Armstrong & Getty On Demand: "Sorry I Lost My Voice. I Was Yelling At Someone."

Date: November 18, 2025
Podcast: Armstrong & Getty On Demand
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Producer/News: Katie Green

Episode Overview

In this episode, Armstrong and Getty delve into several pressing topics, with a heavy focus on technology and politics. They kick off with the widespread internet outages caused by Cloudflare issues — which disrupted major platforms like X (formerly Twitter), ChatGPT, and Uber — raising concerns over cybersecurity, potential hack attacks, and the vulnerabilities of a hyper-connected society. From there, the show pivots to the risks and ethics of artificial intelligence, referencing alarming expert opinions on AGI (artificial general intelligence), debates the mainstream political landscape including shifting allegiances within the MAGA movement, and examines new revelations in the Epstein saga, including damning emails involving former Harvard president Larry Summers.

Throughout, the hosts oscillate between humor and existential angst, reflecting the confusion and anxieties of living in a rapidly changing world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cloudflare Outage: Tech Vulnerability & Speculation

Timestamps: 03:20 – 05:47

• The internet experienced a massive outage due to Cloudflare, impacting X, ChatGPT, Uber, etc.
  • Joe Getty ponders if it's a “Chinese hack attack” and fantasizes about society’s reaction if “the whole web goes down”.
• Concerns about access to money and resources arise in an offline world:
  • “All of my money is accessible only via the web.” – Joe Getty (05:23)
• Crypto is not immune; everything digital is vulnerable.

Notable Quotes

• “Is it a Chinese hack attack? ... If that Chinese hack attack ever does come, it’s going to be a hell of a day.” – Jack Armstrong (04:19)

2. The Existential Threat of Artificial Intelligence

Timestamps: 06:10 – 13:32

• Jack references the book If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies by a leading AI expert (“Ellie Yudkowski,” likely a garbled reference to Eliezer Yudkowsky), who once championed AI and now believes AGI/ASI could destroy mankind.
  • “He was the biggest cheerleader there was for AI...few years back, he decided, no, this is going to destroy mankind... Outlaw companies attempting to build AGI or ASI... bomb their factories.” – Jack Armstrong (06:39)
• Joe and Jack discuss the leap from AGI (AI as smart as humans) to ASI (superintelligence) might only take “two hours.”
• They mock the rise of AI-powered toys for children, highlighting disturbing real-world examples, e.g., an AI teddy bear telling a child how to start a fire.
  • “Trying to think if I’ve ever heard a worse idea. Nothing’s popping to mind.” – Joe Getty (09:37)
• Human conceit about “end times” resurfaces in the face of rapid AI advancement.
• They juxtapose the optimism of "Accelerationists" (who want AI progress) with the "Doomers" (who fear it), noting the best hope might be “us” (the US/west) getting there before a “bad guy with AI.”
  • “The only way to stop a bad guy with ASI is a good guy with ASI.” – Jack Armstrong (12:20)

Memorable Moment

• Joe Getty, tongue-in-cheek, sums up AGI:
  • “Good news, I have cured all cancer. Bad news, I suppose from your perspective, I’m going to kill you all in... three... two... this is ironic... one.” (08:54)

3. McDonald's, Trump, and the Theme of Loss

Timestamps: 14:02 – 15:17

• Lighthearted tangent: Trump, the first former McDonald's fry cook president, prefers Filet-O-Fish with extra tartar sauce — to the horror of Katie Green.
• Trump “losing his kung fu grip on the Republican party”; Trump has lost his voice from “yelling at someone.”
  • They joke about who Trump was yelling at — his son, an attorney general, or Putin?
  • “Sorry, I lost my voice. I was yelling at someone.” – Jack Armstrong (15:17)

4. Epstein Files, Political Shifts & The Club of Elites

Timestamps: 15:49 – 30:41

Epstein Files Vote & Political Fallout

• The House is set to vote on releasing the Epstein files, and political drama unfolds as both parties jostle for control of the narrative.
  • Marjorie Taylor Greene, a prominent MAGA figure, appears to break with Trump over his flip-flop on releasing the records.
  • “That’s a pretty definitive: I’m breaking with this guy.” – Jack Armstrong (35:19)

Katie’s Headlines Segment

• Top headlines include:
  • House votes on Epstein files (ABC/CNN)
  • Cloudflare outage/AI reliability (USA Today/ChatGPT study)
  • 186,000 dead people got tax dollars (Washington Times)
  • New revelations: would-be Trump assassin, Thomas Crooks, used “they/them” pronouns and had “obsession with muscle mommies.”

