What Is The Point Of This Show?!

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: What Is The Point Of This Show?!

Date: September 25, 2025
Host: iHeartPodcasts
Main Hosts: Jack Armstrong, Joe Getty

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the complex intersection of current events, political violence, and societal malaise in America, toggling between light-hearted banter and sobering analysis. Armstrong and Getty muse on the function and tone of their show ("What is the point of this show?!") while diving into hard news—ranging from baseball achievements to mass shootings, international intrigue, and economic trends. The theme centers around America’s disconnection, its yearning for connection through simpler shared experiences (like sports), and the dangers of political and ideological estrangement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Opening: Sports, Unity, and Light-Heartedness

• Baseball as a Unifier:
  • Celebrating Seattle Mariners catcher “Big Dumper” Cal Raleigh’s record-breaking home run season.
  • Reflection on Aaron Judge and the steroid era’s impact on baseball's meaning for Americans ([01:08]).
  • Quote:
    • “Is there any chance we can get America to watch sports again or something and just be able to come together?” – Joe Getty ([03:10])
  • Frustration that even sports become politicized due to athletes’ off-field statements.

2. Political Violence and Its Roots

• Recent Shootings & Public Sentiment:
  • Referencing the latest politically-motivated shootings (e.g., ICE facility, left-wing activist in Sacramento) ([04:57]).
  • Highlight: 82% of Americans believe political discourse fuels violence, per Quinnipiac poll ([04:12]).
  • Quote:
    • “And the other 18% are wrong or stupid.” – Joe Getty ([04:27])
• Expert Theory on Mass Shootings:
  • Many mass shootings are "suicide dressed in a cause," with perpetrators adopting a cause late, desiring notoriety ([05:35], [06:09]).
  • Social media and fame culture’s influence:
    • “If I kill myself alone in my apartment, which is the way almost everybody's killed themselves throughout history, it has no meaning. I've got to. It's got to get some attention.” – Jack Armstrong ([07:49])
• Changing Aspirations:
  • Young people’s primary goal is often to be famous, compounding risks when mixed with inner turmoil ([08:41]).

3. Shifting to International Affairs

• Finland’s Philosophy on Crises:
  • Reference to Finland’s calm approach: “Take a sauna, take a nice bath and then take the right action.” ([10:11])
• Trump’s Stance on the Ukraine War:
  • Joe’s “Thursday Theory”: Trump’s position is not a complete reversal but a nuanced shift—suggesting Europe should arm Ukraine, with the US playing mostly a supplier’s role ([21:49]).
    • Quote:
      • "It's not an 180 degrees, it's 90... At no point does he suggest that the United States will do anything but sell armaments to Europe." – Joe Getty ([22:58])
• China and Russia’s Growing Military Cooperation:
  • Chinese drone experts seen collaborating with Russian state arms makers ([17:52]).
  • Broader implication: proxy alliances hardening into outright blocks—US/NATO vs. Russia/China/Iran ([19:28]).
• Drone Warfare and War Economics:
  • Iranian Shahed drones as cost-effective tools to wear down Western air defenses.
  • US and Allied munitions stockpiles are being depleted faster than can be replenished ([21:00], [21:22]).

4. Domestic Economics & Starbucks’ Contraction

• Starbucks Store Closures:
  • Hundreds of stores shutting down—interpreted as a sign of consumer financial tightening and possible economic headwinds ([16:21], [28:40]).
  • Analysis: Cutting discretionary spending (e.g., expensive coffee) seen as an early indicator of broader belt-tightening.
  • Quote:
    • “It almost seems like it could be an economic principle that they use Starbucks as an example. That could be like one of the very first things you give up when you. You got to start tightening the belt.” – Jack Armstrong ([29:18]).

5. Media Roundup with Katie Green ([12:08])

• Brief summaries from major news outlets on:
  • ICE facility shooting being investigated as targeted violence.
  • Strong US economic growth.
  • UN technical mishaps during Trump’s visit (leading him to claim “triple sabotage”).
  • DOJ seeking indictment of James Comey.
  • North Korea’s nuclear program expansion.
  • White House's Presidential Walk of Fame with a satirical twist.
  • Aging population health, satirical take from Babylon Bee.

