Some Really Weak Tea

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand – "Some Really Weak Tea"

Date: September 8, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

In this episode of Armstrong & Getty, Jack and Joe delve into a wide spectrum of current events and cultural trends, focusing on the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Venezuela, recent US military moves, European responses, and US domestic politics. They also engage in an in-depth conversation about climate change skepticism, the phenomenon of social conformity (with a notable Malcolm Gladwell story), and discuss youth development through Boy Scouts. Their signature blend of skepticism, humor, and candor carries through the episode, as they dissect both hard news and cultural undercurrents.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Ukraine, Russia, and Western Response

[03:46-11:55]

• Russia’s Major Attack:

  • Over the weekend, Russia launched its largest attack of the war on Ukraine, with up to 800 drones and missiles targeting Kiev and even American-owned infrastructure far from the front lines.
  • The hosts discuss whether the target—an American-owned factory 700 miles from the front—was strategic or a deliberate provocation.
    • “I think it's more likely he just attacked an American entity. Just as a thumb in the eye, just F you. I think.” — Jack Armstrong [05:56]

• Divisions over US/European Strategy:

  • Inside the White House, debate is ongoing about whether to push for more peace talks with Russia or double down on military aid and sanctions.
    • “Does somebody actually still think…that Putin actually wants peace? I mean, if they do, slap them hard.” — Joe Getty [04:41]

• European Energy Reliance:

  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy expresses frustration with European countries for buying Russian oil and gas, undermining sanctions.
    • “Europeans, I’m very thankful…but some of them, they continue buy oil and Russian gas. And this is not fair.” — President Zelenskyy (via ABC report) [07:27]
    • The discussion segues into Europe’s dependency as “trustafarians” (trust fund babies) under the US security umbrella.
      “They've grown their bloated welfare states…formerly significant powers and they can't even muster up the will to find their gas and oil somewhere else.” — Joe Getty [08:30]

• Trump’s Stance:

  • Trump continues to say there will be “severe consequences” for Russia but apart from rhetoric, nothing has concretely materialized, echoing his approach with Iran.
    • "He does it on his timetable, not yours. Although it has been a very long time and a lot of promises of, you know, severe pressure coming eventually. Haven't seen it yet." — Joe Getty [09:47]

2. US Military Moves Against Venezuela and Drug Cartels

[10:02-13:53]

• F-35 Deployment:

  • The US deployed F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico for counter-narcotics operations, raising eyebrows about their true intended use.
    • "Why would you need F35 stealth fighter jets for a counter narcotics mission?...We might be jumping super ugly with Venezuela." — Jack Armstrong [10:02]

• Venezuela’s Posturing and Maduro:

  • Venezuela’s president, Maduro, displays defiance by buzzing US assets with F-16s.
  • Hosts speculate this is internal posturing to shore up his regime amidst a growing domestic opposition.
    • "I have a feeling he's trying to come off as the great defender of Venezuela to try to sway the populace because he is a dictator, but they got a pretty decent opposition movement there." — Joe Getty [12:23]

• Controversy over Cartel Killings:

  • The US military struck a boat with alleged cartel members off the Venezuelan coast. The action is met with both praise and criticism.
    • Senators like JD Vance and Rand Paul offer sharply divergent takes on military intervention against cartels.
      "Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military." — Quoting JD Vance [13:53]

3. Ethics of Military Strikes Without Trials

[15:05-15:49]

• Blasting the Cartel Boat – How Troubled Should We Be?
  • Jack and Joe rate their unease over extra-judicial killings.
    • "Scale of 1 to 10, how troubled are you by us blasting those people in that boat?" — Jack Armstrong
    • "7.2...I'm more interested in the ethical legal questions involved. I'm more interested than troubled.” — Joe Getty [15:14]
    • "I'm more like a 2." — Jack Armstrong [15:18]
  • Joe expresses a “small-l libertarian” concern over unchecked government power.

4. Climate Change: New Energy Department Report and Skepticism

[21:05-24:49]

• DOE’s Surprising Findings:

  • New DOE report challenges the alarmist consensus on climate change:
    • Elevated CO2 is leading to global greening.
    • Extreme weather event data does not show alarming trends in the US.
    • Climate models may overstate future warming. "Complex climate models provide limited guidance on the climate's response to rising carbon dioxide levels...Claims of more frequent or intense hurricanes, tornadoes, floods...are not supported by historical records." — Joe Getty referencing the report [22:39]

• Parallels with Social Phenomena:

  • Jack draws a parallel between climate change orthodoxy and the sudden reversal in “trans” issues, both likened to “secular religions” that suddenly lose mainstream dominance.

