728: Everything's Perfect

Duncan Trussell Family Hour – Episode 728: Everything’s Perfect (December 15, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this solo riff/“salon-style” episode, Duncan Trussell dives deep into the strange digital vortex of modern life. Using a swirl of personal anecdotes, social criticism, surreal humor, and metaphysical speculation, Duncan explores the psychic cost of hyper-connectivity, the rise of AI, the blurred boundary between technological convenience and spiritual parasitism, and finding genuine moments of presence in a world addicted to screens. There’s also discussion of Operation Beast Blast (his ongoing Mr. Beast rivalry), wild rants about blowing up the Egyptian pyramids, and a recurring plea for listeners to reclaim their sanity (and holidays) by unplugging, laughing, and feeling, at least for a moment, that "everything's perfect".

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Making a Christmas Album Using AI (00:00–08:00)

Duncan shares a sneak preview of tracks from his upcoming Christmas album with his solo band, Cavern of the Pig Emperor Christmas.
He discusses using Suno AI for music generation: he writes lyrics and sings, but uses AI to create backing music due to time and money constraints.
He playfully wrestles with the “ethics” and legitimacy of AI music: “For those of you who don't give a, I don't either. But I am curious...what blowback I'm gonna get if I write the lyrics, record my own voice, but don't do the music…” (02:45)
Jokes about becoming a Broadway star after album’s release, despite his lack of singing ability.

2. Modern Stress & The Semi-Apocalyptic Costco Experience (08:00–17:30)

Shares a story about accompanying his pregnant wife Erin on a Costco trip, calling the experience “some version of hell”.
Wildly describes the sensory overload—oversized carts, strange products, pinball machines, and the jostling for space—making it a metaphor for contemporary survivalism and consumer anxiety.
Recognizes this humor and stress as part of being “on the precipice of, like, God knows what—birth, you know, the ancestors come in, spirits come in. It’s mystical…and brutal.” (16:50)

3. Life Overwhelm, Offline Epiphanies & The Plague of the Internet (17:30–30:00)

Duncan contrasts the chaos of household mishaps + baby prep with a realization: “I had this thought… it seems like people right now are less upset online. And then I realized, wait, no, I just haven’t been going online.”
“I feel so much better. It’s night and day, man.” (20:45)
Compares the Black Plague to the psychic ‘pandemic’ of social media and internet addiction: “The internet is the technological flea causing a psychic pandemic that is crushing our species—not killing us…but maybe that’s worse.” (25:30)

4. On the Parasitic Nature of Technology & Media Addiction (30:00–43:00)

Argues that our relationship with technology (especially social media and mobile screens) is parasitic, not symbiotic.
Suggests people make a list of everyone who upsets them, then cross off those they will never meet or interact with—what remains is what really matters.
“Any interaction with this shit is gonna fuck you up. That’s the problem. It’s the most brilliant parasite ever.” (32:45)
Mentions the (unfulfilled) techno-utopian dream: less work, “Star Trek” future—but reality = more work, less health, more anxiety, and a mentally “tilled” population ready to be “injected with bullshit.”
Memorable metaphor: “Everybody...being tilled, the soil of the human mind is being tilled by the dark tractor of the Internet. And it’s driving people fucking nuts…” (35:00)

5. Targeted Ads, Surveillance, and the Tech-Driven Schizophrenia (43:00–50:00)

Tells story of a woman triggered by a smart fridge ad that used her name, which led to a psychotic episode.
Riff on the dystopian insanity of having home appliances broadcast ads with your name: “Imagine if your refrigerator had a compartment in it where a hand would come out and grab your ass randomly—nobody would buy it! …That would be illegal!” (39:00)
Points out how surveillance capitalism and targeted ads can blur the line between technological “magic” and paranoid delusion.

