Podcast Summary: Part Of The Problem

Episode: Communists Are Babies
Date: September 3, 2025
Host: Dave Smith (with co-host Robbie "the Fire" Bernstein)

Overview

In this episode, Dave Smith and Robbie Bernstein dive into a range of topics revolving around current political events, U.S. and Israeli policy debates, the spectacle of political discourse, and a viral confrontation between socialist and libertarian/anarchist perspectives. They analyze viral interviews from the past week and offer characteristic libertarian critiques of both American foreign and domestic policy as well as the new resurgence of “classical” socialist/communist arguments. The episode also features extensive discussion and deconstruction of leftist economic arguments—hence the provocative title, “Communists Are Babies.”

Major Topics & Key Discussion Points

1. Trump’s Health and "The Announcement" Hysteria

• [02:00 – 09:00]

  • Unpacking online speculation about Trump potentially stepping down or being in declining health.
  • Dave observes Trump's changing appearance ("looks really pale...a cartoon of a human being" – 04:15) and the media frenzy that erupts over minimal or absent presidential appearances.
  • Notable Quote:

    “Donald Trump is really freaking old…if you take Joe Biden out of the equation, he’s like the oldest president we’ve ever had.” – Dave ([04:55])

• Robbie jokes about having to ignore evidence contradictory to his stand-up material about Trump's youthfulness.

  • Notable Quote:

    “If you have one day with diarrhea, everyone freaks out. How come this guy isn’t on television? He must be dying.” – Robbie ([08:16])

2. Viral Adam Friedland vs. Richie Torres Interview (Israel/Anti-Semitism Discourse)

• [09:30 – 27:00]

  • Dave explains an interview explosion: Adam Friedland confronts Congressman Richie Torres on Israel, Gaza, and accusations of anti-Semitism.
  • Robbie admits he missed its virality in his algorithm, speaking to media echo chambers.
  • Dave highlights the value in seeing politicians “unprepared”—revealing much more than polished stump speeches.

• Clip Analysis #1 – Adam Friedland vs. Richie Torres

  • [17:40 – 19:15]
    • Adam challenges Torres: “I'm telling you as a Jew right now that we are receiving a lot more hate because of what the people...are doing to other people right now...This is a genocide. And that hurts to say that a Jew can do that.” – Adam ([17:53])
    • Dave and Robbie note the value of someone from within a group (here, a Jewish comedian) publicly critiquing the actions associated with the group, suggesting it does more to reduce hate and genuinely address anti-Semitism than government dictates or campaigns.

• Dave Skeptical of Metrics:

  • Skeptical of using ADL or “surveys” as evidence, noting: “You're picking, like, come on, you're picking the most biased sources and then making some appeal to authority off them, like, because they say it, therefore it’s right.” – Dave ([25:24])

3. Political Incentives, Groupthink, and the Unspoken Rules of Power

• [25:30 – 35:00]

  • Dave explores Torres’ incentive to stick to establishment talking points, not out of direct bribery but because challenging the status quo on Israel is political suicide:

    “You're deciding to go to war with the establishment if you're critical of Israel...That is simply not a wise business decision to make.” – Dave ([28:51])

• Reference to the case of Mamdani, a Democratic candidate denied establishment support due to his unwillingness to “promise to go visit Israel.”

4. Viral Clip Dissection: U.S. and Israeli Money to Hamas

• [29:10 – 36:00]

  • [29:12 – 30:03]

    • Adam: “If one of those kids at Columbia wrote a $5 check to Hamas, you'd say, send them to Gitmo for being a terrorist....Does that make Benjamin Netanyahu a terrorist? He's supporting terror.”
    • Torres, stumped: “That's a fair point. It's a great question...That was a failure. There's no question.”

  • Dave: Points out the contradiction that the “whole narrative falls to pieces” upon learning the U.S. and Israel have funded (directly or indirectly) the group they claim justifies a siege and mass suffering.

5. Contradictory Policy, Hypocrisy, and the Use of Political Will

• [36:00 – 40:00]
  • Discussion comparing U.S. hypocrisy—from supporting certain terrorist groups to the war on drugs (Iran Contra) and the selective outrage over January 6th vs. urban crime.

