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- [00:00]
Ira Glass
This message comes from Carvana. With Carvana Value Tracker, you can track your car's value anytime, anywhere. Carvana will even let you know when your car's value changes with updated emails. However you value your car, know its worth with Carvana Value Tracker.
- [00:17]
Susan Davis
This Message comes from Grammarly.231 is the average number of apps used by many companies. This can drain employee focus. Grammarly can help. Grammarly's AI works in over 500,000 apps and websites, making it easy for your team to write clearly and on brand without disrupting workflow. Join 70,000 teams who save an average of $5,000 per employee per year using Grammarly. Go to Grammarly.com enterprise to learn more.
- [00:46]
Marcie
Hi, this is Marcie from East Hampton, Massachusetts. I am kneading challah dough to bring to a Shabbat dinner with family tonight.
- [00:56]
Sarah McCammon
This podcast was recorded at 12:20pm Eastern Time on Friday, December 20, 2024.
- [01:03]
Marcie
Things may have changed by the time you hear it, but hopefully this dough will have risen and I will have braided it into the beautiful challah braided loaf. Enjoy the show.
- [01:17]
Susan Davis
I love challah.
- [01:18]
Sarah McCammon
Me too.
- [01:19]
Deirdre Walsh
Good luck.
- [01:20]
Sarah McCammon
Shabbat Shalom almost. Hey there. It's the NPR Politics podcast. I'm Sarah McCammon. I cover politics.
- [01:26]
Deirdre Walsh
I'm Deirdre Walsh. I cover Congress.
- [01:28]
Susan Davis
I'm Susan Davis. I also cover politics.
- [01:30]
Sarah McCammon
On today's pod. Time is running out before the government could shut down. Deirdre, when we last talked, Donald Trump had sent House Republicans scrambling to come up with a new plan to keep the government funded because he did not like what Speaker Mike Johnson had come up with and that killed it. So where are we now?
- [01:48]
Deirdre Walsh
Well, that sent the speaker back to the drawing board. And he decided instead of negotiating a bipartisan deal with Democrats like he originally did, he would negotiate a plan just with House Republicans. And he included a new demand that the president elect airdropped into this at a very late hour, which is a two year increase to the country's borrowing authority. That was not something that House conservatives were happy about. So the speaker of the House moved forward and put this deal on the floor, knowing it would fail. Democrats were clear they were not going to agree to raise the debt limit. The new Republican bill that was on the floor last night also took out things that had been agreed to by top Republican and Democratic leaders, things like reforms to programs that would lower prescription drug costs, money for pediatric cancer programs, a bill that would restrict China's access to U.S. technologies. And Democrats argued Elon Musk's involvement in torpedoing the bipartisan deal was him ignoring these bipartisan deals.
- [03:01]
Sarah McCammon
Now, you said, Deirdre, that Democrats were never going to support this. The speaker put it on the floor knowing that. But this was the second deal was a Republican led proposal, of course, and still 38 members of the Republican Conference voted no. Did he anticipate that?
- [03:17]
Deirdre Walsh
I don't think Republicans anticipated 38 no's. That was a big number. Their plan, knowing that this Republican only plan was going to fail, was essentially to smoke out how many House Republicans they needed to focus on to try to pass it the traditional way, just to pass it with a simple majority, you know, sort of seeing who they could pressure with the help of the President elect who was active on social media, threatening primary challenges against critics like Texas Republican Chip Roy. It became very clear with that 38 number and the nos racking up during that vote, that was not going to fly and they were going to have to come up with another plan. But Chip Roy sort of represented this sentiment from conservatives in the House Republican Freedom Caucus and others that they just weren't going to go there in terms of agreeing to something that they saw as something they were philosophically opposed to. I mean, let's take a listen to some of Chip Roy's rhetoric, sort of chastising his own Republican colleagues on the House floor.
- [04:22]
Ira Glass
To take this bill yesterday and congratulate yourself because it's shorter in pages but increases the debt by $5 trillion is asinine.