6. Mailbag & Listener Feedback ([32:03])

• Listener concerns about escalating violence and social rifts in America.
• Self-deprecating humor about the downbeat tone of the show:
  • Quote:
    • “We decided our new slogan should be Mushroom clouds and chuckles. The Armstrong and Getty show.” – Joe Getty ([34:04])
• Discussion on public vs. private education and “woke” policies in schools.
• Reflections on the importance of personal legacy and family over public fame.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Political Discourse:
  • “We're diseased, friends. Diseased.” – Joe Getty ([03:54])
• On Violence and Fame:
  • “A lot of the times it's a suicide dressed in a cause.” – Jack Armstrong ([06:09])
• On American Disunity:
  • “Hey, our fence is sagging. We ought to pitch in and. And fix that together, neighbor. Yeah. What are your politics?” – Joe Getty ([03:45])
• Listener Mailbag:
  • “I can't decide if you guys are sarcastically hysterical or the world's best salespeople for antidepressants like Xanax or both.” – Listener Jim from Houston ([33:58])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |------------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:08 | Celebrating Cal Raleigh’s home run record & baseball nostalgia | | 03:10 | The role of sports as a means to national unity | | 04:12 | Poll: 82% link political discourse to violence | | 06:09 | Insight: Mass shootings as “suicide dressed in a cause” | | 10:11 | Finland’s approach: stay calm in crisis | | 17:52 | Report on Chinese-Russian drone cooperation | | 21:49 | Joe's "Thursday Theory" on Trump & Ukraine | | 28:40 | Starbucks announces major store closures | | 32:03 | Mailbag, discussion on the tone and legacy of the show | | 34:04 | “Mushroom clouds and chuckles” – self-aware humor |

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Tone and Style

The episode oscillates between sardonic wit, pop culture references, and substantive analysis. Armstrong and Getty use a conversational, occasionally irreverent style—often lampooning themselves, political leaders, news coverage, and sometimes even listener emails.

• Frequent satire: e.g., mocking their own show’s gloomy tendencies (“Mushroom clouds and chuckles”)
• Banter and inside jokes: e.g., riffing on East Coast elite baby names, listener mail references to pop culture.
• Direct, sometimes blunt language: “The other 18% are wrong or stupid.”

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Conclusion

"What is the point of this show?" The episode offers no easy answers but grapples with this question by dissecting news, social phenomena, and everyday American anxieties. Through humor and candor, Armstrong and Getty aim to illuminate the cracks in both society and media discourse, ultimately seeking connection and solace in shared acknowledgment of America's troubles—and the hope for improvement.

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For listeners:
This episode takes you from record-breaking home runs to the frontlines of American and global discord, with plenty of laughs amidst the concern. By turns sobering and sardonic, it's a snapshot of America's divides, its search for meaning, and the daily balancing act between despair and hope.

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[B]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty live from Studio C. Senor.

[A]

It is a dimly lit room deep within the bowels, the Armstrong and getting communications compound. The bowels, I tell you. And today a little Friday, we're under the tutelage of our general manager.

[B]

Are you looking for serious and impactful or light hearted?

[A]

I think I prefer light hearted.

[B]

Gay if you will.

[A]

Gay as in happy or gay as in homosexual?

[B]

Certain. What?

[A]

Yes, I would like light hearted.

[B]

Our general manager this morning. Today. Big Dumper. Okay, Big Dumper. That is the charming nickname of young Cal Raleigh who's the catcher for the Seattle Mariners who just hit his 60th home run. He is the home run hitnest catcher in the history of the game and a hell of a nice young man.

[A]

I remember talking about Big Dumper earlier in the season.

[B]

All Star Game.

[A]

Interesting. Maybe, maybe it was. But I didn't realize he was on track to hit 60 home runs. Holy crap.

[B]

Yeah, he's having an amazing year. And to have the most grueling, crippling position in baseball, have that sort of offensive capability or productivity is crazy.

[A]

And dump all you want. I hope you dump a lot.

[B]

Oh boy. Oh, Mr. President.

[A]

Well, I was reading some of the stats on Aaron Judge from the New York Yankees who's who's just like among the best players who's ever lived and thinking it all got ruined by the steroid era because the mainstream casual fan got in their head. 70 home runs is a big deal. 60, who cares? 50, who cares? Because the weird steroid area where everything was out of whack and you got a couple players that you take away the steroid area, the era they're having, seasons people haven't had in 60 years or 100 years if you're Aaron Judge. But you just don't. It just doesn't resonate the same way because it got blown out of proportion.

