Planet of the Beavers

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: Planet of the Beavers
Date: September 30, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty

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Episode Overview

In "Planet of the Beavers," Armstrong and Getty blend their signature irreverence with incisive commentary on the week's most pressing issues. The episode explores political controversies (including the latest AI-manipulated video involving Hakeem Jeffries), consumer and culture wars, a sharp lament over America's declining reading habits, emerging tech in private aviation, high-profile celebrity splits, and the moral implications of American comedians performing in Saudi Arabia. The hosts pepper serious discussions with humor, pop-culture observations, and self-aware commentary, maintaining a breezy and engaging tone throughout.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

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1. The Controversial AI-Generated Video and Political Outrage

[00:27 – 03:23, 11:42 – 12:38]

• The Video: They discuss a widely criticized AI-generated video posted by Donald Trump (or his site), depicting Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a sombrero and mustache alongside Chuck Schumer. The video includes crude jabs about Democrats and their stance on healthcare for undocumented immigrants.
• Political Response: Hakeem Jeffries publicly denounces the video as "disgusting," reaffirming the party’s fight against bigotry.
• Hosts' Take: Armstrong and Getty are bemused, recognizing the racism but also noting the video’s over-the-top nature and the desensitization of the internet age.
  • Quote: "I don't care who you are. You look good [in a mustache]." — Joe Getty [03:20]
  • They highlight how such incidents feed into larger debates over “woke” politics and the ongoing government shutdown drama.

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2. Culture Wars: Woke Backlash, Marketing, and American Eagle

[04:10 – 07:18]

• Sydney Sweeney Jeans Ads: Discussion about American Eagle Outfitters’ controversial ad campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney, the backlash it received (claims of sexism, racism), and how, contrary to pundit predictions, the company’s sales have soared.
  • Quote: "American Eagle did the opposite. It said to the average normal Americans, 'Hey, here's a hot chick in jeans.' And average American said, 'Yeah, that's a hot chick in jeans.'" — Joe Getty [06:23]
• Comparison to Anheuser-Busch & Target: The hosts draw contrasts with companies negatively impacted by progressive stances, lauding American Eagle for "reading the room" of mainstream America.
• Travis Kelce’s Clothing Brand: American Eagle partners with Travis Kelce, launching their collaboration right after the Kelce–Taylor Swift engagement news, highlighting the confluence of pop culture and marketing.

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3. Reading in Decline: The Vanishing Literacy Crisis

[19:43 – 26:47]

• Shocking Stats: The hosts deliver an extended, somber segment about the drastic drop in reading habits among American youth and adults.
  • Quote: "Reading for pleasure has fallen by 40% in the last 20 years. Since 2005, reading for pleasure has dropped 40%." — Jack Armstrong [21:51]
  • They reference academic testimonials noting elite students who now struggle deeply with classic texts.
• Implications: Ties the reading crisis to broader societal shifts, referencing Neil Postman’s thesis that “you don’t need to ban books if nobody reads them.”
  • Quote: "Most of our students... are functionally illiterate." — (quoting a professor) [23:24]
• Smartphones & Attention Spans: The smartphone’s explosion around 2008 marks a notable inflection point—brain chemistry, dopamine addiction, and hyper-speed media consumption are cited as key roots of declining long-form reading.

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4. Private Jet Innovation: Windows Are Out, Cameras Are In

[14:14 – 17:47]

• Oto Aerospace’s Jet: Discussion of a windowless private jet, its fuel efficiency (60% less), and video panel displays offering panoramic, VR-like “windows.”
  • Quote: "It is so aerodynamic, partly because of no windows and so much lighter that it earns 60% less fuel." — Joe Getty [15:29]
• Personal Anecdote: Jack shares his solitary experience flying private, extolling its convenience but underscoring its prohibitive expense.

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5. Showbiz & Music: Celebrity Breakups and Offbeat Songs

[08:30 – 10:25]

• Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban Split: Light commentary on their marriage and Urban’s “feminine” image.
• Music Recommendations: Joe mentions Tyler Childers’ “Bite and List” as a funny country song about revenge, while Jack’s son favors hip hop artist Lil Yachty—"if you want some really, really filthy music to play in your car."

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6. Comedians in Saudi Arabia: Hypocrisy or Business?

[33:23 – 37:22]

• David Cross’s Rebuke: Cross calls out fellow comedians (Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Wayne Brady, Jeff Ross, Tom Segura) for performing at a Saudi festival, denouncing their hypocrisy for taking money from a regime with a poor human rights record.
  • Quote: "We can never again take seriously anything these comedians complain about... All of your bitching about cancel culture and freedom of speech and all that s** is done."* — David Cross, read by Jack Armstrong [35:09]
• Host Perspective: The hosts strongly agree, noting a double standard: "Don't lecture me about...then take a giant paycheck from people who beat rape victims and have slaves." — Jack Armstrong [36:41]
• Contrast with Athletes: They note that unlike golfers who “just hit balls,” comedians explicitly position themselves as moralists.

