Which Lib Journo is the Biggest hack? - YOU DECIDE - Hack Madness 2025

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Which Lib Journo is the Biggest Hack? - YOU DECIDE - Hack Madness 2025"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Ruthless Podcast
• Hosts/Authors: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, and John Ashbrook
• Description: A variety program where Smug, Holmes, Duncan, and Ashbrook elevate next-generation conservative talk with a ruthless edge, offering a lighter analysis of daily news and "fake news."
• Episode Title: Which Lib Journo is the Biggest Hack? - YOU DECIDE - Hack Madness 2025
• Release Date: March 22, 2025

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Introduction to Hack Madness

The episode kicks off with Michael Duncan announcing the fifth annual "Hack Madness" tournament—a bracket-style competition reminiscent of March Madness, but focused on identifying the "biggest liberal hack journalists." With 64 participants, expanded to 66 through play-in games, the tournament is divided into four categories: Liberal Activists, Way to Online, Fake News, and Establishment.

Duncan (00:00):
"You're in for a treat here. Today we have 64 of the absolute biggest hacks... These are the worst journalists in all."

Smug (00:29):
"This is the cream of the crop when it comes to hacks, and they're going head to head. It's up to you to decide."

The hosts emphasize audience participation, encouraging listeners to vote online and engage with the tournament via Smug's social media profiles.

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Liberal Activist Division

Top Seeds and Key Matchups

Nicole Wallace enters as the number one seed in the Liberal Activists division. Duncan highlights her influence and impact over the past year.

Duncan (02:08):
"Nicole Wallace... I hope he lives the life he wants to live. He wants to be a cop... but I hope he never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trump."

Wallace's controversial comments position her prominently within the bracket. She faces off against Josh Boak of the AP in a captivating play-in game.

Josh (03:01):
"Not exactly a household name, but if he upsets Nicole Wallace in the first round... this is a guy who you will never forget."

Other notable matchups include Yamiche Alcindor versus Josh Boak, and perennial contenders like Tim Alberta vs. Michelle Goldberg, Glenn Kessler vs. Matt Iglesias, and Simone Sanders vs. Ezra Klein.

Smug (05:07):
"That's a heck of a match." (Referring to Bill Crystal vs. Joy Behar)

Duncan (05:23):
"Rachel Maddow... facing off against Sahil Kapoor."

Notable Quotes and Highlights

• Nicole Wallace (01:59):
  "And I hope he has a long life as enforcement officer, but I hope he never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trump."

• Smug (13:22):
  "She's really been out there just always week after week after week just with the hackery. She's really gonna be tough to beat." (Referring to Margaret Brennan)

---

Way to Online Division

This division features internet-centric journalists and commentators. Eugene Daniels secures the number one seed due to his aggressive online presence and partisan behavior.

Ashbrook (07:27):
"He has a hard time running against Vice President Harris because she's a black woman..."

Daniels faces Will Sommer and Peter Alexander, with Smug predicting strong eliminations.

Smug (07:54):
"I'm so tired of this man... These are the worst people."

Josh (08:28):
"This is clearly a guy who came to police. He's a number one seed."

Notable Matchups

• Don Lemon (8 seed) vs. Rachel Bade
• Anna Navarro (5 seed) vs. Tom Nichols
• Caitlyn Collins (5 seed) vs. Jonathan Carl (12 seed)

Smug (09:45):
"They're going to see the most familiar names because a lot of these people are the ones out there grinding on X."

---

Fake News Division

Margaret Brennan dominates as the number one seed in this division, praised for her relentless fact-checking and high-profile reporting.

Duncan (14:39):
"Margaret Brennan... has not stopped producing like week after week."

Brennan's matchup against David Klepper of the Associated Press highlights the strength of this bracket.

Josh (16:47):
"This is the guy who wrote the story about Tulsi Gabbard that was taken down obviously belongs here..."

Other significant matchups include Abby Phillip vs. Tom Llamas, and Sam Stein vs. John Dickerson.

Smug (15:50):
"She's really gonna be tough to beat."

---

Establishment Division

Representing mainstream media giants, Norah O'Donnell of CBS takes the number one seed in the Establishment division, reflecting her influential presence in corporate media.

Smug (22:26):
"Amazing." (Referring to Norah O'Donnell)

O'Donnell faces Peter Jameson, a newcomer, while other key matchups include Jake Tapper vs. Maureen Dowd, and George Stephanopoulos vs. Lawrence O'Donnell.

Duncan (22:25):
"Norah O'Donnell... this is a night in and it's night out and it's story selection."

Notable Moments

• Norah O'Donnell (22:25):
  "CBS News, the highest priority of the president of the United States is the safety and security of the American people."

• Smug (23:11):
  "She's so mad."

---

Tournament Insights and Host Commentary

Throughout the episode, the hosts provide critical analysis and predictions for various matchups, often injecting humor and sarcasm.

Josh (06:17):
"Just because you're a one or two seed doesn't mean you're headed for a championship."

