Real America’s Voice: Professor Penn Podcast - "We’re Caught In a Loop! | MUSCLE MEMORY" (EP258)

Host: David Penn
Date: November 26, 2025
Guest Co-host: Tanner
Theme: Navigating Political, Personal, and Cultural Loops—Muscle Memory in Life and Activism

Episode Overview

In this unplanned, improvisational solo episode, Professor Penn (David Penn) reflects on personal struggles, the state of America, and the current political landscape after a last-minute guest cancellation. Amidst Thanksgiving week’s anxieties, Penn and his technical producer, Tanner, engage in an unscripted "jazz" session covering muscle memory (both literal and metaphorical), faith, the pressures of public life, surveillance technology, economic sovereignty, and the importance of true civic engagement—regardless of political affiliation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Weight of Public Influence & Responsibility

• Penn describes the growing seriousness he feels as his audience expands, noting how straight-shooting commentary can provoke unexpected hostility, especially around defining American citizenship.

  • Quote: “I take that very seriously. And I'm becoming quite sober about this… It's getting a little serious out there on the digital highway.” (06:08)

• The pushback for defending certain principles, and how quickly dialogue is reframed by opponents.

2. Personal Anxiety, Miracles, and Faith

• Penn shares a challenging weekend filled with anxiety due to business pressures, emphasizing his struggle to maintain courage, echoing biblical admonitions not to succumb to fear.

  • Quote: “I default to my religious faith. Or it's not religious, it's just faith… I was afraid because the news was bad.” (07:07)

• He recounts a series of “miracles”—including meeting his first grandchild—that helped shift his mindset from dread to gratitude, reinforcing the practice of expressing thanks as a tool for transformation.

  • Quote (Thanksgiving prayer): “Blessed are you, God and King of all worlds. Thank you for creating the light and the dark…” (30:44)

3. Muscle Memory—In Faith and Societal Patterns

• The concept of “muscle memory” recurs, likening spiritual/religious training and activism to physical repetition that prepares us for moments of crisis or resistance.

  • Quote (Tanner): “It's like working those muscle memories.” (13:08)
  • Penn: “Same thing with religion, right? So you're developing this…deep understanding of how things work.” (13:10)

• Applies this metaphor to habits—both personal (addictions, laziness) and collective (societal complacency, negative thought cycles).

4. Tech, Surveillance, and the New Digital Control Grid

• Deep concern about technology’s role in eroding freedom, with smartphones and digital IDs viewed as surveillance and control mechanisms.
  • Penn: “Let's remember this is a surveillance device. Surveillance. It's a control mechanism.” (17:17)
• Draws connections between economic shifts (post-COVID, AI, WEF) and the deliberate undermining of entrepreneurial/self-sufficient citizens.

5. Economic Sovereignty and Political Participation

• Laments how small businesses/entrepreneurship are being systematically squeezed out, transferring sovereignty from individuals to corporations and state dependency.

  • Penn: “All the money goes uphill and all this comes downhill. Starting to seem like the United States, right?” (20:46)

• The importance of direct civic engagement, apolitical education, and the need for a realignment away from professional, donor-controlled party politics.

• Precinct strategy and grassroots organizing as antidotes—“whoever shows up, governs.”

  • Quote: “The point of the Professor Penn podcast is a political action strategy.” (08:35)
  • “Whoever shows up governs.” (39:35)

6. Bipartisan Suffering and Need for Common Good

• Harsh critique of both major political parties, proposing that true Republicanism (in the classical sense) is about personal sovereignty and the common good, not entrenched party dogma.

  • “There's no difference between them, really…It's like All Star Wrestling…they script it out.” (40:16)

• Income inequality is diagnosed as a feudal problem; both left and right are being deceived and divided by elites, technocrats, and “vampires” (a recurring metaphor).

  • Quote: “We’re living in a giant illusion, a scam where all of our energy is being sucked out of us by vampires.” (50:09)

7. Collective ADD—Distraction as Social Control

• Societal distractions (phones, addictions, social media, drugs) are said to be intentionally weaponized to keep citizens docile and overwhelmed.
  • “And then distract us, as you said, with these phones and drugs and alcohol and porn…pretty much everybody just says, I'm busy.” (45:06)

8. The Role of Faith & the Power of Positive Thinking

• Return to the power of affirmations and mental focus—“thoughts are things and words are spells.”
  • Actionable advice for the exhausted: shift “I’m tired” toward “thank you for giving me strength.” (47:05)
  • Urges scientific-minded skeptics to "experiment" with faith and gratitude practices instead of just rejecting them out of hand.

9. America’s Digital Transition—Dangers and Realities

• Acknowledgement of the transition to the digital age as a potential “prison,” with biometric scanning and digital currencies/IDs threatening privacy and freedom.

  • “That digital ID is going to be critical…we won’t be able to…bank, access services, health care, travel.” (61:19)

• AI and automation poised to disrupt jobs previously seen as bastions of independence (like coding/software).