6. Commentary on Online Activism and Political Obsession (50:00–55:00)

Bitingly dismisses the idea of anti-capitalism or activism conducted from behind a screen: “If you really want to do some kind of communist revolution, you're not gonna do that by feeding the fucking corporations that are gathering data from you on your fucking phone.” (53:10)
Suggests the true boycott would be mass phone rejection: “We just don't care about the phone anymore. We stop looking. We don't care… Loses all its power, has zero power over you at that point.” (54:00)
Compares phone use to idolatry: “What really is the difference between staring at a glowing hypnotic screen and bowing down in front of a statue of Baal?” (56:10)

7. Parallels to Ancient Sacrifice & Childhood Innocence Online (58:00–60:00)

Conversation with Josh turns to letting children online, likening Roblox and predators to a modern sacrifice of innocence.
“It’s not child sacrifice in the classic way, but things evolve, man. So. But things also stay exactly the same.” (58:58)
Josh: “What if it's still a sacrifice? But it's not a physical sacrifice. It's a sacrifice of their innocence.” (58:35)

8. The Futility of Anxiety, Doomscrolling & News Consumption (60:00–63:00)

Examines why we stay plugged into anxiety-making devices: seeking false control, avoidance of internal emptiness.
“These people [media figures, politicians] don’t need to be in our lives… none of it matters. You can't stop what's coming anyway…” (63:05)
Suggests the real revolution is regaining personal agency: “You have to untether yourself from the fucking Cthulhu whose tentacle you've allowed into every orifice of your body. That's step one.” (63:15)

9. Psycho-Cybernetics, Chaos Magick, and Training the Mind (63:00–76:00)

Recommends Psycho-Cybernetics as a practical method for changing habituated negative thought patterns.
Draws parallels to Chaos Magick: “Belief isn't a fixed truth, but a temporary state that can be changed… You can invoke any archetype, real or fictional, to alter your mood and performance.” (70:00)
“If you habituate to worrying…your primary mode of thinking is a kind of realistic sort of optimism—reminding yourself of actual great things that have happened to you…” (71:00)

10. Finding Identity Beyond Anxiety (72:00–75:30)

In an exchange with Josh, explores the emptiness at the core of identity and whether we need anxiety to feel “real.”
“If you've been identifying with your anxiety…you pull the fucking spine out of your identity. Now what are you?” (72:50)
Compares Psycho-Cybernetics (“how to be better at baseball”) to Buddhism (“why not just stop incarnating entirely?”), both probing the emptiness beneath identity.

11. Polymarket Bets, UFO Disclosure, Meme Coins & Operation Beast Blast (76:00–99:00)

Reviews a sudden influx of money on Polymarket betting that Trump will release UFO files before 2027, timed to coincide with the Epstein files release. Wonders about conspiratorial media distractions: “If there was ever a time that Trump was going to do disclosure, it seems like it would coincide with the release of the Epstein files. Makes sense.” (82:30)
Light banter about meme coins (Fart Coin, Pepe Coin), investment culture.
Announces and describes a new t-shirt design for his ongoing Mr. Beast “subscriber rivalry” and the Operation Beast Blast movement (goal: destroy the pyramids, and why the pyramids are to blame for everything from solar flares to global warming). This section borders on performance art satire, blending humor and absurd conspiracism.

