Armstrong & Getty On Demand
Episode: Then Bluey! No Gonads!
Date: October 31, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Episode Overview
This episode of the Armstrong & Getty Show explores current event headlines and culture-war anxieties, focusing especially on the hype versus reality of AI, political maneuverings regarding the Senate filibuster, the embarrassing perils of texting, damning reports on the Biden administration’s internal assessment of presidential competency, and some lighter moments around Halloween trends. The hosts toggle between humor and pointed critique, employing their trademark banter, dry wit, and skepticism toward both political sides.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Halloween Panic: Drugs in Candy?
[03:34 – 04:49]
- News out of Michigan advises parents to watch out for THC/mushroom-laced candy on Halloween.
- Both hosts agree: real instances are rare, but the sensationalism means the stories get repeated constantly.
- Jack: "I've known numb nuts that would think it was funny to get kids high."
- Joe: This is “classic exception bias ... It gets attention because it's so rare.”
Quote [04:33] – Jack Armstrong: “It will be incredibly rare. And I, I'm not worried about it for my own kids, but I could see. I've known numb nuts that would think it was funny to get kids high.”
2. The AI Debate: Hype, Fear, and Reality
[04:52 – 11:20]
- Jack summarizes a Substack piece arguing both AI "doomers" and AI skeptics are wrong; there are extremes on both sides.
- They discuss an MIT study—95% of companies found “little or no” ROI from AI so far, leaving an $800B shortfall by 2030.
- Joe offers a counter: his lawyer friend reports “scary good” results from legal AI personas tailored to real attorneys.
- Jack’s stance: AI will be profitable and helpful, but it could also “ruin the world,” especially affecting jobs and human relationships.
- Both hosts are deeply skeptical that AI’s social impact (particularly on relationships and motivation) is being seriously considered by the “computer geeks” running the show.
Quote [08:02] – Jack Armstrong: “I lean more toward [AI] ruining the world than toward making it better … if nobody has jobs and nobody gets together in relationships anymore, who cares if it's curing these obscure cancers?”
Quote [10:19] – Joe Getty: “A lot of opinion leaders are self-motivated go-getters ... but a hell of a lot of human beings aren't made like that.”
3. Idle Hands, AI, and Social Rot
[12:00 – 13:42]
- Discussion on the age-old proverb “Idle hands are the devil’s playthings” — how labor gives life structure, and the peril of removing that for most people.
- They sound the alarm about a growing “blob of bitter and weak” class if AI idles the masses, skeptical of utopian arguments (“everyone will be an artist or poet”).
Quote [13:08] – Jack Armstrong: “Everybody can be an artist or a poet or whatever ... but they aren't going to like engage in 8 hours of effort every single day ... They're going to sit around and get, you know, navel gazingly selfish and insular in their lives.”
4. Political Brinksmanship: Should Republicans Nuke the Senate Filibuster?
[15:12 – 24:18]
- Trump’s Truth Social post calls for Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster to reopen the government.
- Jack argues this would be a disaster, eliminating the last vestige that “the bulk of America needs to agree on something for it to pass.”
- They discuss the “race to the bottom”—that one side’s partisan move will only accelerate the loss of restraint.
- Both fear a Senate without filibuster would allow wild policy swings, politicized judges, and more chaos.
- There’s resigned speculation that the era of the filibuster is ending, regardless of who pulls the trigger.
Quote [20:03] – Jack Armstrong: “That would be a horrible thing to do ... probably the last vestige of, yeah, we disagree with each other, but we care about the country.”
Quote [21:50] – Jack Armstrong: “Race to the bottom. That's just a perfect race to the bottom.”
5. Potatoes for Halloween? Parenting Culture Quirks
[28:47 – 30:05]
- Segment on people giving out potatoes instead of candy; both hosts find it weird but amusing.
- Jack jokes about ladling creamed corn into trick-or-treaters’ baskets.
Quote [29:13] – Jack Armstrong: “Now I have been ladling, ladling out hot cream corn for years at Halloween. You know, hold out your little basket and I just give you a full scoop of creamed corn…”
6. Biden Administration: Damning Staff Testimony on Mental Fitness
[30:31 – 36:16]
- Scathing House Oversight report shows Biden's own chief of staff and Secretary of State thought he should not run again after the debate due to cognitive decline.
- The mainstream press is not reporting this, which angers Jack and Joe, who see it as a major story.
- Jack references Mark Halperin losing his mind over the lack of coverage.