Smug (25:13):
"We use a very sophisticated mathematical computational algorithm to decide... if the math added up that you're having a married couple go against each other."

The discussion delves into the dynamics of legacy media versus new media, the impact of social media on journalists' reputations, and the evolving landscape of political journalism.

Ashbrook (30:00):
"She has had a hard time adjusting to... trying to replicate the success that he's seen in her career." (Referring to Jennifer Rubin)

Josh (30:19):
"I think we got a good chance of seeing them play against each other."

Audience Engagement and Voting Process

The hosts consistently encourage listeners to participate by voting in the tournament and filling out their own brackets.

Smug (32:50):
"Hit my profile, vote in the bracket and fill your bracket out asap."

Duncan (33:05):
"Fill it out, put it up, make sure everybody knows, let's get in the competition here."

They highlight the communal aspect of Hack Madness, emphasizing its growth over five years and the increasing number of participants.

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Concluding Insights and Future Projections

As the tournament progresses, the hosts reflect on the state of liberal journalism, noting the dominance of outlets like CBS and the rise of new media figures.

Smug (27:37):
"CBS has two number one seats that's like dynasty status."

Josh (30:00):
"The media landscape is changing."

They predict a shift towards new media dominance in future tournaments, recognizing the influence of viral content and social media presence.

Josh (30:19):
"She needs much, much more aggression if she's gonna to be Ben Smith."

Ashbrook (32:26):
"I say the latter, particularly when it comes to like the CBS folks..."

The episode wraps up with a call to action for audience participation, reinforcing the interactive nature of Hack Madness and its role in engaging listeners in media critique.

Duncan (33:25):
"Hope you appreciated the selection show. We love doing it."

Smug (34:17):
"Until next time, Minions, keep the faith, hold the line, and own the libs. Stay ruthless."

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Duncan (00:00):
  "Today we have 64 of the absolute biggest hacks... These are the worst journalists in all."

• Nicole Wallace (01:59):
  "I hope he never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trump."

• Smug (07:54):
  "I'm so tired of this man... These are the worst people."

• Margaret Brennan (14:39):
  "We have so much to get to, Margaret."

• Norah O'Donnell (22:25):
  "CBS News, the highest priority of the president of the United States is the safety and security of the American people."

• Smug (32:50):
  "Hit my profile, vote in the bracket and fill your bracket out asap."

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Conclusion

"Which Lib Journo is the Biggest Hack? - YOU DECIDE - Hack Madness 2025" offers a scathing yet engaging critique of liberal journalists through a competitive bracket format. The hosts combine humor, sharp commentary, and audience interaction to dissect the performances and influence of various media personalities. By encouraging listeners to vote and participate, the episode fosters a community-driven analysis of media bias and journalistic integrity, all while maintaining the Ruthless Podcast's signature entertaining style.

Transcript

[Duncan]

Foreign welcome to Hack Madness. This is the fifth annual production of Hack Madness by the ruthless variety program. Ladies and gentlemen, you're in for a treat here. Today we have 64 of the absolute biggest hacks. Two play in games, which technically means 66, four divisions, much like March Madness. These are the worst journalists in all.

[Smug]

Of Washington, fellas, which is a hell of a fight because there's a lot of folks who didn't make the cut. This is the cream of the crop when it comes to hacks, and they're going head to head. It's up to you to decide. Voting online. I'm going to post every single of these matchups to my profile and X, it's going to be incredible.

[Ashbrook]

Yeah. And if you just clicked on a thumbnail on YouTube and you have no idea what this is, boy, are you in for a treat. Yeah, you're in for a treat, you know, because we've been doing this for five years where we basically see a bracket of the biggest liberal hacks in media and then people get to vote.

[Duncan]

It's a real game. It's great. It's a real game.

[Josh]

Yeah, we've been doing it five years. This is our best bracket ever. A lot of brand new names in this bracket. Some things you want to pay attention to because there could be some good surprises.

[Duncan]

And smug. The selection committee took a lot of time with it this this year.

[Smug]

That's the thing, is this was very, very curated. I mean, Trump got reelected that election. It kind of became clear that the Democrats are in a bad place. So the hacks were like on overdrive. They were all gunning to be in the bracket. Many of them made it.

[Duncan]

We have four divisions. The liberal activist division, the way to online division, the fake news division, and the establishment division. They all play for the right to be the biggest liberal hack in all of journalism. Let's start with the liberal activists. The number one seed, fellas, I don't think it's a surprise to anybody. The number one seed, Nicole Wallace.

[Smug]

Huge.

[Duncan]

Let's go to clip one.

[Nicole Wallace]

And I let myself feel joy about DJ and I hope he's alive for another, you know, 95 years.

[Duncan]

Right?

[Nicole Wallace]

And I hope he lives the life he wants to live. He wants to be a cop. He knows what he wants to do. And maybe when you have childhood cancer, that crystallizes for you. And I hope he has a long life as enforcement officer, but I hope he never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trump.

[Smug]

Oh, my God.

