Normally Podcast: Virginia Democrats’ Court-Packing Plot, Spencer Pratt’s LA Surge & America’s Urban Crisis

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – “Normally Podcast: Virginia Democrats’ Court-Packing Plot, Spencer Pratt’s LA Surge & America’s Urban Crisis”

Hosts: Mary Katharine Ham & Carol Markowitz
Date: May 12, 2026
Podcast Feed: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show via iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

In this episode of “Normally,” Mary Katharine Ham and Carol Markowitz dive into three intertwined themes:

1. The ongoing Virginia redistricting and court-packing drama;
2. LA’s local election shakeup driven by Spencer Pratt’s unexpected candidacy;
3. America’s continued urban crisis, and a lighter segment on parenting rituals.

Throughout, the hosts use their signature humorous, candid style to break down complex political machinations and cultural conversations. By focusing on the politics of process, the consequences of local dysfunction, and small moments of personal life, the episode directly connects policy issues to everyday experiences.

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Section 1: Virginia Redistricting Chaos & Democrats’ Court-Packing Ideas

[03:41 – 19:11]

Key Discussion Points

• Unexpected Supreme Court Ruling

  • The Virginia Supreme Court overturned a redistricting plan the hosts had feared would stick, surprising both them and the state’s Democrats.
  • Credit is given to Ken Cuccinelli and Shannon Bream for more optimistic legal perspectives, and Mary Katharine describes hearing the news while at a theme park:

    “I was chaperoning a field trip at King's Dominion, and, oh, did I enjoy the roller coasters after that.” (06:09, Mary Katharine Ham)

• Democrats’ Legal Strategy & Hypocrisy

  • Democrats’ lawyers specifically asked the court to delay any ruling until after the vote, then later complained the ruling came too late.

  • Quote:

    “They did that thing, Carol, that we used to do when we were kids, which is you plan a sleepover without your parent's knowledge… and hope it's too awkward for them to say no.” (06:54, Mary Katharine Ham)

  • Play of oral arguments at [07:37–08:47] highlighted Democrats’ lawyer admitting their intent to delay proceedings.

    “The fact that there’s a yes vote doesn’t tell us anything about those merits.”
    (08:45, Virginia Supreme Court Lawyer)

• Court-Packing & Extreme Measures:

  • Discussion of a New York Times story reporting Democrats considering forcing the Supreme Court’s retirement, replacing justices, and scrapping the independent redistricting commission.

  • Quote:

    “It’s because they just love democracy so gosh darn much.”
    (09:39, Carol Markowitz)

  • Describes the proposal as “not fringe” and notes that several justices affected would be people of color—a point the hosts say Democrats are willing to ignore for power.

  • National coverage is labeled as dangerously enabling:

    “If Republicans were discussing this... it would be framed as obviously insane instead of like, ‘oh, look at this interesting idea.’”
    (10:41, Mary Katharine Ham)

• Political Cynicism & Process Games

  • The political objective: delegitimize courts that rule against Democrats, then justify court-packing.
  • Notable quote about Matthew Yglesias:

    “If you don’t like the result, you have to get rid of the judges. And that’s what makes our democracy so great.” (11:34, Carol Markowitz)

• Democrat Trial Balloons & Backpedaling

  • Some local Dems urge radical action while others retreat; the NYT provides a platform for these trial balloons.
  • Quote:

    “It sounds on its face insane, but… Democrats… don’t get the pushback that Republicans would get in the same New York Times.”
    (13:18, Carol Markowitz)

• Comparison with California’s ‘Jungle Primary’ Manipulation

  • Similar themes in California, where Dems may rework the system to block two GOP gubernatorial candidates from progressing.
  • Citing Guy Benson’s prediction:

    “They’ll change the law so that it doesn’t happen.” (14:35, Carol Markowitz quoting Guy Benson)

• Procedural Lessons & Future Outlook

  • Ham explains how and why it should be hard to amend state constitutions.
  • Suggests the controversy will make it harder for Dems to quietly push through changes next cycle.

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Section 2: Spencer Pratt’s LA Mayoral Campaign & Urban Dysfunction

[23:29 – 32:22]

Key Discussion Points

• Spencer Pratt’s Candidacy Breaks Through

  • Carol praises Pratt for genuine concern for LA and viral messaging:

    “He’s bringing it to the campaign in a way just we haven’t seen in a very long time.”
    (23:29, Carol Markowitz)

  • His self-made ads standing in front of politicians’ homes highlight his personal struggle to rebuild after a fire versus the political class’s comfort.

  • Slogan: “LA is worth saving.”

• Debate Performance & Policy Divide

  • In the recent LA mayoral debate, Pratt stands out: prepared, data-driven, skilled on camera, and authentic.