[B]

In this piece about Kyle Raleigh. They mentioned other great heavy hitters in the steroid era and the short porch in Yankee Stadium that Babe Ruth and Roger Marish could just poke out like medium length fly balls constantly. And they also point out that Mr. Judge, Aaron Judge of the Yankees is 6 foot 7, 280 pounds.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And are we sure he's just one ball player and he's two guys and.

[A]

Is gonna suit and is gonna be the batting champ this year hitting for percentage.

[B]

He's an amazing baseball. That is incredible for a guy that size. Yeah. And I just, I, you know, it's funny. As we're talking about this, my mood is lifting. Is there any chance we can get America to watch sports again or something and just be able to come together and. Oh, my God. Did you see Aaron Judge last night? Yeah, I think he hit that ball 500ft. What are your politics? I don't care. It was kind of a cool game.

[A]

What is it? Well, I found a tweet from Aaron Judge about immigration from five years ago and so I won't watch him.

[B]

Right, right, right.

[A]

God dang it, you're right.

[B]

Hey, our fence is sagging. We ought to pitch in and. And fix that together, neighbor. Yeah. What are your politics?

[A]

Good Lord.

[B]

We're diseased friends. Diseased.

[A]

Well, somewhat to that point. To get slightly more serious on a day after more political violence. A poll that's getting a lot of attention. Do you think the way people talk about politics these days are contributing to violence?

[B]

Says the fascist.

[A]

According to Quinnipiac, one of your legit polling organizations, 82% of people. Obviously that has to include people from both parties. 82% of people say yes, the way people talk about politics is contributing to violence.

[B]

And the other 18% are wrong or stupid.

[A]

Correct. Yeah. If you say no, what is your. What kind of person are you?

[B]

What, what did the.

[A]

I don't even know. You're a troll or something. And by the way, the other question of how serious a problem do you think political violence is today? 71% very serious, 22% somewhat serious, for a total of 93.

[B]

Well, that's good.

[A]

It is good.

[B]

It took as much violence as we've seen to get there. But yeah, at least people are aware. I mean, there have been some high pro. You know what? That is exactly the wrong term. There have been some what should have been very high profile shootings lately. They happen to have come from the left. There's plenty of right wing violence as well. But the shooting up of the ICE facility, which we're going to talk about. The shooting up of a Sacramento, California television station by Elect. Left wing activist, lawyer guy. The number of people who think, you know what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna shoot somebody is way too high. Right.

[A]

That's why we, we should get into. Joe and I happen to take in lecture on a podcast from an expert who's been looking into people who can, who, who commit these high profile shooting things, whether it's school shootings, workplace shootings, assassinations, whatever. And there's a commonality that runs through a lot of it that I think would all be better off embracing and understanding. One of the things being that a lot of the times it's a suicide dressed in a cause.

[B]

Right.

[A]

The research that the person had been doing or the time the person had been spending on talking to people was all about suicide for a long time before they pick a target to wrap it around.

[B]

But if they kill themselves alone in their home, it will be completely unsung and unnoticed except by the people closest to them. So how do I, as an angry person, get lots and lots of people to recognize my performative suicide? Wait a minute. If I kill a bunch of other people, everyone will pay attention and. Well, go ahead.

[A]

It's possible. You remember back in the day, workplace shootings were a thing that kind of went away and schools became very popular. I wonder if it's going to migrate to politics now. Oh, the way you get all the attention is pick a political figure.

[B]

And to that point, the other aspect of this expert's studies that really, really interested me was that so many of people are what we were just describing or something close to it. They were the desire to kill, looking for a cause. And they would latch onto a cause and not be like, super into it. They'd learn some of the lingo and post online. But as this expert pointed out, and it was so eloquent, he said they didn't labor for years trying to change minds. They didn't put everything they had into the cause for. For ages. They weren't marching and, and lobbying and demonstrating and spending their life.

[A]

No.

[B]

They just kind of latched onto it, then decided, yeah, that's good enough. Now let's kill some people.

[A]

Yeah. There are almost no examples of people who were part of a group or running for office or anything like that to try to change a situation. Their first, like, real efforts to change a situation is violence, partially because they want to kill themselves and have a reason. I think it's interesting the way it fits in with this weird thing that a lot of us have where if I don't post this somewhere, it didn't happen, whether it's my wedding, my vacation, my kids, first steps, or whatever. If I don't post this and somebody sees it like it has no meaning. And so that has transformed, transferred now to suicides. If I kill myself alone in my apartment, which is the way almost everybody's killed themselves throughout history, it has no meaning. I've got to. It's got to get some attention.

