Normally Podcast: Cuomo’s Comeback Struggles, NYC Mayoral Drama, and Trump’s 2025 Game Plan

Summary

Podcast Summary: Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show—Normally Podcast: Cuomo’s Comeback Struggles, NYC Mayoral Drama, and Trump’s 2025 Game Plan

Episode Date: October 23, 2025
Hosts: Mary Kathryn Hammers, Carol Markowitz
Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show (This is an episode of the "Normally" sub-show)

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Overview

In this lively and irreverent episode, Mary Kathryn Hammers and Carol Markowitz dive into three major political storylines gripping the nation: Andrew Cuomo’s underwhelming comeback attempt, New York City’s chaotic mayoral race, and the media and liberal reaction to Trump's controversial plan to add a ballroom to the White House. True to the “Normally” ethos, the hosts provide “normal-ish takes for when the news gets weird,” blending sharp political insight with a casual, humorous tone.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Maine Senate Race Scandal: The Nazi Tattoo Controversy

• Graham Platner's Nazi Tattoo:
  The Democratic primary to challenge Senator Susan Collins is overshadowed by revelations of candidate Graham Platner’s chest tattoo resembling a Nazi SS symbol.
  • Platner, a marine vet and “oysterman,” originally claimed the tattoo was the result of drunken shore leave in Croatia and a lack of awareness of its meaning. He only covered it after entering politics.
  • Hosts critique both Platner and the media’s response, highlighting how the story is being downplayed or excused now that it involves a Democrat.

“He had almost 20 years to cover it. The reason he covered it is because someone found out about it in his first run for office. That doesn't pass the sniff test.” —Mary Kathryn Hammers (06:41)

• Media Reaction Double Standard:
  The hosts scorn the liberal media—especially "Pod Save America"—for offering Platner a soft platform, and note the hypocrisy compared to how right-wing scandals are treated.
  • Crystal Ball's tweet is highlighted, calling out her downplaying of the Nazi symbol versus previous doggedness against conservatives for lesser allegations (08:16).

“You guys were the ones who were firing people over symbols they put out of their window in traffic. That was your line, right?” —Mary Kathryn Hammers (09:04)

2. NYC Mayoral Race: Chaos, Infighting, and Cuomo's Lackluster Campaign

• Multiple Candidates and Infighting:

  • Republican Curtis Sliwa, Democrat Zoran Mamdani, and independent Andrew Cuomo are the main candidates.
  • Sliwa, under pressure to drop out to help Cuomo, insists he’s staying in, alleging a $15M bribe attempt (which hosts doubt).
  • Hosts are skeptical that either Sliwa or Cuomo dropping out would guarantee a win over left-wing Mamdani.

• Cuomo’s Half-hearted Comeback:

  • Cuomo’s campaign characterized as lazy and entitled—he skips forums and fails to attack Mamdani effectively.
  • Hammers and Markowitz express frustration that Cuomo seems to expect a redemption arc without working for it.

“He’s entitled. He thinks he should get a redemption arc. You’re not owed the arc, you have to go out and work for it.” —Mary Kathryn Hammers (13:50)

• Parallels to National Democrats:
  The botched handling of candidates and late-game election panic is likened to Biden/Harris campaign issues.

• Humorous Aside:
  Discussion of Cuomo’s infamous self-drawn “COVID mountain” poster, with the hosts poking fun at his self-regard.

“It is one of the wildest things that has happened in politics. And the fact that he wasn't mocked more mercilessly is media bias on its face.” —Mary Kathryn Hammers (15:56)

3. The Government Shutdown—Who’s Really to Blame?

• Democrats Filibustering:
  The usual media narrative blames Republicans for shutdowns, but the hosts point out Democrats are blocking reopening in this instance.

• Catherine Clark’s "Leverage" Quote:
  The House Democratic Whip is quoted admitting the shutdown is valuable political leverage—even though people suffer.

“People are going to suffer, but this is how we get political leverage.” —Carol Markowitz, paraphrasing Catherine Clark (17:58)

• Media Double Standard:
  The hosts note that the media is less harsh on Democrats, allowing them a “chill shutdown.”

• Speaker Johnson’s Tactics:
  Johnson is playing Catherine Clark’s remarks on a TV for visiting senators to emphasize the Democrats’ own admission about the shutdown's political motives (19:19).