  • Notable Quote (on homelessness spending):

    “We can find some of these people. She’s gonna offer treat, gonna get stabbed in the neck. These people do not want a bed. They want fentanyl or super meth. These ideas cost us over $400 million to house. What did he say? 3,000 people for 400 million is an absolute failure for both of them. They're a team.” (26:19–26:43, Spencer Pratt via Mary Katharine Ham)

  • Pratt rebuffs claims he’s a secret Republican (race is nonpartisan):

    “The reason he’s being accused of being Republican is because talking about public disorder and wanting to solve it… is coded.”
    (24:51, Mary Katharine Ham)

• Policy Stasis & Progressive City Dysfunction

  • Democrats, the hosts argue, are “stuck” and unwilling to reconsider far-left policies as cities decline.
  • LA, Seattle, NYC, and other metro areas cited as proof—despite deteriorating affordability and public order.
  • Quote:

    “I swear. The Democrat party's message at this point is that all the most progressive places are unaffordable S holes where nobody can afford an apartment. Therefore you should vote for us.” (29:07, Mary Katharine Ham quoting a centrist Dem)

• Campaign Format Lessons for GOP

  • “Everyman” authenticity + mastery of local issues is the future for center-right candidates in urban settings:

    “He’s busted out of the... Democratic or Republican box. He’s just speaking about only local issues.”
    (31:05, Mary Katharine Ham)

  • Calls to focus on trash, fire, quality of life, and reject forced nationalization of local elections.

• National Politics vs. Local Realities

  • The hosts cite Ron DeSantis’s rhetorical question about California’s decline:

    “How do you mess this up?”
    (30:58, Ron DeSantis via hosts)

  • Pratt’s refusal to take part in national culture battles automatically “codes” him as Republican—evidence of how urban politics have shifted.

• Quality of Life & Hitting Rock Bottom

  • Markowitz:

    “They have to hit rock bottom in order to understand that these policies won't work. But for now, they're just, you know, continuing on with this insanity.”
    (29:38)

  • Both hosts root for LA’s recovery, not for political gain but for the city itself:

    “I’m rooting for him because I would like LA to perform better.”
    (30:14, Mary Katharine Ham)

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Section 3: Parenting Culture Wars – How Often Do You Bathe Your Kids?

[36:15 – 40:50]

Key Discussion Points

• Emily Oster’s Parenting Advice

  • Economist Emily Oster (author of “Expecting Better”) suggests it’s unnecessary to bathe young children daily.

    “Eventually they’ll hit puberty and it will be important for them to bathe because they smell. But until that point, quote, they don’t really need to take a bath that often.”
    (36:37, Mary Katharine Ham paraphrasing Emily Oster)

  • Oster frames daily bathing as an unneeded parental stressor.

• Hosts’ Contrasting Approaches

  • Carol Markowitz disagrees, says as soon as kids are mobile, “they need baths. I would say twice a day.”

    (36:56, Carol Markowitz)

  • Mary Katharine admits to a laxer approach, especially for babies and when exhausted:

    “Do I do less bathing with the young kids than when they get older? ... At 6:30 or 7pm I am not adding that to the routine.”
    (37:55, Mary Katharine Ham)

  • Carol describes strict home rules—no outside clothes on beds, daily bathing—rooted in her Eastern European heritage.

    “If my mom came in and saw people sitting on my bed, she’d lose her mind.”
    (39:01, Carol Markowitz)

  • Mary Katharine pushes back, says kids are only bathed if “visibly dirty.” Joking about “being a little gross,” which Steve (her husband) would not allow to go unchecked.

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Memorable Quotes

• On Virginia Redistricting:

  • “It is cynical if you know it and you make this complaint, which is what's happening with Jay Jones, the Attorney general, who surely knows it was their idea to wait.” (08:50, Mary Katharine Ham)

• On LA’s urban politics:

  • “[Pratt’s] tagline is: LA is worth saving… And he's being accused all the time of being Republican when it's a nonpartisan race.” (24:42, Mary Katharine Ham)
  • “If the MAGA version of LA ends up having fewer junkies between you and your local park... Would that be the end of the world?” (31:51, Mary Katharine Ham)

• On Parenting:

  • “As soon as those little suckers start moving around and picking up all the dust off your floor and touching all the garbage and who knows what—they need baths. I would say twice a day.” (36:56, Carol Markowitz)
  • “I’m glad to have the data back me up a little bit on this, but I will concede that maybe we’re a little gross. Not a lot—just a little.” (40:28, Mary Katharine Ham)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Virginia Court-Packing & Redistricting:

  • 03:41 – 19:11
    Analysis of the Supreme Court ruling, Democrats’ proposed responses, and political process discussion

• Spencer Pratt & LA Urban Crisis:

  • 23:29 – 32:22
    Insights on LA’s city politics, Pratt’s campaign style, and national vs. local issues

• Parenting Culture & Bath Debate:

  • 36:15 – 40:50
    Emily Oster advice, hosts debate child hygiene expectations, and share family rituals

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Tone & Style

Candid, lightly irreverent, and accessible. Political points are made with a balance of serious analysis and playful skepticism. Hosts are self-deprecating, quick to tease each other, and open about their family lives, giving the show a “normal but informed” atmosphere even when discussing high stakes political gamesmanship.

