We're Wearing Barrels With Straps

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand – Episode: "We're Wearing Barrels With Straps" Release Date: April 4, 2025

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Introduction

In the "We're Wearing Barrels With Straps" episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve into the complexities of economic tariffs, their historical implications, and their current impact on the American market. The discussion is interspersed with light-hearted banter, listener interactions, and timely news highlights, making the episode both informative and engaging for listeners seeking a comprehensive analysis of pressing economic issues.

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Main Discussion: The Tariff Debate and Economic Implications

Tariffs and Wealth Impact

The episode opens with a robust discussion on the recent implementation of tariffs and their immediate effect on American wealth. Jack Armstrong expresses skepticism about the resilience of the stock market in the face of such drastic measures.

• Jack Armstrong (02:55): “I still don't think it's fair to talk about how over $4 trillion of American wealth wiped out because it's just the way the stock market works.”

He questions the unpredictability introduced by tariffs, emphasizing the volatility it introduces to the market.

Understanding Government Policies

The Broadcast Host chimes in to reflect on the administration's policies, highlighting the misleading nature of economic figures released by the government.

• Broadcast Host (03:56): “If you are not a realist, you're a bad conservative. You're just like a wacky ideologue... Will it work as advertised in a way that benefits the American people in the long term?”

This segment underscores the hosts' concern over the practical effectiveness of tariffs beyond political rhetoric.

Historical Context: Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

Bringing historical perspective, the hosts reference the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of the early 20th century, discussing its role in the Great Depression.

• Broadcast Host (38:39): “Conservative Thomas Sowell... he said the depression was caused at least as much by our tariff structure as it was by the stock market crash. The tariff thing caused the stock market crash.”

This comparison serves to caution against repeating past economic mistakes, highlighting the potential long-term consequences of aggressive tariff policies.

Political Ramifications and Future Outlook

Jack and the Broadcast Host debate the political fallout of current tariff strategies, contemplating their effect on upcoming elections and public perception.

• Jack Armstrong (32:13): “If inflation hits, which is what I'm worried about... that was an argument for the Democrats going into the midterms.”

They express concern that rising inflation, spurred by tariffs, could become a significant electoral issue, undermining the administration's economic agenda.

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News Highlights: Katie Green’s Segment

Headlines and Current Events

Katie Green presents a roundup of the week's top stories, touching on international relations, domestic policies, and unusual incidents.

• Katie Green (16:00): “Trump says, 'It's going very well after tariffs roil the markets.'”

She discusses Trump's optimistic view on tariffs despite the market turmoil, juxtaposing it with reports from Bloomberg on Iran's potential nuclear talks and incidents like the vandalism on Columbia University’s campus bathroom.

Public Reaction and Social Issues

The segment also covers societal reactions to political decisions, highlighting planned anti-Trump protests and the public's response to policy changes.

• Katie Green (18:24): “‘There's a movement bubbling up anti-Trump protests planned nationwide tomorrow.’”

These updates provide listeners with a snapshot of the current socio-political climate, emphasizing the divisive nature of recent policies.

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Listener Interactions and Mailbag

Audience Engagement

The hosts incorporate listener feedback, addressing topics ranging from cultural shifts in texting etiquette to philosophical questions about genetic engineering.

• Mail from Nick in Arizona (40:07): “If you could choose super high IQ for your child, would you? Real genius often has a relationship with insanity...”

Jack and the Broadcast Host engage thoughtfully with these questions, reflecting on the balance between intellectual advancement and emotional well-being.

Philosophical Debates

One listener's critique of modern progressivism prompts a deeper discussion on the interplay between theology and contemporary socio-political ideologies.

• Listener Email (40:31): “Modern progressivism... is just Calvinism with a sociology degree...”

The hosts analyze this perspective, drawing parallels between historical theological frameworks and today's ideological movements.

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Light-Hearted Banter and Personal Anecdotes

Texting Styles and Generational Gaps

Amidst the heavy economic discourse, Armstrong and Getty lighten the mood by discussing the evolution of texting habits and generational differences in communication.

• Jack Armstrong (14:15): “I'm not a great sort of guy.”

They humorously navigate the challenges of modern communication, highlighting the disconnect between traditional and contemporary texting norms.

Personal Stories and Relatable Humor

The hosts share personal stories, such as Armstrong's attempt to wish his niece a happy birthday, which resonates with listeners' own family interactions.

• Jack Armstrong (14:15): “I sent a text to my niece, happy birthday. Which I think she will roll her eyes at full in a twenty-something sort of way.”

This segment fosters a sense of camaraderie and relatability, balancing the episode's analytical depth with personal touchpoints.

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Historical Analysis: Smoot-Hawley Fridays

Deep Dive into Tariff History

In a dedicated segment, Armstrong and Getty host historians to discuss the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, exploring its economic fallout and political repercussions.

• Broadcast Host (39:13): “Thomas Sowell... said the depression was caused at least as much by our tariff structure as it was by the stock market crash.”

This comprehensive analysis provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of how historical policies inform current economic strategies.

Quotable Insights

The hosts reference significant historical quotes to illustrate their points, reinforcing the episode’s educational value.

• William McKinley Quote (39:06): “I am a tariff man standing on a tariff platform.”

By weaving these quotes into their discussion, Armstrong and Getty underscore the enduring relevance of historical economic policies.