- [04:33]
Sarah McCammon
You know, sue, as Deirdre mentioned a moment ago, President Elect Trump was calling on Republicans to pass this bill. He said it was a good deal. What is the fact that so many defected say about his relationship to his party and the lawmakers in the House especially?
- [04:48]
Susan Davis
There's still tremendous loyalty to Donald Trump. But I think to Deirdre's point, it has limits. And that there are a significant number of Republicans who are ready and willing to abandon past stated principles about spending and the debt limit for the sake of party unity. Most Republicans voted for this yesterday, even during the Biden administration. They would never have voted for a proposal that would have just lifted the debt limit without some kind of concessions. Chip Roy is, I think, a good example of someone who was a pain in the side of leadership when there was a Democrat in the White House. And he's likely to be a pain in the side of leadership. Even with a Republican in the White House. There is still a core group of Republicans who I don't think are going to be just go along to get along and it's important because, again, this House Republican majority, it's so narrow. I mean, they barely control the chamber. You can only pass things unless you have basic party unanimity on everything, which this entire episode is highlighting, is really hard to get. Or you need to bring Democrats into the conversation. And they're. They're still resistant to that reality. And I think Donald Trump is a little bit resistant to that reality. Yes, Republicans are going to control Congress and the next Congress, but you simply cannot just force the will of the Congress if you're not willing to at least bring in some element of the minority party to get things done when it comes to things like spending.
- [06:08]
Sarah McCammon
So we've been talking a lot this week about Elon Musk's role. How does he emerge from this?
- [06:13]
Susan Davis
I mean, I still think that Musk is as powerful as he was before. Now, I think he has helped in some ways. I think about, like, the metaphor of, like, he kind of helped start the bar fight. And I'm not sure he's going to help end the bar fight at this point. It was his opposition that sort of snowballed this into the mess that it is now. But he is still very publicly on social media supporting this sort of confrontation strategy, trying to frame it as a Chuck Schumer shutdown. Chuck Schumer being the Senate Majority Leader, who is separately saying, look, we need bipartisanship. Let's get together and negotiate a deal. He clearly still sits at the right hand of the president. He has a tremendous amount of money. He has a tremendous amount of ability to sway conservative opinion on these matters. So it does feel like he's taken a little bit of a backseat in the sense of where things are on the Hill. But I don't think anyone should dismiss how much power and influence Musk has in the party at this moment.
- [07:07]
Deirdre Walsh
I do wonder, though, whether some House Republicans feel like they successfully push back a little bit at him. One Nebraska Republican I talked to last night, Don Bacon, said that once Trump and the speaker sort of went through what was in the package and sort of got through the, like, what Bacon said all the false information that Musk was tweeting about the original deal that President Elect Trump, you know, wasn't as opposed to the original deal, as obviously, Musk whipped up this firestorm about.
- [07:39]
Susan Davis
He's also providing a bit of a political gift to Democrats in this moment. It's really not hard to make the richest man in the world a boogeyman for Democrats. We'll see how that plays out. But I think Democrats are starting to grasp a strategy around how they're gonna use someone like Musk in these debates going forward because as Deirdre noted, he's gonna be a factor in these spending debates in the next Congress.
- [08:01]
Sarah McCammon
All right. Lots more that we'll be following. Thank you so much, Deirdre.
- [08:04]
Deirdre Walsh
Thank you.
- [08:05]
Sarah McCammon
Time for a quick break. We'll have more in just a moment.
- [08:08]
Ira Glass
This is Ira Glass on this American Life.
- [08:10]
Marcie
We like stories that surprise you. For instance, imagine finding a new hobby.
- [08:14]
Ira Glass
And realizing to do this hobby right according to the ways of the masters, there's a pretty good chance that you're going to have to bend the law to get the materials that you need, if not break it. Yeah. To break international laws. Your life stories, really good ones this American Life. Ho, ho, ho. Santa here coming to you from the North Pole, where the elves in our podcast division have just completed work on this season's best gift for public radio lovers. NPR give the gift of sponsored free listening and even bonus episodes from your favorite NPR podcasts, all while supporting public media. Learn more at plus.NPR.org how much can one person change in four years? The answer comes down to who he puts in charge.
