Normally Podcast: Tucker Carlson, Trump’s MAGA Divide, NYC Homeless Spending & Oscars Fallout

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode Title: Normally Podcast: Tucker Carlson, Trump’s MAGA Divide, NYC Homeless Spending & Oscars Fallout
Date: March 17, 2026
Hosts: Mary Katherine Ham and Carol Markowicz

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Mary Katherine Ham and Carol Markowicz delve into the latest hot-button topics in news and culture—Tucker Carlson’s claims of CIA investigation, the ever-expanding “podcast wars” in right-wing media, Donald Trump’s intervention in MAGA infighting, explosive data on New York City’s homeless spending, and a breakdown of the 2026 Oscars, highlighting both cultural progress and performative activism. The hosts use their characteristic wit and skepticism to parse truth from narrative, questioning motivations and spotlighting the deeper issues beneath the week’s headlines.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Tucker Carlson, Iran Allegations, and “Podcast Wars” (03:57–19:41)

Tucker Carlson’s CIA Claims and Foreign Agent Theories

• Tucker’s Recent Claims: Tucker Carlson alleges the CIA is investigating him for being a “foreign agent.” He says his texts with Iran were monitored and claims that officials are “framing him as a foreign agent.”

  • Quote (Carol, 03:57):
    “Over the weekend, Tucker Carlson said that he was being investigated by the CIA. They were reading his texts with Iran and are quote, unquote, framing him as a foreign agent.”

• Analyzing the Claims:

  • Mary Katherine and Carol speculate whether Carlson is fabricating for attention, if there’s any basis to his claim, or whether surveillance may have targeted his Iranian contacts instead (“the spying was coming from the other end of the telephone”—Mary Katherine, 06:57).
  • They discuss his history of shifting narratives and controversial statements (including false reporting on Saudi Arabia and Mossad agents).

• Spy Games and Trump:

  • Speculation about whether Trump used Tucker as a signal to Iran before the US strike in January 2025. Both hosts are skeptical but entertained by the theory.
  • Quote (Carol, 07:50):
    “If the Trump administration did know in advance that Tucker was talking to the Iranians and if they invited him to the White House to kind of send the signal to Iran that we won’t be attacking…It’s an interesting theory.”
  • [Mary Katherine cautions against overestimating the coordination between the Trump administration and intelligence services (07:23–07:50).]

• Tucker’s Anti-Israel Rhetoric:

  • Carol details Carlson’s inflammatory statements about Israel and Jews, pointing out a pattern of accusing others of being foreign agents while possibly engaging in similar conduct.
  • Quote (Carol, 09:22):
    “If he ends up being the actual foreign agent? There’s something really just delicious about that.”

• Broader Podcast Feuds:

  • The escalating right-wing “podcast wars”—Candace Owens versus Ben Shapiro, Megyn Kelly feuds, Piers Morgan’s outsider status in conservative circles.
  • Quote (Mary Katherine, 14:05):
    “I would just like to point out that Piers Morgan was never conservative. Never, ever, ever, ever.”

Trump Enters the Fray: The MAGA Divide

• Trump’s Truth Social Statement:
  • Trump posts defending Mark Levin and reasserting his authentic “MAGA” credentials, directly contrasting himself with other right-wing media personalities caught in infighting.
  • Quote (Mary Katherine, 15:22):
    “He asserts that when it comes to this group of people who are fighting Mark, they are not MAGA. I am.”
  • He reaffirms MAGA’s stance on Iran (“MAGA includes not allowing Iran…to have a nuclear weapon to blow up the United States of America...” —Trump, as read by Mary Katherine, 15:50).
• GOP Audience:
  • Hosts agree Trump’s position reflects the majority of Republican voters, even if “podcast war folks” are the loudest dissenters.
  • J.D. Vance’s (Vice President) position is discussed; he remains noncommittal, but both agree he might favor stronger action, aligning with Trump.

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2. NYC Homeless Spending Explosion & Public Policy (23:42–28:33)

New York City’s Unsheltered Population and Waste

• Audit Findings:

  • The NY State Comptroller’s report: the city’s “unsheltered” (homeless) population is up 26% since 2019, while spending has skyrocketed 262%.
  • Quote (Carol, 24:13):
    “Spending…has more than tripled, growing from $102 million in 2019 to nearly $368 million in 2025, a 262% increase…about $81,000 per homeless person in fiscal year 2025.”
  • Mary Katherine notes that the total figure is more than median NYC household income (24:59).

