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Tim
Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Find out podcast. No guests today. And we are going to play a little game called the Gang Tries to Not get Canceled with its hot takes. So in a minute, few minutes, we're gonna go into. We all have picked some hot takes, political hot takes. Not just like, yeah, you know, onions are trash or something like that. Actually, onions, like big, big chunks of onions are trash.
Zach
I hate onions. Any onion, I don't want it.
Tim
I'm fine with onion powder or like, if they're really cooked anyways. What? Jesus. We've already dove into it. No, we got to talk about a few political items. So first off is last night, there were some elections across the country. And the one we want to talk about in particular is that Thomas Massie, the representative from Kentucky, who has gone against President Trump on both the Epstein files. And there's something else, and I can't remember.
Rich
Yeah, he voted against the Epstein files, I think.
Tim
Oh, the big beautiful. Yeah, yeah. The spending.
Rich
Yeah.
Tim
He lost his primary. Yeah. By about 10 points. I believe it was the most expensive House race in history. That's crazy. And just part of Donald Trump's revenge tour, which seems to have collected another head. And he's also went out and endorsed, also impeached Ken Paxton in the. The Senate race in Texas.
Luke
So birds of a feather stick together.
Zach
Yeah.
Tim
Trump equals Republicans at this point. Yeah.
Luke
I mean, there's not that there was much light Anyway, there.
Zach
No.
Luke
Or a bunch of bootlicking pricks.
Rich
That's, that's the, that's a, the thing that's been really hitting hard with me is still letting go of the idea that there is any such thing as a non maga. And not even because it's pre Trump. Like they've been telling us since the 90s that well, the, the, the religious fundamentalist zealots, like, well, that's just the fringe, you know, that's a fringe minority within the party. Like yeah, we're not all those people. And they did it with homophobia, they did it with feminism, they've done it through the Tea Party, they did it through the birther movement, the way up until they tried to pretend like Trump wasn't going to get the nomination. And it's been two parts of the Republican Party. The, you know, the establishment machine wants to believe that they're not support like that, that their party isn't mostly these people because a lot of the people in power you look at like John Thune, they're not that person. But over and over and over and over, when given the opportunity, Republican voters say no. We are explicitly that person. That is exclusively who we are.
Luke
The idea of a modern Republican is a non existent fallacy made by the fucking centrists where it's like those. That's not a real thing. There's not a, you know, the fiscally conservative but socially progressive person is not a real thing. I don't know, they don't exist.
Zach
I would disagree with that because I am that person.
Tim
You're a Democrat.
Luke
Yeah, I'm not a Democrat.
Zach
I'm not really a Democrat. I'm an independent. I'm just happy to be like siding with the, I'm like what is. If I were in the House caucus with the Democrats, Democrats. But I'm not.
Luke
I think you just, you've just accepted the fact that there's no like real left leaning party in this country. That it's just a right and further right and Democrat. Is that where you are?
Zach
I think yeah, that's true to some degree. I think for people like me we feel like there's nobody actually representing where we stand. I think that's a lot of the frustration of people in the middle is that like most people, you look at both sides and it's run mostly by people that we don't agree with. So like on the right, it's run all by MAGA folks like I super don't agree with all that. So it's like that's how I ended up over here. But even on the left, most of the shit that's going on, I'm like, yeah, I like it more than the MAGA shit, but it's not like super selling me. And there's like a giant block of us who are like, who's going to talk normal to us because nobody's doing a super good job of it. That's kind of where I think a lot of voters like me are at.
Tim
Yeah, I just don't think there are any socially progressive Republicans left. No, like Republicans. And I think that's. That was the ever really were.
Luke
I mean, if, I mean, I mean,
Tim
Olympia, Olympia Snow was.
Luke
Yesterday I saw a video, this lady, she made a video where she's like, you know, I'm fiscally conservative but socially progressive. She's like, I think everyone should have the right to an abortion and they should be able to. People, gay people can be who that with who they want. But I just, you know, I just want to keep my money and I'm going to. I want low taxes and. No, no, no. Bullshit is like, good fucking luck.
Tim
Well, who, who is the. Wait. I mean, there is no social or. There is no fiscally conservative party in this country. Let's be honest. No, the Republicans have said this forever, but if you look at what they have done over the past 50 years, they have driven the deficit up by a much greater number than the Democratic. So like, there is this like fallacy out there that Republicans are really good with money.
Zach
No, they're garbage.
Tim
And the fact is that they're not like maybe.
Luke
No, the people who say that their idea of financial literacy is when they read the In God We Trust off the back of the dollar bill.
Tim
I mean.
Luke
Yeah, they're not economists.
Zach
No, of course not.
Rich
The irony is that Democrats have tried so hard, you know, the academic left that kind of runs the party. They've tried so hard to be like, to meet the, the unrealistic demands of Republicans because that was always the weak link for Democrats was the oil. It's just another tax and spend liberal. And they have ironically now gotten better at managing budgets out of that, out of that sense of discipline. Like, hey, we have to, we have to deal with this thing so we can't keep losing elections based on this same tired myth. And.
Luke
Right.
Rich
And now we got to look back 30 years to find the last time we had a balanced budget and that was under a Democrat. So Republicans haven't done that in 50, 60 years. I don't know. It was like, it was like pre Cold War that we had. Republican president with a reasonably balanced budget.
Tim
Right. And it was the last one to do it was Clinton, which was actually surpluses.
Zach
Yes.
