Normally Podcast: Davos, Crime, and Culture Wars

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: "Normally Podcast: Davos, Crime, and Culture Wars"

Date: January 22, 2026
Hosts: Mary Katherine & Carol Markowitz

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Mary Katherine and Carol Markowitz ("Normally" sub-podcast hosts) dissect major headlines in politics, culture, and crime, with a special emphasis on the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, international relations (especially U.S.-Canada dynamics), shifting crime policies in U.S. cities, and a lighter dive into celebrity family drama. With sharp wit, skepticism towards political theater, and a commitment to "normal takes," the hosts cut through spin to deliver clear insights on hot topics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. World Economic Forum at Davos: Politics, Tensions & Trump

• Davos Attendance Soars:
  The hosts discuss why attendance at Davos is up, attributing it to heightened geopolitical tension, especially Donald Trump’s assertive rhetoric around Greenland that’s galvanized both European leaders and the U.S. political scene.
  "Attendance very high this year, partly because of Donald Trump’s saber rattling on Greenland, which has energized the European sector to show up at Davos and hear what he has to say." (Mary Katherine, 05:17)

• Gavin Newsom’s “Left Trump” Moment:
  California Governor Newsom, instead of joining other world leaders in pushing back against Trump, scolds his peers for not doing enough:
  "He said... I should have brought a bunch of kneepads for all the world leaders. It’s pathetic. So he’s actually... making him left Trump." (Mary Katherine, 07:41)

• Scott Besant’s Colorful Critiques:
  Referencing venture capitalist Scott Besant’s jabs at Newsom and his critiques of economic double-standards (particularly Europe's ongoing purchase of Russian oil while funding Ukraine’s defense):
  "Europe is still buying Russian oil... some real good economics." (Carol Markowitz, 07:00)

2. Mark Carney’s Davos Speech: American Power, Rules, and Hypocrisy

• Speech Highlights & Critique:
  The hosts analyze Canadian PM Mark Carney’s speech, which laments the breakdown of the rules-based international order and warns that global integration can be weaponized. He romanticizes past American hegemony while decrying its flaws:
  "You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination." (Mark Carney, 09:28)

• Host Reaction:
  The hosts are skeptical, calling the speech “Obama-like” but ultimately hollow:
  "People are over the moon because they’re just starved for an Obama-like speech. And this was like... an Obama speech. I will say." (Mary Katherine, 09:51)
  "He said a lot but didn’t really say very much." (Carol Markowitz, 10:02)

• On Canadian Hypocrisy and China Pivot:
  The hosts highlight Carney’s (and Canada’s) inconsistency in criticizing US policies while courting China and benefiting from US defense.
  "From the liberal perspective, is American hegemony... good or bad? Right. It was good and now it’s bad." (Mary Katherine, 10:33)
  "Pivoting towards China seems like the dumbest idea ever when we’re right on their border." (Carol Markowitz, 12:03)

• Washington Post's Caution:
  Hosts quote the Washington Post’s warning on Canada’s China flirtation:
  "Any suggestion that Ottawa and Beijing agree on geopolitical strategy concerning the Arctic is either deeply insincere or worryingly naive." (Mary Katherine quoting, 13:08)

3. US-Canada Dynamics & the Greenland “Play”

• Strategic Interests in Greenland:
  The hosts debate America's interest in Greenland and its strategic value, agreeing on the logic but questioning Trump’s tactics:
  "It strategically makes a lot of sense... Denmark cannot defend it." (Carol Markowitz, 15:26)
  "Even if it’s strategically wise, that bluster is not necessarily the way to get it done… he does not view these things the same way I do." (Mary Katherine, 16:21)

• Canada’s Military Realities:
  "If Canada doesn’t want to be subordinate... they have to militarize… have a giant economy… things they currently do not have." (Mary Katherine, 16:51)

4. Business Sentiment: Davos & Biden-Trump Economic Policies

• Citadel CEO on Regulatory Relief (Davos): Citadel’s CEO describes a “sigh of relief” among US business leaders after regulatory burdens dropped with Trump’s second term, drawing applause at Davos for his candor: "You cannot imagine how painful it was each and every day under the Biden administration to look at what new crazy proposal was being put in place... And to have that literally end on one day, Election day, just gives you so much energy as an offshore to go back and build your damn business." (Citadel CEO, 17:29)

• State-Level Business Outmigration: The hosts highlight the impact of business departures from states with high regulation (like Citadel’s move from Chicago to Florida):
  "When they left, they left a giant gap in the Chicago business community, but also in the philanthropic community." (Carol Markowitz, 19:02)

• Trump’s Impact on NATO Spending:
  NATO Secretary General’s remarks on Trump’s effectiveness in increasing European defense spending echo the sense that unconventional tactics sometimes work:
  "Do you think any of us would have gotten to 2% spending on defense had it not been for Donald Trump?" (Mary Katherine, paraphrased, 19:37)
  "Sometimes, the bluster works." (Carol Markowitz, 20:10)