• Broader Context:

  • Other major cities (San Francisco, Portland, Louisiana) have seen similar spikes since 2019.
  • Hosts lament the lack of oversight for NGOs and government, suggesting this “subsidizes all the bad things” while fostering “scams everywhere” (25:34–25:59).
  • “It makes no sense that they’re spending this much money and not coming anywhere near solving the problem. In fact, the problem keeps growing.” —Carol (25:59)

Data Manipulation: NYPD Hate Crime Stats

• Changing Reporting Methods:
  • NYPD alters hate crime reporting midyear, now only publishing “confirmed” rather than “reported” bias crimes.
  • Quote (Mary Katherine, 27:32):
    “But you can’t make an argument for changing it midstream. Because what happens now is that you cannot compare February of this year…to last year.”
  • This obfuscates true trends and echoes similar stat manipulation post-pandemic (schools, etc.).
  • “We can’t solve problems that we can’t admit we have.” —Carol (28:26)

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3. Oscars Fallout: Hollywood’s Progress and Performative Politics (32:28–39:29)

Winners, Industry Trends, and Shifting Narratives

• 2026 Oscars Recap:

  • Best Picture: "One Battle After Another" (a Leonardo DiCaprio vehicle, described as “very Lefty Resistance fantasy”).
  • Best Animated Film: “K Pop Demon Hunters,” with the creator’s acceptance speech drawing attention for its “first Asian to win an Oscar type” narrative.
    • Quote (creator, played by Mary Katherine, 34:59):
      “For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this. But it is here. And that means that the next generations don’t have to go longing.”
  • Both hosts challenge the Hollywood narrative of token firsts, citing animated film protagonists’ diverse backgrounds and previous sweeping wins (e.g., “Parasite”).

• Refreshing Acceptance Speeches:

  • Jessie Buckley’s Best Actress speech lauded for its focus on family and motherhood.
    • Quote (Jessie Buckley, 36:11):
      “You Fred. I love you, man. I love you. You’re the most incredible dad. … Isla, my little girl who is eight months who has absolutely no idea what’s going on…But this is kind of a big deal and I love you…I love being your mom and can’t wait to discover life beside you…”
  • Mary Katherine and Carol praise a trend toward positive, maternal appreciation in high-profile speeches (reference to Kieran Culkin’s similar remarks, 37:14).

Performative Activism and Selective Outrage

• Political Messaging:

  • Tribute paid to political gestures (calls for Gaza ceasefire), but little mention of Iranian dissidents and the plight of the Iranian women’s soccer team and their families.
    • “Much easier to wear a Palestinian flag pin or something and call for a ceasefire…What are you gonna do? Hollywood gonna Hollywood.” —Carol (39:17)
  • Hosts criticize the superficiality and inconsistency of Hollywood’s activism.

• Reflections on Cultural Change:

  • Mary Katherine notes the “big ship” of culture is turning, but with setbacks and recurring selective amnesia around progress.
  • “One of the sad things about being a progressive is that once you have the mic and you have your shining moment, you have to declare that all progress before you never existed...” —Mary Katherine (35:25)

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Notable Quotes

• On Tucker Carlson:

  • “There’s a group of folks who I’m like, yeah, this seems like the fingers pointing back to you a little bit here.”
    —Mary Katherine (09:38)

• On Podcast Feuds and Trump:

  • “Once the President jumps in, that’s news…He asserts that…they are not MAGA. I am.” —Mary Katherine (15:16–15:22)

• On NYC Homeless Spending:

  • “$100K per homeless person for them still not to have a home. What are we doing here?” —Carol (26:14)

• On Cultural Amnesia:

  • “By next year is the K Pop Demon Hunters win going to be gone from everybody’s brain and we’ll just pretend that we’re starting at zero again because I don’t think we are.” —Mary Katherine (35:25)

• On Acceptance Speeches and Family:

  • “I think anyone who’s afraid of motherhood can look to this woman who is at the absolute pinnacle of her career and has an 8 month old baby, that it does not have to shackle you, it does not have to be a trap.” —Mary Katherine (37:14)

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Key Timestamps

• Tucker Carlson’s CIA and Iran Claims: 03:57–12:48
• Podcast War Analysis and Trump’s Response: 12:48–19:41
• NYC Homeless Spending Breakdown: 23:42–26:28
• NYPD Hate Crime Reporting Controversy: 26:28–28:33
• 2026 Oscars Recap & Critique: 32:28–39:29

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Tone and Style

Clever, skeptical, conversational, with a mix of humor and genuine concern. The hosts maintain a friendly rapport, often poking fun at both political opponents and their own side while remaining focused on policy, cultural trends, and media accountability.

