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Keith Olbermann
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Most people think their insurance will cover them when disaster strikes. The truth? Many are wrong. You pay premiums and assume you're protected until the fine print hits exclusions, limits, loopholes. Suddenly that coverage isn't coverage at all. My policy advocate reviews your policies, home, auto, life and breaks them down in plain English. They show what's really covered and what isn't. It costs just 27 cents a day less than a cup of coffee. For peace of before you assume you're covered, go to mypolicyadvocate.com you might be shocked at what you find. Mypolicyadvocate.com hey, it's Bobby Bones.
Bobby Bones
You know, Eddie and I recently stopped by. Yeah, in Nashville. It's an incredible nonprofit empowering kids through music education. Thanks to Hyundai, we recorded a special podcast episode while we were there.
Keith Olbermann
How do you think learning an instrument helps kids with confidence? Learning an instrument allows them to discover a little bit further of who they are and be comfortable with it and then share a little bit about that with others. And if it's done in an environment that is celebrating and championing them, then that confidence can only go up.
Bobby Bones
The full episode is out now, presented by the Hyundai Ioniq 9. To donate and learn more about yeah's mission, just visit yahrocks.org support for the
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show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI, it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com pilots and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comDisclosures sink into affordable luxury.
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Anabe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out with stain resistant slipcovers and a cloud like frame duvet. Everything goes right in the wash. Plus the modular design lets you change the look of your space anytime. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your home shop up to 60% off site wide with sofas starting at just $699 and a 30 day money back guarantee. Shop now@washablesofas.com offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.
Bobby Bones
Flag Football is exploding and iflag is leading the way as the Guinness World Record Holder. Iflag hosts premier flag football tournaments nationwide for boys, girls, high school girls and adults. From football, from first time players to elite competitors, iflag delivers top level competition, unforgettable experiences and a community built around the game. Ready to be part of it. Join the movement, find your tournament and learn more@iflag.org that's iflag.org Countdown with Keith
Keith Olbermann
Olbermann is a production of iHeartRadio. Trump doesn't know that he is F'd in Iran. Is he in a fugue state? You know, a fugue state. Dissociative behavior, temporary amnesia, a sense that there are no consequences, that none of this is real. In other words, Trump's normal state, only worse. One minute he says, quote, any time I want it to end, it will end. The next minute he's threatening Iran with endless war so damaging they literally could never build that country back. The next he's calling reporters to say it's all but over. The next he's telling tankers to go through the Strait of Hormuz anyway. The next he's praising himself for destroying Iran's nukes a year ago. The next he's insisting he will now destroy their nukes. The next he's insisting he'll pick the next leader of Iran. The next he's insisting all their leaders are dead. The next he is repeating a word he has invented, mutilization, and insisting it's about transgender surgery. The next minute he's walking up to members of his own cabinet and guessing their shoe size and then sending them Florsheim shoes that went out of style in 1966 and that don't fit. Or as Jack Nicholson called them when one of them gave out from under him in the movie Chinatown, God damn Fluorsheim shoe. None of this for Trump is real. None of the death. None of the schoolgirls. None of the horror. None of the cost. None of it is real. Because long ago something happened to his already disordered mind which allowed him to eliminate the inconvenient truth that is reality. The big problem in war or in human interaction of any kind, the big problem is, is facts. So you just eliminate the facts. Trump always goes with what he thinks is his intuition over facts. The facts say there is no threat from Iran. He decides the facts are wrong. You remember how this started A week ago Tuesday he said, it was my opinion that they were going to attack first. I think they were going to attack first and I didn't want that to happen. So he started a. If this had been the Cuban Missile crisis when he was president, the last of us would be dying right about now. I mean the last of us humans. Because intuition. But of course it's not intuition. His intuition is terrible. This is in fact not intuition, but that which he wants to be true. In a world with confirmation bias everywhere, he is nothing but confirmation bias. He wants to see people die. He dec to kill them and then he invents a reason afterwards. And we have given him all the weapons to make that happen. And now we have given him the strongest motivation to block out all reality, all denial. On this we have given him as motivation, self preservation. The presidency is his because the alternative for him was death in prison. The war started because the alternative was him finally being cornered about his Epstein cover up. The lies about the war ending soon are because he realized he could manipulate the markets and his friends and maybe even him could make some money off of it on the side. He could filch it from the rubes. Trump is a smug, stupid son of a bitch and ordinarily that might be a problem for him, except he doesn't believe it, therefore it's not true. And there is nobody around him who would benefit from it being clear to him that it's true. They're all making their own money, they're all getting their own power. And if it might hurt him just to hear it, he doesn't hear you say it. And if the facts prove yes, it's true, he's a smug, stupid son of a bitch. He just calls up a MAGA congressman to lie for him or he just calls up a gullible reporter from CBS or somewhere to quote him and to then erase or inflate the oil futures market by hundreds of millions of dollars in one second. None of it is real to him. None of it except the money. And maybe the shoes. Except maybe the God damn Fluorsheim shoes. Now more seriously, there are factual developments that Trump cannot alter with his world of denial and his fugue state. And Those around him who are supporting him in both and will continue to. To the death. Quite literally to the death. Senator Chris Murphy's revelations of the two hour, partially unclassified administration briefing Tuesday about Iran are as important as anything yet said about this madness. They confirm the worst. What's the plan here? Destroying Iran's nuclear program? Nope, per the briefing that Murphy got. Regime change in Iran? Nope. Again, per the administration's briefing. Keep the Strait of Hormuz open for oil tankers or reopen it after we screw it up and force it closed as they have done? Nope, none of the above. Murphy writes, the plan seems to be destroying lots of missiles and boats and drone factories. But the question that stumped them what happens when you stop bombing and they restart production? They hinted