Whack - A - Mullah

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand – "Whack-A-Mullah" (April 21, 2026)

Episode Overview

This episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand navigates an eclectic but engaging range of topics, from state-level fraud and corruption to absurd media narratives, international crises, the state of American culture, political Twitter dustups, and a whimsical celebration of Prince's musical legacy. As always, Armstrong & Getty blend humor, directness, cultural critique, and listener interaction, providing both serious insights and comic relief. The episode captures the show's signature tone: skeptical, irreverent, and concerned about the direction of American institutions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Adult Daycare Fraud & Systemic Corruption in California

• Nick Shirley's Investigation ([02:16]–[06:22])
  • Independent muckraker Nick Shirley investigates a California adult daycare billed $19.8 million despite appearing empty and unutilized. His casual approach exposes lax oversight.
  • Quote (Armstrong, 02:39): "If Nick Shirley can uncover this stuff this easily, the state of California isn't trying at all."
  • Shirley attempts to enroll a relative, discovers there are no brochures or functional phone lines, reinforcing suspicions of fraud.
  • Hosts discuss the cultural roots of exploiting government systems, referencing immigrant communities' expertise in bureaucratic manipulation and U.S. COVID-era fraud.

2. Culture, Corruption, and Systems

• Cultural Contrasts & Corruption ([06:32]–[14:30])
  • Hosts expand on the theme of cultural norms, especially corruption versus civic trust.
  • Getty recalls a Mexican cab driver's line (08:42): "The Spanish came to this country and colonized it... and they gave us three things: our language, our food, and corruption."
  • Armstrong underscores that everything is "downstream of culture," quoting listener Ben: "Culture is what do we celebrate and what do we shame?" ([11:01])
  • The rise in retail theft receives discussion, connecting shifting norms with practical consequences (locking up basic goods in stores).
  • Both bewail the cultural memory loss among younger generations, who no longer recall more law-abiding eras.

3. Media, Narratives, & Clickbait

• Sensational Headlines and Cultural Literacy ([06:32]–[10:10])
  • Mocking New York Post’s coverage: "Mexican pyramid shooting was on anniversary of Columbine and Hitler's birthday." ([07:48])
  • Armstrong notes that penny dreadfuls and clickbait media aren’t new—just recycled models of sensationalism.

4. Political Satire: The "Book of J.D." Trump Bible Parody

• Mock Ancient Scripture for Modern Politics ([17:59]–[21:12])
  • Armstrong reads excerpts from Gerard Baker’s satirical “Book of J.D.,” retelling the Trump presidency as a mock King James Bible story.
  • Quote (Armstrong, 19:08): "Donald was anointed by God to lead the chosen people out of the slavery into which they had fallen under the wicked rule of the House of the Democrats."
  • Amusement is mixed with exasperation at how media narratives pit the Pope and Trump against each other, often without basis.

5. International Affairs: Iran, U.S. Sanctions, and Whack-a-Mullah

• Online Controversy and Blockades ([27:40]–[32:37])
  • Discourse on U.S. blockades against Iranian shipping and a viral misstep by Senator Chris Murphy, who sarcastically cheered a (false) Iranian propaganda claim.
  • Armstrong and Getty express weariness of online controversies and political “clapbacks,” lamenting a loss of seriousness.
  • Armstrong’s Play on Words ([32:10]–[32:42]):
    • "It's Farsi-co, if you will."
    • "It's time to play a little whack-a-mo... whack-a-mullah."
    • "If the IRGC thinks they can take on the United States, they're out of their revolutionary gourds."
  • They debate whether Trump will carry out his threats to escalate the situation (e.g., targeting bridges, power plants) and the strategic risks of Iranian human shields.

6. Missing and Dead Scientists: Sensationalism vs. Context

• Debunking Conspiracies ([24:37]–[27:07])
  • Fox News and other media spotlight 11 missing or dead scientists with vague "ties to U.S. secrets." Armstrong and Getty dismiss the story as statistical artifact and media hype.
  • Getty (26:03): "Like if you said former professional athletes, 80 have died in the last three years... other than just, you know, old age and random illnesses in a large group of people."

7. Pop Culture & Anecdotes: Prince Remembered

• Marking the 10th Anniversary of Prince’s Death ([36:14]–[39:56])
  • The hosts celebrate Prince’s eccentricity, talent, and legacy, sharing stories from Matt Damon, Eddie Murphy, and personal anecdotes.
  • Memorable Quotes:
    • Matt Damon recounting Prince ([36:35]): “I live inside my own heart, Matt Damon.”
    • Getty: “Prince wore his stage outfits everywhere—biking to Starbucks in heels and cape, money in his fist because his pants had no pockets.”
  • Reflection on how rare true musical genius manifests, admiration for Prince’s virtuosity, and humorous envy.

8. Media Satire: TGIF Washington, D.C.

• Nellie Bowles’ Wit on DC and Taxation ([39:56]–[42:41])
  • Reading aloud Nellie Bowles’ newsletter snippets lampooning the look (and power) of DC’s political class, and provocatively praising high earners for footing the nation’s tax bills.