6. The Economics of Socialism and Communism: "Communists Are Babies"

• [40:00 – 76:00]

  • Dave introduces/walks through a viral Patrick Bet-David “table debate” with earnest young socialists/communists.
  • Critique of Economic Utopianism:
    • Dave and Robbie pick apart the fantasy of a “stateless, classless, moneyless” society, noting the utter lack of practical consideration.
    • Notable Quote:

      “Imagine...a stateless, classless, moneyless society. And just think about how ridiculous an idea that is.” – Dave ([47:34])

• Hierarchy is Unavoidable:

  • Dave walks through how, even in theoretically “classless” arrangements, hierarchies and disparities immediately re-emerge.
  • Notable Quote:

    “Anytime a commie starts talking numbers, just let that go in one ear, out the other ear. The numbers are not even kind of true.” – Dave ([58:28])

• Robbie Offers Practical Analogies:

  • “There's a finite amount of everything....Now some items—we might get to a point with AI development where robots can build them so cheaply that they're more easily attainable, but they're not infinite. There's no concept of fake scarcity.” – Robbie ([58:43])

• On Incentives and Reality:

  • Dave: Communism only "flourishes intellectually in privileged circles."

    “Most people don't do jobs they love. They do jobs that need to be done.” – Dave ([55:29])

  • If no financial incentive exists, "Are you going to get people to want to do [difficult jobs]?" The answer is that only a child thinks yes.

• Cases of Disinterested Socialists:

  • Dave and Robbie point to a viral moment where a young man complains about lack of opportunity, is offered a job by Patrick Bet-David, and immediately complains the job isn't good enough—"just infant shit."

• Extended Clip: Communists Defending Definitions [69:40 – 72:06]

  • Socialists are unable to give practical responses to how their system would work.
  • Classic argument: “It’s never been tried correctly.”
  • Dave: "Dictatorship was supposed to be the pathway to communism. That part never happened. But you know, it’s crazy that you design a system where everything’s centrally controlled...and then the dictator is supposed to wither away and create the stateless, classless society. Somehow that guy always hangs on to power." ([72:06])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He is a cartoon of a human being.” – Dave on Trump ([03:41])
• “Politicians aren’t people, and so it’s totally cool to ambush them anyway.” – Dave ([12:46])
• “If you’re running Twitter polls...Twitter is not real life.” – Robbie ([24:23])
• “What is this exactly?...The thing you got to say in order to hold on to political power...and you know the thing that you could say that’ll get you ruined tomorrow.” – Dave ([26:00])
• “You could either be the guy who’s not accepting that job or the guy who’s complaining about what a bad spot you’re in, but you really can’t be both.” – Dave ([41:10])
• On socialism/communism:

  “It's just being a child versus being a grown up.” – Dave ([44:32])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:00 – 09:00] – Trump health speculation, old age in politics
• [17:40 – 19:30] – Adam Friedland’s emotional confrontation with Torres (Israel/anti-Semitism)
• [29:12 – 30:03] – The “Netanyahu funds Hamas” contradiction
• [47:07 – 55:00] – Breakdown of “stateless, classless, moneyless society" argument; infantile thinking
• [58:28 – 61:02] – Dismantling “artificial scarcity” and post-scarcity utopianism
• [69:40 – 72:06] – Communism's real-world failures and denial; the “never tried correctly” dodge

Tone & Style

• Irreverent, unscripted, conversational.
• Heavy on analogies, sarcasm, and dark humor.
• Direct, sometimes caustic, but with a focus on exposing contradictions and follies—left, right, and center.

Summary Takeaway

This episode sees Dave Smith at his most biting, turning his analytical eye not just on the usual foibles of U.S. foreign policy and the hypocrisy of elected officials, but on the resurgent (and, in their view, embarrassingly naïve) idealism of young left-wing activists. Both hosts argue that the average “commie” debater is more interested in emotionally comforting fantasies than adult-level engagement with the world as it is. Dave employs classic libertarian critiques—scarcity, hierarchy, incentives, reality-vs-utopia—to lambaste these "childish" arguments, while also reserving plenty of venom for Establishment inertia and double standards.

Notable close-out:

“If there’s some major thing [with Trump], we’ll jump back on and give our thoughts…otherwise, you’ll have to wait till tomorrow.” – Dave ([76:12])

For listeners wanting a mix of contemporary event dissection, libertarian realism, and a withering takedown of utopian leftist economic fantasy, this episode delivers on all fronts—all with the usual unfiltered bravado of "Part Of The Problem."