Armstrong & Getty On Demand
Episode: “Plum Smugglers”
Date: August 21, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty
Episode Overview
This episode of Armstrong & Getty takes a satirical yet incisive look at current events and cultural trends, with signature humor and skepticism. The main focus is on the rationality (or lack thereof) behind climate change policies, a critique of media narratives, legal developments around Donald Trump, shifts in American habits, and university ideological battles. The show is punctuated by running gags, playful asides, and commentary on generational differences, all wrapped up in the hosts’ direct conversational style.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Labubu & Consumer Fads
[03:36 – 04:19]
- The hosts comment on the viral success of Labubu plushies, a “so ugly it’s cute” social media phenomenon out of China.
- Joe: “I saw my first Labubu in the wild the other day hanging off of somebody's fancy purse. But that's the only one I've actually seen.”
- Jim: “I'd go ahead and buy the big house and get the Lamborghini because the whole Labubu thing... that's for real.”
- They satirize the hype and predict the fleetingness of such trends.
2. The Climate Change Conversation: Hysteria, Policy, and Common Sense
[04:19 – 16:14]
a) Government 'Hobgoblins' & Power
- Jim sets the tone: governments exaggerate threats to expand power and control budgets, citing a questionable $2B grant for environmental justice.
- Jim [04:19]: “Government comes up with various hobgoblins or problems or crises… some real, some imagined, and they use them as a pretext to throw zillions of dollars around because that's how you grow your power.”
b) Absurd Advice & Misplaced Priorities
- Ridicules UK government and media for suggesting that deleting emails/photos saves water due to data center cooling.
- Jim [07:13]: “Delete old emails and pictures as data centers require vast amounts of water to cool their systems.”
- Jim [08:03]: “To save as much water in data centers as fixing your toilet would save, you would need to delete 1.5 billion photos or 200 billion emails… it would take you 723 years to delete enough emails… maybe you should jiggle your toilet.”
c) Analysis of a New Climate Report
- They review a controversial report by physicist Stephen Koonin (former Obama administration official), which claims climate threat has been exaggerated and presents alternative perspectives.
- Koonin's findings: rising CO₂ has “the important positive effect of promoting plant growth,” and ocean acidification concerns are “one-sided and exaggerated.”
- Jim [10:13]: “If the media drives you crazy... What does virtually everybody who studied climate agree on?”
-
- Climate is changing (it always has).
-
- CO₂ & greenhouse gases are increasing due to fossil fuels.
-
- Rising CO₂ causes some warming.
-
- The real debate: magnitude of warming, side effects, and what (if anything) to do.
-
- Joe [12:34]: “Whenever you say, what are we going to do about it? Do you mean we in the United States, or do you mean we the world... India and China don’t care.”
- Critique of unilateral Western climate policies:
- Jim: “Europe has taken a poison pill... so far down the we must do something about climate change road they’ve crippled their own economies and had zero effect. But it makes them feel good and enlightened. It's a mental illness.”
- Joe [14:09]: “Stupid Euros and their tiny bathing suits.”
- Jim (deadpans): “Plum smugglers.”
d) Wind & Solar Skepticism
- Discusses the unreliability of wind and solar as full replacements for fossil fuels.
- Jim: “If you want a reliable electrical system... wind and solar can at best be an ornament.” [15:15]
- They stress that the real objective is not the enviro-benefit but massive spending: “Climate change is the excuse to do the thing. The thing is handing out monies.” [16:01]
3. Legal/Lawfare Update: Trump Civil Case
[16:14 – 40:07]
- Breaking News: An appellate court has thrown out the massive $500 million New York civil judgment against Donald Trump (regarding property valuations and bank dealings).
- Jim [38:19]: “The court's disgorgement order... is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment... The grotesque award of Judge Engoron will stand as the pinnacle of lawfare in New York—the utter abandonment of both any reason or restraint in the pursuit of political adversaries.”
- Joe [39:17]: “This should horrify you, whether you're a conservative or a Democrat… almost was run out of the race by just completely cooked up bogus cases…”
- Jim [39:41]: “A lot of people... thought, look, I don’t like Trump much, but I’m not going to be on your side. You people are despicable. Yeah, they got him elected.”
4. Shifts in American Social Habits: Alcohol Use Down, Life Satisfaction?
[20:39 – 24:31]
- Alcohol consumption is at a record low in the U.S.