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5. Social Conformity and the 'Malcolm Gladwell' Moment

[24:14-36:49]

• Gladwell’s Admission:

  • Malcolm Gladwell, previously silent about his views on the trans issue in sports, recently admitted he’d been too afraid to speak his mind—despite immense success and security.
    • "Gladwell essentially came out and he said, no, that's ridiculous. But I was afraid to say so." — Jack Armstrong [24:49]
    • "The reason I'm ashamed of my performance on that panel is because I share your position 100%. And I was cowed.” — Quoting Gladwell [34:17]

• Crowd Conformity and Preference Falsification:

  • They discuss how small, vocal minorities intimidate majorities into silence—until the social tide turns.
    • "I've become fascinated with this concept of a preference falsification...forceful advocates for a minority position are so adamant and bullying that everybody sits there silently." — Quoting Malcolm Gladwell [31:23]
    • "Even at that level, people are willing to go along with the crowd if it’s just easier." — Jack Armstrong [36:35]

• Vivid Host Reaction:

  • Both hosts harshly criticize elite silence and cowardice in the face of unreasonable activism.
    • "You let people like Riley Gaines put their physical safety at risk by speaking what they believed...You agreed with them, but you're too big a freaking coward..." — Jack Armstrong [35:32]
    • "How much credit do you get now for saying, yeah, I'm ashamed? Very, very little." — Joe Getty [38:06]

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6. Boy Scouts, Leadership, and Youth Resilience

[45:13-50:26]

• Eagle Scout Ceremony Reflections:

  • Jack describes attending his son’s first Eagle Scout ceremony, sharing deep admiration for the leadership skills, responsibility, and maturity fostered by the Boy Scouts.
    • "All the leadership stuff, it's all...almost entirely about going to these different camps and seminars to learn leadership skills...and running meetings. The whole thing is kid-run. The adult leaders just stand to the side in case something really falls apart, which it rarely does." — Jack Armstrong [45:13]
    • "These kids now, this kid is 17 or 18...I know plenty of people that have come into the workplace as 23 year olds with a college degree and weren't a tenth of this mature..." — Jack Armstrong [47:21]

• Importance of Challenging Kids:

  • The hosts agree that kids rise to the challenge and grow in confidence when given real responsibility.
    • "People, especially children, tend to rise to your expectations of them, have high expectations." — Joe Getty [48:18]
    • "How we ever came to the conclusion that doing everything for children from age 0 to 25 was gonna make it better for them, I don't know." — Jack Armstrong [50:09]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Does somebody actually still think…that Putin actually wants peace? I mean, if they do, slap them hard." — Joe Getty [04:41]
• "I think it's more likely he just attacked an American entity. Just as a thumb in the eye, just F you. I think." — Jack Armstrong [05:56]
• "The Euros are such, like, trustafarians. They've been under our security umbrella... they've grown their bloated welfare states." — Joe Getty [08:30]
• "Scale of 1 to 10, how troubled are you by us blasting those people in that boat?" — Jack Armstrong [15:05]
• "Complex climate models provide limited guidance...claims of more frequent or intense hurricanes…are not supported by historical records." — Joe Getty [22:39]
• "Even at that level, people are willing to go along with the crowd if it’s just easier." — Jack Armstrong [36:35]
• "All the leadership stuff, it's all...almost entirely about going to these different camps and seminars to learn leadership skills...and running meetings." — Jack Armstrong [45:13]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Russia/Ukraine Attack & Trump Response: [03:46-09:47]
• European (In)action and Critique: [07:27-08:30]
• US Military & Venezuela: [10:02-12:59]
• Cartel Boat Ethics Debate: [15:05–15:49]
• Climate Change Debate: [21:05–24:49]
• Malcolm Gladwell/Social Conformity: [31:23–36:49]
• Boy Scouts & Youth Development: [45:13–50:26]

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Tone & Style

The episode blends sharp political skepticism with a conversational, irreverent tone. Armstrong & Getty riff off each other, mixing serious analysis with humor and caustic commentary. Their willingness to challenge social orthodoxies and use vivid examples gives the episode both immediacy and depth, while their admiration for traditional virtues like resilience and leadership shines through in more positive segments.

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For listeners who missed the episode, this summary covers the central debate topics, cultural commentary, and most impactful moments—delivering both the gist and the flavor of "Some Really Weak Tea."

Transcript

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

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[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

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[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

America is changing and so is the world.

[Joe Getty]

But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm.

[Joe Getty]

Tristan Redman in London and this is the Global story.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Every weekday we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.

[Joe Getty]

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center.

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Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty. Large attack over the weekend. Russia on Ukraine. Trump was asked about it yesterday, says he's not happy about it. You're about to hear more about that in a second. Mark Halperin, and he has good sources, continues to report that Team Trump is split on whether they're going to pressure Putin again for more talks or to win the war, both on the ground by supplying military equipment and by crushing Moscow's economy. So inside the White House, there's the debate of we keep talking about talks which is basically nothing or we're going to go all in. We're going to try to crush our economy and give Ukraine stuff to beat the crap out of them.

[Joe Getty]

My follow up question would be how are you going to get them to the table without exercising some sort of leverage, which I assume would be economic sanctions which would quote, unquote, crush their economy. So I don't. Does somebody actually still think like within 20 miles of the White House that Putin actually wants peace? I mean, if they do, slap them hard.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Well, here's Martha Raddatz with a report on ABC yesterday about the whole thing.

[Joe Getty]

We met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at this hollowed out American owned factory here in Western Ukraine destroyed by Russian cruise missiles two weeks ago. All 600 employees made it to the nearby bunker, but 23 were injured. This American owned building, do you think targeted this on purpose? I think nobody knows. Maybe only God. Yes, but Putin knows what he's doing here. 1000 km. The distance to the front, Even a little bit more. Not an area that's usually hit. No, no. In fact, this region in southwest Ukraine, hundreds and hundreds of miles from the front line, has rarely been hit over the course of the war.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I thought that was interesting. They put the map up and that. So that American factory clear 700 miles away into the south of Kiev and the front lines. I can't imagine that that wasn't on purpose. Now, maybe Putin actually believed that they were manufacturing, you know, things that had contributed to the war there. I think it's more likely he just attacked an American entity. Just as a thumb in the eye, just F you. I think.