4. Trump’s White House Ballroom Plan: Liberal Meltdown

• The Plan:
  Trump seeks to install a privately-funded ballroom in the East Wing of the White House, eliciting outrage from liberals and mainstream commentators.

• Practical Take:
  Hosts dismiss the “destruction” narrative, noting the White House lacks adequate event space and renovations are routine for presidents.

“A true event space would be extremely practical as an addition… Privately funded makes me happier than publicly funded. But the freak out is, A, he’s doing this while the government is shut down and people are hurting, even though it had been planned and it's privately funded. B, it’s privately funded, so it’s open for, like, bribery or what have you.” —Mary Kathryn Hammers (24:36)

• History Rewritten:
  They ridicule the notion of Trump uniquely “ruining” the White House, recalling past presidents who also enacted major renovations (Coolidge, Truman, Obama).

"Every single president does things to the White House, including ambitious things." —Mary Kathryn Hammers (26:09)

• Media & Political Spin:
  Neera Tanden is cited as believing demolition footage could sway elections. Hosts challenge the credibility of related polling and question whether coverage is misleading casual audiences.

5. Work-Life Balance vs. Hustle Culture: Wall Street Journal Column

• Debate Over Early-Career Hustle:
  Discussion of a trending WSJ op-ed arguing ruthless optimization and career hustle in your twenties can buy you “luxury of choice” later.

“When you front-load success early, you buy the luxury of choice for the rest of your life.” —Quoted from Emil Barr, discussed by Carol Markowitz (38:27)

• Reflections:
  Mary Kathryn reminisces about pulling all-nighters in new media; both hosts agree there are seasons for hustle and seasons for balance. They encourage younger workers to pursue opportunities energetically, noting, “There is joy in hustling in your twenties.”

6. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Redemption & Accountability:
  “These are disqualifying events.” —Mary Kathryn Hammers, on Nazi tattoos and violence texts (09:54)

• On Cuomo's Self-Regard:
  “If you haven't seen the poster, please Google it. Look up Andrew Cuomo's self-drawing himself. … It is one of the wildest things that has happened in politics.” —Mary Kathryn Hammers (15:42/15:54)

• On the White House Ballroom Outrage:
  “He's ruining America because part of the White House that maybe you didn't even know existed will no longer exist.” —Carol Markowitz (25:30)

• On Hustle Culture vs. Balance:
  “The kids don't know. They do not know. ... It was fun and silly and also I worked real hard on it.” —Mary Kathryn Hammers (38:05, 39:19)

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Important Timestamps

• Maine Nazi Tattoo Scandal: 04:19–10:21
• NYC Mayoral Race/Cuomo: 10:21–16:37
• Democrats & Government Shutdown: 16:44–19:19
• Trump’s White House Ballroom Plan: 24:06–30:09
• Work-Life Balance & Career Advice: 34:43–39:29

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Tone & Style

Casual, acerbic, and witty. Hosts pull no punches in critiquing politicians, the media, and prevailing social hypocrisies, while occasionally indulging in nostalgic asides and lighthearted banter.

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For Listeners Who Haven't Tuned In

This episode delivers a brisk, entertaining, and insight-packed take on current political controversies, media spin, and workplace debates. It’s especially recommended for those seeking fresh perspectives on headline news and the often-overlooked ironies in today’s politics and culture.

Transcript

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

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[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

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[Carol Markowitz]

And I'm Carol Markowitz. How's it going, Mary Kathryn?

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

It's going good. I had a travel day today, so I've been up for a while trying to get used to west coast time.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, always tough. I had a very intense playoff game today. It was among nine year olds playing flag football. I love living somewhere that takes sports so seriously. Like I had moms who don't have any kids playing in this texting me like, what's the score?

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Like? Tell us.

[Carol Markowitz]

I, they're nine. I mean, look, I, my heart was beating out of my chest. I was sweaty. Like it was really something. But I would only care if my kids in it.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Like, oh, yeah, see, I know if you had me out there, I would definitely care. You were just caring.