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7. Government Shutdown & National Parks

[13:11 – 14:14]

• Shutdown Mockery: The hosts ridicule performative shutdown pain (closing parks/beaches), insisting it’s unnecessary bureaucracy.
  • Quote: "If you want to wander around in the woods, you don't need a federal employee over there 15 miles away sitting in an office to do that." — Joe Getty [13:34]

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8. Miscellany: Air Traffic Near-Misses, Prize Picks, and More

[18:24 – 19:43, 10:25 – 11:42]

• Near-Miss at LAX: Recap of an American Airlines close call with a cargo plane, used to highlight concerns over increasingly strained air traffic control systems.
• Parental Media Tastes: Humorous banter on “filthy” vs. “good and wholesome” music (Lil Yachty vs. Rolling Stones).
• Prize Picks: Brief, breezy endorsement of the Prize Picks sports betting platform.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the AI Video:
  "There's no way to sugarcoat it. Nobody likes Democrats anymore. We have no voters left..." — AI-generated Schumer, as played in the Trump-shared video [02:07] "Bigotry will get you nowhere." — Hakeem Jeffries, as quoted in news [02:50] "Nobody. Nobody. But soft heads. And their heads are soft." — Joe Getty on support for healthcare for undocumented immigrants [12:13]

• On Declining Reading:
  "We're practically there. We might already be there where...nobody's buying them or reading them. What is a world where there are no books?" — Jack Armstrong [25:13] "I've made an important life decision. I'm going to dedicate the rest of my life to deceiving and taking the money of the ignorant." — Joe Getty (sarcastically riffing on societal decline) [26:54]

• On Comedians & Saudi Arabia:
  "You have a funny bit about how you don't like a Yankee candle...But you're cool with murder and...public caning of women who are raped..." — David Cross, read by Jack Armstrong [35:09] "Those comedians, that's their whole act is lecturing us that we're not good enough people." — Jack Armstrong [36:58]

• On the Future:
  "You know, I won't live long enough to be able to win this bet. But you are right. We saw the peak of mankind in our lifetime." — Jack Armstrong [31:01]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• AI Video & Outrage: 00:27 – 03:23, recap at 11:42 – 12:38
• American Eagle, Woke Backlash: 04:10 – 07:18
• Travis Kelce’s Brand/Punchline: 06:50 – 08:19
• Nicole Kidman Divorce/Music Talk: 08:30 – 10:23
• Prize Picks Banter: 10:23 – 11:42
• Private Jet/Tech: 14:14 – 17:47
• Reading Crisis: 19:43 – 26:47
• Comedians in Saudi Arabia: 33:23 – 37:22

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Overall Tone & Flow

The conversation, as always, jumps nimbly between cultural critique, policy skepticism, tangential personal stories, and sardonic humor. The hosts maintain an everyman, slightly cranky demeanor, balancing legitimate concern for America’s direction with a tongue-in-cheek approach to their own “old man rants.” Their banter is informed, self-aware, and engaging—perfect for listeners seeking both laughs and food for thought.

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To hear deep-dive commentary on the AI video, reading crisis, or the comedians-in-Saudi-Arabia controversy, refer to the specific timestamps above. Most ad reads and promotional segments have been omitted from this summary.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

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

[Joe Getty]

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

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[News Reporter]

It's a disgusting video, and we're going to continue to make clear bigotry will get you nowhere. We are fighting to protect the health care of the American people in the face of an unprecedented Republican assault on.

[Jack Armstrong]

All the things Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act. What disgusting video is Hakeem Jeffries talking about? He's the leader of the Democrats in the House. He may be the speaker of the House of the Democrats. Take it back next year. And I'll say it's tough to see this sort of jocularity given the fact that my kids and I spent a lot of last evening praying, crying. It was tough to get them to bed last night with the looming government shutdown. I'm sure your kids are upset, too, as we all should be about a government shutdown. Who freaking cares? But anyway, so Trump puts out this video. Well, I don't know who made the video, but he posted it on his official site, so that's like giving it the thumbs up. And we're going to play the audio here in a second. And it's AI generated, so it's. I don't know if you've seen Schumer and Jeffrey standing next to each other yesterday. They gave a little speech about how the Republicans just want to burn things down, you know, that sort of thing.

[Joe Getty]

And you to die of no health care for whatever reason.

[Jack Armstrong]

This video has Schumer speaking and it's AI generated. This isn't real. And Jeffries is standing next to him in a sombrero with a big mustache. I have no idea what.

[Joe Getty]

That's odd.

[Jack Armstrong]

There's not a really an explanation for that.

[Joe Getty]

For a black man named Hakeem Jeffries.