at more bombing, which is of course endless war, unquote, against the same adversary. Again quoting Murphy, citing the administration briefing on this deadly fiasco. They are going to spend hundreds of billions of your taxpayer dollars, get a whole bunch of Americans killed and end up with an Iran under the control of a hardline regime. Probably a more anti American hardline regime. Murphy did not address what I suggested here Monday was one of the few possible outcomes for this nation since Iran is not going to give up, which is that Trump will have to give up and call it victory. You know what? Senator George Akin of Vermont did not say to lyndon Johnson in 1966 about Vietnam, but anecdotal history still insists he did declare victory and get out. This time Trump really will have to say something like that one way or the other. It is already being formulated. The more devious and less insane senators and congressmen dependent on Trump for survival and power and money, Hawley of Missouri comes to mind, are basically saying this now we've accomplished all we set out to. What else is there to do? Let's explain this to the world and move on and do it in Cuba. This plan is now inside the White House. Certainly from the New York Times. Inside the administration, some officials are growing pessimistic about the lack of a clear strategy to finish the war. You think? But they have been careful not to express that directly to the President. See my earlier comments. Who has repeatedly declared that the military operation is a complete success. The Wall Street Journal and other outlets quote sources who say Trump's shit for brains trust thinks it can survive a few weeks of gas at five, six, eight dollars a gallon. And after that, after that it's lose the House by 20, lose the Senate, lose some state houses, lose a bunch of governorships and Begin to move towards that land wherein Trump is in fact impeached and convicted. And just as the Trump cult must decide which it wants more dead Iranian schoolgirls or gas under $3 a gallon, those of us who are sane are held hostage by what is an increasingly clear choice of our own. We must work for the end of the dictator's ability to kill at will. We must pull the world as far back from the edge of some unknown unknown, turning this disaster into a truly cataclysmic world war. Trump. We must kill the embryonic talk of a military draft. We must stop Trump's fugue state. Or, or we could let it play out and let him destroy his party and drive gas up beyond, I dunno, what, $20 a gallon and let him try to start a draft that would instantly drop his approval rating to about 11% and get himself impeached and convicted this time next year. But with one catch. Get himself impeached and convicted this time next year, if there is a next year. Sadly, the focus here has to remain on that tempting but ultimately already decided decision. No, I'm sorry, we can't risk the actual total destruction of the world for the sake of a guaranteed conviction on impeachment next year. Year. I'm sorry. Anyway, I mean, a guaranteed impeachment probably means he tries a military takeover, which might mean he launches nukes anyway, targeted to hit Newsom or Tim Walls. But we also can't lose track of Trump's co conspirators and their madness and their lies. I think this is a complete list of the Trump cult claims about Iran and its supposed nuclear capacity. Just this week, Lindsey Graham insists that without Trump's unprovoked assault on Iran, quote, if we had waited another year, they would have had 11 nuclear bombs, not 10, not 12, 11. Now, I'm assuming the number 11 came up because Lindsay had had 11 drinks before his appearance with Sean Hannity or during it. John Bolton, who has now recovered from his brief period of sanity, said Iran would have had only one nuke. But it would have had this Sunday morning 72 hour delivery, Bolton said, from North Korea via Russia Nuke Express, when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight. Trump himself was not nearly as alarmist as Bolton. One nuke and one nuke only within two weeks. Steve Witkoff, who is either inflated or stuffed, I can't tell which, and whose qualifications as some kind of special peace envoy seem to be that he's a guy Trump knows the way Howard Lutnick is a guy Trump knows by the way. What the hell happened to Howard Lutnick? Oh, right, he got Epstein. Witkoff insists in a year you'd have 30 or 40 nuclear bombs. He didn't say that they would be in Iran. We think he meant that. Who knows? 30 or 40 is this man's IQ. Trump, of course, seems to have dropped the nuclear threat red herring altogether now and moved on to missiles and the Navy and regime change and regime placement and then not regime change and then unconditional surrender and then blowing up schoolgirls and then declaring he won. Unless he hasn't, and we're still fighting. Unless we're escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Unless the Energy Secretary deleted that. Again, generally speaking, they've lied about who killed those girls. But Trump can't stop himself from praising himself over the accuracy of the Tomahawk that blew up the school. So he has to lie and say it could have been anybody's Tomahawk, but he chose those Tomahawks like they were giving Tomahawks out in the goody bag at the Oscars. Then he had to say that it was an Iranian tomahawk, even though Iran doesn't have Tomahawks. Trump's people lied and said only eight Americans had been injured in the entire operation. When it was 150. Oh, no, it's 150, you're right. But it's all minor. Then CBS came out yesterday with the report that there are dozens still seriously injured and hospitalized in an attacked American base in Kuwait. They've lied and insisted Iran is now incapable of any retaliation. Yesterday, Iranian government hackers basically destroyed the entire technological structure of the medical device maker Striker as retaliation for the school bombing. An international firm. Offices in 79 countries are now closed, records wiped out. 50 terabytes of Stryker data stolen. Stryker. Stryker. And to circle back to my point Monday that Trump was in essence underwriting attacks against our own troops by loosening up the embargo on Russian oil sales, giving Russia more wherewithal to fund geolocating of American assets, and then giving that info. They're over here. To the Iranians. Trump has now doubled down on this, and thus so have the Russians. Now, per CNN, the U.S. military knew that Iran's accuracy and sophistication in its drone strategy in this war was way better than expected, and now it knows why. Western intel has confirmed Iran is being advised on how to penetrate drone defense throughout the Middle East. Advised by Russia. Russia advising it on tactics and giving it yet more info about targets and how to reach them. Trump is in fact funding both sides of this war. Oh, and the premise of escorting oil tankers through the Hormuz Strait, this gem from the Wall street journal. The US did this in the 1980s, actually did escort runs through the strait, and they managed to get one ship through the Strait of Hormuz per week. Quoting the Journal at that pace, it would take two and a half years to get all 320 or so vessels currently stranded in the Gulf out of there. Even resuming 3/4 of Hormuz sailings would still prevent nearly 4 mbd of oil from getting to global markets. Jeff Curry of Carlisle, a private equity firm, says the cost of a single escort would exceed the value of the cargo it is meant to protect. The MAGAs have said, oh, but ships are so much faster now than they were, so let's say they're going twice as fast with escorts. So it would only take one and a quarter years to get all of the vessels currently waiting to get through the Hormuz Strait through the Hormuz Strait. Now there are many tankers getting through without a problem at regular speed. Iran is not blocking ships connected to China and shockingly enough, it is not blocking ships connected to itself to Iran. Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports. I'm stunned by this. As I read it for the 17th or 18th time, Iran is now exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than it was before we started this war. Happily though, even in the midst of this chaos, the old fallback remains true. That you and I are not in leg irons mining rare earths. That the world has not been vaporized yet. And that owes mostly to the stupidity of these wonderful people in the first war. To keep the Epstein files out of the headlines, Trump could still not resist posting yesterday about the Epstein files. The news that Larry Summers, the former Harvard president and all around jackass, now has to give up his professorships and his appointments. Cause Epstein required Trump to prioritize mocking somebody else for nine seconds rather than possibly burying the Epstein story for good the way he had been doing more or less. Trump posted the story about Summers yesterday and then added what appears to have been an attempt to make a joke. A joke. A joke from somebody like Trump without any sense of humor other than man hit in groin by football. A joke from somebody without any sense of what changes you could make to a cliche or a familiar phrase to make the new modified version funny because of the change and what changes you could make to that cliche that would then make it meaningless and unrecognizable and not even allow the listener to recognize you were trying to make a joke. See which one he did. Quote Punxsutawney Phil sees zero more years of summers wow, good one, Shecky. Another moron on whom we can always rely on Epstein. James Comer. It got little attention, but remember the claim from the former Attorney General of New Mexico last week that Trump's Department of Justice had stopped New Mexico's investigation of Epstein's trafficking venue Zorro ranch in 2019 outside Santa Fe by promising to fold that investigation into the overall prosecution and instead just burying it? This was while Epstein was still alive. James Comer was nice enough to confirm it. Quote Comer the federal government asked New Mexico to stop their investigation, I believe, back in 2019 of that ranch, unquote Fox idiot. Which branch? Quote Comer doj I believe. Thanks, Jamie. And an update from Pete Hegseth. Pete TSD Hegseth, who has now banned all non Pentagon photographers from these bouts of manic religious ecstasy that he refers to as Iran War briefings. Why no more Associated Press or Getty Image Guys or Reuters snappers at these press briefings? Hegseth found their images of him unflattering, but all images of Pete Hegseth are unflattering. And lastly here I'm not an Ezra Klein fan, I think you know that, but I have to steal a clip from his Times podcast because we Cornelians are so, so proud. Nadia Shadlow Murphy, Class of 1987, Bachelor's in Government and Soviet studies. I bet the Soviet studies part is coming in really useful right now. Later, Deputy Assistant to Trump for National Security Strategy in his first dictatorship. So you don't know that name, but all this crap is her fault. Nadia Shadlo Murphy Cornell87 Moron. You don't believe me? How else could you possibly get owned this irretrievably and permanently? How else could you possibly get this owned by Ezra Klein?
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Congress's role is the power of the purse.
Keith Olbermann
So the case for Congress is once we have gone to war, if they don't like it, they can remove the money.
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Congress does not have a constitutional role in the declaration of war. Congress has a role in cutting off funds for wars, which it has threatened to do. The president doesn't have to get permission, but yes, you can debate, you can decide that's his choice and how he wants to do it.
Keith Olbermann
I mean, here I will quote the Constitution.
Sports Announcer
The Congress shall have power to declare
Keith Olbermann
war, grant letters of marque and reprisal and make rules concerning captures on land and water. I think the President shall be the commander in chief of the army, but it is Congress that has the power to declare war.
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So constitutionally, the Constitution says Congress has the power to declare war, but the issue is whether or not a president who deploys military force abroad needs to do so only after having Congress declare war.
Keith Olbermann
Oh, Constitution. I thought you said floor Shime Shoe. And we take her degree back. Can we take. Can we just take it back? Any chance of that? Come to your 40th anniversary next year and bring your degree with you. Also of interest here and speaking of retracting Cornell degrees, Bill Maher run over at an NBA game by a basketball player because the player, like Bill's TV audience, didn't realize Bill was still there. O that's next Business Countdown Most people think their insurance will cover them when disaster strikes. The truth? Many are wrong. You pay premiums and assume you're protected until the fine print hits. Exclusions, limits, loopholes. Suddenly that coverage isn't coverage at all. My policy advocate reviews your policies, Home, Auto, Life and breaks them in plain English. They show what's really covered and what isn't. It costs just 27 cents a day less than a cup of coffee. For peace of mind before you assume you're covered, go to mypolicyadvocate.com you might be shocked at what you find. Mypolicyadvocate.com support for the show comes from
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Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comDisclosures sink into affordable luxury.
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Anabe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out with stain resistant slipcovers and a cloud like frame duvet. Everything goes right in the wash. Plus the modular design lets you change the look of your space anytime. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your home shop up to 60% off site wide with sofas starting at just $699 and a 30 day money back guarantee. Shop now@washablesofas.com offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.
Bobby Bones
Flag Football is exploding and iflag is leading the way as the Guinness World Record Holder. Iflag hosts premier flag football tournament nationwide for boys, girls, high school girls and adults. From first time players to elite competitors, iflag delivers top level competition, unforgettable experiences and a community built around the game. Ready to be part of it? Join the movement, find your tournament and learn more@iflag.org that's iflag.org hi, it's Kristen
Kristin Davis
Davis from Are youe A Charlotte Podcast. I just had the most, most epic girls day cruising around LA with my friend Heather Graham and thanks to Hyundai we even recorded a special episode for you. Yes, I have a good 90s story of Fred Siegel.
Keith Olbermann
What?
Kristin Davis
I saw Alanis Morissette there one time. It was so exciting. I was with my girlfriend Melanie.
Keith Olbermann
She saw you so that's like good.
