You Were Wrong, You Idiot!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand – "You Were Wrong, You Idiot!"

Release Date: June 6, 2025

Introduction

In this episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve into a variety of engaging topics ranging from sports and politics to science and personal anecdotes. The conversation is lively, peppered with humor and insightful commentary, making it both entertaining and informative for listeners.

---

I. NBA Highlights: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Indiana

The episode kicks off with a discussion about last night's NBA games, focusing on the surprising performance of the Indiana team against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

• Jack Armstrong admits to only watching the fourth quarter:
  "I saw the fourth quarter." [00:29]

• Joe Getty expresses admiration for Indiana's resilience:
  "Oklahoma's got to be worried. Indiana has the ability to come back on anybody anytime." [00:32]

• A humorous exchange ensues regarding the unpredictability of the game:
  Joe Getty: "I know you are. You are an idiot savant." [00:45]
  Jack Armstrong: "If everybody is saying, oh, nobody can touch the Oklahoma City Thunder and you lose game one on your home court, that's sick." [00:49]

---

II. Understanding Grandma Showers

The hosts introduce the concept of "Grandma showers," a modern twist on traditional celebrations for newborns.

• Joe Getty clarifies the term humorously:
  "No, it's not. When granny needs to get the funk offer." [00:57]

• Jack Armstrong reacts with surprise:
  "Good Lord." [01:10]

• They explain it as a way for families to celebrate new additions, akin to "reveal parties," though it has faced some criticism online for perceived narcissism.

---

III. Political Twittersphere: Musk and Trump

Jack and Joe delve into the tumultuous interactions between Elon Musk and Donald Trump on Twitter, exploring the potential implications for American politics.

• Jack Armstrong discusses Musk's retweeting of an impeachment tweet and its possible consequences:
  "He made the point that if the Dems take the House... they'll impeach Trump." [01:30]

• Joe Getty agrees on the likelihood of impeachment:
  "I saw, you know, the National Review podcast the other day... they'll impeach Trump 100%." [02:01]

• The hosts speculate on the nature of political discourse and the lack of direct communication:
  Jack Armstrong: "What kind of person doesn't... pick up the phone and say, hey, this is getting kind of ugly. Let's talk." [02:11]

---

IV. The Alpha Male Debate

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to dissecting the concept of the "alpha male," its definitions, and its misapplications in popular culture.

• Joe Getty expresses confusion over the term's usage:
  "Just because you lose your temper and shoot off a bunch of stuff you didn't need to, that doesn't necessarily make you an alpha male." [08:39]

• Jack Armstrong shares his perspective on being an alpha male:
  "It is a dynamic man, a leader, somebody others look up to, just in general." [09:25]

• The hosts contrast traditional leadership qualities with the stereotypical loud and aggressive "alpha male" seen in figures like Trump and Elon Musk.

• They reference their former boss as an example of a gentle yet authoritative leader, challenging the conventional portrayal of alpha males.

---

V. Clips of the Week: Fast-Paced News Bits

In their "Clips of the Week" segment, Armstrong and Getty provide a rapid-fire overview of current events, infused with their trademark humor.

• Jack Armstrong mentions dramatic news headlines with a comedic twist:
  "Velociraptor mounted border patrol agents. I think it's going to be big." [03:30]

• They discuss Russia's challenges with Ukraine's drone attacks and Elon Musk's personal life, blending factual updates with satirical comments.

• The segment serves as a humorous take on the week's news, highlighting absurdities and standout stories.

---

VI. Personal Reflections: National Donut Day and Fitness

The hosts take a moment to share personal anecdotes related to National Donut Day, intertwining it with discussions about fitness and self-discipline.

• Joe Getty humorously laments his struggle with resisting donuts:
  "I want to discuss the desire to eat a donut... I'm starving. It's National Donut Day." [34:04]

• Jack Armstrong confesses his own challenges with maintaining his fitness routine:
  "I'm racked with guilt now because I haven't been in the gym lately..." [18:33]

• The conversation underscores the universal battle between indulgence and self-control, resonating with listeners striving for balance.

---

VII. Science and Business: Embryo Ranking for Longevity

A thought-provoking segment explores a startup offering genetic analysis of embryos to predict longevity and eliminate diseases.

• Jack Armstrong introduces the topic:
  "Prospective parents using IVF... can rank embryos using genetic and other information in the hopes of extending longevity of their offspring." [13:20]

• Joe Getty raises ethical concerns:
  "We don't know what's combined with that as a personality trait or other thing." [14:32]

• The hosts discuss the implications of such technologies, balancing the desire to prevent disease with the potential for unintended consequences in human genetics.