9. Listener Engagement & Final Thoughts

• Apple’s Simplicity, Siri, Fake Headlines & Education Demographics ([42:50]–[44:41])
  • Crew shares advice for Apple’s new CEO: keep things simple, improve Siri.
  • Getty notes a satirical headline: “Trump to read Bible from Oval Office.”
  • Armstrong highlights the post-affirmative action surge in Asian enrollment at Johns Hopkins and decries radicalism in U.S. education.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Armstrong (02:39): “If Nick Shirley can uncover this stuff this easily, the state of California isn't trying at all.”
• Getty (08:42, Mexican cab driver): “The Spanish... gave us three things: our language, our food, and corruption.”
• Armstrong (11:01, quoting a listener): “Culture is what do we celebrate and what do we shame.”
• Armstrong (19:08, from Gerard Baker's satire): “Donald was anointed by God to lead the chosen people out of the slavery into which they had fallen under the wicked rule of the House of the Democrats.”
• Getty (14:30): “They're locking up my toothpaste. It used to be... to be a thief was entirely a matter of shame.”
• Armstrong (32:10): “It's Farsi-co, if you will... It's time to play a little whack-a-mullah.”
• Matt Damon via Armstrong (36:35): “I live inside my own heart, Matt Damon.”
• Getty (39:56): "Prince wore his stage outfits everywhere—biking to Starbucks in heels and cape, money in his fist because his pants had no pockets."
• Nellie Bowles via Armstrong (41:10): “The schlubbier the man, the more powerful he is. That guy with the soup stain on his khakis invented the swing state...”
• Armstrong (42:41): “Society would crumble without the taxes of The Rich.”

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• California Daycare Fraud / Nick Shirley Investigation – [02:16]–[06:22]
• Corruption & Culture Discussion – [06:32]–[14:30]
• Media Sensationalism & Headlines – [06:32]–[10:10]
• Political Satire: The Book of J.D. – [17:59]–[21:12]
• Iran, U.S. Blockades, and Twitter Controversy – [27:40]–[32:37]
• Whack-a-Mullah Puns & Iran Escalation – [32:10]–[33:11]
• Missing Scientists Hype – [24:37]–[27:07]
• Tribute to Prince – [36:14]–[39:56]
• Nellie Bowles DC Satire & Taxes – [39:56]–[42:41]
• Final Thoughts – [42:50]–[44:41]

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Summary Takeaway

This episode typifies Armstrong & Getty’s ability to intertwine exposé, cultural critique, satire, and pop culture in a fast-moving, conversational style. Whether questioning government oversight, critiquing American culture’s slide, lampooning political theater, or commemorating artists like Prince, the hosts encourage critical thinking and cultural awareness—always with a wry sense of humor, skepticism toward mass narratives, and a dash of irreverence.

Transcript

[Armstrong]

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

[Armstrong]

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

[Nick Shirley]

Now we are here outside of Healthy Life Adult Daycare. This place over the past few years has billed $19.8 million alone. Now let's go see if I can enroll my grand because she needs some daycare. And this right here is the entrance of a building that's received over $19 million.

[Armstrong]

Nick Shirley is an energetic young man and has got it together. Obviously, that's his voice you just heard, the independent journalist, videographer, muckraker. But he's not some sort of super genius Sherlock Holmes, the investigative power of the FB FBI guy. He's just a dude who's taken a look at the California state budget and said, wait a minute, $19 million to this adult daycare center. Let's go look at it like he did to some of the hospices. My point being, obviously, if Nick Shirley can uncover this stuff this easily, the state of California isn't trying at all.

[Getty]

All or legacy media.

[Armstrong]

Right, Right. Nobody cares, apparently. Oh, my God, I'm making myself angry. Here's Nick on the scene there at the big $19 million adult daycare center.

[Nick Shirley]

So this is the location that's received over $19 million. Kind of crazy, right? They say that right here, right now we're at 130. No adults are here. I wouldn't doubt that adults do come. But $19 million, it's kind of like North Korea.

[Getty]

It's like everything's set up, but there's no people.

[Armstrong]

It's like for a show almost. No, nobody's here already.

[Getty]

You have to come back tomorrow.

[Nick Shirley]

And could we get like a brochure to enroll our grandma into this location?

[Armstrong]

I don't have anything.

[Nick Shirley]

Can anyone give us a brochure?

[Armstrong]

Angela does. Somebody has information about. Oh, my God.

[Getty]

You know, and you know how many people you'd have to have involved to pull off a scam like that? I mean, to have a building and. And have that amount of money coming in and everything. It would.

[Armstrong]

It would take a handful at least,

[Getty]

if not a lot of people that are involved in this crime. And then, of course, people in government not paying any attention to where the money's going.