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Conclusion

"We're Wearing Barrels With Straps" offers a thorough examination of tariffs and their multifaceted impact on the economy and society. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty blend economic analysis with engaging dialogue, historical context, and listener interactions to create a rich and informative episode. Whether dissecting complex trade policies or sharing personal anecdotes, the hosts ensure that listeners receive a balanced and insightful perspective on the issues shaping today's America.

Notable Quotes:

• Jack Armstrong (02:55): “I still don't think it's fair to talk about how over $4 trillion of American wealth wiped out because it's just the way the stock market works.”
• Broadcast Host (03:56): “If you are not a realist, you're a bad conservative. You're just like a wacky ideologue.”
• Katie Green (16:00): “Trump says, 'It's going very well after tariffs roil the markets.'”
• Jack Armstrong (32:13): “If inflation hits, which is what I'm worried about... that was an argument for the Democrats going into the midterms.”

Listeners can stay informed and engaged by tuning into future episodes, continuing to explore the dynamic interplay between politics, economics, and everyday life.

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Disclaimer: The above summary excludes advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content segments to focus solely on the episode's substantive discussions.

Transcript

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[Narrator]

Something unexpected happened after Jeremy Scott confessed to killing Michelle Schofield in Bone Valley Season one.

[Gilbert King]

Every time I hear about my dad is, oh, he's a killer. He's just straight evil.

[Narrator]

I was becoming the bridge between Jeremy Scott and the son he'd never known.

[Gilbert King]

At the end of the day, I'm literally a son of a killer.

[Narrator]

Listen to new episodes of bone Valley Season 2 starting April 9 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Broadcast Host]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Broadcast Host]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and get.

[Jack Armstrong]

Joe and I are. You can't see us because it's radio, but Joe and I are both standing here wearing barrels with straps and the classic when. When was when was it a thing? If you were poor, you lost all your money, you would wear a barrel with straps. Was that a thing? That's just cartoons I've seen from the olden days.

[Broadcast Host]

As an item of clothing, a barrel seems particularly ill suited, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Even if you're of meager means, right? Seems like a barrel would be like the last thing you'd turn to.

[Broadcast Host]

How about a potato sack? Virtually anything but a barrel with straps. Anyway, live from Studio C, senor, a.

[Jack Armstrong]

Dimly lit room deep within the bow. The bowels, the Friday bowels of the Armstrong and Getty communications compound. And as you all know, the weekend bowels can be different than a week bowels. Today, we're under the tutelage of our general manager.

[Broadcast Host]

Still tariffs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, backlash, that's the fore lash, the eyelash. That's. That's fair. I still don't think it's fair to talk about how over $4 trillion of American wealth wiped out, because it's just the way the stock market works. I mean, you don't do that every day. Because every day you could say, you know, on a random Wednesday, you could say $400 billion of American wealth wiped out, and then the next day, oh, my God, 600 billion. And then the next day, 2 billion wiped out. Right. That's just the way it works.

[Broadcast Host]

Right. It's. It's clickbaity and silly. On the other hand, I will tell you this, if you only listened to the early part of the show yesterday, we and the rest of the world were able to puzzle out some of what the figures that the administration put out really were and what they meant, and they were a little misleading the way they were labeled. And so I understand the policy a little better. The more I understand, the less I like it, frankly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, boy.

[Broadcast Host]

Because I wanted Kamala to get elected, I just thought I'd save you the trouble of saying that. I am having a lot of trouble finding my favorite economic thinkers saying, this will work as planned. I mean, whether the goals are noble or whether you like tariffs in general or not, the question always, as a conservative, if you are not a realist, you're a bad conservative. You're just like a wacky ideologue. The question is, will it work as advertised in a way that benefits the American people in the long term? And I'm having trouble finding people saying, oh, yes, yes, it will.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, Trump has been into this his whole adult life. We got some clips from the 80s where he talks about this. Yep. He once said, tariff is the most beautiful word in the English language. Then he said, maybe God, maybe love. But I like tariff, top three. So, yeah, you know, he gets it. How cool. You know, I've got theories on life, too, but I'm never going to be in a position to, like, put them on the world to see if they work. And he gets to put his theory onto the world and see if it works.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah, indeed. And we'll have to wait and see how it plays out. I think the first and second tier effects, though, of tariffs are not what some folks expect them to be.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, like we're going to play later, a speech from Nancy Pelosi from the 90s where she's talking about how tariffs are the answer. And Democratic politicians have been talking about it for a long time. That's why they're, they're being pretty quiet about it. It's. It's been their theory forever. It's kind of interesting that Trump's going with it and then, you know, Republicans are then following him into what has been a Democratic talking point for years. I'm not into the whole just because it was or is either party's talking point. It's automatically good or bad. But it is true.

[Broadcast Host]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. So anyway, so that's why we're standing here in a barrel straps. I mean, I didn't retire yesterday. Did you retire yesterday? So you know what the. What my 401k is yesterday isn't as important as what it is 10 years from now or whatever.

[Broadcast Host]

Well, I was going to retire today. Oh, now I can't. So if you. My attitude seems a little crappy.

[Jack Armstrong]

That was bad, Tim.

[Broadcast Host]

That's why. All right, you know the old incredibly discouraging saying that in politics, if you're explaining, you're losing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it is discouraging.