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In summary:
This episode scrutinizes the week’s biggest stories—untangling Tucker Carlson’s sensational claims, Trump’s influence on MAGA boundaries, the futility of NYC’s ballooning homeless budget, and Hollywood’s cultural contradictions—delivered with sharp insights, memorable moments, and a dash of optimism about incremental progress.

Transcript

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[Mary Katherine]

Hey, guys, we are back on normal. The show with normal it takes for when news gets weird. I am Mary Cassidy.

[Carol Markowicz]

I'm Carol Markowicz. How was your weekend, Mary Katherine?

[Mary Katherine]

Oh, it's pretty good, other than the fact that we got a bunch of tornadoes coming through here later today. So we're going to get this podcast done before severe weather. That's our plan. Oh, yeah.

[Carol Markowicz]

That's something you should definitely get done today then. Tornadoes. Do you guys get tornadoes? I didn't realize that.

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah, the Mid Atlantic gets tornadoes occasionally, but this is a little bit of an odd thing. And they're saying it's going to be a strong storm. I guess we'll know by the time this airs. Best of luck.

[Carol Markowicz]

All right, we are finally having nice weather. We went to the beach this weekend because, you know, summer's finally here after a long, hard winter.

[Mary Katherine]

I'm sure it was very hard. Very, very Laura Ingalls down there for you guys.

[Carol Markowicz]

We buckled down and wore our sweatshirts. You know, we too, have suffered,

[Mary Katherine]

I'm sure. All right, I'm happy for you guys.

[Carol Markowicz]

Thank you. I'm happy you're happy. You okay? All right, let's do it. You know, look, we like to talk about news that matters here on normally. And I frequently don't think that the podcast wars is news that matters, but of course, it has now kind of taken a turn into actual, possible, real news. Over the weekend, Tucker Carlson said that he was being investigated by the CIA. They were reading his texts with Iran and are quote, unquote, framing him as a foreign agent. Now, everybody that heard that would like Tucker saying, I'm being investigated by the CIA. Everybody was like, oh, because you're a foreign asset. That totally makes sense now. And the thing is that he has behaved so erratically and done so many weird things and flipped his position so entirely. But even setting that aside, people can change whatever. He's had so many moments that made no sense. Like, he had one recently where he said that Saudi Arabia and Qatar had arrested agents of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, who were planning bombings in these countries. Now, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Qatar quickly pushed back and said, absolutely not. This never happened. But now it's like, did he hear that from Iran? And that's why he shared this false news, because Iran wanted to get a piece of news like that out there and use their dupe in the US to do that. Unclear, but things like that have really, you know, made the rounds in the last few days because of Tucker's commentary. But the thing is because he lies so frequently, like when he lied about being detained at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel and everybody was like, it's an airport. He went through security and VIP security at that, where he like posed for pictures. The other more likely possibility is that Tucker is just lying for the hits and the clicks, which he is now want to do. What do you think?

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah, I was going to say that's the. There's a couple theories. One, that he's just making it up as he goes and that it will get lots of clicks and it did. Two, he does, he's saying, I was texting with Iranians. He doesn't say who, but he goes on in the clip to say, this happened to me before with intelligence services when I was trying to set up an interview with Vladimir Putin. So it, the analogy would suggest maybe it's someone very high in Iran who's. Who he's discussing things with, if that's true at all. But there's also the possibility that he's not being spied on, but that the person he was talking to was being spied on.

[Carol Markowicz]

That's the likely possibility there. If the story is true. Right.

[Mary Katherine]

If the story is too true, that the spying was coming from the other end of the telephone or text line. And then there was a very sort of spy games theory that.

[Carol Markowicz]

I love this theory.

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah. That Trump knew that Tucker was enthralled the Iranians in some to some degree and sending them information. So he brought Tucker in, remember, several times right before the Iranian strike, January 17th.

[Carol Markowicz]

Yeah.

[Mary Katherine]

And you and I both talked about, well, like this would suggest we know that Tucker's gonna lobby for not attacking. That's we, that's all common knowledge. And we thought, well, that suggests maybe he is staying his hand and perhaps Trump knew that's what that would signal and was using Tucker for that. I'm not sure that I buy that the intel and the administration were aligned in that way and did that so seamlessly. But it is an interesting theory.