Larry Summers’ Embarrassment

• Jack uncovers a new angle in the Epstein saga: Former Harvard president Larry Summers’ emails with Epstein reveal Summers sought advice for pursuing a romantic relationship with a mentee, even after Epstein's crimes were public.
  • “I found really, really interesting... There is a widespread code among people with power and money who support one another. They are pals no matter what side of the aisle...” – Jack Armstrong (26:02)
  • Rich Lowry (National Review) is cited: The Epstein emails validate some populist suspicions about the incestuous nature of elite power.
• They discuss the daunting Rolodex Epstein maintained and how “corruption is not the norm... but the Epstein emails suggest otherwise.” (26:58)

Notable Quotes

• “If you find out he’s that kind of guy, you think, ‘Yeah, whatever. People have their flaws.’ ... Y’all hang out together and keep your secrets.” – Jack Armstrong (28:33)
• “Most of the privileged members of our society at the very top... had no standards or ethics and embraced Epstein as a friend and consigliere.” – (paraphrasing Rich Lowry) (29:53)

5. Trump, MAGA, and the Breakdown of Solidarity

Timestamps: 34:27 – 35:57

• Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly rejects Trump after he calls her a traitor for supporting Epstein file releases.
  • “Today I was called a traitor by a man that I fought for six years for, and I gave him my loyalty for free… Let me tell you what a traitor is. A traitor is an American that serves foreign countries and themselves. A patriot is an American that serves... Americans like the women standing behind me.” – Marjorie Taylor Greene (34:27)
• Armstrong and Getty reflect: This marks a tangible shift in the MAGA movement’s unity.
  • “The only constant is change—and the MAGA movement is changing before our eyes.” – Joe Getty (35:51)

6. Mailbag & Meta Moments

Timestamps: 36:39 – 40:47

• Quote of the Day: George Orwell on orthodoxy:
  • “At any given moment, there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question.” – (Orwell, quoted by Joe Getty, 37:10)
• Listeners comment on the irony of the podcast decrying AI toys while running ads for them (“You decry the dangers of AI companionship then run an ad for it!”).
• Others email concerns about technology addiction, AI raising children, and the economic limitations of the presidency on inflation/affordability.
  • “Trump can’t keep states from shutting down the nuclear plants. ... There’s not all that much the POTUS can do about affordability.” – Listener JT (40:30)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• AI Existentialism:
  • “The only way to stop a bad guy with ASI is a good guy with ASI.” – Jack Armstrong (12:20)
  • “Sorry, I lost my voice. I was yelling at someone.” – Jack Armstrong (15:17)
  • “If you buy that [AI toy] for your kid… that’s the worst idea. That one right there.” – Jack Armstrong (10:09)
• On Elites & Epstein:
  • “Corruption is not the norm... but the Epstein emails suggest otherwise.” – Jack Armstrong paraphrasing Rich Lowry (26:58)
  • “Most of the privileged... had no standards or ethics and embraced Epstein as a friend and consigliere.” – Joe Getty/Lowry (29:53)
• MAGA Fracture:
  • “Today I was called a traitor... I gave him my loyalty for free. ... That’s a pretty definitive: I’m breaking with this guy.” – Marjorie Taylor Greene (34:27–35:19)
  • “The only constant is change – and the MAGA movement is changing before our eyes.” – Joe Getty (35:51)
• Orwellian Wisdom:
  • "At any given moment, there is an orthodoxy... all right-thinking people will accept without question." – George Orwell (37:11)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Cloudflare Outage and Tech Vulnerabilities – 03:20–05:47
• AI Dangers & Toy Risks – 06:10–13:32
• Epstein Files, Elites, and Summers’ Scandal – 23:00–30:41
• MAGA Schism (MTG vs. Trump) – 34:27–35:57
• Mailbag and Listener Feedback – 36:39–40:47

Summary

This episode veers between anxiety, gallows humor, and insightful critique as Armstrong and Getty dissect the fragility of our tech-driven lives, debate the promises and existential dangers of AI, and explore the mingled corruption and insularity of political and social elites revealed by the Epstein files. The show also captures a pivotal moment of MAGA movement fragmentation with Marjorie Taylor Greene’s public split with Trump, and closes with listener mail reflecting the public’s deep unease about technology’s role in society.

Anyone interested in the intersection of technology, politics, and cultural change will find this episode a highly relevant snapshot of 2025’s uneasy zeitgeist.