---

VIII. Modular Homes: The Future of Reconstruction

The conversation shifts to advancements in modular and 3D-printed homes, highlighting their potential in disaster-stricken areas.

• Jack Armstrong recounts a story of rebuilding a home using prefabricated pieces:
  "It could build a home for 200 grand less than the cost of a traditional construction..." [16:26]

• Joe Getty shares personal experiences with mobile homes, contrasting past negative experiences with the promising future of modular housing:
  "I've known plenty of people that had really nice versions, but also incredibly crappy ones." [20:40]

• The hosts emphasize the technological strides that make modern modular homes viable and aesthetically pleasing alternatives to traditional construction methods.

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IX. The Neuroscience of Vengeance

A deep dive into the psychological and neurological aspects of revenge, discussing how the brain processes and potentially becomes addicted to vengeance.

• Jack Armstrong summarizes a study:
  "Your brain on revenge looks very much like your brain on drugs." [24:27]

• Joe Getty reflects on personal observations:
  "Don't you feel like you've known people that seem to be addicted to revenge?" [26:00]

• The discussion highlights the parallels between habitual revenge-seeking and substance addiction, suggesting strategies for overcoming such tendencies.

---

X. Tribute to D-Day: Honoring a Pivotal Moment

In a heartfelt tribute, the hosts commemorate the historic D-Day landings, reflecting on their significance and impact.

• Katie Green reads the first communique announcing the Allied landings:
  "Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces supported by strong air forces began landing allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France." [28:07]

• Joe Getty shares emotional insights:
  "There are so many people I know would love this. I wish I could alert them to hear this." [30:07]

• The segment pays homage to the bravery and strategic importance of D-Day, fostering a sense of respect and remembrance among listeners.

---

XI. Final Thoughts: Crew Reflections and Takeaways

As the episode concludes, each member of the crew shares personal takeaways and reflections, tying together the episode's themes.

• Michaelangelo emphasizes the importance of embracing AI technologies:
  "I've got to get good at AI... we all need to." [33:46]

• Katie Green endorses the use of ChatGPT:
  "I am 100% chat team chatgpt. I'm using it more and more every day." [33:54]

• Joe Getty humorously discusses his ongoing battle with donut temptation:
  "I am fighting so hard the desire to eat a donut... I'm starving." [34:01]

• Jack Armstrong revisits the theme of vengeance:
  "You know that feeling you get when somebody... you really want to punish him... That pleasure is what people get addicted to actually doing it." [34:04]

The episode wraps up with a light-hearted exchange about the crew's struggles and commitments, leaving listeners with both thoughtful insights and relatable humor.

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Notable Quotes:

1. Joe Getty on alpha males:
   "Just because you lose your temper and shoot off a bunch of stuff you didn't need to, that doesn't necessarily make you an alpha male." [08:39]

2. Jack Armstrong on revenge addiction:
   "Your brain on revenge looks very much like your brain on drugs." [24:27]

3. Katie Green reading the D-Day communique:
   "Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces supported by strong air forces began landing allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France." [28:07]

4. Joe Getty reflecting on personal temptations:
   "I am fighting so hard the desire to eat a donut... I'm starving." [34:01]

---

Conclusion

This episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand skillfully navigates a spectrum of topics, blending serious discussions with humor and personal anecdotes. From dissecting modern social concepts like grandma showers and the alpha male stereotype to exploring the intricate neuroscience behind vengeance, the hosts provide a well-rounded listening experience. Additionally, their tributes and personal reflections add depth, making the episode both informative and relatable. Whether you're a regular listener or new to the show, this episode offers valuable insights and entertaining dialogue that resonate on multiple levels.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

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

[Joe Getty]

Did you watch the NBA last night, Michael? Did you watch any of it?

[Jack Armstrong]

I saw the fourth quarter.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, really? How was it?

[Jack Armstrong]

It was.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Oklahoma's got to be worried. Indiana has the ability to come back on anybody anytime.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just love Indiana. Wow. How did you have that?

[Joe Getty]

I know you are. You are an idiot savant.

[Jack Armstrong]

If everybody is saying, oh, nobody can touch the Oklahoma City Thunder and you lose game one on your home court, that's sick.

[Joe Getty]

That gets your attention. What are grandma showers? No, it's not. When your mom is a little gamey after her jazzercise, it's something different. Grandma showers.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good Lord.

[Joe Getty]

It's not. When granny needs to get the funk offer.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, boy. And continuing updates of the feud that's shaking the earth.

[Joe Getty]

Musk, there's an update.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, there actually is.

[Joe Getty]

Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's kind of now people are weighing in from the peanut gallery.