[B]

You know, it's funny, you read my mind. I was just going to say that. And I don't have the figures in front of me, but I think we've all seen them. That the goals of young people through the last handful of generations have changed markedly, mostly in the direction of everybody wants to be famous. I mean, everybody was aware of being famous in 1950 or whatever. It seemed like a nice idea, but it wasn't anything you really took seriously. Partly because it was practically impossible. But now, more than like wealth and a happy marriage, a successful career, more than virtually anything, I want to be famous. And you couple that with, you know, the other things we've been talking about and it's not a huge leap of logic. Okay. A suicide, everyone notices a cause I've just kind of latched on to. And I want to be famous. Let me think. Oh, and I'm troubled and angry and, and can't find a love and I have no purpose to my life and etc. Etc.

[A]

Yeah, I don't know how.

[B]

What we do. Well, yeah. What do we do about that?

[A]

Don't know, but that's some interesting stuff. We'll talk more about that later. And you know, get into the specific violence yesterday around the ice agents. Let's start the show officially so we don't end up with that FCC guy wanting to take us over there like Jimmy.

[B]

Oh, no.

[A]

I'm Jack Armstrong, he's Joe Getty on this. It is Thursday, September 25th, the year 2025. We are Armstrong and Getty and we approve of this program.

[B]

Let us begin then. Officially, according to FCC rules regs, the show starts at mark. They're sort of trying to see what we do do. We flinch. And I think the finish answer is to be cool, calm and collected, take a sauna, take a nice bath and then take the right action. I'm gonna incorporate that into my day to day struggles. A sauna and an ice bath.

[A]

Who dad?

[B]

That is the. The president. President or Prime Minister? The leader of Finland, Alexander Stubb.

[A]

Good.

[B]

Begolf, buddy of President Trump we've talked about a handful of times. He has outsized influence as the two have bonded.

[A]

And he's right there on the border with Russia. 800 mile border. And says we need to keep calm, collected, take a sauna.

[B]

That's a very Finnish attitude. Very Finnish. They are a calm people.

[A]

The world is still trying to figure out if Trump is serious about like really getting invested in helping Ukraine take back territory or if that was just shooting off his Mouth for a day and everything is status quo or whatever.

[B]

I reread his comments and I have a theory.

[A]

Okay, cool. Got on the way. Every Thursday morning we have Joe's theory so he can tune that in and Joe's Thursday theory. And then we've got Katie's headlines.

[B]

Coming up next, Armstrong and Getty.

[A]

So I just came across in Mark Halperin's newsletter today. I read every day. I read a whole bunch of different people's newsletters every day. But his newsletter today has what easily should be the biggest story of the day, and it has nothing to do with politics. We can get that coming up along with Joe's Thursday theory that he mentioned a little bit ago about what he thinks Trump is up to re his post about Ukraine.

[B]

Plus, the Fed is going to drop the rate and your mortgage rate will go up. Stay with us for the explanation. Why? What? Right now let's figure out who's reporting what. It's lead story with Katie Green. Katie, thank you, guys.

[C]

Starting with ABC director says ICE facilities are on high alert after deadly Dallas shooting as FBI investigates as, quote, act of targeted violence.

[A]

So there's a lot now of each side trying to make the claim that the other side is most of political violence. So I take this with a bit of a grain of salt, but at least MSNBC was reporting that this talking to this guy's like, brother and friends, they're like, he wasn't into politics at all.

[B]

Shocked by this. This sounds like a great example of what we were just talking about because he offed himself. This was a suicide. That he wanted to be noticed.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, because it seemed, you know, his bullets had killed fascists or whatever and he ended up shooting a bunch of detainees.

[A]

Yeah, it sounds like he may have adopted this cause like in the last week and needed a reason around his suicide. That's, that's disturbing.

[C]

From CNN. The US economy grew at a 3.8% rate in the second quarter quarter, significantly stronger than previously reported.

[A]

That's a pretty good number.

[B]

Dang.

[A]

Near 4%. Yeah, I'll take that.

[B]

Can't keep us down, America.

[A]

Hey, by the way, I grew at 3.8% last quarter myself.

[B]

Surprising economists and exceeding expectations.

[A]

Yes, it definitely exceeded expectations.