[Joe Getty]

That'S interesting. He does not know why you would poke Trump. I still haven't figured that out. Unless he wants to provoke an overreaction that justifies. I think his read is more with NATO.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think his read is more that I keep going hard. Biggest attack over the weekend of the entire war. And I know we say that every other day. Practically 800 drones and missiles on Kiev Saturday night, by far the biggest attack of the war. I think he's leaning toward. We were just talking about. There's a split in the White House. He reads Mark Halpern and everybody else is reporting on this. You know, he does. He believes that split in the White House is going to win. Of the. Throw up your hands and screw it. That guy wants to win way more than we care about stopping him. So we're out.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Yeah, that's. That's not an unreasonable guess.

[Jack Armstrong]

Here's a little more on Zelensky's unhappiness with Europe.

[Joe Getty]

Mr. President, you talk about more sanctions and more tariffs and more help from President Trump and you have told him you think he has the power to do this, and yet the deadlines pass again and again and another one has passed. We all understand that we need additional pressure on Putin. We need pressure from the United States. And I said that. I think that President Trump is right about that. Europeans, I'm very thankful to all the partners, but some of them, they continue buy oil and Russian gas. And this is not fair. To be open and to be clear. It's not fair.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it is quite amazing that a lot of those European countries are still buying Russian oil and gas. I mean, that's their backyard. And, and, and that makes, you know, J.D. vance's argument really. Look, if you people don't care, why should we care? You ain't about to invade us.

[Joe Getty]

The Euros are such, like, trustafarians. They've been under our security umbrella. They've grown their bloated welfare states. They're all going broke. They're really formerly significant powers and they can't even muster up the will to find their gas and oil somewhere else. I just, they're so weak. Britain is pooping on free speech to cover up the inadequacies of their own government. It's just, it's all very discouraging. I can see why Xi Jinping is thinking, yeah, the era of American hegemony is ending. We need to position ourselves. Why wouldn't he think that?

[Jack Armstrong]

So some of those world leaders are coming to the White House today and tomorrow to discuss all that sort of stuff. Trump was asked yesterday morning as he was going somewhere, probably to play golf. You know, what do you think about Putin's big attack Saturday night? He said, I don't like it. You know, there are going to be severe consequences. He, his critics are right and that he has been saying severe consequences for a long time without any severe consequences coming. My only possible pushback to that would be he did the same thing with Iran until the day that he attacked them. Harder than anybody to attack them in 40 years. So.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. You certainly could make the case that he does it on his timetable, not yours. Although it has been a very long time and a lot of promises of, you know, severe pressure coming eventually. Haven't seen it yet.

[Jack Armstrong]

Different military actions with the United States. We deployed, we talked about this. On Friday, we deployed 10 fighter jets to Puerto Rico in the fight against the drug cartels, according to various sources. This is what Jennifer Griffin of Fox said over the weekend. Why would you need F35 stealth fighter jets for a counter narcotics mission? The F35s being sent to Puerto Rico are usually used for large bombing missions like the one that targeted Iran's nuclear facilities. A fifth generation supersonic fighter jet known for its lethality. So we might be jumping super ugly with Venezuela. Yeah, maybe.

[Joe Getty]

There were a lot of comments to that tweet saying they actually, those jets also have our most advanced sensors and, you know, and radars and the rest of it. And they can, they're fabulous for data collection. So, yeah, don't. Don't assume, Jennifer. But who knows? And then it quickly descended into some sort of, I love Trump, I hate Trump pouring poison out on each other, but that's what Twitter is. So.

[Jack Armstrong]

So they buzzed our plane or our boats last week a couple of times. And Ian Bremmer tweeted out, I'm really surprised that Maduro is sending his F16s to posture against US warships. The United States is preparing to escalate unilaterally against Venezuela, and all he's doing is helping make the argument. What do you think? What does he. He doesn't think that's going to scare us off, does he?

[Joe Getty]

It reminds me of the question we were asking about Putin the other day. Does he hope for, like, some sort of overreaction that then, like, changes world opinion?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I think Putin could scare us off just by looking more committed. And, you know, the argument JD Vance keeps making is they. They really want this. They want it more than we don't want it, so.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

What are we doing here that ain't gonna happen with Venezuela?

[Joe Getty]

Right? Right. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

Maybe it's for internal consumption.

[Jack Armstrong]

God, if we actually, like, do a beach invasion like we practiced over the weekend in Puerto Rico, like a mini Omaha BEACH, World War II D Day invasion of Venezuela with 2500 Marines, some of which will probably die, that'll be quite the thing.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. I think Maduro, among totalitarian jerks, he has a lot less solid handle on his country than a lot of them do. And so I have a feeling he's trying to come off as the great defender of Venezuela to. To try to sway the populace because he is a dictator, but they got a pretty decent opposition movement there. So, yeah, I just think he's like, look at the great Satan is threatening us, and we proud Venezuelans will stand together. Look what we're doing. Look at how you ordered our F16s to go at him and say, we're ready for a fight.