[Carol Markowicz]

I mean, I love that theory. I, look, I didn't think it was true. I thought the whole time I was like, I think Tucker is just lying. But it was a real fun Sunday to see the possibilities that people were coming up with. Because if the Trump administration did know in advance that Tucker was talking to the Iranians and if they invited him to the White House to kind of send the signal to Iran that we won't be attacking. Look, we're listening to this guy. It's an interesting theory. And also, Tucker, on his show a few days ago, said described what the usa, his country allegedly did in Iran as a sneak attack and how wrong that was. And that kind of language lends credibility to the idea that the Trump administration had lulled Iran into a false sense of security by using Tucker Carlson.

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah.

[Carol Markowicz]

Is it true? I doubt it.

[Mary Katherine]

There's also the fact with Trump that he's always sort of just this savant, like, art of the deal guy who is always pushing people in weird directions and signaling weird things, and it all sort of comes together to his benefit often. Now, I'm not a like Trump playing 5D chess theorist, but maybe. But he does have an ability to know, like, who the players are, what they want, what everyone's signaling, because he's been doing this for a very long time in other capacities, obviously. So I don't know. Interesting.

[Carol Markowicz]

I mean, also the fact that Tucker is constantly calling everybody who doesn't agree with him an agent of Israel. Everybody's a foreign agent to Tucker. If he ends up being the actual foreign agent. There's something really just delicious about that.

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah. Whenever I read a Candace Owens tweet, I think every accusation is a confession. Like, that's what it feels like to me. There's a group of folks who I'm like, yeah, this seems like the fingers pointing back to you a little bit here. Yeah.

[Carol Markowicz]

And look, why would he come out with this? Right. It either is to draw attention, like to back to his podcast. You know, if there was a dip in conversation where Tucker wasn't mentioned for five minutes and he wants to be back in the news or to get ahead of the story that might be breaking. So we'll see. And again, I'm loathe to talk about these people because all they want is our attention. All they want is eyeballs and clicks, and that's all they care about. And I just don't want to give it to them. But this is obviously, if Tucker Carlson is an agent of Iran, that would be news. That would be news. Mark Caputo, who is a Trump White House reporter for Axios, says the story is not true. He says top ad admin officials say it's bs. And look, are they going to tell Marcaputo that they're investigating Tucker Carlson? I don't know. He says, also Mark says DOJ FBI is getting a lot of citizen requests to Investigate. To investigate Tucker Rifara. So who knows, right? Again, we'll. We'll stay on top of this and see what happens. But it's likely just podcaster nonsense where he would like more attention. And I've also said I think he's having some sort of mental break. He doesn't look like himself anymore. He doesn't laugh like himself. I was a big fan of his. I rooted for him. I wanted him to succeed. Post box. He just fell off a cliff. And I know people are like, oh, just because he opposes the war in Iran. Like, no, I'm sorry. It's not just because he opposes the war in Iran. It's because he seems like a different person altogether. He throws out horrible accusations against all kinds of people. He says things that I think he would have just been shocked at before. He's just. He's not the same guy that he used to be. And it's not about Israel either. When he talks about how Jews need to get DNA tests or how he alludes to Jews as pedophiles or ties him into Epstein or says that Israel was involved in 9 11, none of that is, quote, unquote, criticism of what Israel is doing in Gaza. It's a completely other level, and it's absolutely insane. Like, he released a clip from his own show just a few hours ago, and he said, why do all of our elected leaders seem to be devoted to serving Israel? And the people in that clip are like Rubio Patel, Hegseth. I mean, Huckabee. This is not questioning Israeli policy in Gaza. This is not opposing the Iranian war. This is something else entirely. This is making horrific accusations against his own fellow countrymen, but also, allegedly, the people on his own political side, which I don't think he's on the right at all anymore. I mean, one. One of our first mentions of Tucker's, you know, most recent insanity is I. I was a big fan of Tucker Carlson's back when he was a conservative. I don't know who he is anymore.

[Mary Katherine]

No, I was like, my, my breaking point was when he went to Russia and was like, wow, the technology and living style. I was like, no, thank you. I'm. I'm out on this. I did a lecture at Hillsdale College last week while I was there, and it was on the fact that every day for the rest of our lives in a modern info ecosystem, your job is to figure out what is real and what is not. And it takes a lot of time, and it takes a lot of thinking through what people's possible motivations are. One of the things I think the federal government could do is get serious about who's being paid by foreign entities, because it would be nice to know. And people could make their assessments of those truth tellers, given that information. But there's a broader podcast war going on that is just eating up hours and hours of talk. Time is not devoted to policy. It's. It's, you know, Candace versus Ben Shapiro. Ben Shapiro and Megan back and forth with each other. Piers Morgan got brought into it somehow.