- [09:02]
Marcie
Trump's Terms is a podcast where you can follow NPR's coverage of the people.
- [09:06]
Ira Glass
Who will shape Donald Trump's first hundred days in office and what their goals are. We will track his cabinet picks, his political team, his top military leaders to understand who they are, what they believe and how they'll govern. Listen to Trump's terms from NPR. I'm Jesse Thorne. 2024 is almost over, but before it's gone, come laugh with us at the best stand up comedy of the year on Bullseye. We'll hear from Tig Notaro, Kyle Kinane, Kimberly Clark, Lori Kilmartin and many, many more. You might even hear your next favorite stand up that's on Bullseye from MaximumFun.org.
- [09:46]
Sarah McCammon
Hi, it's Terry Gross from Fresh Air. I just interviewed Billie Eilish and Finneas about many things, including how Billie's signature baggy clothes came from watching hip hop videos.
- [09:57]
Deirdre Walsh
Instead of being jealous of the women.
- [09:59]
Susan Davis
Who get to be around the hot men, I would be jealous of the hot men. And I wanted to dress like them and I wanted to be able to act like them.
- [10:08]
Deirdre Walsh
Find this FRESH AIR interview wherever you listen to podcasts.
- [10:11]
Sarah McCammon
And we're back. NPR tech correspondent Bobby Allen is here now. Hey, Bobby.
- [10:16]
Marcie
Hey, guys.
- [10:17]
Sarah McCammon
Bobby, you've been covering the long running fight over whether the popular smartphone app TikTok will be banned in the US and whether that may come to a conclusion soon, a ban on the app is set to take effect in mid January unless the Supreme Court intervenes or unless TikTok is sold to an American company. So, Bobby, just remind us, how did we get here?
- [10:37]
Marcie
So for as long as Most can remember, TikTok has been in hot water, right? Trump, in the first Trump administration, tried to shut down the app over its Chinese ownership. That didn't work. Jump ahead to the Biden administration. Those same concerns have persisted. And there was lots of back and forth that ultimately led to Congress passing a law in April that said exactly as you just mentioned, that TikTok has to shed its Chinese owner or it will be effectively banned nationwide. In the U.S. tikTok sued, saying they have a First Amendment case, that the 170 million Americans on the app go on there to express their political opinions and that shutting it down would suppress their speech. A federal appeals court heard that lawsuit and said, no, actually, the China threat is real. We're affirming this law. TikTok appealed again to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court just said they will hear arguments and they're putting it on a really fast expedited track. So just three weeks from now, I'll be going to Washington and sitting in the Supreme Court and hearing oral arguments between lawyers for TikTok and the Department of Justice.
- [11:43]
Sarah McCammon
I mean, there's been a lot of debate about TikTok for a long time. Some of it that I would sort of describe as ideological debate about the content, the nature of the content that gets pushed to TikTok users. This also seemed to be really focused on national security. I mean, how did this ban come to be?
- [11:59]
Marcie
Well, TikTok has come to embody a lot of larger fears about China. And because. Because the theory is TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, is in Beijing, that they are answerable to the Chinese Communist Party. The fear is that the Chinese government can use the app to spy on Americans or use the app to covertly manipulate Americans opinions by pushing disinformation or running influence operations on the app. So because of that fear, which has been hypothetical, right, there's no solid public evidence of that. But because of that fear, there's been a huge bipartisan crackdown on TikTok. And TikTok has been fighting for its life ever since. But users haven't cared much. Half of America is on TikTok, right? 170 million Americans. That's nearly half the country. So while there's Been a lot of hand wringing and concerns and legal maneuvering to try to do something about TikTok. It has just grown, Grown, grown, grown in popularity.
- [13:00]
Susan Davis
Bobby, I have a kind of a practical question in that, especially because, as you noted, the decision, and this could come in short order, what happens if the app is banned? I have it. I admit I'm not a big TikToker, but I do have it on my phone and I'm one of the people that goes on and lurks on it occasionally. Would it just, like, stop working?
