Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: My Girth Is Holding My Pants Up
Date: November 10, 2025
Podcast: Armstrong & Getty On Demand (iHeartPodcasts)

Episode Overview

This episode finds Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty in classic form, blending political commentary, irreverent humor, and topical news discussions. Their main focus is the recent end to a government shutdown with sharp analysis of the political maneuverings involved. In addition, they dive into a developing sports gambling scandal, media manipulation, and the ever-present frustrations of holiday season stress and inflation. As always, the episode is laced with their trademark banter, self-deprecation, and memorable asides.

Key Segments and Discussion Points

1. Government Shutdown: The Endgame

[03:50–08:45]

• Democrats Cave In:
  The shutdown, extended by Senate Democrats’ resistance, ends as eight finally break ranks.
  • Getty (04:13): "Eight Senate Democrats have said enough and the shutdown is going to end. So that's where we are on that."
  • Armstrong (04:19): "Thank God. Eight of them at once all of a sudden... not at all that they all got together and said look, this is stupid."
• Why the Change?
  Citing analysis, they discuss the Democrats caving due to the GOP's unified front.
  • Getty quoting Mark Halpern (04:31): "The cave in by the eight Senate Democrats was a direct result of their belief that Republicans' unified position was not going to crack..."
• Policy Lessons:
  Both hosts agree that holding the government hostage is a losing strategy—regardless of which party tries it.
  • Getty (04:57): "The lesson should be: don't try to score policy wins by holding the government hostage. Republicans have proven this rule several times, gotten nothing from it."
• Media Spin:
  The hosts mock the mainstream narrative of Democrats "winning" the shutdown.
  • Armstrong (05:29): "Really, really rallied the nation by holding out as long as showing their courage, their political courage. Okay."
• Immediate Impact on the Public:
  The impact on air travel—with flight options drastically reduced—is highlighted as the real leverage point that forced action.
  • Getty (07:16): "I mean, the air travel options had dropped off a cliff because of that... I thought, wow, this is going to be something this week. But then they announced the cave of the eight."
  • Armstrong (07:54): "The Republicans may have really hit on a great strategy: ratcheting up the number of flights that were going to be canceled in the name of safety..."
• A Forgettable Blip:
  They predict nobody will remember this shutdown come election time.
  • Getty (08:51): "Nobody will be talking about this next week, let alone a year from now."

2. The Pressure of the Holidays

[08:51–09:31]

• Getty confesses to feeling stress about holiday preparations and family logistics, while Armstrong jokes about "the joy of the holiday."
• Getty (09:05): "The... oh, that's right. What are we gonna do for Christmas?... Starting to come down on me like a dark cloud."
• Armstrong (09:23): "Have you forgotten the reason for the season?"
• Getty (09:23): "Having a strong fourth quarter? To keep GDP up. Right?"

3. Widening Sports Gambling Scandal

[09:31–10:49 & 27:36–33:12]

• Prop Betting and Integrity Risks:
  The hosts discuss allegations of Major League Baseball pitchers participating in spot/micro-fixing for gambling purposes.
  • Getty (10:06): "You're gonna find somebody who either is greedy or has a gambling problem or got themselves into a financial pickle... and you're gonna think, wow, all I gotta do is walk one guy in the fifth inning of a kind of meaningless game."
• International Intrigue:
  Armstrong floats the idea that foreign regimes could exploit vulnerable foreign players for illicit gain.
  • Armstrong (10:28): "I'll bet Maduro and his guys have got their clutches on a couple of Venezuelan ball players."
• Details Emerge:
  Later in the episode, the subject returns with details from new indictments, including communication between pitchers and bettors during games, and money being sent abroad.
  • Getty (31:10): "In total, the betters allegedly won over $450,000 from these wagers. The indictment details several instances in which a portion of the winnings were transferred to the pitchers' associates in their home country of the Dominican Republic."
• Technological Cat-and-Mouse:
  The hosts riff on how modern technology both enables and exposes such fixing.
  • Armstrong (28:10): "The opportunity for hinkiness has exploded with the web."
  • Getty (30:37): "You gotta make the increments smaller. You got to throw, you know, bet upon pitches... like 10 times over two months of 5,000 each."
• Moralizing on Gambling:
  They muse on the problem of gambling addiction among bettors and players.
  • Getty (33:10): "No, you're an addict."

4. BBC Scandal: Media Manipulation and Resignations

[13:22–16:06]

• BBC’s Headline-Making Exit:
  Getty insists the top story is the resignation of the top two executives at the BBC after it’s revealed they manipulated a Trump-related documentary—splicing speech clips to falsely implicate him as instigator of January 6 events.
  • Getty (13:22): “The top two people at BBC resigned overnight... they had edited some of Trump's speech that day to make it look more like he had been the instigator...”
• Media Reflection:
  • Getty (14:58): “And have you seen a lot of coverage about this? No, you have not. They're basically the NPR of Great Britain, right?”
• The Lesson on Overreach:
  On both sides, overreach is a fatal error.
  • Getty (15:10): “Don't overreach. If you're winning an argument... don’t make crap up because then they can dismiss everything, right?”
• Defining Socialism?
  The BBC’s muddled coverage of “democratic socialism” is mocked.
  • Armstrong quoting the BBC (15:32): "He describes himself as a democratic socialist, which has no clear definition, but essentially means giving a voice to workers, not corporations.”
  • Getty (15:50): "Essentially means. Oh, that is hilarious."