[Carol Markowitz]

But they weren't out there. They were home. Like, hey, who's winning like that. It's just, you know. Yeah. Amazing. I always kind of enjoyed the places that take youth sports very seriously and now I live in one of those and that's crazy.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Well, I'm excited for the not today's result but the rest of the tournament.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, he plays another game, another playoff game tomorrow on the road to the nine year old Super Bowl.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

All righty.

[Carol Markowitz]

Okay.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Shall we?

[Carol Markowitz]

Let's do it. Is there a Nazi tattoo on the chest of a Democratic U.S. senate candidate out of Maine?

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

There is. So this is Graham Platner, who is a Democratic nominee in the primary fight to face Susan Collins, who is the always stay winning Republican perennial senator no matter what from Susan Collins from Maine. Now is there a chance to knock her off in an off year when people are ticked off at Trump in a place that is not super red? Maybe. Okay, yeah. So they got, they got two folks running in Maine. One is this guy who got in early who's Graham Platner, who's a marine vet, working class guy, oyster man. Yes. Whereas the other person that the establishment is backing is Janet Mills who is the governor of Maine. This is an interesting matchup because the governor of Maine is embodies all the things Democrats messed up Last time, which is like, she's just like a. An establishment old person. And so people are going to get ticked off about that. But Platner's got his own problems, which we're finding out about now.

[Carol Markowitz]

So he had some questionable Reddit posts making fun of working class white people.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Which not great in Maine claims to be.

[Carol Markowitz]

I'm always like, it's always the people who are the whitest who are making, like, bad comments about white people. And I'm always like, you are white. You are white. Stop it. Yeah. So, and then this tattoo thing comes up, and the story's been kind of floating around. People knew about that, this tattoo for a while. He knew what it was for a very, very long time. There's evidence that he's been aware for a very long time. And now he's like, oh, I'm gonna just. I'm gonna cover it up. It's totally fine. I had this Nazi tattoo for decades, but it's all good now.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Well, and his story is he got it on shore leave in Croatia. He was drunk. They didn't really know what it was. They just thought it looked cool. Even if you believe his version of the story, Fine. That he did many years. He got rid of it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

He had almost 20 years to cover it. 20 years? Years. The reason he covered it is because someone found out about it in his first run for office. That's. That doesn't. I don't. That doesn't pass the sniff test.

[Carol Markowitz]

Exactly. And obviously the mainstream media is holding him accountable for this.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Right, right, obviously. Especially the Pod Save America bros, who I guess now are just a clearinghouse for excuses for Nazi tattoos. Because he came there to drop the news. He was like, where could I do a sympathetic interview about my Nazi tattoo? And he came to them.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

And then the rest of the media, of course, has lots of nuanced thoughts.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. They are so nuances about a.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Like, it's. By the way, it's not even like, on his tush. Right, right. On his chest.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Like, where you're gonna see it a lot.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

And yeah, there's a lot of nuanced thinking going on out there. I think you flagged one tweet in particular.

[Carol Markowitz]

Crystal Ball, who is just the worst, said, for me personally, I'll take a candidate with a regrettable tattoo over one who has steadfastly supported a genocide. And like, the readers add context note on it is like, they supported a genocide. The Nazi SS were responsible for running concentration camps today. Neo Nazis use a symbol to Glorify that genocide. He reportedly bragged about the tattoo.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Yeah. Do you want to take a guess whether Crystal Ball thought that Elon was guilty of a Nazi gesture when he raised his hand at the crowd? Oh, yes, she did. She thought that he needed to be held accountable for that. But Ink. Ink, that is specifically a death's head, but that's gonna be fine. And then I noticed one of the pod save guys also was, you know, did a long, nuanced tweet about, you know, do we only want perfect candidates? Okay, man, like, I. I actually agree with you that we don't want to cancel everyone who had unfortunate posts when they were in their 20s. Right. I think that's fair. I don't want teenage tweets to bury people for the rest of their lives.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yep.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

You guys were the ones who were firing people over. Okay. Symbols that they put out of their window in traffic. Okay. That was your line, right? Now you're telling me.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

That we need to be considerate of the redemption arc of a working class vet who had a Nazi tattoo for 20 years before he covered it and.