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Crime & Policy: From Minneapolis and Memphis to the DC Metro

1. Memphis Crime Reduction Strategy

• Federal Law Enforcement Collaboration: Memphis saw a sharp drop in serious crime by coordinating local and federal efforts, even from a mayor who initially resisted agencies like ICE and the National Guard:
  "Fighting crime works, it turns out. Having an obvious presence that fights crime brings down crime levels... everyone is in agreement, even those who didn’t want the presence." (Mary Katherine, 24:59)

• Pragmatism Over Ideology: "Democrats are going to oppose ICE no matter what when it clearly works for them to work with ICE... they’re only causing harm to their own people." (Carol Markowitz, 25:46)

2. Washington DC Metro’s “Broken Windows” Redux

• Reclaiming Metro Safety:
  By aggressively pursuing fare evasion (a classic “broken windows” approach), Metro officials have restored public confidence and drastically reduced crime: "In 2025, [the DC Metro] has its lowest crime rate in at least 25 years… they did it by punishing people who broke the law." (Mary Katherine, 27:41)

• Learning Old Lessons:
  "They should like give it a name, like maybe fixing broken windows... That’s what Rudy Giuliani did in New York in the 1990s. And here we are 30 years later with D.C. being like, you know, what works." (Carol Markowitz, 27:41)

• Resistance and Backsliding Elsewhere:
  Despite success, resistance in cities like Minneapolis continues, while Virginia contemplates decriminalizing more behaviors:
  "There’s always this attempt to rewrite history... Every time it works they say, 'Well, that can't be the thing that worked because we don't think that's cool.'" (Mary Katherine, 28:14)
  "What if there were no criminals? Wouldn't that be better?" (Carol Markowitz, 28:58)

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Culture & Lighter Topics

The Beckham/Peltz Family Feud: A Celebrity Culture Case Study (32:17)

• Background:
  Victoria and David Beckham’s eldest, Brooklyn, has cut ties with his famous parents after marrying heiress Nicola Peltz, airing grievances on social media—most notably accusing his mother of “inappropriately dancing” with him at his wedding.

• Hosts’ Take:
  Both Mary Katherine and Carol push back on the sensational claims, defending Victoria Beckham’s character and challenging the wisdom of publicized family feuds:
  "I haven’t seen Victoria Beckham dance inappropriately ever in any setting." (Mary Katherine, 34:44)
  "Whatever you want to say about your mom, first of all, don’t take it to the public." (Carol Markowitz, 35:14)
  "It’s also sort of convenient that after having lived the Nepo baby life with your multimillionaire parents... as soon as you marry a billionaire, you’re like, peace, I don’t need you guys anymore." (Mary Katherine, 36:12)

• Universal In-law Drama:
  The story is used as an entry point to discuss more universal family dynamics, with both hosts relating to in-law challenges and the difficulty of merging strong personalities and “family systems.”

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Notable Quotes & Moments (All times in MM:SS)

• On Davos and Trump:
  "You can’t be as good as Trump while trying to be Trump... that was a weird comment because they are all kind of attacking Trump mostly." (Carol Markowitz, 07:49)

• On Mark Carney’s Speech:
  "If you care about sovereignty, rule of law, pluralism, liberty, you don’t increase investments in and reliance on the CCP—the Chinese Communist Party. That’s absolutely correct." (Mary Katherine, quoting Rebecca Heinrichs, 14:40)

• Crime & Broken Windows:
  "What works is punishing people for smaller crimes before they go on to commit bigger crimes." (Carol Markowitz, 27:41)

• On Family Feuds:
  "Leave Victoria Beckham alone. Leave Posh Spice alone." (Carol Markowitz, 38:30)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Davos, Trump, and International Relations: 05:07 – 20:38
• Memphis Crime Drop & DC Metro’s Broken Windows Approach: 23:30 – 29:24
• Beckham Family Drama: 32:17 – 38:30

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Tone & Style Reflection

The conversation is marked by clarity, humor, exasperation with political media spin, and self-awareness about where their biases have shifted over time. The hosts’ informal but intelligent rapport makes complex headlines approachable—whether unpacking Davos speeches or dissecting the latest celebrity gossip.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode balances serious analysis of major world events (Davos, global politics, and crime policy) with incisive, witty commentary and a healthy dose of cultural levity. Whether questioning the motives behind international overtures, examining the pendulum swing of law enforcement policy, or poking fun at celebrity excess, Mary Katherine and Carol Markowitz deliver a "normal take"—grounded, skeptical, and always engaging.

Transcript

[Mary Katherine]

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[Carol Markowitz]

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[Mary Katherine]

Hey, guys, we are back on normal with the show with normal takes for when the news gets weird. I am Mary Katherine here.