[Joe Getty]

It was something for Elon to retweet a. An impeachment tweet. Although he made the point. I don't know if it was the same tweet or not. He made the point that if the Dems take the House. Oh, he was saying the tariffs are going to cause a recession, which is going to cause the Dems to take the House and they will impeach Trump. That'll be the whole two years. I saw, you know, the National Review podcast the other day, and they went around, if. If Dems take the House, will they impeach Trump 100%? Yes. Every one of them.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I don't think they're wrong.

[Joe Getty]

I wonder over what? I don't know. Pick anything. The. The Muslim ban, the, you know, whatever you want to do it. Tariffs. Name something.

[Jack Armstrong]

Harvard something. Yeah, exactly. So this is not a question. We don't have to answer it now. But what kind of person doesn't? I mean, given how closely they worked for a while, even if it was kind of phony and just for politics and all, what kind of person doesn't like one or two tweets in, pick up the phone and say, hey, this is getting kind of ugly. Let's talk.

[Joe Getty]

I wouldn't, but I wouldn't engage in it in the first place. So it's kind of hard to put myself in that place. I'm putting myself in a place I would never get. I can't imagine reacting that way. Publicly. I just can't even imagine it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I just, I just have always, always been a believer in A, not hitting send when you're angry and B, if it's a good idea to say it today, it'll still be a good idea tomorrow. So why don't you think about it? Think about how you want to play those cards and not shoot your mouth off.

[Joe Getty]

I want to discuss the term alpha male after we do clips of the week also because that kept coming up yesterday.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, very good. And I'm not agreeing to it because I'm sort of, sort of beta male. I'm also an alpha male and agree with Jack the alpha male.

[Joe Getty]

I'm a Charlie male. I'm way down the road. I don't take orders from nobody or Delphi or something.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's Friday tradition. It's beloved. Let's take a fond look back at the week. That was its cow clips of the week.

[Joe Getty]

Well, breaking news.

[Jack Armstrong]

Velociraptor mounted border patrol agents. I think it's going to be big.

[Katie Green]

This is cow clips of the week.

[Jack Armstrong]

Russia reeling from Ukraine's astonishing and unprecedented drone attacks than 40 aircraft ablaze. We also have stronger tactical solutions. Our Operation Spider Web yesterday proved that. I made it very clear. He said we have no choice but to attack. Elon Musk and Donald Trump are going through a divorce. You know, I was like disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly.

[Joe Getty]

Elon Musk and I agree, I agree with Elon Musk.

[Jack Armstrong]

Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if it went well anymore. I was surprised.

[Joe Getty]

Musk then writing time to drop the really big bomb. Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they've not been made public. And then he said he's got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem. President Trump tonight should sign an executive order and seize SpaceX. Tonight before midnight, witnesses say Solomon was dressed like a gardener.

[Jack Armstrong]

Solomon brought 18 Molotov cocktails to the park.

[Joe Getty]

He was about to use a makeshift flamethrower and all I saw was someone on fire. The travel ban is indeed back and.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nothing will stop us from keeping America safe.

[Joe Getty]

This scares the hell out of me. I've been doing this for 40 years.

[Jack Armstrong]

We're not going to have anybody around to wipe our because we don't have.

[Joe Getty]

Enough people.

[Jack Armstrong]

Beyond strong and giddy show a disgusting abomination.

[Joe Getty]

What I have decided to do is to follow my own compass. I don't make my kids go to school. The last couple days of school I don't see the point. Here's how to eat a banana.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now, we don't pick it up and peel it like a primate. Instead, we use a knife and fork in my Target that used to have the pride section.

[Joe Getty]

It's now all usa.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yay.

[Joe Getty]

Just a few hours later, mom and dad and little sister Gizmo together eating a fish. Nancy has a headache and requires treatment.

[Jack Armstrong]

I will need about an hour and.

[Joe Getty]

A bottle of Vante.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm strong and get it show just t down the shame. Maybe we do better tomorrow unless we continue to.

[Joe Getty]

Michael's got his phone out with the light on swaying back and forth. That's the wonder.

[Jack Armstrong]

We were in a malaise in the 70s that pop music sucks the will to live out of me.

[Joe Getty]

It's a summer anthem. I blame Jimmy Carter for bread and. And Dan the math works there.

[Jack Armstrong]

I blame bread for Jimmy Carter. They sucked the masculinity out of America.