[Jack Armstrong]

So that is off the coast of Venezuela where we blasted that boat with 11 people in it that were supposedly part of a horrible drug gang cartel or whatever. And of course, you have to say allegedly or supposedly because there was no trial and we don't actually know the individual names or anything like that. There's been pushback against that from Democrats, mainstream media, and the libertarian right. JD Vance tweeted out over the weekend, killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military. Rand Paul had a big problem with that. But then J.D. vance went on to say, democrats, let's send your kids to die in Russia. Republicans, actually, let's protect our people from the scum of the earth. He presented it that way. I don't know. I don't know that anybody's actually arguing to send US Troops to Russia to die. I haven't heard anybody make that argument, but that's the way he positioned it.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, that's man, I find politics really tiring.

[Jack Armstrong]

It really is.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Scale of 1 to 10, how troubled are you bias blasting those people in that boat? 10. Being very concerned.

[Joe Getty]

7.2.

[Jack Armstrong]

Really? Okay.

[Joe Getty]

I'm more like a 2. 6.4.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm more like a 2.

[Joe Getty]

It's. I would say I'm very interested in the ethical legal questions involved. I'm more interested than troubled.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know why. Maybe this makes me a bad person. But I think yeah, it'd be really awful if we did that. But whatever. I suppose I should be better than that.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of things I gotta worry about. I just, you know.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, definitely makes you a bad person. But no, I'm. I love the idea of defending our borders from the drug murderers, the sellers of deadly poison. We do have a hell of a consumption problem in the US But I like that very much. I just, I want it to be done fairly carefully because whenever. And this is, you know, the small l. Libertarian coming out of me and I certainly hope you all join me in this. Virtually every power exercised by the government is a risk of them over exercising that power, of abusing it, of using it against the wrong people. You just should always be suspicious of government power. That's why even though I like a lot of things Trump is doing, there's a lot of these so called emergencies that he's assuming new powers based on them that there aren't really emergencies at all and the Democrats will learn this lesson and you will hate what they do with it. So yeah, that's just snuffing people from above without a trial case by case basis.

[Jack Armstrong]

Full team coverage an hour of Video Music Awards from MTV last night. Did Sabrina Carpenter go too far with.

[Joe Getty]

Her sexiness show from 1987 MTV Music Awards?

[Jack Armstrong]

What gets way more attention than do you know anybody who watches videos? I don't. Where do you even find videos on YouTube?

[Joe Getty]

My kids are grown but I can't even imagine somebody telling me they watched the vma.

[Jack Armstrong]

My kids love music. They are completely unaware of videos. So I don't know. I don't know who the VMAs are for. We got more on the way. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

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[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

If you eat too many ultra processed foods, you could be starving your gut microbes and they'll get hangry. That's one of many things I learned after working on a new audio course about the gut microbiome. You can learn how to keep your gut happy by listening to Try this from the Washington Post. I'm Christina Quinn. I host Try this. Dig in with me on practical advice for life's conference challenges. Follow. Try this right now, wherever you're listening. Seriously, try it.

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[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Whoa.

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This thing moves.

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[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

America is changing and so is the world.

[Joe Getty]

But what's happening in America is isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm.

[Joe Getty]

Tristan Redman in London, and this is the Global Story.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Every weekday we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.

[Joe Getty]

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jack Armstrong]

The US men's soccer team is its lowest rank of the 21st century according to the latest rankings, apparently. Oh, I know.

[Joe Getty]

Maybe there'll be plucky upstarts like the 1980 Miracle on Ice hockey team and.

[Jack Armstrong]

They'Ll shock the world all right.

[Joe Getty]

Or not. Or either. I don't care. So that big report came out from the Energy Department the other day challenging the widespread belief that greenhouse gas emissions posed a serious threat to the nation. I was just reading something that one of the authors, Stephen. Is that his first name? Stephen? Yeah, Stephen Koonin, who's with the Hoover Institution at Stanford. I thought it was super interesting. He was kind of summarizing it, but he points out there's a big disconnect between public perceptions of climate change and climate science and between past government reports and the science itself. And he talks about the team brought 200 years of research experience collectively almost all directly relevant to climate studies and came up with some very, very serious data driven conclusions and observations and how a lot of the mainstream is just ignoring it or poo pooing it. And he makes a really good case that it's very strongly based on data and science. And he's kind of making the indirect point that it's A, a bit of a religion among some people and B, it's just such an incredibly good excuse to pour money in various directions. Nobody wants to admit. But anyway among the report's key findings, elevated carbon dioxide levels, enhanced plant growth, contributing to global greening and increased agricultural productivity.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Now, complex climate. I'm sorry. Complex climate models provide limited guidance on the climate's response to rising carbon dioxide levels. Overly sensitive models, often using extreme scenarios, have exaggerated future warming projections and consequences. Data aggregated over the continental US shows no significant long term trends in more extreme weather events. So claims of more frequent or intense hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and dryness in America are not supported by historical records.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know what this reminds me of, only it's a much bigger deal and probably going to be a little slower, is the whole trans thing. So the trans thing became such a religion there for a couple of years and you couldn't say anything that wasn't on board a hundred percent with, you know, the bathrooms and the boys and girls, sports and everything like that, or you'd be ruined. And then it fell apart pretty quickly.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is that going to happen slightly slower, but with climate change now?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