Tim
George W. Bush. Bush decided to just take and drop on the ground and do like, if you remember the movie from the 80s, Major League, where the manager gets handed a contract, he drops it and he pees on it. That's basically what George W. Bush did with his surpluses, was that, well, he lit it on fire more than peed on it. But like, but, but that, that leads us, you know, talking about fiscally responsible, we have to talk about the opposite of that, which is that Donald Trump has created a slush fund through the deal that he made with the IRS about his 10 billion dollar lawsuit for leaking his tax returns. They have agreed to set up a 1.776 billion dollar quote, unquote, anti weaponization fund, which appears to be a fund that all of the people who were convicted on January 6th can apply for, quote, unquote, no relief.
Rich
No. This is going to Letitia. James. James Comey.
Luke
I think James Comey's getting some too.
Tim
Right?
Rich
Yeah, of course, obviously. I mean, those are the people, right? What, what am I reading wrong here?
Zach
It's.
Luke
So here's, here's a, just. We'll get, we'll get started here. Here's a hot take. I don't think we should be playing literal paying literal fucking terrorists millions of dollars out of our tax money.
Zach
Is that a hot take? I don't know.
Luke
I don't think that one's a hot take. It shouldn't be anyway.
Tim
But there's like fantastic hot take.
Luke
Yeah, there's like half the country who's loving it.
Tim
Well, let me give you. So the first person to file for relief is Trump's long term minion, Mark Caputo, who was Assistant Secretary of State for, excuse me, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Public affairs. And he is asking for, I believe it's $2.7 million in restitution.
Zach
Sick
Tim
thing. He says it's for. Yeah, so he wants $2.7 billion because the government. Oh, he said that there was a machinery of the government was clearly politically weaponized against my family from July 2016 to December 2025.
Luke
Also, Tim, you left out two, you left out two key facets of this whole thing. One is that the details of who gets paid never comes to the public. We don't get to know. The second is that along with this deal is a handshake deal with the IRS and the Department of Justice to never investigate Trump or his family or his businesses or his family's businesses ever again.
Tim
Is that.
Zach
I have a question about. Because I. The way I've read it is that they can't investigate, like, the past, but going forward they could. Like, so it's like, from this point forward, they can, but anything that happened prior to this deal, they can't. I think that's how it's.
Rich
The analysis I've seen is that. And I don't think this is possible, is that this attempts to protect them from, like, indefinitely from IRS investigations. Yeah, but there's going to be an accounting.
Luke
Pardon.
Zach
Yeah, but I don't know. I've heard both ways.
Rich
I can't preemptively. Either way. Somebody for either way.
Luke
I can't wait to watch a Democratic president wipe their literal ass with this. Oh, that's not how the law works.
Rich
Well, it's also Attorney General. Yeah.
Zach
Like, people don't know how. Like, like, it's really. We need to go back a step and know how we got here. Like, Trump filed this in 2019. Right. And it got pushed all the way to now when his personal attorneys are dealing with his judicial appointees. So it's Trump negotiating with Trump. And then a judge called them in and like, yeah, this. You can't really do this. And they're like, all right, fuck it, we'll just settle without you. And that's how they got to the 1776 number. And it's like, they.
Luke
And also, by the way. Also, by the way, the guy who's signing this deal with the DOJ used to be his personal attorney.
Tim
Yes, yes.
Zach
Attorneys versus Trump's attorneys with Trump's judges on the thing. 100.
Rich
His emotional injury lawyer.
Tim
I mean, but he got real salty
Luke
about Tim's friend Chris Van Holland calling him that. Trump's a personal attorney. Yesterday in court, I don't know if you saw that. He literally did a whole. I am the Attorney General.
Tim
Oh, he did a Brett.
Luke
He did.
Tim
He did a Brett Kavanaugh.
Zach
It was crazy.
Luke
It was like, oh, my God, you're a child. Oh, my God.
Tim
Also, it's acting. He's. He's not confirmed. So he's, you know. But yeah, he is his person. He was his personal attorney. Like, the amount of corruption that's going on here. And don't forget there was another commissioner of the irs, Billy Long. Who is this? He actually used to be a Billy Long. Auctioneer, I think.
Zach
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Tim
A Trump ally. A Trump ally who Quit because Doge was trying to get the date like IRS data. And he said absolutely not. And they said absolutely yes. And he goes, okay, I quit. So now there's even a bigger lackey. I don't even know who it is. But like, clearly, yes, man. So like it's Trump negotiating with Trump and Trump and then we're going to have a $1.8 billion slush fund that nobody knows. I though I do. It's just funny. Like J.D. vance did say, like, well, theoretically Hunter Biden could file, which he absolutely should.
Zach
They should.
Luke
I think everybody should. I think I'm, you know, I'm gonna file.
Zach
I'm gonna.
Rich
It.
Luke
I'm gonna file.
Tim
Maybe.
Luke
Maybe they've been with my social media.
Tim
I want my $1700 back for the tariffs.
Luke
Yeah, more than that now, man.
Rich
Well, that's true. True. There's one person missing though, because right now the money, they didn't actually create the fund. They, I mean they maybe created a bank account, but the money is still with the Treasury. And what they actually did was say the Department of justice has 60 days, so 57 days or whatever to provide the necessary forms and documentation to the Treasury Department to warrant the transfer of $1.776 billion to the anti weaponization fund. And then after that, then allegedly that fund will be the five people that Todd Blanch appoints to win decide who gets the money and who doesn't.
Luke
I can't imagine who's going to be on that board. I bet they have a last name of Trump.
Tim
Nick Fuentes. Cicular.
Rich
Yeah, Carlson. Hate each other now. I don't know if they.
Tim
True, that's true.
Luke
I think I'm all right. You know, I'd be all right if they put those, those on the board because they disagree. Nobody'd ever get paid.
Zach
True.