[Nicole Wallace]

And if he does, I hope he isn't one of the six who loses his life to suicide. And I hope he isn't one who has to testify against people who carried out acts of seditious conspiracy and then live to see Donald Trump pardon those people.

[Duncan]

Well, she certainly, this is what we're talking about. Herself to a number one overall seed this year. Fantastic opportunity for her this year because in the liberal activist division, also a play in game, we have Yamiche Alcindor. Years and years of being in this tournament. She's going to face off against a newcomer, Josh Boak of the ap.

[Josh]

Yeah. And I'll tell you, not exactly a household name, but if he upsets Nicole Wallace in the first round after beating Yamiche in the play in game, this is a guy who you will never forget.

[Duncan]

No question about it. We go to the eight, nine seeds. It's Tim Alberta of the Atlantic facing off against Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times. Down low, the five twelves. You look at Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post, a noteworthy fact checker who is going up against a perennial contender of Matt Iglesias. He got the favorable seat here.

[Josh]

Yeah. And I'll tell you, Kessler has sort of worked his career to become more like Matt Iglesia. Started out as being more of a fact checker, now is more of a liberal activist. It's going to be interesting to see how those two match up here in the early round.

[Duncan]

Dropping down to the 4 and 13. Simone Sanders becomes somewhat of a household name in the progressive left against Ezra Klein, a, I would say sort of a founder of much of the progressive media in this country. 6 and 11. We go to Aaron Blake of the Washington Post. He's become one of the few print journalists who has made annual appearances in this tournament. He's going off Against Katie Turv, MSNBC, the 314. Jen Psaki. Yeah, Jen Psaki taking the other side now here at MSNBC against a newcomer, a PBS and CNN analyst, Laura Baron Lopez.

[Ashbrook]

She's not a household name yet, but I could see an upset here. I saw a clip on Newsbusters of her explaining about that kidney doctor who went to Nasrallah's funeral. You know, the, the Hezbollah terrorists played.

[Duncan]

Her way right into the team.

[Ashbrook]

She played her way right in, no question.

[Duncan]

Good late game.

[Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Duncan]

You know, it's a year long competition. You come into March with game like that, you're going to find yourself in this tournament. Number seven. We go into Bill Crystal, somebody who's a, certainly not a stranger to the ruthless variety program, facing off against Joy Behar.

[Smug]

That's a heck of a match.

[Duncan]

That is going to be one to watch, no question about it. And finally capping out of the liberal activist division on the bot, the second seed, Rachel Maddow, a perennial contender for the crown. She's back again this year to number two seed, facing off against Sahil Kapoor.

[Josh]

Yeah, she's obviously got the high profile job at msnbc, but I really think Nicole Wallace has the advantage in this bracket.

[Duncan]

There's one matchup that I want to highlight and I think Ashbrook, you spoke to it a little bit. As we round out this liberal activist division, I really think that Kessler and Iglesias, you look at these, the way these tournaments are seeded five and 12, a lot of vulnerability typically for a five seed going up against a very strong perennial contender like Iglesias. But I don't think this is going to be one that shows an upset and I'll tell you why. Can we play clip two, please. If you take a look at Glenn Kessler's body of work this year, this calendar year, fellas, he's written 22 fact checks. Do you want to know how many of those fact checks are against Democrats?

[Ashbrook]

How many?

[Smug]

Zero.

[Duncan]

So if we can scroll down here, The White House's White House. Trump, Trump. Trump. Trump. Trump. Biden's playing crass fool's game. I mean every single thing that he has done has prepared himself for success in this tournament.

[Josh]

I'll tell you, Josh, what this shows is the strength of the bracket. You know, just because you're a one or two seed doesn't mean you're headed for a championship. These mid seed players are just as strong as the people at the top. The guy is going to compete all the way through.

[Duncan]

And as we know, getting hot at the right time. Very important for success in this tournament. Glenn Kessler making a very solid case for his advancement. We head on over to the way to online bracket which typically has powerhouses up and down the bracket. It can't start anywhere else other than the White House Correspondents association president Eugene Daniels. What a year this guy has had rewarded with a number one seed. Let's head to clip on Eugene.

[Ashbrook]

He has a hard time running against Vice President Harris because she's a black woman. You actually when he would tussle with the women that would ask him questions, our colleagues on the White House be reporters. You know, he held his kind of most angry self for black women.

[Duncan]

Right.

[Ashbrook]

If they asked him a question, he would have the worst things to say.

[Duncan]

About spock you had an interesting observation about Eugene.

[Smug]

I'm so tired of this man. Like, he's trying to take this whole thing of like, oh, Trump, you know, he doesn't stand with black women. He holds his hate and anger for them. I want to give a fun little example here of where Eugene stances. When Joy Reid lost her job at MSNBC because her ratings were absolutely terrible, Eugene Daniels has this, like, freak out. He's like, oh, my God, why are. Why are women of color being removed by MSNBC? What does he do? Less than 24 hours later, he takes a job at MSNBC. These are the worst people.