[Broadcast Host]

It is impossible to discuss tariffs without a lot of explaining. I mean, like, when your eyes glaze over, you're about a third of the way home. It's what it does to economic growth and what it does to exports. Tariffs and retaliation and revenue growth. And what are the goals of tariffs and are they contradictory? And ay yai yai yi yai.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I don't know where the Dow is now. An hour ago, last time I checked, it was down like 400 points after a pretty big drop yesterday.

[Broadcast Host]

People are knocking on bathrooms, Jack saying, are you done in there? Because the Dow was in the toilet.

[Jack Armstrong]

I get it. But I don't know, am I.

[Broadcast Host]

Or the market, let's say the market. The Dow is stupid.

[Jack Armstrong]

Am I being S and P? Am I being a Pollyanna? Like I was watching Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC yesterday and then she was talking to somebody and they said, nick could bring a recession. And she went, oh, no. And. And I thought, I don't do that about the word recession. I just. Is. Is. Does the average person react to the idea of recession with horror like that? I mean, I've lived through. How many have I had in my adult life? A dozen? Eight? I don't know. I don't know. Because they're not significant enough to count. They're not, you know, fantastic maybe, but.

[Broadcast Host]

They'Re not as good when. As when growth is rosy. Certainly. But no, it's not a moment.

[Jack Armstrong]

All the things. I could list so many things in my life that do or could potentially make me go, but that's not one of them. And why is that?

[Broadcast Host]

Is that just an example of how divorced the media is from normal human beings? I think they think we all react.

[Jack Armstrong]

Like that, or they think they should because all the super gazillionaire financial people they have on their sets, it is a big deal for them. But in their world, because that's what they focus on all the time. And I just don't think the average person. I should ask my dad about that. Like, do your whole life. Did you? Oh, man, it might be a recession next quarter. Good Lord, I don't remember that.

[Broadcast Host]

Tighten up the straps on your barrel and get ready. I guess.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, if you had several in a row, that would be rough, but usually you have a quarter. So then you go back to normal.

[Broadcast Host]

Well, yeah, if a recession stretched on for years like Japan had, for instance, well, that would be something else. But it almost never happens. Our economy is too dynamic and creative and adaptable.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know, I can understand how you wouldn't want to do things in particular that bring them on as opposed to. It's just part of a business cycle.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah, yeah, we'll see.

[Jack Armstrong]

But for instance, got breaking news. The job numbers are out. 228,000 jobs added in March, which was beat expectations. And people are thrilled about that. Okay, so fantastic. Am I out of the woods or is that good news or bad? The recession over or. I don't know. I'm just gonna keep going to work. Someday when I'm old, they'll retire. Let's see what I got left. Oh, you fired this. I'll either buy this size fishing boat or this size fishing boat and that'll be the end of it.

[Broadcast Host]

No, I hear you, I hear you. So unnecessary hyperbole is something we avoid. The other thing, I've got to get this off my chest and then I'll shut up because we have Katie's headlines and clips of the week in a couple of minutes. A few minutes. I was listening to another show as I was preparing for the festivities.

[Jack Armstrong]

There are other shows?

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah, oddly. And this host is clearly proudly and out as a Christian and was mixing news analysis with unmistakable Christianity and defense of the Trump policies. But he was not like defending the policies based on the fact that he believed they would work. Or here's why they're good policies. It was because they were Trumps. And it became clear to me that there's like two polls, if you will. There are two Jesuses.

[Jack Armstrong]

I believe the plural is Jesi.

[Broadcast Host]

I'm not sure, but there were two Jesi, Jesus of Nazareth and Donald J. Trump. And you're not going to get that here either. When he's right, he's right. When he's wrong, he's wrong. And if that's not what you're looking for, that's. We understand. That's fine. You know, you might enjoy it anyway, but you're not. Yeah, sorry.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know how this tariff thing's going to turn out. That still is my position. Let's start the show Officially. I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty on this. It is Friday. Yes, April 4th, my niece's birthday. I've got to send her a text. The year 2025. We are Armstrong and Getty and we approve of this program.

[Broadcast Host]

Let's begin then, officially, according to FCC rules and regulations. At Mark, I think it's going very well. It was an operation like when a patient gets operated on and it's a big thing. I said this would exactly be the way it is.

[Jack Armstrong]

Things are going well. He compared it to a patient, you know, to go through, get an operation, you don't feel fantastic, right? Immediately, right after the operation, huh?

[Broadcast Host]

It's just in a lot of pain.

[Jack Armstrong]

We had a disease. We had to go in there. We had to cut something out. They're gonna have a little rough recovery period and then they'll be on their feet and dancing before you know it.

[Broadcast Host]

All right then.

[Jack Armstrong]

Whoa.

[Broadcast Host]

I don't know why I was so worried.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we got all that stuff Joe mentioned on the way and you can comment on anything. Text line 415. 295 KFTC.

[Broadcast Host]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Narrator]

Something unexpected happened after Jeremy Scott confessed to killing Michelle Schofield in Bone Valley season one.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just knew him as a kid.

[Narrator]

Long, silent voices from his past came.

[Gilbert King]

Forward and he was just staring at me.

[Narrator]

And they had secrets of their own to share.

[Gilbert King]

I'm Gilbert King. I'm the son of Jeremy Lynn Scott.

[Narrator]

I was no longer just telling the story. I was part of it.