[Armstrong]

Well, yeah, you'd have to have some people who were familiar enough with the government paperwork system. It's worth repeating something we've talk about for years and years. Folks come from systems countries around the world where exploiting the government working the system is the only way to get ahead. Russians are notorious for it. And, and there's plenty of corruption in Mexico. And you know, a lot of countries around the world have way, way, way more product or corruption than you can imagine as an American. But yeah, they. So they take the time to learn the systems. And like the convicts bilking California and other states during COVID they make millions and millions of dollars more.

[Public Investing Advertiser]

Fabulous.

[Armstrong]

Nick Shirley.

[Nick Shirley]

And there was some people working inside of it. We have the phone number right here. Darren's gonna go ahead and give a phone call and see if somebody from inside answers. There are people inside right now. The phone's just ringing.

[Getty]

You can leave a message after the tone.

[Armstrong]

This mailbox is full.

[Nick Shirley]

There you have it. They don't have an inbox available to take in a voicemail.

[Armstrong]

Wow. They don't even have an inbox. They don't even try one more.

[Nick Shirley]

Another thing to take note of is Gavin Newsom right now in Polymarket. He is the leading nominee for the Democrats. Come 2028, all this fraud's taking place, all this waste is taking place. Nobody really knows what's going on. I mean, look at this place. This adult daycare received $19 million, has billed the state of California over $19 million in the past few years. This is all taking place here. So that is something to think about come 2028 with Gavin Newsom leading the Democrats.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, we know, Nick. Well done, sir. As always, I've made myself angry. I've made everyone angry. I apologize. I'm an ass.

[Getty]

Juicy. The headline about that horrible shooting at the pyramids north of Mexico City.

[Armstrong]

Yes, I did. I saw some video of it.

[Getty]

Yeah, New York Post. Oh, I got to dig up a horrible New York Post from headline from yesterday. They are. They are both a great newspaper and just like the most egregious abuser of clickbait on earth.

[Armstrong]

I was so amused when I learned recently that during the 19th century, papers like the Post were called. In Britain were called penny dreadfuls, which is just perfect.

[Getty]

Well, just go ahead just to fill in the gaps before I give you the ridiculous headline. Play Clip 23 Michael the shooting happened

[Armstrong]

at the Pyramids about 30 miles north of Mexico City. Now, according to Mexico Security Cabinet, a

[Getty]

female Canadian tourist was killed before the shooter took his own life. Mexico's president Claudia Schoenbaum saying that this

[Armstrong]

was deeply disturbing and called for a

[Getty]

full investigation into what happened. Yeah, big tourist place and some random nutjob decided to shoot some people, which is probably the sum total of the story. New York Post headline Mexican pyramid shooting was on anniversary of Columbine and Hitler's birthday. Wow.

[Armstrong]

Wow. Heavy. What the hell?

[Getty]

What the Wow. I don't even know what they were going for.

[Armstrong]

Wow. It blew my mind.

[Getty]

I wish I could have taken in that story in. In more of a serious way. But my memory of it, because I've been to the top of that pyramid and I have two memories of being at the top of that pyramid. One is actually interesting. The cab driver I paid to drive me out there, part of a tour to get out there and then you hike up the pyramids are as big as the Egyptian pyramids are very giant. Built by the Incas or Mayas or whatever. Giants, civilization that was there for very long time before Columbus and.

[Armstrong]

And.

[Getty]

And wiped out and murdered by the Spanish. But European, that's not considered colonizing for whatever Anyway, so the cab driver that drove me out to the pyramids, I remember him saying, because he was doing a little like, tourist guide spiel on the way there, he said the Spanish came to this country and colonized it in 1520, and they gave us three our language, our food and corruption. And that always stuck in my mind that he. That the culture of corruption came to Mexico and has stayed all those years because culture is powerful and they had a culture of corruption and it has existed all this time. I thought that was interesting. The other thing I remember about going to the top of the pyramid is how incredibly hungover I was that day. It was very hot and I had to hike up there feeling like my head was going to split open, my brains were going to pour out onto my feet. One of the worst hangovers I've ever had in my life. I believe it was margaritas the night before.

[Armstrong]

Oh, that'll get you. Yeah. Hot and humid is no way to have.

[Getty]

Oh, my God.

[Armstrong]

It's funny. We got this note from Ben, an email. You can drop us a note if you'd like. [e-mail] you have good thoughts. He writes. Thank you, Ben. Joe, appreciate your themes of everything is downstream of culture. It's so true. This is not about praising me. It's not like it's an original thought.

[Getty]

Sounds like it is. Sounds like you're digging up emails that praise you.

[Armstrong]

Yeah. You know what happens sometimes, just like the shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in three generations. And soft men make for hard times. I've been thinking about something you mentioned. That revolution, the revolutionary era in America wasn't made quickly, but steeped over a century. Well, it was over several centuries if you think about English common law and the rest of it. But yeah, in the colonies it was over a century. And that the trials and often the awful social media climate of the last 10 years is fomenting a new generation of liberty culture that will hopefully stand up for freedom. He thinks there will be a significant backlash. Interesting. But then he says something I thought was beautifully simple. I think this starts with us bending the culture back towards sanity. So thanks for being a voice for that effort. Culture is what do we celebrate and what do we shame.

