Negligent Discharge Friday - 8/22/25

Summary

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Cleared Hot – Negligent Discharge Friday (8/22/25)

Host: Andy Stumpf
Date: August 22, 2025

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Episode Overview

This energetic and wide-ranging “Negligent Discharge Friday” episode finds host Andy Stumpf and his co-host riffing on current events, personal philosophies, wild news, and cultural oddities with sharp wit and signature irreverence. The discussion covers everything from Antarctic conspiracies to innovations in warfare, healthcare industry outrage, environmental hypocrisy, and the absurdities of Olympic karate rules. The tone is candid and comically disbelief-laced, with a focus on curiosity, challenging conventional wisdom, and encouraging discomfort and growth.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Travel & Language: Japan vs. Nippon

(00:57–04:05)

• Andy is gearing up for a trip to Japan (“Nippon”), sparking a playful discussion about country names, cultural perspectives, and learning new things.
• Quote (Andy, 01:09): "That's what the locals call it. So."
• Remarks on Americans' penchant for “churching up” names (“America is a continent”).

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2. Wild News: Teen Flies Illegally to Antarctica

(04:42–07:46)

• Discussion of a 19-year-old influencer stranded after flying a Cessna 172 to Antarctica without permission, facing possible criminal fines but may instead make a donation to charity.
• Andy breaks down the logistics, and shares experiences from his own Antarctic travels.
• Quote (Andy, 05:38): "How has this young man been able to achieve so much and you have been able to achieve so little?"

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3. Antarctica Conspiracies and Flat Earth Oddities

(07:46–11:01)

• A dive into bizarre internet theories: ice wall conspiracies, “forbidden lands,” and claims the UN restricts access to Antarctica.
• Quote (Andy, 10:43): "If the answer to that is no, there would be not a lot of utility in the conversation."
• Sober reflection on closed-mindedness: Neither Andy nor his co-host claim to hold any immutable beliefs.
• Quick aside into cruise ships: their amenities and hidden realities like on-board morgues.

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4. Martial Arts Drama: Dubious Black Belts & Kata-Gun Jitsu

(11:32–17:57)

• Review of viral jiu-jitsu and martial arts videos, focusing on "compliance" in demos and martial arts authenticity.
• Critique of Dave Grossman’s “Hojutsu” (gun kata):
  • Quote (Andy 21:29): "They're there trying to be a better version of themselves, and so that I think is awesome."
• Concerns about realism: overconfidence from impractical training and the limits of kata-based systems in real world scenarios.

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5. Weird War Innovation: Anti-Drone Shotgun Rifle Rounds

(24:05–28:00)

• Ukraine’s fully-innovative anti-drone 5.56mm ammo, combining rifle range with shotgun spread, is explored and praised.
• Quote (Andy, 25:54): "That’s just proof that kinetic warfare is more of a chess game than anything. You see somebody do something, you have to adapt to it."

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6. Environmental Hypocrisy: The Brazilian Rainforest & Climate Summits

(28:14–34:37)

• Outrage at news that Brazil’s climate summit involves clear-cutting Amazon rainforest to build a road for VIPs arriving by jet.
• Critique of “Do as I say, not as I do” environmentalism (Bill Gates, Al Gore, etc.).
• Deep dive on the interplay between net worth, privilege, beachfront property ownership, and the realities of climate risk.
• Memorable Line (Andy, 30:13): "Rules for thee, but not for me."

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7. Electric Cars & Manufacturing: Debunker Mode Engaged

(34:37–41:48)

• Mockery of the Tesla Cybertruck’s much-memed claim of “boat-like” waterproofness; skepticism about internet “fail” videos.
• Conversation shifts to what actually helps the environment (Andy’s co-host: buying a 10-year-old car), and car industry’s dirty secrets.
• Discourse on global manufacturing realities: systemic change is unworkable if only one nation sits out.

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8. Economics, Taxes & Wealth: Thought Experiments

(41:48–48:42)

• Tax policy, billionaire “tax avoidance,” and the myth of the liquid ultra-wealthy.
• Fun what-if: Both hosts imagine having $3 billion—jets, observatories, art, cars—and reflect on how wealth can distort or complicate purpose and fulfillment in life.
• Quote (Andy, 48:42): "Because, man, once you had all of those things, you're still left with yourself."

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9. Healthcare Outrage: BlackRock, UnitedHealthcare & Systemic Rot

(49:29–59:00)

• BlackRock sues UnitedHealthcare for “giving too much care” after CEO’s murder—a headline Andy calls “peak corporate insanity.”
• Explanation: Insurance companies pressured to deny care for profit, creating public outrage and tragic consequences.
• Personal story: Ben Askren’s denied double-lung transplant.
• Quote (Andy, 55:54): "It's a horrible system... Didn't he say that the lobby for health care is larger than that of the defense industry?"
• Reflection on government dysfunction, entrenched interests, and stunted reform—cynical but clear-eyed.

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10. Olympic Karate Absurdity: Disqualification for Victory

(62:30–66:53)

• Viral video where a karateka knocks out his opponent and is disqualified, while the unconscious opponent wins gold.
• Andy and co-host incredulous at the rules:
  • Quote (Andy, 65:00): "That, to me, seems utterly ridiculous as somebody who doesn't participate in that."
• They reflect on how competition rule-sets can “water down” martial arts and rob them of practical meaning.

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11. Media Critique: Joe Rogan & TIME Magazine’s “100 Best Podcasts”

(67:24–71:38)

• TIME Magazine releases a top 100 podcast list, egregiously snubbing Joe Rogan.
• Lively agreement that, regardless of opinions on content, his influence is undeniable.
• Quote (Andy, 68:01): "You cannot create a list of the most influential podcasters and not have Joe up there."
• They round off with a note on the “Barbra Streisand Effect”—how intentional exclusion just amplifies controversy.

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12. Final Thoughts: Travel, Curiosity & Discomfort

(71:41–72:34)

• The show ends on a positive note: Andy’s co-host looks forward to Japan—hopes to see culture, rural shrines, and savor the discomfort of new experiences.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Conspiracy Conversations (10:43):
  “If the answer to that is no, there would be not a lot of utility in the conversation.” — Andy

• On Creativity in War (25:54):
  “That’s just proof that kinetic warfare is more of a chess game than anything. You see somebody do something, you have to adapt to it.” — Andy

• On Wealth & Purpose (48:42):
  "Because, man, once you had all of those things, you're still left with yourself.” — Andy

• On Corporate Healthcare (55:54):
  "It's a horrible system... Didn't he say that the lobby for health care is larger than that of the defense industry?" — Andy

• On Olympic Rules (65:00):
  "That, to me, seems utterly ridiculous as somebody who doesn't participate in that." — Andy

• On the Podcasting Landscape (68:01):
  "You cannot create a list of the most influential podcasters and not have Joe up there." — Andy

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Timestamps for Major Segments

| Time | Segment | |---------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:57 | Japan, “Nippon”, and country names | | 04:42 | The kid stranded in Antarctica | | 07:46 | Antarctic conspiracy theories & Flat Earth | | 11:32 | Martial arts fakery, black belt gripes, “Hojutsu” demo | | 24:05 | Ukraine’s anti-drone shotgun round innovation | | 28:14 | Environmental contradictions at climate summit | | 34:37 | Electric cars, manufacturing, “eco warrior” banter | | 41:48 | Billionaire what-if, luxury vs. purpose | | 49:29 | Outrageous healthcare lawsuit, BlackRock v UnitedHealthcare | | 62:30 | Olympic karate DQ controversy | | 67:24 | TIME omits Rogan from Best Podcasts list | | 71:41 | Positive wrap: Japan trip & seeking discomfort |

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Tone & Style

• Language & Attitude: Candid, sarcastic, incredulous, yet often thoughtful. Heavy on irreverence, wordplay, and occasional profanity.
• Style: Banter and riffing, with rapid tangents, but always circling back to larger critiques about society, hypocrisy, and self-improvement.

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Summary

This episode embodies Cleared Hot’s unique blend of dark humor, critical thinking, and the pursuit of knowledge (or at least, uncomfortable new experiences). Andy and his co-host challenge everything from media gatekeeping and martial arts charlatanism to governmental and corporate absurdities, all while encouraging listeners to stay curious and step toward discomfort—even if only by traveling to Nippon… or just building their own billionaire-funded observatory.

Transcript

[A]

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Okay, I got the red smoke. Sun runs north to south. West of the smoke. West of the smoke. Okay, copy.

[A]

West of the smoke.

[C]

I'm looking at danger close now. Fire away, young Michael.

[A]

Okay, it's your show.

[C]

Should we tell everybody about your vacation plans first? Where exactly you're going to be so they can meet?

[A]

Well, let's not say exact locations.

[C]

Well, I don't even know what they are. You'd have to.

[A]

Good. Yeah.