Don't you feel like so much money involved, don't you feel like there's a.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's, that's the big difference. There weren't billions of dollars to be made around the trans issue. There are trillions of dollars to be made around the, or already have been made around the climate change issue. But I don't you feel like that same sort of thing is happening though, where it's just kind of crumbling and it's like that whatever that phenomenon is. Phenomenon is we've been talking about lady, lately, where everybody's looking around saying, oh, okay, more people think this than I thought or I can say out loud, I don't think climate change is a big deal.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah. You know, it's funny, I meant to mention this Friday that Malcolm Gladwell, the famous author.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's a good one.

[Joe Getty]

What time is it? Maybe let's not, let's not rush it.

[Jack Armstrong]

That delivers short shrift, full shrift. That one delivers, deserves full shrift.

[Joe Getty]

But speaking of the trans thing, which is, you know, mostly an effort by Neo Marxists to get you to bend the knee and say whatever they tell you to say, including something as ridiculous as a man can become a woman just by saying I'm a woman now, Gladwell essentially came out and he said, no, that's ridiculous. But I was afraid to say so.

[Jack Armstrong]

So yeah, the full story on that is pretty interesting and it's troubling and you wonder how many people are in that situation. That's on the way. Bunch of other stuff too. Hope you can stay here.

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[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

If you eat too many ultra processed foods, you could be starving your gut microbes and they'll get hangry. That's one of many things I learned after working on a new audio course about the gut microbiome. You can learn how to keep your gut happy by listening to Try this From the Washington Post, I'm Christina Quinn. I host Try this. Dig in with Me on practical advice for life. Common challenges follow. Try this right now, wherever you're listening. Seriously, try it.

[NFL Shop Advertiser]

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[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

[Lenovo Advertiser]

Still using yesterday's tech upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 carbon ultralight, ultra powerful and built for serious productivity. With Intel Core Ultra processors, blazing speed and AI powered performance, it keeps up with your business, not the other way around.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Whoa, this thing moves.

[Lenovo Advertiser]

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[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

America is changing and so is the world.

[Joe Getty]

But what's happening in America isn't just the cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm.

[Joe Getty]

Tristan Redman in London. And this is the Global story.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.

[Joe Getty]

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm pleased to announce this morning that the Department of Education will soon issue.

[Jack Armstrong]

New guidance protecting the right to prayer.

[Joe Getty]

In our public schools. And it's total protection.

[Jack Armstrong]

Donald Trump this morning at the Museum of the Bible, making a couple of announcements, by the way. Coming up in a little bit, I want to talk about. I went to an Eagle Scout ceremony yesterday for Boy Scouts. I want to talk about Boy Scouts. Really, really cool. But Donald Trump went on to say, among things in his speech which will lead Joe into his Malcolm Gladwell story. I made the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, Trump said today, saying that men and women's sports isn't an 8020 issue, it's a 973 issue. Despite that, the fact that it's probably about a 9010 issue, people were so convinced that it was a grenade you were stepping on if you said anything about it. People kept their mouths shut for a long time, including Malcolm Gladwell, apparently.

[Joe Getty]

Well, yeah. And it's worth observing that the.

[Jack Armstrong]

Keeping.

[Joe Getty]

Dudes out of girls sports thing is still illegal in some blue states, including the most populous state in the Union, where he used to still just have to announce, you're a girl and you can play girls sports and beat the hell out of the girls. And with the smile and nod and approval of the left, it's craziness. Anyway, it's worth pointing out that through the years, I mean, Malcolm Gladwell, he's written a bunch of, like, super popular bestsellers, but some of which I really liked. Yeah, yeah. And yeah, yeah, he pissed me off so much. I saw him participate in a debate and he like, inappropriately played the race card and the cancel culture card in a couple of spots against Matt Taibbi and Douglas Murray in ways that were just baffling and unfair. Yeah. And I kind of soured on Gladwell. But as I was starting to say, I mean, he's been called one of the world's most 100 most influential people by time, back when that mattered. Foreign Policy magazine ranked him in its top 100 global thinkers. Newsweek chose him for the top 10 new thought leaders of the decade a number of years ago. Tipping point, huge bestseller. He has seven New York Times bestsellers, 23 million copies sold. His speaking fees are between 2 and $300,000 to come and do a speech. And as rich or I'm sorry, as Jim Garrity of the the National Review pointed out, you'd have to look hard to find a guy with a better, higher, or more stable perch in the American cultural elite than Gladwell. And even this guy was afraid to say what he really thought for fear of getting canceled. Which is a good point. So, you know, pity the poor employee at some, you know, west coast, you know, corporation that's told, you have to believe this and say this or we're gonna hound you out of here. But anyway, what we're talking about is.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or a teacher at a school.