  • Quote (on digital control): “You put AI together with digital currency and that's a ball game.” (61:48)

10. A New Political Coalition & Unity

• Observes that the so-called Trump coalition is fractured; both parties have lost legitimacy with much of the public, especially youth, who increasingly lean socialist for practical reasons (e.g., unaffordability of housing, lack of opportunity).

  • Penn to Republicans: “All these young people…the most important cohort in the country, are going socialist because they got nothing.” (92:18)

• Calls for a new unifying movement that transcends left/right divides, focusing on practical well-being and sovereignty for all Americans. Urges listeners on all sides to reject the divisions imposed from the top and build true alliances.

  • “We can fight the real evil. Which is not someone just like me who calls themselves a Democrat. It’s the people at the top of the funnel that have divided us and made us hate each other. Those are my enemies, not my fellow citizens.” (106:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Moment | |------------|--------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 06:08 | David Penn | “I'm becoming quite sober about this… It's getting a little serious out there on the digital highway.” | | 13:08 | Tanner | “It's like working those muscle memories.” | | 17:17 | David Penn | “Let's remember this is a surveillance device. Surveillance. It's a control mechanism.” | | 20:46 | David Penn | “All the money goes uphill and all this comes downhill. Starting to seem like the United States, right?” | | 39:35 | David Penn | “Whoever shows up governs.” | | 50:09 | David Penn | “We're living in a giant illusion, a scam where all of our energy is being sucked out of us by vampires.” | | 61:48 | David Penn | “You put AI together with digital currency and that's a ball game.” | | 78:24 | David Penn | “Guns don't kill people. They don't. That's a lie… It's about the training of the person that wields the gun.” | | 92:18 | David Penn | “All these young people…the most important cohort in the country, are going socialist because they got nothing.” | | 106:20 | David Penn | “We can fight the real evil. Which is not someone just like me who calls themselves a Democrat. It’s the people at the top of the funnel that have divided us and made us hate each other.” |

Important Segments & Timestamps

• Opening & Set-up: (04:12–08:16) – Penn sets the tone of the episode, muses on public responsibility and the seriousness of commentary in a polarized climate.
• Personal Faith and Adversity: (08:16–13:08) – How faith and muscle memory help overcome anxiety; the analogy to religious practice and boxing.
• Tech Control & Surveillance: (17:10–18:09) – Digital addiction and the creeping surveillance state.
• Economic Shifts: (18:27–21:39) – Post-COVID economic changes, AI’s impact on jobs, and the squeeze on small business.
• Gratitude & Spiritual Tools: (28:28–33:51) – Thanksgiving after crisis, miracles, and Penn’s adapted Jewish/Christian daily prayers.
• Civic Engagement & Political Action: (39:08–61:16) – The state of politics; importance of grassroots and precinct politics (“whoever shows up governs”).
• Digital ID, AI, and Political Risks: (61:16–68:57) – The risks of digital control and central bank digital currency, call to action for local political involvement.
• Unity Across the Spectrum: (100:00–106:20) – Coalition building, the failure of current political strategies, and the call for a meaningful new unity.

Tone & Style

• Conversational, personal, unscripted: The episode maintains Penn’s trademark combination of humor, candor, and impassioned ranting.
• Analogies and metaphors abound: From muscle memory to vampires and WWE wrestling, Penn and Tanner paint with vivid imagery to underscore points.
• Appeal across the aisle: Despite his Republican leanings, Penn makes repeated overtures toward Democrats, independents, and skeptics—emphasizing unity over factionalism.
• Frequent asides and self-deprecation: Penn is transparent about his improvisational style, weaving in digressions and asides that connect personal experience to broader themes.

Actionable Takeaways

• Show up in local politics: Real governance is determined by participation at the lowest levels.
• Guard your economic independence: Support businesses and enterprises not aligned with centralized control.
• Practice gratitude and faith—experiment with positive affirmation, regardless of religious beliefs.
• Resist the digital panopticon: Stay skeptical of surveillance tech, biometric IDs, and centralized digital currency.
• Seek unity on common needs: Prioritize the well-being and sovereignty of all Americans over ideological division.

Final Thoughts

David Penn uses this “loop” episode to invite listeners into reflective, practical action—both in personal life and the body politic. He urges gratitude, courage, and engagement against the forces of complacency, digital control, and elite-driven division. The podcast ends with a renewed call to unify, safeguard sovereignty, and prioritize collective well-being over identity-fueled conflict.

Recommended Next Steps:

• Tune in Thursday at 7pm CST for the Thanksgiving episode with Minister John Gap
• Join "Minnesota Speaks" Spaces on X (Thursdays, 7pm CST)
• Support Free People Radio via merch or tire purchases—funding independent media
• Consider small, actionable ways to increase civic participation in your own community