Kristin Davis
She was very, it was like the height of Alanis time and she was with this beautiful man and I had a golden retriever puppy and the beautiful man wanted to say hi to the golden retriever puppy. We were eating at that little cafe there at the Santa Monica one and Alanis hung back in a way that made me wonder what was happening. Like who wouldn't want to pet this beautiful puppy. I was like, oh my God, it's Alanis. And then I was like, try to breathe, try to breathe, try to breathe because I love her so much. My new episode is out now presented by the all new Hyundai Palisade hybrid. Make every day Epic.
Keith Olbermann
This is COUNTDOWN with Keith Olbermann. Still ahead on this, the latest volume of Countdown for no reason at all. There's no anniversary. There's nothing that reminded me of it. It's just sitting there. And I thought, I'm gonna play this one today. I'm going to play you a bunch of sportscasts that I did on Network radio askant 47 years ago when I was 20 years old and just starting in this business and really didn't know which way the door handle turned on the studio you don't have to listen, but look at it this how many people do you know who would be willing to let you listen to this next in things I promised not to tell first. However, as always, we have more new idiots to talk about. The roundup of the miscreants, morons and Dunning Kruger effect specimens who constitute today's other worst persons in the world and let me dedicate this episode, speaking of sports, to somebody who didn't quite make the cut. My longtime colleague and friend Adnan Virk, who has something like and fills something like and occupies and gets a paycheck for something like 32% of all the remaining TV sports jobs on this continent. I worked with him at espn. Since then he's improved his platform. MLV Network, NHL Network, Amazon Prime Hockey available only in Canada and I believe if you ask, he will drive over to your house and read you the scores for $5. And hosting the Amazon Weekly NHL game from Vancouver Monday night, Adnan's special intermission guest was the equally delightful Michael Buble, hockey fanatic and particularly Vancouver Canucks fan who once sent me out of the blue at ESPN a Canucks uniform with my name on it during a controversy from 20132014 that was known internally at ESPN as the War of the Sestitos. I complained on the air, showed video of a hockey fighting guy of the Canucks named Tom Sestito, and although it was I called him names. He said he appreciated the coverage. He rarely got any media attention. However, his sister, who was like 13, attacked me for a week on social media for insulting her brother by mentioning how many penalty minutes he had in one game. Like he played one minute and had 80 minutes in penalties. Anyway, Adnan Virk on Monday convinced Michael Buble to sing to Adnan's co host on this hockey intermission, Blake Bolden, whose birthday was upcoming. Michael Buble, who's a pretty good singer, began to sing Call Me Irresponsible and then insisted no, he wanted Adnan to sing with him and Adnan did. Could have been worse. Could have been me singing with him on the theory that anybody can sing for six or seven seconds. I've done it here myself. Sure, okay, I'll call both of you irresponsible. But bluntly, Adnan, you kinda drowned Michael Buble out. If it's a pro singer, you sing backup, he sings lead. It's not quite worst persons in the world stuff, but frankly sir, we have a near hit here. Anyway, to the winners the bronze. Worse, Bill Maher. You're not as bad as Bill Maher. Apparently injured when Marcus Smart of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team vaulted off the floor during an NBA game to avoid a collision with another player. Smart then bounced off the announcer's table and then crashed into one guy sitting in the front row. Maher pretty impressive that of all the things Marcus Smart could have hit, he could have found a target that small. He also somehow missed actual celebrities who were sitting in the front row like Martin Lawrence. Lawrence and Flea and Sasha Baron Cohen. Back when I was a local sportscaster at la, I actually used to keep records and award points to the winners, the celebrities who attended Lakers games. And you got more points if you went to the bad games like the games against expansion teams or last place teams and not just showed up for the games against, against the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. And so although Jack Nicholson won the overall title, the most points for fewest games average in the 1989-90 season was won by Rosemary from the Dick Van Dyke show, who only went apparently to the bad games. And we get, you know, went to nine games, got 20 points at each game. Anyway, I've divided, completely diverted from the point here. Bill Maher described by the Hollywood tabloid press as injured after Marcus Smart of the Lakers crashed into him. But it appears it was just his finger. Then again, that's where he has more comedic ability than in the rest of his body, certainly in his mouth or brain. The collision with the Laker player is also notable because it's the first time in like three years that Bill Maher has gotten any reaction at all from anybody during one of his public appearances. Worser the runner up, another comedian, Alina Haba, forgotten but not gone from the Trump crime factory, America's foremost authority in the world of parking lot law remains, having been literally banned from serving as an acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey. And having seen Trump decide she just isn't worth the trouble of throwing a tantrum over. He actually said, nah, not this time. Habba remains as an advisor to the attorney General. And if Pam Bondi is taking Alina Habba's advice, that might explain everything about Pam Bondi anyway. Habba, as you know, is a malaprop machine. After Trump's company got fined hundreds of millions of dollars in a New York court and he inexplicably let her represent him, she told Fox News, they will not get away with it. We will come at them. We will come hard. Alina Habba also famously said she was once asked if she'd prefer to be pretty or smart, and she answered, quote, oh, easy, pretty. I can fake being smart. Well, that's not true. And now she has a new one to add to this true hall of fame of malaprops. She was on Ed. Ed Henry's show on Newsmax. You remember why CNN got rid of Ed Henry, right? It involved the removal of pants and assault. And then at Fox, they got rid of him because of something that involved the removal of pants and assault. Anyway, while inexplicably looking not at the camera that was recording her for the Ed Henry show, but about 6 inches to the camera's right, giving you this weird appearance that she was looking at the wrong one of you while she did that, Alina Haba did it again. She once again failed to fake being smart. See if you can hear her malapropism here without. Without my help. Frankly, President Trump should be commended for
Kristin Davis
being the only one with the cahoots,
Keith Olbermann