12. Operation Beast Blast: The War on Pyramids (87:42–99:00)

Elaborates on pyramid destruction as both an actual goal and a wild metaphor for attacking entrenched systems and delusions, blending myth, pop culture, and apocalyptic humor:
- “Those fucking pyramids are pointing right at the goddamn sun…if you want to know the fucking knob on the hot tub, it's the fucking pyramids.” (93:10)
- “Our children and our children's children can live on a planet without pyramids. Don't be afraid to dream. This could happen. No more pyramids.” (97:20)
Comically incites listener action via shirt orders and “beating Mr. Beast”.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On AI Music:
“The shittier it sounds, the funnier that is to me. But as far as the composition of the music, forget it. Like, there's just no way…” (05:30, Duncan)
On Costco Anxiety:
“Costco rules. Like, I’ve never been in a place with carts that you could fit a fucking casket in. …All these things are going through your head. You’re overwhelmed. Then some fucking asshole smacks into you with their cart, like, on purpose…” (10:00, Duncan)
On the Internet as Modern Plague:
“I gotta tell you, man, I’m pretty sure the Internet is the technological flea causing a psychic fucking pandemic that is crushing our species—not killing us. Which, by the way, maybe that's worse…” (25:30, Duncan)
On Screen Addiction:
“You’ve just been plunging your head over and over into that muck, sticking your head down into the digital toilet, sucking on big fat peanut-encrusted digital turds. And then you’re like, why does my stomach hurt? Why do I feel so bad?” (46:00, Duncan)
On Targeted Ads:
“But you should be able to turn it on, not turn it off. That's crazy. That it starts by giving you ads with your fucking name. That is so dystopian and insane.” (38:30, Duncan)
On Glory Holes vs. Smartphones:
“What is the difference between a phone and a glory hole...? It’s a rectangular shaped hole and strangers are jizzing data all over your face every day, every day.” (54:00, Duncan)
On Modern Sacrifice:
“I get it. You're not like coating your child with lavender and …driv[ing] a dagger into their heart, but you're posting pictures of them in a fucking bathing suit online. ...It’s not child sacrifice in the classic way, but things evolve, man.” (57:45, Duncan)
On Disinformation and Tech Overlords:
"Jerome Powell can't do childcare for me. That's what I need, fucking childcare. Unless Jerome Powell is coming to the fucking house to figure out why my kid's bathtub doesn't have hot water. Fuck him." (59:55, Duncan)
On Revolution:
“Not looking at your phone is like not taking your meds at the fucking cuckoo house. …Just a few days off and your world will exponentially get better.” (46:30, Duncan)
On Habituation:
“Look at the way you feel when your phone rings. …Does that make you feel good? …When that motherfucker vibrates, it’s a little volt. A little, ‘Hey, freak out for a second, won’t you?’ …No different. …It’s conditioning.” (62:00, Duncan)
On Psycho-Cybernetics & Chaos Magick:
“Psycho-Cybernetics is saying it doesn't have to be anything big...just something simple, something that isn't even that exciting. You just need something to replace your worried mind, to replace those thoughts with. Whoa, it totally fucking works.” (71:20, Duncan)
Operation Beast Blast:
“You really think Egypt was always that fucking hot? ...The pyramids are basically air fryers. You stick a fucking pharaoh in there, it just withers them up.” (94:10, Duncan)

Timestamps for Important Segments

AI Music, Ethics, and Creative Hustle: 00:00–08:00
Costco, Panic, and Pregnancy Survival: 08:00–17:30
Going Offline & The Modern Plague: 17:30–30:00
How Tech Parasites the Soul: 30:00–43:00
Schizophrenia, Ads & Surveillance Capitalism: 43:00–50:00
Online Activism, Phone as Idolatry: 50:00–56:00
Children, Innocence, and Modern Sacrifice: 58:00–60:00
Doomscrolling, Fake Agency, and Anxiety: 60:00–63:30
Psycho-Cybernetics, Chaos Magick & Self-Change: 63:00–76:00
Polymarket, UFOs, Epstein & Meme Coins: 76:00–87:00
Operation Beast Blast: The Pyramid Rant: 87:42–99:00

Tone & Style

The episode blends raw honesty, biting humor, absurdism, and sincere philosophical inquiry. Duncan’s delivery swings effortlessly between parody, insight, and raw vulnerability, often leveraging surreal metaphors and “conspiracy” as both critique and comedy. Think George Carlin meets Ram Dass meets Reddit meme culture.

TL;DR

This episode is a wild ride through the existential (and often hilarious) hazards of modern life. Duncan Trussell urges listeners to disconnect from digital anxiety machines, reclaim agency over their attention, experiment with reshaping their consciousness (with a nudge toward old-school self-help and chaos magick), and join him in a metaphysical war against the monuments of delusion—whether they’re internet black rectangles or the literal Pyramids of Giza. Everything’s perfect...as soon as you step away from the screen.*

Duncan Trussell Family Hour – Episode 728: Everything’s Perfect (December 15, 2025)

Episode Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Making a Christmas Album Using AI (00:00–08:00)

Duncan shares a sneak preview of tracks from his upcoming Christmas album with his solo band, Cavern of the Pig Emperor Christmas.
He discusses using Suno AI for music generation: he writes lyrics and sings, but uses AI to create backing music due to time and money constraints.
He playfully wrestles with the “ethics” and legitimacy of AI music: “For those of you who don't give a, I don't either. But I am curious...what blowback I'm gonna get if I write the lyrics, record my own voice, but don't do the music…” (02:45)
Jokes about becoming a Broadway star after album’s release, despite his lack of singing ability.