[Carol Markowitz]

Hi, I'm Carol Markowitz. It's Wednesday, but it feels like Monday.

[Mary Katherine]

It just.

[Carol Markowitz]

This week is just. It's full of news and it's too busy. I need another day off.

[Mary Katherine]

It is too busy. I got to go up to Maine and meet Laurel Libby, the state legislator who's.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's amazing.

[Mary Katherine]

You'll remember her free speech case. And the legislature up there went all the way to the Supreme Court and she got a supreme court order saying, hey, you're not allowed to shut her up because you don't like what she says about gender. So did a little podcast with her. She's one.

[Carol Markowitz]

I love that she's speaking and that she's allowed to speak. I would think the we're so pro first amendment people before that, but then they weren't, right?

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah. Well, you know what I love about it is that the Democrats in Maine were dumb enough to overplay their hand so hard that they made a smart woman a national figure who never would have been had they not done that. So thank you. Yeah. Good.

[Carol Markowitz]

Good move, guys.

[Mary Katherine]

Good move. Maybe not never would have been, but definitely catapulted her. So good to sit down with her.

[Carol Markowitz]

Nice. Was Maine warm?

[Mary Katherine]

No, no. Maine in January is very, very cold. As it's going to be on, I guess everywhere in the next week. So do you. I was just getting prepped.

[Carol Markowitz]

You know, people wanted banter. I'm bantering. Do you listen to Noah Khan? Uh, he's this great musician. My cool 15 year old daughter's very into him.

[Mary Katherine]

See, I'm not that cool.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, yeah, you need that. That's what it is. You need a teenage daughter. Yours are almost there to tell you what the cool music is, but he's really great and he was trending yesterday because he has a new single coming out. But the reason I mention him is he's from New England. A lot of his songs are from about New England. Um, he has a song called Maine. He grew up, I think, in New Hampshire. Really? Excellent. You should check them out.

[Mary Katherine]

Okay. Be cool.

[Carol Markowitz]

Introduce them to your daughters, you know.

[Mary Katherine]

Okay. Yeah, one more bit of banter just so everybody can feel my impending doom. I'm supposed to travel this weekend.

[Carol Markowitz]

I like.

[Mary Katherine]

We.

[Carol Markowitz]

We're getting news about that in Florida. We're not even like, on the path, but people are. You know, I keep seeing these, like, newscasters saying things might get real bad this weekend, just.

[Mary Katherine]

I'm going to tell you what's going to happen. I'm gonna get out of town and I'm not gonna get back into town. I fear that is my fate. So I'll keep you guys posted.

[Carol Markowitz]

Please let us know. We'll see where you're recording next week's episodes from, if you have electricity.

[Mary Katherine]

Oh, bless. Right?

[Carol Markowitz]

Good luck with that.

[Mary Katherine]

It won't be in Davos, I'll tell you that.

[Carol Markowitz]

No, Davos.

[Mary Katherine]

But that's where everybody is this week. I wonder if they'll make it home in this storm anyway.

[Carol Markowitz]

I feel like they might.

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah. The World Economic Forum has gathered in. In Davos, as they do customarily, apparently, attendance very high this year, partly because of Donald Trump's saber rattling on Greenland, which has energized the European sector to show up at Davos and hear what he has to say and to also say their piece while they're there. So things are maybe a little rowdier than usual at Davos, which I think.

[Carol Markowitz]

They have come to expect during the Trump presidency. They had him for four years. That this is a guy who says what he's thinking. I love when he calls the Prime Minister of Canada. Mark. Yeah, just Mark. My favorite moments of Davos are Scott Besant. So far, he has been a lot of fun to watch. He called Governor Newsom, he said, who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach. Ken.

[Mary Katherine]

Wow.

[Carol Markowitz]

Maybe the only Californian who knows less about economics than Kamala Harris. He's here this week with his billionaire sugar daddy, Alex Soros. And Davos is the perfect place for a man who, when everything else is on lockdown, when he was having people arrested for going to church, you know, obviously went out and, yeah, went to the most expensive restaurant in the country. Besent added shame on him. He's too smug, too self absorbed and too economically illiterate to know anything. And then he said, let me know if you need any further clarification, which is hilarious. But on the serious side, Scott Besant said that Europe is still buying Russian oil, which is an amazing thing to say because Europe is obviously funding, as are we, the war that Russia launched in Ukraine to still be buying Russian oil when you're funding the war in Ukraine is some real good economics. Real.

[Mary Katherine]

Like, you know, it's been four years, guys, and you haven't, you know, figured out a way around this. I also want to point out that Newsom, while the entire rest of the Western world, was kind of coming together to express some annoyance at Donald Trump, you would think that he would find himself on the right side of that argument for the left, and yet he doesn't. What he said instead was that they're not standing up to Trump at the World Economic Forum. I can't take this complicity, people rolling over. I should have brought a. Bought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders. It's pathetic. So he's actually, again, his attempt to be Trump is just making him left Trump.

