The Man Fell On His Ass

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "The Man Fell On His Ass"
Date: January 26, 2026
Podcast: Armstrong & Getty On Demand (iHeartPodcasts)

---

Brief Overview

In this episode, Armstrong & Getty (Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty) bring their trademark blend of humor, skepticism, and social commentary to discuss everything from the follies of sports coverage and emotional control under pressure to the increasingly toxic nature of public discourse, media narratives, and the existential risks posed to young people by technology and social media. The show features a memorable sports blunder, sharp media criticism, and a deep dive into Jonathan Haidt's "The Devil’s Plan to Ruin the Next Generation."

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Sports Blunders and the Limits of Blame (03:03–06:12)

• Breakdown:
  • Jack and Joe open with a football recap, lampooning overreactions to mistakes like a punt returner falling ("the man fell on his ass") and questioning the fairness of blaming coaches for unforced, human errors on the field.
• Memorable Quotes:
  • "Has Sean McVeigh not coached the guys to not fall on their asses?" – Jack (04:29)
  • "It's always amazing when professional athletes do the sort of thing I would do regularly playing sports..." – Joe (04:39)
• Insight:
  • Even elite professionals are human, and not every error is a coaching failure—sometimes, people just slip up.

2. Pressure in Sports and Life—Nature vs. Nurture (06:12–08:30)

• Breakdown:
  • Discussion branches into how individuals respond to pressure, be it in sports, public speaking, or emergencies.
  • Joe recounts an anecdote about a former military friend responding coolly to a crisis, contrasting with typical emotional paralysis ("Some go blank, others just do what needs to be done").
  • The hosts wonder about genetics vs. training in determining who's cool under fire.
• Notable Reflection:
  • "I've been told by military guys, when you actually go into combat, you never know who's going to keep their cool and who's going to lose it." – Joe (06:46)
  • Contrasting Tony Romo's and Tom Brady's attitudes toward pressure as evidence that people are "built differently."

3. Cultural Decay and Political Tribalism (08:30–11:57)

• Breakdown:
  • The hosts bemoan a lack of “grown-ups” in politics and media, highlighting moral and strategic failings in discourse.
  • They call out politicians’ and media’s unwillingness to concede points to “the other side,” warning that such rigidity undermines credibility and functional governance.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "You lose your credibility. The media plays a role in this, obviously." – Joe (09:29)
  • Criticism of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s dramatic rhetoric comparing Minneapolis children to Anne Frank: “If that were true, I would confront federal agents too ... But it's not true. It’s not close to true. You are joining with the hardcore Marxists..." – Jack (09:51)

4. Ridiculing Media Sensationalism—The “Nazi Coat” Story (11:07–15:26)

• Breakdown:
  • The hosts dissect a New York Times article that likens a Border Patrol chief’s overcoat to Nazi uniforms, lambasting the media for manufacturing controversy.
• Quotes and Satire:
  • "When a coat becomes a symbol of conflict. Well, for you, maybe, not for any normal person." – Joe (11:08)
  • "Almost immediately, Gestapo comparisons began..." – Jack (12:03)
  • "I almost threw on a navy blue golf shirt the other day and Judy said to me, 'Honey, you don't want to put on that apparently dark clothing. People think you're a Nazi.'" – Joe (13:59)
• Insight:
  • The segment underscores how easily media can stoke societal outrage over nothing, distracting from real issues.

5. Performative Activism and Marxist Chants on Campus (19:46–23:41)

• Breakdown:
  • Discussion about protest rehearsal at Boise State, with students practicing anti-ICE chants.
  • The hosts note the adoption of Marxist language by protest leaders and the “soft-headed” participation of youth.
  • Satirize the simplistic, non-specific nature of popular protest slogans: "Down, down with deportation, up, up with liberation." – Joe, mocking the chant's emptiness (23:32).
• Insight:
  • Observes how energetic but naive activism often serves more radical political agendas, critiquing both the leaders and the earnest followers.

6. Jonathan Haidt on How the Devil Would Destroy a Generation (26:31–47:55)

• Breakdown:
  • Joe offers a lengthy solo monologue inspired by Jonathan Haidt’s essay "The Devil’s Plan to Ruin the Next Generation," outlining how technology, social media, and a lack of grounding beliefs corrode kids’ lives.
• Haidt’s “Seven Step Plan” (Timestamps: 32:00–47:55 approx.):
  • 1. Erode attention and presence (32:00)
  • 2. Confuse identity and purpose (35:00)
  • 3. Flood with information, starve of wisdom (38:00)
  • 4. Replace relationships with digital simulacra (41:00)
  • 5. Normalize hedonism, pathologize discipline (44:26)
  • 6. Undermine trust across generations (45:00)
  • 7. Make everything a marketplace (46:00)
• Key Haidt Quote (read by Joe, 33:00):
  • "If the devil wanted to destroy a generation, he could just give them all smartphones... I wouldn't come with violence. I'd come with convenience. Or I'd keep them busy, always distracted. I'd watch their minds rot slowly, sweetly, silently. And the best part is they'd never know it was me. They'd call it freedom."
• Joe's Insight:
  • Observes massive rises in teens feeling life is meaningless. Argues “bedrock beliefs” (like religion or philosophy) protect against meaninglessness, and that children are not equipped to withstand today’s technologically saturated, value-free culture.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The man fell on his ass. You can't put that on the head coach." – Jack (04:31)
• "If I were the devil, I'd destroy the next generation, not by terror, violence, but by distraction, disconnection, and slow erosion of meaning. They wouldn't even notice because it would feel like freedom and entertainment." – Joe, paraphrasing Haidt (46:30)
• "People will accumulate connections while feeling lonelier than ever. Superficial bonds are easier to monetize and manipulate than the deep ties of family, friendship and community." – Joe, reading Haidt (41:00)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:03] – The sports blunder: "The man fell on his ass"
• [06:12] – "Dealing with pressure"—nature, nurture, and heroes
• [09:51] – Hyperbolic rhetoric in politics: Minneapolis/Anne Frank comparisons
• [11:07–15:26] – The "Nazi coat" New York Times story skewered
• [19:46–23:41] – Campus activism and Marxist rhetoric ridiculed
• [26:31–47:55] – Jonathan Haidt’s “Devil’s Plan” monologue