[Gilbert King]

Every time I hear about my dad, it's, oh, he's a killer. He's just straight evil.

[Narrator]

I was becoming the bridge between a killer and the son he'd never known.

[Gilbert King]

If the cops and everything would have done the job properly, my dad would have been in jail. I would have never existed.

[Narrator]

I never expected to find myself in this place. Now I need to tell you how I got here.

[Gilbert King]

At the end of the day, I'm literally a son of a killer.

[Narrator]

Bone Valley Season 2 Jeremy.

[Broadcast Host]

Jeremy, I want to tell you something.

[Narrator]

Listen to new episodes of bone Valley Season 2 starting April 9 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear the entire new season ad free with exclusive content starting April 9th. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Jack Armstrong]

I sent a text to my niece, happy birthday. Which I think she will roll her eyes at full in a twenty something sort of way.

[Broadcast Host]

So thank you are correct.

[Katie Green]

I'll use any exclamation point or anything.

[Jack Armstrong]

Her old boomer uncle sent her a happy birthday.

[Broadcast Host]

Surely you threw in a birthday cake emoji.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, I don't. I don't send emojis exclamation point as I'm not a child. No, you're like a religious zealot.

[Broadcast Host]

You're like a fundamentalist Muslim about exclamation points and emojis.

[Jack Armstrong]

I can't. I can't do the exclamation point. I just can't.

[Broadcast Host]

You really need some couch time to understand that, you know, you're like the.

[Katie Green]

Only person that will send me a text that has no punctuation or anything involved in it. And I go, okay, it's Jack, right? He's not mad. It's just the way that he.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. So if I say great, it's what? If I say great, it looks like I said great or great.

[Katie Green]

Yeah, Right.

[Broadcast Host]

But, you know, you are living in the year 600 in terms of texting.

[Jack Armstrong]

But in my real life, if you know me, I'm not a great sort of guy. True enough, you are. No, I'm not.

[Broadcast Host]

Well, when you're unhappy, you're like dozens of exclamation points.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

Mad face emojis, all caps for pages at a time.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah, I'm an all cap person.

[Jack Armstrong]

I should be all caps for all my texts. I am an all. I do walk around an all caps person.

[Broadcast Host]

Oh, boy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, brother.

[Broadcast Host]

Yes, Michael?

[Jack Armstrong]

What kind of bread do you eat? Jack? It's just plain white bread. Right. I have finally switched off of Wonder Bread at the request of family members, so I'm eating more of a grained bread, I guess.

[Broadcast Host]

All right, well, let's figure out who's reporting what. It's the lead story with Katie Green.

[Katie Green]

Katie, let's start with abc. Trump says, quote, it's going very well after tariffs roil the markets.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, I don't know if it's going to go well or not, but the whole judging it off of one day off the stock market just seems so stupid to me.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah, agreed.

[Katie Green]

From Bloomberg. Trump says he thinks Iran will accept direct nuclear talks.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah, I was just reading about that. He wants them to dismantle their nuclear programs and he's not going to waste any time with the silly. They're on one floor of a hotel, we're on the other floor, and we send emissaries from a third party back and forth to negotiate. He's like, let's sit down and work.

[Jack Armstrong]

This out or we're gonna bomb you. Back to. Yes.

[Katie Green]

From the free Beacon, Columbia University. Radicals welcome new president by vandalizing the campus bathroom with a Hamas triangle.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nice. So I don't know if you have this headline, but I saw the headline last night as I was going to bed that Hamas announced they're going to release all the hostages to get a ceasefire. Now, did that come and go that headline already or.

[Broadcast Host]

I'm making my squinty face. Oh, are you? I wonder. It could be their absolutely amoral, vicious lizard like brains have said. All right, this is our only card.

[Jack Armstrong]

Trump is going to back Israel doing anything.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we better give the hostages.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah. This is the only way we can buy time. And then we'll go back to, you know, guerrilla warfare and the rest of it. It's possible.

[Katie Green]

From the New York Times. USDA freezes funding for Maine amid battle over transgender athletes.

[Broadcast Host]

I'm not sure what the USDA has to do with any of it. It's government spending, I suppose. Maine is, is super woke on the transgender. The boys whooping up on girls because they say they're girls. Madness.

[Jack Armstrong]

And that governor got into a spat with Trump. So.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

From NBC, Pentagon inspector general to investigate Pete Hegseth role in signal chat leak.

[Broadcast Host]

All right, Trump fired some big NSA guys in the last couple of days. It got obscured by the tariff madness. But we'll talk about that a little bit.

[Katie Green]

From USA Today, quote, there's a movement bubbling up anti Trump protests planned nationwide tomorrow.

[Broadcast Host]

Ah, the resistance is back.

[Katie Green]

The resistance.

[Broadcast Host]

The band is back together. Break out your pee hat and your Trump's a Nazi. And the big giant balloon with Trump as a baby. Break it, find it quickly. We're back.

[Katie Green]

The New York Post Ohio driver dropped his donut and caused a three car crash.

[Jack Armstrong]

He like bent over to pick it up.

[Katie Green]

Yeah, it fell on the floor. He bent over to pick it up, went into oncoming traffic. Luckily nobody was seriously hurt.

[Jack Armstrong]

But I've almost done that sort of thing before and I thought, geez, you just, you're gonna. What are you doing?