frankly, to go after them, not just for America, but for the world. Uh, cahoots, you say? He has the cahoots. Trump has the cahoots. Trump is in cahoots, Dr. Freud. Alina Haba is leaking oil again. Cahoots obviously is used only in the phrase in cahoots, as in planning or scheming something in secret. It turns out this word seems to be the early American slang from the 1820s, based on two Old Cabane and hut, meaning, shockingly enough, cabin and hut. The French were the first to put these two words together into cahoot, and it was picked up in early America, presumably by trappers in what is now Chicago, I don't know. And they applied it to mean people who were hiding away in a cabin in a cahoot, working on secret plans. They're in cahoots figuring out how to steal your pile of beaver. Alina Haba, by this point, your explanation to Alina Habba of what this really means and what she really says, by this point, her eyes would have rolled back in her head and she would have tipped over backwards, snoring. And of course, clearly she didn't mean cahoots. She meant cannolis. But our winner in worst persons this time around, the worst, Rick Crawford. Another one of these MAGA congressmen we apparently have recruited from the ranks of what we used to call in this country boxing hobos. This one, Crawford, is from Arkansas. He was born on an Air Force base. He is 60 and looks about 85. He used to be in the rodeo, but he got himself herded in 1993 and had to retire to become a rodeo announcer, then a singing cowboy. By the way, the National Rodeo League Network, one of the few jobs Adnan Virk does not have rodeo tonight. So he became a rodeo announcer and then he moved on to becoming a singing cowboy who put out his album called titled Cracking out. Pull up your rodeo pants, you're cracking out. Then he did farm news on the radio, having clearly in this career process, this evolution, become overqualified to represent Arkansas in government. He was elected to the house in 2012. He is, in short, not just a moron, but a multi varied moron. Unfortunately, this moron, Congressman Crawford, is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee because you never know when a bowl will get loose in the hearing room. Chairman Crawford makes this list because the other day he had one job, one job, just one job. He was to go on Maria Bartiromo's J the President off show on Fox Business and repeat their line about how of course we had to blow up Iran and Iranian schoolgirls because Iran has been at war with us for 47 years. And everybody before Trump was derelict in not blowing up Iranian schoolgirls. Chairman Crawford got it wrong. Rick Crawford to Moia. Remember, he's supposed to say, iran has been at war with us for 47 years. There's just three components here. Iran has been at war with us. It's their war and the time frame. 47 years. 3 things. Just 3 things. Write them on your palm, tattoo them backwards on your forehead, write them on the wall. Do something. Instead of saying Iran has been at war with us for 47 years like everybody else. And these organized crime administration morons have been saying instead of that. Rick Crawford says, we have been at war with Iran since 1947. 1947, Iran was still basically a subsidiary of our government and the British government. And he couldn't keep this straight. Three small facts. We have been at war with Iran since 1947. What? One sentence and he couldn't remember it. Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rick, reminding us that intelligence here is just a brand name. Crawford, he was a singing cowboy in the rodeo. Today's other worst person in the world, Worst person in the world tonight is hosted by Adnan Virk. Most people think their insurance will cover them when disaster strikes. The truth, many are wrong. You pay premiums and assume you're protected until the fine print hits. Exclusions, limits, loopholes. Suddenly that coverage isn't coverage at all. My policy advocate reviews your policies, home, auto, life and breaks them down in plain eng. They show what's really covered and what isn't. It costs just 27 cents a day less than a cup of coffee. For peace of mind before you assume you're covered, go to mypolicyadvocate.com you might be shocked at what you find. Mypolicyadvocate.com support for the show comes from
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Kristin Davis
Davis from Are youe a Charlotte podcast. I just had the most epic girls day cruising around LA with my friend Heather Graham. And thanks to Hyundai, we even recorded a special episode for you. Yes, I have a good 90s story of Fred Siegel. What I saw Alanis Morris at that one time. It was so exciting. I was with my girlfriend Melanie.
Keith Olbermann
She saw you.
Kristin Davis
So that's like she was very, it was like the height of Alanis time and she was, she was with this beautiful man and I had a golden retriever puppy and the beautiful man wanted to say hi to the golden retriever puppy. We were eating at that little cafe there at the Santa Monica one. And Alanis hung back in a way that made me wonder what was happening. Like who wouldn't want to pet this beautiful puppy. I was like, oh my God, it's Alanis. And then I was like, try to breathe, try to breathe, try to breathe because I love her so much. My new episode is out now, presented by the all new Hyundai Palisade hybrid. Make every day epic.
Keith Olbermann
To the number one story on the countdown and things I promised not to tell. And it is hardly that today. In fact, it is more accurately show and tell. There is no particular excuse for this except for the fact that I found these the other day. They are three sportscasts I did in the first 10 weeks of my professional career from July through September of 1979. And to me, the fun part of this is hearing the old timey names and a few events that are still talked about. Like the night of the infamous disco demolition in Chicago and one of the many nights Nolan Ryan bid for a no hit game. And then there's reporting on the retirement of one of my favorite players and something I could not physically do today that I did that day. You don't have to listen to all of them. I won't take it personally. You don't have to listen to any of them in fact. But in their defense, they're each just two minutes long. The first one was on the morning of Tuesday, July 10, 1979. The thousand stations on the United Press International Radio Network UPI Audio were expecting to hear our sports director Sam Rosen, their usual morning man to appear on their feed for the 9:45am sportscast. But at about 8:48am Sam had told the new guy me that I wasn't just training and watching him do all those sportscasts. I would be doing the 9:45 surprise. What you will hear first is the talk up newscasters, business reporters, sportscasters would tell the stations live that they were there and that their broadcast was coming up exactly 10 seconds from Mark.
Sports Announcer
Stations live sports will begin preceded by a one second tone. Coming up ten seconds from mark.
Keith Olbermann
Incidentally, I never figured out who Mark was. Here it is. Here's the sportscast. Good morning.