[Carol Markowitz]

It's very weird. He's not. You can't be as good as Trump while trying to be Trump. You can be Gavin Newsom. You could try to do that. Yeah, that was a weird comment because they are all kind of attacking Trump mostly.

[Mary Katherine]

Yes. One would think that this would be your moment to hang with those guys.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Katherine]

So a lot of people are going gaga over Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Mark Carney's speech at Davos. And I think we have a bit of that to give you a flavor of it.

[Mark Carney]

We knew the story of the international rules based order was partially false, that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically. And we knew that international law applied with varying rigor depending on the identity of the accused or the victim. This fiction was useful. And American hegemony in particular helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security, and support for frameworks for resolving disputes. So we placed the sign in the window. We participated in the rituals, and we largely avoided calling out the gaps between rhetoric and reality. This bargain no longer works. Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition. Over the past two decades, a series of crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics have laid bare the risks of extreme, extreme global integration. But more recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited. You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination.

[Carol Markowitz]

Wow.

[Mary Katherine]

There's a lot going on here.

[Carol Markowitz]

Mm.

[Mary Katherine]

One, I think people are over the moon because they're just starved for an Obama like speech. And this was like. Felt like an Obama speech. I will say.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, in that he said a lot but didn't really say very much.

[Mary Katherine]

I will say a sure cut above Trudeau, who is definitely doing his life's work by now. Dating Carrie, Katy Perry.

[Carol Markowitz]

Like that's. I think they've broken up.

[Mary Katherine]

Oh, did they just break up?

[Carol Markowitz]

Let me keep you updated. I think over the weekend that news might have broken that they are no more.

[Mary Katherine]

Well, you know what? We'll see who comes along next. But I do think the gossip mags might be a better place for him. So he's saying a couple of things. I'm a little confused. From the liberal perspective, is American hegemony or hegemony good or bad? Right.

[Carol Markowitz]

It was good and now it's bad.

[Mary Katherine]

Well, but, but lefties always tell us it's bad, so it was bad. They're mourning the end of American hegemony. But I was always told it was bad, so there's that. This also seems very convenient for Canada to live in this space where, no, there's a. We're not going to acknowledge the truth about the world order being kind of fake as long as everything's working out great for us with our next door neighbor, who, by the way, supplies all of our defense.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Katherine]

We're just going to hang with that. And then he boldly proclaims, as soon as it's not working for them, by the way, that was all a lie.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Katherine]

I don't know how that's playing so well. And then lastly, all the things he mentions about uneven enforcement of trade laws, about using supply chains to threaten people, about not living by the rules of the international order, those are all things that China and Russia have been doing for decades.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Katherine]

And as soon as Trump does something on trade he doesn't like, he's like, this is an unfair practice.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's right.

[Mary Katherine]

Are going to break from the, from our Western partner. It's just, why is it now? Why is it now?

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. And he is famously pivoting towards China. China and Canada are apparently going to have a much closer relationship. This is very foolish.

[Mary Katherine]

Very.

[Carol Markowitz]

And Trump said to him, canada lives because of us, Mark. Remember that before you make those speeches.

[Mary Katherine]

I do.

[Carol Markowitz]

I did kind of enjoy that, that Trumpism where he just lets him know. I think that Canada is offended by Trump has said and done about, you know, in the last year that he's been president. I understand that. I do. I understand that jokes about the 51st date and all of that didn't hit the way that people might have imagined Canada would take it. Having said that, pivoting towards China seems like the dumbest idea ever when we're right on their border. It just. Where do you think you are to. To behave this way? And who do you think you are?

[Mary Katherine]

Well, and the Washington Post editorial page opined, frustrations with one American president need not give way to the agenda. Of dictators, quote, I had discussions with President Xi about the situation in Greenland, about our sovereignty in the Arctic, about the sovereignty of the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark, Carney said. And I found much alignment of views in that regard. What says the Washington Post? There is universal versal agreement within NATO that the Arctic must be protected from China and Russia. Any suggestion that Ottawa and Beijing agree on geopolitical strategy concerning the Arctic is either deeply insincere or worryingly naive. So he Yes, I think Trump has needlessly made this into a relationship that is on the rocks when it needed me. I think if he hadn't trolled Canada in the first place, you'd have a conservative leader there right now. But we don't have that. So I think he misread that and caused this to become something it didn't need to be. And you should read that, by the way. Your allies could be petty enough to turn towards your adversaries when you're a jerk to them. So, like they might be counterproductive enough to do that. Canada has done many counterproductive things to itself over many years. So I think he should have taken that into account. But this does seem like very unwise.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. I don't think things are going to go better for Canada after this. Like, I don't think Trump is going to be warmer towards Canada.