[C]

From USA Today, President Trump accuses the UN of, quote, triple sabotage after technical mishaps during his visit.

[B]

Yeah, triple sabotage.

[A]

I don't know. The fact that the escalator stopped the moment he and Melania stepped on it and then his teleprompter didn't work. It's an awful lot.

[C]

And apparently, if you didn't have an earpiece in, you couldn't hear him because the audio where he was speaking wasn't pumping through the speakers. So he was silent to everybody who didn't have one of those earbuds in.

[B]

You know, at some point, quantity is equality.

[A]

What would that shock anybody? That somebody involved with the UN Was trying to screw with Trump? Of course it wouldn't shock you. That's like. The whole thing is crazy. It's like an Occam's Razor thing practically.

[B]

Right. Well, especially because I guarantee some leakage of his speech occurred and his speech, as you may recall, included such notions as the hell's the point of this organization?

[A]

These are the two things I got from the United Nations. A bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much.

[C]

From the Washington Post, Justice Department will seek to indict Comey on allegations that he lied to Congress.

[A]

Yeah, I don't know if they're going to get him on the get. Be able to get him on the thing. They should. They should get him on, but I just don't know if there's any way, the way he got that whole Steele dossier into the media, briefed the President on it so he could. Then that whole thing was so awful, I don't know if it was.

[B]

Unfortunately, scumbaggery is not a crime.

[C]

From NBC, South Korea says the north has four uranium enrichment facilities to build nuclear weapons.

[B]

Wow. This is spicier and spicier.

[C]

Right. From Fox News, White House unveils presidential walk of Fame with Biden portrait replaced by auto pen image.

[B]

Really? They showed that on Special Report last night. You got portraits of all the presidents. And then in place of Biden, it's a picture of the auto pen for real.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Oh, that is. That's some elaborate trollery.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

From study finds think aging means decline. One in four ailing older adults bounce back to ideal health.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

And finally, from The Babylon Bee, us begs Bridget McCrone to please, please not submit photographic proof that she is a woman.

[B]

Oh, wow. That's just rude. That was. That's untoward.

[C]

Hilarious.

[A]

So here's a headline that just came across. Starbucks is going to close hundreds of stores across the country. Hundreds. It doesn't say how many hundreds, but it says hundreds and cut at least 900 jobs. Hmm. I don't know if that's an economy thing. Like a lot of the stuff we've been hearing about. People are maxed out. I don't know. I Don't think you were here for the economic story last week that half of the consumer spending is by the top 10% of people with money out there. So a lot of the consumer spending is two thirds of the economy. A lot of the consumer spending is a small number of people that feel like they got money. Everybody else, not so much. And I can drop it off the eight dollar coffee every day. Dropping that off.

[B]

How about the gigantic rise in the stock market powered by a few stocks.

[A]

Yeah. Like five bubble, anyone? Oof. Dang it. What is this show? What is the point of this show? We need to gather around and discuss.

[B]

What'S the point of what we do. Armstrong and Getty officials recently discovered a skull and human bones in a traveler's luggage at a Florida airport. But since it's Florida, they just made him check it.

[A]

How y' all doing? Before we get to Joe's theory of the day around Joe's Thursday theory.

[B]

Branding, Jack.

[A]

Branding. Right. Trying to brand a new feature about how serious Donald Trump is around the whole Ukraine thing, which could be, you know, one of the biggest stories in the world. This should be the biggest story in the world. According to Mark Halpern's newsletter today. This is being reported by Reuters, Chinese drone experts have flown to Russia to conduct technical development work on military drones at a state owned weapons manufacturer. According to two European security officials and documents that were seen by Reuters, the Chinese experts have visited arms maker, I can't pronounce it, Russian company, on more than half a dozen occasions since the second quarter of last year. We now know during that time they also received shipments of Chinese made attack and surveillance drones via a Russian intermediary, according to documents. So China has been helping develop the drones and supplying a lot of the equipment for quite a while, it looks like. So it's much more of a US against Russia and China and Iran than we even realized. Or NATO, the west against China, Russia and Iran. That is highly troubling. And then the whole proxy thing that we've talked about forever, why, why that works, you know, I don't exactly know. I mean, China is absolutely part of the war against Ukraine, which is on the other side of it is us, you know, Great Britain, Germany, France, the eu, in short.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, they are friends of convenience, Russia and China, no doubt. But, but a dangerous, dangerous coalition.