Tim
I. This politically like first, this is gross and like all the things. But like. Yeah, I know Senate Republicans are actually very nervous about this because this, these are the things that, that start to tip those seats that seem a bit out of reach. I mean this is straight up pay to play, right? Like this is exact. Like you do this for me and I give you that which the government. It is illegal for them to do that and they are doing that and they. There's also still a 100 million dollar lawsuit out there from the proud boys. So are they gonna get like 100 million? Are we going to give these neo or what white supremacists? A hundred million dollars? Imagine what they could do with that with recruiting. It's it's terrifying.
Rich
I think the. The thing that people. We need to put pressure on elected officials right now because they haven't transferred the. The money yet. And that fund that it's coming, that it would come out of, what is it called? It's. There's a name for it, the something fund. It's basically a settlement fund, the judgment fund. I think that money is congressionally allocated to be spent on. And I'm trying to use the words right. It's like existing or imminent settlements resulting from litigation. There is no. I mean, the proud boys might be suing somebody, but unless that. That unless a class of J. Six people is certified, unless there is a law lawsuit that actually is going through is being heard, unless there's a pending settlement, they can't legally transfer the money out of that treasury fund. And so that's where I think right now if, like John Thune said, I don't think we need it. Like, he already said, no, that's a terrible idea. Lisa Murkowski said, that's a bad idea. Susan Collins said, that's a bad idea. So we've already got Republicans speaking out against it. If enough people say no, we then just need probably a lawsuit. And somebody has to figure out who. Who can sue. Because if they can sue and file an injunction and stop that money from ever leaving the treasury, which I think one way or the other is going to happen in the next 60 days, we'll find out. This whole thing was probably just a ploy or a distraction so that they could get that IRS protection through for the Trump family. I think that's the. Yeah, I think that's the. I think that's.
Luke
That's what he really wants out of it.
Rich
He doesn't want to get that. He doesn't want to give.
Luke
Well, the thing is, like, he, like.
Zach
Yeah, he doesn't give us a. Them.
Luke
Yeah. If the shit like what did. What did I read that he. He traded 3, 700 times in.
Zach
Oh, it's insane.
Luke
Which is one every seven minutes.
Zach
I have the picture of it. I took a picture.
Luke
That's the we know about.
Tim
Right. Crypto stuff. Right.
Luke
The we don't know about. Which is exactly what he's getting protection from.
Zach
Look at this. I guarantee you this is the chart of his trades. That's all in 2026.
Tim
Jesus.
Zach
I guarantee you saying.
Luke
I guarantee you that the value that he's getting by getting this fucking preemptive pardon bullshit is worth way more than the 1.776 billion. Even if he took the whole thing.
Zach
Oh, my God, dude. The amount of that he's doing is like, the family corruption is out sanity control. It's all because he's just siphoning it to his sons. Like, it's all his sons doing all this dirty work. Yeah.
Luke
I can't wait to watch the rest of them spend their entire lives on three hots and a cot.
Zach
Yeah. Because Trump is doing the mob boss shit where, like, he's. I didn't do anything. They all did all this shit, and it just happened to funnel up to me. You know, it's like, I was president.
Tim
I had no idea.
Zach
Exactly.
Tim
And he doesn't care if they get caught.
Zach
No, not at all.
Tim
Like, there's a long history about anybody. No, no. And that's why I think, like, when you look at this from a political perspective, I could see why John Thune's like, oh, my God, what the fuck are you doing? Like, it. Just go ahead.
Luke
What bothers me about that is I read those same headlines where it's like, Senate are really. Senator. Republican senators are really nervous about Trump's, you know, $1.776 billion slush fund.
Zach
Right.
Luke
And then they do nothing.
Rich
No, of course not.
Luke
Like, like, I, I, I hate reading those headlines. And then, like, nothing happens. And then they ignore, like, the media ignores other.
Rich
Look what happens.
Zach
Primaries.
Tim
Right. Well, I mean, my point is more, I'm not. Trust me. I don't think that any of these people have a moral bone in their body. My point is, I think they realize that politically and with the midterms coming in, like, six months, that is a bad message to be out there now. Like, this is a huge gift to James Talarico. This is a huge gift to Sherrod Brown. This is a huge gift to Mary Patola. Like, all of these people that are sort of playing on the edges now get to go to these, like, moderate areas and go, you know, Donald Trump just set up a $1.8 billion slush fund to give money to the people who beat hundreds of cops. Yep. Four, five years ago.
Luke
If we can start with hot takes now.
Zach
Let's do it.
Luke
Hot take. They need to learn how to message that better than slush fund, because nobody knows what that means.
Rich
I was literally thinking the exact same stupid phrase. Like, they use the same.
Luke
They need to say. They need to say, Donald Trump took $1.7 billion from the treasury to pay people who beat cops.
Rich
Yeah.
Zach
Yeah, that's better. Mess.
Luke
That's the way to say it.
Zach
100.
Luke
I've seen so many of them. Like, I know, like we.
Tim
The thank you for beating cops fund.
Luke
Maybe. I mean, we all know what slush fund means, but nobody else does. Like mainstream people.
Rich
But that implies that there isn't a destination for it. A slush fund is a rainy day fund. Like a slush fund is. Here is where money is all kinds of things in case we need it. Not like this shit is earmarked. This is the reward.
Luke
We know where it's going.
Rich
Insurrectionists fund like pay. They're. He's compensating people who broke the law in his name.
Luke
Who's paying back people that were exceedingly loyal. Right. That's what it is.
Zach
Yeah, yeah.
Luke
People. The same people who literally smeared human on the walls.
Rich
Yeah.
Luke
And who had nooses in the streets trying to hang Mike Pence are getting my taxpayer money.
Zach
Yes.
Tim
They used American flags to beat and stab cops like it is. And this, it's just. And we talked to Harry Dunn. We know Harry. And like he wasn't even in the middle of the. Of the worst parts. But like everybody feared for their lives that day.
