
Hosted by Alex Hysel, Nicholas Padesky · EN

ATTENTION: if your name is Alex Hysel and/or Nicholas Padesky, or any variant spelling thereof, we would like to podcast with you. If not, we still invite you to listen to us muse this week about everything from the recent Republican primaries to our recent hand injuries to our shared disinterest in Drakes surprise triple album release, with much more in between.

We are joined this week by Courtney Rawlings, co-host of the Quincy Institute podcast Always at War. After briefly discussing the similarities between her valley and our Wisconsin accents, we discuss how she ended up as a podcaster, her relatable way of communicating about foreign policy, the shadowy AI blame game gripping our military, the cost of living crisis and its suspected effects on birthrates, the urban/rural divide, reality TV, what its like living with a fellow podcaster, and more.

We discuss making your own creme brûlée at home (and other things you can do with a kitchen torch), Alex's men's league baseball highlights, and the hottest reality show on TV (Barstool Beach House, airing on X the everything app).

We react to the new MLB City Connect jerseys, Michigan winning the NCAA Tournament, How Long Gone TV, our shared disinterest in Ye's new album, the dire outlook of the next generation of internet celebrities and who follows them, NASA's trip back to the moon, and Trump delaying Armageddon for at least two weeks.

In a sports heavy episode this week, we discuss MLB Opening Day and Alex's thoughts ahead of the Brewers season. We also follow up on last episode's discussion about the WBC, with team USA recovering from the brink of elimination but falling short in the championship. Then we discuss March Madness and Nick's idea to revamp the bracket scoring format. We also discuss the hilarious Afroman trial, ICE doing TSA's job because TSA isn't being paid because no one wants to pay ICE, and 2,000 special ops paratroopers reportedly being deployed to the Middle East.

Well, he finally did it folks! Some are calling it a "short term excursion", but it's already been almost 2 weeks at a cost of $1-2B per day to the American taxpayer - with no end in sight - so we're calling it a war. We debate whether this is a signal that Trump and MAGA have fully shed their GOP exoskeleton as a distinctly fascistic movement, and whether calling that out is even helpful in making the case for a left alternative to the status quo. We also discuss Ben Shapiro's eyebrows, Marco Rubio's ears, ill-fitting, cheap shoes on cabinet members, Bam Adebayo's insane night, the U.S. team's near-collapse in the WBC, and Timmy Chalamet in hot water on the internet ahead of the Oscars.

We react to the state of the union address and the olympics, bemoaning how it's impossible to feel patriotic in 2026, as well as how cowardly the DNC is in pushing centrists like Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris for 2028. We also talk about the subpar snow at Milano Cortina and the "conspiracy theory" that Bush did 9/11 as a "new Pearl Harbor", inspired by our lovely comrades at TrueAnon.

We’re back in top form, in high spirits from the warmer temps following an extended freeze in both NY and WI. We discuss the New York Times reporting on the federal playbook following ICE/BORTAC shootings, and what it means that DHS Sec. Kristi Noam has no qualms about lying to the American people and slandering the names of innocent victims. Then we get to our main story, Super Bowl LX, covering the lackluster commercials, the alt [right] halftime show, the official halftime show (Bad Bunny killed it), and the mostly boring, but satisfying, game.

We’re back to basics, with just the boys on zoom, trying to make sense of the world. It’s been one unprecedented event after another since we discussed current events and it feels like the end is here, but that doesn’t stop Nick from laying out an electoral pathway for the left to save us. We also discuss a couple of movies both of us have been recommending that the other finally watched - One Battle After Another and Sinners - and discuss the hot start television is having in 2026, especially on HBO, as we can’t stop watching (and rewatching) The Pitt and Industry.

Well, 2025 was a doozy and 2026 is already giving it a run for its money. As crazy and unpredictable as the world is now, the pod don't stop, which means it's time for the third annual "Irish Tom Predictions Episode", with 4x recurring guest Thomas O'Mahony.We start by chopping it up and reviewing our past performances a bit, before diving headfirst into Tom's predictions for the Year of the Horse (and the fly ass white boy, we see you Timmy). Retro iPhones. Amy Winehouse. Joan Didion. Nigel Farage. Illiterate Men. These are but a few of the characters and topics we discuss, but you'll have to tune in for the context and Tom's full list.Then we wrap it up with shorter prediction lists from both Alex and Nick featuring AI, luddites, gambling crackdowns, crazy game shows, and more. Follow Tom on Instagram @scamgoldin and check out his work on the podcasts Lions Beneath the Skin, Lions Led by Donkeys , and Blood Work wherever you listen to podcasts.