2. Modern Stress & The Semi-Apocalyptic Costco Experience (08:00–17:30)

Shares a story about accompanying his pregnant wife Erin on a Costco trip, calling the experience “some version of hell”.
Wildly describes the sensory overload—oversized carts, strange products, pinball machines, and the jostling for space—making it a metaphor for contemporary survivalism and consumer anxiety.
Recognizes this humor and stress as part of being “on the precipice of, like, God knows what—birth, you know, the ancestors come in, spirits come in. It’s mystical…and brutal.” (16:50)

3. Life Overwhelm, Offline Epiphanies & The Plague of the Internet (17:30–30:00)

Duncan contrasts the chaos of household mishaps + baby prep with a realization: “I had this thought… it seems like people right now are less upset online. And then I realized, wait, no, I just haven’t been going online.”
“I feel so much better. It’s night and day, man.” (20:45)
Compares the Black Plague to the psychic ‘pandemic’ of social media and internet addiction: “The internet is the technological flea causing a psychic pandemic that is crushing our species—not killing us…but maybe that’s worse.” (25:30)

4. On the Parasitic Nature of Technology & Media Addiction (30:00–43:00)

Argues that our relationship with technology (especially social media and mobile screens) is parasitic, not symbiotic.
Suggests people make a list of everyone who upsets them, then cross off those they will never meet or interact with—what remains is what really matters.
“Any interaction with this shit is gonna fuck you up. That’s the problem. It’s the most brilliant parasite ever.” (32:45)
Mentions the (unfulfilled) techno-utopian dream: less work, “Star Trek” future—but reality = more work, less health, more anxiety, and a mentally “tilled” population ready to be “injected with bullshit.”
Memorable metaphor: “Everybody...being tilled, the soil of the human mind is being tilled by the dark tractor of the Internet. And it’s driving people fucking nuts…” (35:00)

5. Targeted Ads, Surveillance, and the Tech-Driven Schizophrenia (43:00–50:00)

Tells story of a woman triggered by a smart fridge ad that used her name, which led to a psychotic episode.
Riff on the dystopian insanity of having home appliances broadcast ads with your name: “Imagine if your refrigerator had a compartment in it where a hand would come out and grab your ass randomly—nobody would buy it! …That would be illegal!” (39:00)
Points out how surveillance capitalism and targeted ads can blur the line between technological “magic” and paranoid delusion.

6. Commentary on Online Activism and Political Obsession (50:00–55:00)

Bitingly dismisses the idea of anti-capitalism or activism conducted from behind a screen: “If you really want to do some kind of communist revolution, you're not gonna do that by feeding the fucking corporations that are gathering data from you on your fucking phone.” (53:10)
Suggests the true boycott would be mass phone rejection: “We just don't care about the phone anymore. We stop looking. We don't care… Loses all its power, has zero power over you at that point.” (54:00)
Compares phone use to idolatry: “What really is the difference between staring at a glowing hypnotic screen and bowing down in front of a statue of Baal?” (56:10)

7. Parallels to Ancient Sacrifice & Childhood Innocence Online (58:00–60:00)

Conversation with Josh turns to letting children online, likening Roblox and predators to a modern sacrifice of innocence.
“It’s not child sacrifice in the classic way, but things evolve, man. So. But things also stay exactly the same.” (58:58)
Josh: “What if it's still a sacrifice? But it's not a physical sacrifice. It's a sacrifice of their innocence.” (58:35)

8. The Futility of Anxiety, Doomscrolling & News Consumption (60:00–63:00)

Examines why we stay plugged into anxiety-making devices: seeking false control, avoidance of internal emptiness.
“These people [media figures, politicians] don’t need to be in our lives… none of it matters. You can't stop what's coming anyway…” (63:05)
Suggests the real revolution is regaining personal agency: “You have to untether yourself from the fucking Cthulhu whose tentacle you've allowed into every orifice of your body. That's step one.” (63:15)