[A]

Well, right, Especially getting to what you're about to talk about. If, if, if Trump is serious about ukra, all their land back, maybe even more, and, you know, arming them in such a way and supporting them financially in such a way, then it's really China, Russia against the rest of the world.

[B]

Yeah, I'm not sure Trump is serious about that. He may just have been talking big. I wanted to mention very quickly on the topic of drones, a story every nation wants to copy. Iran's deadly Shaheed drone. Militaries around the world are seeking a low cost, easy to make way to exhaust an enemy's air defenses. That's why these things are so sought after. I mean, they're effective as an attacker in certain circumstances. We've seen that in Ukraine, certainly. But whether they're really, really effective is they're dangerous enough to provoke an anti aircraft response. Right.

[A]

And we haven't seen it be successful yet as Iran sent all those drones into Israel a couple of times and Russia does it like night after night after night, night after night after night. In Ukraine, I guess with the theory at some point they'll run out of the anti aircraft, anti missile stuff and then, and then, you know, all hell breaks loose.

[B]

Well, the math is undeniable that Western stocks of the shells, the ordinance, whatever the proper term is, is, are, are dwindling. Now, I can't remember what the latest estimates are for how much longer we can go at this rate, but it's shorter time than the time it would take to replace that ordinance.

[A]

And there's endings.

[B]

So they may be playing the long, long game.

[A]

And there's an incredible cost asymmetry.

[B]

Oh, yes. Oh, right, exactly. Another advantage of these Shahid drones and similar designs. Wow. This is not good. So Joe's Thursday theory, you were asking about what Trump's intentions really are toward Ukraine. The Ukraine Russia war.

[A]

People are calling it a 180, a giant about face. The biggest news story to come out of UN this week. It would be if it's real.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. I, my theory is that it's not, and I reread it's, it's a, it's a tweener. It's not an 180 degrees, it's 90. I was rereading his truth about the situation and he says repeatedly things like, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to win back and win all of Ukraine back in its original form with time, patience and the financial support of Europe, and in particular the NATO. NATO. The original borders from where this war started. Very much an option. Why not? And then he goes into some detail, but at no point, none, does he suggest that the United States will do anything but sell armaments to Europe. So like I say, it's 90 degrees. It's, it's away from the Biden. We'll give you just enough to survive plan. It's all right. You guys want some good offensive weaponry? We'll sell it. We'll sell all of it you want to.

[A]

And use it however you want.

[B]

Yeah, we use it however you want. Exactly. And in fact, Zelinsky, this news is just breaking, did an interview with somebody or other and he said of the Russian leadership, they have to know where the bomb shelters are. They need it. If they will not stop the war, they will need it. In any case, he insisted Ukraine would only target Kremlin officials and not civilians. Because we are not terrorists. They have to know that we in Ukraine, each day we will answer. If they attack us, we will answer them. And now he was meeting with Trump extensively this past week and he said, if they attack our energy, President Trump supports that we can answer on energy. He added too, that Kiev was seeking new long range weapons from the U.S. quote, We need it, but it doesn't mean we will use it because if we'll have it, I think it's additional pressure on Putin to sit and speak. Russia could use, let's see. Oh, and then Medvedev, who's always willing to shoot off his mouth, responded, russia could use weapons that a bomb shelter wouldn't protect against. The Americans should remember this. He replied on X.

[A]

Okay, that's a nuclear threat, obviously.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Well, that'll get damn spicy if, if we give the weapons paid for by NATO or however it would work, that Zelensky can really fire into Russia and Moscow and wherever else, taking out lead officials and energy grids and all kinds of things. That's going to get dang spicy.

[B]

Yeah, they'll go after the energy, I think first. But yeah, yeah, it will definitely up the ante.

[A]

Well, it's a heck of a cry from back in. Was it February? Sitting there with JD Vance yelling at him and Trump saying, you don't have the cards. You need to just give up your land. It's over. You can't win.

[B]

Right. And I don't blame Zelensky for being impatient. He, he shot off his mouth and, and he showed up the president in his own White House, which was a bad, bad strategic move. But remember, his message was, you're wasting your time trying to talk to Putin. Putin is a liar and a con man and he will just string you along. And, you know, it was a bad day for him. He lost patience and he shot off his mouth. But his message is absolutely landed now in the White House.

[A]

Okay, we. We can story after I ask one more question. Will China up their game in terms of supplying Russia if Ukraine's upping theirs?