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For listeners new or returning, this episode is a high-energy, in-depth ride through the political maneuvers threatening representative democracy, the hope and grit of local activism, and even a dose of parental honesty—served with wit and a sharp eye for hypocrisy and possibility.

Transcript

[Mary Katharine Ham]

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[Mary Katharine Ham]

Hey guys, we are back on normally the show with normalish takes for when the news gets weird. I am Mary Kathryn Ham.

[Carol Markowitz]

And I'm Carol Markowitz. How are you, Mary Kathryn I'm good.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Happy Mother's Day to you.

[Carol Markowitz]

Thank you to you too. You filled in. You did such a great job with Bethany. She was such a great fill in. Thank you for you guys doing that. I was in New York, just, you know, New York, Inc.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

I love it. I love it. I'm glad you're. I saw you were eating all the Chinese food and having the Manhattan Institute shindig, which was great.

[Carol Markowitz]

Ben Sasse was fantastic. I, I mean, the thing is, okay, I don't want to overshadow Ben Sasse because obviously he was beautiful, meaningful, gorgeous speech. You kind of knew he was going to do that and it was going to be amazing. And you might cry. Jeff Yass, who I did not really know that much about, gave an absolute killer speech on school choice. And I how many speeches have we heard about school choice, you and I, in our careers? But this one really struck me. It was so honest and so heartfelt. I loved it. I'm a Jeff Yes Fan. I didn't really know who he was before the event and now I'm like, that guy's awesome.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Very nice, Very nice. Well, cool. We had a little like, brunch outside in my side yard for Mother's Day because I didn't feel like doing a restaurant brunch.

[Carol Markowitz]

Love it. Yeah.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Charcuterie in the yard. And then my only boy somehow gave himself a black eye for Mother's Day.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's what only boys do.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

I was like, wow, look at that. You were supposed to be napping. Question mark.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's when they do it.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

That's when it happened.

[Carol Markowitz]

So today's gonna be a fun episode because we were really despondent about Virginia redistricting and last week the Virginia Supreme Court said, nope, what you've done is unconstitutional and they've overturned the redistricting. And I mean, the only people more surprised than you and I that that happened were the Democrats. Right.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Like, right. So I was. Yes, I was blackpilled on this. And look, I was. I was emotionally preparing myself for the fact that.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

You know, they wouldn't get flagged on all these mistakes they'd made. Bring this to the ballot. It did seem risky to me to do this, to have the Supreme Court hear this post voting, because at that point, it's a pretty large bar to say, like, hey, I know you guys ran this election, but no, we have to throw it out now. Right. So I was concerned. Let's give credit where it's due. Ken Cuccinelli, former AG of Virginia, was more optimistic than I. Shannon Bream, my friend at Fox News, she, who knows her legal stuff, was like, no, this is Luc. Seems like there's some real problems for them here. So I didn't think Democrats should be quite so confident, but I certainly wasn't confident. So this decision came down on Friday morning. I was chaperoning a field trip at King's Dominion, and, oh, did I enjoy the roller coasters after that. Yep.

[Carol Markowitz]

I just texted you Virginia. Exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Now, there was a. There's a complaint from a lot of national Democrats who haven't bothered to read up on any of this. And it's a complaint that I share with them. Right. That this. Why didn't this happen before the vote? But it only takes reading two or three pages of the decision to learn that it was the Democrats and their lawyers on behalf of the state of Virginia who asked the Supreme Court to hold off until after voting. And I analogize it this way. They did that thing, Carol, that we used to do when we were kids, which is you plan a sleepover without your parents knowledge, and instead of doing the normal process, you announce it in front of all the moms and hope it's too awkward for them to say no. That's what the kids really do.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

That's what Virginia Democrats thought they were going to do. And I thought it might work, but the Supreme Court was like, no. And by the way, don't complain about it because you won a legal argument telling us we should wait to decide until now. In fact, you wanted this. You wanted this. In fact, let me play just a little. There's one minute of the oral arguments at the Supreme Court of Virginia. Again, if anyone listened to this, they would have known within four minutes that it was Democrats arguing for this. Here is their lawyer at the Supreme Court saying, yeah, it doesn't matter that people voted. In fact, we did ask you to do this. Here we go.

[Virginia Supreme Court Lawyer]

As a result, the proposed constitutional amendment has been ratified and is now part of the Virginia Constitution. The circuit court attempted to interfere with that democratic process by halting it. This court properly put a stop to that. The challengers here now try to overturn the results of that democratic process process. This court should not countenance that either. I don't understand that as a legal argument, given that you asked us to invoke our, ironically enough, named Scott decision from over 100 years ago that specifically says you don't deal with any potential procedural irregularities before the people who voted. So saying that the people have voted yes after having said, you don't even look as to whether there's a procedural irregularity and have to vote it, it doesn't add anything to the equation, does it?