[Jack Armstrong]

To be wearing a sombrero with a black mustache. Anyway, this is what the audio is.

[News Reporter]

Look, guys, there's no way to sugarcoat it. Nobody likes Democrats anymore. We have no voters left because of all of our woke trans bullsh t. Not even black people want to vote for us anymore. Even Latinos hate us. So we need new. And if we give all these illegal aliens free health care, we might be able to get them on our side so they can vote for us.

[Jack Armstrong]

I guess they're leaning on the whole free health care for illegals, which is part of the deal with the sombrero. Big black mustache.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Anyway, okay, now give me the. The Outraged.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, just the first quote again. Yeah, go ahead, Play Jeffries again. It's a disgusting video.

[News Reporter]

And we're going to continue to make clear bigotry will get you nowhere.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, there you go. We are fighting, so that's good enough. And he said, if you think you're shut down as a joke, it just proves what we all know, that you can't negotiate. You only throw tantrums. Bigotry will get you nowhere.

[Joe Getty]

The AI was right. Nobody likes you because of your woke bull bleep.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I gotta say, you look good with the mustache and the sombrero. You might think of it as a.

[Joe Getty]

Look if you can grow the thick. Oh, dark mustache.

[Jack Armstrong]

How do you not have it if you can grow it?

[Joe Getty]

I don't care who you are. You look good.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would have that.

[Joe Getty]

Ladies, we're not asking you, all right? Normally, it's to appeal to the gals what we straight males do. Not in this case.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, as a single guy, I will wear whatever facial hair is going to work the best. That's all.

[Joe Getty]

I didn't appreciate Saddam Hussein's politics, but man mustache. Oh, speaking of woke bull bleep. Oh, a couple things. Number one, if you did not hear the excerpts of Pete Hegseth's speech that we played last hour, we're going to reset it in hour four of the show. So good. If you don't get hour four of the show, grab it. Vibe podcast, Armstrong and Getty on Demand. You should probably subscribe anyway.

[Jack Armstrong]

In which he said, among other things, we're moving away from a woke military. That S is over. Yes, that is a heck of a statement.

[Joe Getty]

So, speaking of woke bold bleep. I thought this was so interesting. The Wall Street Journal has an interview with the CEO of American Eagle Outfitters.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm wearing those jeans right now.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, you're rocking them like crazy. Please. And this guy is. I think he's 71 years old, but he famously surrounds himself with young people and hipsters who know what young people want. He's super crazy about what young people want to buy. That's his business, and good for him. And. But they talk about the terrible, terrible controversy. This one journalist lady who writes this, who wrote this article, Suzanne Kapner, talking about the big controversy with the Sydney Sweeney jeans ads. The Sydney Sweeney has great jeans, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

I call these my Nazi jeans. I put on the Nazi jeans today.

[Joe Getty]

And of course, this journalist lady takes it completely seriously, describes the ads and stuff. And some people called the double entendre racist. Others call the ad Sexist. Even President Trump weighed in. Blah, blah, blah, sexist.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wait a second now. You can't have a hot chicken jeans trying to sell jeans to women. That's pretty crazy.

[Joe Getty]

Who want to be hot chicks. Yeah, no, that's way out of bounds. And then of course, the hint toward eugenics, Jack and Nazis. Well, and then the journalist lady writes this. Some marketing pundits predicted the culture war uproar would drain American Eagles des sales and dent its reputation as similar controversies had for companies like Anheuser Busch and Target. And Cracker Barrel. No, this is exactly the opposite. Cracker Barrel's a bit of a weird case because I think some people perceived something that wasn't happening. But Anheuser Bush gave in to the woke mind virus and offered perversity that the vast majority of the American people aren't into. Target exactly the same. Doubled down with the hey, you should transition your child and mutilate their body and feed them powerful chemicals crowd.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and you walked in the door at Target and they had the trans display right in front the first thing you see.

[Joe Getty]

Exactly. American Eagle did the opposite. It said to the average normal Americans, hey, here's a hot chicken jeans. And average American said, yeah, that's a hot chicken jeans. It was the woke lunatics who were yelling, it's exactly the opposite. Suzanne, how can you miss that?

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. Anyway, and the punchline is, American Eagles sales went up, right?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, they're just killing it.

[Jack Armstrong]

They're actually pretty good jeans for the price.

[Joe Getty]

It's cheap. So did you know in a coincidence, he says, not believing it for a minute. They launched their partnership with Travis Kelsey's TK True Colors clothing brand. The symbol is TK Like Travis Kelsey. They launched it the day after Kelsey and Taylor Swift announced their engagement. What a happy coincidence that is.

[Jack Armstrong]

He has a clothing brand? I didn't know that.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, okay. Yeah, it's actually pretty cool looking.

[Jack Armstrong]

His style is a little out there for me. Yeah, I haven't seen his clothes that he's selling, but what he wears to games and stuff like that. What the hell is that?