- Chief of staff Jeff Zients and high-level Cabinet members confirmed their concerns under oath, but “kept their mouths shut.”
Quote [32:34] – Jack Armstrong: “They didn't think he was mentally competent to be president. The Secretary of State, his own chief of staff.”
Quote [33:16] – Joe Getty: “We've got to hold people to account ... It's not about Joe Biden, but there are a whole bunch of people involved that plan to continue to be major movers and shakers of the Democratic Party.”
7. Media Industry: Layoffs and Culture War Fallout
[36:40 – 38:31]
- CBS announces mass layoffs, eliminates its race and culture unit due to low ratings and audience disconnect.
- Armstrong and Getty note CBS is lagging far behind its competitors and suggest the moves are about business survival, not ideological shifts.
Quote [37:43] – Jack Armstrong: “If you're just running a business, you would come in and lay waste because you're getting your ass kicked.”
8. Middle East Update: Hezbollah Rearms, Ceasefire at Risk
[38:31 – 40:13]
- Brief report about Hezbollah restocking arms, while Israel’s patience wears thin. “You can’t make peace with religious zealots who vow to wipe you off the face of the earth if it takes a thousand years.”
9. Embarrassing Modern Moments: The Accidental Text
[44:19 – 48:21]
- Jack talks about sending a sensitive text about someone directly to them by accident, describing the horror and how “it could have been disastrous.”
- They riff on handling texting errors, using “private thread” labels, and share war stories about potentially life-altering miscommunication via smartphone.
- Universal lesson: Always check the recipient line before hitting send.
Quote [47:03] – Jack Armstrong: “Here's the lesson. Before you press send every single time, check at the top to see who it's going to.”
Quote [48:38] – Jack Armstrong: “Nothing more true than the whole you can’t unring a bell about things said.”
10. Calling Out the Extremes: 'No Enemies to the Left/Right' is Nonsense
[49:55 – 51:11]
- Joe previews a piece by Seth Dillon (Babylon Bee) in The Free Press, critiquing the idea that you shouldn’t call out extremists on your own side.
- They discuss the origin of “no enemies to the left” from the French Revolution.
- Both bemoan the fear that keeps moderate Democrats from speaking out on culture-war flashpoints, e.g., “dudes shouldn’t beat up on girls in women’s sports.”
Quote [51:01] – Joe Getty: “You got moderate Democrats afraid to say no. Dudes shouldn't beat up on girls in women's sports. That’s ridiculous. ... No enemies to the left. Well, let's call out our enemies to the right.”
Notable Quotes & Timestamps
- [04:33] – Jack Armstrong: “It will be incredibly rare. And I, I'm not worried about it for my own kids, but I could see. I've known numb nuts that would think it was funny to get kids high.”
- [08:02] – Jack Armstrong: “I lean more toward [AI] ruining the world than toward making it better … if nobody has jobs and nobody gets together in relationships anymore, who cares if it's curing these obscure cancers?”
- [20:03] – Jack Armstrong: “That would be a horrible thing to do ... probably the last vestige of, yeah, we disagree with each other, but we care about the country.”
- [21:50] – Jack Armstrong: “Race to the bottom. That's just a perfect race to the bottom.”
- [32:34] – Jack Armstrong: “They didn't think he was mentally competent to be president. The Secretary of State, his own chief of staff.”
- [47:03] – Jack Armstrong: “Here's the lesson. Before you press send every single time, check at the top to see who it's going to.”
- [48:38] – Jack Armstrong: “Nothing more true than the whole you can’t unring a bell about things said.”
- [51:01] – Joe Getty: “You got moderate Democrats afraid to say no. Dudes shouldn't beat up on girls in women's sports. That’s ridiculous. ... No enemies to the left. Well, let's call out our enemies to the right.”
Tone & Style
- A mix of dark humor, sarcastic banter, and genuine concern, with frequent asides and pop-culture references.
- The hosts don’t pull punches on any side of the political spectrum.
- Conversational, irreverent, and fast-moving, with both pointed critiques and light-hearted observations.
Summary for New Listeners
The “Then Bluey! No Gonads!” episode typifies Armstrong & Getty’s blend of biting political analysis, cultural commentary, and personal storytelling. Whether exploring the perils of AI, Senate dysfunction, or the pitfalls of modern communication, the duo keeps the tone lively and the insights sharp—even as they worry aloud about the future. If you’re looking for both analysis and laughs, with zero sacred cows, this one delivers.