[Carol Markowitz]

No.

[Virginia Supreme Court Lawyer]

And to be perfectly clear, we're not arguing that this court lacks jurisdiction to review whether the constitutional requirements of Article 12 have been complied with. It does. Instead, I'm saying that on the merits, this court should not accept the challenger's article. But the fact that there's a yes vote doesn't tell us anything about those merits. No, it does not.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, that's. That's something.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

I just think, like the. It's so. It's ignorant if you don't look into it all and make this complaint. It is cynical if you know it and you make this complaint, which is what's happening with Jay Jones, the Attorney general, who surely knows it was their idea to wait. And he's nonetheless like, I can't believe this.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right, Right. So last night there was a story in the New York Times which was also extra delicious about how the Democrats are having a real tough time accepting this defeat and are considering forcing their entire Virginia Supreme Court to retire, filling the bench with new people, and also overturning the constitutional amendment that created this independent redistricting commission. And as I said on X, it's because they just love democracy so gosh darn much.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Just so much. Yes. The first step in the process would be invoking the January ruling of a, of a circuit court judge to say that the 2020 constitutional man was incorrect or something like that. And then they would just lower the retirement age on the bench to whatever is the youngest justice age.

[Carol Markowitz]

They just want them all out.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

This would include, by the way getting rid of several justices of color, including the first black woman to ever serve on the Virginia Supreme Court. They voted on their side, right?

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. They don't care about that at all. They just want to win. And so, yeah, that's the. That's the plan right now. I mean, it's amazing that it's in the New York Times because, like, there are actually people talking about this. This isn't just fringe, like, blue sky nonsense. This is like, there's actual politicians thinking this through and being like, what could we do? Maybe we can get rid of the entire Virginia Supreme Court, and that'll be step one.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

I do think that this is one of those situations where the press being on the side of Democrats serves them badly. Because if Republicans were discussing this and it were covered in the New York Times, it would be framed as obviously insane instead of like, oh, look at this interesting idea. Like, there isn't one quick trick to subvert this whole thing. You went to the court of last resort, by the way. Attorney General J. Jones, the one who wants all of our children to die in our arms. He is also appealing to the Supreme Court. Question mark. The Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction over the Virginia Constitution.

[Carol Markowitz]

It's amazing. So, again, we really just need some civics classes here.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Yes, but again, this is partial ignorance, partial cynicism. Because the cynicism is, kick it to the Supreme Court. Ask them to hear it. When the Supreme Court says, we have no business hearing this. This is a Virginia constitutional issue, then libs get to say, aha. You see, all the courts are bad. We should pack all of them.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's right. That's right. Matthew Iglesias, who's considered a liberal, moderate or whatever, he had this idea a few days ago when that ruling first came down. He said, don't know what the mechanisms are, but these Virginia judges need to go. Because if you don't like the result, you have to get rid of the judges. And that's what makes our democracy so great.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Yep. That's how it works. Can I say also that this discussion Virginia Democrats and Virginia Democratic consultants, very quickly after they heard this story were like, I'm not sure we want anything to do with this. Despite the fact that the Loudoun County, Virginia representative Democrat said, quote, everyone has got to have a strong stomach right now. This is a complete disaster waiting to happen if people are timid. And so, like, there's at least one guy on the record from the state government saying, yeah, let's get on with it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Other folks today have been like, oh, we do not plan to do that. But Hakeem Jeffries and his crew read this online. This was an idea, I think, hatched at the Down Ballot, which is a blog and analysis hub run by two election analysts formerly associated with Daily Cost Elections. So, yeah, I think if that's where you're getting your ideas to, then trial balloon in the New York Times, because you're. Everyone's super angry, it's not gonna go well for you. Do you think this was a trial balloon?

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, I think so. I think they were just like, what do the New York Times readers think of this? And I don't know what the New York Times readers think of this, but I know my entire X feed was like, good try, guys. Solid effort here.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

It sounds on its face insane, but

[Carol Markowitz]

the thing is that Democrats, just like you said, don't get the pushback that Republicans would get in the same New York Times Yesterday, there was a story right below this story about how California democr are thinking of reworking their entire electoral system, because what they have right now is all the candidates run in the primary all together, and then the top two candidates go on to the general election. Well, right now, the top two candidates are Republicans who are polling at the top for the governor's race. And that wasn't supposed to be what happens. There was supposed to be two Democrats at the top, and that's what makes our democracy again so great, you know, so when you have no Republican candidates, that was the goal. So now that that goal wasn't met, they want to change their system so that they could go back to having only Democrats in the race.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

I do want to credit Guy Benson with this, because I had a discussion with him, like, three months ago where I was like, can you imagine if there were two Republicans who end up in the general election? Because this California has what's called a jungle primary. So everybody faces off against each other, and then the top two end up in the general election. Again, normally that would be Democrats, but in this case, Democrats have really made a lot of people upset. And so there are two Republicans who are close to the top of that field. And Guy was like, it won't happen. They'll change the law so that it doesn't happen.