[Joe Getty]

You know, it happened to me a couple of years ago when the 49ers were celebrating a playoff victory and there was news footage from their party, the team party. And I was reminded, oh, these, these guys are not like me. They're 26 year old hipster young males. And yeah, they were all decked out in the I'm a 26 year old hipster male, you know, garb. And it was not What I wear to the golf club. So, yeah, TK Is probably out there a little bit for you. But he looks slick. You know what he looks. He looks confident.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Which is extremely appealing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Catch the ball. He did this last weekend.

[Joe Getty]

He's old. He's what, 30 now?

[Jack Armstrong]

34. He and him, Taylor, are both a dog.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Anyway, you go, American Eagle. Keep stuffing hot chicks in tight jeans. Everybody's fine with it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Did you see the breakup news? Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are splitting up after 20 years of marriage or something like that. Had a pretty long. You don't. You don't usually have marriages last that long in the world of showbiz, but fell apart somehow, I think, because he's a girl. I think because he's secretly a girl.

[Joe Getty]

He is somewhat girl.

[Jack Armstrong]

He is a very effeminate dude.

[Joe Getty]

He's pretty. He can't help being pretty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. He wears eyeliner.

[Joe Getty]

Speaking of country music, my. A couple of my kids actually send me tracks out to listen to songs, we called them back in the old days, Including Delaney. My youngest insisted I listen to Tyler Childer's song Bite and List. Are you familiar with that song?

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm not. I'm very familiar with Tyler Childers, but I don't know that song.

[Joe Getty]

I told her, honey, I'll get to it. I've had a rotten day, it's been very long, blah, blah, blah. She said, no. Perfect. Listen to it. The. The theme of this. The theme of the song is I really don't like you at all. And if I ever get rabies, you're gonna be on the top of my biting list. I got a list of people I'm gonn and bite.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now. That's a funny theme.

[Joe Getty]

And give them the rapies. I know. How do you think of that?

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. That's a good. That's a new ground.

[Joe Getty]

Sitting there, guitar in hand. A little G, little C, little D. That sounds pretty good. I need some lyrics.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now. Let me think.

[Joe Getty]

Honey, I love you. Or I'm sorry, your love has gone wrong.

[Jack Armstrong]

No.

[Joe Getty]

How about this? What if I got rabies? Who would I bite?

[Jack Armstrong]

That is not Moon, June, spoon.

[Joe Getty]

No, indeed.

[Jack Armstrong]

My. My son is into hip hop. He's into. He playing for me, Lil Yachty the other day. That's his favorite artist right now. Lil Yachty is actually a great big guy. A little boat he goes by. So check out the little Yachty if you want some really, really filthy music to play in your car. And I mean filthy.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I don't Know you let that to.

[Joe Getty]

Filth go in your car. It's terrible. Bad parenting, that's what I say. Listen to something good and wholesome like the Rolling Stones. Anyway, Prize Picks is a great way to spice up your sports viewing. Whether it's the. The football that I love so much or the baseball playoffs are about to start. So the gigantic Aaron Judge see gonna have more total bases or less than the stat projection. What do you think?

[Jack Armstrong]

He's not really a playoffs guy. We'll see.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, wait a minute. Maybe you go with less. And Prize picks has these max discount squares that are total no brainers. All you have to do is pick two or more player stat projections and if you're right, you cash in.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

And it's super easy to win to understand. You don't have to know weird codes and numbers and stuff like that. And again, you don't have to win to get that $50 in lineups. You get it automatically by playing $5. Download the prize Picks app today. Use that Code Armstrong Prize picks. It's good to be right.

[Jack Armstrong]

So Trump puts out a video with Hakeem Jeffries and a sombrero to drive home the point that the Democrats plan will include free health care for illegals. I get it, I get it. That's a. I think that's abhorrent to buy. I'm just going to guess like 80, 80% of America, if not more. I might be on the low side. How many people want free health care for illegals?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, I thought you meant the. The video itself.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, the issue.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. Yeah. Nobody. Nobody. But soft heads. And their heads are soft. Don't worry about them. Yeah, I know. And how many people are actually offended when they see that video? It's got to be a vanishingly small number of people. This is the Internet age. We all see crap every day that.

[Jack Armstrong]

We can't believe that's true. You're gonna like, oh my God, Hakeem Jeffries. They somehow technologically put a mustache on him.

[Joe Getty]

This is racism, darling. This is racism.

[Jack Armstrong]

After you were listening to Liati. Yeah, Comparison. Are we going through A crisis of people stopping reading. According to a couple of people who've spent time looking at it. Yes, all the data would show. Yes, this could be a major reversal for humankind. We'll get to that later this hour. It's really interesting. Among other things.