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah, no, leave it on the floor. You're the coffee spill onto your crotch. It's like, hey, hey, your crotch is gonna be wet. Just accept it. Stay in your lane. Literally stay in your lane. On the other hand, I do like the phrase you just, just used, Katie. Man, did Jack drop the donut on that project. Yeah, it sounds like it ought to be an expression.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yep.

[Katie Green]

From study finds 70% of Americans mentally clock out of work three days before taking vacation.

[Broadcast Host]

Sounds about right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Three days. That seems like a lot. I don't know.

[Broadcast Host]

Our job's a little different.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I'm trying to think. When I have had a regular job.

[Broadcast Host]

Mentally clocked, I will still do something. But three days.

[Katie Green]

And finally the Babylon B Dodgers bankrupted As Trump places 25 tariff on Japanese players.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hilarious. And the Dodgers would just pay it and continue. Are they still undefeated? They went again last night.

[Broadcast Host]

Nobody knows. Maybe the Padres are also undefeated. I've been asked to mention not that we really do baseball standings here much, but there you have it. Now quit yelling at me.

[Katie Green]

Padres fans doing the Dodgers did win last night.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay.

[Broadcast Host]

If they go 162 and oh that yeah. There will have to be changed.

[Jack Armstrong]

You got to have a salary cap. If they go 162 and oh yeah, what's.

[Broadcast Host]

How crazy would it have to be for it just to be inescapably true that something was going to change? If they want 130 games, clearly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you'd have to win the World Series. I think it'd be more about multiple world Series in a row.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah, you're probably right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Because in every sport, which is an interesting trivia question, in every sport, the team that has the best season did not win the championship that year. Hockey, football, baseball and basketball. All four.

[Broadcast Host]

Like the all time best season. Yeah, yeah. Oh, interesting. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's just a fact. We've got clips of the week on the week up mailbag news of the day. Stay with us.

[Broadcast Host]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Narrator]

Scott confessed to killing Michelle Schofield in Bone Valley season one.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just knew him as a kid.

[Narrator]

Long, silent voices from his past came.

[Gilbert King]

Forward and he was just staring at me.

[Narrator]

And they had secrets of their own to share.

[Gilbert King]

Gilbert King. I'm the son of Jeremy Lynn Scott.

[Narrator]

I was no longer just telling the story. I was part of it.

[Gilbert King]

Every time I hear about my dad is, oh, he's a killer. He's just straight evil.

[Narrator]

I was becoming the bridge between a killer and the son he'd never known.

[Gilbert King]

If the cops and everything would have done their job properly, my dad would have been in jail. I would have never existed.

[Narrator]

I never expected to find myself in this place. Now I need to tell you how I got here.

[Gilbert King]

At the end of the day, I'm literally a son of a killer.

[Narrator]

Bone Valley Season 2 Jeremy.

[Broadcast Host]

Jeremy, I want to tell you something.

[Narrator]

Listen to new episodes of bone Valley Season 2 starting April 9 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear the entire new season ad free with exclusive content starting April 9th. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we got some breaking news on a variety of fronts for you. We can fit in in just a couple of seconds and some great texts. I hope you can stick around.

[Broadcast Host]

But first, it's the beloved Friday tradition. Let's take a fond look back at the week that was. It's cow clips of the week. I think it's going very well.

[Jack Armstrong]

You just have to treat us fairly.

[Broadcast Host]

And we're flipping that on its head. This is cow.

[Jack Armstrong]

My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day.

[Broadcast Host]

For decades, our country has been looted.

[Jack Armstrong]

Pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far. President Trump is resetting the entire global market. They hate our beef because our beef is beautiful. Do not retaliate.

[Broadcast Host]

Do not panic here.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's my message to America.

[Broadcast Host]

But what if they're wrong? They're not going to be wrong. It is going to work. They're not judges. They're just pretending to be judges. They're just politicians wearing judges robes.

[Talkspace Ad]

They don't want to see some outsiders, some billionaire come in and try to buy a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is gross.

[Broadcast Host]

They're just doing all this to try.

[Jack Armstrong]

To distract from what's happening on their side. I confess that I've been inadequate to the moment. I confess that the Democratic Party has made terrible mistakes. But we need to own our mistakes. We need to own what's wrong with our party.

[Broadcast Host]

I don't believe you. For our election director made me remove my shirt and told me it was like wearing a swastika in front of a Jewish person. Shame, shame, shame.

[Jack Armstrong]

Unfair.

[Narrator]

You can see now that we are in a pre Civil War culture now.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you take part in the wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla Properties, we will find you, arrest you, and put you behind bars. President Trump reportedly says he's considering ways to serve a third term.

[Broadcast Host]

The Democrats could try to run Barack Obama against you.

[Narrator]

I'd love that.

[Broadcast Host]

My phone number was in his phone.

[Jack Armstrong]

Because my phone number is in his phone. To the man that braided my hair.

[Broadcast Host]

While I was asleep on the plane. I need you to come forth immediately.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, Tommy.

[Gilbert King]

Inevitable.

[Jack Armstrong]

You can be my wingman anytime.

[Broadcast Host]

There will be.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, my God. That's an embarrassment. I'm embarrassed. But just for the listener, I have nothing to do with choosing shirtless teenage girl movies as opposed to the greatest guy movies.

[Broadcast Host]

Now he's gone Too far.