[Getty]

Ah, that's pretty good.

[Armstrong]

That is a beautifully simple. Some would say oversimplified, but I don't know, it's like a paragraph heading. Culture is what do we celebrate and what do we shame. Or as the great Samuel Huntington put it, culture is how we do things around here.

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[Getty]

And it's such a bigger deal than people realize because there's, there's all, there's the stuff that you're aware of, like constantly aware of culture, be like, you know, like food and clothes and music,

[Armstrong]

but then that's nothing.

[Getty]

All of the stuff that you're not aware of, the whole a fish doesn't know he's wet because you're swimming in it sort of thing. That is the culture of, you know, not having corruption, for instance. We don't have a culture of corruption in this country.

[Armstrong]

How do government officials behave in reference to citizens?

[Getty]

We have a culture.

[Armstrong]

How should a husband?

[Getty]

Well, we just played that story of Nick Shirley and $19 million at the old folks home or whatever. But we don't have a culture of it like they have in a lot of countries where you just expect to get shaken down by the cops when you get pulled over. It's just part of the deal, right?

[Armstrong]

Except in a place as utterly corrupt as California, there is outrage and trials and jail sentences for people who do this as opposed to a wink and a nod. And that's just how we do like, you know, the greatest example was in Afghanistan where we were trying to stamp out quote, unquote corruption. And they would try to tell us it's not corruption. That's how we do it. If you want a housing permit, you give the permit guy, you know, the equivalent of 20 bucks or whatever. We don't see that as corruption. It's a tip. It's a little thanks for the effort. It's all cultural. And culture, as I started to say, it's, you know, the relationship between a man and a woman, a husband and a wife, a parents and a child, a traffic cop and the person he pulls over. There are a thousand examples of it. Culture matters more than anything. And western civilization, the US in particular, has a very well developed and wonderful culture. And the people who poo poo it or are large breasted ignoramuses like AOC and she's pretty, that's the only reason she gets any attention. They are ignoramuses and they're dangerous.

[Getty]

Well, and then the fact, that's why it makes some of us so mad. The fact that we're giving it away once again. Last night I was at CVS and we had to ring the bell to have some 20 year old come unlock the shampoo. The culture used to be that you just couldn't walk into a store and just steal stuff and walk away with it. It was a combination of the culture and the, you know, the price that would be paid for committing the crime. But nobody accepted that. Now it's just accepted. It drives me nuts. The young people at CVS don't know, I'm guessing that it hasn't always been that way. It's been that way since they were 10 years old. So it's always been that way in their life. So all of us who remember a day when you could have shampoo on the shelf will be dead.

[Armstrong]

Right. Right.

[Getty]

How frustrating is that?

[Armstrong]

They're locking up my toothpaste. It used to be to be a sheep, to be. I'm sorry. To be a shoplifter, to be a thief was entirely a matter of shame. And now people are actually taught, like in universities, that they're, they're looting it back. They're. It's the proper response of the poverty stricken to the patriarchy. Blah, blah, blah.

[Getty]

I Caramba, Al Sharpton and I are in agreement on that. They're locking up my toothpaste.

[Armstrong]

They're locking up my toothpaste. Yeah, it's ridiculous, isn't it, Al?

[Getty]

Wow, What a way to live. All right, stay here.

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Armstrong and Getty.

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[Getty]

how are you doing? Still no indication that Iran's gonna show up to the peace talks. Can't have peace talks if one side doesn't show up. More on that later.

[Armstrong]

All right, this is funny. Gerard Baker, Wall Street Journal opinion writer, commenting on J.D. vance's challenging the Pope on theology, and Jerry Baker has written The Book of J.D. king James Version, and I will just quote it. And it came to pass at that time that a man named Donald came forth from the land of Queens, across the great east river from the city they called the New Jerusalem. Now this Trumpite was a master builder and a skilled storyteller, but he was not at first a man of God. He built vast temples to mammon, some of which, heavy with debt, collapsed in a heap. He had lain with many women, numbering more than his wives. It was even said that he had kept company with a man from Sodom known as Epstein the the Night. But Donald was anointed by God. And this was as if J.D. vance wrote it. Okay, but Donald was anointed by God to lead the chosen people out of the slavery into which they had fallen under the wicked rule of the House of the Democrats. They were led by a man named Obama. Obama was a false prophet. He came out of Africa and had spent years in the wilderness of the east and the West. He was silver tongued and worshiped by the scribes who falsely proclaimed him the Messiah. But he visited many torments upon the people. Affordable care, emissions rules and restrictions on their lending practices. God's wrath was upon him. So when the Obamaites anointed the wife of a former prophet, the woman known as Hillary, as their next leader, the people rebelled. Though he faced a vast alliance of the elect, Donald smote Hillary and her cohorts in battle after battle, and with a single blast of his trumpet brought down the Blue wall of the Middle west, their great fortress. For four years, he ruled the people with justice and goodness. He smote all the tribes of the enemy, the Obamaites and Clintonians, the woke ites, the fake scribes and the rhinos and the spies of the deep state. He brought great prosperity throughout the land as he freed his people from burdensome taxes and onerous rules. But in the fourth year of his reign, God sent forth a plague to test the people. And the people were sore afraid. They listened not to the voice of their leader and fell among themselves with protest and rioting, even if it was mostly peaceful. In the afraid, the Democrats seized their chance to destroy the prophet, led by the ancient Joseph, a priest from the family of Biden, who at 935 years old was the cousin of Methuselah. The Bidenites stole the battle from the Trump Heights with much chicanery and cheating. And having wickedly deposed him, they set about to crush Donald. And then they go into. But here's the part I wanted to get to. So it happened that before long, Biden had grown so old that his priests could no longer even keep his eyes open to sign orders. So the tribe of the Democrats brought forth an another woman, this one called Kamala, and they said, you're out, Joe. This is the anointed one to continue our work. But Kamala was weak minded and had a laugh like a donkey. That grievously alarmed the people. And so in the final battle, the Trumpites again prevailed, smiting Kamala. And he goes on at some length with this mock Bible story about Trump. Oh, my, my. Oh, boy, these are odd times.