[Josh]

This is clearly a guy who came to police. He's a number one seed. And it goes from his partisanship all the way down to the ensemble with the brooch and the blouse and everything else.

[Duncan]

And commanding the Star wars bar at msnbc. Fantastic work for Eugene. Rewarded with a number one seed that much like the liberal activist division, also has a play in game in this case. Will Sommer facing off against Peter Alexander for the right to face Eugene.

[Josh]

Yeah, you know, this is going to be a tough one to call Peter Alexander, of course, at NBC.

[Smug]

I mean, I wish I'm the best. They're gonna get slaughtered by.

[Duncan]

It's a tough draw for both of those fellas. No question about it. Dropping down to the eight, nine. Don Lemon. Don Lemon has been fired from cnn. He's been fired from Elon's operation. I think he's been fired from his own substack at this point, but I guess he's still doing journalism. So he finds his way into the field as an eighth seed. Facing off against Politico's Rachel Bade.

[Smug]

Yeah, yeah. Again, way too online. Lots of our. Lots of the minions are going to be voting. This is probably. We're going to. They're going to see the most familiar names because a lot of these people are the ones out there grinding on X. Dropping bad takes building up a lot of audience off of. Just like, how can this idiot be real?

[Duncan]

No question. 512. Again, a vulnerable matchup. Anna Navarro takes the five seed. She's everywhere, and she's always a contender in this tournament. She's facing off against Tom Nichols.

[Josh]

Yeah. Radio Free Tom comes to play, and he hasn't gotten as much time in our king of the hill brackets lately. However, against Anon Navarro. I think he may have met his match.

[Duncan]

No question. 413. Chris Hayes, MSNBC. Facing off against CNN's Jonah Goldberg. Smug. You always have something to say about that.

[Smug]

I Mean, that's hilarious. I love that he makes a tournament. And also he has very bad dogs. I'll stand by them. The dogs are very bad.

[Duncan]

The 611 is Joe Scarborough of MSNBC. He's made a lot of runs in this tournament this year. He's going to have to start his path with Kara Swishker.

[Smug]

I gotta say, she strikes me as being seated low. I would not be surprised to see Kara make a run in this.

[Josh]

But you also have in her somebody who was a big deal in tech media over the last four years. Not so much anymore.

[Duncan]

The 314 is Joy Reid. The aforementioned Joy Reid. But because look, this is a year long deal. It's not over the last 30 days. It's a year long body of work. The work that she put in. Well, deserving of a three seed, she's facing off against Semaphore's Ben Smith.

[Smug]

Yeah. A friend of Ashbrook, but a Liberal hack.

[Duncan]

The 710 is Keith Olbermann, a household name here in this tournament. He's coming back to face off against the 10 seed at the Bulwark, Tim Miller.

[Josh]

Yeah. A little bit odd for Keith Olbermann's politics to align with a guy who used to be a Republican, but here we are.

[Duncan]

And the bottom of the bracket, Sunny Austin of the View. Sunny Austin makes her inaugural appearance here in the Hack Madness and she's facing off somebody you probably heard a little bit about over the last few weeks. He covered the super bowl as the pool reporter and on got a little. Got a little headline here on the variety program SVdate.

[Josh]

Yeah, here's the thing with this one. I look to this spot here for a potential upset. Sonny Hostin is of course very famous for being on the View, but do not sleep on sv. I mean, he just totally shit the bed in his pool report of the super bowl and he lost his job because of it. And I think that a lot of people are going to be looking to vote for him.

[Duncan]

Do we want to go to this clip? Clip 4.

[Carolyn Levitt]

Let me just say this. There couldn't be a less fun reporter to enjoy going to the super bowl on a Sunday with the President of the United States than SB date. And I say that with love in my heart. There are a lot of reporters, we don't agree with their reporting, but like they're, they're pretty cool, normal people.

[Duncan]

Yeah.

[Carolyn Levitt]

Who would have enjoyed a day aboard Air Force One going to the Super Bowl. It is not that serious.

[Duncan]

Like Ashbrook said, there's a ton of color in the room. There's a ton. There's a lot of stuff going on to report on. And his was like, two lines.

[Carolyn Levitt]

We had cabinet secretaries on board with their spouses. We proclaimed Gulf of America Day. Like, how much fun is that?

[Ashbrook]

Yeah.

[Carolyn Levitt]

And he just.

[Ashbrook]

No, what you should have done is you should have sent a playbook to the White House Correspondents association and be like, the first one to identify cover three defense. You're invited.

[Duncan]

Oh, that's.

[Carolyn Levitt]

That's totally, definitely would have lost.

[Duncan]

Carolyn Levitt of the White House, I think, accentuating the point that you were making there. He's a 15 seed, but I don't know.

[Josh]

Yeah, you know, look out for him.

[Smug]

My prediction, he's going to be angry on X and tweeting at all of us. He's going to always be in our replies, like, he always is just mad as hell.