---

Tone and Style

• Signature irreverence, sarcasm, and deadpan mockery—especially toward political/media excesses
• Seriousness and earnestness in longer monologue (the Haidt segment), with an undercurrent of cultural worry and cynicism
• Conversational, bantering, and occasionally ranting delivery, mixing humor with concern

---

Summary Takeaway for New Listeners

This episode captures Armstrong & Getty’s strengths as sharp, iconoclastic observers of American culture—mixing sports comedy, political skepticism, with a genuinely probing look at how technology and modernity threaten the young. Highlights include the excoriation of false media narratives, ridicule of futile protest theater, and a sobering, somewhat philosophical diagnosis of society's ills via Jonathan Haidt’s framework. Engaging, witty, and thought-provoking, offering something beyond the ordinary culture-war shouting.

---

[Subscribe to Armstrong & Getty On Demand for future episodes.]

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[B]

Guaranteed Human support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It's IT screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures nothing.

[C]

In life is free except this $10 that better picks is offering.

[B]

Download the Better app, pick more or.

[C]

Less on your favorite player's stats, watch.

[B]

The games and win some cash.

[C]

It's that simple. Must be 21 or older in a jurisdiction where Better Picks operates terms and.

[B]

Conditions Play Better Picks Sports just got better.

[D]

There's no championship league for small business owners, but if there was, you'd be at the top of the standings. Because going pro with Lenovo Pro means you've got the winning formation. One on one Advice IT solutions and customized hardware powered by Intel Core Ultra processors help you stay ahead of the competition. Business goes pro with Lenovo Pro. Sign up for [e-mail] pro lenovo lenovo.

[A]

Hey, this is US Olympic gold medalist.

[B]

Tara Davis Woodhull and I'm US Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.

[A]

As athletes, our lives are about having.

[B]

A clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[A]

So when it came to getting the.

[B]

Best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[A]

PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you.

[C]

Learn more at pennymac.com PennyMac Loan Services, LLC equal housing lender NMLS ID 35953 licensed by the Department of Financial Protection under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions may apply. Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio.

[A]

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

[C]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty. The try and do beautiful spiraling deep kick.

[B]

Smith who?

[C]

Bobble. He lost it. Seattle recovers.

[D]

Yeah, there's a couple of major turnovers. Dropped punt was huge. Ended up in a touchdown. Then how about that Seahawks guy who decided to do the whole, I'm going to prance in front of the opposing bench and get in their face and cost his team a touchdown. They're lucky they won.

[C]

He could have been a historic sports goat.

[D]

I've never understood the athletes who can't control their emotions to that level. I understand you got to get really, really whipped up, but everybody on the field is whipped up and they're not acting like a jackass like you are doing something that's obviously a 15 yard penalty.

[C]

Believe you've correctly diagnosed the syndrome here. The man is a jackass. I said I don't. If you're not a football fan, don't worry. This will be short, but I was reading Bill Pashke, who's a really good old sports writer, been writing forever about the Rams and how they screwed up. And Sean McVeigh, their coach, who's normally just a genius, you know, mismanaged it in certain ways and the focus has got to be on him. But one of the. One of the. There was some clock mismanagement. If you, if you're a fan, you already know what I'm talking about. If you're not, you don't care. But then he said, and the special teams, another miscue, the fumbled punt return, blah, blah, blah. Sean McVeigh just doesn't have a grip on the special teams. And if you're watching the game, you know what happened. The guy was drifting back a couple steps to feed and he tripped. He tripped and fell on his ass. Has Sean McVeigh not coached the guys.

[D]

To not fall on their asses?

[C]

Has been. Has he encouraged them to fall on their asses? No, I don't think so. The man fell on his ass. You can't put that on the head. Coach.

[D]

It's always amazing when professional athletes do the sort of thing that I would do regularly playing sports because like, you're. You're among the top level athletic coordinated people who have ever been born.

[C]

And you've practiced 5,000 times doing what you're doing right now. Yeah.

[D]

And you take it a couple step backwards and you trip and fall down.

[C]

Right. Who do you.

[D]

What do you.

[C]

Me. All right. Coach McVeigh it's time to practice not falling on our asses. You know what? Let's not worry about it. Let's send the guys home. Yeah, that didn't happen. Don't lay that on the coach.