[Carol Markowitz]

Guy Benson is smart.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Ooh, you're probably right.

[Carol Markowitz]

Guy Benson is wise.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

He saw this comingyp Benson. You can follow him for his wisdom. But yeah, I do want to reiterate how insane it is that these Democrats are like, you know, what we should do is write a new law that the people currently on the Virginia Supreme Court simply must retire tomorrow so that then we can get a different decision the next day. And by the way, the State Board of elections says after May 12, which is when this episode is released, you can't make a map like, we're out of time. So they would also have to change that, which I guess they could try.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, well, they will try. I mean, is the reality there they're just gonna do whatever it takes? I don't know. I feel hopeful about Virginia now. I, you know, not that I don't think you should move to Florida, but I'll, I'll ease up on that a little bit. I can't believe that the Virginia Supreme Court did the right thing. I'm so just white pilled is the only way to phrase it. Right. We were black pilled. Now we are white pilled.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Well, and I think it's important that in that oral argument, the Supreme Court's justices made their lawyer concede. Yeah, you asked us to do this now. And now that that time has come, are we correct that the, the vote result makes no difference in whether the procedural hurdles were met? Because the whole thing, as I've been explaining, I don't have to go into detail about it, but the idea is it's supposed to be very, very hard to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot because changing the Constitution should be very, very hard.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

And so Democr, realizing that they wanted to do the redistricting before 2026, realized, oh, no, we really have to do that now. And when they started the clock, it was too late for the proper procedure. And so they just sort of like kind of cut a bunch of corners getting it on the ballot. And then we're like, let the people vote. It'll be fine. Yeah, even then, even then, only one by three points. So I think they've. They can try this again on the correct timeline for 2028. They can. They probably will. They might try to invalidate the old constitutional amendment so they can just do some maps themselves. But I think they've soured a lot of people on this and a lot of people are now paying attention to it and paying attention to the people who pushed it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, I think when it passed, people were like, wait, 9 to 1. That seems weird for a 10 to 50 state. Sorry, 10 to 1 for a 50. 50 state. That seems like maybe there was some shenanigans here.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Oh, and we also should note that Louise Lucas, who is the part of the leadership for Democrats in Richmond in our state legislature. And as I, and as I have noted before, one of the only politicians who can match Trump for just truly unhinged, hilarious content on the tweeting. She is really audacious. She owns a weed dispensary and also several other like home care services and Medicaid paid services that she runs. And she's sort of, let's say, almost openly shady. She's just like, she's like, this is who I am. She had her, she had her dispensary and her offices raided by the FBI earlier last week and a lot of folks immediately ran to bat for her saying, oh my gosh, this is clearly a political persecution by, by Trump. Now the New York Times support reports that that investigation started under Biden, which would make sense for how FBI investigations turn out overnight.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yep.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

It's maybe a bribery investigation, some kind of public corruption. And I just want to say, like, of all the people you want to go out on a limb for before, you know, information, I wouldn't make Louisiana

[Carol Markowitz]

careful with that one.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

My, my first choice. And we will presumably have more information about that. Abigail Spanberger, our governor who has been dragged through the mud by Louise Lucas. She didn't really stick up for her too much.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's a sign. That's a tell.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

I think they know. I think they know. All right, one last point on the redistricting. I know Florida is doing theirs right now. The map passed, it's signed. It will face its own legal challenge and there might have something to do with the constitution there as well. But here's the thing. I would put my money on Ron DeSantis to have been smart about how he did this and follow the rules vs Louise Lucas any day of the week. That's the big difference in how this is going to go down.

[Carol Markowitz]

Well, we're going to take a short break and come right back with some more positive feeling news today right here 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, 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. Work it screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S P500. 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 Advisor 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 [e-mail] Disclosures

[Kalpen (Kal Penn)]

hey everyone, it's Cal Penn. I'm the host of Irsay the Audible and I Heart Audiobook Club. This week on the podcast I am sitting down with Ray Porter, the narrator of Andy Weir's audiobook project, Hail Mary, Massive sci fi adventure about survival and science and what happens when you wake up alone, very far from Earth.

[Ray Porter]

I really had to make a decision because I caught myself getting that frog in my throat and starting to get teary as I'm narrating some of these sections and it's like, okay, yo yo yo, is this indulgent? And I really thought about it. I was like, no. At this point it would kind of be betraying the trust the author and the listener have in telling this story if I don't go through it. But there's places in this book that that deeply, emotionally affected me and I left it on the mic. That's great because it served the story. People will say like oh my God, I cried at the end. It's like yeah dude, me too.