[Carol Markowicz]

Piers Morgan.

[Mary Katherine]

And one of the things I want to say about Piers Morgan is that in. In like Megyn Kelly's defending Piers Morgan against Ben Shapiro. And it's like she asked at one point, like, how many people need to be removed from the conservative movement to make Ben Shapiro happy. And I would just like to point out that Piers Morgan was never conservative.

[Carol Markowicz]

Never, ever, ever, ever.

[Mary Katherine]

I don't. I don't really dislike the guy too much. I understand him for what he is.

[Carol Markowicz]

An entertainer.

[Mary Katherine]

An entertainer, a tabloidy guy, a sometimes interesting thinker who will engage different points of view. And I'm fine with that. But he was not part of the conservative movement ever. The Ben Megan dispute stems from Candace Owens going off a cliff in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination and Megan being sort of mystifyingly unable to say that's bad. That accusing the friends of Charlie of being complicit in his murder is bad. And that's been going on for months now. And now we're to the point where Megyn Kelly and Mark Levin are going back and forth for three days fighting.

[Carol Markowicz]

Yeah.

[Mary Katherine]

And here's where we get to the news part, Carol. Cause I'm not the news.

[Carol Markowicz]

Yes, yes.

[Mary Katherine]

I'm not going to dissect all of that. But here's the thing. Once the President jumps in, that's news with a truth social. It is news. So he gets in to referee this thing between Megyn Kelly and Mark Levin. You'll remember that Trump and Megyn Kelly haven't always been on friendly terms after that first debate where she asked him really tough questions in 2000.

[Carol Markowicz]

And I was teammate for that. Honestly, I thought tough questions were what you're supposed to be asking at the debates.

[Mary Katherine]

For sure. For sure. And I thought he did not treat her correctly either. And I was mad at him at that time. So Donald Trump says Mark Levin, a truly great American patriot, is somewhat under siege by other people with far less intellect, capability, and love for our country. Mark is tough, strong, and brilliant. Hence the Nickname, the Great One, conceived by our MAGA friend, the wonderful Sean Hannity. After years of dealing with Mark in legal, media and other capacities. It goes on and on. But he asserts that when it comes to this group of people who are fighting Mark, they are not maga. I am. And MAGA includes not allowing Iran, a sick, demented and violent terrorist regime, to have a nuclear weapon to blow up the United States of America, the Middle east, and ultimately the rest of the world. MAGA is about stopping them cold. And that is exactly what we are doing. God bless our military. Thank you for the attention to this matter.

[Carol Markowicz]

I love the attention to this matter. Yeah, look, you know, he likes Mark Levin a lot. He likes Benjamin Netanyahu a lot. These people are not going to be able to bully Trump into dropping him, into dropping either one of those people. And I mean, good for Trump, you know?

[Mary Katherine]

Well, and it's very interesting for him to lay down the marker that. And I think he's right. If you look at polling, there are influential people who disagree with Trump's intervention here. Many of them align with the Vice president, which is another interesting part of this angle. Yeah, but the majority of regular GOP voters are fine with the intervention, fine with the strike, may get moody later. They could certainly get more critical.

[Carol Markowicz]

Of course we could get more critical.

[Mary Katherine]

But as of now, yeah, it is correct to say the majority of them are with Trump and that the podcast war folks who are not are in. They're the outliers. And he's making that clear here.

[Carol Markowicz]

So about J.D. vance. We don't really know where the Vice President stands here. He has not made any public commentary on the podcast wars. He often pretends not to know what's going on, which I completely don't believe because he is the most online, like, elected official in the country. I would just say that there have been stories like JD Vance wanted the US to go harder in Iran and stuff like that. I feel like those are placed to challenge this idea that JD Is on the outside of the Trump administration. I don't know if he is or if he isn't. My own perspective is. I hope he's not. I hope he is actually a part of the decisions being made. I hope he is in line with Donald Trump because he is the president and JD Is his vice president and they should be aligned on stuff like this. I hope this isn't an actual crater that people imagine it to be. Having said that, we have no idea.

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah, I think it's not an implausible or even hypocritical at all position for him to have taken that would be, look, I am less pro intervention than you are, sir, but if we're going to do it, let's do it very, very fast and very, very effectively.

[Carol Markowicz]

Right.