[D]

One thing that I am interested in always, and this is, this is not sports. You can extrapolate this to other things, is dealing with pressure. I, I have talked about this many times. When it came to sports, I was horrible at that. Like, just horrible at that. The, the quarterback for the Broncos who had like, had. Had hardly ever played in his life before yesterday, and he's in the AFC championship game and he throws an interception right away and, or, or a bad pass right away. And, and, and I thought if that were me, I would never be able to stop thinking about that. I think, oh, this is my one chance and I blew it. I'm not designed for this sort of thing, you know, I wouldn't just. It just killed me and, and the way some people just can think and it doesn't have to be sports. It could be like public speaking or, you know, playing a musical instrument in front of people or all kinds of different situations you in. You end up in whether. Whether the pressure gets to you or not.

[C]

No, no.

[D]

Are, are people just built differently all the way around? Is it something you can control?

[C]

Wow. Well, that's a great question. I actually had a really stimulating conversation about that very topic. Interestingly enough, on Saturday I was playing golf with a couple of good friends, including one who was a captain in the army who had just. He's also got a corporate thing he does these days. And just before a meeting was going to start, one of the key members of the management team had a heart attack. And they had a defibrillator on hand and were working on CPR and giving this guy the shocks and trying to keep him semi alive until the EMTs could get there, blah, blah, blah. And we had a conversation about people who, in a situation like that go blank as opposed to those who see what needs to be done, just go about doing it. How much is training factor into that? Is it genetic? I've been told by military guys, when you actually go into combat, you never know who's going to keep their cool and who's going to lose it. The hard ass who was always, you know, the alpha dog in training. What you don't know if he's going to keep his stuff together. And the kind of mousey guy who just kind of went along. He might be the guy who's a lion in battle. You just don't know, you know. And I'm not an expert on any of these things, so I would love to be educated by people who know more about it.

[D]

But in the.

[C]

It's a great question.

[D]

In the sports world, I've noticed that Tony Romo, color commentator, who used to be a Dallas Cowboy, who was a good player but definitely not a great player, constantly talks about the pressure. This how he's going to handle the pressure. It's going to be so difficult to handle pressure. Oh, this is going to be a pressure situation with a crowd like this. And I noticed Tom Brady never mentions that. And I think it's because Tom Brady didn't feel it the same way as Tony Romo did. Because Tom Brady's not built that way. That'd just be my guess. Tom Brady doesn't constantly talk about all the pressure here is going to be mounting and just because it. That's not the way it was for him. That's just my guess.

[C]

That could be. Yeah. Yeah.

[D]

And because somebody could be.

[C]

He's done it so many times, he just, he doesn't remember. I don't know. I don't know.

[D]

And then, you know, the whole public speaking thing where some people, it just makes them wet their pants and some people doesn't bother them or whatever.

[C]

I don't know.

[D]

I don't know what that is. We're in a bad spot culturally.

[C]

Oh, yes.

[D]

And kind of started the show with, could we get some grown ups up in here?

[C]

Or name a political figure who has not covered themselves in shame through the whole Minneapolis ice thing.

[D]

Yeah. And the whole. If I acknowledge on this particular instance, the other side might have a good point, that that's just giving away too much. Is no one no way to run a railroad? You can't run a family that way. You can't run a business that way. It's just. It's crazy.

[C]

Right? Right. Yeah. I think not only is it like morally questionable or patriotically questionable, it's just strategically a bad idea.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

You're not going to win that way because you lose your credibility.

[D]

And the media plays a role in this, obviously. Because they do.

[C]

Speaking of. In glory. Yeah.

[D]

Do the same sort of thing on a regular basis. Like, I don't think Tim Walls, the governor of Minnesota, coming out yesterday and saying, we have children hiding in Minneapolis just like Anne Frank had to hide from the Gestapo and someday one of them will write a book about what it was. Are you kidding me?

[C]

If that were true, I would confront federal agents too. Okay. I would be involved in violent protests. But it's not true. It's not close to true. You are joining with the hardcore Marxists to whip up the well meaning soft heads into a fervor that's, that's just, that's wrong. My God, how many middle aged lesbians have to die in the streets before you realize, look, these people are not equipped to fight the feds and it's unjustified.

[D]

Anyway, I was all building to this from the New York Times on Friday. This was before the killing. And I tweeted this out to. I don't know if I tweeted it out, but I texted it the group because I thought it was so funny.

[C]

So I tweeted it out.

[D]

Gregory Bovino, the President's border patrol chief, and he's become quite controversial. Anyway, he has chosen to wear this long green overcoat, dark green overcoat that he wears. The weather's really cold up there with his uniform patch on it and everything. It's a kind of a common military coat look. But the New York Times decided it makes him look like a Nazi and that he's doing it on purpose and kind of hinting that because he's wearing. That he is a Nazi.

[C]

Follow the logic.

[D]

The story in the New York Times, actually a story in one of the most important newspapers on planet Earth. When a coat becomes a symbol of conflict. Well, for you, maybe, not for any normal person.

[C]

For the rest of us. Yeah. But go on.

[D]

How the choice of outerwear for Greg Bovino turned into part of the deportation story. I'm just grabbing a couple of lines from the article. This coat, after all, was part of the classic military costume in World War I and World War II.

[C]

Oh, a long coat when it's really, really cold. Yes.