[Duncan]

A great way to contend in this tournament. You also had one you wanted to highlight with Joy Reid.

[Smug]

Yeah. This one is very close to my heart. Can I get clip five, please?

[Duncan]

My show had value and.

[Josh]

I'm sorry.

[Smug]

Yes.

[Nicole Wallace]

This is what I voted for.

[Duncan]

And in the end, I'm sorry. I try not to cry on tv and I said, this is kind of like me on tv. So I apologize.

[Smug]

That's why I wake up in the morning.

[Duncan]

That was. Was that just gratuitous or did you have so good.

[Smug]

It just feels so good.

[Duncan]

Okay. All right.

[Josh]

That is the kind of performance that may do well in this tournament, but I am telling you, she needs much, much more aggression if she's gonna to be Ben Smith.

[Duncan]

Okay. All right. Well, that's the way to online division. Headed out to fake news. Fake news again. All four divisions well balanced this year. We start this year with somebody I think everyone agrees has earned the right as a one seed. CBS's Margaret Brennan. Let's go to clip one, please.

[Margaret Brennan]

Thank you, Governor. And just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status. Well, Margaret, thank you, Senator. We have so much to get to, Margaret.

[Duncan]

I think it's important because we're going.

[Margaret Brennan]

To turn out of the economy. Thank you, Margaret.

[Duncan]

The rules were that you guys are going to fact check. And since you're fact checking me, I think it's important to say what's actually going on. So there's an application called the CBP1 app where you can go on as an illegal migrant, apply for asylum, or apply for parole and be granted legal status at the wave of a Kamala Harris open border Wand that is not a person coming in applying for a green card and waiting for 10 years. That is an interpretation of a legal immigration. Margaret, by all.

[Margaret Brennan]

Thank you Senator for describing the legal process.

[Ashbrook]

She's so mad.

[Smug]

She's so mad.

[Duncan]

That's the one that I think all of America Remember, 63 million people watched that particular debate. That's where all of America but for those political junkies who turn Into Sunday shows, 52 weeks, 52 weeks of hard work to get herself a one seat in this bracket.

[Smug]

I think that really put her on a lot of folks radar and she has not stopped producing like week after week. I think it was just last week when she was trying to correct Secretary of State Marco Rubio ended up looking like an absolute moron. But she does not stop.

[Duncan]

She doesn't stop each and every week. Right.

[Josh]

And you just don't get that sort of inspiration on a routine basis. That's why she's the number one seed and that's why she is my favorite to win the entire tournament, if you.

[Duncan]

Want me to be honest. Well, she's facing off against the 16 seed who's also a newcomer to the tournament, David Klepper of the Associated Press.

[Josh]

Yeah, it's not a byline most people are familiar with, but this is the guy who wrote the story about Tulsi Gabbard that was taken down obviously belongs here in a way. I don't think AP has ever been represented before for in this bracket. But they have brought their A game over the last year and that is why they we have two, two AP reporters on this bracket.

[Duncan]

Very interesting. The eight and nine seed Greg Sargent still at the Washington Post. Yeah, you know, still at the Washington Post.

[Smug]

He still has me blocked. He's still sad about it.

[Duncan]

That's something. Well, he finds himself into an eight seed a little bit lower than he's typically accustomed to but haven't heard a whole bunch of them. Maybe it's because liberals are losing everything, facing off against David Friends, here's why.

[Josh]

This is going to be very difficult for Greg because Greg has always been a liberal and he's sort of come by it honestly. What David French has done is 180 from being somebody who claimed to be a Republican and now is obviously the most recognizable left wing columnist in the country. I think that he is going to win this bracket.

[Ashbrook]

I think French has the advantage here. I mean this is a guy who's made a career of telling Republicans they're not allowed to stop the person who's punching them in the Face.

[Duncan]

Yes.

[Ashbrook]

Like that's his entire brand of politics. And so I, I like him here in this 89 matchup.

[Duncan]

That's a good one. The 512 is Caitlyn Collins of CNN. She's facing off against Jonathan Carl, a 12 seed. A real mainstream sort of a corporate media face. Off in the five 12s. Headed down is the four and 13. Abby Phillip. Abby Phillip against Tom Llamas. This is an interesting matchup because Abby Phillip, if you know the name Scott Jennings, you know it because of Abby Phillip. It's her show that is the absolute mess.

[Smug]

Honestly, at this point, I'll put it the other way around. If you know Scott Jennings, that's how you found out about it. Abby know.

[Duncan]

That's probably right. That's probably right. Facing off against the new Lester Holt, Tom lamas over at NBC, the 611 matchup, Philip bumps somebody, very strong body of work. Had a good run last year over the Washington Post against the New Yorker's Jane Mayer.

[Smug]

That's a matchup.

[Josh]

Yeah. And this is a matchup because I've often thought that Philip Bump has strived to be like Jane Mayer in his career. So I think what we'll see is basically like the Apprentice and the Teacher. And I'm going to be watching this one. Very, very close. I think Bump is going to win.