[Joe Getty]

We're right. Oh, my God, what a great example. Because there's so many great teachers of reasonable conscience who just have to choke down their disgust with what they're being told to teach and believe. But anyway, so Gladwell did this podcast, the Real Science of Sport podcast, which is interesting, but I won't go off on a tangent of that, but he and the moderator of the podcast had been on a panel together. Malcolm was the moderator, and Ross Tucker is the other guy. Ross was on the panel as being against guys playing in girls sports. And I'll just pick up where Gladwell starts talking. Yeah, they stacked the panel. They stacked against you, Ross. They put a trans athlete and a trans advocate and you on the panel. And I was the moderator. And it was one of those strange situation situations where my Suspicion is that 90% of the people in the audience were on your side, but 5% of the audience was willing to admit it. I've become fascinated with this concept of a preference falsification lately, where forceful advocates for a minority position are so adamant and bullying that everybody sits there silently, then looks around themselves and says, well, I guess nobody else disagrees. I'm in a very small minority because everybody's being quiet. But as Gladwell now says, he thought 90% of the audience was with Ross, but only 5% were willing to admit it. Let's see. Tucker says, my recollection of it is that everything I said was met with deathly silence. And everything the other two said got cheered.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sure.

[Joe Getty]

And Gladwell says, well, the cheers. I mean, I think there was a hardcore of people who are ideologically committed to the position. But the idea that, I mean, there's many interesting Things to say about that conversation. One was that it was a particular moment which has passed. We did a replay of that exact panel at the Sloan conference in March, and it ran in exactly the opposite direction.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

I guess to my.

[Jack Armstrong]

The bloom is off the rose thing on that topic.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And then Gladwell says, and I think this is notable. I. I just think it was strange. I mean, I felt. I mean, the reason. I'm ashamed of my performance.

[Jack Armstrong]

And you should be ashamed. You should be actually ashamed.

[Joe Getty]

Yes, yes, yes. Whenever you're being a coward in the face of bullies who are pushing a perverse and ugly ideology and you don't stand up, yes, you should be ashamed. Especially if you feel like you can't in your real life. I get that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Especially when you're ungo wealthy and the only thing you're risking is the opinion of some nut jobs who you think you're gonna run into at a party. I mean, that is some weak tea right there.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Gladwell especially ought to be monumentally ashamed. But here's what he says. The reason I'm ashamed of my performance on that panel is because I share your position a hundred percent. And I was cowed. The idea of saying anything on this issue. I was in, I believe, in retrospect, in a dishonest way. I was. I was objective in a dishonest way. Well, a lot of the real howlers pass without comment because I didn't. And I said to you in an email, blah, blah. Oh, and I. He's talking about Riley Gaines. They were trans athlete there. They were the trans athlete on the panel. And at one point they turned to you, Ross, and they said, ross, you have to let us win. And it was at that moment I realized this position is gone to the furthest extreme. What the trans movement is not asking for, they're not asking for, you know, a place at the table. They're not asking to be treated with respect and dignity. What they're asking for is that no one question the considerable physical physiological advantage they bring to the sport. And no one can question if they're going to win these races by 5 seconds. Suck it up. That's what they were asking. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

So there's no point in beating up on Malcolm Gladwell, really. I suppose.

[Joe Getty]

Can we? Come on. It's good cardiovascular exercise.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you let people like Riley Gaines put their physical safety at risk by speaking what they believed, or J.K. rowling's sticking her neck out. You agreed with them, but you're too big a freaking coward and you want to be able to go to cool New York parties without anybody giving you the side eye that you kept your mouth shut. I mean, that's so freaking weak. I'd be ashamed to walk in public if I were that person. Yeah, Mountain Gladwell, you should be ashamed to be in public. I mean, seriously, that is so damn weak. You're ungodly rich, you're as successful as you can get. You've got nothing to lose, zero to lose by saying the truth. And you still were too big a coward because, well, I want to be the cool guy at the party. God, that's so weak. I don't. But I don't want to talk about that because there's no point. What. The interesting part that we should all take to heart is that even at that level, people are willing to go along with the crowd if it's just easier.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Even at that level. So if. Even if that level people are willing to go, we have to. We have to factor that into every phenomenon that comes ever again in our lives, whether it's climate change or trans or anything. Thing.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. The vast majority of people are. Are sheep, whether by temperament or lack of courage or as you often point out, you're some young teacher or employee or whatever. You got a couple of kids, you got mouths to feed. Are you going to torch your career in some progressive city or state to make that brave stand? If you decide not to? I get it. Because choking back your. Your anger and your disgust to continue to come through for your family. I have a great deal of sympathy for that. You know, we're in a different position, certainly in our lives and, and by dint of what we do for a living.

[Jack Armstrong]

But.

[Joe Getty]

But somebody who does not have those fears and knows that something ugly and wrong and reprehensible is being spouted by these people and the damage it does to children and the rest of God.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

And just sitting by because you don't want any trouble. I'm sorry. Try to do better.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, it's so weak. And to sit there on a stage and watch somebody who's taking your position, your secret position, and watching them get the hell beat out of them by the crowd and not speaking up. God, that's weak.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. How much credit do you get now for saying, yeah, I'm ashamed of very, very little. Yeah. Amen to that. I. Hey, quick. Excuse me. The stupid cough, man. Just hangs on and on. Great.

[Jack Armstrong]

Couldn't feel better. You might have tuberculosis. I got an update on that.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, good. Super. A quick word from our friends. @webroot.com Cyber crime is a never ending aspect of modern life. Life moves fast. And that's why we recommend Webroot Total protection. It's not just antivirus, which is important. It's real time protection against malware, ransomware, phishing scams, plus a web threat shield that blocks dangerous sites before you click.