[Joe Getty]

Stay here, Armstrong, and get.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, the government has different kinds of employees. For instance, national park employees, non essential TSA agents, essential air traffic controllers. Kind of a gray area. Yeah, the government shutdown, I guess it's going to happen. I don't know. I'm not paying any attention. You'll have to listen to somebody else. If you wanted to have an update on the government shutdown.

[Joe Getty]

Once it happens, though, if it happens, I will resume my militant stance that if there's some national park or national seashore or whatever you want to go to, go to it. If you want to wander around in the woods, you don't need a federal employee over there 15 miles away sitting in an office to do that. They try to bar you from the beach, go around the gate or go block down and sneak onto it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't think they're going to. From what I understand, the Trump administration is going to try really hard to not have people feel that ridiculous pain.

[Joe Getty]

That's true. Because that was always the Democrats.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, the Democrats do that. It's the dumbest thing ever. You block off national parks. Well, this is your government shutdown.

[Joe Getty]

What? So here's an interesting consumer story. It could soonish be as inexpensive or roughly the same price to fly private as it is to buy like a first class seat.

[Jack Armstrong]

How is that even possible?

[Joe Getty]

You know, it's funny, all the emphasis on flying cars and that sort of thing. How about flying planes? Let's make those better. Nice point.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nice point. Or is there room? Maybe this is what you're getting to. Is there room for people who are willing to spend a couple extra bucks to have the seats not be like the seat in front of you, right up against your nose, like some other option.

[Joe Getty]

Terrible. But anyway, this story's all about a company called Otto Aerospace. They have a new business jet that flies. I think it's only like nine, 10 people, but among other advances, it has no windows, which you'd think, how big a difference does that make? It is so aerodynamic, partly because of no windows and so much lighter that it's earns 60% less fuel.

[Jack Armstrong]

60% less fuel. And I learned because I got a buddy who's a private pilot, the whole deal is the fuel. That's the whole thing. That's why it's so expensive to fry private. Private. Or to have one. Even if you could afford the plane, you couldn't afford to fly it around because that's where the cost is, Right?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, that's what I've always understood too. But so instead of windows, because I. I've mentioned this before, I really like looking out windows. I like geography. I like to see how suburbs spread, and I like to look at golf courses from above. Anyway, I really enjoy looking out the window. There are no windows. Instead, the inside of this plane, if you want it, is a panoramic virtual view of what you're over and what you would be looking at because it has teeny tiny cameras looking out. Like super advanced versions of your car's backup cameras.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's like some cars, like a friend of mine's Escalade. The rear view mirror is not real. It looks like you're looking in the rearview mirror, but it's actually just a camera.

[Joe Getty]

Oh.

[Jack Armstrong]

Put in your rear view mirror and it looks exact. It's even better than if you're so. Yeah, that's what it would be.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And it's really. It's cool because it's like sitting in some virtual reality something or other where the. The puffy clouds are all around you and the sky is up above with the stars and moon or whatever like surrounding you. If you choose that. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Awesome.

[Joe Getty]

Much less fuel expenditure and. Oh, I meant to say this early. Private jet company, Flexjet, which is one of the biggies, just signed a contract to be to buy 300 of them.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

They like them so much. So who knows? It's cool looking beast, no doubt. We'll post this at Armstrong&getty.com. i'm not sure if you'll get paywalled or not.

[Jack Armstrong]

I flew private one time. My family for. I was a. We had a medical situation with my son and we wanted to get to back to Kansas for a family thing. I bit the bullet. It was ridiculously expensive, but, man, I can see the appeal. Oh, my God. It's just. You just. You just show up, walk onto the plane. The way they're treated, they have your food and drink there. When you land, you just walk. There's no, no hustle, there's no bustle, there's no security, there's no nothing.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, it's. If you can't afford it, you do it. Yeah, it's amazing. But crazy expensive.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, ridiculously expensive. So people started reading really the masses only about 300 years ago, and now we're stopping and is there any chance of reversing that? We might have had a very brief period of time where people read and well then maybe the question is that important or not? I think it's very important. But the stats are troubling. We'll get into that coming up. Young people are not wanting to read. And then more Pete Hegseth speech in front of all those generals and what you think of that. It's getting a lot of attention.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Gettys.

[News Reporter]

A frightening moment on one of America's busiest runways. An American Airlines jet packed with passengers Sunday night headed for Boston forced to slam on its brakes after a cargo plane was crossing the same Runway. A Boeing Triple 7 taxiing at LAX. You can hear air traffic control directing the cargo plane to cross this Runway.

[Jack Armstrong]

German cargo 619 heavy.

[Donald Trump]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

And if you can do it as fast as you can. Traffic down a three mile final.

[News Reporter]

Those pilots instead making a right turn now directly in front of that American Airlines jet speeding down the Runway at 154 mph seconds from being airborne controllers telling the cargo plane to stop, but it was too late.

[Joe Getty]

German coverage.