[Carol Markowitz]

Knew the whole time and, you know, did nothing. Seung Min Kim at a reporter for AP had this tweet. Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner tells AP he got a new tattoo to cover one seen as a Nazi symbol. Seen as. Yep. We would totally get that benefit of the doubt if our tattoo was seen as a Nazi symbol.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

It's just. It's. I don't find it that hard to be, like, these guys joking in the chat about the ovens and the gas chambers. I don't want anything to do with them. This guy with the Nazi tattoo, he should be out of the race. That guy with the violence, political violence. Encouraging texts about his opponent in the AG race in Virginia. Not him either. These are. These are disqualifying events.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's crazy. All right, on to the crazy little mayoral race in New York City. Ernest Lewa is the Republican candidate. He is running against the Democratic candidate, Zoran Mamdani. And ex governor Andrew Cuomo is the independent candidate who is the kind of the great hope to stop Mamdani. Curtis Lewa, Republican, is real tough. It's a real tough road in New York City, obviously, but. So Curtis has a lot of pressure on him to drop out. And he's saying, why should I drop out? Andrew Cuomo lost to Zorani in the primary. Why don't. Why doesn't he drop out and give me his, you know, his voters? Why do I have to Drop out. It's getting real ugly. I'm seeing some battles on X between, you know, kind of either moderate Democrats or Republicans, and there's a lot of people kind of mixed in there just really hoping that Sliwa drops. He has said that he's been offered $15 million to drop out, and he won't. I don't feel like the 15 million thing is true. Personally. It just doesn't seem worth it. I. I don't know, because the truth is that I don't know if Sliwa dropping gives Andrew Cuomo the edge to beat Mamdani. And I definitely don't think, you know, if. I just don't think either one of them dropping out makes that much of a difference. So New York's in a really tough spot. I was at the Commentary magazine dinner last weekend in New York, and I love commentary. I love New York City, despite all of its many, many problems. But all the conversations I was having were very copy. They were like, you know, yeah, Mamdani's probably gonna win, but he's not gonna be able to do all the stuff that he wants to do, which. Listen, fair enough. I feel like if I was in New York right now, I would either be pressuring Sleev or to drop out or steadying myself for the reality that I'm going to have this communist Islamist mayor and hope that he can't get his crazy proposals through.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

I. I understand Sleeva's position because Andrew Cuomo already lost to this dude. He had a chance to beat him, and he didn't beat him. Cuomo has also run one of the least impressive campaigns I have ever seen. I mean, the oppo on Mondani is like mana from heaven, and he can't get any of it out there at all. They haven't done any work on that. He is unimpressive on the debate stage, whereas Curtis Lewis.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, he did great. Yeah. Yeah, because he cares. He cares about, like, Curtis can't win. He can't win, and that's too bad. But he cares about New York. You see it in him. He wants it. Curtis Lea wants to be New York's next mayor. Does Andrew Cuomo want to be New York's next mayor? I don't see him fighting to the death on these Twitter threads. I see, you know, people who really want New York not to head further down that bad path having these really, you know, scratching each other's eyes out arguments. Meanwhile, Andrew Cuomo is barely campaigning. I said this, you know, many times on the show. But during the primary, he would skip voter forums. Like, Curtis Lewa would show up, and Zora Mamdani would show up, and some of the other candidates and Andrew Cuomo thought it was beneath him. And I haven't seen a change in that attitude. He is not out there in New York, like, I want to be your mayor. This is what I stand for. Vote for me. I don't. I don't see him doing any of that.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

No, he's entitled. He thinks. He. He thinks he should get a redemption arc. And I actually. You're not owed the Ark, not owed the arc. You have to go out and work for it. And he's always been somewhat unimpressive. Yeah. The only time anyone liked him was that month or two that he talked about COVID every day. And it turns out he was totally wrong. And it's amazing.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

But this.

[Carol Markowitz]

All.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

This all feels very. TOO little, too late. And it's a little. It is reminiscent of the Democratic Party with Biden and Harris, where they're like, oh, we waited too long to do the thing.

[Carol Markowitz]

Exactly right.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Mount any good candidates. Now what do we do? And they don't have a plan at all.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. You know, there's this account. Queen's parents on X. Her bio says she's a mom, she's a moderate. She's said to me on X, you know, why don't you have Cuomo on your show? And the truth is that we would have Cuomo on the show. He would never come on. He would never come on. It would be interesting because we could give him a fair shake, but I. We'd have some questions.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

We'd have some questions. And he also already has demonstrated he's not interested in giving answers to those questions.