[B]

That's. That's a great question. My level of certainty is low. The war in Ukraine doesn't do China any good except as a way to cement their frenemy relationship with Russia. It's an incredible inconvenience because it's rubbing the. This is a really unpleasant metaphor. Rubbing the relationship with America raw. Ew. I mean, we've got trade problems, we've got rivalry problems, and now we've got Ukraine problems from Xi Jinping's blistered, you know, terrible, inflamed perspective. It's terribly chafed. He'd be much better off if that particular friction point didn't exist. Remember who particularly. Who's the guy particularly.

[A]

But who's the guy in the White House? Orbit has an interesting name that's been. He was the one that announced we weren't going to send any more stuff.

[B]

Johnny, go F yourself. That's an interesting name. The guy with the interesting name.

[A]

What, nobody knew how to pronounce his name correctly? He's the one that stopped the arms shipment, remember, without Trump's approval. That was a big story there for like, three days. Like, who ordered this? Anyway, he's one of the we shouldn't be involved in Ukraine guys. His whole trainers. Yeah, he wanted the rest. No, no, no, no, no. Underneath Pete Hegseth. He's like the assistant guy. Why can't I think of his name? Anyway, he. His big argument was, China's loving this. We're draining our, you know, some of our most important arms, US and all of NATO and Europe that we're going to need if we end up at war with China.

[B]

Right, right. Harry Butz. Was that the fellow's name?

[A]

Seymour Butts. Ben Dover.

[B]

Oh, you gotta laugh to keep from crying. Friends. So here's a message from our friends at Trust and Will. This is not fun. This is not a groovy thing to do for your weekend, but it's very, very important that you have an estate plan so that the people you care about most know your wishes and don't you. Don't doom them to a long, bitter, expensive legal battle with the government weighing in and the lawyers getting all the money.

[A]

No.

[B]

Get in touch with our [e-mail] you.

[A]

Can avoid it pretty easily, starting at $199 for a custom estate plan that you manage yourself online. With all your documents in one place, bank level encryption, all kinds of help through chat, phone or email, live customer support where you can get this actually accomplished. And it's set up for your state. Different rules, different states.

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[A]

So the announcement that Starbucks closing hundreds of stores, doesn't that fit in with the whole. People are starting to drop off things that they don't necessarily need as expenditures because they're maxed out on their credit cards and everything.

[B]

Sure sounds.

[A]

Because one of the first things you can get rid of is your five dollar cup of coffee that you could make at home for 80 cents.

[B]

Yeah, right. Right. Yeah. I've long been a. I brew my own guy. But Starbucks also expanded like lunatics there for a while. It could be it was just time to exhale and right size. But I think your theory sounds good.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. It almost seems like it could be an economic principle that they use Starbucks as an example. I mean that could be like one of the very first things you give up when you. You got to start tightening the belt.

[B]

Plus those stores are pretty easy to open, pretty easy to close. So pretty good economic indicator I would think.

[A]

I'm gonna figure out Ingmar P. Daily. I'm gonna figure out who that guy's name was. Who that guy's name was. And. And we'll have Mailbag coming up. Armstrong and Getty Turning Point. You know, the big organization founded by Charlie Kirk is still running and growing and everything. And it's still an open successful. It will be. And how much it will grow without his leadership because he was a political financial leader genius who was assassinated. It's coming to Berkeley in October and I'm gonna go so I want to see one of those events in person. So that'll be interesting not too long from now.

[B]

Yeah, that sounds. Sounds great. I would love to do well on Berkeley's campus.

[A]

I just. I'll be interested to see what that's like.

[B]

Here's your freedom loving quote of the day by an utterly unpronounceable sage from I believe Sri Lanka. The first name is 12 to 15 letters and the second and the last name dwarfs the first name. So I'm not even going to attempt it. We'll call them old bh. Here's what they said. Continuing our theme about posspid posterity. Posterity, the future, our legacy. The only way anyone can hope to live after death is if he leaves something that posterity can remember him for. And that might not be like famous posterity. That might be your family saying, you remember grandpa always did the right thing, even when it was really hard. I mean, that's a legacy. That brings tears to my eyes.

[A]

Oh, I certainly think you send. You send your kids out into the world as decent people. That's all the legacy need, right?

[B]

Indeed. Mailbag.