[Joe Getty]

Speaking of the NBA Finals last night. So Indiana, heavy underdogs, they win at okc. Upset Jay Z had put a million dollars down, that OKC wins in five, and now they would have to win four straight, which has only happened a couple of times in NBA history. But the story behind the story on that is he has $350 million invested in the company Fan Fanatics, which is an online sports gambling thing. He has 350 million in it. And now you've heard about that company because he invested a million dollars in the bet. And obviously, even if he loses, the fact that he got millions and millions of dollars of free advertisement for this company he's invested in, that's the whole point.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? Right. Yeah. Yeah. Smart bliss.

[Joe Getty]

And he's married to current country music champion Beyonce. Okay, now, other things that we teased, what are grandma showers? It's another way for families to celebrate newborns. I guess it's caught on as a thing. The. The Internet is clapped back calling it peak narcissism. Okay. You found one tweet where somebody complained about it. But anyway, it's a new thing like reveal parties and whatever. Grandma showers or grandbaby showers, in addition to all the other things that you do. And then you post online and get like, so knock yourself out. If you're that sort of person, if you're incredibly social and you like that sort of thing, go for it. I don't come from demand.

[Jack Armstrong]

Everybody else go to it, please. Right.

[Joe Getty]

Okay. So I heard several times yesterday, the whole, well, what do you expect when you've got two alpha males, Trump and Elon. Going at it like that. How do you define alpha male? The way it's used, thrown around all the time. Not like the dictionary definition, but the way it's used all the time. Because I think it's misapplied regularly. Just, just because you lose your temper and shoot off a bunch of stuff you didn't need to, that doesn't necessarily make you an alpha male. Or, or, or, or the other. I guess it's the other that's more important point. The fact that you don't do that doesn't mean you're not an alpha male.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean that'd be 100 agree. Yeah, I don't, I don't use the term to mean that.

[Joe Getty]

I don't use the term ever because I think it's gotten all kinds of twisted in kind of weird ways that I don't like.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, to me it just, it is a, a dynamic man, a leader, somebody others look up to, just in general.

[Joe Getty]

Okay, well that usually it goes with like kinda. I think maybe this is my own head, but when people throw it around, it's kind of a loud, aggressive sort of person. And I was thinking about, remember? No, not to you.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's not the way I see it. No, I think that's way it's used.

[Joe Getty]

Like with Elon and Trump yesterday. And whenever I hear thrown around, it's usually people like that. And the reason I don't like that, I think your definition is better. I think about our, our old boss, you know, radio station before this one when we were doing soft rock, he was as like gentle and quiet and maybe even meek would be a fair word to put on him as anybody's ever known. And he was in charge of the whole place and really, really good at it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would agree completely. Yeah, it's an interesting example.

[Joe Getty]

And I don't think a lot of people would consider him an alpha male, but he was in charge of everything and got that way for a reason and continued to be in charge of things throughout his career. So.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, what an interesting example. Yeah, he led through thoughtful consideration and conversation and good decisions. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Interesting.

[Joe Getty]

So I don't know, does that do. Is he an alpha male or not? He's literally the alpha male alpha person in that building.

[Jack Armstrong]

He might be the ultimate alpha male in that he is confident in the way he does things and if somebody came on like a blow hard, which is that negative, you know, kind of way to use the term, he would just wait him out and he would win that battle.

[Joe Getty]

If People were using the definition the way you, you use it. I, I have no problem with it whatsoever. But I think, and I'm not a guy that believes, you know, I don't like the toxic masculinity term or whatever, but I, I feel like that that's what they go for when they use the term alpha male. It's anybody that's like kind of a jackass, really. Alpha male, you know, like, what's his name? Ramsay, from the cooking show. Okay, so you yell at people in belittle.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, Gordon.

[Joe Getty]

I don't, I don't like using that sort of thing as like a. You get a cool title for that? I don't know. You tell me. What is an alpha male? Is that what we got going on here?

[Jack Armstrong]

The.

[Joe Getty]

The beating their chest and whizzing on each other's tree with Elon and Trump?

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, let's play. Who's your favorite? Ramsay? Gordon Ramsay. Dave Ramsey or this is a stretch. Egyptian pharaoh Ramses the second.

[Joe Getty]

Actually, because I tried to be careful with my money. I'm going to go with Dave Ramsey. Dave Ramsey.

[Jack Armstrong]

We have a winner.

[Joe Getty]

Alpha male thing way on in that, among other things we got coming up. Here's our text line. 415295 KFTC.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and gas. Ready.

[Joe Getty]

My son is done with school and he's got big weekends planned with his friends and is about as excited as anybody can be. And I was trying to remember how great that feeling is. When school gets out, it is something else. The high school park.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can't believe how happy you are now.