[Kalpen (Kal Penn)]

Listen to Hearsay, the Audible and iHeart audiobook club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Carol Markowitz]

we are back on normally where Spencer Pratt continues to make a ton of news and he's just really such a breath of fresh air. There's so much excitement around his campaign in la. Look, do I think he's going to win? No, I still think LA is far left and they're going to pick one of the far left people. But he's bringing it to the campaign in a way just we haven't seen in a very long time. His campaign ads keep going viral. I still am partial to the one that he made himself, which is he stood in front of Karen Bass house and said, you know, this is where she lives and Councilwoman Rahman's house and said this is where she lives. And then he said I live in this trailer because my house burned down and they won't let me rebuild. And it's been all this time and it just, it's been really amazing because he clearly really cares about LA and he wants LA to be better and he wants LA to succeed and it's not at all for any outlier, you know, outside purpose. It's, it's, it really is to make the city that he loves better.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

No, I, I love the idea behind it. I love the messaging because even though he's pointing out all these negative things about the city. What he's also saying is his tagline is, la is worth saving.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Like, bring it back. Oh, make it great again, perhaps. No. So. And he's being accused all the time of being Republican when it's a nonpartisan race.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

And the reason he's being accused of being Republican is because talking about public disorder and wanting to solve it, perhaps with police presence and the government actually doing its job and not doing the other jobs it has taken on that are bankrupting everyone and making everyone unsafe. That's right. Coded.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's right.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

And that's a problem. Yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

I mean, for them. Right. I like safety and security being coded as something I support. Like, I'm in.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Oh, we're in. Yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

I'm in for all of that.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

That's why we like this campaign.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. So what's happened since the last episode of Norma is that there was a debate and Spencer Pratt absolutely crushed it. He was so genuine and natural and had all the answers and was so prepared. Because that's the other thing. A lot of times people like this who run for office because they, like, want, you know, love their city, want to save their city, they come in as a little bit underprepared because they just feel like, well, I'm, you know, I'm here to. I'll make it happen. I'll fix it somehow. He is not that he's really, really ready for the answers. We have a short clip we're gonna play about him talking to Councilman Rahman, who is actually to Mayor Bass, left, which, you know, fantastic for LA over there, but she proposes going and getting these drug addicts who live under the bridges and on the streets. She says, like, let's go get them and get them treatment. And this is what Spencer Pratt has to say.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Councilman Robin's plan for treatment.

[Public Investing Advertiser]

First, I will go below the Harbor

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Freeway tomorrow with her, and we can find some of these people. She's gonna offer treat, gonna get stabbed in the neck. These people do not want a bed. They want fentanyl or super meth. These ideas cost us over $400 million to house. What did he say? 3,000 people for 400 million is an absolute failure for both of them. They're a team.

[Carol Markowitz]

I mean, just amazing. But there was another moment in this debate where Councilwoman Rahman accuses Spencer Pratt and Mayor Bass of working together to fight her. And he gives this unbelievable answer where he's just like, I think of Mayor Bass as the person responsible for burning my house down. He's like. And she's endorsed by all these powerful unions. You think I wanna run against the powerful incumbent or some like no name terrible councilwoman? Of course I wanna run against you. And again, it was so natural and so off the cuff and there was no part of him that was rehearsed or scripted or any of that. And it was just great to watch.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Well, yes, it's an interesting combination of everyman messaging plus very skilled in front of a camera and we've seen him be very skilled in front of a camera doing content. But that doesn't necessarily translate to a debate stage. A debate stage can be very hard for people at any level of having practiced this. He attributes it, by the way, I saw him in interview saying, well, the reason I know all this stuff is it actually reminds me of us during the school closings where we knew the data and people on the other side didn't. He is incentivized to know all the data and to know the full story. And he's also been in really tough rooms the entire time he's been running, getting asked really hard questions so he knows how to answer them. So I was really pleased to see it translate. And I do think for Republicans moving forward because Democrats cannot get off this kind of politics and this kind of policy, as illustrated by the way, by Katie Porter who was like, no, we definitely have to give free health care to every illegal right just last week.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yep, yep.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Because they can't get off that. And on crime in particular and public disorder, this kind of messaging is great for any Republican because it is. Right coded. Right. And they won't move off of this. And so if you go into any election arguing that you're the public order person, that can be helpful. By the way, I wanted to give a shout out to Pramila Jayapal who tweeted this the other day. She's from Washington State. Seattle has one of the worst housing crises in the country. I see it every time I'm home in my district. People working full time jobs who can't afford rent, teachers, nurses, transit workers, blah blah blah, who can't live. It's a policy failure. It's a policy failure, blah blah, blah. It's terrible. We built a crisis. And then a sort of centristy Democrat or a realistic Democrat on X was like, I swear. The Democrat party's message at this point is that all the most progressive places are unaffordable S holes where nobody can afford an apartment. Therefore you should vote for us. And that to me, that is the problem in la. That's the problem in Seattle, where they just elected a socialist mayor in New York, and the pitch really runs dry after a while.