[C]

I'm stoked, though. You're getting stamps in your passport.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Heading over to Japan.

[A]

Yeah. I believe they call it Nippon.

[C]

What?

[A]

That's what the locals call it. So.

[C]

Isn't that a pin in judo?

[A]

No, that's Ippon.

[C]

Yeah, same thing. Isn't that what you first said? No, no, with an N. Japanese people call Japan Nippon.

[A]

I'm pretty sure.

[C]

Why would they do that?

[A]

Because I think that's how you say it in Japanese.

[C]

Pull that up. I'm curious.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Learn something new every day. Actually, if I'm being honest, I learned quite a few things that are new every single day.

[A]

There's a lot of storage in my brain. Yeah, it's not really filled up.

[C]

So, you know when you hit on the little Apple logo up there when it says storage available?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Why does mine still say 99.9% Nihon or Nippon?

[A]

So you were right. And I was right.

[C]

Okay. All right, fair enough.

[A]

Cool.

[C]

I mean, we call the United States of America us. Or the States or whatever. I get it.

[A]

Or America. Yeah.

[C]

Church up as needed.

[A]

Even though America is a continent.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. I'm aware that Japan or Nippon, if you will, or Nihon is not a continent. Today's podcast is brought to you by Element Man. I love this ad read. It is so easy for me. I use this stuff every single day. Sometimes twice a day, depending on where I'm at. Electrolytes. Not something I thought about a lot. If I'm Being truthful until far too late in my life because I have been a physically active person my entire life and come to find out I was probably not replenishing what I was excreting out of my body anytime I was sweating or working hard adequately. How do I know that? Well, I used to feel like trash when I was done training, and sometimes I still do, but I actually can feel the difference on days where I use element. Sometimes I use it before, depending on what's going on, but definitely after, specifically training jiu jitsu. Two ways that you can consume this stuff. You got this little travel packet right here and you have the sparkling version, sparkling water version. Both of them that I'm holding in my hand offer a thousand milligrams of sodium, 200 milligrams of potassium, and 60 milligrams of magnesium. They have a variety of flavors that you can choose from. For me, this little shaky packet that I go with is travel friendly. I take it everywhere. Their newest flavor is lemonade. It's the only one I've been drinking since summer began. They send me some of these things every month. Honestly, the lemonade, until I get through that, I don't even dabble in the other packets. It tastes exactly like the lemonade you probably grew up with. The difference is I am getting that 1,260 of the things that I talked about. I totally get that. Sometimes when you hear about a new product, you don't necessarily know where to start or begin. So the offer that Element has for you, if you head over to drink LMNT, that is limamike November tango.com ClearedHot. You're gonna get a free Element sample pack with any purchase. Now you could purchase, you know, a small selection of the sparkling water, maybe one small selection of a flavor you think you might like. And that sample pack is gonna expose you to their greater offerings. Again, travel packs, Lifesavers and the sparkling 16 ounce electrolyte water. Pros and cons to both. This is harder to travel with, but delightful over ice. This one's easy to travel with, but you can also mix it and then pour it over ice as well. It really depends on where I am when I'm away from home. Travel packs. When I'm at home, sparkling water is my go to drink. Element.com cleared hot. Back to the show. Speaking of a continent, did you know there's a US citizen stuck in Antarctica right now because he flew a Cessna 172 illegally to Antarctica?

[A]

That's so funny.

[C]

It's a young kid he's, like, 19. He's doing a fundraising. Oh, wow. Effort. I believe he had authorization to fly to Punta Arenas, which is where, when we did the triple seven, that's our launch point. However, we were working through an organization that actually has permits and a base camp.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So I believe he is currently at, by choice, though, the Chilean base in Antarctica.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Waiting for a weather window to get out. And I think there was going to be some criminal fines, but instead, if he makes a $30,000 donation to the charity that I believe he was already fundraising for, they're going to kind of drop it legally.

[A]

Okay. Okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

He.

[C]

He said he had airplane trouble while he was flying to Punta Arenas. Yeah. Look at this guy. Teen influencer on fundraising mission. Stranded in Antarctica since landing without permission.

[A]

Yeah. Honestly, good for him. You know, if he would have just gotten the, you know, proper.

[C]

Which he maybe not. Was not able to. Here's a question. How has this young man been able to achieve so much and you have been able to achieve so little?

[A]

Well, as we've covered before, I'm retarded. So.

[C]

Listen, let's be careful with the hard R, all right?

[A]

That's not what hard R is.

[C]

Can it be applied to anything that has an R? I mean, you say, like. You know what I mean? Like. Like a dog growling.

[A]

You could, however, the connotation, it will always remain the same of the N word.

[C]

Oh, yeah. Well, let's work on changing that. Let's make it apply. Let's DEI that. So it could be any word that has an R in it.

[A]

Okay. Very diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah. So this kid is, I believe, at the Chilean Base Assessment, 182Q. I have no idea what the Q means, but light aircraft, known for its versatility. Cool. Yeah. Yeah. I believe that he said he was having an aircraft issue and decided that Antarctica was the right place to land. Closest place to land. Instead of doing a 180 and landing back in.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Which is a cool place, by the way.

[A]

I'm curious. Do you need, like, specialized aircraft to go to Antarctica because of how cold it is, or do you. Is it just. You can just go with anything?

[C]

I mean, that's a good question. We landed in an Iceland air. I think it was a. I'm not an expert on commercial aircraft, but I think it was a 737.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Gulf streams had landed out there. I think it probably depends on how long you're gonna stay.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Like, if you're gonna overnight it and.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You don't. You do not need exclusively special aircraft. I would say, though, if you're gonna overnight it or stay there for a long period of time, we might need the ability to weatherize it. I mean, things are.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Gonna freeze up pretty cold.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

From time to time. When we were there, it was when the sun was out. T shirts and a regular pair of pants.

[A]

Really? That is.

[C]

The sun was radiating off of the.

[A]

Oh, the ice.

[C]

Snow and ice.

[A]

Yeah, that makes sense, I guess.

[C]

Did you know our favorite MMA fighter, the Hillbilly Hammer, does not believe you are allowed to go to Antarctica.

[A]

Oh, I. Yes. I've actually recently saw a post, not by him, but just in general, that beyond the Antarctic ice wall, there is lots more land, apparently.

[C]

Is the ice wall supposed to be on the exterior or the interior of the continent?

[A]

You know, I'm not sure. Let me actually pull up a picture of this because it's actually quite fascinating.

[C]

That's an interesting choice of words.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I would choose a different one.

[A]

Ice wall conspiracy. And if we go to images.

[C]

Oh, yes.

[A]

So what? Yeah, this is a pretty good one. So you can see that here's Antarctica. Here is what they say.

[C]

What they're saying. It rings.

[A]

So.

[C]

Because what is hapis? Where's Gemini? What?

[A]

And this is all new land outside of Antarctica.

[C]

Damn it. Christopher Columbus. You didn't find anything, which is why.

[A]

People say you're not allowed to go to Antarctica.

[C]

Okay, so who controls the outer area?

[A]

Well, probably the un. The One World Government.

[C]

Oh, the Blue Hatters. Yeah, the Knight. The new Knights of the Round Table or wherever where they meet in Monaco. And they touch tips.

[A]

Yeah, probably. Yeah.

[C]

What's the female version of touching tips?

[A]

Nips.

[C]

Touching nips.

[A]

Yeah. I would say.

[C]

Okay. Would be the closest you could probably get to rhyming. Yeah. I don't know. Vernacular.

[A]

Yeah. I feel like that would be the easiest to, you know.

[C]

Yeah. Require less gymnastics. Okay, so there's an intersection, which is where we live. Wow. I have never seen this representation. So it's certain.

[A]

I'm surprised.

[C]

Yeah, well, your search history is a little bit different than mine. Oh, go to the disc. The bottom third row down, far right. What is this? This has got a. Yeah. Flat Earthers.

[A]

Oh, this is another fun thing.

[C]

I saw that video where they went there and absolutely got crushed on their beliefs.

[A]

Yeah, it's pretty hilarious.

[C]

Yeah, they went to the Union Glacier, the same place we went to.

[A]

Yeah. No, I mean, some people genuinely believe this model of the Earth, which is.

[C]

Like, go to Antarctica, though, and see that it's not A wall. You can.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, try telling that to these people.

[C]

Like, you know, if you do believe that, if that's a belief system like that, I guess the first. I'd be interesting in talking with somebody about that. But the first question I would have to ask them is, is there anything that I could say, do or show you that would actually change your mind? And if the answer to that is no, there would be not a lot of utility in the conversation.

[A]

Yep.

[C]

But I don't know if I hold a single belief system that is that concrete.

[A]

Right.

[C]

That could be showed demonstrable. I mean, cruise ships go down to Antarctica. Yeah, all right, whatever.

[A]

Yeah. No, it's a pretty crazy belief system.