- [13:16]
Marcie
Yeah. So if TikTok is banned under the law, it will become illegal to host TikTok. So the web hosting backend services would be cut off and Apple and Google would have to boot TikTok out of the app Store. So it's not like the government can reach into everyone's pocket, grab their iPhones and delete the actual app. But eventually, over time, we're talking many, many months, the app's gonna get glitchy, it's gonna get buggy, and it's eventually gonna be rendered unusable. But it would die sort of this, this slow death. It would slowly wither. It wouldn't. It wouldn't just disappear overnight. But that's effectively how it'll work.
- [13:48]
Sarah McCammon
Now sue, this bill that could ban TikTok, it passed with significant bipartisan support. Now, we know there's increased skepticism and antagonism toward China and Chinese technology, especially from President elect Trump. Do you expect to see more of this with the incoming administration?
- [14:04]
Susan Davis
You know, it's really policy is probably one and maybe if only major areas of foreign policy where there is broad bipartisan agreement. There has been the creation of new committees on Capitol Hill looking at the US China relationship. As you noted, this legislation, which I think falls under that umbrella, passed with a big bipartisan margin. But I think it's unclear in the next Congress. Donald Trump is really hard to pin down on these things. And while he has been very tough on China, he has also made some comments recently about TikTok specifically that seem more friendly to the company. He recently met with the CEO of TikTok. He is suggest that he might want to save TikTok because it's very popular app among young people and he believes that he had strong support among young people in the election, although not as strong as he suggested publicly. So I don't think anyone can be hyper predictive of what Donald Trump would do. I don't think it's going to move a lot of Republican opposition to China on Capitol Hill, where there is still deep skepticism. I don't think that it's going to soften from a legislative perspective where lawmakers are on this particular company.
- [15:06]
Sarah McCammon
You know, Bobby, the other way, as we mentioned, that this could be resolved would be for an American company to essentially buy TikTok. Is there still talk of TikTok being sold and who might want to buy it?
- [15:18]
Marcie
So there's two answers to this. First, TikTok says it is not for sale. And that's been its position for a long time. That's its public position. But behind closed doors, you know, I've talked to people who are close to the company and say they might be warming up to the idea of TikTok US being spun off and potentially purchased by an American company or a group of investors. And the current thinking is sort of tied to larger trade negotiations. Right. So the idea is that Trump, of course, we know President Elect Donald Trump likes to see himself as this kind of deal maker, that maybe he can convince Chinese regulators to sell the algorithm to sell TikTok to a US company or group of investors, and then in exchange for doing that, China can get some kind of tariff relief. And again, I don't know how in the world this would pass muster with all of the China hawks who are close advisors to Trump and all the China hawks who are expected to be cabinet members in his administration. But that is the sort of current thinking. And in terms of who would potentially buy, I just think we're too far away from that being reality to even speculate. But, I mean, this is a company that could be worth in the tens or hundreds of billions of dollars. So there's very few companies in the world that would have the wherewithal to acquire this company.
- [16:37]
Susan Davis
It's also seems pretty clear that the way that Donald Trump is maneuvering is he wants to be seen as trying to cut a deal here to save TikTok. And politically speaking, if he were somehow able to broker something like that, I think it'd be a huge political win for him. There's lots of national security and other policy reasons why people have concerns about TikTok. But in a just a popular street place, people like it. And Trump would love to be able to say he saved TikTok for you, America.
- [17:02]
Marcie
Oh, absolutely. And another layer to this, sue, is that, you know, while bytedance is Tik Tok majority owned, you know, there's a minority stake from SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son.
- [17:13]
Susan Davis
Oh, interesting.
- [17:13]
Marcie
Just pledged, you know, a huge investment in the U.S. you know, Republican mega donor Jeff Yass has a minority stake in ByteDance, which controls TikTok. And so, you know, those two have been making more and more inroads into Trump's orbit. So will they somehow influence Trump's thinking on TikTok? I think it's a real question.
- [17:30]
Susan Davis
And how significant, Bobby, is America to TikTok's bottom line? If the app was banned in the US would they be fine?