[Jack Armstrong]

As opposed to the coolest.

[Broadcast Host]

Now he has gone too far.

[Jack Armstrong]

Coolest guy movie of all time.

[Broadcast Host]

Don't any of you have to guess the papers. Blood. I'm your huckleberry.

[Jack Armstrong]

One more time for the people in the back.

[Gilbert King]

Be bomb.

[Jack Armstrong]

Fudge, body. Okay, we got a. A variety of things for we can work out. I can work up here from not important to important. But we got this text from a friend of the show. Here's a clip of Val Kilmer explaining how he came up with the Doc Holiday accent from Tombstone, which has always bewildered me. And he said your indignation was righteous and appropriate. Wow. Also, this actually breaking news. British police have charged comedian Russell Brand with rape.

[Broadcast Host]

Oh, charged. I thought he was accused, but charged.

[Jack Armstrong]

With rape and sexual assault after an investigation. The offenses took place between 99 and 2005. Russell Brand has become a big deal on the right. He was on Hannity, like, night before last.

[Broadcast Host]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

I know a woman who came into his orbit and he was sweet on her. And she, for whatever reason, took a pass and has been breathing a sigh of relief that she didn't get into that world.

[Broadcast Host]

Seems like a bit of an odd duck to me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Broadcast Host]

Russell Brand, clever fella.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I had one more that I wanted to do before, but anyway, so we'll go this way. Before we get into some of the real stuff, we got this text. You know, the tariff thing is the biggest story maybe in the world right now.

[Broadcast Host]

I think definitely.

[Jack Armstrong]

So, yeah, we got this text I got out of the market in 1999 because all the market turbulence. I don't care about it. All that you morons. In the market. Ha.

[Broadcast Host]

Wow. I don't think we need to explain who the moron is here.

[Jack Armstrong]

God, you'd be so much richer.

[Broadcast Host]

Oh, my gosh.

[Jack Armstrong]

Like, what. How many times, how many multiples of what you have would you have now if you just stayed in, like, you know, the average of the market.

[Broadcast Host]

Wow. Wow. Okay. Anyway, yeah, China Apple stock went down one day in 2001, so I dumped it. Thank goodness.

[Jack Armstrong]

Speaking of that, I don't know if Apple's exaggerating or not, but they say it would cost at least $1,000 more for your iPhone if they made them here in the United States.

[Broadcast Host]

Wait a minute.

[Jack Armstrong]

And you know, they.

[Broadcast Host]

If they made them in the United States. Yeah, yeah, but, well, that's the state. One of the stated goals of the Trump administration is to move that sort of manufacturing assembly back here, which is just not realistic for a lot of stuff.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think they said it could even triple, I think. I feel, you know, I'm sure it would go up, but you know, market forces still apply. So you get into the what are willing people willing to pay Apple's what, the second most valuable company in the world? They might have to make less profit on phones and lower their price cut into. I don't know. But I don't think you can do the straight math on what, what employees would cost and assume that that's what would be the cost of the phone.

[Broadcast Host]

Right. Which is indirectly one of the reasons it's so difficult to talk about the tariff thing intelligently. Because every half a dozen after effects, each of which yield half a dozen each, you know, that's too many eaches, but you know what I'm saying. It's just there's an outward rippling of effects and reactions.

[Jack Armstrong]

China has announced they're slapping the United States with 34% tariffs, you commie devils, starting today. So my eight pair of socks that costs $3 is going to cost $4. Bastards. I don't know. I don't know how that's going to turn out.

[Broadcast Host]

I really don't either. I'm a little, a little skeptical.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wall Street Journal. So my where I think the political damage is going to kick in is if inflation goes up. Because I heard an argument yesterday on why I'm wrong. But I'll go with what I think first before I get to the argument why I might be wrong. I think the one thing we all understand now coming out of a Covid in the Biden administration is inflation and what that does over time. And we all have such a recent memory of that and everything like that. And so like the Wall Street Journal has got Americans rushing to buy tv, soy sauce, Lululemon, workout gear, et cetera.

[Broadcast Host]

I love that headline, rushing to buy soy sauce. How much does soy sauce cost and how much do you go through? I don't know about you. I really like Asian food. I use soy sauce. I like sushi.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've probably had the same bottle since 2006 and it'll last me until I'm dead.

[Broadcast Host]

Well, it'll certainly last you a little while.

[Jack Armstrong]

A bottle of soy sauce. Yes, Michael.

[Broadcast Host]

My wife and I cook a lot of stir fry, so we filled our.

[Jack Armstrong]

Garage full of it.

[Broadcast Host]

That's good. You are to soy sauce what diddy was to baby oil.

[Jack Armstrong]

But as we all remember, inflation, a lot of it is emotional. If you think things are going to go up, you buy a few extra of them now, which drives a price up, which Makes the news, which makes people think I need to buy more of it now. And it's just. It's hard to break out of that. And if that happens, that's what's gonna be politically damaging, I think.

[Broadcast Host]

I really don't think inflation is the main concern. I think it's recession and layoffs, lots and lots of layoffs. Not on shoring somehow in like a year or two. I mean, all of the big beautiful industries coming back to America, that would take years. And in the interim, there's not going to be a little pain. There's going to be a hell of a lot of pain. Again, for complicated economic reasons. The way imports affect exports and vice versa. How economic growth is slowed by tariffs. It's been proved over and over again. I just. I'm really worried about this, man.