[Duncan]

The 314 is Sam Stein. Sam Stein, formerly of the Huffington Post, formerly of Politico, now with the Bulwark, if I'm not mistaken. Mistaken. Continuing to just absolutely produce material. But he's going up against a very, very difficult 1314 seed in John Dickerson.

[Smug]

I think an important thing to key in on here with John Dickerson is look how well CBS is represented in this bracket. That is, I think, you know, this might be the strongest showing they've ever had.

[Duncan]

No question.

[Smug]

Like they are really going at it. And that is, I mean, that's significant. They're really, I mean, we're going to see more of them pop up.

[Duncan]

I'm not sure we've ever had CBS people and I know we've never had this many CBS people in this bracket. It's incredible.

[Josh]

Yeah. Look, far be it from me to question the committee, But I think 14 is a way, way too low of a seed for John Dickerson. I actually think he's going to slaughter Sam Stein.

[Smug]

I mean, there's a good chance if a lot of folks get really familiar with the work that he puts in.

[Josh]

Right. We may have some tape. I think we may have some, some Dickerson tape here from an intro that he did recently with another guy at his company.

[Duncan]

We do. Let's go to clip eight on this St. Patrick's Day as millions of Americans celebrate their Irish heritage. Recent events remind us that the Irish were among the first immigrants to be targeted in deportation crackdown.

[Ashbrook]

1800S, New York and Massachusetts enforced policies to have Irish immigrants rounded and deported.

[Duncan]

The American Civil Liberties Union didn't exist then, but if it had, it may have taken the legal position it is taking now, suing the Trump administration to stop what it considers to be the illegal deportation over the weekend of more than 200 migrants to El Salvador.

[Josh]

So here's here. Here's it.

[Duncan]

Just can't chill Chablis cold enough for that.

[Josh]

No, no, you simply can't. And here you have two staffers of the Paramount Corporation who is against deporting violent terrorist criminals. And I don't know why they're doing it, but I can only conclude it's because Dickerson wants to win this tournament.

[Smug]

So here's the thing is his intention was to be like, oh my God, the plight of these poor Venezuelan trende agua, you know, gang members. But the more base take is he was like, yeah, we got the Irish too.

[Duncan]

We're bringing it back.

[Smug]

We did before with these troublemakers. Now we're going to do it to the Venezuelans.

[Duncan]

And within the shadow of St. Paddy's Day, no less. Moving to the 7:10, Mika Brzezinski of Morning Joe, an annual contender facing off against CNN's Casey Hunt.

[Smug]

Tough matchup.

[Duncan]

And then bottom of the bracket, the two seed Jonathan K. Part of the Washington Post and msnbc, taking on Natasha Bertrand of cnn.

[Ashbrook]

Cnn. Yeah, and she's also famous for all of her Russiagate takes from back in the day. I mean, really, you know, the committee I think has, has given Capehart a tough matchup even though he is well deserving of a two seed.

[Josh]

Yeah, Capehart remembers the guy who drove Hugh Hewitt off the set of the Washington Post. And I haven't read as much from Natasha Bertrand lately. I mean, maybe she's a little bit snake bitten by the dishonest reporting from the first term and she's reluctant to write again. But we'll see what the good analysis.

[Duncan]

Potentially a good matchup there. We got to head over to the establishment division where the number one again time and time again. We're coming back to CBS. Norah O'Donnell. Norah O'Donnell. Let's play clip nine, please.

[Smug]

Amazing.

[Margaret Brennan]

Good evening. I'm Norah O'Donnell and we begin with new reporting tonight by CBS News, the highest priority of the president of the United States is the safety and security of the American people. As the commander in chief, Presidents rely on their defense secretaries to carry out that solemn task. President elect Donald Trump wanted a Fox News weekend host to hold that post. The 44 year old combat veteran Pete Hegseth. But tonight that nomination appears to be in peril. Hegseth is facing new allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking. Tonight, CBS News has learned that Hegseth may not have the support of enough Republican senators to be confirmed for the job. Meaning his nomination is insane. Serious jeopardy.

[Smug]

How did that turn out?

[Duncan]

So it's not just what Nora brings or what she brought when she was heading the the CBS Evening News on things like this. It's night in and it's night out and it's story selection. You could have some of the most earth shaking news happening. And what they consistently led with in her monologue was always some sort of partisan take. She did it for 52 weeks.

[Josh]

Right, right. I think it's a business decision by Paramount and she's doing everything she can to help them out and then, you know, attack the secretary of defense.

[Smug]

Also she tried to go for like a two for one there because not only is she trying to denigrate Pete Hexap, she like waits a while before she says and he's a combat vet, which is kind of germane to why he's been picked for secretary. I don't know. That's kind of important what you would lead with if you're actually like in the news business. But secondly, she's also mad because CBS ratings keep going down and foxes keep going up. So she says. And Fox News host to try to denigrate Fox News like too bad you're losing.

[Josh]

Yeah. And clearly she deserves the number one seed. But I don't think that should overshadow the brand new entrant.