[C]

Are you ever going to do cruises in your worldly travels?

[A]

I don't know. I don't know how much I like the idea of a cruise.

[C]

There's some good documentaries out there. Do you know that a lot of cruise ships have morgues because people die on them all the time.

[A]

Oh, that makes sense. Yeah, I could see that. Yeah. What else are you going to do with a dead body?

[C]

Burial at sea is pretty dope.

[A]

That's true. That'd be cool.

[C]

I think you need some permissions to do that, probably from the family. I think a lot of families like to have funerals, you know. So sorry I derailed you. We were talking about something else.

[A]

Yeah, I was going to show you. I mean, I think you've talked about him, maybe, but Derek Moneyburg, which is.

[C]

A fake name, by the way.

[A]

It has to be.

[C]

No, it is. He's using it as a alias. All right, so what's the backstory in this? He's supposed he got his black belt in three and a half years, which. This is an interesting one. I could actually care less about anybody else's belt to include my own because I still can't find a way to tie it where it stays on. So it gets hucked in the corner, probably after the first roll. Some people. What I have heard are people saying that something like this, if it was not legitimate. Right. We're not going to be super judgy. We may do a little debrief of the rolling, which is also tough to do and neither you nor are qualified to do so because neither of us are coaches. You were for a bit, but you quit. So that just says more about you.

[A]

And I just suck as a coach. So it's not even.

[C]

Did you get that feedback from students or that's just personal feedback?

[A]

Well, I'm giving it to myself.

[C]

That's good.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Real positive feedback there. So, yeah, before I say anything, hey, I'm not a coach. I am an aggressive hobbyist at this. And I've it. People are up in arms that somebody could get their black belt in three and a half years.

[A]

And I mean, it's possible.

[C]

It is possible. And I just don't care about anybody else's journey because it has absolutely no impact on me. People say, oh, it cheapens Jiu Jitsu this, that or the other. Like, okay, well, I mean, maybe.

[A]

Maybe.

[C]

Let's check the tape.

[A]

However, comma.

[C]

So he looks as he wrestling up a little bit.

[A]

I guess they're done.

[C]

I don't know. Sorry. So Jake's starting in half guard top.

[A]

So they're just drilling underhook escapes.

[C]

Yeah. I mean, all I'm gonna say is this is. Jake is being an incredibly compliant.

[A]

Yes. He's being very nice, which is fine.

[C]

Chuck Liddell, he pays. From what I've heard, he pays people to come out. I mean, what he's doing is not technically wrong.

[A]

No.

[C]

But what I'll say is the person he's doing it with is not resisting.

[A]

At all in the slightest. Yeah.

[C]

And so, I mean, I can do anything to any human being if they don't resist and they're a complacent.

[A]

Oh, for sure. Yeah.

[C]

Trying to hit something on somebody in real time. Like. I don't know a lot about Jake Shields. I have no doubt what's. I mean, I've heard his name before.

[A]

He's pretty good.

[C]

Yeah. I would love for him to see. I would like to see what happened if you actually resisted utilizing his attributes in the skill that he has.

[A]

I would as well. Yeah. It looks like.

[C]

What is it? What are we doing here? He's Mount Bottom.

[A]

Oh, and he's out. Oh, we got out. Wow.

[C]

We got off of him. That's just a version of a fat man role.

[A]

Well, but he.

[C]

Yeah, he's just. He's just pinching his whizzer and pulling him over the top, get him to commit his weight.

[A]

But he's not even. He's not even clenching his elbow to trap Jake's arm there.

[C]

Well, it's because he's holding onto his lat on the far side. He had his arm all the way across.

[A]

I was talking on the near side arm.

[C]

He didn't need to. His far side arm is what drug him across. See, he's going on his near. Like our near center leg there.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Do you even know anything about Jiu Jitsu?

[A]

Yeah. But I feel like Jake could have.

[C]

Posted whatever, like 100 non resisting uki.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And anytime I see a martial arts video of any kind, I don't actually watch the person doing the move. I watch the UKI. Especially with the McDojo stuff, where the people who get knocked down.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[C]

Because I don't care what the guy's waving around or whatever it is he's doing. I just watch the people falling down. What fascinates me are the other people sitting there in the crowd or standing there in the crowd, waiting for their turn to portray their best thespian, you know, theater routine. What are they thinking?

[A]

I mean, they've got to be so far into it that they are convincing themselves that it's actually working. I. There's no other way. Like, it's like a cult, basically.

[C]

I did a podcast years ago during COVID What's the name of the author of the book on killing? It's escaping me right now. Look it up, if you would, real fast.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I should know this because it's a really.

[A]

Dave Grossman.

[C]

Yeah. So I went to Grossman's house. I. I know we did the interview in his. In his house, a room off of his kitchen. There was a family member that was a room off. So I'm not gonna really push back on anybody.

[A]

Right.

[C]

In their setting.

[A]

Right.

[C]

But he brought up, I believe it was Hojitsu, which is gun katas. Yeah. We're looking this up right now.

[A]

Oh.

[C]

So what was his name again?

[A]

Dave Grossman.

[C]

Yes. One of these days, look up Dave Grossman. Gun jitsu or Hojitsu. It's going to come up because he's like an 18th degree Dan.

[A]

Wow. Did it come up Hojitsu Ryu, the art of firearms.

[C]

Yeah. Now let's see if you can find some videos on this.

[A]

Yeah. Hold on, please.

[C]

Because he brought this up in real time, I didn't have access to my laptop or any data about what this is. And there are a few regrets that I have in my life, but one of them is that I didn't immediately call him out on this.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, this is like. No, this isn't the right video. This is like ancient firearms, modern hojutsu.

[C]

Yeah. Don't. Don't be afraid to show people your ancient firearm over there. You've got one.

[A]

Oh, yeah. My. My strap here.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

Stay strapped.

[C]

Show me you're inside the waistband holster.

[A]

I. I can't really.

[C]

No, just the actual huge. Yeah, it's no big deal.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Did you find a good jitsu?

[A]

Well, I'm still looking here.

[C]

There are some crazy.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And again, I'm not an expert at anything, but I saw this, and I guess some training is better than no training. That would be the. The polite way to talk about it. But I also worry about people going down rabbit holes that could lead them to a place where they find themselves overconfident in their ability, and then, you know, maybe in a situation they're not quite prepared for.

[A]

Yeah, I'm struggling to find a dude.

[C]

Go to YouTube.

[A]

That's. That's where I'm at. Hojitsu Pistol kata.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Here we go. Here we go.

[C]

And let's go ahead and make sure the audience can see.

[A]

Oh, yeah, Michael. Oh, yeah.

[C]

Hojitsu. Ryu. Look at that. First of all, first off, I have never thought of using a black belt as a retention device.

[A]

Well, now you know.

[C]

Yeah. Appears to be a 1911 question, which. Oh, volume, please.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Holy cow. We're talking geese belts.

[A]

The whole.

[C]

They must be using the belt, actually to have their rear for two.

[A]

One, two, down back.

[C]

The down and back is my favorite. You should never look at your holster when re holstering. Right. Like, why waste the time to make sure it actually goes where you want?

[A]

Oh.

[C]

Hand deflection.

[A]

Slow, you say Armbar.

[C]

Hey. Oh, they struck him with a pistol. Hell, yeah. I actually like this a little bit more now.

[A]

That guy in the back right's facing the complete wrong direction.

[C]

You don't know that. I mean, you don't know where the threat's coming from.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

You'Re a relatively untrained firearms enthusiast. What are your thoughts again? The down and back when they re holster and never looking at the holster.

[A]

That's a little strange.

[C]

If you're putting your gun away. Again, personal opinion. I'm not an expert in anything.

[A]

First off, I would say you're pretty expert in firearms.

[C]

No, no. You can say whatever you want to. I don't feel that way. If you pulled the gun out, there was probably a really compelling reason for it.

[A]

Right.

[C]

So the reason to put it away is that whatever threat that you were dealing with or addressing has been handled.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So take the time to look down and put the weapon in the holster.

[A]

Well, that's what I was thinking is once you have the gun out. Yep. Why would you put it away and then fight with your hands?

[C]

Style points. Flashiness.

[A]

Yeah, I guess so. It's like, at that point, you've obviously decided you need lethal force. So what? Unless your hands are certified lethal weapons.

[C]

Yeah, it's wild man Belief systems. And I'm not going to. I am not going to knock anybody in this video because what I think at the end of the day is they are there trying to be a better version of themsel. And so that I think is awesome.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

But a kata based system. Leah talks about this.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

She got her black belt in karate when she was young. And in the test, the kata at the end, you're supposed to block a punch. And for whatever reason, she did not get along with a guy she was paired up with. He threw two and the second one caught her right in the face.

[A]

Yeah. And that's kind of what led her.