[Mary Katherine]

Well, and the idea, I guess his thesis was all of the middle level powers need to get together somehow to counter this fight between the large powers, which somehow the US Is the least responsible member of the trio of Russia, China and America. Like, I get you don't like Trump, but that is not a realistic way to look at this. And the fact is when he says subordinate, we do provide open shipping lanes and defense for basically the entire Western world. That's just a fact.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. Rebecca Heinrichs from the Hudson Institute, she's very smart. She said the fact that Carney's speech has gotten so much praise is just madness. If you care about sovereignty, rule of law, pluralism, liberty, you don't increase investments in and reliance on the ccp, the Chinese companies. Communist Party. That's absolutely correct.

[Mary Katherine]

Also, can we talk about using Vaclo Havel?

[Carol Markowitz]

Oh yeah.

[Mary Katherine]

An example of how to buck totalitarian systems while castigating the US but cozying up to China.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Katherine]

Hmm.

[Carol Markowitz]

I don't think so. I don't think so. Mark.

[Mary Katherine]

Quickly, what is your take on what the Greenland play is?

[Carol Markowitz]

I'm so back and forth on this. Originally I was like super anti. It just, it Seems dumb. Like, why do we want Greenland? I've read more about it. I, I understand the play. I understand that Russia and China are potentially coming for it and we want to prevent that from happening because it is a direct line to us. It strategically makes a lot of sense for them to try to occupy Greenland. Denmark cannot defend it. And neither, let's be real here, if all of Europe joined together could not defend Greenland. So from America's perspective, if it belongs to us, we can defend it and we will defend it. I'm still mixed on it just because there's so many other things I'd rather be spending our time and energy on, but I get it now.

[Mary Katherine]

Well, and even if it's strategically wise, that bluster is not necessarily the way to get it done. Although he could be doing his Trump thing where he's like, look how scary this sounds. Doesn't letting us buy it seem less scary now? Yeah, I don't think that's a responsible way of doing business. But he does not view these things the same way I do. And we all knew that this was part of the package, so I'm not exactly surprised. So, yeah, I'm sort of torn on who's in the right here. But I'm not sure that Carney's new plan for how this is going to go down is going to work because honestly, like, if Canada doesn't want to be subordinate and I, and I don't mean this as a, like avail threat or anything, they have to militarize.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Katherine]

They, they have to have a giant economy. They have to have the things they currently do not have. How are they going to have those? They're currently euthanizing large numbers of their population.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. And they think that's like a good thing.

[Mary Katherine]

A good thing. So, yeah, I don't know.

[Carol Markowitz]

Canada let's.

[Mary Katherine]

You did. We did a little Scott Besant, but let's do the CEO of Citadel to put a button on the Davos gathering, just so you get several points of view from there, gave an idea of why perhaps the business community and many people in America went toward Trump as a backlash to the Biden administration policies. Here's a little bit of that.

[Citadel CEO]

You cannot imagine how painful it was each and every day under the Biden administration to look at what new crazy proposal was being put put into place to solve a problem that didn't even exist. I mean, our, our constant friction at Citadel with the government across umpteen different aspects of our business was exhausting. And to have that literally end on one Day, Election day just gives you so much energy as an offshore to go back and build your damn business. So the biggest sea change I've seen across American executives has been just like the giant sigh of relief. I can now go and focus on building my business. And that prior administration, you know, we happen to be a creditor of spirit. Their merger with, with JetBlue was stopped. Spirits in bankruptcy today. There were so many decisions that were so, so poorly thought out in terms of economic consequences. It cost the US Economy dearly. I cannot emphasize that enough. And so the Trump administration is making slow progress on deregulation thus far, but the end of the regulatory onslaught has been just an extraordinary, extraordinary boom for American business.

[Carol Markowitz]

I mean, the idea that Biden administration was the enemy of a lot of these businesses, and we're seeing that in smaller ways in California and in New York, where these leftist governments are literally forcing these businesses out of their states. The Citadel decision, actually, they. They were a great example. They moved to Florida during the last, you know, I don't know, four or so years from Chicago. And when they left, they left a giant gap in the Chicago business community, but also in the philanthropic community. And it's a real big deal.

[Mary Katherine]

It's a real big deal. And one more note on the sort of NATO alliance. Ruta, who is the NATO secretary general, was on stage saying, do you think any of us would have gotten to 2% spending on defense had it not been for Donald Trump? And so when people tell me, and I am open to it, that he's being reckless in messing with these relationships, I also remember that I was wrong about it the first time around, because getting those numbers up was important, and we are now there. So there's several different ways to look at this.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, absolutely. That, that was a learning experience. I think that the fact that we were wrong about certain things about the Trump administration the first time around, I think we're more careful about than necessarily criticizing. We're not criticizing because we definitely still criticize on here, but opposing his policy ideas and his bluster. Sometimes the bluster works. European military spending going up is very good for them, very good for us.