[Getty]

So we were told the comments that the Pope made the other day were not directed at Donald Trump.

[Armstrong]

No, apparently he took pains. And the media did not report this because it ruined their whole Pope versus Trump narrative that got so many clicks. Those were written weeks in advance about a trip to Africa, which is horrifically war torn by tyrants, no doubt. And he'd said specifically, look, I don't want anybody to take this against anybody specific. But again, the media covered that up and trumped up pardon me the idea that it was Trump versus Pope and we were fooled and I'm bitterly disappointed.

[Getty]

I think it is true though that they did not decry the Iranians massacre in tens of thousands of people in the street.

[Armstrong]

Pretty sure that's true. I have not heard that refuted anywhere. Correct, which is something I'd say.

[Getty]

We will check in on that whole peace talk thing where we are and a couple other stories around it coming up in a little bit.

[Commercial Announcer]

Armstrong and Getty the countdown is on for the 2026 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light. Catch all seven rounds three days live from Pittsburgh, April 23rd through 25th. Watch every pick live on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC. NFL Network is also streaming with NFL Plus. It all starts Thursday at 8pm Eastern. Visit NFL.com draft for more information. Subscription required for NFL Plus. Visit Plus.NFL.com for terms if you're feeling

[Inner Balance Advertiser]

off fatigue, mood changes, skin shifts, yet your labs say everything's normal. You're not alone. Meet Oestra from Inner Balance, the first all in one prescription strength bioidentical hormone cream that's natural and effective and only takes one drop, 10 seconds a day. Oester replaces five to six products women typically use to treat symptoms and is third party tested to ensure the highest quality quality. Visit innerbalance.com today to start feeling like yourself again.

[Commercial Announcer]

That's innerbalance.com People, don't listen to radio ads while you're driving or making a sandwich. Your subconscious pays full attention, so relax. Let it take over.

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[Julian Edelman]

This is Julian Edelman from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jewels. One thing I've learned over the years, before you head out on any adventure, you gotta be ready to stay hydrated because dehydration ruins the fun faster than you can spell it. Pretty sure there's a Y in there somewhere. I was a slot receiver, not a spelling bee champ. Speaking of adventures, Liquid IV has been rolling with us for a while now. Total pros. Pro show up, does the job, makes everyone better. We're pumped to have them on the team and trust me, you'll be thankful to have them with you when dehydration tries to sneak up on you. No playbook required. All you got to do is tear, pour and enjoy. Go to liquid IV.com and use the code nuthouse for 20% off your first purchase. And check us out on YouTube or listen to dudes on dudes on the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Armstrong]

There are new questions tonight and few answers into 11 missing or dead scientists vanished or killed over the past three years. There's a coordinated investigation across various branches of the government. Energy Secretary Chris Wright yesterday noting an intensifying probe taking place inside the halls of the Energy Department, Department, War Department and White House. We haven't found anything alarming yet. At least 11 scientists have been killed or have disappeared over the past three years.

[Getty]

Wow. So now even Special Report on FOX is doing this story and you explained it yesterday, which I think it's fascinating that this is occurring.

[Armstrong]

Right. The umbrella that FOX News used is scientists who are tied to US Secrets, which as I'm scanning and this is some great reporting from the National Review, includes a bunch of scientists in a bunch of fairly unrelated fields

[Getty]

over three years.

[Armstrong]

Right. Who've come to various not good fates or are missing currently. But if you take the sheer number of scientists who've quote, unquote, worked on what was that stuff tied to US Secrets, including metals, propulsion systems, fuels, astronomy. You're talking about tens of thousands of scientists, Right.

[Getty]

You use the example yesterday. Like be like if you said former professional athletes, 80 have died in the last three years and several are missing.

[Armstrong]

Right.

[Getty]

And act like there's something going on other than just, you know, old age and random illnesses in a large group of people.