- Joe [21:50]: “Alcohol consumption in the US is at a record low. We’re drinking the least we’ve ever swallowed since they’ve been keeping stats on this sort of thing.”
- Theories: cost increases, rise in marijuana use, less social engagement, more screen time, generational malaise.
- Jim [22:34]: “We have fewer friends, less sex, fewer partners, fewer civic organizations, drinking less. I mean, just what are we doing? Oh, we're staring at our screen...”
- Joe [23:13]: “The great awakening is here... but I don't think that's what it is.”
- Jim: “Jesus made water into wine.” [23:35]
- Audience responses (via social media): health concerns, moralizing, and individual variability.
5. Middle East Update: Israel-Gaza and Mainstream Narratives
[28:35 – 31:42]
- Outlines latest Israeli military moves in Gaza and the question of internal support.
- Joe: Reports of (media) saying “most European nations and many Israelis oppose this [operation]...” but the majority still support government action.
- Jim [29:52]: “What color is the sky in your world?”
- Critiques “shallow” U.S. media and the lack of honest assessment of Israel's motives and realities.
- Joe: “What would the United States do... if they were attacked that way by a neighbor? They would freaking obliterate them.”
6. Universities & Ideological Capture: Kansas State Story
[31:42 – 35:36]
- Kansas State U.'s civil rights office hires an administrator connected to a “secretive Marxist book club” calling for Israel’s destruction and supporting Hamas.
- Jim [33:13]: “Virtually no term that [neo-Marxists] use means what they want you to think it means. Like civil rights.”
- Joe: “That is unbelievable.”
- Jim: “I don't think I'm gifted enough in the English language to properly express to you how rotten our university systems are.”
7. Generational Competence, “Adulting,” and The Importance of Free Play
[48:27 – 50:19]
- Anecdote: A Dunkin’ Donuts fire, with the staff all standing by helplessly until a customer steps up to handle the extinguisher.
- Jim [49:04]: “This is like a Rorschach test... the employees didn't have a single idea what to do in case of a fire.”
- Both lament that today’s teens often lack problem-solving skills due to over-supervised childhoods.
8. Cultural Notes & Closing
[50:19 – End]
- Marks National Radio Day; discusses Howard Stern's career decline.
- Joe: “He has gone from an audience of 20 million a day at his peak to 125,000 a day now.”
- The shifting media landscape and endless streaming bundles—a microcosm of contemporary cultural confusion and overchoice.
- Jim: “Maybe we bundle all these different things together in one package and call it like cable or something.” [43:10]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Climate Hysteria:
“To save as much water in data centers as fixing your toilet would save, you would need to delete 1.5 billion photos or 200 billion emails...”
— Jim [08:03] -
On Single-State/Single-Country Climate Sacrifice:
“Even a giant economy like ours, saying, we will sacrifice ourselves... will have no effect.”
— Jim [13:04] -
On University Ideology:
“Virtually no term that [neo-Marxists] use means what they want you to think it means. Like civil rights.”
— Jim [33:13] -
On Decreased Life Satisfaction:
“We have fewer friends, less sex, fewer partners, fewer civic organizations, drinking less. I mean, just what are we doing? Oh, we're staring at our screen...”
— Jim [22:34] -
Dark Humor on European Climate Policy:
“Stupid Euros and their tiny bathing suits.”
— Joe [14:09]
“Plum smugglers.”
— Jim [14:13]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- Labubu plush & consumer fads: 03:36–04:19
- Climate change policies & skepticism: 04:19–16:14
- Trump NY civil case overturned: 16:14–40:07
- Alcohol consumption trends/social shifts: 20:39–24:31
- Israel-Gaza update & media skepticism: 28:35–31:42
- Kansas State / university Marxist scandal: 31:42–35:36
- Dunkin’ fire & youth competence: 48:27–50:19
- Howard Stern, National Radio Day: 50:19–End
Episode Tone & Style
The Armstrong & Getty style is breezy, sarcastic, and occasionally biting but deeply engaged with contemporary issues. They blend news critique and commentary with comedic sidetracks and personal anecdotes, often spotlighting the absurdities of modern media, policy, and generational change.
For More:
If you missed any topics or hours, get the podcast “Armstrong & Getty On Demand” wherever you listen.