The Next Level — “Your Obedient Servants | Secret Podcast”

Host: Sarah Longwell, Jonathan V. Last (JVL)
Date: September 5, 2025
Episode Highlights & Summary

Episode Overview

In this “Secret Podcast” installment of The Next Level, JVL and Sarah Longwell invite listeners into their typically off-the-record, informal, and candid Friday conversation. They pull back the curtain on the podcast’s unique behind-the-paywall dynamic, then tackle a rapid-fire sequence of topics dominating the week: the disappointing jobs report, the politicization of economic data at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, RFK’s influence, vaccine conspiracies, and the growing chaos within the healthcare sector. Expect their signature blend of irreverence, sharp insight, and personal anecdotes.

Behind the Curtain: The Secret Show Dynamic

[00:00–04:50]

• JVL and Sarah describe the safe, informal vibe of their Friday “Secret Show,” traditionally just the two of them, now joined by producer Jared for a rare, slightly awkward change.
• JVL confesses to finding the act of collaborative editing in Google Docs thrilling, comparing the process to “sharing a brain” when writing together.
  • Notable Quote [03:51]
    • Sarah: “It is sort of like a… it’s like sharing a brain with somebody for a period of time. And that real-timeness of it is… for people who live in the iterative nature of generating something, it is an interesting experience.”
• Pop culture reference: JVL likens their writing collaboration to “King Ghidorah,” an inside nod for genre fans.

Deep Dive: The Jobs Numbers & Economic Anxiety

[04:50–11:34]

Disappointing Jobs Report

• Sarah recounts being live on C-SPAN during the release of the jobs numbers—only 22,000 added, far below expectations.
  • Sarah: “It’s a second extremely disappointing jobs number. But to me, my first thought was, well, you fired the last person who gave you the jobs numbers when they weren’t good. So what are you gonna do about these jobs?” ([05:28])
• JVL reveals that the nominee for Bureau of Labor Statistics director is delayed by revelations of being an anonymous internet “shitposter,” casting doubt on the integrity and objectivity of economic reporting.
  • JVL: “He is a shitposter… spent five or six years online tweeting under a series of anonymous accounts making, like, sexist attacks on Kamala Harris… part of his qualifications is that he’s an anonymous shitposter on Twitter." ([06:14])

Politicization and Market Reactions

• They note the increasing risk of jobs data being spun, withheld, or manipulated for political reasons, speculating the administration may simply stop releasing unfavorable numbers.
• Sarah points out the key economic pressure:
  • Negative jobs numbers could give Trump “what he wants more than anything—rate cuts.”
• Notable Quote [09:19]
  • JVL: “The problem is that inflation keeps creeping higher. And so they’re going to be forced to choose between do we try to stop inflation or do we try to stop the recession. And… my guess is that they will succeed at neither. And so we are going to wind up with stagflation, which is where we’re already headed anyway.”

Manufacturing vs. Healthcare

• JVL notes revised jobs numbers are even worse—net job loss over the past months, and manufacturing has shed 78,000 jobs since Trump was sworn in.
  • JVL: “Manufacturing… minus 78,000 since Trump was sworn in.” ([11:21])
• Sarah: The continued chaos around tariffs and uncertainty is making hiring, investing, and even pricing impossible for businesses.
  • Sarah: “It’s an insane way to run an economy… Donald Trump is single handedly right now… responsible for driving down these manufacturing jobs.” ([12:31])

Healthcare, RFK, and Vaccine Conspiracies

[12:34–18:57]

Healthcare Sector Growth and Workforce Pressures

• Sarah attributes job growth in healthcare to the aging Boomer population, not anti-vaccine sentiment or COVID surges.
• JVL jokes darkly that attacks on vaccines could, perversely, be “good” for healthcare jobs due to more sick people.
  • JVL: “If we have more sick kids getting measles and mumps and rubella and more people getting hospitalized from COVID, that is going to really be a shot in the arm, so to speak, for the healthcare side…” ([12:58])

The Doctor's Dilemma

• Both reflect on demoralization among doctors and nurses: overwhelmed by misinformation, patients second-guessing with “Dr. Google,” and the burden of dealing with vaccine denial.
  • Sarah: "Can you imagine being a doctor right now? …Not only are you contending with Dr. Google… but also people coming in and refusing certain kinds of care, saying they don’t want to get their kids vaccinated..." ([14:23])

Shifting Attitudes and RFK’s Appeal

• Listeners—sometimes even medical professionals—parrot vaccine skepticism and support for RFK.
  • Sarah shares a C-SPAN caller story: an anesthesiologist agreed with RFK’s diagnosis of American health but hedged on vaccines.
    • Sarah: “That was the scariest thing to me, that we had this doctor who was… evidence of why Kennedy’s popular: he’s tapping into discontent about American health, even among professionals.” ([17:59])
• RFK is now “the most popular member of Trump’s cabinet”—a testament to the hunger for anti-establishment, “just asking questions” rhetoric.

From Michelle Obama to RFK: Hypocrisy Over Health

[18:57–19:33]

• The duo highlights the hypocrisy of the current anti-vaccine, “personal choice” movement. Sarah notes when Michelle Obama tried to advocate for healthier eating, the same factions now embracing RFK’s health crusades were hostile.
  • JVL: “Should people like it when the black lady said that people should be healthier? Because I feel like the reaction we got from the same people who love Bobby Kennedy now was a little bit different.” ([19:07])

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On their writing process:
  • Sarah: “It is sort of like… sharing a brain.” ([03:51])
• On economic data manipulation:
  • JVL: “He is a shitposter… part of his qualifications is that he’s an anonymous shitposter on Twitter.” ([06:14])
• On the macroeconomic mess:
  • JVL: “We are going to wind up with stagflation, which is where we’re already headed anyway.” ([09:19])
• On the real driver of healthcare job growth:
  • Sarah: “It’s boomers. As people age into this category, you’re going to see our largest population center need more health care and medical care.” ([12:46])
• On RFK’s popularity:
  • Sarah: “Do you know that RFK is currently the most popular member of Donald Trump’s cabinet?” ([18:14])
• On health advocacy hypocrisy:
  • JVL: "Should people like it when the black lady said that people should be healthier? ...the reaction we got from the same people who love Bobby Kennedy now was a little bit different." ([19:07])

Key Timestamps

• 00:00–04:50 — Informal “Secret Show” format, collaborative writing “kink”
• 04:50–11:34 — Jobs report, BLS appointment scandal, market reaction, rising stagflation risk
• 11:34–13:41 — Manufacturing vs. healthcare jobs, chaos due to tariffs and Trump’s economic approach
• 13:41–16:48 — Doctors combat misinformation; effects of anti-vaccine movement; workplace burnout
• 16:48–18:57 — Populist health narratives; anecdote from C-SPAN calls; RFK’s new platform
• 18:57–19:33 — Contradictions between past and present health advocacy

Closing Thoughts

The episode offers listeners a breezy yet insightful peek into the intersection of policy, politics, and public sentiment—unfiltered, skeptical, and at times bleakly funny. JVL and Sarah’s banter captures how daily government decisions ripple out to jobs, health, and cultural divides, with an undercurrent of frustration at the state of civic discourse and institutional competence. If you want the real “inside baseball,” this Secret Show lives up to its name.