Sports Announcer
Three members of the Houston Astros named this morning to manager Tommy Losordes National League pitching staff for next Tuesday All Star Game. Top winner Joe Nekro tapped by Lasorda along with Joaquin Andohar and reliever Joe Sambido. Rounding out the staff, veteran Steve Carlton of Philadelphia and Gaylord Perry of the Padres, Steve Rogers of Montreal, the Cubs, Bruce Suter and Cincinnati's Mike LaCosse. And speaking of the All Stars, you would think Don Baylor and his 80 RBI would be a shoe in for the AL outfield. Baylor drove in another run last night as the angels whipped Boston six to nothing. But matter of fact, he played placed 14th in the voting. The most important thing for me right now is just to win on this ball club. A lot of people brought up the All Star thing and I can't do anything about that. You know, those are older than things. But I can do something about this ball club. You know, if I produce on this club, we win. They did last night as Noah and Ryan struck out 12. That puts California a half game up on Texas in the West. Elsewhere in the American, the Orioles lead is up to 3. In the east, they beat Oakland by the score of 7 3. It was the Blue Jays 7, Milwaukee 1, Minnesota over Detroit 5 3. As Jerry Kuzman won his 11th. The White Sox stopped Texas 54 and Cleveland over KC 8 to 2. The New York Yankees were off, but they made an important move for their pennant hopes, the activation of injured relief pitcher Rich Gossage. Over in the National, Montreal's eastern lead is up to five and a half. Bill Lee blanked the Dodgers three zip, Phillies over the Giants four two. The Cardinals beating Cincinnati six three and Chicago seven, Atlanta four. At the Pan Am Games in San Juan, a big upset in the 800 meter run. American James Robinson shocking Cuban Olympic champ Alberto Wonturina. The US boosted its gold medal total to 81. Both the men's and women's basketball teams remain undefeated. And for the second time in his career crack, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Ken Dryden has called it quits. Dryden going back to the law books at the age of 31. This time it looks permanent, though the Habs say the big goalie is welcome back at any time. From the sports desk of United Press International, I'm Keith Olbermann.
Keith Olbermann
What? No NFL Camp news. Today that whole sportscast would be nothing but NFL Camp news. Well, it's not bad considering I was on 20, 20 years old and I was going on no sleep. I was having an out of body experience and the tape is running a little fast. I should tell you about that tone that starts each one of these. The tone was used for automated stations. That would be the signal for them to take the network, as it were, and put me on their automated stations. And it had another automated quality to it. The guy who succeeded me once went in there a little, a little impaired. And when the tone generator did not generate the tone because somebody had switched it off instead of just doing his sportscast anyway, he got up and left. They threw him back in the booth and somebody shouted talk. They fired him not long after. So that's Tuesday, my first sportscast as a professional. By Friday, I was on my own. I was anchoring the night shift at UPI. Six sportscasts, one an hour starting at 5:45. The big news that day was what had happened the night before at the Tigers White Sox doubleheader when the Sox tried to tap into the nation's sincere anti disco zeitgeist by blowing up a bunch of disco records between games. What, as the kids say, could possibly go wrong?
Sports Announcer
After pondering the evidence for the better part of the day, American league president Lee McPhail has forfeited the second game of last night's Chicago Detroit doubleheader to the visiting Tigers. A between games anti disco promotional event escalated into big trouble. An estimated 7,000 fans stormed the field and wreaked havoc. The second game never got underway. Sox center fielder Chet Lemon was upset by the forfeit, but as he told reporters, there was more to win worry about last night than who won and who lost. So, you know, there's really nothing I could do or say anything like that. I don't even think about it. You know, it's one of those things that happened. It was out of my control. I'm just happy that I can go out today and play baseball. I think we're lucky that every ball player is able to walk around and nobody got hurt. Everybody just not only the ball players, but anybody that was fortunate enough to get away from here last night without getting hurt or anything like that has to be fortunate. You know, it happens. You know, it's a shame, but it happens. And it's just the way this whole system is. Detroit and Chicago are scheduled for a plain old night game later today. Meanwhile, the disc jockey who led the anti disco stunt refused to take the blame for the incident. Steve Dahl said it was not his fault. He claims the media have distorted the event. In other baseball news, the Cincinnati Reds have extended manager John McNamara's contract. McNamara will be skipper in Cincinnati at least through the 1980 season. It'll be the United States and Puerto Rico tonight playing for the basketball gold medal at the Pan American Games. And the US Will have coach Bobby Knight at courtside. Knight today got a postponement of his assault trial until the 22nd of next month. Also this evening, the American women's hoop squad goes for gold against Cuba in action this afternoon, the US Took golds in both men's and women's tennis doubles. And Mel Purcell took the men's single title. In golf, Ed Daugherty is all alone atop the Greater Milwaukee Open. He shot shot of 666 today, one stroke ahead of Vic Regalado. And at the Women's Open in Connecticut, Sandra Palmer and Debbie Massie share the lead. That is early in the second round. From the sports desk of United Press International, I'm Keith Olbermann.