[Duncan]

Yeah. The 16 seed, Peter Jameson of the Washington Post. A newcomer here.

[Josh]

Yeah, he is a newcomer but you know, he's written a handful of stories lately. And let me just read you one of his headlines. Trump to send Venezuelans back to Maduro's repressive stake. Come on, Seth, that is a headline that takes it hard into the paint. And he's telling Norah O'Donnell that I am about to dunk on you.

[Duncan]

I mean, no question Americans have a lot of sympathy for gang leaders in their communities. Going down to the 8 9, it's Susan Glasser and Peter Baker. It is a marital matchup fellas. We have not had this before in the hack madness.

[Smug]

So we use a very sophisticated mathematical computational algorithm to decide, you know, where we see these people. And if the math added up that you're having a married couple go against each other at 8 and 9, how does this happen?

[Ashbrook]

Well, you know, I could have put her on the other side of the bracket so this wouldn't happen. But they're married and it's funny. So it's happening.

[Josh]

Yeah, no, it's a house divided and it's really hard to figure out who's going to win that 1.

[Duncan]

The 512 in the establishment bracket is Jake Tapper of CNN against Maureen Dowd of the New York Times. Two household names. He's dropped down to John Harwood at the four seed. He's taking on David Frum. Difficult matchup there, folks. 6 and 11. That's Anderson Cooper of CNN, finds his way back into the center of this field. He's taking on Kyle chaney at the 11 seed. Brian Stelter, a one time champion, is the number three seed. He has fought his way back. Didn't make the field last year, folks. Didn't have himself a media job. Got it back right back into the top of the bracket.

[Ashbrook]

Unquestionable durability of his career. You got to really take your hat off to him.

[Smug]

I mean, this guy, it's like, you know, if a running back towards ACL and is right back in it the next season. Everyone thought he was done. Everyone thought he was out of the game forever. Huge credit to him. Just hacked it right back.

[Duncan]

He's facing against Guess again, CBS and Robert Costa. So that'll be an interesting matchup. You go down below that into the 7 and 10 matchup. George Stephanopoulos, a big body of work this year. He's facing off against perennial contender Lawrence O'Donnell.

[Josh]

And this one's very interesting to me because you have two former Democrat press secretaries who are now masquerading as mainstream media personalities and they have been for years. I really think our audience is going to go for Stephanopoulos just because he's got a much bigger platform than O'Donnell.

[Duncan]

The bottom of the bracket rounding out the establishment and our field, Stephanie Rule of MSNBC taking on Nicholas Kristoff. Interesting stuff, interesting bracket. Fellas, you could make an argument for each of four divisions having at least two, maybe three opportunities to win the biggest hack journalist in all of politics.

[Smug]

I mean, to me personally, the story of this year's bracket is CBS has two number one seats that's like dynasty status. Like they are really out there putting in work, being the biggest liberal hacks in the game.

[Josh]

And I think we got a good chance of. Of seeing them play against each other. Yeah, I really think that's realistic. The Nora O'Donnell, Margaret Brennan matchup, It's incredible. That's what the audience wants and I think that's what they're going to get.

[Duncan]

That would be an incredible story, one which we have not had here on Hack Madness. We've never had one outlet dominate a Final Four before. They have the opportunity here.

[Smug]

Incredible.

[Duncan]

It really is something. Just getting your overall perspective. We've had a wild year of journalism. You have seen some stuff that you frankly have never seen.

[Smug]

Oh, we've seen some stuff.

[Duncan]

We have seen some stuff. And I think you've seen certainly during the course of a campaign, a presidential campaign, mainstream outlets like CBS that we're talking, venture into territory that would give them one seeds when typically that's reserved for people like Taylor Lorenz, who's not in the field this year.

[Smug]

In the field, yeah, it's.

[Duncan]

I mean, it's new.

[Josh]

It is new. And you know, the other thing that's new are our two AP contestants. Now, the AP is famously dead, naming the Gulf of America in a routine basis in their wire stories. They're having stories taken down. I think that we're going to see them compete. However, they had very tough draws. I mean, there's no way that David Klepper is going to beat Margaret Brennan in that first round.

[Ashbrook]

I mean, my strategy with all of this in Hack Madness, this being the fifth, you've seen a lot of brackets, you've seen a lot of stars rise and fall. I'm leaning towards TV because TV produces the greatest clips of Hackery and when that stuff bangs around on X all day, those folks are going to win.

[Duncan]

Television has always been a strong contender, but usually you've got a Jennifer Rubin missing from this feed, obviously without a job, obviously not a participant here. It's a big hole.

[Ashbrook]

Sad.

[Duncan]

It's a big hole. I mean, we have had former champions come back potato.

[Smug]

Yeah.

[Duncan]

Stelter, once a champion, gone from the field, back with a strong number three seed. Is this something. Is this a blip on the radar, you guys think, for Ruben, or is it done?