[C]

Towards thinking maybe this isn't the complete system that it was her mom at the time that I think was really into it. Like, shouldn't I be able to block two punches? And they would say things like, you're not punching right. Punch me this way. So if you're relying upon a behavioral reaction that you think you're going to create some kata system around, you've clearly never seen somebody on meth.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

Or somebody who is drunk.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Or somebody who used to be a D1 wrestler is just going to pick you up and grind you into the ground.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

As you're rolodexing your kata system of what do I do now?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So make whatever choices you want. Like I said, I don't fault people for trying to be a better version of themselves, but I worry about the people who think that what they are being taught here has the ability to be replicated or actually keep them safe off of those rubber mats that they're on.

[A]

Yeah. I'm thinking.

[C]

No, I do really like though, like if before you reholster, spring tension that arm and then just get right in there.

[A]

Yeah. Well, you got to make sure you get that snap back.

[C]

It helps reholster.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

It's like a rubber band. Right. You tension. Then let it go. Yeah, obviously you're welcome for that. He didn't know that existed until probably five minutes ago.

[A]

Yeah. Not really.

[C]

Yeah, it's.

[A]

You know, maybe he told me in.

[C]

That interview that there was something like 80 documented uses of this. Of course, I didn't know what he was talking about at the time. Let me tell you what I was googling that night at the hotel.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I would have loved to see some stats on that.

[A]

Yeah. That. Yeah. I don't even know Documented uses.

[C]

Nobody knows. Moving on.

[A]

Moving on. Yeah.

[C]

What else you got?

[A]

Okay, man, I have a. I have a lot here. Okay. Kind of going off guns.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Ukraine creates a new anti drone 5, 5, 6 round. I don't know if you really. Yeah, so it's like a. It basically is a shotgun round that you fire from a rifle. The bullet. Bullet splinters upon exiting the barrel, apparently.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

Play this thing that splits into five pellets after it's fired. Fire enough of them and the soldier can create a net in the air to catch and defeat the incoming drones. It's essentially combining a shotgun cartridge which spreads out and a rifle round which is good for distance. This video from Ukraine's Brave 1 Defense Innovation Unit shows the rounds in action. And a Ukrainian military blogger says the rounds are effective to about 50 meters, or roughly 160ft up until.

[C]

Hold on, why is that guy.

[D]

Now, some of the most effective.

[C]

I like this.

[D]

Against unchanneled drones was a shotgun, which makes a lot of sense. They're powerful, easy to operate, and they're designed to fire multiple small projectiles, which is what you want when countering drones.

[C]

Hell yeah.

[D]

Both Russia and Ukraine have anti drone training grounds to practice the new tactics. But relying on shotguns to counter drones means soldiers need to carry two weapons. Oroshock ammo means soldiers can swap out rounds quickly on their primary weapon to engage UAVs and then swap back to standard rounds when engaging enemy soldiers.

[C]

Well, then. Well, that's an interesting concept. I mean. Yeah, that's just proof that kinetic warfare is more of a chess game than anything. You see somebody do something, you have to adapt to it.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, yeah, if you could. It looked like the casings were about the normal size of 556 rounds. So you could probably put 29 or 30 in a magazine. I mean, it's definitely going to be, you know, even if they spread out, a five, five, six round is not. I mean, there's not that much to spread out, but I think that one guy was on full auto, so I guess you could do that.

[A]

Yeah, you can make a pretty good spread. I feel like.

[C]

I feel like that's better than hearing the sound of an FPG FPV drone motor buzzing its way towards you and not having an.

[A]

Imagine the. Oh, man. Yeah. After a while, even like I feel like a mosquito. You'd be like, holy.

[C]

My favorite part of that video is the guy in the metal bucket going back and forth shooting the shotgun out of. At a drone course, which again, if that's the reality of what you're faced with, that's. I love that type of innovation. Yeah, let's put together attract course will push you down and back and all it was was a little metal target that was going back and forth on a wire.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I'll be curious to see. I don't know, because the fiber optic nature of it, the jamming stuff makes it really hard because you can't jam.

[A]

It if it's all hardwired.

[C]

Yeah. I've seen them putting up nets. I've also seen them putting up or not putting up, but. And I don't necessarily know what I'm looking at, but it almost looks like a targeted EMP pulse. Like something that is trying to.

[A]

Oh.

[C]

Even though it's being guided by fiber optic, it's in some way trying to interrupt the, the propulsion or whatever is actually powering.

[A]

Yeah. An EMP I feel like would still mess up the electronics in it.

[C]

It would. I think the danger in that though is it messes up every other things that you don't necessarily want messed up. Yeah. I don't know, man. I'm really, really thankful that I'm not over there dealing with that because I never once thought about a drone, like a commercial off the shelf DJI drone flying at you with, I don't know, a five to ten pound shape charge.

[A]

Oh, God.

[C]

Hard pass.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, no, that's. That would be horrible.

[C]

Yeah, I like it. I mean it's, that's the, that is a creative solution to a real world problem.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[C]

That's what happens.

[A]

Yeah. Okay, this. I just saw this and I'm not sure if you saw this.

[C]

What?

[A]

So they're having a climate summit in Brazil and they're clearing millions of acres of Amazon rainforest to make a road, to make a highway for this summit which is going to be using jets to bring people in and cars on a highway that's been cleared of carbon eating trees.

[C]

I'm just like, I feel like we live in Bizarro World a lot of the time.

[A]

Like. I'm sorry, what?

[C]

You know, Bill Gates gets a lot of crap for his usage of private jets and his staunch stances on the environment. Yeah, Al Gore, kind of the same thing. He did a documentary about, you know, essentially advocating for the environment, which I'm fully supportive of, but even in the documentary was traveling in private jets. And their argument is we, I can do more and I can offset the carbon footprint of what it is that I'm doing and have more influence by being able to. And like there is an actual argument for that. But it's, I mean we're live, we live in Bizarro World. So let's I mean another thing, people don't realize too that the ocean does the vast majority of the scrubbing of our environment as opposed to the rainforest. Although the rainforest, we shouldn't get rid of it. Right. It's the lungs of, of the world.

[A]

But.

[C]

I mean you have to think at some point in time there was a PowerPoint slide presenting this idea. Right. And let's say it was the environmental summit 20, whatever it is, we need to increase our infrastructure. We're here, you know, we're going to talk about things like the lungs of our environment, saving the ecosystem. But to do so, hey, we're going to have to go ahead and clear cut a section of this to make it easier for the people landing in their private jets to travel on carbon emitting vehicles to the summit where we're going to try to really reduce other people's behavior.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

In doing so, like rules for the.

[A]

But not for me.

[C]

I mean there is an aspect of that I do understand. There is an aspect that people like that, that can have more influence being able to travel in that manner. But it is so hypocritical that I think that is a little bit lost in the conversation.

[A]

I mean, in my opinion, if you actually believed what you were preaching, you would not do this. First of all, you would not fly in your private jet 300 times a year.

[C]

Well, didn't we show in Covid that you could basically the government can function, function. And all of these things could happen electronically over a zoom call. So wouldn't that drop. You could drop almost all of these emissions to zero. Would it be the same? No. Would you be in person? Would you have the ability to do impromptu meetings? No, but like put your money where your mouth is.

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[C]

Like because you gave us, the rest of us no choice but to conduct business like that. Which by the way, none of them stopped doing business the way that they wanted to. You know, because when you have a G650er, you can kind of go wherever you want to.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. No, it's just so ridiculous and hypocritical and I just, I can't even believe. I mean, I can believe it.

[C]

I mean, it's your generation that is going to be inheriting the environment and ecosystem. What are your thoughts on where we're at, global warming, etc.

[A]

I mean, I think from what I've seen, the evidence suggests that the Earth is warming up. I mean, I don't think the earth.

[C]

Does warm and cool naturally.

[A]

Yeah, I don't think that's disputable how much of that is caused by humans? I think there can be some dispute there. It does seem like it's a pretty big spike from the invention of like coal powered everything basically. So that's compelling evidence. However, I don't think it is as serious as a lot of people make it out to be.

[C]

Well, there's an economic driver for it to be as serious as some people want it to be.

[A]

Yeah. And I don't know, I think, I mean I remember watching a video a long time ago of somebody saying if all these people like. Because all these institutions are all like pushing the climate change is happening and blah, blah, blah. If they all believed it, then any thing owned within the rising sea level range they would sell immediately because the seal. If the sea level is going to rise, why would you.

[C]

Yeah, A lot of these people own legitimately beachfront property.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

First things that would be destroyed if the sea were to rise.

[A]

If you actually believe that this is happening, why would you continue to own that house?

[C]

I mean one buttress against that argument would be they have so much money they don't care.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

You know, it's one of 15 houses that they have.

[A]

Right. You know, it's like I'm just losing one.

[C]

I'll just go to my wyoming house.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

10,000, no deal. You peasants that are down on the valley floor will be underwater.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I don't even know how much. For people of that level of net worth, how much they even care about a house.