Zach
Yep.
Tim
Everybody. The police.
Zach
Yeah.
Tim
And the Republicans. Josh Hawley.
Rich
Yeah.
Tim
Running. Running away.
Zach
Running away after cheering them.
Rich
After talking to Harry that. After talking to Harry, the Capitol police officer who was involved. The thing that still sticks with me and kind of haunts me is when he told us that they were unwilling to fight back because they knew they would run out of ammo and they didn't have enough people.
Zach
Yeah.
Luke
I mean, it was like a zombie fucking horde is the way I.
Rich
Exactly, Exactly. You got nine rounds and there's 1600 people. And you know, if you fire one. Yeah. They're all coming.
Luke
You will. They will kill.
Rich
They're all coming.
Zach
Oh, for sure.
Rich
So they. They had to make a horrifying decision to let people go by because they knew that they were all going to die if they didn't fight it or if they. If they didn't just let it happen. And so then of course, Trump's like, oh, they let him. They let him in. Look, look at the video. They let him walk through the doors. Like. Yeah, that's because they were fearing for their lives.
Luke
And what choice did they have? They want to get impaled on the flagpole.
Tim
2550 cops compared to 10,000 people. Like, all they would need to do is move forward. And they just.
Luke
Just talking about this incites a rage in me that like it's there ever present. But every time I talk about January 6th and I think of the millions of people who are like, it was a day of love.
Zach
That's fucking insane.
Luke
It just makes me want to fucking freak out.
Zach
Just cut to the footage of people fucking mobbing and beating, how it was
Rich
absolutely a day of love for Donald Trump.
Zach
Sure.
Rich
You just have to remember that nobody exists in Donald Trump's head besides Donald Trump. Correct. And so when he sees horrific things happen in his name, he goes, oh, my God, they love me so much, they're willing to hurt people, commit crimes, go to prison, and maybe even die for me. How special does that make you feel?
Tim
Right. He sat on that for three hours before doing anything. And they basically.
Luke
And his. The. You know, the first lady, who, you know, by all accounts, by all supposed accounts is a superb human. You know everything. She's moral as fuck. Got asked if she wanted to say anything, and what did she text back? Tim? No.
Zach
Yep.
Tim
Heck are pretty heavy. So I think we need to move to our new segment January 6th.
Rich
Oh, Jesus Christ.
Luke
Oh, I like this.
Tim
That was crazy.
Zach
That was the first time. I liked that.
Tim
I like that.
Luke
Good job, Tim.
Rich
Applaud for himself with that other dumb sound.
Luke
That's. That. That's a Donald Trump move right there.
Rich
God damn it.
Zach
There you go. Let's go.
Rich
It's offensive. It's too right. It's too long.
Tim
That needs to be like, half.
Zach
Yeah, yeah. It needs a couple, like, half as loud.
Luke
Ladies and gentlemen, who's going first?
Tim
Welcome.
Luke
I nominate segment.
Tim
Oh, me hot takes. We're gonna go with the one that is likely to make people the most angry. Zach, you're up.
Zach
Oh, my God. I'm staring at four options in front of me here, and I don't know
Rich
which one I want to go. Bad takes.
Zach
Oh, I have more than that, but I wrote down four. I mean, they're not bad takes. They're correct takes. You're just gonna think they're.
Luke
All right, let's hear them. All right, one of them.
Zach
I'll start with this one. The way the left talks about Israel is borderline anti Semitic. That is my first hot.
Tim
Oh, so we're literally. We're going there.
Zach
We're going that far.
Luke
Number.
Zach
I'm going that far because, okay, I'm a Jew, so I have a little bit of skin in the game that you guys don't have. But my perspective is we forget that, yes, there is a genocide in Gaza. I'll start with that. That's a genocide. Not going to go any direction there. But somehow in all this, we forget that the other side has also done Horrendous things. And is a lot of this shit is governed by Hamas and a lot of people in Palestine really like Hamas. Nobody talks about that shit. And they all focus their attention on Israel. Israel, Israel, they're the fucking devil everything shit. And it's like, yeah, they're trash, but so is the other side too. And nobody talks about it. And that feels fucking anti Semitic. Hot take. Go.
Rich
Okay, so first I think of the word Zionist. We maybe have talked on, talked about this before. A Zionist is literally a person who believes that Israel has a right to exist.
Zach
Correct. I'm a Zionist and I openly say it.
Rich
And so it is very difficult when people have these sort of like ham fisted arguments calling people a Zionist or an anti Zionist.
Zach
Yes.
Rich
Because if you're an anti Zionist, it's a pretty short skip to supporting people who want to eradicate Israel.
Zach
Correct. Which is the exact thing that Israel is doing right now. Like the gospel. Like that's the same shit.
Rich
Exactly. And so then that's the, that's the piece that you have to split apart. So.
Zach
Right.
Rich
I don't get into this. I've never called anyone a Zionist. If people identify as a Zionist, that's fine. Where, where the split is, is the power discrepancy between the Israeli government.
Luke
Yes.
Rich
And, and the power that they have because of the money and weapons we've given them for 50 years.
Zach
Yes.
Rich
And the absolute lack of power, the negative power of the Palestinian people who, who either do or don't support Hamas. Because if they do support Hamas, it might be out of sheer desperation. I can't judge a lot of it
Luke
being in a cardboard desperation or fear or honestly, the polls I see of them. I don't fucking trust the polls, man. I mean, if you got people that are like, I think it was fair to say that you might feel a little pressure there.