[Jack Armstrong]

If. If inflation hits, which is what I'm worried about. God, what an argument for the Democrats going into the midterms. Anyway, the counter to the whole inflation thing partially is that people won't react that negatively because we've lived through it so recently. It's not like the Boogeyman from the 70s. It's the Boogeyman from year before last. And it's not quite as scary. So I don't. I don't know how people are going to emotionally react to this.

[Broadcast Host]

I'm your boogeyman. Yeah, that's what I am. Speaking of Boogeyman from the 70s, Casey and the Sunshine Band wouldn't mind hearing a little. It's a Friday, Michael. Isn't it good?

[Jack Armstrong]

Lyrics.

[Broadcast Host]

Hey, word.

[Jack Armstrong]

Baby, baby, let's get together. You and you and me or me and you? You and me.

[Broadcast Host]

You and me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's good. Some good stuff.

[Broadcast Host]

Do the things we like to do or that's get down tonight.

[Jack Armstrong]

He was really dancing around the fact that we're gonna have sex all night long. But he couldn't just say it back then, right? You're doing rap songs now, right?

[Broadcast Host]

It was art, you know, little art. I'm gonna blank you. That's not art.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm gonna love you until I can't get enough. What.

[Broadcast Host]

A word from our friends. It's. What'd you say, Michael? Simply save. Simply save home security. You may be spending more time away from the house, giving burglars more opportunities to strike. Because it's summertime or soon will be in the days are longer. And FBI crime data shows more break ins happen during daylight when you're out than under the kind of classic cloak of night.

[Jack Armstrong]

That is interesting, isn't it that we mostly think at nighttime. But it's now you drive away from work and during the day and your neighbors are gone too. That's why I like knowing I got the sign by the door. Hey we got cameras around here. Got the active guard protection of simply safe authorities will be called right away if they see you ooching around outside. And this is with a no long term contractor cancellation fees and about a dollar a day.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah the active guard outdoor protection prevents break ins before they happen. You got the agents Jack mentioned and the cameras. And if somebody's lurking around the agents can even see and talk to them in real time and call the coppers. Simplisafe.com Armstrong all of these great monitoring plans start affordably around a dollar a day. You can get 50% off a new system with professional monitoring. Get your first month [e-mail] Armstrong simplysafe.com Armstrong there's no safe like simply safe.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't want a Nike shoe would cost if it wasn't sewn by children in some far off land.

[Broadcast Host]

I don't know. I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

One question. So we got some questions answered yesterday that I was asking. I still haven't heard this one.

[Broadcast Host]

Why?

[Jack Armstrong]

Why? Why did it work for Levi's to be made and converse to be made in the United States up until the mid-90s it was a profitable business. Did something change on the world landscape?

[Broadcast Host]

Giant cultural change from I will save and buy it when I can to instant gratification and I will borrow the.

[Jack Armstrong]

Money and accepting horrible quality apparently.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

In some cases.

[Broadcast Host]

Well and you have to if you're going to have that instant gratification society the two have to go together. Otherwise you'd spend yourself into financial oblivion quickly. And I'm not judging anybody. It's a bad idea. I resist that temptation myself all the time. It's just. It's not good. It's from the Bible to you know every financial counselor worth his weight in dollar bills from Dave Ramsey on you know anybody you ask save and buy stuff when you have the money. But we don't do that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Mailbag on the way. A little more news and news will be unfolding throughout the day as this is the biggest story in the world. Really. Stay here. Text line 415295 KFTC Armstrong and Getty.

[Talkspace Ad]

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[Narrator]

Scott confessed to killing Michelle Schofield in Bone Valley Season one.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just knew him as a kid.

[Narrator]

Long silent voices from his past came.

[Gilbert King]

Forward and he was just staring at me.

[Narrator]

And they had secrets of their own to share.

[Gilbert King]

Gilbert King I'm the son of Jeremy Lynn Scott.

[Narrator]

I was no longer just telling the story, I was part of it.

[Gilbert King]

Every time I hear about my dad, it's oh, he's a killer. He's just straight evil.

[Narrator]

I was becoming the bridge between a killer and the son he'd never known.

[Gilbert King]

If the cops and everything would have done the job properly, my dad would have been in jail. I would have never existed.

[Narrator]

I never expected to find myself in this place. Now I need to tell you how I got here.

[Gilbert King]

At the end of the day, I'm literally a son of a killer.

[Narrator]

Bone Valley Season 2 Jeremy, Jeremy, I.

[Broadcast Host]

Want to tell you something.

[Narrator]

Listen to new episodes of bone Valley Season 2 starting April 9 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and to hear the entire new season ad free with exclusive content starting April 9th. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on.

[Jack Armstrong]

Apple Podcasts hour two we have three historians on to discuss the Smoot Hawley Tariff act of the early 20th century on your Friday.

[Broadcast Host]

It's another Smoot Hawley Friday. Here's your freedom loving quotes of the day from William McKinley, who Donald J. Trump admires. I am a tariff man standing on a tariff platform. Said McKinley lasted for a couple of years was disastrous. They rescinded them and the Republicans lost the House of representatives for 60 years, right? Something like that. Not necessarily a Cause and effect, but a bit of a coincidence, certainly. And I thought this was interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

I saw Thomas so. Well, so is he still alive and actually saying things?

