not cheating, right?
Joe Getty
Right. Interestingly enough, in that same poll, nearly half reported personal knowledge, knowledge of an honor code violation, but less than 1% had ever made report. All right, good news. I love this, love this, love this. I'm so excited about it. Do you remember we told you about this? When did this start? A couple of years ago. The university.
Jack Armstrong
Do you ever have people cheat off of you? Yes, I had that all the time in school.
Joe Getty
I hated it.
Jack Armstrong
I just let them. I just was like, you know, what am I supposed to do? Lean over, try to hide my answers?
Joe Getty
Yeah, I. I probably should have done that. I didn't like it. I resented it.
Jack Armstrong
I didn't like it because I thought I'm gonna get in trouble somehow.
Joe Getty
But yeah, I just thought I busted my ass. Why are you glomming off of my work? You know what I didn't realize, Jack? They were only cheating themselves. Anyway, so back to the good news. For me, it was always if she
Jack Armstrong
was cute or not.
Joe Getty
Oh, well. Oh, please. If a hottie had said, hey, do you mind if I take a look at that? I. Oh, please. Hang on to it if you need to. Sure. Yeah, I remember that.
Jack Armstrong
That did happen to me one time in high school. The super cute cheerleader that every guy had a crush on. He's like, oh, you're so sweet. If you would, blah, blah, this and that. And I remember thinking, even as a very unwise, very naive whatever I was 16 year old thinking, I have a feeling that as soon as this class is over, just being nice to me is gonna come to a nap.
Joe Getty
There you go. You're becoming a man, Jack. The judgment of a man. Okay, so we told you about this. When it started, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the big UNC with the blue and Michael Jordan, everything pretty damned woke in a purple state. Well, the board of trustees, supported by the state legislature, started the UNCC School of Civic Life and Leadership, an independent college within the university that was all about, well, all about traditional Western civ, political science, civics education, a regular education as opposed to an indoctrination. And it's been a smashing success. The kids are signing up for it in droves. It's expanding like crazy. They're developing a major, a master's program and a PhD program on American political thought and constitutionalism to supplement the growing work with undergrads. The number of students declaring a minor in that college increased 90% in the second semester this year. It is exploding. Here's an embittering note to remind you the sort of fight we're in. The faculty, something like 90% of the faculty when this thing launched, signed petitions opposing it.
Jack Armstrong
The whole thing k through graduate school is so messed up, oh so diseased, my hope that we can break out of it is certainly going to be a slow process, if we even can. Like we got a clip we haven't played it of some rich guy gave a commencement speech at a university of the other day and did that thing happens every year where some rich guy does this, announces I'm paying all of your student debt and everybody goes crazy. And I used to think oh that's nice. Now I think, crap. Another bailing out of the the, the, the, the, the force, the wedge of this. How effed up this is, right? All you did is extend how much longer this crap can last where they way overcharge for these useless degrees and you bailed it out.
Joe Getty
That's the only leverage to get value. Yeah. So the civics movement in higher education is growing across the country. Not fast enough, but let's be positive. With more than 45 centers at 41 institutions in 25 states, according to the report by the Heterodox Academy, that are great. They're heroes. Civic centers are thriving at the University of Florida, University of Texas at Austin, Arizona State, Ohio State, among others. Just absolutely fabulous. But it was just universally despised by the faculty at UNC when it got started. Anybody daring to break three, three of the the indoctrination. Final note, and we don't really have time for this. I'll give you the very brief version. Four years ago, Harvard committed a hundred million dollars to study how to compensate and then compensate descendants of people enslaved Reparations who had any relationship to Harvard University. Because if you're not familiar with this, in in the north and northeast there were corporations and companies that profited from slavery as much as the the actual slaveholders in the south. And quite a few of them were associated with Harvard University. But so the committee ultimately pay produced 134 page report confirming that people connected with Harvard had advanced so called race science, including eugenics to justify the slave trade, blah blah blah. The report called on the school to take responsibility for its past, blah, blah, blah. So they established what they called the Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery initiative which aimed to, and I quote, remedy harms to descendants to our community and the nation and to campus life and learning. It committed an extraordinary hundred million dollars to the initiative.
Jack Armstrong
What a waste of time and money.
Joe Getty
And promoted a professor of public health policy for a special project to shepherd the effort. What followed, and I'm quoting the free press, was a cascade of institutional embarrassments, high profile resignations, the dismissal of an entire research team, a string of HR complain and a rebuke from Antigua's ambassador to the United States. And so far at least its signature effort to find descendants of people Harvard and enslaved and didn't do something for them, presumably financially, has failed miserably. In fact, they've said essentially, you know, you can't really implement reparations doesn't work.
Jack Armstrong
It's too complicated a couple hundred years later.
Joe Getty
Yeah.
Jack Armstrong
For people that whatever their situation's got nothing to do with that. And you got black kids coming from Nigeria where they come from, who get straight A's and showing that the family culture of caring about education is what matters, not Whether or not 15 generations ago there were slaves in your family.