Zach
Yeah. There's no question, like I understand the rationale as to why they do that. And let me be super clear. I hate Netanyahu. I think the Israeli government's a giant vile garbage. I have no support. And I think the US should draw down its support for Israel in a major way. I think we should still have some tactical relationship with them, but I don't think we should be just funneling weapons in. It's. This is more predicated on like the way this conversation has gone from like October 7th to now went from like, oh, that was a horrific atrocity. And then like because of how it was and the day that that shit happened. Right.
Rich
Yeah.
Zach
But then like Israel went like, holy fuck, you went the wrong way with that response. And everybody went, well, only Israel is bad. It's like, no, Israel's bad. But there's a whole other side to this story, you know, and that, that, that is a Jewish. Like, I can tell you why a lot of Jews feel the same way I do is like, we're very quickly being like, hey, it's all the Jews. I'm like, hey, we've been here before, bro. Like, let's, let's not go this way, you know?
Rich
Right.
Tim
And I agree with that. And I, you know, first. And also everybody knows, but I live in the city with the second most Jewish people in the world outside of Tel Aviv and worked with a lot of Jewish people. And I have no ill will towards Jewish people. And actually, most of the Jewish people I know in the United States. You too, Zach.
Rich
Tim's like, Tim's the guy who's like, I work with Jewish people. I can't.
Tim
Yeah, I have a Jewish friend.
Zach
I have Jewish friends. Don't worry about it.
Tim
Let me finish. No, that's not what I'm saying. But my point is, like, when I hear. You hear them, and they are horrified about Netanyahu as well. It's not a monolith. And I think that people have a. It's a big mistake to do that. And I agree. I think some on the far left like that, that. That APAC tracker person.
Luke
Well, APAC tracker is literally bad faith. Like, that is right.
Tim
It's a bad faith. And they lie. Like they say people take APAC money that don't. But I also have to say, like, I don't like APAC being the only. The only, like, you know, red line for the left as far as super PACs and PACs funneling right. Money that also feels pretty. Is a tool of the Israeli government, influence elections in the United States. So I don't like.
Zach
Clear as day.
Luke
It's the exact. Let me look at that with Thomas Mat Massey Yesterday dropped like what, 16, 12 or 16. And then. And then put like, then there's like another 14 to 15 pro Israel million dollars worth of money. Like, so. Not great.
Zach
No, but.
Tim
But my point, no, none of it's good. And we do campaign finance reforms. A whole other story. But, like, I don't like that. That that's the only. Because there are plenty of others to vilify. They're the only one. And while I am vehemently opposed to apac, I don't like that as a litmus test because I do think that there are elements of anti Semitism involved in saying it. Again, I don't want them to exist and I think they should not do what they're doing.
Luke
But if you think a better way to say it is there are some people when they say I hate aipac, there's anti Semitism. Anti Semitism involved. And there are other people when they say it, there isn't, but tell it when all they're saying is fuck apec.
Zach
Yeah, well, I mean, I got to have.
Tim
I got a question.
Rich
Conversations.
Tim
Yeah, Yeah, I got a question on the Internet.
Luke
The Internet hates nuance.
Tim
Oh, well, I'll give you an example. We talked to Justin Pearson on, on Tuesday and I posted about it and someone goes, well, does he take APAC money? I'm like, guys, this is a black state leader who just like lost power in their state. And you're talking about apac.
Zach
I know.
Tim
I'm like, he lives in Memphis. What the. Why is this? The things. I mean, it was one person. Right. So it's anecdotal. It's not a. But like. And I think the online worlds get a little crazy about this more than some of the reality. For sure. There's absolutely a rise in anti Semitism in New York City. It's a. You argue it.
Zach
No, it's everywh.
Luke
But I would. But I would also argue that there's an equal rise of anti Islam, for sure. Like Islamophobia, as we saw.
Tim
Yeah. I mean, San Diego. Right. Two days ago.
Zach
There's no question.
Luke
I think they both are tied to Christian nationalism in different ways.
Tim
100%.
Rich
Well, it's just religious extremism. It rises like a tide.
Zach
100%. 100.
Tim
There's religious extremism in Christianity, in the Muslim community, in the Jewish community, like especially the government in Israel, you know, they are. That is a fast right wing government. And I know some people because I used to work at WeWork, which was, everybody knows, was owned by an Israeli guy. And there are people who live in Tel Aviv in particular who are absolutely horrified about like millions who are horrified about Benjamin Netanyahu.
Zach
Right?
Tim
To the point that they're willing to go with this Bennett guy potentially, who is just as right wing. He just doesn't. He keeps his mouth shut.
Zach
Right.
Tim
But like, you know, and he was the premier for a prime minister for a short period of time. But like, I, I don't, I don't disagree with your take on that at all, Zach. And I think with all things, there's, there's not enough nuance is so important in these things because you can't just say Israel good, Hamas bad.
Zach
No, it's, it's a. Hamas is bad. Right?
Tim
They are very, very bad. And what they did on January 7th was horrific.
Luke
And they were. And they.
Tim
Yeah, did I say December 7th?
Luke
January 7th, January.
Tim
Oh my God. Disasters combined. Three different. But like we have to be able to have longer like in depth conversations rather than just this like, yeah, this is my red line, I'm never crossing it and I don't want to hear it.
Rich
It's like that's, that's the hardest thing in the creator space is.
Zach
Yeah.
Rich
The 30 second, 60 second videos that just dunk on APAC, that dunk on Israel, that dunk on just labels in general. The left doesn't do black and white labels that just say that you're either good or bad for the rest of your life. Like it is quite literally the opposite of our approach, which is, hey, there are really wonderful Jewish people and Jewish people who don't support Israel are some of the bravest people in the world right now. Like, who don't support what, what Netanyahu is doing.