[D]

Coats like this are closely associated with the German military under Hitler. They had to get to the H word in their article. And thus it did not take long for Mr. Bevino's coat to become, for many viewers, a sign not just of militarization, but also of tyranny.

[C]

I know, I go into a store, I see a long coat. I think Nazis.

[D]

Almost immediately, Gestapo comparisons began. Even California's governor Gavin.

[C]

No, you can't make that comparison. Then say immediately comparisons began. No, that's not the way a newspaper works.

[D]

Wait a second. You just, you've. You've written an article making the comparison and then you say in one paragraph, comparisons have begun.

[C]

I've made that joke for years. Jack Armstrong is a known lunatic. Lunatic. Broadcast reports have said that Jack Armstrong is a Known lunatic. Please, idiots.

[D]

Almost immediately after Bavino showed up in his coat, Gestapo comparisons began. Even California's governor Gavin Newsom got in under the debate, adding his own post on Twitter. If you think the calls of fascism and authoritarianism are hyperbole, pause and watch this. With just a picture of him walking down the street in that coat. That coat is on its face proof of fascism and authoritarianism.

[C]

I need to quibble with every single phrase of this. Even Gavin Newsom. No, you. You can't put an even on a congenitally dishonest progressive politician. Not even, of course, Gavin Newsom said that. It's not a stretch.

[D]

And then they quote some professor at a fancy college using the coat to confront crowds with armed supporters. Together with Bovino's cropped hair and the apparently black or dark clothing underneath gives the apparent dark clothing those the unmistakable whiff of dictators and the 1930s Nazi Germany. Because people in like law enforcement and military situations having close cropped hair is only happened with Nazi regimes and isn't like constant around the world for the last two centuries.

[C]

I almost threw on a navy blue golf shirt the other day and Judy said to me, honey, you don't want to put on that apparently dark clothing. People think you're a Nazi Nazi Germany. It's. It's hilarious.

[D]

But it's also a point that. So are you interested with calming things down and having less shootings, or are you interested in whipping things up and perhaps having more shootings when you make. When you write an article like that, or do you actually believe the coat and the haircut are an indication that we're Germany in the 30s? Because if you believe that, you're a nut.

[C]

Well, I think there are only a handful of answers to your probably rhetorical question. Either you are interested in whipping up hate and anger, you're too stupid to understand you're doing it, or you don't care.

[D]

Yeah, that's true.

[C]

That's true. Yeah. You care about your pets, don't you? Your dogs? We sure do. We love our dogs. And Rough greens is really a cool thing to add to your dog's diet. Don't change your dog's food. Just add rough greens.

[D]

You know who else had a dog? Hitler.

[C]

Oh, no.

[D]

Rough greens you add to the dog food you've already got and you're really, really gonna like it. And you can try it out for free. Right now. Just add rough greens. Rough Greens is offering a free Jump Start trial bag. You just cover the shipping. You use the discount discount code Armstrong to claim your free Jump Start trial bag at Rough Greens spelled R U F-F roughgreens.com yeah, I love this.

[C]

Ruff Greens brings the nutrition back. Packed with live vitamins, minerals, probiotics, digestive enzymes and omega oils. Hmm. All you have to do to get your free Jumpstart trial bag. That's right. All you do is cover the shipping. Just go to ruffgreens.com that's R U F F greens.com use that promo code armstrong ruffgrains.com use that promo code Armstrong for the free bag. Don't change your dog's food. Just add Ruff Greens and watch the health benefits come alive. Woof.

[D]

I think that coat story, and particularly the way it was written, is one of the dumber things I've come across in the New York Times.

[C]

Oh my God. It just occurred to me. My dog Baxter, he has apparently dark fur. Nazi dog.

[D]

He's a Nazi or people have compared him to that. Immediately the comparisons began. We have more on the way. Stay here.

[B]

Armstrong and Gettysburg Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures nothing.

[C]

In life is free except this $10 that better picks is offering.

[B]

Download the Better app, pick more or.

[C]

Less on your favorite player's stats, watch.

[B]

The games and win some cash.

[C]

It's that simple. Must be 21 or older in a jurisdiction where Better Picks operates, terms and conditions apply.

[B]

Better Picks Sports just got better.

[D]

There's no championship league for small business owners. But if there was, you'd be at the top of the standings. Because going pro with Lenovo Pro means you've got the winning formation. One on one advice IT solutions and customized hardware powered by Intel Core Ultra processors help you stay ahead of the competition. Business goes pro with Lenovo Pro. Sign up for [e-mail] Pro Lenovo Lenovo.

[A]

Now I'd like to introduce you to Meaningful Beauty, the famed skin care brand created by iconic supermodel Cindy Crawford. It's her secret to absolutely gorgeous skin. Meaningful Beauty makes powerful and effective skin care simple and it's loved by millions of women. It's formulated for all ages and all skin tones and types. And it's designed to work as a complete skin care system, leaving your skin feeling safe, soft, smooth and nourished. I recommend starting with Cindy's full regimen which contains all five of her best selling products including the amazing youth Activating Melon Serum. This next generation serum has the power of melon leaf stem cell technology. It's melon leaf stem cells encapsulated for freshness and released onto the skin to support a visible reduction in the appearance of wrinkles. With thousands of glowing five star reviews, why not give it a try? Subscribe today and you can get this the Amazing Meaningful Beauty system for just $49.95. That includes our introductory five piece system, free gifts, free shipping and a 60 day money back guarantee. All that available@meaningful beauty.com this is your.