[Carol Markowitz]

Exactly.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

At the debate, he doesn't have a sound bite to explain the sexual harassment.

[Carol Markowitz]

None.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Yep.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yep.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

And, you know, if you haven't, he.

[Carol Markowitz]

Just doesn't think he has to. It's so galling. And it's why people turned against him during the pandemic, too, because in the beginning, he seemed like he was just figuring it out with the rest of us. And then he got high on his own supply, and he was like, I know more than the rest of you. And he knew less. He knew less.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

So also, can we just note the poster?

[Carol Markowitz]

Remember the poster? Yes.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

I was just gonna go there. If you haven't seen the poster, if you don't remember the poster, Google it, please. Look up Andrew Cuomo's self drawing himself.

[Carol Markowitz]

And sold it on his website. Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

That he Sold about New York getting over the mountain of COVID and he's like, leading the flock. It is one of the wildest things that has happened in politics. And the fact that he wasn't mocked more mercilessly is media bias on its face.

[Carol Markowitz]

It really is. Our friend Nancy Rommelman, she has a cousin. This is why we have a show together. We just, you know, we just.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

It's so you have to look it up. Our listeners, please do yourselves a favor.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. Our friend Answer has it framed on her wall in her apartment, and it's awesome. And everybody takes pictures in front of it.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

It's such a ridiculous thing.

[Carol Markowitz]

So good. All right, one more. One more Democrats are bananas story. What's going on with the shutdown?

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Well, the shut shutdown is online. I think it could be updated by tomorrow. But the 12th vote of Senate Democrats against reopening the government. They need a handful of those guys to cross over to beat the filibuster. They keep filibustering it. Democrats keep saying, like, you won't open the government, but that's actually not true. Like, Republicans have been the culprits in the past. And it's funny because you keep hearing, and I think we've said this, but you keep hearing like, this is such a chill shutdown.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Because. Because the media is not interested in making them pay the price that they would pay, but they're going to make themselves pay the price because Democrats keep telling on themselves, as this video shows. This is Catherine Clark, the House Democratic whip. So she's in leadership. This is not some rank and file backbencher. And this is what she's got to say. Talking to Chad Pilgrim of Fox News about the Democratic philosophy on the shutdown. I mean, shutdowns are terrible. And of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leveraged times we have.

[Carol Markowitz]

People are going to suffer, but this is how we get political leverage.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Yeah. It's not a good message. It's not a good look. I do think they look, I think Republicans are branded as the shutdowners.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. Even though in this case, yeah, they.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Had to, like, overcome that. And I think Johnson in particular has done pretty. A pretty good job of messaging very well about that. The facts are on the Republican side this time. And these guys keep doing stuff like this. Didn't Schumer say something like, like, every day gets better for us?

[Carol Markowitz]

This is the greatest thing ever. Yeah, that's not it.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

That's not it, because there, there are people who suffer and those people in fact are likely to be left leaning constituents of the Democratic Party. So talking about it in this way, particularly if you're in leadership and you're responsible for their messaging, it's not great.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, not great. I am sure they'll be held responsible by many of the media.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Johnson has placed a screen in front of his office for when they all. So the senators have been wandering over to his side of the Capitol to say like, you guys should open the government.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, where are you Republicans?

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

He's like, go back to your Senate chamber and do it. So he left a big screen TV playing this clip for anyone who shows up.

[Carol Markowitz]

Nice.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Saw that earlier today.

[Carol Markowitz]

I love it. We're going to take a short break and come back to hear how Trump is raising the White House. It just won't exist anymore. Be right back.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

That's crazy.

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[Ed Helms]

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Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

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[Carol Markowitz]

We are back on normally where the libs are having a normal one about Trump putting in a ballroom in the east wing of the White House.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Yeah, they're really flipping out. So Trump has plans to make this giant ballroom. And the east wing of the White House is not what you think of. When you think of seeing not at all the front of the White House or the South Lawn or where the West Wing is or where the President goes, it's actually down a long hallway in a slightly separated building. And they are removing that to do a privately funded ballroom, which actually, I gotta say, just on a practical level.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

The White House barely has an event space.