[Mary Katherine]

They can enjoy their Carney speech, but I was not as impressed as many.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. All right. We're going to take a short break and be right back and talk about more obvious things that everyone knows but doesn't say. Be right back.

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Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA S I P C Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures [e-mail] disclosures hey.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

This is US Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhull.

[Hunter Woodhull]

And I'm US Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

As athletes, our lives are about having.

[Hunter Woodhull]

A clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

So when it came to getting the.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you.

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[Carol Markowitz]

Wasn't that delicious?

[Mary Katherine]

So good.

[PennyMac/Wells Fargo Sponsor Voice]

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[Carol Markowitz]

I got it.

[Mary Katherine]

I got it. No, I got it.

[Carol Markowitz]

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[Mary Katherine]

I insisted first. Oh, don't be silly. You don't be silly.

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[Mary Katherine]

Okay.

[Capella University/Prolon Sponsor Voice]

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[Carol Markowitz]

Rock, paper, scissors. Shoot.

[Mary Katherine]

No.

[PennyMac/Wells Fargo Sponsor Voice]

The Wells Fargo Active Cash Credit card. Visit Wells Fargo.com ActiveCash Terms apply.

[Mary Katherine]

All right, we are back with perhaps a contrast to what we've covered a bunch in the past, which is Minneapolis. It's worth bringing up Memphis, which is a city where the federal government had a bunch of folks go in to do law enforcement, National Guard, ICE there as well. And in Memphis, they took a very different approach than they took in Minneapolis. The mayor there did not want ICE there. He didn't want National Guard there. But he said, we do have this, like, large crime problem. So if you're here, here's the people I want to help you deal with. Gang bangers, real criminals, violent criminals. Make our city better. Let's do it. And lo and behold, they did it. So fighting crime works, it turns out. Yes. That having an obvious presence that fights crime brings down crime levels. Now, of course, some of these statistics are a little bit hard to attribute specifically to what. But basically everyone is in agreement, even those who didn't want the presence. In Memphis, the violent crime rate has fallen precipitously compared to 2024. The police chief says we've had significant gains in 2025, and we hope to sustain that by putting together a strategy that continues to keep crime moving down. And the Memphis mayor, Paul Young, said for the past two years, we've put in the work. We've reached a historic low in serious crime by staying focused on what matters in every community and by having a bunch of help. But look, we keep saying that part of what puts this in a really pitched environment in Minneapolis is that there is no cooperation. When there is cooperation, you have a very different picture.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, I mean, that's the thing. Right? And there's so many videos now of Democrats talking about ICE operations before the Trump presidency and how they were super into it. They did ride alongs with Obama's ICE operations and they were very, very pro what ICE was doing. But then Donald Trump became president and that became not acceptable. So, yeah, I, you know, I think the idea that Democrats are going to oppose ICE no matter what when it clearly works for them to work with ice, it works for their cities. They're only causing harm to their own people.

[Mary Katherine]

As usual, this mayor plugged ICE into multi agency task forces, pointed them at the worst violent offenders, and when someone dangerous was already sitting in jail, he handed them over. Quiet custody transfers, maximum bad guys removed. Yeah, I mean, that seems like a good plan.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's right. It works. It works to fight crime. It works to work together to fight crime.

[Mary Katherine]

Do it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Why not?

[Mary Katherine]

Another place it's working is on the Washington Metro system. So much like all large Cities in America, D.C. tried to commit suicide during COVID and just chased everyone out and let everyone do whatever they wanted to do. And the Metro system, which had formerly been, if not super efficient, quite clean and basically civilized, became really bad and much more dangerous. And so people stopped writing it. And there's a guy in charge who actually has made changes that have worked. And one of those changes, wouldn't you know it, is to enforce the law. So what they did is they started getting fare evaders in trouble. And what they noted in that philosophy is not everyone who fare evades commits crimes, but almost universally everyone who commits serious crimes on the Metro is a fare evader. So if you take care of that, you can change the nature of your Metro system. For people who are law abiding and would like to write it. Metro says ABC7 reports that in 2025 it has its lowest crime rate in at least 25 years, with crimes such as robbery, assault and theft seeing especially large drops. Metro's board of directors asked the Metro Transit Police department chief and other officials about the drop at a board meeting. Anyway, they have done actually a commendable job, which I rarely say about a D.C. based government entity, but it is safer to ride, it is more pleasant to ride. And they did it by punishing people who broke the law.

[Carol Markowitz]

I feel like that's such a good idea. They should like give it a name, like maybe fixing broken windows, something. Maybe that's what they did in New York to bring down crime. That's what Rudy Giuliani did in New York in the 19 freaking 90s. And here we are 30 years later with D.C. being like, you know, what works. What works is punishing people for smaller crimes before they go on to commit bigger crimes or taking them off the streets. And for the smaller crimes before they go on to commit the bigger crimes. Yeah, yeah, we know, we know.