[A]

Elbridge Colby. Elbridge Colby. That was the name I couldn't think of. He is the guy and only the like undersecretary at the SEC death who is super. Don't get involved in Ukraine. He can't be happy with this turn.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And the only person I've ever heard of named Elbridge.

[B]

One of the few. Certainly. You've got to be in a certain social class, a certain, you know, group to give your kids one of those highfalutin east coast Ivy League names.

[A]

No kidding.

[B]

Like Elbridge. Right. And there. There are others that leap to mind. But anyway, yeah, those were not my peeps. So, first of all, we'll begin with a nice meme from Tyler. We've gotten it before, but I like it so much. It's a little golden book for the kids. Little bedtime story. Everyone I don't like is Hitler. A child's guide to online political discussion.

[A]

Everyone I don't like is Hitler. We got a funny comedy routine we're going to play later from a comedian about that.

[B]

And it's speaking of unfortunate. The illustration on the COVID is the chancellor of Germany from the 1930s and striped PJs riding a sled along a rainbow.

[A]

I think everyone you don't like is Hitler. Oh, man.

[B]

Let's say, moving along. Ryan from Houston. Dear Jack, Joe, I'm afraid with all these schisms in our country and with the shootings of Charlie Clark, I mean, Kirk, I mean Cook. Well, it's unnecessarily humor, but. And now the shooting at an ice detention center. It's leading to someone or multiple people taking another shot at President Trump. And I imagine probably 10% of the population has champagne on ice. Ready to celebrate. Alas, I see great bloodshed in our country's future. Much like Jack predicting WWE 3. I hope I'm wrong.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. I hope you're wrong. To my brother. Let's see oh my God. This is perfectly timed. Jim from Houston. I can't decide if you guys are sarcastically hysterical or the world's best salespeople for antidepressants like Xanax or both. I know, Jim. Jim, you're so right. And it said. Well, we're affected by it too. We were joking yesterday. I think it was off the air but that our slow. We were talking about, you know, nuclear war and how China and Russia might be willing to spend a million people for a million people to make some sort of point because they don't give a mess about human life. And we decided our new slogan should be Mushroom clouds and chuckles. The Armstrong and Getty show next hour.

[A]

Does your pet have cancer?

[B]

Probably.

[A]

Stay tuned.

[B]

Oh my God. That's not funny. That is not funny.

[A]

I'm mocking the fact that we're a bit of a downer of a show.

[B]

Well, mock it more funnily. Brian from Kansas City, who signs off. Go Chiefs. Go Chiefs indeed. They need the rooting. Good morning old simple Jack and Joe Tiger's Got Nothing on Me, Getty. I don't. What's that reference?

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

Do you know Tiger's got nothing on Me?

[A]

Don't know.

[B]

Katie, if you have a second to perhaps chat GPT that I don't get the reference. Joe Tiger's Got Nothing on Me, Getty.

[A]

Is it a golf thing about you, I wonder.

[B]

Anyway, Brian writes, my son is starting high school next year and yesterday we toured one of the local parochial schools. It was amazing. The difference between that in our government schools. While my son's public high school is new with top of the line facilities and the private school is 37 years old. We found the level of attention on academics and morals was incredible. The private school, as I've said before, I was for three years a federal employee and was cut by DOGE this summer. You know what? Hang by your phone, Brian. The White House is quietly rehiring a bunch of people fired by DOGE because they've realized they need them like it's Social Security Administration. They need somebody to answer to the phones and answer people's questions anyway. Hello? He said either way the job market is rough. But we decided yesterday we'll figure out how somehow to pull together the tuition. The gender bending madness and progressive woke virus has become too much even in Kansas City. Thanks for the note, Brian.

[A]

Yeah, the vibe in the room of a private school, particularly in my case a private Christian school versus your public school, is way different.

[B]

It's just, it's just it's palpable. In a funny coincidence, I had a great conversation with a good friend yesterday and he was telling the story about a mutual friend whose kids graduated from a local public school and did fantastically and had a really good experience and have a very, very bright future. Great family that values studying and academics, obviously. But hey, if your local government school is doing a great job with good, solid teachers who aren't woke mind virus suffering lunatics, enjoy that wonderful, you know, service. But if your local schools are progressive loony bins, get your kid out if you can.

[A]

If you missed a segment at the podcast Armstrong and Getty on Demand, another political killing yesterday, we'll get into Armstrong and Getty. This is an I Heart podcast.