Keith Olbermann
I love Chet Lemon there saying it wasn't him. It was the system, man. It's the system. By the way, guess who was the organist at Comiskey park for that disco demolition night for the White Sox and Tigers on that night in August of 1979? Yes, our own Nancy Faust. All right, so I think that was the 6:45 sportscast on the night of the 13th. Maybe it was the 7:45. But by 9:45 Disco Demolition Night aftermath was no longer the lead story. In an early evening start in Anaheim, a man whose name is now inseparable from no hitters was when my 1045 sportscast began on the verge of throwing another one
Sports Announcer
through eight innings at Anaheim, Nolan Ryan of the California Angels has a no hitter going against the New York Yankees. Ryan's no hitter preserved with one out in the eighth inning when Jim Spencer lined dying quail to center field at the official score. Ruled in error again. Ryan bidding for his fifth no hitter of his career. He leads the Yankees 3 to nothing going into the ninth inning. American League Final tonight Minnesota beat Toronto 64 in the National. The Padres came up with three in the ninth to beat Montreal 75 in the first of a double header. The Mets got two RBI from Steve Henderson as they won the open opener of their night. Twi nighter rather with the giants 7 6. The home run bats propelled the Braves to a 134 mashing of Pittsburgh Jeff Burroughs had a grand slam and Bob Horner hit two homers and the Phillies beat the Dodgers 3 to 2. American League President Lee McPhail has declared a forfeit in the second game of last night's scheduled Detroit Chicago doubleheader. The nightcap was never played because thousands of fans streamed onto the field during a promotional event after the opener. AL spokesman businesswoman Phyllis Merridge reads President McPhail's official decision it was the judgment
Keith Olbermann
of the umpires that it was not possible to start the second game of the July 12 doubleheader because of inadequate crowd control and damage to the playing field, both of which are the specific responsibility of the home team. It is therefore required of me that I declare this game forfeited to Detroit by a score of nine to nothing
Sports Announcer
at the Pan Am Games in San the US Women took the silver medal in basketball, dropping their final game to Cuba 9186 this evening. Meanwhile, America's Mary Decker took the 1500 meter race and Debbie La Platte won the gold in the 100 meter low hurdles. This afternoon the US took gold medals in both men's and women's tennis doubles and Mel Purcell won the gold in men's singles. In golf, it's Jerilyn Britz leading the pack at the US Women's Open in Connecticut. She shot a two under par today and has the lead by two strokes after the second round. And Ed Doherty leads the Greater Milwaukee Tournament. He has a one stroke lead. From the sports desk of United Press International, I'm Keith Olbermann.
Keith Olbermann
That's a lot of information for a two minute sportscast kid. Nolan Ryan, by the way, did not get his fifth no hitter that night. An Angels infielder fumbled a Thurman Munson ground ball to start the ninth inning. Then Greg Nettles popped out. Then Reggie Jackson got the first Yankee hit of the game and a moment later a sacrifice fly took away Ryan's shutout too. It was the second of five times Nolan Ryan lost no hitter in the ninth. He would get his fifth no hitter two years later and got seven for his career and lost five in the ninth. Amazingly, Thurman Munson would be dead just 20 days later. There would be moments at Yankee Stadium the rest of that year that were not overwhelmed by the shock of his death. But they were very few. On September 16, 1979, the great Yankees and Athletics pitcher Jim Catfish Hunter was honored in a retirement ceremony and I got to cover it and then I got to hear my reports on the air on one of the new York radio stations I grew up listening to honored Catfish Hunter, who's retiring at the end of the season. Keith Olbermann reports.
Sports Announcer
After receiving gifts serious and comical, and the praise of his teammates, his manager and the fans, Catfish Hunter marked his retirement ceremony by noting the important people who could not attend.
Keith Olbermann
Three people
Sports Announcer
that wish could have been here today. Scott did sign me, My dad. And Thurman Munt. Hunter leaves the Yankees to retire to his farm in Hertford, N.C. and Keith Olbermann at Yankee Stadium, N.Y. he's retiring
Keith Olbermann
at the end of the season.
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Sports Announcer
The Yankees showered their retiring right hander with gifts, a trip to Hawaii, a pickup truck and even a brown elephant. After his teammates and the fans thanked him, it was time for Catfish Hunter to do the thanking. I'd like to thank you for all the gifts I received today and thank God for giving me strength, letting me be a ball player, what I always wanted to be. Thank you very much. The 30 minute ceremony was the symbolic end of Hunter's 15 year major league career, a career that has to date featured 224 victories. Hunter says he'll miss his teammates, but he's missed his family even more and plans to become a gentleman farmer in North Carolina. Keith Olbermann at Yankee Stadium in New York.
Keith Olbermann
Two things about that it was such a different time. I got to the ballpark early that Sunday morning and perhaps an hour before the ceremony, I saw Jim Hunter sitting by himself in the dugout. I approached him for an interview, explaining who I was and saying if he was trying to take in the last day and just contemplate things, I was sorry to have intruded and of course we could skip the interview. He laughed and said, now I'm just sitting here waiting for them to give me them gag gifts. There's no PR person, no entourage to keep me away, just him. I tried to get him to repeat his most famous quote, this famous soundbite that all of us who ever heard it kept repeating to each other for years where he insisted his marm was just fine. Which was the answer, answer to the question, catfish, how's your arm? Marm feels real good. And that leads me to the second postscript. There was also no malt box. A mult box is an audio feed from a live event at a press conference or off something like a public address system while a, you know, player is retiring and giving his farewell speech. I asked the Yankees PR man if there was somewhere I could plug in to record Hunter's address? Nope, I said. You don't have a malt box for the Catfish Hunter retirement speech? Nope. Could I get on the field and just tape my microphone to the PA mic and then stay crouched over with the photographers? Nope. So I had to get creative. I was sent to get the speech. Those clips of Catfish Hunter talking about his teammates and supporters reverberating through the vast caverns of Yankee Stadium over the PA system were recorded by me standing atop a garbage can next to the hot dog stand next to the Yankee Stadium press box and while balancing and trying not to fall off the damn thing, extending my right arm completely above my head and sticking my microphone into one of the PA speakers hanging from the ceiling. It worked. I got the tape. Huh? I mean, you can still hear it. It's more than 43 years ago now, and I'm still proud of it. On the other hand, as I recalled this, my rotator cuff passed out. Just by remembering the pain, I've done all the damage I can do here. Thank you. Thank you for listening. The good thing about having the tapes of those broadcasts still is that it reminds me that a part of me is still nervous about doing them. That it was still so new and so novel and so promising that I'm still nervous about it. And I will still, in dreams every once in a while, find myself in that little studio, usually without a script and having no idea what it is I'm supposed to say, which I've now turned into a podcast. Our musical directors of Countdown are John Philip Chenale on keyboards and handling orchestration, Brian Ray on guitars, bass, drums and of course, the whole vibe of the thing. Their work produced by TKO Brothers. TKO Brothers are John Philip Chanel, Brian Ray and Keith Olbermann. Nancy Foust, the best baseball stadium organist ever, is responsible for the satirical and pithy musical comments. When we play the sports music, it's the old Olderman show theme from ESPN2 written by Mitch Warren Davis, courtesy of ESPN Inc. Of course, Nancy was connected to one of the events you heard mentioned in there, the repercussions of Disco Demolition Night. Anyhoo, other music arranged and performed by the group no Horns Allowed. And my announcer today was my friend from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul and Airplane, the great Jonathan Banks. This program was produced by Ted. Everything else was, as always, my fault. That's Countdown for today, day 417 of America held hostage again, just 1,054 days until the scheduled end of Trump's lame duck and lame brained turn unless he is removed sooner by Epstein and how we won in Iran and lost in Iran and stayed in Iran and have already left Iran. The next scheduled countdown is Monday. Bulletins as the news merits until the next edition. I'm Keith Olbermann. Thank you for listening. Good morning, good afternoon, good night and good luck. Countdown with Keith Olbermann is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Most people think their insurance will cover them when disaster strikes. The truth? Many are wrong. You pay premiums and assume you're protected until the fine print hits exclusions, limits, loopholes. Suddenly that coverage isn't coverage at all. My policy advocate reviews your policies, Home, auto, life and breaks them down in plain English. They show what's really covered and what isn't. It costs just 27 cents a day less than a cup of coffee. For peace of mind before you assume you're covered, go to mypolicyadvocate.com you might be shocked at what you find.