[Carol Markowitz]

How does the White House not have an event space? I just, I, I, I need them to bring the temperature down and ask themselves, how is it possible that the White House doesn't have an.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Yeah. And like, you can cram people into, like, some of those rooms. But true, a true event space would be extremely practical as an addition to the White House. And privately funded makes me happier than publicly funded. But the freak out is, A, he's doing this while the government is shut down and people are hurting, even though it had been planned and it's privately funded. B, it's privately funded. So it's open for, like, bribery or what have you. Yeah, I think, I think it's. But like, there's two different complaints about it. And then it's just like, he's ruining America because.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Part of the White House will no longer exist.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. He's ruining America because part of the White House that maybe you didn't even know existed will no longer exist. It's. Yeah, they're just. How could they stay this crazy for this long about this, this man? I think it would bother me if he lived in my head the way he lives in their heads. Like Hillary Clinton tweeting, it's not his house, it's your house. It is our house. We elected him. He's allowed to put in a ballroom.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Yeah. It's also like all of this depends on just erasing all of history before last year.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. Right.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Because Coolidge did a giant renovation. Truman did a giant renovation. Every single president does things to the White House, including, including ambitious things. I believe several have gutted large parts of the White House to make them more livable. The Obamas did a renovation. It is one of the, like, best. Or it's one of the open secrets of Washington and political culture in general that the White House is Not nearly as fancy as the White House's reputation would lead you to believe. Totally. Right.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

And that the building is like, kind of creaky and the, the floorboards are covered in weird carpet in places and you could roll a ball across the room because it's not level. Like it's, there's a lot of spots that need water.

[Carol Markowitz]

It's an old building, you know. Yeah. And, and the fact that they don't want him to touch it because they don't consider him the president. They don't think of him as a legitimate president and they don't think that he should be allowed to do things to it. And that's just ridiculous and too bad for you. Neera Tanden believes that the images of them destroying the east wing of the White House could be a game changer in the elections. And she links a poll that, you know, doesn't look great for your home state of Virginia. Spanberger is leading Earl sears by like 13 points in this poll. Jay Jones is leading by 5 points. But then I was just curious. I mean, I look, it could go badly in Virginia. It's an off year election. This is what happens to the out party. Like this. This could all. I mean, I hope that it doesn't and I hope, you know, all my fingers crossed for you guys. But I go to the survey, I go to the page of this poll and it says this survey was fielded from These dates among 694 registered, registered likely voters in Virginia. Respondents were randomly chosen from a voter file provided by i360 and texted a link that directed them to complete an online surve hosted on the survey monkey platform. Let me tell you, that is not exactly. That is not a poll I would put my trust in. And again, it doesn't mean that things aren't bad for Republicans in Virginia, but the online survey that they have to complete, after you send them a link, I mean, the person has to be really, really motivated. And you know who's really, really motivated? People who hate Donald Trump.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Yeah. By the way, two recent developments in that race. Abigail Spamberger, who's the Democratic governor candidate, was asked about Jay Jones, her ag running mates, texts by none other than Katie Couric who was like, these texts are encouraging political violence. Like, what's the deal, man? Like, and Spanberger's like, you know, I'm just, I'm just upset. I even have to talk about a friend as somebody's. Somebody's text from a couple years ago.

[Carol Markowitz]

I bet you are, ma'. Am.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

I bet you are. You should talk to him about that. Anyway, so that happened. And also, apparently there's a special prosecutor assigned to his speeding infraction that he didn't do his community service for. So now they're investigating whether he did his community service.

[Carol Markowitz]

Man, if that guy wins, it's just boat blue, no matter who. I just hope he doesn't, you know?

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

But I do. I do think, if I may entertain the Nero Tandon notion for a moment, I do think there it's like, a little jarring to watch that facade come down and there is enough quick consumption of news with no context because the media is not interested in giving you context. That, like, if you're fed all the time, oh, look at this dastardly thing he's doing.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

People could go like, oh, gosh. Oh, you know, Trump is always making high rises and he's ruining things. Right?

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

When in fact, he's like, just gonna make a really nice ballroom that probably has a little too much gold. And later, some. Some Democrat will come along and happily give it a little facelift and host everybody there because they need it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Life moves on. We'll be right back with more on normally where we try to be normal and have normal conversations. Be right back.