- [17:37]
Marcie
TikTok is a global juggernaut of a social media platform. Only 10% of its user base is in the U.S. so, you know, some who are close to the company say another potential outcome of all of this is ByteDance just cuts their losses, says Goodbye America, and has 90% of their user base enjoying viral videos every day.
- [17:57]
Sarah McCammon
Okay, Bobby Allen, thanks so much for being here.
- [17:59]
Marcie
Thanks for having me.
- [18:00]
Sarah McCammon
One more break and we'll be back with Can't Let It Go.
- [18:04]
Ira Glass
Hey, everybody, it's time to join NPR's All Songs Considered as we celebrate a very tolerable Christmas with a mix of seasonal songs and special guests. Yeah, we're in for, like, the saddest Christmas ever stuck with Robin, who is.
- [18:17]
Marcie
Basically a lump of coal in the.
- [18:19]
Ira Glass
Shape of a man. Hear new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday.
- [18:22]
Susan Davis
Wherever you get podcasts, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Public radio reminds us of our shared humanity, even at our darkest hours. Like with a story of an artist couple who make beautiful spaces for communities to grieve.
- [18:36]
Sarah McCammon
We found that people will usually stop.
- [18:38]
Marcie
By and just feel a little bit more open and willing to talk and share.
- [18:43]
Susan Davis
Help us make room for light in the dark. Give before the end of the year@donate.NPR.org.
- [18:49]
Miles Parks
You care about what's happening in the world. Let State of the World from NPR keep you informed. Each day we transport you to a different point on the globe and introduce you to the people living world events. We don't just tell you world news, we take you there. And you can make this journey while you're doing the dishes or driving your car. State of the world podcast from NPR. Vital international stories every day.
- [19:15]
Sarah McCammon
Hey, it's Sarah McCammon. It's almost the end of the year, and it's that time when npr, which is a nonprofit news organization, asks for your support. Maybe you're already an NPR supporter, and if so, thank you so much. But if you've never given to public media before, or maybe you haven't in a while, please consider doing so now. NPR's mission is to create a more informed public for the Politics podcast. That means sorting through all the noise coming out of Washington to focus on the news that matters. It means breaking down proposals and policies so you understand what they do and who's affected. It also means holding institutions and people in power accountable. In 2025, as a new administration takes over, we can keep doing this work with your help. The easiest way to support the Politics Podcast and NPR is to sign up for npr. Plus, a small recurring donation gets you special perks for more than 25 NPR podcasts, like sponsor free listening, bonus episodes, and even discounted items from the NPR shop. It only takes a few minutes to sign up, and you can do it right now@plus.NPR.org and thank you. And we're back. And it's time for Can't Let It Go. That's the part of the show where we talk about the things from the week. We just can't stop thinking about politics or otherwise. And we have a special guest joining us. It's NPR's Miles Parks. Hey, Miles.
- [20:46]
Ira Glass
Hi, Sarah. Thanks for having me.
- [20:48]
Sarah McCammon
Good to have you here in studio. But Sue, I'm going to start with you.
- [20:50]
Susan Davis
The thing I can't let go this week is both politics and otherwise. Some fresh polling data I have in my hands right here that I am delighted by. YouGov has new polling out that is all about dinosaurs and how Americans feel about dinosaurs. But the element of this polling that I think crosses into our lane is that they have data that suggests that people who pay more attention to politics are much more likely to be the type of person that has a favorite dinosaur. And I laughed when I found this because I am 100% one of those Americans who has a favorite dinosaur. And I clearly follow political news enough, so I think I'm evidence that this polling data is absolutely correct. Apparently, 55% of Americans say they do have a favorite dinosaur. If you follow the news, 62% of Americans say they have a favorite dinosaur. People who don't follow the news, 42% of Americans say they don't have a.
- [21:46]
Ira Glass
Favorite kind of dinosaur. That's a big difference. Actually, that's like a statistically relevant difference.
- [21:51]
Sarah McCammon
It's a big difference mechanism here.
- [21:52]
Susan Davis
I want to go on record saying that my favorite dinosaur is a Stegosaurus, which is in the minority of favorite dinosaurs. I think it should come as no surprise that one of America's favorite dinosaur. Take a guess. Tyrannosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex.