[C]

Favorite meteorologist reporting live from the snowstorm. It's very cold. It's colder than the average Somali IQ. It's very cold, very low temperatures. You know, their IQs are very low, but the temperatures are lower than that, which means it's very cold. You have big beautiful flakes falling from the sky, fat flakes. It looks like Chris Christie falling out of the sky. But we get along very well with the snow. In a few hours we're expecting ice.

[B]

You love ice.

[C]

We all love ice, except when it gets on the power lines. Then we want to abolish ice. But we hope the power stays on and we hope you stay warm. Yeah, that last part got me. Reminds me there are a couple of sports figures over the weekend who wore, you know, end ice, abolish ice T shirts, that sort of thing. Including one, you know, lady basketball player who they, I wish I had it in front of me. They asked her why she wore it and her, and she's like 31 years old. She, she ought to know better. But her, her answer was like that of a child. I think we all need to come together and not hurt each other and we need to be nice. Okay, great. Super. You know what? Play basketball. I'm sure you're a lovely person. Go take care of the people who care about you, but please stay out of the management of the nation. Speaking of which, Boise, Idaho. There's no Z in Boise, is a blue blot in a beautiful red state. It's actually a lovely town, but it's got the University of Idaho there. And. And is it Idaho University of Idaho or Idaho State? I can never remember that state.

[D]

Idaho State.

[C]

Big old, big old college is there. I don't care. I didn't go there anyway, so. But it's very, very blue. And apparently they had go inside to a classroom training session on what we're going to chant and how we're going to chant it before we go demonstrate. Clip 12 Michael. That was a richer vein of interesting material than I thought it would be. So not only are they in there teaching the earnest soft heads what the chants are going to be, and I thought the idea of a chant was you can pick it up like immediately. Didn't know you had to rehearse them. Secondly, how interesting if billionaires keep, what was the phrase?

[A]

Funding ice.

[C]

Funding ice, right. The working class goes out on strike. If there are any of you left who thought that I, Joe, have been like obsessed with communism or Old Cold Warrior or something like that. I'm telling you, the people fomenting so much of this are hardcore Marxists. And then the earnest young people and liberals, they get swept up in it. They don't know what the hell they're doing. They just think they're standing up for what is good and right and their heads are too soft to really process it. But what do you billionaires funding ICE have to do with anything? That is such a nakedly obvious attempt to pull in some sort of classical Marxism which was all about class and the means of production and money and that sort of thing. Neo Marxism or social Marxism is much more about I'm gay, I'm trans, I'm queer, I'm nonspecific, I'm bipoc, I'm black, whatever. But they threw in the billionaire thing just to make sure you caught those people up to well, next clip Michael. Down, down with deportation, with liberation. Wow, that is like non specific greeting card. Get college girls excited. Down, down with deportation. Up, up with liberation. And I'm sorry, it was a Boise State University. That's there.

[D]

Boise State.

[B]

That's all the people that were out there.

[C]

Oh my God. No more chanting. No more chanting.

[D]

That's right.

[A]

Who's lifting Armstrong and Getty?

[B]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you try transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures [e-mail] Do you like free money? Well, today's your lucky day. Better Picks is offering a free $10 just for signing up. Download the Better app, pick more or less on player stats, watch the games and win some cash. It's that simple. Better Picks is available in 33 states including Texas, California and Georgia. Download the Better app today. That's better. B E T R and get a free $10. No deposit necessary. Must be 21 or older in a jurisdiction where Better Picks operates, terms and conditions apply. Better Picks Sports just got Better.

[D]

There's no championship league for small business owners, but if there was, you'd be at the top of the standings. Because going pro with Lenovo Pro means.

[C]

You'Ve got the winning formation.

[D]

One on one advice IT solutions and customized hardware powered by Intel Core Ultra processors help you stay ahead of the competition. Business goes Pro with Lenovo Pro Sign up for [e-mail] Pro Lenovo Lenovo.

[C]

Hi.

[A]

I'm Cindy Crawford and I'm the founder of Meaningful Beauty. Well, I don't know about you, but like I never liked being told oh wow, you look so good for your age. Like why even bother saying that? Why don't you just say you look great at any age, Every age. That's what Meaningful Beauty is all about. We create products that make you feel confident in your skin at the age you are now. Meaningful Beauty. Beautiful skin at every age. Learn more@meaningful beauty.com.