[Carol Markowitz]

I hope so. It still has it, right? Like, New York just keeps choosing further and further left. They're like, Bill de Blasio, not left enough. Like, we're gonna have to go for. I mean, this is where we are, right? And they have to hit rock bottom in order to understand that these policies won't work. But for now, they're just, you know, continuing on with this insanity. And it's hard to watch for those of us, again, who care about these cities, because, look, I mean, it's not that easy to watch a city you love decline like that.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Well, I see the ads with, I like la, I liked visiting, I always have a great time there. You can't argue with the weather. I would like LA to succeed. And I watch these videos that have these, you know, the beautiful sunsets and the views, and I go, oh, my gosh, I. I'm rooting. I'm rooting for him because I would like LA to perform better. That would be cool. Me too.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, absolutely. I. Look, I have always loved la. LA used to be what we, you know, would consider our backup plan to New York. Like, if New York falls apart, we're going to move to LA. And then it turns out like, oh, God, LA is even worse. Yeah, yeah.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

So much.

[Carol Markowitz]

No, we want to go visit, right? We've been in LA together. It was sunny and beautiful and, you know, so lush and gorgeous. Ron DeSantis has a great line about California. He's just like, how do you ruin this?

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Like, how do you mess this up?

[Carol Markowitz]

How do you mess this up? How is that possible? They work real hard at that.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

They really do. But it's been interesting to watch him sort of bust out of the. He's busted out of the. Oh, it's a bit non. Binary, perhaps. Like, he's out of the Democratic or Republican box. He's just speaking about only local issues. And by the way, Democrats want to nationalize everything. Everything has become inevitably nationalized. And he's just refusing. He's like, I am talking about la. I'm talking about trash pickup, I'm talking about fires. And I think that really does actually break through and appeal to people.

[Carol Markowitz]

There was a moment in the debate where Councilwoman Raman is like, this is the Maga, you know, version of la. And he just made this amazing, like, face, like, just like moving his head around, like, oh, Maga.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

And by the way, if the Maga, version of LA ends up having fewer junkies between you and your local park. We don't want that to harass you. Would that be the end of the world?

[Carol Markowitz]

Is that bad?

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Reminds me a bit of the of the Memphis story that we followed, which in Memphis local leadership did partner with National Guard and other law enforcement agencies to say like, hey yeah, can you take some of this off of our plate because we got some real problems here and crime has gone down and quality of life is better and that's a good thing.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right? Right. That's a good thing. All right, we're going to take a short break and be right back with one more segment of Normally

[Metabolism Ignite Advertiser]

a doubly certified OBGYN and endocrinologist doctor, a naturopathic doctor and a certified health coach walk into a room. What do they talk about? GLP1 of course, but more specifically the difference between the synthetic version of your body's own hormone that are prescribed by doctors nationwide versus metabolism ignite product, which naturally increases your body's GLP1 by 61%. GLP1 side effects can lead to nausea, fatigue and muscle loss, whereas Metabolism Ignite is powered by plants and there are no side effects. Some long term results of GLP1 links to weight gain after stopping the synthetic drug, which has been proven in multiple studies in comparison to Metabolism Ignite, there is no weight regain and this product supports Metabolic health. Join the 50,000 customers by skipping the needles and taking two capsules of metabolism Ignite a day. For for sustained weight loss with plant based therapy, visit V E R A C I T Y Health co promo code iheart for up to 65% off your order today.

[Public Investing 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'll be 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 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 [e-mail] Disclosures

[Kalpen (Kal Penn)]

hey everyone, it's Cal Penn. I'm the host of Irsay, The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club. This week on the podcast, I am sitting down with Ray Porter, the narrator of Andy Weir's audiobook project, Hail Mary Massive sci fi adventure about survival and science and what happens when you wake up alone, very far from Earth.

[Ray Porter]

I really had to make a decision because I caught myself getting that frog in my throat and starting to get teary as I'm narrating some of these sections. And it's like, okay, yo, yo, yo, is this indulgent? And I really thought about it. I was like, no. At this point, it would kind of be betraying the trust the author and the listener have in telling this story if I don't go through it. But there's places in this book that that deeply, emotionally affected me. And I left it on the mic. That's great because it served the story. People will say like, oh my God, I cried at the end. It's like, yeah, dude, me too.