[Mary Katherine]

But there's always, there's always this attempt to rewrite history. Every time it works, they say, well, that can't be the thing that worked because we don't think that's cool. And it's like, well, no, that is what works. And by the way, if you stop somebody from faravading and maybe it does stop them from a deeper involvement in crime, great for that person as well, right? Like if they've gone down for farovating and then it's a different story for their life, hey, that's positive. But I do think even while Washington is learning this lesson, even while San Francisco said hey, we might have gone too far. Minneapolis.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Katherine]

They refused and now Virginia are like, I don't know. It seems like maybe we should make crime legal, Right?

[Carol Markowitz]

What if there were no criminals? Wouldn't that be better?

[Mary Katherine]

We're rebranding the criminals. I don't think it's going to work. I think it's going to make quality of life worse for a bunch of people.

[Carol Markowitz]

I feel like we're going to just keep learning the same lessons that we learned 30 plus years ago, which is fighting crime helps reduce crime. It's. It's a. I know. It's a take. It's a take. It's a.

[Mary Katherine]

It's a complicated take, but it seems counterintuitive. But it might work.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yes. All right, we're going to take a short break and come right back with a lighter story. Is it a lighter story? Actually? I don't know. Family dysfunction. Maybe not lighter, but funner. Funner to discuss. Be right back.

[Capella University/Prolon Sponsor Voice]

You've never been one to settle, stand down or stand still. You're a lifelong learner, energized by excellence. There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. You've got competition to outrun, momentum to build on, and your own high standards to meet. Stop now. Not a chance. At Capella University, we help you catch what you're chasing because you've always had the the drive. Now go earn the degree. Capella University. What can't you do? Visit Capella. Edu to learn more.

[Public Sponsor Voice]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI, it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member finra, SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures [e-mail] disclosures hey, this is.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

US Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhull.

[Hunter Woodhull]

And I'm US Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

As athletes, our lives are about having.

[Hunter Woodhull]

A clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

So when it came to getting the.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you.

[PennyMac/Wells Fargo Sponsor Voice]

Learn more at pennymac.com PennyMac Loan Services, LLC equal housing lender, NMLS ID 35953 licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions may apply.

[Mary Katherine]

Wasn't that delicious? So good.

[PennyMac/Wells Fargo Sponsor Voice]

Your bill, ladies.

[Mary Katherine]

I got it. No, I got it. Seriously, I insist.

[Carol Markowitz]

I insisted first.

[Mary Katherine]

Don't be silly. You don't be silly.

[PennyMac/Wells Fargo Sponsor Voice]

People with the Wells Fargo Active Cash credit card prefer to pay because they earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.

[Mary Katherine]

Okay.

[Capella University/Prolon Sponsor Voice]

Rock, paper, scissors for it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Rock, paper, scissors.

[Mary Katherine]

Shoot.

[Carol Markowitz]

No.

[PennyMac/Wells Fargo Sponsor Voice]

The Wells Fargo Active Cash credit card. Visit Wells Fargo.com ActiveCash terms apply.

[Carol Markowitz]

We are back on normally where. You know, I have to admit, when I lived in Scotland in the late 90s, the Spice Girls came out. And one of my worst predictions ever, I said, this is never going to hit in America.

[Mary Katherine]

Incorrect.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. Other predictions I made at that time around then was texting. Nobody's ever going to want to text. Everybody's going to want to pick up the phone and make phone calls.

[Mary Katherine]

Oops. Yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

All right, don't trust me for predictions, but Victoria Beckham, she was a Spice Girl, and she's gotten more and more in the news over the last, you know, decade. Plus, there was a documentary about her relationship with her soccer star husband, David Beckham. She produced a line of clothing that it was actually quite good makeup that people actually liked. Usually celebrities make a bunch of crap and nobody really likes it. They just buy it for the name. But her stuff was considered fairly actually good. Now she's in the news because her son, Brooklyn Beckham, got married a few years ago. And there's been a very public rift, but it's really heated up in the last few days. Catch us up on it. Mary Kathryn Yeah.

[Mary Katherine]

So it's, it began right, with Victoria and David Beckham are like this 90s power couple, 2000s power couple, and then they have four beautiful children. And this family is sort of like a package deal in the public mind that, you know, we've all seen these kids grow up. And now Brooklyn, the oldest, goes off and gets married. Well, he gets married to Nicola Peltz, who is a billionaire heiress and actress. And once that happens, there is friction between the Beckham family of origin and Nicola and Brooklyn. And the big question is whether Nicola's causing this or Brooklyn is very much of his own volition, separating from his perhaps toxic famous family. And he posted a huge story on Instagram and everywhere statement about his family saying, I don't want to reconcile with them. Here's the many things they've done wrong. They have wronged us in all these ways, including most notably that during the first dance at the wedding, his mother allegedly took over the first dance and danced inappropriately with Brooklyn Beckham, her son, to everyone's dismay, and that he will not be reconciling with them, period. That's where it stands. And now everybody's trying to figure out, like, what's actually going on right here. Because you can see talking.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Katherine]

Until there's tape, I'm not sure I believe that of Victoria Beckham. I haven't seen Victoria Beckham dance inappropriately ever in any setting.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. Yeah. So it's funny because people are saying that she generally dances inappropriately, but I watched some video of other times that they say that she danced inappropriately. Like, there was a dance with her father that people pointed to. I didn't think she was doing anything. She was, like, offbeat.