9. Psycho-Cybernetics, Chaos Magick, and Training the Mind (63:00–76:00)

Recommends Psycho-Cybernetics as a practical method for changing habituated negative thought patterns.
Draws parallels to Chaos Magick: “Belief isn't a fixed truth, but a temporary state that can be changed… You can invoke any archetype, real or fictional, to alter your mood and performance.” (70:00)
“If you habituate to worrying…your primary mode of thinking is a kind of realistic sort of optimism—reminding yourself of actual great things that have happened to you…” (71:00)

10. Finding Identity Beyond Anxiety (72:00–75:30)

In an exchange with Josh, explores the emptiness at the core of identity and whether we need anxiety to feel “real.”
“If you've been identifying with your anxiety…you pull the fucking spine out of your identity. Now what are you?” (72:50)
Compares Psycho-Cybernetics (“how to be better at baseball”) to Buddhism (“why not just stop incarnating entirely?”), both probing the emptiness beneath identity.

11. Polymarket Bets, UFO Disclosure, Meme Coins & Operation Beast Blast (76:00–99:00)

Reviews a sudden influx of money on Polymarket betting that Trump will release UFO files before 2027, timed to coincide with the Epstein files release. Wonders about conspiratorial media distractions: “If there was ever a time that Trump was going to do disclosure, it seems like it would coincide with the release of the Epstein files. Makes sense.” (82:30)
Light banter about meme coins (Fart Coin, Pepe Coin), investment culture.
Announces and describes a new t-shirt design for his ongoing Mr. Beast “subscriber rivalry” and the Operation Beast Blast movement (goal: destroy the pyramids, and why the pyramids are to blame for everything from solar flares to global warming). This section borders on performance art satire, blending humor and absurd conspiracism.

12. Operation Beast Blast: The War on Pyramids (87:42–99:00)

Elaborates on pyramid destruction as both an actual goal and a wild metaphor for attacking entrenched systems and delusions, blending myth, pop culture, and apocalyptic humor:
- “Those fucking pyramids are pointing right at the goddamn sun…if you want to know the fucking knob on the hot tub, it's the fucking pyramids.” (93:10)
- “Our children and our children's children can live on a planet without pyramids. Don't be afraid to dream. This could happen. No more pyramids.” (97:20)
Comically incites listener action via shirt orders and “beating Mr. Beast”.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On AI Music:
“The shittier it sounds, the funnier that is to me. But as far as the composition of the music, forget it. Like, there's just no way…” (05:30, Duncan)
On Costco Anxiety:
“Costco rules. Like, I’ve never been in a place with carts that you could fit a fucking casket in. …All these things are going through your head. You’re overwhelmed. Then some fucking asshole smacks into you with their cart, like, on purpose…” (10:00, Duncan)
On the Internet as Modern Plague:
“I gotta tell you, man, I’m pretty sure the Internet is the technological flea causing a psychic fucking pandemic that is crushing our species—not killing us. Which, by the way, maybe that's worse…” (25:30, Duncan)
On Screen Addiction:
“You’ve just been plunging your head over and over into that muck, sticking your head down into the digital toilet, sucking on big fat peanut-encrusted digital turds. And then you’re like, why does my stomach hurt? Why do I feel so bad?” (46:00, Duncan)
On Targeted Ads:
“But you should be able to turn it on, not turn it off. That's crazy. That it starts by giving you ads with your fucking name. That is so dystopian and insane.” (38:30, Duncan)
On Glory Holes vs. Smartphones:
“What is the difference between a phone and a glory hole...? It’s a rectangular shaped hole and strangers are jizzing data all over your face every day, every day.” (54:00, Duncan)
On Modern Sacrifice:
“I get it. You're not like coating your child with lavender and …driv[ing] a dagger into their heart, but you're posting pictures of them in a fucking bathing suit online. ...It’s not child sacrifice in the classic way, but things evolve, man.” (57:45, Duncan)
On Disinformation and Tech Overlords:
"Jerome Powell can't do childcare for me. That's what I need, fucking childcare. Unless Jerome Powell is coming to the fucking house to figure out why my kid's bathtub doesn't have hot water. Fuck him." (59:55, Duncan)
On Revolution:
“Not looking at your phone is like not taking your meds at the fucking cuckoo house. …Just a few days off and your world will exponentially get better.” (46:30, Duncan)
On Habituation:
“Look at the way you feel when your phone rings. …Does that make you feel good? …When that motherfucker vibrates, it’s a little volt. A little, ‘Hey, freak out for a second, won’t you?’ …No different. …It’s conditioning.” (62:00, Duncan)
On Psycho-Cybernetics & Chaos Magick:
“Psycho-Cybernetics is saying it doesn't have to be anything big...just something simple, something that isn't even that exciting. You just need something to replace your worried mind, to replace those thoughts with. Whoa, it totally fucking works.” (71:20, Duncan)
Operation Beast Blast:
“You really think Egypt was always that fucking hot? ...The pyramids are basically air fryers. You stick a fucking pharaoh in there, it just withers them up.” (94:10, Duncan)