Zach
That's. So when you say part though, like how, what does that mean, support Israel? You know, because like you said earlier, the Zionist like that I openly say I am a Zionist, but that doesn't mean that I want people in Gaza to die. I want a two state solution. Like to me Zionism is just being like, hey, Jews can like I look at it through the, a very simple
Luke
way, but that's the same, that's the same thing though. But there, because there are Zionists that don't think like that.
Zach
There are. But no question about it. But I mean like a Zionist truly is just somebody who goes, hey, Israel can exist and it can be a Jewish state. That's fine. And like that's all I think, I think that's fine because it's 20 plus Islamic states where like the Islam is the law of the land and that's fine too. And if that's what they want to do, if Gaza gets its own country and all that, that they should be able to be free to do that. Like I feel like it doesn't go one way, it goes both ways. And that's why I'm like, I'm a Zionist because they, everybody should be able
Rich
to do it the way they want.
Zach
You know, it doesn't make sense.
Luke
It does. Sometimes I do get caught up on this, the right to exist language.
Zach
What about it?
Luke
Because there's not very many nations that you think of that have the right to exist. Right. Like the US doesn't have a right to exist. They exist the same way Israel exists, but they don't have a right to exist. It's not like there's a, there's a preordained like governing council of the, of the world that's saying okay, the unite the United States has to exist. The whole world says so.
Zach
Right.
Luke
But I think because there's not very many people that are like, does Gaza have a right to exist?
Zach
They do though. I mean like that's, I agree they do.
Luke
And yeah, but like that's, nobody's asking that question.
Rich
So for me it's, it's the power asymmetry is, is what makes it so difficult to understand. And if you look at something that's closer, it's why black people can be subjected to racism, but white people in the United States can't be subjected to reverse racism. Like a black person killing a white person for being white. Like you could say that that's a race based crime. But racism is a power structure as much as it is an individual belief system. And it's similar with, with Israel where Jewish people, Judaism is a relatively small religion compared to Christianity and, and is in Islam. And they have been systematically, Jewish people have been systematically just abused and chased out of almost every place everywhere historically in the human race. Everybody for some reason has, has historically hated them. And so it's Zach's fault. And so, you know, I can tell you why.
Zach
But that's another hot.
Rich
The idea, the, the idea that, that there has to be some place for them, you know, for Jewish people to exist peacefully. Peacefully is, it feels unnatural because yes, there's not a place where like a lot of other people are stated to have a right to exist peacefully even though there are many giant Islamic nations, many giant Christian nations.
Zach
The origin of that right to exist language I think comes from the fact that, of how Israel became the way it is today. I mean like that is Great Britain.
Luke
It's their fault.
Zach
It is largely their fault.
Tim
I mean there's many problems, many, many
Zach
reason citizens Great Britain and it's like from like a broad bird's eye view, it makes sense, right? The Jews had just been systematically eviscerated in the 40s and they needed a place. And in the end, like, you know, you go back in time before even 1947, you go back to like 1918. There's a whole bunch of going on there that's complicated between These two sides. So, like, choosing Israel was not wise, but having, you know, a place where Jews could go and not be thrown into gas chambers, that was a good idea, but the location was probably not.
Tim
Well, we got to keep going on our hot takes because we're going to run out of time. So next up will be.
Luke
We're going with a sound effect again.
Zach
I love it.
Rich
Sound effect.
Luke
All right. Rapid fire. Democrats who don't know anything about guns should shut the up about talking about guns. They look stupid and all they do is give ammunition to the right about the Democrats coming to take your guns.
Tim
Interesting.
Luke
I really hate it.
Tim
I really ask you a question as somebody who worked in this space for quite a while.
Zach
Oh yeah.
Tim
Why do I have to know how a gun works to understand and advocate for the restriction of them? Because I know they rip 6 year olds apart.
Luke
Want to argue? Well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna use a state. I can't think of the word.
Tim
A case. No.
Luke
Look at Grant Platner.
Rich
Okay.
Tim
Yep.
Luke
Grant Flattner, if you had to find a person that was arguing for the restriction of guns in this country, I guarantee you that Grant Platner is the one that most right leaning people would be willing to agree with. And it's because it communicates to them in a way that they actually understand and they agree with. Because it's actually like semi popular in this country to say that, yeah, we should probably have safe, safe storage laws and we should probably have, you know, mandated background checks. I know people that are right leaning that own guns that agree with that.
Rich
Yeah.
Luke
But when you have people, like right now there's a bill in Illinois where they want to serialize every bullet that's manufactured, when you tell somebody on the right there's going to be a serial number on every bullet you get, they look at you and they go, you're a idiot. Why am I listening to you?
Zach
Yeah, I, I think like as somebody
Luke
observing and so my answer to you, Tim.
Zach
Yeah.
Luke
Is not an argument that it's that the guns can't rip six year olds apart. I know they can. And it's not an argument that you should know how to work that you need to know how they work in order to make the argument. My argument is if you want to be able to communicate that in a way that it will get to the people that can make it happen.
Zach
Right.
Luke
And you, you know, you want people to switch their minds and vote in a way that it happens, you have to be able to communicate them in a way that they they not agree with. Well, they already agree with it, but that makes them view you as an equal on that. It's like if I went to a fucking. A college lecture on something I didn't really know anything about, and even if I said something was right, but then every time they asked me a question about it, it's outside of this specific claim I'm making. I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about. Nobody in there takes me seriously right now.
Tim
That's fair.
Zach
Go ahead. No, no, I think in the end, it's an emotional argument on both sides.
Luke
Right.
Zach
Because, like, Tim's perspective is correct, is that it's extremely dangerous for everybody, especially children. There's been horrific atrocities, all that kind of stuff. For people on the right, it's an emotional argument of, like, I feel unsafe without it. It's a very, like, broad spectrum, like, empathetic worldview versus a very, like, protectionist worldview, both of which come from this very, like, vulnerable place, just from different things. So, like, I think Luke is right in the sense of, like, if we're trying to communicate to those people who are just going, hey, I feel scared if you take my gun away, if you put too many restrictions on it, I'm vulnerable, then we need to understand how to talk to them while also understanding the broad spectrum effect of, like, the negativity in society.