[C]

Hey, how you doing? Welcome to the show. Glad you're here. Hope you had a good weekend. Jack is going to be away for just like an hour. He's got to deal with some family stuff and then we'll return in triumph. And this actually is a decent opportunity to do something kind of long for me that I've been wanting to do for a while. It works better as a monologue than a conversation, and it has to do with a piece Jonathan Haidt wrote. I don't know if you know Jonathan. He's a social psychologist, professor, conducts all sorts of research. He's been part of some great books and we'll post this piece if you can't listen to the whole thing or you just want access to [e-mail], the link. I'm not sure if you'll get paywalled. It was published in the Free Press. I hope not. But anyway, there's an old saying that's got a lot of truth to it, that youth is wasted on the young and wisdom on the old. And one of the things I have figured out as my hair has grayed is that you're either going to be shaped in what you do and who you are and how you see yourself by principles and beliefs you have that are your bedrock, your foundation, or you will be shaped by the society around you, which is increasingly technology, you know, social media, you know, the media media, online relationships and that sort of thing. And you don't need to adopt religion as your bedrock of belief. But you know, most of the great philosophies and religions of the world have several things that are in comm. And they just keep people grounded. On the other hand, popular culture, maybe that's the best term to use for the other alternative. So much of popular culture is determined by people who are profiting from you engaging in a certain set of behaviors that are not at all good for you, whether it's what you're eating or watching or scrolling through or whatever. And I think a lot of people, particularly young people, who are not grounded in that sort of bedrock belief I was talking about, they tend to be extra influenceable and lurable by what they see all around them. And it's not an insane thing to think I'm going to look around me and figure out how to behave. I will get my Cues from the world and then I will know what to do and who to be. But the problem is again, those people putting out those signals that we all take in all around us. It's like we're surrounded 360 degrees or whatever a sphere is. We're completely surrounded by those influences that have. Not only do they not have our best interests in mind or at heart, they don't even think of them. What we eat, what we watch, what we do all day long. Did you decide that because of your carefully held principles or because that's what people around you are doing anyway, particularly with young people? I think it's kind of insidious in the world today because as I've said many times, it used to be human beings inputs, the things we saw, heard, felt, smelled, whatever were immediately around us. The people we interacted with were in the same room with us or grandma on the telephone or whatever. Occasionally you watch the evening news, blah blah blah. Now it's the entire world, all the evildoers and sickos and morons and good people from all over the earth have access to your brain and your eyes and ears and your mind and your heart and your kids too. And I just don't think that's. That's not something human beings are built to deal with. Which brings us back to Jonathan Haidt's work of art journalism, the Devil's plan to ruin the next generation. Jonathan became aware earlier this year that someone had started a viral trend of asking irony there Viral trend asking ChatGPT this question, if you were the devil, how would you destroy the next generation without them even knowing it? And some of the responses were profound and unsettling. Quote I wouldn't come with violence. I'd come with convenience. Or I'd keep them busy, always distracted. I'd watch their minds rot slowly, sweetly, silently. And the best part is they'd never know it was me. They'd call it freedom. Getting back to height As a social psychologist who's been trying since 2015 to figure out what on earth was happening to Gen Z, I was stunned. Because what the AI proposed doing is pretty much what technology seems to be doing to children today. Seem to be saying if the devil wanted to destroy a generation, he could just give them all smartphones. Then he points out that his work over the last decade has centered on one question. Why did the mental health of Gen Z, which is roughly the folks born between 1996 and 2012, including my daughter, why did the their mental health plummet in so many countries Starting in the early 2010s, he writes, I first focused on the role of overprotection coddling, which is probably part of it. But since then there's been a growing body of evidence implicating technology, particularly smartphones and social media. So borrowing the from the cybersecurity concept of red teaming, where you practice bad guys to try to hack into your system, essentially, he writes, I decided to ask ChatGPT myself how its devil would stunt adolescent development in the digital age. Because what better way to stop the ongoing invisible corrosion of the human spirit than by getting in the devil's head to understand how he's doing it? And it actually began if I were to think this through as a thought experiment, imagining the devil in a metaphorical sense, the most effective way to destroy the next generation without them realizing it would be through slow invisible corrosions of the human spirit rather than obvious attacks. And then I think I can skip the next section in which Jonathan Haidt says some things similar to what I was just saying, how religion or spirituality or firm beliefs draw us upward. Our better angels, as Lincoln would put it, whereas our inner demons pull us downward where we're more selfish, easily tempted, cruel, that sort of thing. And in his book the Anxious Generation, which is terrific, I devoted a whole chapter to spiritual degradation and online life pulling people downward. But I'm going to skip ahead to oh, one statistic, then his list of how the Devil's gonna do what the devil wants to do. They have been polling young people 12th grade boys and girls on a variety of different questions since the 1990s and for a very, very, very long time. If you asked boys and girls 12th grade that you're high school seniors, how often do you do you agree with this statement? Life often feels meaningless? From the beginning of the poll to like 2012, the numbers were 15, 16, 17%. And then around 2010 it was actually down like 12, 13%. Pretty consistent though, would say life often feels meaningless. 10 years later that 13% of girls was 33% from 13 to 33, and the boys who bottomed out around 11% then were at 12 are up to 22% saying life often feels meaningless. What the hell? What happened? Well, that's what he's talking about, obviously. Here's his list he's reprinting Chat GPT's Seven Step Plan, followed by his own commentary. Step number one erode attention and presence. If young people can't focus deeply, they can't learn, create or love well, the subtle trap is to addict them to constant stimulation Endless scrolling notifications, micro bursts of dopamine. They'll feel busy, connected, even informed. While in reality their capacity for sustained thought and presence erodes. They won't know what they've lost. Meanwhile, on the devil's side, Zuckerberg and you know, everybody else, you know Your Googles, your YouTubes, everybody in tech is saying, yeah, but we made hundreds of billions of dollars doing that to the kids. And the kids do it because that's what they see happening around them. Then he throws out some his commentary about the incredible difficulty youngsters have reading books, sitting through a 75 minute class, doing their homework in a way that is completely different than just 15 years ago. It becomes very, very hard to engage in what some scientists call deep work and what the devil called sustained thought and presence. Not to mention he mentioned being a friend, a real friend, a romantic partner. You're less likely to be successful in love and in work, and that's been borne out. Number two, confuse identity and purpose. Oh, this one's, this one's chewy. If you blur the sources of meaning, which for all of human history have been family, community, nation, faith, your vocation, I'm a carpenter and a damn good one, that sort of thing, young people drift. They'll be encouraged to see identity as endlessly fluid and performative, constantly managed for external approvals, likes, followers, etc. Instead of rooted in enduring values or commitments that makes them malleable, easily manipulated, anxious and dependent on external validation. That is so good. Here the devil used the word that best explains why some kids have been pushed into a pit of despair while others have stood their ground. Rootedness. And Haidt mentions that he and his co author in the Anxious generation found that those who were rooted in binding moral communities had some protection from the negative mental health effects of the new phone based childhood. Oh, that's a weird, that's a sickening phrase, isn't it? Phone based childhood teens who said religion is important in my family suffered smaller decrease increases in anxiety and depression. So did self discrimination grab conservatives who generally live in a more constraining, binding moral matrix, while progressive moralities aim to grant people more freedom to choose their values and create their own identities. And so they, they graft it. And conservative religious important kids are at the same level of life is often meaningless. A few ups and downs, a few percentage points, they're still around 10%. Whereas conservative religion not important went as high as like 25% a couple of years ago. And interestingly, as more and more kids are unplugging and realizing what social media is, their numbers have come down substantially. They don't think life is meaningless and nearly as high numbers. It's higher than it used to be, but liberal. But religion is important. Went to like 26% and they've come down a little bit. Liberal religion, not important is at 33% and still rising. Life often feels meaningless. Holy cow, I want to get this all in. So I've got to forge ahead. And again, we'll post this link under hotlinks armstrongandgetty.com Step 3 Flood them with information. Starve them of wisdom. Make everything available instantly, but strip away guidance about how to weigh, sort and interpret. Give them infinite answers without teaching how to ask good questions. In that haze, truth and falsehood feel equally slippery, so cynicism becomes natural. A generation that doubts everything believes nothing. And Haidt's first book was called the Happiness Hypothesis. I actually read that years ago and I met him and shook his hand. And it's funny, I hadn't thought of it until now, but I read all the wisdom literature I could find, he writes. East and West. I extracted 10 common psychological claims, then evaluated the them from the lens of modern psychology. The ancient insights into social relationships and consciousness were timeless and precious. It's not that people in ancient Rome, et cetera, were smarter and wiser than us. It's that we have the benefit of reading only the books and ideas that our ancestors thought to be worth preserving across hundreds of generations. So you don't read the crap from the Roman Empire because it all got thrown away anyway. He points out that all those ancient bits of wisdom lead you to the same place, which is the stuff we've been talking about. Uh, here's step number four in in ruining the kids souls. Then we'll have to take a break. Replace relationship with simulacra. That's phonies substitutes. Encourage digital substitutes for friendship, love, and intimacy. You know, I'm not I don't want to pat myself on the back, but I've been saying since nearly the dawn of Facebook, I'm sickened by the term friends. For people you barely know and barely interact with and you put a heart on their post or whatever on Facebook. That's not a friend. A friend is something incredibly important to the human soul, and that ain't it. Anyway, back to height. Here's how you ruin kids souls. Encourage digital substitutes for friendship, love and intimacy. People will accumulate connections while feeling lonelier than ever. Superficial bonds are easier to monetize and manipulate than the deep ties of family, friendship and community. The tragedy is that they may not realize what real connection feels like. The Devil targets real relationships because research consistently shows that having close relationships is one of the best predictors of happiness for the young and old alike. Not fake shallow online relationships. Real relationships. The evil Zuckerberg replies in the rest of the list coming up.