Timestamps for Important Segments

AI Music, Ethics, and Creative Hustle: 00:00–08:00
Costco, Panic, and Pregnancy Survival: 08:00–17:30
Going Offline & The Modern Plague: 17:30–30:00
How Tech Parasites the Soul: 30:00–43:00
Schizophrenia, Ads & Surveillance Capitalism: 43:00–50:00
Online Activism, Phone as Idolatry: 50:00–56:00
Children, Innocence, and Modern Sacrifice: 58:00–60:00
Doomscrolling, Fake Agency, and Anxiety: 60:00–63:30
Psycho-Cybernetics, Chaos Magick & Self-Change: 63:00–76:00
Polymarket, UFOs, Epstein & Meme Coins: 76:00–87:00
Operation Beast Blast: The Pyramid Rant: 87:42–99:00

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Summary

Episode Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Making a Christmas Album Using AI (00:00–08:00)

2. Modern Stress & The Semi-Apocalyptic Costco Experience (08:00–17:30)

3. Life Overwhelm, Offline Epiphanies & The Plague of the Internet (17:30–30:00)

4. On the Parasitic Nature of Technology & Media Addiction (30:00–43:00)

5. Targeted Ads, Surveillance, and the Tech-Driven Schizophrenia (43:00–50:00)

6. Commentary on Online Activism and Political Obsession (50:00–55:00)

7. Parallels to Ancient Sacrifice & Childhood Innocence Online (58:00–60:00)

8. The Futility of Anxiety, Doomscrolling & News Consumption (60:00–63:00)

9. Psycho-Cybernetics, Chaos Magick, and Training the Mind (63:00–76:00)

10. Finding Identity Beyond Anxiety (72:00–75:30)

11. Polymarket Bets, UFO Disclosure, Meme Coins & Operation Beast Blast (76:00–99:00)

12. Operation Beast Blast: The War on Pyramids (87:42–99:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Timestamps for Important Segments

Tone & Style

TL;DR

Summary

Episode Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Making a Christmas Album Using AI (00:00–08:00)

2. Modern Stress & The Semi-Apocalyptic Costco Experience (08:00–17:30)

3. Life Overwhelm, Offline Epiphanies & The Plague of the Internet (17:30–30:00)

4. On the Parasitic Nature of Technology & Media Addiction (30:00–43:00)

5. Targeted Ads, Surveillance, and the Tech-Driven Schizophrenia (43:00–50:00)

6. Commentary on Online Activism and Political Obsession (50:00–55:00)

7. Parallels to Ancient Sacrifice & Childhood Innocence Online (58:00–60:00)

8. The Futility of Anxiety, Doomscrolling & News Consumption (60:00–63:00)

9. Psycho-Cybernetics, Chaos Magick, and Training the Mind (63:00–76:00)

10. Finding Identity Beyond Anxiety (72:00–75:30)

11. Polymarket Bets, UFO Disclosure, Meme Coins & Operation Beast Blast (76:00–99:00)

12. Operation Beast Blast: The War on Pyramids (87:42–99:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Timestamps for Important Segments

Tone & Style

TL;DR