Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: No One Wants A Long Eyeball

Date: January 5, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode centers on the “Maduro Operation”—a dramatic U.S. military raid leading to the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro. Hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty dissect the details, strategic implications, and political fallout of the raid, moving from military precision to international consequences. They also touch on heightened protest activity in Iran and meander into lighter topics like travel stories, electricity grid vulnerabilities, sports oddities, and a playful critique of aging TV formats.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Maduro Raid: American Military Shock and Awe

[01:14 – 14:17]

• The show opens with a recap of the bold U.S.-led operation to apprehend Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

• Joe Getty highlights the remarkable precision of the raid and American military’s ability to coordinate vast assets:

  • Gen. Dan “Raisin” Kane delivers the core narrative:

    “We think we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again. Not to get it right, but to ensure that we cannot get it wrong.”
    (Gen. Dan Kane, 01:40)

  • 150+ aircraft were involved, demonstrating “integration” beyond what most people could imagine.
  • The show relishes the surprise and discipline of special forces, with appreciation for the joint Army/Navy effort.

• Armstrong underscores the political risk:

  “...these things go wrong. Not only... Geez, I hope we don’t have, you know, 20 Marines die here... But then just the political fallout would be immense.”
  (Jack Armstrong, 03:17)

• Comparison is drawn to previous presidential military decisions (Obama & bin Laden).

• The hosts debate why U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan seemed so much less competent, speculating about leadership and military doctrine:

  "One of the most difficult things a military ever does is withdraw or retreat.”
  (Joe Getty, 04:48)

Notable Quotes

• “Our ability to coordinate our various branches is what separates us from the rest of the world.”
  (Mike Lyons via Armstrong, 07:25)

• “I didn’t know it got cold there. It was 25 degrees with the wind chill while we were there…”
  (Jack Armstrong, on his New Orleans trip, 15:28)

2. The Aftermath: “Who Runs Venezuela Now?”

[08:24 – 14:17]

• Discussion pivots to the legal and political implications—the fate of Maduro, Venezuela’s leadership void, and Trump’s bold declarations:

  “Trump saying we run Venezuela… everybody in the world I think said what? What does that mean?”
  (Jack Armstrong, 10:04)

• Joe Getty notes: “The greatest yada yada yada in the history of geopolitics.”

• The hosts probe the next steps: “We are going to tell them what we need them to do and if they resist or defy us, we're gonna put a terrible, terrible hurt on them.”
  (Joe Getty, 12:40)

• They note the capture of Maduro’s wife as a sign of seriousness and speculation about potential death penalty consequences.

3. Iran Protests & Possible U.S. Intervention

[10:28 – 13:40, 23:00 – 27:23]

• Coverage of mass protests in Iran, with the hosts acknowledging the potential for regime change or brutal crackdown:

  "Either there is going to be a terrible, terrible bloodbath at the hands of the security forces, which Trump has vowed... or this is the beginning of the end of the regime."
  (Joe Getty, 11:47)

• Trump's tweet:

  "If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go."
  (quoted by Jack Armstrong, 23:50)

• The uncertainty and possible outcomes (military dictatorship, cautious liberalization) are analyzed, with concern about credibility and feasibility of an American rescue.

4. Foreign Policy Philosophy & Risk

[13:40]

• Armstrong critiques the idea that “doing nothing” is the least risky approach:

  “Sometimes the most insane gamble you can make... is to do nothing.”
  (Jack Armstrong, 13:40)

• The folly of U.S. inaction in the Americas is discussed, with reference to China, Iran, and Russia’s encroachment.

5. Life, Technology & Security Vulnerabilities

[14:29 – 18:23]

• Jack recounts a San Francisco power outage and speculates on potential cyber-attacks:

  “My first thought always with this stuff was, was this the Chinese trying to see if they could work...?” “If the electricity goes off in a big city... that's frightful.”
  (Jack Armstrong, 16:35 & 17:12)

• They note how dependent modern life is on seamless, ever-present infrastructure—an under-appreciated vulnerability.