[Joe Getty]

And he's a high schooler now. So the high school parking lot was full of, you know, for the older kids who can drive cars, jamming music and laughter. And everybody headed off to their summer lives, whatever they are. When you're 15 through 18 years old. Holy crap. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good times.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I'd say so.

[Jack Armstrong]

Enough politics for the moment, at least. Some interesting stories from the world of business and or science. Here's a startup wants to help parents rank their embryos for longevity. Actually, I should have alerted Katie that we were going to be talking about ivf.

[Joe Getty]

But once again, the emphasis is on length of life. That's your.

[Jack Armstrong]

Among other things, prospective parents using ivf. IVF will soon be able to rank embryos using genetic and other information in the hopes of extending longevity of their offspring. According to this startup, Nucleus plans to charge $6,000 for an analysis of up to 900 conditions, including diseases that occur later in life and are major causes of death. In older people such as Alzheimer's disease, heart disease and cancers. The company will analyze up to 20 embryos for you for $6,000. Some 25 year old entrepreneur scientist dude, it might be legit. It might be Elizabeth Holmes, I don't know. That's kind of sort of similar to the analysis you had done, right Katie?

[Michaelangelo]

Somewhat, yeah. It's more doing genetic testing that falls into my bloodline or into Drew's bloodline, but yeah, that's, that's pretty amazing. We're getting real close to playing God with some of these things though.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I know you wanted an embryo that would turn be a good dancer and have a really solid jawline. So you had him screen for that, right?

[Michaelangelo]

That was top priority, actually.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I, I agree. We, you, we don't know. I mean I could, I, would I do it? I don't know. But I, I, I, I can. Obviously you, you'd love the idea of if you can genetically modify out the tendency in your family to have some horrible cancer, but we, we don't know what goes with that tendency. We don't know what's combined with that as a personality trait or other thing. We don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's conceivable. There's a tie there. You know, I think I may have come up with some sort of philosophical dividing line. Not that it'll do anybody any good, but because they mentioned that IVF doctors and clinics routinely offer to test embryos for chromosomal abnormalities that could cause like down syndrome or let perpetrate prospective parents know they're at risk of having a child with a lethal disease caused by a mutation in a single gene. I think everybody's pretty comfortable with eliminating negatives. It's when you start demanding quote unquote positives that it starts to get a little weird. Yeah, I mean you can screen for to make sure your child doesn't have a terrible debilitating condition or is like super likely to get cancer or something like that, but taller, more handsome. Yeah, good dancer.

[Joe Getty]

That starts to get weird anytime you start playing. This though, I'm thinking of several famous examples of people who really were ass kickers because the men in their family, the last couple of generations had died young and so they, they, they felt like they probably didn't have a lot of time, so they. Mickey Mantle baseball player, not important stuff. But that's what motivated him is to work as hard as he did. Teddy Roosevelt, probably the best example. There's lots of them. So do we. Is it good for mankind to Eliminate that. I don't, I don't actually know, but.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we're going to be a race of big, good looking, shallow real estate agents. Not that there's anything wrong with real estate agents, but just kind of charmingly handsome just. But never any difficulties.

[Michaelangelo]

Or dancing real estate agents.

[Jack Armstrong]

Dancing real estate agents.

[Joe Getty]

Who can dance. Yes, we have great rhythm.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know, I should have known we'd get off on a tangent on this topic because it's such an interesting one. I've got a couple other things to talk about, including modular homes. If you think of modular homes as kind of a cheaper, somewhat embarrassing, you know, substitute for a real built house, think again. The technology has leapt forward and they're thinking it could be a fabulous thing for disaster sites.

[Joe Getty]

You were wrong, you idiot.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, you're a stupid idiot and should take a long look at yourself. But Altadena, California, hurricane sites, it's all about the manufactured homes.

[Joe Getty]

Interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

The Wall Street Journal this week published a guide on how people can pass frequent flyer miles down to their heirs after they die. Tip number one, fly into Newark.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Katie Green]

So why is this happening?

[Joe Getty]

Hold on just a. Okay. There are donuts all over the place today. Rode up the elevator with someone. Several boxes of donuts or donuts all over the radio station. Today is National Donut Day.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right.

[Joe Getty]

In which Tim Sandifer tweeted out, let's all agree that we should spell doughnut. D O u G H N u T, which I've never spelled it that way. I'm just a D O N u T guy.

[Jack Armstrong]

A rub.

[Joe Getty]

Does it make me a rube?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

Clearly does. That's the dividing line. We non rubes have secretly used that for a measuring stick all these years.

[Joe Getty]

That's pretty funny. National Donut Day. I have not had one yet, as I had a very good weight on the scale this morning. And I'm happy about that. It's funny how if you, if you, if you're losing weight, it motivates you to lose more weight and be more disciplined.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah.