[A]

Stay with us Armstrong and Getty.

[B]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures [e-mail] Do you like free money? Well, today's your lucky day. Better Picks is offering a free $10 just for signing up. Download the Better App, pick more or less on player stats, watch the games and win some cash. It's that simple. Better Picks is available in 33 states including Texas, California and Georgia. Download the Better App today. That's Better B E T R and get a free $10. No deposit necessary. Must be 21 or older. In a jurisdiction where Better Picks operates, terms and conditions apply. Better Picks Sports just got Better Pro.

[D]

Drivers live for race day, but for small business owners, every day is race day. That's why going with Lenovo Pro matters. One on one advice. IT solutions and customized hardware powered by Intel Core Ultra processors keep your business on the right track. Business goes pro with Lenovo Pro. Sign up for [e-mail] Pro Lenovo Lenovo.

[A]

Now I'd like to introduce you to Meaningful Beauty, the famed skincare brand created by iconic supermodel Cindy Crawford. It's her secret to absolutely gorgeous Beauty Skin Meaningful Beauty makes powerful and effective skin care simple and it's loved by millions of women. It's formulated for all ages and all skin tones and types and it's designed to work as a complete skin care system, leaving your skin feeling soft, smooth and nourished. I recommend starting with Cindy's Full regimen which contains all five of her best selling products including the Amazing Youth Activating Melon Serum. This next generation serum has the power of melon leaf stem cell technology. Its melon leaf stem cells encapsulated for freshness and released onto the skin to support a visible reduction in the appearance of wrinkles. With thousands of glowing five star reviews, why not give it a try? Subscribe today and you can get the Amazing Meaningful Beauty system for just $49.95. That includes our introductory five piece system, free gifts, free shipping and a 60 day money back guarantee. All of that [e-mail].