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Bobby Bones
Flag football is exploding and iflag is leading the way as the Guinness World Record Holder. Iflag hosts premier flag football tournaments nationwide for boys, girls, high school girls and adults. From first time players to elite competitors. If iflag delivers top level competition, unforgettable experiences and a community built around the game ready to be part of it? Join the movement, find your tournament and learn more@iflag.org that's iflag.org hey, it's Bobby Bones. You know Eddie and I recently stopped by. Yeah, in Nashville. It's an incredible nonprofit empowering kids through music education. Thanks to Hyundai. We recorded a special podcast episode while we were there.
Keith Olbermann
How do you think learning an instrument helps kids with confidence? Learning an instrument allows them to discover a little bit further of who they are and be comfortable with it and then share a little bit about that with others. And if it's done in an environment that is celebrating and championing them, then that confidence can only go up.
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The full episode is out now, presented by the Hyundai Ioniq 9. To donate and learn more about Yah's mission, just visit yahrocks.org Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile.
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Episode Title: IS TRUMP IN A FUGUE STATE ABOUT IRAN?
Date: March 12, 2026
Host: Keith Olbermann
Podcast: Countdown with Keith Olbermann (iHeartPodcasts)
In this episode, Keith Olbermann delivers his signature blend of political analysis, satire, and storytelling with a focus on Donald Trump’s erratic behavior regarding the ongoing Iran crisis. He explores the chaos within the Trump administration, the absence of coherent war strategy, the dangers of confirmation bias, and the surreal reality of current leadership. Interwoven are his classic segments, including "Worst Persons in the World" and a nostalgia-laced dive into his early sportscasting career.
Opening Monologue (03:26)
Olbermann asserts Trump is in an even deeper dissociative state than usual, unable to process the consequences of his actions in the Iran conflict.
Quote:
Olbermann [04:30]:
“None of this for Trump is real. None of the death. None of the schoolgirls. None of the horror. None of the cost. None of it is real. Because long ago something happened to his already disordered mind which allowed him to eliminate the inconvenient truth that is reality.”
Trump’s intuition replaces facts; he acts on what he wishes were true rather than reality.
The war started, Olbermann claims, “because the alternative was him finally being cornered about his Epstein cover up” (06:20). The Iran conflict is thus seen through the lens of Trump’s personal survival.
Senator Chris Murphy’s Revelations (08:50)
Quote:
Sen. Chris Murphy (as summarized by Olbermann) [09:55]:
“They are going to spend hundreds of billions of your taxpayer dollars, get a whole bunch of Americans killed and end up with an Iran under the control of a hardline regime. Probably a more anti-American hardline regime.”
Internal White House disarray:
Recent Falsehoods About Iran (19:00):
Quote:
Olbermann [20:00]:
“Trump, of course, seems to have dropped the nuclear threat red herring altogether now and moved on to missiles and the Navy and regime change and regime placement and then not regime change and then unconditional surrender and then blowing up schoolgirls and then declaring he won. Unless he hasn’t…”
Media manipulation:
Retaliatory Strikes and Cyberwar (22:30):
Russia’s Role (23:15):
Logistical Impossibility (24:20):
Quote:
Olbermann [25:30]:
“Iran is now exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than it was before we started this war.”
Epstein Files and Trump’s Distractions (26:20):
Quote (mocking Trump’s joke):
Olbermann [27:00]:
“Punxsutawney Phil sees zero more years of summers — wow, good one, Shecky.”
Confirmation of DOJ involvement in Epstein cover-up (28:00):
Congress and War Authority (24:32)
Quote:
Olbermann [24:36]:
“The Congress shall have power to declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal and make rules concerning captures on land and water…”
Olbermann’s delivery combines sharp, often biting political critique with wry humor, deep historical context, and personal reflection. His tone is alternately acerbic, incredulous, and mournful regarding both the nation’s leadership and the media landscape. Satire intermingles with genuine outrage as he skewers inept politicians, debunks official lies, and reminds listeners of past absurdities and triumphs alike.
This episode is a kaleidoscopic tour through presidential dysfunction, international peril, domestic chaos, and media folly—anchored by Olbermann’s trademark wit and seasoned gravitas. He’s relentless in exposing Trump’s “fugue state,” the administration’s absence of strategy, and the complicit, self-serving actors surrounding the president. By connecting current catastrophe with political history and cultural farce, Olbermann’s commentary is both a warning and a wake-up call.
Listeners are offered not just analysis, but context, catharsis, and, unexpectedly, moments of warmth and nostalgia via his own early journalism experiences. The message is urgent: facts, accountability, and genuine leadership matter more than ever—lest farce become tragedy on a global scale.