Luke
Tim, you do know about guns. Like, you worked at every town. Like, you know how they work. You can have a. You can have a conversation about it, and people are like, okay, Tim knows what he's talking about. But, like, every time I see a Democrat get on a stage and talk about fully automatic weapon bans, it's like,
Zach
yeah, they don't know shit.
Luke
Yeah, they've been banned since the 30s, man. Like, you want to talk about specific things that make weapons automatically, that's fine. Yeah, that's a different conversation than you're having. And they don't take you seriously when you talk like that.
Rich
Yeah.
Luke
Because there are lots of people in the center that own guns. That would be all right with, you know, restricting them, but, like, Yep, they don't take you seriously, unfortunately.
Tim
Guys, we have 10 minutes left, so we got to keep running through this. I agree. So next up, Rich.
Rich
So I didn't actually prepare too much for this, but I do have a hot take.
Luke
What do you got, Rich? Didn't come prepared. That's a hot take.
Rich
So am I supposed to deliver the sort of, like, reckless version of this hot take?
Tim
Yes, exactly what you're Supposed to do make people angry so they keep listening
Luke
and get mad at you. Yeah. Every one of these clips is going to start.
Rich
That's not how I do this. Okay, so maybe this won't be a hot take, the way I'll say it then, because I'm not going to say something that's stupid.
Luke
Coward.
Rich
I don't have a fundamental problem with the idea of the death penalty.
Luke
Ooh, that's I question.
Zach
I agree with you.
Luke
Does your fundamental lack of issue with it rely on 100% correct judgments? Like, do you have to have does. Does. You're not having a problem with it. Rely on the justice system never making
Zach
mistakes like irrefutable evidence tied to it?
Rich
Yes. The, the reason why I don't just say, oh, I support the death penalty is because I don't trust the police officers who are tasked with collecting the evidence, the investigators, the judges and the juries. The, the end to end execution of the death penalty is not something that I think people even know how to handle. And they rush to judgment because they get up on their high horse and they get all super excited about, like, you know, about hanging somebody or whatever about justice so that they can close the case. But yeah, when you have people who have done something and, like, they just say it, I don't get caught up in the whole, like, oh, mental illness. Like, everybody's mentally ill if you kill somebody. Like, I don't necessarily think that's the case. I think some people wake up and they just. They've thought about it a long time and they decide, I'm going to do some horrific. And I'm not a religious person. And so that makes it a little easier because I don't. There's. I don't, I don't see. I see innate value in life, but I don't see, like, innate innate value in human life way above and beyond, you know, other living things.
Zach
It's like, in the end, this is not about, like, if you zoom out, it's like, do some people deserve to die for their behavior? That's really the question. It's like all the structural pieces, can you prove it, whatever. But like, it's really the moral question of, do you think some people are so bad they should be killed? And I think, yes.
Rich
And I think for me, look at, look at any. Anyone who's proven. Done those kinds of things.
Luke
For me, it's like, as hypocritical as it sounds, it's like, I don't like the death penalty, but the punisher catches A guy, you know, doing something terrible to a child, I have no problem if he walks up behind him and
Zach
blows his shit off 100%.
Rich
Right? So it's like, do people deserve to die for certain crimes outside of inside or outside of the justice system? Everybody watches Boondock Saints. Everybody loves the Punisher. Like, vigilante movies are some of the best movies that exist.
Luke
But the idea of the Punisher only exists because of the failure of the justice system. That's why it's so stupid for cops to wear the Punisher badge, because it's. The whole point of him is literally
Zach
that Tim definitely has something to say that's against.
Tim
I. I just disagree with all of you. Well, let me reframe that. There are people that have no redeeming qualities and are dangerous to others, and I don't care what happens to them. The problem is that we have never proven that we can actually carry out anything like this in a just inhumane way. Sure. That's what I mean.
Luke
I said I was against the death penalty.
Rich
So if you look, you look at.
Tim
Right. I don't believe we are convicted of murder and get the death penalty. When you factor in population and everything, black men are far more likely to be condemned to death 100 than white men who do the exact same thing.
Zach
Yes.
Tim
The other thing is that if we are supposed to be the shining light on the hill, killing citizens doesn't like it. It doesn't give us a moral high ground to do that again. It doesn't mean, like, you know, these horrific monsters, whether they're child molesters or the 911 bombers or whoever. Like. But that. It's the zooming out part that I have the problem with. Because also it's more expensive to put somebody on death row and execute them.
Rich
But that's also the justice system.
Tim
Yeah, justice, justice. Don't get me wrong. But like, I don't think we are better as a society because we kill people.
Zach
I don't know. I don't worry about the morality. I like, my thing is, like, I'm not going to worry about the morality of a situation of some guys, like raping children. I don't fucking care. But that's his morality.
Rich
Morality is like.
Zach
Well, yeah, but I just think, like, there's certain things that are so fudgeing, despicable. It's like, you don't. You're gone, dude. You're done. You had your time.
Rich
But this is the way I said.
Luke
That's why the death penalty I believe in is a fantastical version of it
Tim
where, you know, it's impossible.
Luke
It's impossible.
Rich
It's a. Yeah. It's a world of universal truth and. And where everybody knows everything or, you know, everything. No, I'm. The way I look at it is like, I mean, humans are animals, and if you imagine a species where there's, you know, 5,000 of them living in the woods and one of them just starts killing the young, the other ones are going to kill that. Like that, that violence, they're going to rip it to shreds or, or exile it, you know, until it has to go live on its own.