Joe Getty
And I thought I retweeted this. Gosh dang it, where did it go? There was another organization that appointed this woman to be the head of the reparations committee. Turns out her family back in the slave trade days in Nigeria were giant slave traders and became very, very wealthy trading human beings. And this chick's in charge of pursuing justice. It's absolutely hilarious.
Jack Armstrong
I hope they feel good about themselves. I guess that's the goal.
Joe Getty
That really is the goal. Yeah.
Jack Armstrong
Okay. That sort of stuff I find demoralizing.
Joe Getty
Well, although I think overall you got the growth of the UNC style civic thing.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, that's awesome.
Joe Getty
And Harvard saying, hey, that didn't work. Now like the San Franciscos and Gavin Newsoms of the world will never admit that this happened because they don't actually want reparations. They just want the money to flow through them so they can give it to their cronies. But it's encouraging that Harvard said, yeah, yeah, that was stupid. Sorry.
Jack Armstrong
We will lighten it up and finish strong.
Joe Getty
Next Armstrong and Getty.
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Jack Armstrong
A group of middle school students in Mississippi kept their bus from crashing after the driver passed out behind the wheel. The town says the kids are heroes who acted quickly, while the bus driver says, the kids robbed me of the death I have long begged for.
Joe Getty
Oh, darkly hilarious. Yeah, right. Speaking of kids, it would be wrong for us to announce anything that's not ours to announce, but if anybody's wondering about our beloved Katie, everything's great. And more, more to come on that topic we were discussing yesterday, Jack, you brought up how men's brains change when they become dads.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah.
Joe Getty
And one of our beloved listeners.
Jack Armstrong
Men and women.
Joe Getty
Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. One of our beloved listeners went to the trouble of actually, you know, chat. Gpting it or something. I found this interesting. Yes, indeed. Men's brains and bodies undergo significant hormonal and structural changes, often called dad brain, during their partner's pregnancy and after the baby is born. These changes facilitate bonding and caregiving, featuring decreased testosterone and increased feel good hormones like oxytocin alongside structural brain remodeling similar to neuroplasticity. So the structure of your brain actually changes.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah. For. I don't know why they don't talk about this more often. It seems like it would be good news to people if they're, you know, looking at people with kids and thinking, God, I don't know, could I do that? Yeah. Because your brain changes.
Joe Getty
Yeah.
Jack Armstrong
And nature kicks in.
Joe Getty
Yeah, exactly. So there is a lowering of testosterone, which researchers believe pivots them. The Men. From mating behavior to nurturing behavior.
Jack Armstrong
That's good.
Joe Getty
Well, with a newborn baby in the house, there ain't gonna be any mating behavior unless you stray, so that's just fine. Increased oxytocin and prolact. Prolactin, the bonding hormone and prolactin increase, aiding in sensitivity to the baby's cries and promoting interact stress hormone shifts, changes in. You'll never remember this, so I won't bother more. Hormones related to stress are often observed helping men adapt to the demands of a newborn.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah. So the whole. Like, I noticed this whenever there's a crying kid. Remember that story I told about being at that restaurant? That kid was screaming, making that amazing sound. I wanted to. I thought they ought to be in a circus.
Joe Getty
The slide whistle sound.
Jack Armstrong
But I feel like people who. Who haven't raised babies are way more bothered by a kid crying. A kid crying on a plane. Whatever set them next to me. I don't care.
Joe Getty
Oh, no, I don't care. But if you've been through that, it doesn't bother you, right? I'm just thinking, oh, poor parents. I hope they're not self conscious. Yeah.
Jack Armstrong
Or hope the kid's okay.
Joe Getty
Yeah.
Jack Armstrong
So maybe is that because of the change in the brain you just said?
Joe Getty
Or whatever.
Jack Armstrong
But yeah.
Joe Getty
So similar to mothers, new fathers exhibit reduced gray matter in regions associated with social cognition and increased activity in regions linked to attachment and empathy. Changes help men develop empathy and patience, enabling them to connect with and respond to the nonverbal infant, et cetera, et cetera. Oh. What's really interesting about this is in women, pregnancy triggers those changes automatically. They've figured out men's brains change. The more you interact with the baby, the more they change, which is. Is interesting.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah.
Joe Getty
Do you know about Couvade Syndrome, Jack?
Jack Armstrong
No.
Joe Getty
Some men even experience.
Jack Armstrong
Is that when you like to have sex with dead people.
Joe Getty
Oh, boy. It's very different. Some men even experience sympathetic pregnancy symptoms, such as weight gain or fatigue alongside their partner.
Podcast Announcer
Whoa.
Jack Armstrong
Yes. I've kind of heard people joke about that. I didn't know it was an actual thing, though.
Joe Getty
Wow.
Jack Armstrong
You gain weight alongside your partner when the baby comes.
Joe Getty
Boy, did I gain weight when we had our first kid. I didn't attribute it to that.
Jack Armstrong
Interesting.
Joe Getty
Yeah. Way. Yo, son. This is Final Thoughts with Angie Brief.