[Jack Armstrong]

And that's not all computer virus. It can't do anything about Joe's tuberculosis.

[Joe Getty]

Not yet. Although the geniuses at Webroot are working on it.

[Jack Armstrong]

So this is one of the things that I really like about it. The plan covers up to 10 identities. So you're protected from kids to grandparents with up to million dollars in reimbursement if identity theft would happen.

[Joe Getty]

And along with the other stuff I mentioned, you get a firewall, VPN, password manager. You don't have 11 different, you know, subscriptions. You've got webroot.com and right now you can get 50% off Webroot total protection or Webroot Essentials. Right [e-mail] Armstrong Very, very cool.

[Jack Armstrong]

50% off web root total protection. Remember to use the code Armstrong one more time. That's webroup.com armstrong. You got to get that Armstrong in there to get the right spot. Three people in Maine have active tuberculosis. Did you know? I didn't know this. Tuberculosis is the world's deadliest disease. More people die from tuberculosis than any other disease in the world.

[Joe Getty]

I had no idea that.

[Jack Armstrong]

I didn't either.

[Joe Getty]

I thought it was still malaria or something. So it seems like it'd be a.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good idea to try to keep that out of the United States. It's been making a comeback various places. About 1.25 million lives worldwide every year according to the World Health Organization. Largely developing countries, but making a comeback in the United States. Some people believe because of our vaccination nuttiness we got going on some places.

[Joe Getty]

Well. And you let in millions of people who might have tuberculosis without even asking them.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that part of it. That part of it should get more attention that we let in.

[Joe Getty]

That's where it came from.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, yeah, but the left likes to make it all about RFK Jr and anti vax stances and not. Well, I did so because I got whooping cough and was the sickest I've ever been outside of cancer in my life. Well, I didn't. Nobody needed a vaccination or an update on their vaccination and gets whooping cough before you let in the biggest flood of migrants in world history.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you might want to add that to your part of the story. Anyway, I don't want to get off track on that. I want to talk about the Eagle Scout thing that I saw yesterday, which was really, really cool, and how it actually made me hopeful for American I'm really I'm relatively unhopeful for all things positive, but this was good news.

[Washable Sofas Advertiser]

Stay here Armstrong and Gettysburg Time for a sofa upgrade? Visit washablesofas.com and discover Annabe where designer style meets budget friendly prices with sofas starting at $699, Annabe brings you the ultimate in furniture innovation with a modular design that allows you to rearrange your space effortlessly. Perfect for both small and large spaces, Anabe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy. Liquid simply slides right off. Designed for custom comfort, our high resilience foam lets you choose between a sink in feel or a supportive memory foam blend. Plus our pet friendly stain resistant fabrics ensure your sofa stays beautiful for years. Don't compromise quality for price. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your living space today with no risk returns and a 30 day money back guarantee. Get up to 60% off plus free shipping and free returns. Shop [e-mail] Authors are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

If you eat too many ultra processed foods, you could be starving your gut microbes and they'll get hangry. That's one of many things I learned after working on a new audio course about the gut microbiome. You can learn how to keep your gut happy by listening to Try this from the Washington Post I'm Christina Quinn. I host Try this. Dig in with me on practical advice for life. Life's common challenges follow. Try this right now, wherever you're listening. Seriously, try it.

[NFL Shop Advertiser]

A new NFL season means a fresh start and fresh styles. @nflshop.com you'll find the latest jerseys, hats and sideline gear to rep your team all season long. From rookies making their debut to legends, NFLShop.com has it all. Score exclusive styles you won't find anywhere else and show up ready for every kickoff and big play fan like a pro. And shop [e-mail] Ah, come on.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

[Lenovo Advertiser]

Still using yesterday's tech upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 carbon ultralight, ultra powerful and built for serious productivity with Intel Core Ultra processors, blazing speed and AI powered performance that keeps up with your business not the other way around.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Whoa, this thing moves.

[Lenovo Advertiser]

Stop hitting snooze on new tech. Win the tech [e-mail] Unlock AI experiences with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon powered by Intel Core Ultra processors so you can work, create and boost productivity all on one device.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

America is changing, and so is the world.

[Joe Getty]

But what's happening in America isn't just the cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm.

[Joe Getty]

Tristan Redman in London, and this is the Global story.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.

[Joe Getty]

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Other celebrities are weighing in with advice for Taylor Swift. I mean, Chris Christie said, never go to bed hangry.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's such good advice.