[Armstrong]

They mentioned that. In particular, the Daily Mail goes on to connect the two disappearances, which are both were hiking in the Southwest, to those disappearance they to the deaths of three scientists in unrelated fields of research. MIT physicist Nuno Loureiro, who was shot by a former classmate in Portugal astrophysicist Carl Grillmare, who was shot to death on his front porch. And Jason Thomas, the assistant director of chemical biology at drugmaker Novartis, whose remains were discovered last month in Massachusetts. And you've got like one congressman who says, yeah, we need to look into this so they can claim even the US Congress is involved. All right.

[Getty]

Okay. So you don't think there's anything to the dying or disappearing scientist story?

[Armstrong]

No, I think it's the perfect example of, of what you can get going on the Internet if you have a big enough pool and a premise. Like I could easily build the premise that, you know, we used former NFL players or, you know, former school teachers in where my kids grew up, Placer County, California. You give me long enough, I will come up with 10 of them who are either victims of crimes or disappeared or whatever.

[Getty]

Please, please. Speaking of the Internet, you have to be online to even be aware that this controversy has happen. But we'll mention it anyway. It's one of these one day online dust ups that happens around Twitter. It does include what National Review calls the worst senator in America. That'd be Senator Chris Coons of Connecticut. Is that him or Matthew Murphy? Chris Murphy. I'm sorry, Chris Coons I actually like. As far as Democrats go, Chris Murphy is the worst senator in America according to the National Review. And once you become aware of that and you start seeing him on all the Sunday shows and the cable shows, he is a bomb chucking asshat. So he made a comment on a story yesterday that got a lot of attention. Let's start with tree yings of Fox setting up what the story actually is.

[Armstrong]

The United States is allowing any vessels who are passing through this area to make their way to their final destination, as long as they're not coming from Iranian ports. There were some reports overnight indicating that 26 vessels from Iran's shadow fleet were able to make it past the US Blockade. There is no evidence of that. And despite what one Democratic senator talked about, there is a concerted effort by the United States to ensure that any vessels that are coming from Iranian ports are turned around or seized. As we saw with that one cargo ship over the weekend, the 26 vessels

[Getty]

that got through our blockade, that is from the Iranian propaganda world. They just put out a post lying because, you know, in, in war, all is fair and love and war. They put out a post lying, saying that they had 26 vessels that got through. The disappointing thing was that a U.S. senator, Chris Murphy, responded to that post by saying, awesome. To 26 vessels getting through our blockade. And then that caused a real dust up of what kind of senator is rooting against our blockade being successful, et cetera. This is Senator Murphy explaining himself.

[Armstrong]

Twitter's become kind of a cesspool. I probably should give up on sarcasm on Twitter. Obviously anybody that's seen anything that I

[Getty]

have said about Trump's war knows that

[Armstrong]

I think it's bungled, mismanaged, and he should end it as quickly as possible.

[Getty]

But sarcasm is not something, I guess,

[Armstrong]

that's allowed on Twitter any longer. Do you regret the post? Are you planning on taking it down?

[Getty]

Are you going to keep it up?

[Armstrong]

I mean, I guess I just have to be more careful about sarcasm. Sarcasm on, on Twitter? Yeah. What sarcasm? In what way, you lying piece of crap.

[Getty]

But just the Whole thing is just. Are you going to apologize or take it down? What are we doing? Why?

[Armstrong]

What? What? We're not a serious country anymore.

[Getty]

We are not. And those of you who. Probably not. Very many of you who follow the daily online controversy and the.

[Armstrong]

Will. Who's down?

[Getty]

Will they apologize or take it down or resp. Who clapped back or whatever. Oh, my God. I find it all so tiring and unproductive in every way when we have

[Armstrong]

important things to talk about, like Miss Universe Puerto Rico has announced their second transgender contestant. Oh, boy. Now, this is significant. This just came out five minutes ago. J.D. vance is attending policy meetings at the White House ahead of an expected trip to Islamabad. Paid in talks. No. With Iranian negotiators courting the White House trip comes as a ceasefire winds down. Hope to hammer out a deal, blah, blah, blah. A schedule for Vance's trip has not been published, nor has the timing of the meetings in Pakistan.

[Getty]

I swear to God, I heard that JD Vance is on his way to Pakistan several times this morning. When I got up, I don't know,

[Armstrong]

22 minutes ago, the Wall Street Journal said, iran says ceasefire talks can resume only after the US Lifts the blockade. I'm starting. Won't even talk.

[Getty]

I'm starting to think that.

[Armstrong]

That he's.

[Getty]

JD Fence isn't even going to head over there.

[Armstrong]

No, no, this. It's not going to happen. It's ridiculous. They're farcical. The idea that they're going to sit down, try to hammer out an agreement. It's hilarious.

[Getty]

Okay, well, then is it farcical that there is a deadline tomorrow in which Trump says he's going to start blowing up bridges and power plants?

[Armstrong]

Oh, no, no, that's real. I hope he sticks with it because he's being strung along and played as a fool by the Iranians. It's Farsi co, if you will. Is Iran gonna stick a bunch of kids out there again like they were doing?