[Jack Armstrong]

619 heavy stop. We are on the Runway. American 2453 cancel takeoff clearance.

[News Reporter]

The pilots avoiding a near catastrophe, stopping the jet about a mile down the Runway.

[Jack Armstrong]

Slamming on the brakes. Man, that would get your attention on the plane. Holy crap. Is this happening more often or not? That's always the question. Or is it just ABC News and everybody else figured out that it gets people's attention?

[Joe Getty]

Well, that's definitely true, but when was the last time you heard anybody with licasense say, tell you what, our air traffic control system is great.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's true.

[Joe Getty]

It's modern, getting better, well manned and the training is good and getting better every day.

[Jack Armstrong]

So this is not getting better. We've stopped reading. Came across this on a sub stack yesterday and thought it was damned interesting. Joe brings up a lot the what future are we headed toward? The Orwell future or the Huxley future. That would be the 1984 future where they ban books. Or the Thomas Huxley Brave New World future where you don't need to ban books because there's no one who wants to read them, as pointed out by Neil Postman in Amusing Ourselves to Death, which I can't believe I've never read. It's one of the classics of all time. I've never read that book and it's a subject that is on my mind all the time. It's clearly the latter. You don't need to ban books because people aren't going to read any books that are put out there. And let me get into that with this piece. One of the most important revolutions that happen in human history happened about 300 years ago now. The printing press was invented around 1500, but it took a couple hundred years before reading really caught on. I think partially because no one could read. I mean, he also had the actual printing and distribution of reading material and somebody had to write it, but nobody could read, really. But by, by 1700 in Britain and France and Germany and then, and, you know, growing in the United States, literacy was just exploding. And people loved reading. Absolutely couldn't get enough of it, pamphlets, books, poetry, whatever, to get themselves more knowledge or have an idea what's going on locally or around the world. Now I get to the piece that I read yesterday that horrified me. More than 300 years after the reading revolution ushered in a new era of human knowledge, books are dying. Numerous studies show that reading is in free fall. Even the most pessimistic 20th century critics of the screen age would have struggled to predict the scale of the present crisis in America. Reading for pleasure has fallen by 40% in the last 20 years. Since 2005, Reading for Pleasure has dropped 40%.

[Joe Getty]

That's incomprehensible and stunning.

[Jack Armstrong]

In the UK, more than a third of adults say they've given up reading entirely. The National Literacy Trust reports shocking and dispiriting falls in children's reading, which is now at its lowest level since they've been keeping track. The publishing industry is in crisis, as is pointed out. Books that once would have sold in the tens, even hundreds of thousands are now look lucky to sell in the mid four figures. So a book that might have sold hundreds of thousands of copies just a few years ago is going to sell 5,000 copies now.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nationwide.

[Joe Getty]

Talk about a different industry. Well, you know, the money changing part of it is the least of our problem. Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

But Tim Sandifer, who's written a number of books, was pointing this out to me. We were texting the other day about how he said, nobody reads anymore. You can't sell books, nobody reads. That's horrifying. An article published in the Atlantic called the Elite College Students who can't Read.

[Joe Getty]

Books and nobody Read that article. But back to you cites the characteristic.

[Jack Armstrong]

Experience of one professor 20 years ago. This professor's classes had no problem in engaging in sophisticated discussions of Pride and Prejudice or Crime and Punishment, some of the classic texts of all time. Now his students tell him up front that the Reading load feels impossible. It's not just the frenetic pace. They struggle to attend to small details while keeping track of the overall plot. Most of our students, according to the professor, are functionally illiterate.

[Joe Getty]

Oof.

[Jack Armstrong]

The person that wrote this said this chimes with everything I've heard in my own conversations with teachers and academics. One Oxbridge lecturer I spoke to described a collapse in literacy among his students. And these are people at some of your better universities. This isn't the average population. The transmission of knowledge, the most ancient function of the university, is breaking down in front of our eyes. Writers like Shakespeare, Milton and Jane Austen, whose works have been handed on, handed out for centuries, can no longer reach the next generation of readers. They're losing the ability to understand them. Isn't that stunning? This is happening before our eyes, but getting like no conversation.

[Joe Getty]

This is the sort of thing that people have said throughout history because it's kind of an egotism, but I think it's right. Finally we witnessed the peak of mankind.

[Jack Armstrong]

You are correct on both. It is, it is the sort of thing that people say because of presentism and it's exciting to have your moment be the most this or that. But it's also true.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, sometimes it takes the form of I can't bring a child into this world because it's so terrible. No, it's not. It's one of the most comfortable, cushy worlds that's ever existed in any universe. You baby. On the other hand, we have witnessed mankind's peak and are now witnessing the decline.

[Jack Armstrong]

They point to one particular thing. I'll give you one guess as to what it is that really caused the super rapid decline. Anybody? Do I even need to say it's online porn? I won't even say the freaking smartphone, of course. I mean, it's made it hard for me to read.