[A]

Yeah, I mean probably not very much because they just buy one instantly, whatever one they want, basically.

[C]

I mean, maybe I feel like they still have to have insurance, but they, I don't know. Actually extremely rich people are really frugal. You know, you don't get to be rich by spending all your money.

[A]

Right.

[C]

I don't know, I maybe hypothesize about the lives of billionaires. It's a sum of money. That doesn't make any sense to me.

[A]

No, it's, it's way too, I mean it's an insane amount of money. The other thing too is people pushing like, oh, we have to get off of, you know, fossil fuels and everything. Yeah. And I actually agree with that because we're going to run out eventually.

[C]

Not in your lifetime.

[A]

Not in my lifetime, but we will eventually.

[C]

That's a problem for somebody else that is.

[A]

But if we can solve it right now, yeah, that would be great.

[C]

I'm not saying just kick this can down the road for people losing their mind.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I think the recognition that that's going to happen. And if that can drive innovation and evolution, I think that's awesome. But you can't just be an alarmist. Like, okay, in 2030, we're out of fossil fuels. Because then when you're not so. Well, it meant 2040, right? Out of fossil fuels. Well, yeah, they dig a hole somewhere in the world. Hey, we just found more strategic oil reserves than anywhere else on earth, so we're gonna be good for a little bit. Yeah, I know. When are you gonna get an electric car? Since you're, you know, ecoware.

[A]

Me? I never said I was an eco warrior.

[C]

No, no, I'm saying that you are.

[A]

Oh, oh, oh, I see.

[C]

I mean, go get yourself a cybertruck. They look so awesome.

[A]

Oh yeah, they look great. And they function amazingly. In the rainbow, in a small puddle.

[C]

What?

[A]

Have you not seen these videos where they drive it through a puddle that comes up to like, barely touches the bottom of the truck and it like shuts down?

[C]

No, it doesn't. Now come on. How can they possibly get away with selling car?

[A]

Dude, it's bad.

[C]

Is there more than one video of this happening or is this like a one off? Because every product is going to have a black swan. That's not great. And in the era we live in, everybody has a cell phone, so they're a broadcaster. You've got to be. I mean, I don't doubt that this happened, but you could find a combustion vehicle that you drive off the lot, brand new, that probably broke down before it got to the first stoplight.

[A]

Okay, let's see here. Yeah, this is the video I'm thinking of.

[C]

Today's episode is brought to you by Peak. If you know anything about me, you know that I own a coffee shop. Having said those words, guess what I'm about to talk to you about? Tea. A lot of people wouldn't associate me with drinking tea. I wouldn't have associated me with drinking tea until about, I don't know, a year ago when this was exposed to me. I thought it was gonna be traditional tea bags. And you go through this whole process and difficult to travel with. Yeah, I was completely wrong. This is the tea that I'm drinking right here. I'll get into their pu' erh bundles and what you can expect from this. But really easy to travel with. Convenient, portable. I'll talk about the offer and the things that it comes with here in a second. I need hot water to make this thing. I guess you could make it with cold water. I just. Maybe you're a Psychopath. I don't know. Hot water. If you want to make it with hot water and pour it over ice, couldn't be easier. This is not your grandma and grandpa's cup of tea. Why do I like this stuff, you might ask? Well, there's some things here that I've been focusing on. One of them is gut health. I've talked openly about my desire to continually improve my fitness and longevity. Now, longevity. Guess what? Two birds with one stone here. This thing is packed with antioxidants that fight oxidative stress and support cellular regeneration. Convenience. That's clear that it could be convenient. Just the package that it comes in. I'm working on balancing my microbiome. It balances gut flora for better digestion and a smoother metabolism, energy and mood as well. And immune support. Polyphenols in there are going to help bolster your body's resilience. The sourcing quality is also excellent. It comes from 250-year-old trees. And the innovation what they use is a cold extraction technology that helps retain maximum phytonutrients. If you're ready to give it a try, if you're ready to elevate your day and transform your health. For a limited time, you can get 20% off on the Poo Air bundle, which is one of their types of teas, plus a free starter kit including a rechargeable frother and a glass beaker. It'll help you decide how much water you need. And a little froths it right up for you and mixes it for you as well. Oh, also USB C rechargeable, so you have to worry about batteries. You can use my link head to peak life.com cleared hot that is P I Q U E life.com cleared hot or you can just scroll on down right in the show notes. Click it and you can claim this exclusive offer. Back to the show.

[A]

Yeah. So maybe it's a one off. Maybe. Oh, hold on.

[C]

Volume buttons on the bottom, right.

[A]

Oh, it's muted.

[C]

Yeah. You're welcome.

[A]

Thank you. Okay, that's not a small puddle, but.

[C]

It'S still going. Oh, no.

[A]

Remember back in 2022 when Elon said that the Cybertruck can serve briefly as a mode?

[C]

I forgot about it.

[A]

Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes, and even seas that aren't too choppy. Now we fast forward to today, where this cyber truck tries to cross a little bit of water that any Subaru Crosstrek can handle. With ease and instantly done. Listen to that noise. Oh, yeah. It's not good. Also, if you like the content. I started YouTube. Okay.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

And I could really.

[C]

Let's just say there's probably a one off, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Production facilities and lines aren't perfect. Maybe a guy was having a bad day. Blue wire went to the Red Hole. Red wire went to Blue Hole.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I will say this. Based on that, I don't know if I'd use a cybertruck as a boat. Not that I was planning on using one as a boat before that.

[A]

You know, if the owner of the company makes that claim, that's.

[C]

He gets real loose and fast on that platform.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, hey, you can make that claim if you want, but when people test it out and it doesn't work.

[C]

I have a theory.

[A]

Be prepared for the backlash.

[C]

But here's the thing. If you need a boat, use a boat.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Huh? No, I need a car.

[C]

Use a car. I don't want to see anybody commuting down Main street in Kalispell in a boat. Nor do I want to see anybody on Flathead Lake in a car. No, I take that back. I do want to see the pictures of a car in Flathead Lake. I don't want anybody to be injured in the creation of this content. But I'm totally fine with like an above shot of a drone and there's like a Jeep Grand Cherokee by 7ft underwater. I don't know why I picked a Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's the first thing came to mind.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I've heard Jeeps are also infamously unreliable.

[C]

I mean, even the most reliable cars are going to fail sometimes.

[A]

Oh, for sure. Yeah. Whatever.

[C]

Deal.

[A]

Where are we going with this? Where do we even start off at?

[C]

I don't know.

[A]

I don't know either.

[C]

Dude, you are responsible for the questions on this show. I tell you this every time and you say, I'm gonna bring it. I got such good stuff.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Anyways. Yeah. Rainforest.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, I know what I was gonna say because you asked me, when are you gonna be an eco warrior and buy an electric car?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

In my humble opinion, the best thing you can do for the environment is buy a 10 year old car because.

[C]

Yeah, but it produces emissions.

[A]

Right. But then these companies that make a fleet of brand new cars every single year, and they're also the ones saying, oh, we need to watch the environment. I think the best thing they could do for the environment is to not make any cars for a year. But they'll Never do that.

[C]

Yeah, Yeah. I don't know what impact that would have. I mean, probably the best thing for the environment would be for people to ride bicycles.

[A]

Right. But I'm not doing that.

[C]

No, Nobody is.

[A]

No. Because it's unrealistic. And it's also unrealistic to not make cars for a year. And I understand that, but it would.

[C]

Well, and here's the thing, though, too. It would take a concerted effort.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Let's say the United States says we're not building cars for a year. China. Do you want to pair up on this and work together?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I don't know how to say go fuck yourself in Chinese, but I think that's what they would answer.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And like, I realize that, but I think the point is it's, Again, it's hypocritical because if they really cared about the environment, they would take much more drastic measures than they are now. And they're not.

[C]

I agree. I also find it hilarious that there are those that say we need to put more money into the environment via tax dollars, as if they've been good stewards of the tax money we've currently given them.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

If we can just get another three, we're going to solve the environmental issues. I have an idea. How about, bud, balance the budget or you're fired.

[A]

Yeah. How about let's not have our debt outpace our GDP for like the 10th year in a row.

[C]

That's a solid. That's a solid suggestion.

[A]

It's just like, what the hell, people? Yeah. It's insane.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. But definitely, let's pay more taxes to solve the problem.

[C]

Pretty sure we started the Revolutionary war over a 3% tax.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Now we're what, it's like 40, depends.

[C]

On your tax bracket.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And then people about that. It's like, listen, people are going to play inside of the tax code that is created.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So don't blame somebody who has a higher net worth than you for reducing their taxable income inside of the boundaries that are currently legal. You want to stop that? You need to change the system.

[A]

If I was a billionaire, I would do the same thing.

[C]

I mean, I wonder how much billionaires can actually. Actually, I bet you they can hide an immense amount. And I'm sure that I think they.