[Joe Getty]

And when you're, if you gain, it's like, what the hell difference does it make? I might as well eat a donut. And I was telling my son the same thing about working out yesterday. He, he felt like he could actually feel his arms being firmer. I said, yeah. That's when really, you know, you start to get motivated. Lifting weights. When you start to see results, you think, wow, I can change the way I look.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. And feel. Definitely. Yeah. I'm racked with guilt now because I haven't been in the gym lately other than my weekly thing, but I gained.

[Joe Getty]

Like 5 to 6 pounds during whooping cough because of prednisone and laying around and all kinds of different things. And it's. It's not good for me. My face is round as a basketball.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. So back to what we were talking about before the break. I found this very interesting partly because I've got this weird fixation with real estate and houses and that sort of thing. I just find them interesting. But they start this article talking about a guy in Altadena's childhood home, birthday down, and he was determined to rebuild it as it was before the wildfires, which is kind of sentimental and sweet. I guess I would have just built the better, newer house. But anyway, he figured out his home's insurance policy would only cover a fraction of the estimated 700 grand to rebuild the house. Not a big house at all. Then he stumbled across this company that sells prefabricated homes as pieces in factories, then assembles them on site. It's called Happy Homes. H A P I. The company said it could build a home for 200 grand less than the cost of a traditional construction and do it in less than half the time. And they mentioned that the whole prefab house thing used to exist, like on the edges of home building as kind of low quality, excuse me, houses. But they mentioned that now companies use modular construction, 3D printing or other non traditional methods, and they're trying to break into the mainstream by offering faster and less costly alternatives, especially in places ravaged by natural disasters. They're thinking that's their big opportunity.

[Joe Getty]

Interesting. Well, they've always, and there's always been really good versions of them. I've. I've known plenty of people that had whatever you want to call them, mobile homes or whatever that were really, really nice. But then I've lived in a couple that were incredibly crappy. I mean, it's like the walls were, were like paper.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh yeah, yeah. So listen to this, would you? Jason Ballard's the chief executive for Icon, a company that makes 3D printed homes. They use giant 3D printers to squeeze layers of concrete into the framing for a house. And I'm looking at a picture right now. We can post this [e-mail] under Hotlinks. But they are concrete houses that look not like a rest stop bathroom. They've got a little contour, a little style, a little.

[Joe Getty]

You're selling me this with the idea that this house looks like a Rest stop bathroom?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, no, I just said it doesn't. In a way that like concrete houses can. Being familiar both with fire country and hurricane country in my travels, some people decide my priority is to build something that can withstand anything. But you got to be careful that it doesn't look like a rest stop bathroom.

[Joe Getty]

You're the third little pig.

[Jack Armstrong]

Exactly. Yes. And these houses are pretty good looking. I mean, you're not going to see them like an upscale custom home developments. But this is no el cheapo cheapo. In fact, this is the proverbial brick poop house. Interesting. I might throw a few bucks in investing in one of these places.

[Joe Getty]

I lived in a mobile home in college for my la. My senior year, my final year of college. And my roommate and I, Rusty and I lived there. And it was. The rent was a hundred and twenty dollars a month and I'm old. But that was nothing then. I mean, that was nothing then. It was ridiculous. We paid $62.50 each in rent every month.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. That wasn't per man. That was the total. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

And people were laughing then. And it was such a crap hole. I mean, it was just like it was made out of paper. And there were mushrooms around the toilet because the carpet had gotten so wet for so many years. Actually was growing fungi up out of the floor. Oh man, if it was windy, your hair would get messed up.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. When I was a kid, we lived in a ground floor apartment. Crappy apartment complex. And. And it would rain and there would be all sorts of leaks and there would be mushroom in the carpets, in the hallways, not inside.

[Joe Getty]

Okay. I thought I was the only one that ever had mushrooms indoors. Like it?

[Jack Armstrong]

No, this is in suburban Chicagoland. Kind of working class back in the 70s. Yeah, it was, it was pretty nasty. But you know what? But my parents worked hard and got us out of there and onto bigger and better things.

[Joe Getty]

Well, on the upside as a college kid of living in a crappy place is you don't have to worry that much about taking care of it. And we would have. We would play darts a lot. And we put the dartboard all the way down the hallway in the kitchen. And you'd have to try to throw the dart so hard and flat like a, like a, like a BB pitch to really fire.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Through the hallway, all the way to the kitchen. They'd be constantly sticking in the walls of the ceiling. What the hell difference is my place is a crap wall.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. Right. Yeah. So this is an interesting story from the world of science that perhaps I don't know. Donald J. Trump and Elon Musk might listen to really interesting. The Neuroscience of vengeance.