Jack Armstrong
All right, here's your host for Final Thoughts, Joe Getty.
Joe Getty
Let's get a final thought from all the OGs, huh? Let's begin with Michelangelo in the. The control room. Michael. I guess the President Trump and the President of China. There's been like a delay. Apparently they got on TikTok and they're hooked. He had never seen TikTok before. And backyard wrestling and boating mishaps is what you're watching right now. Can't stop scrolling. Yeah, it happens to us. To us all. Jack, a final thought for us.
Jack Armstrong
I think I was convinced by our agent yesterday. Maybe I'll talk about it more tomorrow that we ought to be on TikTok.
Joe Getty
I don't know.
Jack Armstrong
Got to look into that. I've never had tick tock on my phone. I've been anti.
Joe Getty
It's.
Jack Armstrong
Or maybe it's just ignoring a giant chunk of the entertainment world.
Joe Getty
As long as I don't have to look at it. I know me. I'm easily led. I'm not strong enough to resist its wiles.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah, I worry about that too. I don't need another thing to waste time on.
Joe Getty
I guess my final thought is, gosh, I gotta be careful with that one. I'm gonna be off tomorrow. I will explain why during what will be a fascinating and humiliating and pathetic Armstrong and Getty. One more thing which we'll record in moments.
Jack Armstrong
Yeah. If you don't get. If you don't hear that or didn't even know it existed, look for wherever you find the podcast. Armstrong and Getty wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.
Joe Getty
So many people. Thanks. So little time. Go to armstrongandgetty.com if you see something we ought to be talking about, send it along. Mailbagarmstrongandgetti.com Pick up some Angie swag for your favorite Ang fan. Maybe it's you enforce the law. T shirts are very popular. They help you to keep the whole crew on the payroll.
Jack Armstrong
We will see you tomorrow. God bless America. What's your name? Tell us your name. Armstrong and Getty. I think it takes two to tango.
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Match made in heaven.
Jack Armstrong
I think you're star spangled Austin. So good.
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Repeat the line.
Jack Armstrong
So good.
Joe Getty
Let's go out with a bang. And according to J.D. power, drivers are underwhelmed by gesture controls where one can say, increase the volume by rotating an imaginary knob in the air.
Jack Armstrong
You're an imaginary knob.
Joe Getty
Wow.
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On that high note.
Joe Getty
Bye bye. Armstrong and getty.
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In this episode, Jack and Joe tackle the puzzling contradictions in the U.S. economy, the complexities of global geopolitics (with sharp takes on China, Iran, and U.S. perceptions), higher education controversies—including AI-driven cheating and the state of civic education—and round out with humorous and insightful personal reflections on parenting and brain science. True to form, the episode blends wit, skepticism, and deep dives into current issues.
(02:45 – 05:05)
(05:02 – 06:53)
(06:53 – 08:23)
(08:51 – 12:25)
(12:25 – 14:16)
(14:16 – 23:23)
(26:23 – 38:46)
(28:31 – 30:57)
(32:29 – 38:46)
(42:11 – 47:32)
On perception vs. reality:
"More and more of everybody's perception of the world is non personal...it's through the Internet, through the media."
— Joe Getty (04:29)
Trump on Iran negotiations:
"I don't think about American financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all."
— Quoted by hosts, originally Donald Trump (05:49 – 06:00)
On U.S. decline:
“At this turning point in history, what we hear is the heavy and haunting toll of an empire’s evening bell.”
— Joe Getty quoting Chinese think tank (11:46)
On misuse of surveys:
“I'm skeptical about every survey I take where I'm asked to confess to sins.”
— Joe Getty (30:19)
On academic cheating and AI:
“Maybe being able to ask a couple of AI chatbots questions phrased different ways and pick out which ones are the best versions...is the skill you need for the future.”
— Jack Armstrong (30:00)
On the growth of civic education:
“The number of students declaring a minor in that college increased 90% in the second semester this year. It is exploding.”
— Joe Getty, on UNC (32:29)
Bus story punchline:
“The kids robbed me of the death I have long begged for.”
— Jack Armstrong (42:27)
Parenting neuroscience:
“Men's brains and bodies undergo significant hormonal and structural changes...these changes facilitate bonding and caregiving.”
— Joe Getty (43:01)
On TikTok:
“As long as I don't have to look at it. I know me. I'm easily led. I'm not strong enough to resist its wiles.”
— Joe Getty (47:06)
Jack and Joe’s banter is skeptical, dryly humorous, and frequently self-deprecating. They blend serious discussion with irreverence and pop culture references, swinging from global affairs to personal anecdotes with ease.
This episode encapsulates Armstrong & Getty’s skeptical take on public narratives (economic or political), sharp and bemused coverage of higher ed and culture, grumbling about AI and the coming “robot wolf” apocalypse, and ends with a lighter touch on parenting and the lure of TikTok. If you missed it, you missed a sharp, funny, and sneakily deep look at the forces shaping America in 2026.