[Mary Katherine]

So I think that arguing for that might not be a departure from his, you know, belief system. Yeah.

[Carol Markowicz]

But the only thing I would say about that is do we think that Trump is like, no, let's not do it fast and do it hard. I know that story made no sense to me because of who Donald Trump is. Like, that's true. If Donald Trump was George W. Bush, I'd be like, okay, maybe I think of George softer, you know, But I'm

[Mary Katherine]

always going to give the benefit of the doubt to war fighters who have been in war and are war weary for that reason that they're like, hey, hey, hey, last time we did this, remember what happened? And I think that's a fair take for him to have. But, but yeah, the it does. It's interesting to me that Trump is just like, nah, not Maga on this one, guys. Yep, good.

[Carol Markowicz]

I hope he continues to speak out. I hope he. The other thing is, you know, and I mentioned clip that Tucker put out yesterday about the people in the administration who care more about Israel. What he's really trying to say is Donald Trump cares more about Israel and I wish he would grow a pair and just say it. Say what you actually mean. Tucker Carlson, say what you actually mean.

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah, those invites might dry up unless they're useful to them, getting information to someone else. Yep.

[Carol Markowicz]

Not sure he's going to be on too many real estate panels in Saudi Arabia getting paid God knows what if he doesn't have invites at the White House. We're going to take a short break and be right back with more on normally.

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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, opt 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 ETFs 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 and 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 an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures this

[Bethenny Frankel]

is Bethenny Frankel From Just Be with Bethenny Frankel. Let me be blunt. Most dog food is junk. It just is. And I'm not feeding junk to Biggie and Smalls. That is why they eat just food for dogs. It's real, 100% human grade food with ingredients I actually recognize, not mystery pellets pretending to be healthy. And once I switched, the difference was obvious. Better digestion, better skin, more energy. Dogs who actually feel good instead of just surviving dinner. And here's the thing, you care about quality. You make an intentional choice to be healthy. So why are you gambling with your dog's health? So let's think about our furry babies. Go to justfoodfordogs.com right now and get 50% off your first box. No code. Just try it. Because once you see the difference, you're not going back.

[Carol Markowicz]

We are back on normally where the New York State Comptroller, Thomas P. Denapoli, has put out a report about New York City government services for the quote, unquote, unsheltered, that means homeless. He writes that New York City's unsheltered population increased from 3,588 in fiscal year 2019 to 4,504 in fiscal year 2025, a 26% increase from pre pandemic levels.

[Mary Katherine]

And we're getting lots of results, right?

[Carol Markowicz]

Yeah, yeah, just listen to all the results we're getting in that time. Spending on services for the population has more than tripled, growing from 100102 million in 2019 to nearly 368 million in 2025, a 262% increase. It's absolutely bonkers. Like there's just. How do you look at these numbers and think that this is okay? And the numbers come out to about 81,000 per homeless person in fiscal year 2025. I mean, that is, it's more than the Charles Smirkley on X points out. That's more than the median New York City household income.

[Mary Katherine]

Unbelievable.

[Carol Markowicz]

And they're still living in the street.

[Mary Katherine]

Smirkley also points out, he's a data guy and he points out that New York's spending per homeless person is up 187% since 2019. San Francisco up 190%. Portland up 430%, Louisiana plus 480%. An average of up 320% since 2019. And I, I have to say, like, I was wrong about NGOs there. There was a part of me that was like, hey, handing some of these tasks off to non governmental organizations might be a better way to serve.

[Carol Markowicz]

You need a lot of oversight to

[Mary Katherine]

do it with the government. Yeah. But it turns out it just kind of feels like we're subsidizing all the bad things that the NGOs are supposed to be helping with. And the NGO people are getting rich, or someone's getting rich in the laundering process here. But it's certainly not helping the people that the NGOs tell us that they are very compassionate about. And I know there are. There are people who do do really good work, but, man, this is depressing, right?

[Carol Markowicz]

It just feels like what we've talked about on here, scams everywhere. Like, where is this money going? It makes no sense that they're spending this much money and not coming anywhere near solving the problem. In fact, the problem keeps growing.

[Mary Katherine]

It's getting worse.

[Carol Markowicz]

Smirkley also says that the city projects that the number per homeless person will be 97,000 in fiscal year 2026. I mean, 100k per homeless person for them still not to have a home. What are we doing here?