[Joe Getty]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

And we all know it. So that's just a. That's just a fact. But what is, what is a world where there just aren't books? We're practically there. We might already be there where they're just hard books. I mean, people write them and you can print them, but nobody's buying them or reading them. What is a world where there are no books? How does. Because they point into. This article is very, very long in the way that Substack is. But it goes through how it is tied into the rise of democracies and capitalism and civil rights and all the different things that have good things that have happened for, for mankind, humankind in the last 300 years.

[Joe Getty]

Not to mention technological advances and food production and a thousand things.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. These college professors saying Shakespeare's just gonna disappear from the scene. My students can't read it. They can't understand it, and they won't read it because they hate reading so much.

[Joe Getty]

This is unfortunate.

[Jack Armstrong]

Too slow. Exactly. My kids hate reading. They just hate it. And they've grown up in a household with a dad who reads constantly, but they just hate it. And so do all their friends. And I. It's hard to be critical of it because I know that feeling. It's work for me to read in a way that it wasn't years ago just because of, you know, what the dopamine addiction and the attention span and everything has done to us. But there's. I feel like there's zero possibility that you can have progress with humankind if reading disappears.

[Joe Getty]

Am I wrong?

[Jack Armstrong]

Am I just an old person who claims that, you know, the invention of the automobile is going to ruin society or.

[Joe Getty]

Well, that's true too, but. Yeah, no, you're right. You're absolutely right. I've made an important life decision. I'm going to dedicate the rest of my life to deceiving and taking the money of the ignorant. I mean, just because the question before us is how do you have a happy life in the world of the decline of humanity? And that's exploiting the ignorance of others for your own wealth. So ripping people off is the key to joy? Yeah. In words of a single syllable, yes. Michael. Those who parlance of the common man. Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Those who do not read but have some money, let's separate them from their coinage.

[Joe Getty]

Precisely. We, the learned, owe it to them to administer the firm handed spanking that they deserve.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's wild. And I got one more chart that I want to hit you with after this.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, they got two way audio to confront the person, trigger sirens, spotlights, all that sort of stuff.

[Joe Getty]

Join the more than four. If you'd ever read a book, you wouldn't have to rob people, you jackass.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or what?

[Joe Getty]

You could say that to them.

[Jack Armstrong]

Join the more than 4 million Americans who trust SimpliSafe with their home security, including me.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

I'm trying not to have any judgment in this conversation about the reading because I didn't read because I'm a good person and I'm going to blah, blah, blah. Whatever it was, it was a lot less to do. The pace of life was slower and I really enjoyed it. And like I said, it's my enjoyment of reading. I read much less than I used to, certainly long form books, stuff like that, because my attention span has gotten so short. So we've created a world where our brains are ruined and people don't read as much. But the chart about young people, people under the age of 18, it was amazing the, the two lines crossing at about 2008, right when the smartphone hit, but it was already on the decline. I wonder why that is. Just the Internet in general, maybe the Internet in general.

[Joe Getty]

The omnipresence of media, I think could be. But anyway, look, when you've got, when you've got 200 channels, you're more likely to find something you like than when there are three.

[Jack Armstrong]

But it's something like 75% of young people read nearly daily back in the 80s. I did.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I did.

[Jack Armstrong]

I read every day just for fun. I knew not only just stuff assigned, I'd read before I went to bed, things that I like to read. Now it's down to like 10% of people under 18 that read for pleasure daily.

[Joe Getty]

For a while there I was reading Brave New World like every other year in 1984, like once or twice a decade just because it's long and, and a little tougher. But yeah, one of the themes of Brave New World is that you don't have to work very hard to oppress people. You just keep them high and amused and they have no interest in opposing totalitarianism.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh yeah.

[Joe Getty]

And the other aspect that I wanted to mention of the people in the book was they were very shallow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Ding. Your, you're, you're gonna, you know, take money from dullards, you know, exploit people. You're gonna Figure out a way to steal from them. What do you think governments are going to do or are doing when people don't read anymore?

[Joe Getty]

Well, they're milking us like cows.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Oh, man.

[Joe Getty]

They call the theft taxes, but it's the same process.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know, I won't live long enough to be able to win this bet. But you are right. We saw the peak of mankind in our lifetime.

[Joe Getty]

Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Planet of the Beavers. That's fine. Again. They're hard working. They got the flat tail, they build stuff. Bees maybe can be their buzzy little assistants.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let the bees have their shot at the world, huh? Anybody argue with this at all? Text line 415295KFTC.

[Joe Getty]

Being human, I tell you what ain't easy. Armstrong and Getty.