[Getty]

Oh, yeah, good point. Good. Good question, Michael. Because the last time when Trump threatened to end a civilization, they had a bunch of people linking arms around the bridges and the power plants.

[Armstrong]

Well, it's time to play a little whack a moa. That's my second stupid pun in 30 seconds. Wow.

[Getty]

You'll just go roll with this sort of crap.

[Armstrong]

We'll just go where the human shields aren't and pound the bejesus out of them. Them. And they'll rush them over there. We'll blast where they were and the

[Getty]

rest of it, Farsi coal and whack a muller all within a minute.

[Armstrong]

That's some good stuff. If the irg I got one more for you. If the IRGC thinks they can take on the United States, they're out of their revolutionary gourds.

[Getty]

What?

[Armstrong]

Come on, come on. Tough crowd today. Is this thing working?

[Getty]

The revolutionary gourd? Oh, boy.

[Armstrong]

You gotta laugh to keep yeah, it's

[Getty]

the lighter side of lots of people are gonna die tomorrow probably.

[Armstrong]

Well, many, many more are gonna die if we don't restrain them from getting an atomic weapon. You got to remember that.

[Getty]

I do want to check in on the 10 year anniversary on the death of a musical icon that is being noted today. Among other things, will finish strong next

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Armstrong and Getty

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[Armstrong]

go back and talk to him afterwards and he was just amazing and he said the most awesome Prince thing ever, which was I was just chatting with him and I asked him, you know, I said, you still live in Minnesota, don't you? And we were in Europe at the time. We were in London. And he just turns and he looks me right in the eye and he goes, I live inside my own heart Matt Damon

[Getty]

I live inside my own

[Armstrong]

heart Live inside my own heart Matt

[Getty]

Damon Matt Damon recounting meeting Prince who died 10 years ago today. So there's a lot of Prince stuff floating around online, including a bunch of new songs that they're going to release or remastering some old songs which I'll probably check out because I like Prince. He died. He was 57. Fentanyl overdose, self administered. He was recreationally taking fentanyl and hoping it would work out. I guess As a nearly 60 year old dude, not the best idea.

[Armstrong]

Even if you know precisely what grade of fentanyl you're getting, you would have to be incredibly conscientious to mix it properly so you didn't kill yourself.

[Getty]

And for the kind of money he had anyway. Eric Clapton asked once, what's it like to be the world's greatest guitar player? He said, I don't know. You'd have to ask Prince. If you've never watched Prince doing his guitar solo at the Rock and Roll hall of Fame when they did While My Guitar Gently Weeps. And you don't know about Prince's guitar playing ability. He I think he clearly could have just been a guitar God if he wanted to be, but he just wasn't interested in it.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, right. Yeah. He just wanted to do everything.

[Getty]

Yeah. What is it with people like that in those brains.

[Armstrong]

I hate them.

[Getty]

Well, that's all.

[Armstrong]

I hate them.

[Getty]

But anyway, here's my favorite Prince story that I like. And I don't remember who I heard say this but. So his, his house, his recording studio that is there in Minnesota is now a museum. You can tour or something. I'd love to do that.

[Armstrong]

But Paisley park, right?

[Getty]

Yeah. Actually I heard Eddie Murphy telling the story the other day about being at Prince's studio one time and Prince said, hey, let's play some basketball. So Prince went and changed into like shorts and. And gym shoes and a tank top and they went out and played basketball. And Prince like was really good at it and tried really, really hard and dribbling around between his legs making baskets. Like took it very seriously. Then they went back in the house. But anyway, I heard somebody telling the story about how Prince wore the. He was. He dressed the way he dressed on stage like in real life all the time. And it was somebody who worked at the Starbucks there nearby and he would ride his bike up in his like skin tight pants and really high heels and a cape to the Starbucks and there were no pockets in those kind of pants. So he'd be carrying his money in his hand and he'd go in and get a venti mocha or whatever and go back and get on his bike in his weird Prince outfit. Right back home with his mocha. Funny story, he had to keep his

[Armstrong]

money in his sweaty fist like he was an 8 year old.

[Getty]

Pockets in his skin tight lycra pants.

[Armstrong]

The fact that he had a cape. I know, wow. Or like the really fluffy billowy open neck whatever he's wearing that day. Prince like outfit. Yeah. That's so interesting.

[Getty]

It really is, huh?

[Armstrong]

Yeah. I suppose there are probably interviews with prints that are really, really interesting. But. But a guy like that usually becomes really, really guarded too. Yeah, he. Yeah.

[Getty]

Everything I've ever heard with him. He's very weird. I was just reading how Purple Rain was originally a country song that he wanted Fleetwood Mac to do and he sent it to Stevie Nicks and thought Lindsay Buckingham would be playing the guitar and they didn't want to do it for whatever reason. Whatever.