[Smug]

I think the media landscape is changing. She has had a hard time adjusting to. Was hilarious when she called on like the LA Times people to resign. And then I was like, I'm not gonna do that, though. Ends up getting canned anyway. And what's different, I mean just down bad.

[Josh]

But what's difficult for her is that she has so many others trying to play her game. You have Tim Miller who's basically coming up in her footsteps and is trying to. Trying to replicate the success that he's seen in her career. And I just think that it's more and more competitive every year and this bracket I think is the best one we've ever had.

[Duncan]

We're sort of on the, on the beginning of a change here in that the new media is represented. But you can see how in future years this thing begins to edge out the CBSs and the NBC's and the ABCs just because of what people are consuming.

[Smug]

But also, you know, I think it also reinforces that how important new media is the reason that Margaret Brennan, Norah O'Donnell are such big names in number one seeds. It's not because everyone was tuning in to CBS. It's because clips of them losing their minds got up on X like Duncan said and got viewed a million times.

[Josh]

But, but to your point, I think we need to appreciate those while they last. And they, you know, the Nora O'Donnells and the Margaret Brennan's of the world may find themselves just sort of like the granny shot. Something you don't see in the tournament very often anymore. And you gotta appreciate it while it's here for what it is. And someday it's gonna be gone.

[Duncan]

Before we wrap up the selection show. Do you all have in your own. We're gonna be filling out our own brackets. We urge everybody to fill out your own bracket. Do you all have significant favorites here? Do you feel like you don't need to share them completely but are there some trends? Duncan said television, that's where he's going. Sounds like Ashbrook still thinks we've got some legacy media heft to it.

[Josh]

I'm all in on Brennan. I think she's gonna win this one.

[Duncan]

Interesting. Smuggs.

[Smug]

She's just, she's really been out there just always week after week after week just with the hackery. She's really gonna be tough to beat. Really tough to beat.

[Duncan]

There is undoubtedly a few sleepers in this field that we haven't thought of. And the last question I have for you. We have seen people play their way deep in Sweet 16 territory, Elite Eights just by virtue of their behavior during the course of this tournament. Do you think that's going to play a big role or because of a presidential election? Everybody's so aware of the body of work that their previous work is probably going to carry the dead.

[Ashbrook]

I say the latter, you know, particularly when it comes to like the CBS folks and you know, JD Dressing down a reporter like that sticks in your memory and so people have a respect for that. It's like looking at a Duke and remembering how good they were in previous tournament runs. You give them a little more credibility.

[Duncan]

Interesting. Interesting. Well, I think that's probably a good take. Listen, you're going to have to vote. Remember Smug. Why don't you tell them how they do that one more time?

[Smug]

Yep. When you see this, I will start having voting pinned on my Xbox profile at Comfortably Smug on X. Voting is going to be happening by.

[Ashbrook]

The time and if you want to fill out your bracket, all you got to do is go to ruthlesspodcast.com it'll be up there in the navigation.

[Duncan]

Fill it out, put it up, make sure everybody knows, let's get in the competition here. And this is going to be a very fun few weeks.

[Josh]

Every everybody who fills their bracket out, they're a part of something bigger than they even know. We've had a million brackets filled out over the course course of the last five years and that number is only going to grow.

[Duncan]

So remember, you got to follow Comfortably Smug on X while you're online. Subscribe and like to the YouTube channel. Hope you appreciated the selection show. We love doing it. Check out some merch while you're there. A special thank you to Rachel Vance, who designed this year's logo for Hack Madness. Fantastic stuff. We love that you're listening. Thanks for being a part of it and that artwork.

[Smug]

Incredible.

[Duncan]

10 of 10. Thanks for stopping by. We're gonna probably see you Tuesday. I think we did it.

[Smug]

I think so. Absolute banger of a special gentleman. Thank you so much to the Minions. Remember, hit my profile, vote in the bracket and fill your bracket out asap. Get involved. So until next time, Minions, keep the faith, hold the line, and own the libs. We'll see you on Tuesday. Stay ruthless.

[Chris Gethard]

If you want to feel more connected to humanity and a little less alone, listen to Beautiful Anonymous. Each week I take a phone call from one random anonymous human being. There's over 400 episodes in our back catalog. You get to feel connected to all these different people all over the world. Recent episodes include one where a lady survived a murder attempt by her own son. But then the week before that, we just talked about Star Trek. It can be anything. It's unpredictable, it's raw, it's real. Get Beautiful Anonymous wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi, I'm Chris Gethard, and I'm very excited to tell you about Beautiful Anonymous, a podcast where I talk to random people on the phone. I tweet out a phone number. Thousands of people try to call. Talk to one of them. They stay anonymous. I can't hang up. That's all the rules. I never know what's gonna happen. We get serious ones. I've talked with meth dealers on their way to prison. I've talked to people who survived mass shootings, crazy funny ones. I talked to a guy with a goose laugh, somebody who dresses up as a pirate on the weekends. I never know what's going to happen. It's a great show. Subscribe today. Beautiful Anonymous.