[Ed Helms]

Hey, everyone. Ed Helms here, and hi, I'm Cal.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Penn, and we're the hosts of Irsay, The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club.

[Ed Helms]

This week on the podcast, I am sitting down with Jenny Garth, host of the iHeart podcast. I choose me to discuss the new Audible adaptation of the timeless Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice. This is not a trick question. There's no wrong answer. What role would I play?

[Carol Markowitz]

You know what? I can see you as Mr. Darcy. You got a little Colin Firth.

[Ed Helms]

Okay, that's really sweet. I appreciate that, but are you sure I'm not the dad? I'm not Mr. Bennett.

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[Ed Helms]

Listen to Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

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[Carol Markowitz]

Whoa.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

This thing moves.

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[Rodney Williams]

I'm Rodney Williams.

[Travis Holloway]

And I'm Travis Holloway. Welcome to the Wealth Break.

[Rodney Williams]

Let's be honest, building wealth doesn't look the same for everyone. It's not just about saving. It's about investing. It's about navigating systems that weren't built for you, embracing your hustle and relying on your community to create something bigger.

[Travis Holloway]

And that's exactly why we created the Wealth Break. We made something different, something more human. It's not just another financial podcast. It's a conversation about real life, real struggles and real wins.

[Rodney Williams]

We're here to talk about the journey. You're hearing from people who've broken barriers, found creative ways to succeed, and learn to build wealth on their terms. Whether it's the first time homeowner, a gig worker, or someone turning a side hustle into a six figure business business, we're bringing you their stories.

[Travis Holloway]

And we're not stopping at success stories. We're breaking down the realities, like what it means to take risk, how to navigate failure, and why resilience matters. Because wealth isn't about money. It's about creating a life where you can thrive and help others to do the same.

[Rodney Williams]

So if you're ready for a podcast as much as about people as it is about money, you're in the right place.

[Travis Holloway]

Listen to the Wealth Break podcast on the iHeartRadio app.

[Propane Advertiser]

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[Meaningful Beauty Advertiser]

You to Meaningful Beauty, the famed skincare brand created by iconic supermodel Cindy Crawford. It's her secret to absolutely gorgeous skin. Meaningful Beauty makes powerful and effective skin care simple and it's loved by millions of women. It's formulated for all ages and all skin tones and types. And it's designed to work as a complete, complete skin care system, leaving your skin feeling soft, smooth and nourished. I recommend starting with Cindy's full regimen which contains all five of her best selling products, including the amazing youth activating Melon Serum. This next generation serum has the power of melon leaf stem cell technology. Its melon leaf stem cells encapsulated for freshness and released onto the skin to support a visible reduction in the appearance of wrinkles. With thousands of glowing five star reviews, why don't you not give it a try? Subscribe today and you can get the amazing Meaningful Beauty system for just $49.95. That includes our introductory five piece system, free gifts, free shipping and a 60 day money back guarantee. All that available@meaningful beauty.com.

[Carol Markowitz]

We are back on normally where our third topic is actually a column from August that for some reason is trending again. And it's, it's got a lot of people talking. It's from the Wall Street Journal and it's called Work Life Balance will keep you mediocre for financial freedom by age 30. Optimize ruthlessly during your peak physical and cognitive years. Now I don't know about financial freedom by 30. I don't think anybody should be promising you that in a subhead of anything, but I do think that optimizing ruthlessly during your peak physical and cognitive years is not a bad idea. And what I will suggest my own kids do.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Yeah, I, I agree. There's, look, there's a, there's a happy medium, right? There's some of these videos I watch on Instagram that are like I'm an investment banker and it's this like beautiful 24 year old woman who works from. Oh yeah, I've seen 4am to 1.

[Lenovo Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

A.m. and I'm like girl, whoa. Yeah, let's do something else. But it's not for me. Right? But she also is making bank so like maybe she's just saving that for later.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

I do think there's a happy medium between that and like I must be able to do my 20 step skin care and my workout every day. Yeah. All these like specific, very specific lifestyles.