[Broadcast Host]

Yes. So he was at 94 or 5 or something.

[Jack Armstrong]

He was commenting on the tariffs and mentioned McKinley. He's freaking old enough to. But he said the depression was caused at least as much by our tariff structure as it was by the stock market crash. The tariff thing caused the stock market crash. So that was his take on it yesterday. Conservative Thomas Sowell, the great.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah, what was the other thing I was going to say? Oh, and then, you know, FDR interceding and price fixing and the rest of it prevented a recovery for years and years and years. So. Oh, the other McKinley quote I wanted to throw out there. He said, I have never been in doubt since I was old enough to think intelligently that I would someday be made president.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow, that's something. And that's what a lot of people who end up president are that way. Yeah, that is a certain.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah. I'm tempted to go off on a tangent, but I won't. Mailbag, [e-mail] Mike writes, Katie's Corner is fantastic. That's it with a K. Katie's Corner at armstrong and getty.com A lot of great stuff there. The hot links, articles and videos we talk about are there. I think you get some A and G swag. Drop us a note, whatever.

[Jack Armstrong]

I have not seen it, but it's only because I've never looked at our website.

[Broadcast Host]

Nice job moving along. Nick in Arizona writes well, shields up. Jack showing his liberal side. Hatred of others by mocking Star Trek was bad enough. Katie. Oh, beautiful Katie, you hurt my heart. A proud geek standing up for good writing regardless of genre. Okay, sorry, a couple of philistines I work with. Anti Star Trekkers. Can't believe it. This is one of the brainier emails we've ever gotten from a gent who calls himself Turlock Holmes. It's a Central California joke. Dear Rubes. Oh, his title is Calvinism Klein. Dear Rubes, had to join two orphan topics from yesterday's show. Ezra Klein's musings about how people didn't earn it and the broader progressive claim that there is no free will. Mind you, these aren't intellectual orphans. They're conjoined twins in the same hollow narrative. As such, modern progressivism, as voiced by Klein and his choir of credentialed fatalists, is just Calvinism with a sociology degree preaching that merit is an illusion and free will a bourgeois Myth. This is the gospel of the new. Clericy. That is a word I do not use. That the individual is powerless. Personal achievement is a mirage, and redemption lies not in effort but in obedience to the system. They've merely swapped God for the system. Sin for privilege and grace for ideological compliance. It's original sin in woke clothing, where you're born guilty, can't redeem yourself, and must submit to the new priesthood. Taken together, today's secular intelligentsia are just recycling old theological frameworks. Only now, without the cross or the collar, it's enough to make Michelangelo swear again.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. So that is really well written. And you know, and a number of people have pointed out the whole. Whether it's climate change or wokeism has so many of the hallmarks of that sort of thing. Because there are blasphemy laws. Yeah, there are blasphemy laws like, you know, you can't say all lives matter, you've blasphemed and you need to be put to death or certainly professionally. Yeah.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah. Well said. Another J In San Jose, California writes. Guys. Oh, the topic of gene editing. Babies in general. In a future where we can choose the traits of our unborn, what will we do about genius? Wouldn't many parents want genius for their child? Real genius often has a relationship with insanity. Tesla, Van Gogh, Hughes, and many more. If we genetically eliminate all of our defects, do we miss an opportunity for something greater? Nature sends the occasional deformity for a reason. Or what's the genetic term for a deformity? Mutation. That's how we got here after all.

[Jack Armstrong]

He says, boy, I don't. That. That's an interesting question. If you could choose for like, I don't know what level iq, but like super high iq, I think I'd be a no on that.

[Broadcast Host]

Yeah. As we've observed through the years. And having geniuses around, be they Galileo or Elon Musk, is really useful. It's great. But genius is just another kind of. His brain doesn't work like other people's. And often somebody that crazy, crazy smart.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is really alienated or unhappy.

[Broadcast Host]

Well, yeah, yeah, it can make you miserable, but you know, that's.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a good one. I wonder what percentage of people with an IQ over and again, I don't know enough about the IQ scale, but a high number, 100 percentage of Mike are successful and what percentage are miserable or kill themselves or whatever.

[Broadcast Host]

Is it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is it like 90, 10 or is it 50? 50. I don't even.

[Broadcast Host]

Or is it like a random distribution? I don't know. Let's see. Oh yeah, probably ought to touch on this. Steve from Napa, the first of many to write in about Trump's misleading reciprocal tariffs chart. The way they formulated the quote unquote reciprocal tarif was not the way it seemed. We talked about it later in the show yesterday. We can explain it again today. It's kind of a complicated formula, and whether it's a good idea or not is in the eye of the beholder right now. Definitely disruptive, though.

[Jack Armstrong]

I saw Jim Cramer going off on that msnbc let's stop using the word reciprocal. It's misleading. We can get into more of that now.

[Broadcast Host]

Or two it's something Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Narrator]

Something unexpected happened after Jeremy Scott confessed to killing Michelle Schofield in Bone Valley Season one.

[Gilbert King]

Every time I hear about my dad is, oh, he's a killer. He's just straight evil.

[Narrator]

I was becoming the bridge between Jeremy Scott and the son he'd never known.

[Gilbert King]

At the end of the day, I'm literally a son of a killer.

[Narrator]

Listen to new episodes of bone Valley Season 2, starting April 9 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.