[Mary Katherine]

But I. I don't think she dances particularly well. Right.

[Carol Markowitz]

That seems like a different criticism. This seems very over the line. Like, whatever you want to say about your mom, first of all, don't. Don't take it to the public. Don't. Yeah. But second of all, like, she danced sexy with you. Is that what we're going with? I really thought that, like, I was pretty pro Brooklyn before. I understand that his parents probably were overbearing, and they probably did maybe not treat the family that well.

[Mary Katherine]

Very strange family to grow up in. Yes.

[Carol Markowitz]

Sure.

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

But this. This did seem to me like too much, too far.

[Mary Katherine]

I. I agree. Again, I. I am definitely more team Victoria. I've always liked her. She not always liked her. She actually, in the past spice days, I thought, this is a person I will not end up liking. And then over the years, she's really grown on me.

[Carol Markowitz]

She really has. Yeah, I could see that.

[Mary Katherine]

And so more team Victoria. I also just think that, like, putting this out there in this way is odd, that that criticism in particular is odd, and that it's also sort of convenient that after having lived the Nepo baby life with your multimillionaire parents for all these years and having been quite vocally supported in all of your endeavors by them, that as soon as you marry a billionaire, you're like, peace, I don't need you guys anymore. I don't like that.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, yeah, I don't like that either. And it just generally keep the family stuff off the media front page. Like, there's no reason that we should be knowing all of this about them. And it's been ongoing. This is not new. This is like this art. This, like ongoing. Becca. You know, Beckham Peltz family strife has been going on for a very long time. It should be up to the parents, I think, to kind of squash it to be the bigger people. But when the son is behaving like this in public, I. I don't know that there's much that they could do.

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah, My guess would be that the Beckham parents will be chill about it and pretty classy. We will see what happens. But I think people relate to it because, like, in law, strife is always.

[Carol Markowitz]

A thing, of course.

[Mary Katherine]

And joining two families is tough. And so everyone can see part of their experience in this. And so they're all trying to game out who's at fault.

[Carol Markowitz]

Do you think ahead to your own kids and how you're going to be the best in law ever? Like. Because I do.

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah. And it's funny, actually. It's funny. You'll see people thinking about how they're going to be the worst in law ever and they'll be. They'll be openly joking about how they're going to be that. And I'm like, well, that doesn't seem like a wise decision. Yeah, look, it's tough because somebody's marrying into your family system. It might have a very different system. And in the Beckham's case, she has quite a bit of power because she doesn't need the Beckham system to serve her. So it's power.

[Carol Markowitz]

They should want that. Right? They don't. They don't want some gold digger who, like, is only marrying him for the Beckham name. She's clearly not.

[Mary Katherine]

So, look, if. All I know is if Victoria Beckham were my mother in law, I would just enjoy that.

[Carol Markowitz]

If David Beckham were my father in law.

[Mary Katherine]

There's so much here.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. I feel like we would have a lot of fun together.

[Mary Katherine]

Let's not blow this up. Yeah, let's not blow it up.

[Carol Markowitz]

Let's not make this.

[Mary Katherine]

And just because she's not a great dancer, Just because she's not a great dancer doesn't mean it was inappropriate. Okay, Right.

[Carol Markowitz]

Leave Victoria Beckham alone. Leave Posh Bites alone. Well, thank you for joining us on Normally. Normally airs Tuesdays and Thursdays and you can subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts. We've been reading your mail. Get in touch with us@ normallythepodmail.com thanks for listening. And when things get weird, act normally.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

Hey, this is US Olympic Gold medalist.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Tara Davis Woodhull and I'm US Paralympic Gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

As athletes, our lives are about having.

[Hunter Woodhull]

A clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

So when it came to getting the.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you.

[PennyMac/Wells Fargo Sponsor Voice]

Learn more at pennymac.com PennyMac Loan Services, LLC equal housing lender NMLS ID35953 licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions may apply.

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[Mary Katherine]

And gone once again.

[Carol Markowitz]

But if you've forgotten to get that.

[Mary Katherine]

Special someone in your life a gift, well, Mint Mobile is extending their holiday offer of half off unlimited wireless. So here's the idea.

[Citadel CEO]

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[Mary Katherine]

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[Mary Katherine]

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