- [22:05]
Ira Glass
Boring.
- [22:06]
Susan Davis
The most obvious of dinosaurs, but Velociraptor, Brontosaurus, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, I Might put Pterodactyl as my second, but I'm a stegosaurus American and I'm proud of it and I want that on record in this podcast.
- [22:19]
Sarah McCammon
Miles, do you have a favorite dinosaur?
- [22:21]
Ira Glass
I was just thinking about it. I think probably I was thinking about, like, which dinosaur gives me the most joy. I think Triceratops is probably it. It's like, it like Kelly's in the studio just like raising her hands. Triceratops. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like I don't know if I have a great reason why. You don't have to. It's like, I would like to see the polling data, though, on like 8 year olds. I feel like they would be like, I wonder if it'd be vastly different from like, does your taste in dinosaur change? I think there's probably a higher percentage of them that have a favorite dinosaur generally.
- [22:47]
Susan Davis
Yeah.
- [22:47]
Sarah McCammon
Whether or not they're following the news.
- [22:49]
Susan Davis
I would say as the one woman proof of this polling data, my favorite is a stegosaurus because it's stems from my childhood. And I can very distinctly remember a fifth grade project in which we had to make our favorite dinosaur out of clay. And I made a stegosaurus. And I just remember being like, this is the best thing I've ever created. So maybe I was so good. It's one of those things I wish I would have kept.
- [23:08]
Ira Glass
Do you have a favorite, Sarah?
- [23:09]
Sarah McCammon
I'd have to say Triceratops. I mean, it's the one that flies, right?
- [23:12]
Ira Glass
No, that's a pterodactyl.
- [23:14]
Sarah McCammon
Pterodactyl.
- [23:14]
Ira Glass
Pterodactyl.
- [23:15]
Sarah McCammon
Triceratops is. Oh, yeah, that's the one with the, like, bumps on the back.
- [23:19]
Susan Davis
The ridged back looks like a rhinoceros.
- [23:21]
Deirdre Walsh
I need to.
- [23:21]
Ira Glass
No, we got horns. We got like a three horn situation. Like, I'm doing it in the studio.
- [23:27]
Sarah McCammon
I like it.
- [23:27]
Ira Glass
This is my Triceratops. Yes.
- [23:29]
Sarah McCammon
Ten years ago, when my boys were little, I would have.
- [23:31]
Ira Glass
You would have nailed it.
- [23:31]
Sarah McCammon
You would have nailed this.
- [23:33]
Ira Glass
What can't you let go of this week?
- [23:34]
Deirdre Walsh
Yeah.
- [23:34]
Sarah McCammon
So there was a story I saw from the Associated Press. It was about a guy who had an experience I think we can all relate to. So there's this guy, Chuck Hildebrandt, he's now 63, now living in Chicago. He was going through some of his old books. We've all done this, right? Packing, moving, cleaning, whatever. And he discovered a library book from 1974, when he was just a young teenager who loved baseball. But he said, you know, you're moving around with a bunch of books. You're not looking at every book. You realized he had this book, and he decided to keep it and return it after 50 years. So December 4, 1974, was the due date, according to a little slip that was still inside this book. Fifty years later, he returned it to the library.
- [24:15]
Susan Davis
Were they like, sir, you owe us $17,859.
- [24:20]
Ira Glass
You know, can he pay in installments?
- [24:22]
Susan Davis
Then he was promptly arrested, and librarian.
- [24:26]
Sarah McCammon
Had to bail him out. No, he. They were very kind because they're very kind at the library. Yeah, they're very.
- [24:31]
Susan Davis
They're generous about these things, and they.
- [24:33]
Sarah McCammon
Forgave the whole debt, and they let him keep the library book, which I think is very sweet, because, you know, we've all misplaced things. Miles, how about you?
- [24:41]
Ira Glass
Mine also sports related. Not dinosaur related. I'm sorry, sue, but the college football playoff starts today.
- [24:47]
Susan Davis
Heard of them?