Tim
My opinion changes if we are living in the walking dead.
Zach
Okay.
Tim
That's basically what you laid out.
Rich
Interesting.
Tim
Because if you're just in pure survival mode, then, like, there's Tim.
Luke
Is Rick from the Walking Dead confirmed?
Tim
All right.
Luke
I think Tim needs to go with his hot take.
Zach
I need. We need the sound, though.
Luke
Ciao.
Tim
Let's go, Tim. Chris Van Holland has a greater chance at being president than both Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom.
Luke
100% agree.
Zach
You think so?
Luke
100.
Zach
Kamala Harris for sure. But Gavin Newsom? I don't think so.
Luke
100.
Tim
I think that.
Zach
I don't know.
Tim
I think that's here. First of all, I don't think people are going to want to. I like Gavin Newsom, by the way. This is not a condemnation of him. If he's listening, I'm sorry, but. But because he's been never coming on that show again. But I think we've talked about this and you know, Van Holland is one of those guys that not a lot of people know, but he has, I think, deftly managed to both make moderates and progressives pretty happy with him. His. His fiery back and forths in these hearings with both Cash Patel and Dodd, Todd Blanche are showing him that he's also a fighter because he's kind of a low key guy. But I.
Luke
He looks like. He looks like Better Call Saul's brother.
Zach
He does, you're right.
Rich
Yeah.
Luke
Every time I see him, that's all I can. Michael.
Zach
Yeah, Michael something.
Tim
The guy from Spinal Tap. Yeah, yeah, a little bit. And he's got a mix of good domestic policy stuff and he was. He's got foreign policy. So. But I just, I don't think. I don't think. I don't think Democrats are going to vote for someone from California.
Zach
I think you're maybe right about that. But like, I think when you really look at it, like if we're acting like it's the peak 20, 27. Right. This guy is an old white man who just seems like there's more of the same and like, oh. So I'll use the two examples to use. Kamala Harris is like, this is not, you know, she's a loser. That's what people will think that, like, I don't think she's a loser, but like, she lost and she seems, you know, like a fake. And I think that is what disqualifies her. But Gavin Newsom, I think can overcome the things that he has problems with. Like California is the biggest problem. There's no question. People go, I don't want my gas to be a trillion dollars and all that taxes and all that shit.
Rich
Trump's fault.
Zach
Gavin Newsom is a very effective communicator. Yeah, like Kamala Harris is not. And you know, Chris Van Hollen I think is as well. But I think, like Gavin Newsom is not only an effective communicator, he can do it in today's style. And I. I think that we are woefully underestimating how much this guy can not only win over Democrats, but also beat the living out of Republicans. And that will change people's tune when they start seeing this guy go into enemy territory and go, wait a minute, this guy can actually win. And then they go, all right, I'll fucking. I'll do him maybe. Yeah, yeah, that's what I think will happen.
Tim
To be clear before struggling to come up with one. So I like.
Zach
No, it's good.
Rich
Yeah.
Luke
That was such a cop out compared to the other three. I'm actually. So. I'm real.
Rich
I know. Tim, Tim, what do you.
Tim
I don't even know what it would be like. I think we should have a border wall.
Zach
Yeah, there you go.
Luke
That's the kind of thing I was looking for, man.
Tim
Canada as well. Border, the whole fucking thing.
Zach
Something like that. Well, I mean, look, it may just be that you just. Down the line, everything you think is.
Tim
I think the reality is that most of my positions are correct and so there really isn't anything to. To say. I mean, it's just like, well, that
Zach
is that how we end is a
Tim
great way to end. So what we have learned is that the three of you all have. Very controversial.
Zach
I got so many more and that
Tim
I am just right about everything. So I'm glad that we have solved that and that congratulations to soon to be president Van Holland. You know, well, we're going to play this in two years and see.
Rich
We'll see.
Tim
Well, we got to go guys, but I want to thank everybody for listening today. Also, don't forget to sign up for our newsletter@findout media.subsect.com Help us with a membership so that we actually can be here in two years.
Rich
That would be great.
Tim
We got more merch coming soon, but we got our stuff in the find out find out podcast dot com. That's right. Yep. And make sure you're subscribed to our YouTube channel and download the Find out social media app, so which is just Find out social on the Apple and Android stores. So with that everybody have a lovely weekend and we will be back with even more exciting episodes of the Find
Luke
out podcast with sound effects.
Tim
Bye everybody.
Zach
Perfect.
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Date: May 21, 2026
Podcast: The Find Out Podcast (Find Out Media & Studio71)
Hosts: Tim, Zach, Luke, Rich
Theme:
A candid, laughter-filled, and often biting discussion among left-wing creators processing the latest maneuvers of America under Trump’s second term. This week, the crew tackles thorny political topics, including the myth of the "moderate Republican", Trump’s controversial $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, the messaging failures of Democrats, and each host’s most cancelable “hot take”.
The episode centers on “hot takes” likely to get the hosts “cancelled”, but, as always, maintains its irreverent and critical lens on American politics under Trump, the status of the Republican and Democratic parties, and the fractures in liberal and leftist circles.
If you want a primer on how left-leaning content creators are grappling with the Kafkaesque absurdities, dangers, and messaging failures of the Trump era (v2.0), and the schisms on both left and right, this episode is a must-listen. The hosts simultaneously embrace and skewer outrage culture, attempt real nuance on divisive issues, and pull no punches when calling out their own side.
You’ll come away understanding not only the hosts' political frustrations and fears, but also the pervasive sense of gallows humor that defines American “resistance” culture in 2026.
Note:
Timestamps refer to the original episode audio (MM:SS format). Ads, intros, and outros are not included in this summary.