[Joe Getty]

Ghislaine Maxwell said, make sure you both want children. Madonna said, don't be afraid to bring new things into the bedroom. For example, a Puerto Rican backup dancer, Angelina Jolie Lee said, if you're looking to adopt a kid, I got a guy. Kanye said, naked wife, happy life. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, hire a really ugly cleaning lady.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's not nice. So had several Scouting events yesterday, actually three different events throughout the day for my son who is in Boy Scouts and joined guests in the spring and is really taken to it and loving it. And I've talked a lot about it. And one of the big Scout leaders yesterday told me appreciated hearing good things about Scouts on the radio because Scouts, like a lot of things, tend to only get mentioned when something bad happens now, when all the good stuff happens. But I have been so impressed with the whole Boy Scout thing since my son joined. But I hadn't been to an Eagle Scout ceremony, so one of the kids in his troop made Eagle Scout. And so they did the big presentation thing that they do and everybody goes in the whole troop and parents show up and everything like that. It was at a church, which is another thing I didn't know as much about Scouts is that God has invoked so much God, family, country sort of thing. And it's very military. Like, I mean, they got the, they got the whole flag ceremony. I mean, people march out and put flags and you got your salute and all that sort of stuff. It's like cops, firefighters, and military stuff you've been to probably in your life. And a very fairly solemn affair with various leaders talking about this kid and all the stuff that he did throughout the years and I mean, it was, I. It made me emotional. It was just so cool to see these kids take this so seriously. And all the things that they did to get to the level of Eagle Scout, which we don't know is the highest thing you can accomplish in scouting and the parents going up there and talking and all the different sorts of things. But the thing about scouting that I didn't understand is how it's so much about learning leadership qualities. I knew all about the canoeing and hiking and all the first aid and you know, what to do if you get bit by a snake and all that sort of stuff that you learn in Scouting. But the. All the leadership stuff, it's all. Once you get past a certain age, it's almost entirely about going to these different camps and seminars to learn leadership skills and taking over small patrols and bigger patrols and bigger patrols and running meetings and everything like that. The whole thing is kid run. The, the adult leaders just stand to the side in case something really falls apart, which it rarely does. You just, you grow throughout the thing and take over and then you delegate authority. They were talking about how he had had to be out of. Out of town for something and it delegated authority to some people beneath them and how smoothly it went and everything. I just. Fantastic. And these kids now this, this kid is 17 or 18, so he's practically an adult now. But I know plenty of people that have come into the workplace as 23 year olds with a college degree and weren't a tenth of this mature as a lot of these Scouts I've been seeing. It's so damned impressive. And it's because they're given responsibility and like human beings do, they rise to the challenge. And it's just. I couldn't love it more.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, I love hearing that too. I remember being at one of those ceremonies years and years ago. You know, it's. And we'll talk more about this another time. But I was just reading how. And this [e-mail], which is generally a little progressive. Used to be magazine. Magazine used to be a website that people printed for some reason, kids anyway. But it's this, this town where a bunch of moms have gotten together and embraced the whole free range kid thing. And it's. You know, there's a revealing quote in it. This gal said essentially that she had never made the connection between. I wish I could find it real quickly. Her kids having responsibility and their own confidence. There it is. I'd never made the connection that independence leads to resilience and confidence. But now she has her kids make their own school lunches, ride their bikes to school and to play dates, take care of their siblings. She'll soon she'll let her 8 year old go to the store alone. Yeah, people, especially children, tend to rise to your expectations of them, have high expectations.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's exactly what this whole scouting thing has proven to me. And, and when I'm watching and like that, if they're having trouble figuring out how to do whatever for a camp, set up the tents or whatever, the adults don't jump in and helicopter and help. Here's what you need to do. They, they got to figure it out on their own. And one of the scout leaders was telling me about this long hike that they all went on with a burrow, the older kids a couple of weeks back, and how he could just see them growing, how they walked taller afterwards having accomplished all the things they accomplished. It's just, it's freaking awesome.

[Joe Getty]

That is amazing.

[Jack Armstrong]

How we ever came to the conclusion that doing everything for children from age 0 to 25 was gonna make it better for them, I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, the worship of safety and comfort, where did that come from? Well, the left. But yeah, it's unhealthy. Don't do it.

[Jack Armstrong]

We do a lot of segments. If you miss any, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Washable Sofas Advertiser]

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[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

If you eat too many ultra processed foods, you could be starving your gut microbes and they'll get hangry. That's one of many things I learned after working on a new audio course about the gut microbiome. You can learn how to keep your gut happy by listening to Try this from the Washington Post. I'm Christina Quinn. I host Try this. Dig in with me on practical advice for life's common challenges. Follow Try this right now, wherever you're listening. Seriously, try it.

[NFL Shop Advertiser]

A new NFL season means a fresh start and fresh styles. @nflshop.com you'll find the latest jerseys, hats and sideline gear to rep your team all season long. From rookies making their debut to legends, NFLShop.com has it all. Score exclusive styles you won't find anywhere else and show up ready for every kickoff and big play Fan like a pro and shop [e-mail] Ah, come on.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

[Lenovo Advertiser]

Still using yesterday's tech Upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 car. Ultra light, ultra powerful and built for serious productivity with Intel Core Ultra processors, blazing speed and AI powered performance. It keeps up with your business, not the other way around.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Whoa, this thing moves.

[Lenovo Advertiser]

Stop hitting snooze on new tech. Win the tech [e-mail] Lenovo Lenovo unlock AI experiences with the ThinkPad X1 carbon powered by Intel Core Ultra processors so you can work, create and boost productivity all on one device.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

America is changing and so is the world.

[Joe Getty]

But what's happening in America isn't just the cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm.

[Joe Getty]

Tristan Redman in London and this is the Global story.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

Every weekday we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.

[Joe Getty]

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Christina Quinn / Asma Khalid]

This is an iHeart podcast.