[Mary Katherine]

Sorry for all of you. Paying taxes like, it's crazy. By the way, that number's the floor because it doesn't include a bunch of other spending done on mental health resources and housing resources that are spent as well. Speaking of scams, you want to hear this one? This is from got. This is from Gothamist. So not a liberal publication here. A month after the NYPD reported a 152% spike in reported bias crimes, hate crimes in the city, the department has changed its reporting method to one that some hate crime experts say is less transparent and less accurate. In January, The NYPD reported 58 bias crimes across the city, up from 23 in January 2025, a jump the department said was driven largely by, wait for it, a spike in reports of anti Jewish hate crimes. By the time police reported the figures for February of this year, they had changed their criteria for reporting hate crimes. Previously, the department reported hate crimes that were being reviewed. Now it only reports hate crimes that have been investigated and confirmed.

[Carol Markowicz]

Right.

[Mary Katherine]

You could make an argument for that, but you can't make an argument for changing it midstream. Because what happens now is that you cannot compare February of this year in Mamdani's term to February of last year in Adams's term. And several hate crimes experts tell, and academics tell the Gothamist that actually, yes, this doesn't really capture hate crimes if you're not doing all reported crimes. So way to go, New York.

[Carol Markowicz]

Yeah, good job. And I think that's the point, right? They don't want the comparison because the comparison is not going to be positive. And that's a real problem where you can.

[Mary Katherine]

And this is a problem. This is a problem in many areas of life. Particularly post Pandemic, a bunch of schools were like, hey, let's hide the ball about how badly we did by changing the stat gathering so that you cannot compare apples to apples. And it's really unhealthy.

[Carol Markowicz]

Yeah, it does a lot of damage to people. We can't solve problems that we can't admit. We have my all around mantra all the time.

[Mary Katherine]

Yep.

[Carol Markowicz]

We're going to take a short break and be right back with more on normally.

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[Podcast Announcer]

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 drive. Now go earn the degree Capella University. What can't you do? Visit Capella. Edu to learn more.

[CarMax/Taco Bell Advertiser]

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 ETFs 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 and 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 an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures this

[Bethenny Frankel]

is Bethenny Frankel from Just Be with Bethenny Frankel. Let me be blunt. Most dog food is junk. It just is. And I'm not feeding junk to Biggie and Smalls. That is why they eat just food for dogs. It's real 100% human grade food with ingredients I actually recognize, not mystery pellets pretending to be healthy. And once I switched, the difference was obvious. Better digestion, better skin, more energy. Dogs who actually feel good instead of just surviving dinner. Here's the thing. You care about quality. You make an intentional choice to be healthy. So why are you gambling with your dog's health? So let's think about our furry babies. Go to justfood4dogs.com right now and get 50% off your first box. No code. Just try it. Because once you see the difference, you're not going back.

[Mary Katherine]

All right, coming back on normally with a little bit of Oscars talk. Look, I don't watch awards shows, but what I do is go on the Internet the next day to learn what happened at the awards shows. So let me tell you what happened at the Oscars. One battle after another, which is that that Leonardo DiCaprio vehicle that was very Lefty Resistance fantasy played out that I didn't see it.

[Carol Markowicz]

But if you haven't read Lielle Liebovitz's piece about the movie in Free Press, you absolutely should. Leal wrote a hilarious takedown of the movie and how terrible it was.

[Mary Katherine]

Well, and even so, it's a Thomas Anderson movie who is a good director, but I have heard it was not one of his better films. But it did hit all the sweet spots for Hollywood. It was named Best Picture, one battle after another. And he got best directing, best adapted screenplay. It won six overall. Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan got four Oscars. K Pop Demon Hunters got best animation film, very deserved, as well as best song.

[Carol Markowicz]

I've heard the song once or 3,000 times from my nieces.

[Mary Katherine]

Right. Frankenstein got a couple of wins. And then Jessie Buckley was named best actress for Hamnet. Amy Madigan won best supporting Actress for her role in Weapons One. That I actually have seen.

[Carol Markowicz]

I was gonna say, have you seen any of the. I've seen zero. I haven't even heard of most of these.

[Mary Katherine]

I've seen K Pop Demon Hunters.

[Carol Markowicz]

It might be because I'm. It might be. But it also might be because I think Hollywood movies have just gotten worse and worse and I can't watch them. I can't sit through them. They're terrible. I watch old movies. I am old. That's it.