6. Social Media & Human Instincts in Disaster

[19:05 – 20:25]

• Reflecting on the Swiss ski resort fire tragedy, Armstrong laments bystander fixation on capturing video instead of escaping:

  “Place catches on fire and everybody gets their phone out. Instead of immediately running for the door, they get their phone out to try to capture the moment...”
  (Jack Armstrong, 19:24)

• Getty expands on how this turns real life into “internet slop”.

7. Cultural Oddities & Media Critique

[27:35 – 31:59]

• Extended riff on Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve, age-inappropriate bookings (Diana Ross at 81), and the absurdity of TV’s desperate bid for shrinking audiences.

• Armstrong:

  “Their average [prime time audience]... is 4 million people. I'll bet the average... when we were kids was something like 45 million people... Why they continue to hang on to the old model until it's completely dead... is bonkers to me.”
  (Jack Armstrong, 31:39)

8. Light Stories, Sports & Eyeball Trivia

[14:29, 20:26 – 22:29, 32:37 – 34:08]

• Jack shares personal travel mishaps, food highlights in New Orleans, and football playoff tidbits.
• Curiosity about extremely tall female basketball recruits (“Tall drink of water!”) and the genetics behind it.
• Late episode: Getty introduces a medical segment on myopia and screen time:

  "Staring at a screen... for a prolonged time causes the eyeball to grow longer from front to back, making it harder to focus farther away.”
  (Joe Getty, 33:08)
  Armstrong exclaims, “No one wants a long eyeball.” (33:33)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On military supremacy:
  “We can do some serious ass... like nobody else on earth.” (Joe Getty recounting a military friend, 04:16)

• On power outages as a warning:
  “Everybody was just walking around wondering what we supposed to do for the whole day. That’s frightful.” (Jack Armstrong, 17:12)

• On media hypocrisy:
  “Here are the news networks who have not covered Zoran Mandani’s salute…every single one of them had multiple stories about Elon Musk’s salute…That’s all you need to know, isn’t it?” (Jack Armstrong, 22:02)

• On pop culture absurdities:
  “She came out there and she sang her songs, though. Was it lip synced? She actually sang them. You could tell because she got so winded... She was so winded from walking around the stage and twirling around at her age.” (Jack Armstrong, 30:29)

• On the risks of inaction:
  “Doing nothing sometimes is the stupidest freaking thing you could do.” (Jack Armstrong, 13:50)

Important Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:14 | Start of Maduro raid discussion, Gen. Kane’s statement | | 05:26 | Gen. Kane’s detailed breakdown of the operation | | 10:04 | Trump’s Venezuela comments & “who’s in charge” debate | | 11:24 | Protests in Iran—tracing events & “locked and loaded” warning | | 13:40 | Philosophical take on U.S. foreign policy risk | | 14:29 | Armstrong’s travel anecdotes, San Francisco blackout story | | 17:12 | Vulnerability of cities to power loss, public confusion | | 19:05 | Swiss resort tragedy & social media behavior in emergencies | | 22:02 | Network news bias, Elon Musk “salute” vs. Mandani coverage | | 23:50 | Trump’s Iran tweet and speculation on intervention | | 27:35 | New Year’s special, Diana Ross performance | | 33:08 | Myopia epidemic & “long eyeballs” explained | | 35:07 | Final thoughts & wrapping up |

Closing Tone and Takeaways

Armstrong & Getty blend wry humor with skepticism as they navigate serious geopolitics and trivial pop culture, regularly questioning media narratives and policymaker decisions. They provide deep-dives on military and diplomatic affairs, leavened with relatable asides and playful banter:

• The Maduro operation is hailed as a display of American might, raising questions about leadership, intelligence (“we had a mole!”), and global message-sending.
• There’s palpable concern about world order shifting in real time (Venezuela, Iran)—with both hope and anxiety for what comes next.
• Offbeat side topics—culinary revelations, sports anomalies, technology’s downside for youth—break up the heavy geopolitical content.
• The hosts maintain their trademark irreverence, offering both insight and good-natured mockery to keep listeners engaged and informed.