[A]

Can because they reduce their. Their income to like $10 a year.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

But they have all these assets.

[C]

Yeah. I don't know. There's a difference between being high net worth and liquid for sure. And I don't, you know, I Don't think there's a lot of benefit to them for being liquid because I'm sure that they could just loan against those assets.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. A bank says, oh, you're worth $3 billion. Yeah, I'm gonna give you a 30 million dollar loan.

[C]

Dope. Would that be to be worth three bills? Dude, what would you do?

[A]

Whatever I want.

[C]

Yeah, but what would you want to do?

[A]

Travel a whole ton. Like, literally.

[C]

Would you travel commercial?

[A]

No, first class. I mean, I would have a private jet at that point.

[C]

Yeah, first class. MCute peasant here. You're worth three built. That's 3,000 million.

[A]

Yeah, I think I could afford a private jet.

[C]

What would you go with?

[A]

I don't even know. The nicest one.

[C]

I mean, a large debate. Yeah, it's. It seems to be, Was it the Salt or Bombardier 7500 versus, like the Gulfstream G800? Either way, you're almost hitting like $100 million in price tag on those. But, man, if you're worth 3,000 million dollars.

[A]

Yeah. Why not?

[C]

Where would you live? Where would you have homes?

[A]

Well, Montana for sure.

[C]

Like, would you buy, like, would you pay off a politician to buy like a plot of land in the middle of the Bob Marshall wilderness? No, like mountaintop, so you could look down upon everybody.

[A]

I would do whatever is commercially available or build my own house and a plot of land that I bought. That doesn't disrupt.

[C]

You say that now because you haven't been morally corrupted by the money, but it might shift over time. Okay, so you'd stay in.

[A]

Where else would you have your houses, man? I mean, bunker in Hawaii.

[C]

Like Zuck.

[A]

Yeah, I don't know. Probably Italy, Japan.

[C]

Oh, okay. So the two places you've traveled to.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So cultured.

[A]

Not Greece. I honestly, Greece was a little sketchy at some points.

[C]

I don't know if you know this yet, but everywhere in the world is a little sketchy at some points. Depending on where you go.

[A]

Greece more so than the other places I've been.

[C]

Have you considered you were just in the wrong neighborhood?

[A]

I was in Athens and there were some spots.

[C]

Athens is large.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

There are places in Kalispell I would recommend you not go.

[A]

Oh, I. I completely agree.

[C]

Okay, yeah, let's. Not on Greece.

[A]

I'm not on Greece. I'm just.

[C]

Objectively, it's kind of sad.

[A]

No, no, no.

[C]

What else would you do? You have 3,000 million dollars in your liquid, man.

[A]

I would probably. Probably get a really. This sounds super nerdy, but literally the best telescope money can buy because that would be so cool to see.

[C]

Couldn't you just build, like your own mountaintop observatory?

[A]

I could build, yeah. Which I would.

[C]

Okay. What would you look at?

[A]

The stars.

[C]

Which one?

[A]

Fucking awesome.

[C]

You just lay there like on a bed of your own money looking at the stars.

[A]

Yeah, I have. I have $3 billion. That's what I'm gonna do.

[C]

I don't even know if that. Maybe like 10 mil. I don't know what a telescope costs like that, but. Okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So you got a jet, you got a telescope, houses. What would you drive.

[A]

A really nice man. I don't know, actually, like, an old Land Cruiser would be cool. Like really decked out, but under the.

[C]

Hood it would be.

[A]

Oh, yeah. It would be crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I honestly do, like, Tesla cars. I think those would be pretty dope to have one of those, like a Model S. Yeah. Like a plaid or whatever. The one that is insanely quick. Yeah.

[C]

I don't honestly feel like you would drive it that fast, though. I feel like you would get scared.

[A]

Um, yeah, maybe they're rollover. They. They're really safe. So I would probably drive it pretty fast.

[C]

Oh, this car has got a really high crash rating. Let me see if I can test it. Yeah. I mean, if everything was achievable, I do think the struggle would be finding purpose in that. And I think so motivated.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

If it's like, if you have that much money and you've now bought two of everything that you would ever want and you still have that much money left over because all you would need to do is invest a fraction. I mean, that's obviously beyond generational wealth, but.

[A]

Oh, yeah. And then after that, I mean, I'd probably be like, what are some.

[C]

What would you collect? It seems like people at that level of wealth, they get it. Like watches, Right. Like, oh, look at this 1.5 million dollar timepiece.

[A]

I'm not a big watch guy.

[C]

Would you be like some abstract art? Pretentious?

[A]

Oh, definitely not abstract. But it would be cool to have like, old, like Renaissance era art.

[C]

Okay. So you'd snap up, like, the good stuff.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. Something that actually, you know, took work and effort.

[C]

Would you have an entire wing of your home dedicated to your art gallery?

[A]

For sure. I mean, my home's going to be huge anyways.

[C]

How big? Like 1600 square feet. What are we talking?

[A]

I don't. I. 1600 isn't a lot, right? That doesn't seem like a lot.

[C]

The fact that you don't know the answer to that is shocking to me. No, it's not much. That's the size of the townhouse.

[A]

Okay. Okay. Yeah. Definitely bigger than 1600 square feet.

[C]

These mansions. We're talking like 50, 60,000 square.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, like that.

[C]

All right. Yeah. I feel like in there somewhere you have to find something that drives you or that you want to do or that fulfills you. Because, man, once you had all of those things, you're still left with yourself.

[A]

Yeah. There's nothing more to work towards. Like.

[C]

Yeah. And plus it, you know, you could literally collect as much of as many things as you wanted. Like for me, I would have a collection of helicopters. Maybe they would be one time use. But you're like, hey, where's this one back? I flew it to the grocery store. It's in the parking lot. I think it's still running. Bon voyage. You know, obviously I wouldn't do that, but it's like, okay, do you need. Not that I would do this, but like, do you need 50 helicopters? No. Could you though, if you wanted to? I guess. But they're just things.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[C]

I don't know. It's an interesting thought experiment. I know I'm never gonna have to worry about those things.

[A]

Yeah, I'll be good.

[C]

What else you got?

[A]

Speaking of billionaires.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

BlackRock suing UnitedHealthcare for giving too much care to patients.

[C]

Hold on, let me finish reading this headline. BlackRock is suing UnitedHealthcare for giving, in parentheses, too much care to patients after the CEO was murdered. I don't even understand that headline.

[A]

What do you not understand?

[C]

How do you. What do you mean, too much care?

[A]

Probably approving too many operations, approving too many medications.

[C]

I like the first sentence. You think you've seen peak corporate insanity. Hold my beer.

[A]

Yeah, so this is obviously a little biased.

[C]

Yeah, of course.

[A]

Oh, no, thank you.

[C]

X out of there. God, I hate pop ups. Here's the lawsuit's twisted premise. After the CEO Brian Thompson got murdered, which, by the way, it is shocking how many people have rallied behind the kid that's in jail for that.

[A]

Not surprising to me.

[C]

It's unfortunate.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I don't. I am not saying that the healthcare industry has the best interest of the people it's supposed to be treating in mind. Let's be honest, they're in the business of making money.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I'm not arguing that that's the case, that that isn't the case, but to get to a place where the murder of somebody is celebrated, that is a human being, wife and kids so cascading downstream effects like, let's put it in the grand scheme of things.

[A]

I also think Brian is his name.

[C]

I don't know. His last name starts with a V, I think.

[A]

I think the former CEO probably was not, as he was doing his job, thinking, I'm going to deny so many claims. He was probably just doing his job trying, I bet you.

[C]

I would like to believe that, but I think that there are some out.

[A]

There that are super vicious, I'm sure. Yeah. And in that case, it's like, I don't know, it's complex.

[C]

All right, so hold on. Let's see here. CEO Brian Thompson got murdered and the whole country started screaming about the claims denials. UnitedHealthcare apparently got spooked. Word is they've been approving more treatments, covering more procedures, maybe even, God forbid, acting like an actual insurance company instead of a denial machine. So BlackRock is pissed. The lawsuit alleges UnitedHealthcare misled investors by not being clear about how all this negative publicity might make them, you know, actually honor their insurance contracts. Because apparently when your CEO gets shot for denying cancer treatments, the logical response is to maybe stop denying so many cancer treatments. This is obviously an opinion piece.

[A]

Very opinionated. Yes.

[C]

I'm not going to say that I, I get it. I get where they're coming from. That's. I mean, I've seen enough. Here's a thought. Maybe let's. And I don't. This is possible because I don't have a deep understanding of financial markets. Maybe we don't allow people to. Or we don't commoditize on the stock market. Health insurance.

[A]

Yeah, right.

[C]

How about we separate it and allow it to be and exist for what it is that it's supposed to exist for instead of having to answer to these massive. What is the current valuation of BlackRock? Because this number, I feel like is going to be in the trillions, billions, I think.