[Mary Katherine]

It's okay. We can be old. Conan o' Brien hosted again. They did tributes to Rob Reiner, Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, Catherine o'. Hara. I think I heard that Robert Duvall was sort of given short shrift in the Memoriam, and that's not cool. He's one of the greatest actors of the 20th century. Okay, two clips I want to play for you so you can get an idea of the good and the bad. Here is the K Pop Demon Hunters creator telling us that she's the first Asian person to ever win an Oscar or something. Here she goes. And for those of you who look like me, I'm so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this. But it is here. And that means that the next generations don't have to go longing.

[Carol Markowicz]

This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere. Polymath Political Math on X did a chart where he wanted to look at every protagonist in every best animated film since the award was created in 2001. What he found was 11 of the protagonists were non human, 5 were Asian, and 5 were white. So I feel like there are some protagonists who are Asian also.

[Mary Katherine]

John Podhoritz noted that just a couple of years ago, and I believe that was a Korean film Parasite won everything. Yeah, this isn't exactly rare. One of the sad things about being a progressive is that once you have the mic and you have your shining moment before the world, you have to declare that all progress before you never existed. Because it's important to preserve the fiction that we've never done anything ever other minority population ever. And I just, I think that like by next year is the K pop demon hunters win going to be gone from everybody's brain and we'll just pretend that we're starting at zero again because I don't think we are. On the other hand, we have Jessie Buckley, the best actress for Hamnet and here's her lovely acceptance speech.

[I]

You Fred. I love you, man. I love you. You're the most incredible dad. You're my best friend and I want to have 20,000 more babies with you. I do, I do. And Isla, my little girl who is eight months who has absolutely no idea what's going on and is probably dreaming of milk. But this is kind of a big deal and I love you and I love being your mom and I can't wait to discover life beside you. Chloe and Maggie, you. To get to know this incandescent woman and journey to understand the capacity of a mother's love is the greatest collision of my life. It's Mother's Day in the UK today, So I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos loss of a mother's heart.

[Mary Katherine]

It's really nice. I. I feel like we are having a bit of a trend toward acceptance species by very famous people that include appreciation for their children and their families. Kieran Culkin is notable because he kept telling his wife, if I win, another one can have another baby having more babies because it keeps winning awards. And now this lovely sentiment. By the way. I think anyone who's afraid of motherhood can look to this woman who is at the absolute pinnacle of her career and has an 8 month old baby, that it does not have to shackle you, it does not have to be a trap. And it stands in beautiful contrast to who was it Michelle Williams that gave that speech once saying that the reason she was standing before you is because she had an abortion, right?

[Carol Markowicz]

Yeah.

[Mary Katherine]

Like, nah, I'm not here for that.

[I]

Yeah.

[Mary Katherine]

By the way, she mentioned Michael B. Jordan, who I do like very much won best actor, I believe for Sinners and best supporting actor was Sean Penn, who has too many. Why is he still Winning.

[Carol Markowicz]

Yeah, I think families are back in. Disney had apparently a very popular ad during the award show where it which showed a father and son bonding over the years on a Disney cruise. It was a very good ad, Mary Catherine.

[Mary Katherine]

Yeah, it was very sad.

[Carol Markowicz]

In other news, there was some politics at the show, of course, some. Somebody called for a ceasefire in Gaza. I hope that lady gets her news upd. But of course very little was said, if anything at all, about the Iranians who are either trapped in Iran as this plays out with the administration killing and maiming people who oppose them, or the Iranian women's soccer team who have requested asylum in Australia. But now their families are being kidnapped back in Iran and nobody's speaking out for them, nobody's wearing a pin.

[Mary Katherine]

You could really take a stand for them if you wanted to so they don't have to go back to Handmaid's Tale. But we're not saying anything about that.

[Carol Markowicz]

Much easier to wear a Palestinian flag pin or something and call for a ceasefire. That happened months ago. What are you gonna do? Hollywood gonna Hollywood.

[Mary Katherine]

There's a couple bright spots there. So good job.

[Carol Markowicz]

I know you're optimistic. I hear you.

[Mary Katherine]

Hey, you know we're trying to turn a big ship. We really are.

[Carol Markowicz]

Disney sized cruise ship. Thank you for joining us on normally Normally airs Tuesdays and Thursdays and you can subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts. Get in touch with us@ normallypodmail.com thanks for listening. And when things get weird, you stay normally.

[Podcast Announcer]

There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. Stand still. Not a chance. You're a lifelong learner who's come this far. Now we are here to help you keep going further. Capella University. What can't you do? Visit Capella Edu to learn more.

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[Mary Katherine]

Come on.

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[Mary Katherine]

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[Bethenny Frankel]

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