5. Lead Stories & Quick Hits with Katie Green

[20:34–23:22]

• Rapid-fire news headlines, interlaced with commentary:
  • Shutdown Deal Advanced
  • 1500+ Flight Cancellations
  • Ukraine Strikes in Russia: Russian mobilization in Ukrainian conflict.
  • Starbucks Cup Frenzy: Comedic side-topic about Starbucks releasing a bear-shaped glass cup, creating mayhem and wild secondhand resale prices.
  • South African Safari Horror: Woman survives a lion attack.
  • U-Haul Satire: A Babylon Bee story on “Mamdani dethroning Newsom as U-Haul’s top salesman” segues to a discussion of high earners fleeing British and Californian taxation.

6. Gavin Newsom’s Presidential Ambitions & California Politics

[33:15–37:11]

• Newsom’s “Bear” Line and Texas Speech:
  Newsom campaigns in Texas, takes shots at Governor Abbott, and drops his line:
  • Getty (34:20): "More or less, he went with, they say don't mess with Texas. Well, here's another one. You don't poke the bear."
• California Budget Earmarks Scandal:
  Newsom and CA legislature use climate bond money for pet projects: LGBTQ venues, private schools, and animal rescues.
  • Armstrong (35:43): "At least $250 million of the local project earmarks were funds taken from the $10 billion Proposition 4 climate bond... the climate change borrowed money was used for an LGBTQ plus venue in a private farm and a private day school..."

7. Inflation, Consumer Sentiment, and Political Messaging

[38:31–40:36]

• Stock Market Woes, Tech vs. Adoption:
  Armstrong references a conversation with a tech professional about the lag between innovation and consumer adoption.
• Consumer Sentiment Near Historic Lows:
  Getty and Armstrong mull why consumers feel so dour, theorizing it’s simple letdown from expectations on prices.
  • Getty (39:24): "People thought things were gonna get cheaper because things were too expensive and they haven't gotten cheaper."
• Trump’s Inflation Spin:
  Armstrong notes Trump is claiming “no inflation,” but they call him out for sounding out-of-touch.
  • Armstrong (39:53): "He does a remarkable job of not coming off as an out of touch billionaire."
• Deflation vs. Inflation:
  • Getty (40:12): "People believe that prices are not going to go down. No, they just aren’t. They'll stop rising so fast, but prices aren't going to go down. That's not the way inflation works."

8. Mailbag: Listeners Sound Off

[44:16–49:19]

• Marine Corps birthday noted (44:34), along with a "freedom-loving quote" from General Lejeune.
• Satirical riff on headline about “starvation” illustrated with an obese woman, mocking media framing.
• Discussion of SNAP benefits, welfare, and government expansion.
• Jokes about Armstrong & Getty-branded pickleball paddles—“not for use playing pickleball”—and a listener’s Craigslist-success story.

9. Lighter Moments and Banter

• Getty’s Girthy Wardrobe Malfunction:
  • Getty (19:51): “Somehow I forgot to put on my belt this morning, but luckily due to my poor eating choices I made over the weekend, my girth is holding my pants up. Maybe I don't need a belt anymore."
• Denny’s Dining Adventures:
  Getty describes a late-night outing to Denny’s after some regrettable weekend eating.
• “A well-structured joke”:
  Joke about the world's oldest married couple (husband 200, wife 16) makes Armstrong proud (27:21).
• Holiday Ads and Sponsor Banter:
  Frequent, tongue-in-cheek references to ad reads and ad partners sprinkled throughout.

Notable Quotes by Segment

• Shutdown Resolution:
  Armstrong (04:19): "Thank God. Eight of them at once all of a sudden in a coincidence, not at all that they all got together and said look, this is stupid. Yeah, our long national nightmare is soon to end, folks."
• On Media Manipulation:
  Getty (14:49): “You tried to affect the United States presidential election by completely lying and misleading the people at the biggest news organization in the world. How crazy is that?”
• Holiday Season Dread:
  Getty (09:05): “Starting to come down on me like a dark cloud.”
• On Gambling Scandal:
  Armstrong (28:10): “The opportunity for hinkiness has exploded with the web...”
• On Policy Lessons:
  Getty (04:57): “The lesson should be: don't try to score policy wins by holding the government hostage.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Government Shutdown resolved: 03:50–08:45
• Holiday Season Anxiety: 08:51–09:31
• Sports Gambling Scandal (1st mention): 09:31–10:49
• Sports Gambling Scandal (detailed): 27:36–33:12
• BBC Scandal: 13:22–16:06
• Gavin Newsom / California Politics: 33:15–37:11
• Economic Sentiment/Inflation: 38:31–40:36
• Listener Mailbag: 44:16–49:19
• Comic Banter & Personal Stories: Sprinkled throughout; Denny’s story at 20:18

Tone and Language

Armstrong & Getty play off each other with a familiar cadence—cracking jokes, voicing exasperation with politics, and frequently lapsing into satirical asides. Their style is blunt, opinionated, and self-aware, often poking fun at themselves, each other, and the political and media landscapes.

Summary

This episode encapsulates the Armstrong & Getty formula: unpacking politics and news with a mix of skepticism, biting humor, and relatable anecdotes. If you missed the show, you’ll come away informed about the shutdown’s end, the foggy ethics of modern sports gambling, a media scandal with global reach, and the relentless, often absurd pressures of the holiday season—all with plenty of laughs in between.