[A]

I mean, the amount they manage is definitely in the trip.

[C]

And I don't like that a health care provider is beholden to answering to those shareholders.

[A]

So, I mean, there's. Market cap is 177 billion.

[C]

Okay. That's still pretty big.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

That's larger than the net worth we had when we had. And you already had a telescope.

[A]

A measly 3 billion.

[C]

Yeah, but you had a telescope.

[A]

Yeah, I did have a telescope.

[C]

Plaid Model S, you know. Oh, and a jet. That jet was dope.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

It'd either be a Bombardier or Gulf Stream for you. It could Help you with for sure. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Either. Either one is going to probably get you where you need to be.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And the pilot, you would need two for those actually. Honestly, you need four.

[A]

I can afford it. You could just be on retainer.

[C]

Yes, they should be on retainer. And probably a mechanic and a hanger and insurance and stuff like that. Round off air, if you will.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So yeah, BlackRock has more than our imaginary net worth. But two of us, we had six bill. So that's pretty.

[A]

We're doing well. We're getting there. Yeah. We're getting 178 bills more years. I think.

[C]

Let's separate these two. Let's keep health care out of the stock market.

[A]

I agree.

[C]

I mean, you think that this. Okay, so let's war game this a second. If somebody, and I don't know much about the young man who made that decision and unhinged his life, if somebody feels that way about health care and then you see something like this where BlackRock is pressuring UnitedHealthcare because they think they are paying out too much of what they receive every month from people. Why in your right mind would you think that somebody wouldn't come after the CEO of BlackRock as well? Especially if it changes the behavior of UnitedHealthcare. Yeah, like come on man, let's connect the dots here. Crazy people do crazy things. And what do you. Okay. UnitedHealthcare is now, you know, we are going to. We are being forced by our largest shareholder in the interest of maintaining profitability year over year. What we're going to have to do is reduce the amount of claims that we process because to us it's more about getting our monthly money in and then BlackRock is associated with that and then the CEO's name is on the lawsuit. Come on, man.

[A]

Yeah, I. Okay, one more thing. You've heard of Ben Askren's whole fiasco?

[C]

Yeah, the double lung transplant.

[A]

Yeah. That insurance denied him. They didn't cover any of it.

[C]

Why?

[A]

No clue, man. And that's my biggest gripe is what is the point of paying into insurance every month to cover an issue like this, like a catastrophic injury.

[C]

If did you were in the room when we were talking with Chris and he broke down the health care system.

[A]

It's horrible.

[C]

The kickbacks in the pharmacies and those organizations, organization and entities, because they're limited. Right. On the. What was it, 15 to 20%?

[A]

They're.

[C]

They're locked in to a maximum percentage. And again, I'd have to go back and listen to that Episode for the exact specifics, but they're locked into a percentage of the premiums. But you can make a smaller number bigger by increasing the premiums and you have flexibility in these other areas by what you are charging for prescription medication. Oh, and never mind the fact that they own the pharmacy that's associated with that in the intermediaries that set the price and the kicks back. It's a horrible system.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Didn't he say that the lobby for health care is larger than that of the defense industry?

[A]

Yes.

[C]

And like two others.

[A]

Yeah, something like some.

[C]

Yeah, I mean it's. Why do we tolerate that?

[A]

I mean not that I have a.

[C]

Suggestion or a solution for it, but.

[A]

Well, I, I don't think anybody tolerates it or likes it. But the problem is it's been this way for forever and no amount of voting has changed it.

[C]

And so that's maybe because the left and the right hand side of the aisle are birds or wings of the same bird.

[A]

Well, yeah, exactly. And I think that's where people come to the conclusion like Luigi, that hey, nothing is working. Only violence can solve this.

[C]

Yeah, but does violence actually solve it, is the question.

[A]

Well, it didn't in this instance because we're just right back to status quo.

[C]

Well, small scale violence isn't going to solve that. And I'm not advocating for large scale violence. But a one off, I don't even know how to say this without a one off, smaller event is generally not going to have the impact as a larger cascading Right event. And I'm not advocating for that in any shape or form. Yeah, I don't have a solution for it, but it's wild or you know, him talking about how what happened with the Affordable Care act, which. Let's assume that the people who created that, let's, let's just give them all the benefit and assume that they had the best of intentions in mind. But by reducing the amount of healthcare providers from it was over a dozen down to four, reducing competition, allowing for price fixing. Once you recognize that it's not doing that, if our elected officials are actually supposed to be serving the people that they were elected by, then they would change it. But we can't because God forbid somebody on the left say that the Affordable Care act isn't actually making anything more affordable for the vast majority of people. I'm sure it is for some and that something needs to be done about it because they'll be crucified by their own party.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. No, I mean the whole thing is just Absolutely fucked. And again, it's been that way for what, how long? 30 or 40 years. And no matter. What do you think has changed here? That's, I don't know, I think a mix of public and private. Because I think at the very base level there should be some sort of health care for everybody. Like if you break your arm, universal healthcare. Yeah. And in some capacity. I mean, I don't think it should be totally universal because obviously the government isn't really good at running things.

[C]

What makes you say that?

[A]

Yeah, but honestly, like, I think if you get cancer through no fault of your own, I don't think you should be left out to die because insurance won't cover your claim. You know, call me a socialist, but.

[C]

I can see the arguments for and against it and people against that would say, well, who's going to pay for it?

[A]

Right.

[C]

And again, that's, I'm not saying that's not an invalid argument. It's definitely a very, very nuanced and deep conversation, but I don't think we should be avoiding having those things. The problem is where our own country can't even create a budget that we can stick to. Yeah, you don't even have a solid foundation to start the conversation from.

[A]

Yeah, well, and the thing of who was going to pay for it? Well, the taxpayers, obviously. But the problem is we're already paying, you know, whatever percent tax. And yes, we see at the local level results. But at the state, especially at the federal level, who fucking knows what's happening. We don't know what's happening with our money. And so we're, it's like, do you.

[C]

Think that they know what's happening with the money?

[A]

I don't, I don't think it's possible to know what's happening with the money.

[C]

Or are they standing at a dam that is just sprouting water out and they're just like finger jamming holes? But everyone, they do another three. I don't know. I don't want to believe that the entire system is completely upside down and unsalvageable and corrupt, but it's really hard not to feel that way sometimes just based off results or actions or hypocrisy. We need to go build that telescope, Michael.

[A]

That's what I'm saying. Just get your mind off of what's happening on earth.

[C]

Just lay on $100 bills and look at the stars. Are there any billionaires out there that want to invest in Michael and I? By that I mean just give us each $3 billion I don't need that much. Give Michael 3 billion so he can build his telescope. I'll take a bill.

[A]

Right.

[C]

Yeah, It'll be tough, but I'll get by.

[A]

I think. I think we could make that work.

[C]

No, you still get three. I'll get a bill.

[A]

Okay. Yeah, yeah, no, I. I could survive off the three.

[C]

Yeah, I think I could do it. I mean, I got three kids, so it'll be real tough, but.

[A]

Yeah, that would be pretty difficult, man.

[C]

Depressing conversation. What else you got?

[A]

Anyways, let's see if I can find something funny or cool.

[C]

Well, what'd you come prepared with, if anything? What do you do, just open up tabs over there?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Which way, by the way? Yesterday when we were recording the show with Austin von Lichtenhole, you were busted by looking at your Japanese trip.

[A]

That was the day before.

[C]

Whatever. One of the days I see what you're doing over there, which is not paying attention. If anybody's ever wondering why the person talking is not on camera, it's because Michael is like Googling his vacation.

[A]

That's not. Look. Look at all the notes for Matt.

[C]

That episode was dope.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

What a fascinating background he had.

[A]

I know. That'll be.

[C]

Let me see. This list comes out next Friday. The Monday after this episode comes out is with the founder of Aries Watch Co. I think they made me this dope ass red one to match the helicopter. I can't believe he talked so negatively about this color and just said it was an abomination. His face is an abomination, you know, Like, I'm not going to accept that. I think that their sales of red, which they don't offer, might go through the roof.

[A]

Hell yeah. But whatever. Okay.

[C]

Yeah. And during that episode you were Googling.

[A]

Japan, whatever, for part of it.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Like maybe 10 minutes. And it was like the final 10 minutes, so it really didn't even matter.

[C]

Thank you for your feedback on that constructive criticism on the wrap up to Matt Graham's episode.

[A]

Okay. I don't know if you've seen this, but a few years ago in the Olympics in karate, I'm gonna be honest.

[C]

I didn't realize karate was still in the Olympics, didn't.

[A]

I didn't either. A guy knocked out, his opponent got disqualified. The guy that got knocked out won the gold medal.

[C]

What?

[A]

Yeah, I.

[C]

Hold on. Before you hit play, are they not supposed to touch each other?