[Carol Markowitz]

I finish at 5:00'. Clock. I, I, the, the there's a lot of videos like that also and I do, I respect that. The girls who are like, I'm finished with work at 5 o'. Clock. I do not take calls at 5:30. That's great. I just think to myself, AI is coming and it's going to replace a lot of people and the people that are going to be replaced first are the ones who are like watching the clock to go home. It's unfair and it's wrong. You're right. You should be paid for every hour that you work. Absolutely. But there's a lot of jobs that are very striving jobs. Those, like you said, those were never for me. I never wanted to be, you know, a top boss somewhere or something. I always wanted that work life balance. So I completely understand. But if you are in these careers, there is something to the fact that you work insane hours in your twenties and then you coast a little bit in your thirties, forties, and beyond. It is definitely the hours come down after a certain point. But those, those hours in your 20s. I know people at these kinds of jobs and at these kinds of upper echelon of these kinds of careers, and they work their butts off in their 20s.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

And even I'm gonna give like a counterintuitive take, which is like when you are hustling in your 20s, there's joy in that. Yeah, like that's what, that's what you're doing at that moment of your life. Right. And I did all sorts of silly stuff because I came up in new media, when new media first existed. So I was figuring out how to make videos. I was figuring out how to throw things at the Wall on YouTube, on Twitter to see what would work. And my bosses were letting me do it, so. Because it was like this whole new frontier and that's how I made my career. But I. I pulled an all nighter every single Thursday night for years because I was editing video, and editing video took so long in 2008, oh my.

[Carol Markowitz]

God, the kids don't know. They do not know.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

It took so long. And I was doing a little weekly YouTube show, and so I would edit it all night long on Thursday night and then just get up and go to work on Friday morning. This is what you do.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's what you do.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

And I had created a product and I created something that worked for my career, right? And it was fun and silly and also I worked real hard on it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, absolutely. The writer of this piece, Emil Barr, I mean, he's like, you know, started companies when he was in his 20s and is that kind of person. But, you know, you don't have to be the, the tech bro and, and whatever. What you're talking about is the same thing he's saying. He has a great line. When you front load success early, you buy the luxury of choice for the rest of your life. Because Mary Katherine right now is like, stay up all night and do editing of videos.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Like, not happening, not happening.

[Carol Markowitz]

And you have that luxury of choice, right? Because thank you to the Mary Katherine of back then.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

I know she had worked real hard. She could handle those all nighters. Not no more. No more friends. But yeah, there was joy in that, and there was joy in being with work people after hours and you know, you live a little bit more of that, the office life where more of your relationships are in that place. Yeah. Than at your house. And it was good and it was fun.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. And the adrenaline keeps you running. Well. Thanks for joining us on Normale. Ly normally airs Tuesdays and Thursdays and you can subscribe anywhere you get your podcast. Get in touch with us@ normallythepodmail.com thanks for listening. And when things get weird, act normally.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

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[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

Whoa, this thing moves.

[Lenovo Advertiser]

Stop hitting snooze on new tech. Win the tech [e-mail] Lenovo Lenovo unlock AI experiences with the ThinkPad X1 carbon powered by Intel Core Ultra processors so you can work, create and boost productivity all on one device.

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[Rodney Williams]

I'm Rodney Williams.

[Travis Holloway]

And I'm Travis Holloway. Welcome to the wealthbreak podcast, a real conversation about finance.

[Rodney Williams]

Let's be honest, building wealth doesn't look the same for everyone.

[Carol Markowitz]

I feel like sometimes being broke is a sight, Cole, and that we might have to revisit that and we're not.

[Travis Holloway]

Stopping at success stories.

[Meaningful Beauty Advertiser]

What happens when it doesn't go right? How do you cope with it?

[Rodney Williams]

Because wealth isn't just about money. It's about creating a life where you thrive and help others do the same.

[Travis Holloway]

Listen to the Wealth Break podcast on the iHeartRadio app.

[Ed Helms]

Hey Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now I don't know if you've heard, but Mint's Premium Wireless is $15 a month. But I'd like to offer one other perk. We have no stores. That means no small talk crazy weather we're having. No it's not. It's just weather. It is an introvert's dream. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Carol Markowitz]

Of $45 per three month plan $15 per month equivalent required.

[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

New customer offer first three months only.

[Carol Markowitz]

Then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra.

[Ed Helms]

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[Mary Kathryn Hammers]

This is an iHeart podcast.