[Armstrong]

Wild, wild. Just another stray musical note. If you're into YouTube at all and a musician, you know, Rick Beato and his interviews. Even he did a long one with Bruce Hornsby that was absolutely amazing. If you're into that sort of thing. Anyway, this is a complete change of topic, but I thought it was great that Nellie Bowles, who writes for the Free Press. She does a Friday newsletter, tgif. It's usually very, very funny. A couple of samples that I saved from last week. TGIF welcomes TMZ to DC tmz, the celebrity news outlet, is now opening a new Washington, D.C. bureau. Good luck, boys. Go get a. A word of advice for those of you who have never spent time in our nation's capital. It's the opposite of Hollywood. It is not a hot city. The schlubbier, the man, the more powerful he is. That guy with the soup stain on his khakis invented the swing state. The woman with a lazy eye and no teeth is the chair of the Ways and Means Committee. Act accordingly.

[Getty]

Oh, wow.

[Armstrong]

Hey, boy. And then. I like this one. This is actually pretty good. Happy tax week. Remember to thank your local rich people. The top 1% of earners pay 40% of all federal income taxes. The top 10% pay 72%. The bottom 50 pay about 3%. I want you to find your local investment bank associate, the pharmaceutical company vp, your local lawyer for Chevron, your local private equity bundler of Laundromats, and say thank you, sir, for the roads and the bus drivers salaries and stuff. These are the men and women holding America together. It's enough glorifying farmers and teachers. It's time to celebrate America's true backbone. People making $700,000 a year and paying half that in taxes. Yeah, that's right. It's time to celebrate the rich. Is our tax system skewed enough? Nope, not at all. It must be more. And then she shows a tweet by the Democratic Party. Tax the rich. That was on April 15th. They tweeted that. And then some wisdom amidst her humor, which is always how she writes. We talk about universal basic income as something that might be necessary in the future when AI takes all the jobs. But sweetheart, we have UBI at home and everybody absolutely hates the people footing the bills. To really sit with the reality of our tax base is to realize that without a small fraction of workers, society would be crumbled. Would crumble. Rather that if all the underemployed multimedia artists of Brooklyn were left to their own devices, yelling at the sky. That doordash is a human right. And it's not their job to do the math on that. They would have no shelter and they would starve. Am I being dramatic? Well, I'll just say I deserve thank you notes from each and every one of you.

[Getty]

That's pretty good.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, no kidding. Society would crumble without the taxes of The Rich Final thoughts.

[Getty]

Here's your host for final thoughts, Jim. Joe Getty.

[Armstrong]

Let's get a final thought from everybody on the crew to wrap up the show. There he is, pressing the buttons in the control room. Michelangelo, our technical director. Michael, lead us off. Oh yeah. A little bit of advice for the new CEO of Apple who's an engineer. Keep your products simple. So many engineers that create these products that can do tons of stuff and they're impossible to use. The iPhone became popular because it was easy to use. Yep, true. Katie Greener, Steven themed newswoman has a final thought. Katie, also Apple related new CEO make Siri better. Please sign to the world. He's absolutely on it. It's an embarrassment. Jack, a final thought for us.

[Getty]

I don't usually do a headline for a final thought, but this just up on cnn. Trump to read Bible from Oval Office. Can't even imagine what. That's all right.

[Armstrong]

Some sort of bible reading marathon that's happening today. The Bible. My final thought. After affirmative action was banned and universities had to start judging kids on test scores and grades again, something strange happened at Johns Hopkins. This is an actual headline from education hub Asian enrollment at John Hops. Johns Hopkins is skyrocketing. No one can say why. Wow. There's just they're professional liars and radicals. The education establishment. Check them out. All of them.

[Getty]

And perfectly willing to be racist against people who are successful.

[Armstrong]

That's because it's not about race. It's about capture. Taking over institutions.

[Getty]

Armstrong and Getty wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.

[Armstrong]

Once you figure that out, it all makes sense. So many people. Thanks. So little time. Go to armstrong getty.com for the hot link for Katie's Corner. Drop us a note mailbag@armstrong giddy.com pick up some a swag. I'm wearing a welcome to the Spicy Times T shirt right now and so should you.

[Getty]

Yep, got got a lot of cool stuff there. Check it out. We will see tomorrow. God bless America.

[Armstrong]

Armstrong and get it Ladies are holding hands and crazy run around. Tim Cook is hitting the road. A dead scientist mystery and AI don't you see it'll change our lives for the better. Probably worse. The Armstrong and Getty show guiding you through the madness. Get the podcast. Armstrong and Getty on demand. Armstrong and Getty.

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The countdown is on for the 2026 NFL Draft. Presented by Bud Light. Catch all seven rounds three days live from Pittsburgh, April 23rd through 25th. Watch every pick live on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC. NFL Network is also streaming with NFL it all starts Thursday at 8pm Eastern. Visit NFL.com draft for more information. Subscription required for NFL plus, visit plus.NFL.com for terms.

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That's innerbalance.com People don't listen to radio ads while you're driving or making a sandwich. Your subconscious pays full attention, so relax. Let it take over.

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[Getty]

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