[Kalpen (Kal Penn)]

Listen to Irsay the Audible and I Heart Audio Book Club on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Mary Katharine Ham]

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[Mary Katharine Ham]

All right, we are back on normally with a discussion about parenting. Okay, so Emily Oster, who's one of my favorite reads from the pregnancy book Expecting Better, she does a lot of data work about parenting and she was talking to today to the Today show and saying basically that people overestimate how important it is to daily bathe your young children. She says, quote, eventually they'll hit puberty and it will be important for them to bathe because they smell. But until that point, quote, they don't really need to take a bath that often. And it's maybe not the hill you want to Die on. She's basically saying cost benefit analysis. If this is stressing you out, maybe your 3 year old does not need a bath every single night.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, this is false. Look, you know, three day old, sure. Three, you know, three week old. Okay? As soon as those little suckers start moving around and picking up all the dust off your floor and touching all the garbage and who knows what they need baths. I would say twice a day.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Oh, my gosh. I'm a no on this. I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum. One, yes, you're correct. Newborns and very young obviously do not need bathing. And like, some people do it as a ritual as part of their bedtime routine or what have you if it calms them down. My children hated baths, like, with a burning, burning passion for a long time. So that made me somewhat less excited to give them to them. But I did. Do I do less bathing with the young kids than when they get older? And then I'm like, go off and do it yourself. Now, if I'm ever invited to Carol's house, right.

[Carol Markowitz]

I feel like we're gonna have to. We're gonna have to implement some rules here.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

We're gonna bathe all of them before we get there. I mean, it's not like outlandishly long periods of time, but we don't do it every day. And I certainly don't do it in that first year of life every day, because I am tired. And at 6:30 or 7pm I am not adding that to the routine.

[Carol Markowitz]

We do it daily. I'm very into clean beds, so there's no outside clothes on the bed. There's no sitting on.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

This is wild to me. I learned, and I have no idea this even existed.

[Carol Markowitz]

I've turned my kids into equally crazy people who don't allow outside clothes anywhere near their bed. But, you know, we were in New York over the weekend and my kids had a separate room. And my youngest son texts me and says, you said I didn't have to take a shower, right? And I was like, on what planet would you not need to take a shower? Yes, you need to take a shower. And my daughter, who's, you know, the. She.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

She.

[Carol Markowitz]

She runs the, the whole show, she was like, yeah, I knew that was unlikely. Like, she knew that was. I wasn't gonna be like, oh, you spent the whole day hanging out or all around the city and now you're home in the hotel and you don't need to shower?

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Yeah, that doesn't sound. That doesn't sound great. Is this an Eastern European thing? Is this a cultural difference?

[Carol Markowitz]

I mean, for sure. Like, if my mom came in and saw people sitting on my bed, she'd lose her mind. I mean, yes. I think inside clothes, outside clothes, shoes off by the door. I'm wearing slippers right now. Like, I'm a big slipper person. I, like, wear them out. Get a new pair, like, every six months.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Yeah, well, okay. Well, if Carol comes to my house,

[Carol Markowitz]

she's gonna wear my boots all over the place.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

No, you can't. You totally can. Really, you shall, you shall. Know one. My house can't be that dirty because I live with Steve. So you can. You can be assured that it's.

[Carol Markowitz]

I trust Steve.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Yeah, it's in very good shape. Now. Are my children a little dirty? Yes, they are. I used to use as a rule some. I was like, are they visibly dirty? Because they're visibly dirty. I'll clean them up. Which, again, would not work for your household. And definitely not any beds. I never knew it was even a thing that people wouldn't let outside clothes onto their bed. It makes some sense. I'm not. I'm not knocking it. I just. It never occurred to me. And it's definitely not a rule in our house.

[Carol Markowitz]

All right. You know, the kids have a good time at your house. They live under a very strict regime over here. But no bathing. I mean, come on. Emily Oster. I'm a very loose parent. But, like, a bath at the end of the day, it's so nice.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

I. I agree with that. Unless I'm the one giving the bag. Yeah. Especially in my two under two era. I was like, how dirty are they?

[Carol Markowitz]

You're like, it's fine.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Do they really need it? So, you know, I'm. I'm glad to have the data back me up a little bit on this, but I will concede that maybe we're a little gross. Not a lot.

[Carol Markowitz]

Not a lot.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

Just a little.

[Carol Markowitz]

Steve wouldn't let you be alive.

[Mary Katharine Ham]

The sheets are changed frequently. Yeah. Steve wouldn't let us be a lot gross, but, you know, we behave ourselves outside the house. That's right.

[Carol Markowitz]

Well, thanks for joining us on Normally. Normally airs Tuesdays and Thursdays, and you can subscribe anywhere you get your podcast. Get in touch with us@ normallythepodmail.com. thanks for listening. And when things get weird, act normally.

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[Kalpen (Kal Penn)]

Hey everyone, it's Kalpen. I'm inviting you to join the best sounding book club you've ever heard with my podcast, Hearsay, The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club. Every episode, I nerd out with amazing guests and dive into the best new audiobooks available on Audible. It's the book club for your ears. Listen to Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Martha Stewart]

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