[A]

I mean, in my. What I had assumed was the guy who. I mean, they have incapacitates his opponent would win. Right.

[C]

Isn't the original. I mean, it was supposed to be a martial art. Emphasis on martial art. They have foot protection on and gloves. I have no idea what the weight of the gloves for the audio only crowd, but yeah, hit play on this thing. Okay. Oh, you're getting kicked in the face. Oh.

[A]

Anyways, that's the knockout.

[C]

But this guy, that to me looked like the. An awesome response to what that guy was doing.

[A]

The epitome of what you're taught in karate. Right.

[C]

I've never taken a karate lesson, so I don't know.

[A]

Me either.

[C]

Assuming it is a martial art and designed for actually fighting. The guy wearing the red shoes and gloves just flatline that guy.

[A]

You would think based off of a.

[C]

Reaction to what the dude wearing the blue gloves was doing.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

High marks, which is like, give him five stars.

[A]

Yeah, I would too.

[C]

This guy's about to DQ him, huh?

[A]

I believe so.

[C]

Let's see it.

[A]

Yep. Disqualified. Before I was in the.

[C]

An unchecked attack or excessive first off, full follow through and a what?

[A]

Isn't that insane?

[C]

The guy was moving towards him. He threw a reactionary kick. I don't. Man, I don't know. What's his reaction to it? Let me see.

[A]

I don't know if it's gonna show it.

[C]

Eight speed replay uninterrupted.

[A]

All right. Oops.

[C]

Whack. Like, beautiful kick, I would say. That's not a full follow through. He actually pulled it back.

[A]

Yeah. Harder. Yeah. How am.

[C]

I guess.

[A]

So that's the guy you knocked out getting gold.

[C]

Well, I don't know much about the Olympics or the Olympic committee or how they score things, but I guess it comes down to you have to play inside of the rule set that you are competing in. That, to me, seems utterly ridiculous as somebody who doesn't participate in that.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, if the whole point it's.

[C]

Somebody out in Jiu jitsu in a match, and then when they wake up, you get disqualified and they get their hand raised.

[A]

Yeah. It's like, wait a minute. I. I won. I. I did what I was supposed to do.

[C]

Yeah. However, if you were to enter some obscure tournament, and I'm not saying the Olympics is. And it had a rule set of. Hey, this is like the. Not taking it so serious Jiu Jitsu league.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And if you put somebody out, even if they don't tap, then you lose. And it's on you to recognize that, then I guess you're the rule set you're playing inside of.

[A]

I mean. Yeah, I mean, I think it speaks more to the watering down of karate as a combat sport if you cannot even, you know, participate in full combat. Right, because that's the whole point.

[C]

I would think so, but my opinion is not wildly held on most topics.

[A]

No, mine either. This is like the full.

[C]

Due to violation of the rules regarding excessive contact, specifically a knockout kick to his opponents. Wow. The judges rule that Hamedi. Sorry if I'm saying that wrong. Did not adequately control the power of his kick. Yeah, but the opponent was moving forward as well, and he did not follow through. Like, he didn't kick all the way through.

[A]

No. He could have made that so much.

[C]

Contacted and pulled his leg out. I mean, again, I'm not a karate guy though, so I don't know.

[A]

I mean, I think it's a little ridiculous.

[C]

I do too, but I don't do karate.

[A]

Yeah, no, yeah.

[C]

No, I'm being totally honest. I think the concept of karate is a little bit ridiculous. I'm not saying that to be demeaning. It just doesn't make sense to me.

[A]

Yeah, it's. It's kind of not on the same level of gunjitsu, but in the same arena.

[C]

So parts of it make sense to me and others don't if you're there. And I. I do get the aspect for kids of, you know, discipline, structure, routine, like, totally get all that. But again, my opinion is just my own and feel free to disagree with me. Many people do.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

What else you got? We got time for one more. If you even came prepared for one more.

[A]

I did. I did. Oh, here's something kind of insane. So Time did tell me more. 100 best podcasts of all time.

[C]

Of all time.

[A]

Yes. Most innovative, influential and informative of all time. Yes.

[C]

In the 15 years they've existed. But sure.

[A]

Yep. Guess who is not on that list.

[C]

Jerry.

[A]

Yep. You would think when putting together a list of the most influential podcasts, he.

[C]

Should be top 10 at a minimum. Whether you agree with him or not.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Whether you agree with the influence or not. You cannot create a list of the most influential podcasters and not have Joe up there. That is.

[A]

It's insane. It's insane.

[C]

I mean, and honestly, the exclusion from a top 100 list.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

First off, he probably has back end numbers. More downloads than the bottom 90 shows listed there combined.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

We're talking multiple billions of downloads.

[A]

Yeah. Or any more downloads than any of Time's articles, for sure.

[C]

Touch points and impressions for sure. To me though, as soon as you exclude somebody like that, which was obviously intentional and not a mistake, yeah. How can I take your article as being something as objective? You don't have to agree with the influence the person might.

[A]

Oh, no, absolutely not.

[C]

But to say that they don't have that influence, like, come on.

[A]

It's crazy. Like, there are lots of things Joe Rogan says that I don't necessarily agree with, but you cannot deny the fact that because of him, so many podcasts got started, this one included.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And he's, like, the most influential for, like, for five or six years, was the most influential podcast.

[C]

Here's a tip out there for people. If you want to not be taken seriously, if you want to be looked at as somebody who is unable of being objective, create a list like that and exclude somebody intentionally because you don't agree with their philosophy. In life, if you want to be taken seriously and you want to be considered somebody who actually tells the truth, include everybody, whether you like them or not.

[A]

Well, yeah, it's like making a list of the top 10 or top 100 MMA fighters and leaving out, like, Chel Sonnen because he's a loudmouth and brash.

[C]

Correct.

[A]

Or you're replaced with any example. Like, it's. It's insane.

[C]

Yeah, that is. I mean, I'm not joking. The numbers 11 through 100, I bet you Joe has more.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Impressions and downloads in streams than all of those shows combined.

[A]

I would. I would.

[C]

Billions upon billions of. I mean, come on.

[A]

So, yeah. I mean, and obviously Joe could do.

[C]

A show about farting into a mason jar, and it actually. That would probably trend. Maybe we'll try that one day. But it would get more impressions than that article itself.

[A]

Oh, for sure. Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

And it's funny, too, by leaving that out, and it's such an objectively obvious, glaring gap.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

It's the first thing that people are going to talk about in an attempt to not include the person. Everybody else who looks at this, who has any idea what they're talking about, are going to drag that person right into the conversation.

[A]

It's like. What's it called? The Barbra Streisand effect.

[C]

I don't know where.

[A]

It's like.

[C]

Is that like, having wavy hair or something?

[A]

No, it's like by asking or, you know, in this instance, the exclusion of something, it actually draws more attention to the thing itself rather than just staying quiet about it. And I don't know if that's the.

[C]

Streisand effect, but that's. Yeah. Good luck creating a list like that. I mean, come on. Yeah, it's like, hey, here's the most, the best, the 100 best ice cream flavors in the history of humans. And you leave chocolate or vanilla.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

You know, and who cares what the number one is? If you were to leave that out, almost everybody's gonna go, hey, man, like, these other ones are really good too, but how could you possibly forget vanilla?

[A]

Yeah, yeah. It's insane.

[C]

It's dumb.

[A]

Anyways, yeah, that's. That's it.

[C]

All right, well, closing thoughts do you have for people? What are you looking to get out of your trip to Japan?

[A]

Man, I really just want to. 1. Just see different culture.

[C]

You will see different culture.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. I really want to see more rural areas. Some of that, like some of those rural shrines are insane. Very, very cool. And try some of the food. That's pretty much.

[C]

If those are your goals for the trip, you're gonna have a pretty banger trip.

[A]

Yeah, I'm excited for it. A lot of walking, but that's totally. I like walking, so it's fine.

[C]

Okay. Yeah, you have to walk.

[A]

I mean, within the cities I probably will, but going to places, I will definitely take a skateboard. Yeah, definitely. I don't. I've ridden the skateboard maybe five times in my life, so this will be good.

[C]

Japan could be six.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Or Nippon. That's all I got for.

[A]

Or the Orient.

[C]

Yeah, they're big in the Orient. Skateboards are big in the Orient. Just ask my dad.

[B]

Marketing is hard, but I'll tell you a little secret. It doesn't have to be. Let me point something out. You're listening to a podcast right now and it's great. You love the host. You seek it out and download it. You listen to it while driving, working out, cooking, even going to the bathroom. Podcasts are a pretty close companion. And this is a podcast ad. Did I get your attention? You can reach great listeners like yourself with podcast advertising from Libsyn Ads. Choose from hundreds of top podcasts offering host endorsements or run a pre produced ad like this one across thousands of shows. To reach your target audience in their favorite podcasts with Libsyn Ads, go to Libsyn ads.com that's L, I B S Y N ads.com today.