[Joe Getty]

Now you got my attention.

[Jack Armstrong]

It can be as addictive as drugs.

[Joe Getty]

I like to serve it piping hot. How should you serve vengeance?

[Jack Armstrong]

No, no, no. Oh, again, you rube.

[Joe Getty]

No.

[Jack Armstrong]

Cold. And that forgiveness works like detox. Neurologically speaking. Can you get addicted to revenge?

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

This. This writer is actually talking about.

[Joe Getty]

This is a troubling notion. And I think I can pick people I feel like have done that in their lives.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Or families.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know what? This is so interesting. It's longish. He talks about his childhood and some really significant ugly stuff as a kid and his family and reven. And then he says, I didn't get revenge that night, but I eventually went into the professional revenge business. I became a lawyer. The way I saw it, lawyers get paid a lot for selling revenge to the masses.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

And getting revenge for my clients occupied the next 20 years of my life. And then. Then he says how it affected his life. And he said, it seems like I was addicted to revenge, but so were people everywhere. Gives a bunch of examples. I began to hate what I did for a living and descended into a professional and psychological crisis. One night I found myself alone contemplating suicide. Can you become addicted to revenge? I stopped being a litigator and spent much of the next two decades trying to find out. Wow. Yeah. Isn't that crazy?

[Joe Getty]

Don't you feel like you've known people that seem to be addicted to revenge?

[Jack Armstrong]

They're always.

[Joe Getty]

They've always like. They're always trying to get back at somebody. It just seems so time consuming and obviously takes up a lot of your mental efforts.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think we've all known families like that.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

That everybody wants to have a psychological advantage over someone else because they've been wronged.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. Yeah, I have. And it's. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I'll come back and tell you about some of the things the scientists figured out.

[Joe Getty]

We got a little tribute to D Day we're going to do when we come back. I don't know. Sorry, no time.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Why don't we.

[Joe Getty]

We got revenge on the Nazis.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, I tell you what, let's spend another minute, 90 seconds on this and we'll come back with the D Day thing because I absolutely love that idea. So anyway, this guy becomes obsessed with the idea of being addicted to revenge. And he mentions that science right around them, right around then, around 2004 or so, we're starting to get really good at brain scans and that sort of thing turns out that your brain on revenge looks very much like your brain on drugs. In an 04 study in the journal Science, participants were given the opportunity to retaliate against players who betrayed them during economic games, but at the cost of bankrupting themselves. Pet scans of their brains showed activation of the dorsal stratum, part of the circuitry involved in habit formation and addiction. Then he describes a similar study. The brains of participants who did not seek revenge showed successful intervention by the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for executive function and self control, which appears to be hijacked during a disease addiction.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. I'm glad I've never had that happen. I think I feel like part of it is I'm too lazy for this.

[Jack Armstrong]

Grievances. I have too bad a memory. I can't remember who I'm supposed to be angry at. Grievances, real or imagined, appear to cue the brain to crave revenge in much the same way that stress and anxiety are seeing drug paraphernalia or places or drug use. Cue the brains of addicts to crave narcotics. You crave revenge just like drugs. Addiction scientists describe this mechanism as part of the brain system for maintaining balance between pleasure and pain, calibrated partly by levels of dopamine, blah, blah, blah. You can be addicted to revenge and your brain looks just like a drug addict. How crazy is that?

[Joe Getty]

Well, watch out for that, I guess. And, and, and, and knowing that if it is an addiction, like all addictions, it's something you could get away from with effort probably.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Wow. I hope we've helped at least one person with the show today.

[Joe Getty]

Well, we the allies got revenge on the Nazis 81 years ago today.

[Jack Armstrong]

Take that, Adolf. Huh?

[Joe Getty]

Little tribute to that when we come back.

[Katie Green]

Armstrong and Getty, this is London. London calling in the home overseas and European services of the BBC and through United Nations Radio Mediterranean. And this is John Snagsby speaking. Supreme headquarters Allied expeditionary force have just issued communique number one. And in a few seconds I will read it to you. Communique number one. Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces supported by strong air forces began landing allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France. I'll repeat that, Communica. Communique number one. Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces supported by strong air forces began landing allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France months. This ends the reading of communique number one from supreme headquarters Allied expedition reports.

[Joe Getty]

Ah, that was the very first announcement anywhere in the world that d Day had begun. And if you haven't watched Saving Private Ryan for that opening scene, what that would have been like. That was in my mind as he was reading that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of course. Yeah. And it's worth remembering as those words were being read, everybody's like, oh my God, the effort to retake France has begun. And D Day might end up being disaster day.