[Donald Trump]

So I think we'll get that done. But that's turned out to be the toughest one. I'm so disappointed in President Putin. I thought, I thought he would get this thing over with. He should have had that war done in a week. And I said to him, you know, you don't look good. You're four years fighting a war that should have taken a week. Are you a paper tiger? And it's a shame.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's Trump today after Pete Hegseth gave his big speech in front of all the generals, which we're gonna play a whole bunch of in our four. I often mention this podcast that I listen to almost daily from the Telegraph newspaper out of London because they do a great Ukraine segment every day. Their reporting seems to be that the military, the, the Russian military is like, close to collapse.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

They're really, really struggling. So I hope that that's true. And I wonder if that maybe that Trump doesn't have that knowledge and that's what he's betting on anyway.

[Joe Getty]

I have a great deal to say, but we're pressed for time. Perhaps another time, another day.

[Jack Armstrong]

Trump went on to say this of.

[Donald Trump]

Russia just to be careful because we can't let people throw around that word. I call it the N word. There are two N words and you can't use either of them. You can't use either of them. And frankly, if it does get to use we have more than anybody else. We have better. We have newer, but it's something we don't ever want to even have to think about.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oof.

[Joe Getty]

Talking about those claims, I believe are objectively false. We don't have more. And I don't think we have newer.

[Jack Armstrong]

We don't have more. Russia has more nuclear weapons than us, but I guess we have better, hopefully. Hopefully that's true. Anyway, okay, we both have enough to destroy the planet like, eight times, so it doesn't make any difference. Different topic because we'll get into that next hour. Came across this. Thought this was damned interesting. Do you know comedian David Cross? Very, very funny guy. He was the Blue Man Group dude from Arrested Development, if you remember that. He was in Mr. Show with Bob Ovenkirk. He blasted a bunch of fellow comedians. Today, some of the biggest comedians in America are going over to Saudi Arabia to do a show for the crown prince and all his friends. And David Cross said this, and I thought it was really, really interesting. Before his friends go to Saudi Arabia's rehab comedy festival. I am disgusted and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing that people I admire with unarguable talent would condone this totalitarian fiefdom for what, A fourth house? A boat? More sneakers? We can never. And this is the part that I really like. We can never again take seriously anything these comedians complain about. Unless it's complaining that we don't support enough torture or mass execution of journalists and LGBTQ peace activists here in the States or that we don't terrorize enough Americans by flying planes into buildings. I mean, that's it. You have a funny bit about how you don't like a Yankee candle or airport lounges. Oh, Craig. Okay, great. But you're cool with murder and. Or the public caning of women who are raped and by having the audacity to be raped, were guilty of engaging in adultery. Got any bits on that? These are some of my heroes. Now, look, some of you folks don't stand for anything, so you don't have any credibility to lose. But, my God, Dave and Louie and Bill and Jim. I'll fill in the names if you don't know who they are in a minute. Clearly you guys don't give an about what the rest of us think. But how can any of us take any of your seriously ever again? All of your bitching about cancel culture and freedom of speech and all that s done. You don't get to talk about it ever again. By now, we've all seen the contract you had to sign. I guess it's floating around on the Internet how much money they got paid. You're performing for literally the most oppressive regime on earth. They have slaves for f sake. He writes, um, and that's pretty good. The comedians he was talking about with those names. He was talking about Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle. Who's going over there? Oh, my God. That's incredible. Um, Shane Gillis, by the way, one of my favorite comedians, disavowed the festival, saying that he turned down an invitation and a significant amount of money for an appearance fee. Said I took a principled stand. You don't 911 your friends. Among the comedians that are going to the Rehod Comedy Festival. Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Wayne Brady, Jeff Ross, Tom Segura. But Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr, who are always lecturing us about what's good and what's not.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, heavily into politics. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Isn't that something? Yeah. I'm sure David Cross didn't make any friends by calling these people out, but he's 100% right. Don't lecture me about the, you know, the various things that are going on in this country and then go take a giant paycheck from people who beat rape victims and have slaves.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, don't complain about the Sydney Sweeney ad when you're taking money from the Saudis. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. As a golf fan, this is kind of an old topic just because the live tour has been super controversial, but.

[Jack Armstrong]

Others Are those golfers constantly lecturing us, those comedians?

[Joe Getty]

No, they hit golf balls for a little.

[Jack Armstrong]

Those comedians, that's their whole act is lecturing us that we're not good enough people.

[Joe Getty]

Well, truth telling, you know, in. In the way they would describe it, probably. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a lot to be said about this.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, my God. I can't believe Dave Chappelle's taking a paycheck from Saudi Arabia. That's shocking to me. I would assume he's going to respond to this and explain it.

[Joe Getty]

Maybe he takes their money, then comes back home and badmouths them, I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or bad mouths them to their face, maybe.

[Joe Getty]

Great speech at the Pentagon. We'll have highlights next hour. If you don't get next hour, subscribe to the podcast Armstrong and Getty on Demand. Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an I heart podcast.