[C]

Going through Jonathan Haidt's absolutely brilliant list of how the devil would steal the souls of the next generation and he would do it through social media and smartphones. If you're just tuning in, I'd encourage you strongly to grab the previous segment via podcast. You ought to subscribe to Armstrong and Getty on Demand, our podcast. Anyway, so replacing real relationships with fake ones, online ones, which is specifically what Mark Zuckerberg and Meta and all those social media companies want the kids to do, including specific saying okay in leaked internal policy memos to Sensual Talk. And why would young people have to learn skills that are a little challenging like flirting, dating, becoming a good lover, committing to another person, all of which bring risks of rejection when they can have an endless supply of virtual erotic companions with customizable bodies, voices and kinks who will never disappoint them or act like a real human being. Alright, finishing the list because we don't have a lot of time. Step number five would be normalize hedonism and pathologize discipline. Convince them that comfort, consumption and self expression are the highest goods while restraint, sacrifice and long term commitments are oppressive. That way they'll celebrate indulgence while mocking tradition and discipline, the very things that build strength and freedom across generations. Children are anti fragile, Haidt points out. They need to do hard things over and over and suffer setbacks and losses in order to become strong, independent adults. I love this and there's more to it. I would love to read this whole section because I believe it firmly, but let's make sure we finish the list. Number six Undermine trust across generations sow suspicion between parents and children, teachers and students, elders and youth. If every authority figure is portrayed as untrustworthy or obsolete, the next generation grows rootless, cut off from inherited wisdom and forced to navigate the world with only the guidance of peers and algorithms. And in the case of TikTok, those algorithms are frequently the Chinese Communists. You know, that reminds me, I want to talk more about the New Deal to permit TikTok to go forward. Oh my God. So bad. For as long as humans have had customs and cultures, the accumulated wisdom of a community is passed down vertically from older generations to younger ones, et cetera. And then the final way to undermine the kids souls make everything a marketplace. In every experience, play, art, sex, spirituality, even friendship becomes commodified. Then nothing remains sacred. Young people may mistake consumption for meaning, never realizing that depth requires some things to be beyond price. In short, if I were the devil, I'd destroy the next generation not by terror, violence, but by distraction, disconnection and slow erosion of meaning. They wouldn't even notice because it would feel like freedom and entertainment. Distraction, disconnection and the erosion of meanings. The opposite focus, connection and finding meaning, whether it's you or your youngsters or the young people you mentor. Again, we've got this. We will have the link under [e-mail] and then have a special blog post so you can find it easily. But it's some of the best stuff I've read on this. Absolutely terrific. We'll get back into the news of the day coming up in a couple of minutes, including the awful shooting of the young man in Minneapolis and the awfuler reactions to it.

[A]

Stay with us Armstrong and Getty.

[C]

Nothing in life is free except this $10 that better picks is offering.

[B]

Download the Better app, pick more or.

[C]

Less on your favorite player stats, watch.

[B]

The games and win some cash.

[C]

It's that simple. Must be 21 or older in a jurisdiction where Better Picks operates Terms and.

[B]

Conditions Play Better Picks Sports just got.

[D]

Better Pro Drivers live for race day, but for small business owners, every day is race. That's why GoingPro with Lenovo Pro matters. One on one advice. IT solutions and customized hardware powered by Intel Core Ultra processors. Keep your business on the right track. Business goes pro with Lenovo Pro. Sign up for [e-mail] Pro.

[A]

This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea, I have some very exciting news about an ethical phone carrier I just switched to Forget about all these other phone companies. Forget about Verizon, forget about AT&T. Forget about T Mobile. There's this new carrier called Noble Mobile and they actually pay you to stay off your phone.

[B]

You can earn real money, up to.

[A]

20 bucks back every month just for putting your phone away. If you're like me and you're tired.

[B]

Of feeling controlled by your phone, social.

[A]

Media, or just disgusted by those screen time alerts, this is the answer. Go to noblemobile.com Chelsea and try it for $10. That's noblemobile.com Chelsea Discover a spectacular island destination with crystal blue seas, endless sunshine and the cool Bahamian breeze. Baha Mar, located in Nassau, Bahamas, offers your choice of three luxury hotels, the richly refined Rosewood, the playfully hip SLS and the stylishly modern Grand Hyatt. With over 45 restaurants, bars and lounges, Baja Mar serves up delicious dining from world renowned chef chefs like Daniel Boulud and Marcus Samuelson, nightlife venues like the new Jean Baptiste Jazz Club and the Caribbean's most luxurious casino. At Baja Mar, you'll find every pleasure under the sun and one of a kind experiences for the entire family like Baja Bay, our 15 acre lush tropical water park, interactive wildlife experiences including our daily flamingo parade, world class golf, tennis spa and so much more. Visit bajamar.com today and discover a vacation destination where memories are made for a lifetime. Baja Mar Life Spectacular this is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.