[Joe Getty]

Sure.

[Jack Armstrong]

The loss of, you know, Europe to the fascist state, it might not have worked.

[Joe Getty]

And that was BBC, you know, broadcasting out of London, which just a couple of years earlier had been almost bombed out of existence, so not an academic matter for them at all. It reminded me hearing that guy's voice. So just a few weeks ago in May, remember, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe Day. And it got a lot of attention and we talked about it a lot. I heard a feature on public radio, npr, along, like, hour long, full hour long feature on. That was unbelievable. It was the best that sort of thing I'd ever heard in my life. As they went through the day from broadcast to broadcast, New York, London, various cities as, as the world became aware of the world, of the war ending and then statements from Churchill and Truman and whoever else. And it was just absolutely fantastic. And one, I, I was thinking, God, there's so many people I know would love this. I wish I could alert to them to, to hear this. And two, of course you can pull off something as fantastic. You don't have to live by the regular rules of commercial radio because you get taxpayer funding so you can pull off something that's complicated and expensive to put together. But it was so good. I don't know if it's available online or what. I'd never. And I'd been World War II buff for so many years and taken in so much stuff. I'd never heard anything that good about, about the end of the war in Europe ever.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah. Huh? Yeah, I'd like to hear that. I'll have to dig into some good D Day stuff today.

[Joe Getty]

Well, it's just, it's, it's hard to, I think for a lot of people to conceive of the fact that we could have lost. It didn't have to turn out the way it turned out to where the good guys won.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? Yeah. Which was why I made my comment, because it's easy to look back at history as, as inevitable or. Well, of course it was going to come out one way or another or everybody knew D Day meant that the victory was on the way. Now it was very iffy and many Months of bloody battles followed.

[Unnamed Crew Member]

You know, it's time for the final thought with Armstrong and Gideon. You know, we hope it's about Elon because he went bad. He went so bad. He's a nasty guy. A nasty guy. We also heard that Joe is coming out with a new party called the F Y Olikins. What a terrible idea. Just a sad disgrace of a name at a party. And Joe's been a loyal guy, but now he's turning like Elon. We hope he comes to his senses on Monday, but we'll have to see.

[Joe Getty]

That's kind of a combo Donald Trump Darth Vader thing there. I don't know what that is.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's pretty amusing.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Here's your done. Who did that? That's great.

[Joe Getty]

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

[Jack Armstrong]

Hey, let's get a final thought from everybody on the crew to wrap things up for the day, beginning with our technicule director, Michelangelo Michael. Final thought. All right. I've decided I have got to get good at AI. I've got to find the best, you know, chat, GPT, all the different AI apps and get good at this stuff. Yeah, yeah, you might as well. We all need to. Katie Green, our esteemed newswoman, as a final thought.

[Michaelangelo]

Katie, I am 100% chat team chatgpt. I'm using it more and more every day.

[Joe Getty]

It's something. And once you. Once you get started and in the habit, it's just, it's. It, it's there for so many things.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's amazing. Jack, final thought for us.

[Joe Getty]

I am fighting so hard the desire to eat a donut. There are donuts everywhere. I'm starving. It's National Donut Day. I feel like I'm a bad American if I don't take one in something or something.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, My final thought is getting back to the whole addicted to vengeance thing I was reading about. You know that feeling you get when somebody, like cuts in line or is driving like a and you really want to punish him and you're imagining what you'd like to do. That pleasure is what people get addicted to actually doing it.

[Joe Getty]

Hanson just came in with a box of donuts and waved them around my head.

[Michaelangelo]

That was cruel.

[Jack Armstrong]

Not helpful.

[Joe Getty]

That was not helpful. Hey, why does he want me to be fat? Armstrong and Getty wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.

[Jack Armstrong]

Same reason a drunk wants everybody to drink. So many people. Thanks. So little time. Go to armstrong yeti.com for the swag. The hot links, Katie's corners Katie's. She only has one corner. Plus, drop us a note. Something you see over the weekend we ought to be talking about. Send it along. Mailbag. Armstrong.

[Joe Getty]

Getty.com corner spelled with a K. Charming. See you Monday. God bless America.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty is an unpredictable beast. What a powerful metaphor. I was wondering, you know, what you felt about that. You drive in and you drive out. Whenever you say that.

[Joe Getty]

And child, listen, it's gone. One final message.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's try to put this one behind us. Just count down the shame. Have a great Friday.

[Unnamed Crew Member]

You Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an I Heart podcast.