- [24:48]
Ira Glass
I don't know if you guys know I'm a huge sports fan. Generally. I kind of, as a kid, was definitely obsessed with every single sport. As I've grown into adulthood, I've kind of like, shed sports here and there in terms of. And I feel like this year is the first year I'm out on college football. While I was on parental leave this year, they rearranged the conferences, like, just changed the teams up on me, and I came back post baby, and I was like, I'm in. All right, let's just see what's going on here. In college football, went to look at the standings. It is so jacked up. Have you guys monitored at all what they have done to the college football conference system?
- [25:22]
Susan Davis
Absolutely nothing.
- [25:23]
Sarah McCammon
Cannot say, that's great.
- [25:25]
Ira Glass
All right, I'm glad. I'm happy to bring you guys into this world.
- [25:28]
Sarah McCammon
Enlighten us.
- [25:30]
Ira Glass
The thing I've always been drawn to with sports my whole life is that they make sense. Okay? Now we have conferences in college football that just do not make any sense. The Atlantic Coastal Conference. The Atlantic Coast Conference. Did you hear about this? Now. Features two teams from California. Sue. Okay, I am just begging college football. If you want me back, just change the names. I actually don't care what conferences any of these teams play in. I just don't want them. The cognitive dissonance is not why I come to sports. And I really can't get over it. I literally checked it standings, and I was like, no, I'm out on this. If you want me back, make your sport make sense. That's all I'm asking.
- [26:09]
Susan Davis
Do you think it's also just the. I can't even imagine how complicated it is to rebrand things that have been so built into the psyche.
- [26:15]
Ira Glass
I know, but it's like this idea that, like, oh, we have to keep the names for tradition, and yet, like, we're just changing the teams that are part of these conferences basically every year, every few years. You can't say that tradition is important. But then when I, if I dip out for six months because I had a baby and I dip back in and none of this, none of it matters, actually curses. I'm like, this is hitting me at a deep level, clearly. I don't know why. I probably need investing.
- [26:38]
Susan Davis
We're talking about college football here in Miles.
- [26:40]
Ira Glass
But I should be able to dip out and dip back in if tradition is that big of a deal. That's all I'll say.
- [26:45]
Sarah McCammon
I'm someone who is periodically saying to everyone in my life, I need to get into sports because politics are so toxic and ugly. And I need to think about something that really, sorry, but fundamentally doesn't matter in a good way.
- [26:55]
Ira Glass
Totally.
- [26:56]
Sarah McCammon
But how am I supposed to get into sports if they're not even telling me the truth about who they are?
- [26:59]
Ira Glass
And they're going to change every single year. I 100% agree, Sarah. So we, I think we should just like I'm registering a complaint on behalf of the NPR Politics podcast, college football. Get your stuff together.
- [27:10]
Susan Davis
I just say that Miles you often and I say this is in the best way. You always bring so much joy to the podcast and to can't let it go. And I'm here for like an occasional Miles rage fest. Like, I'm into it.
- [27:22]
Ira Glass
I hope people take it more seriously. Right. I think, I think you should say, like, if he's not doing it all the time, this is the thing that's really getting in his gear.
- [27:29]
Susan Davis
If Miles is mad, it matters.
- [27:31]
Ira Glass
It matters. All right, I agree. And with that, happy holidays, folks.
- [27:36]
Sarah McCammon
All right, that's all for today. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Our editor is Casey Morrell. Our producer is Kelly Wesinger. Special thanks to Kelsey Snell. I'm Sarah McCammon. I cover politics.
- [27:47]
Ira Glass
I'm Myles Parks. I cover voting.
- [27:49]
Susan Davis
I'm Susan Davis. I also cover politics.
- [27:52]
Sarah McCammon
And thank you for listening to the NPR Politics podcast.
- [28:03]
Miles Parks
You care about what's happening in the world. Let State of the World from NPR keep you informed. Each day we transport you to a different point on the globe and introduce you to the people living world events. We don't just tell you World News. We take you there and you can make this journey while you're doing the dishes or driving your car. State of the World Podcast from NPR Vital International Stories Every day, NPR brings.
- [28:28]
Sarah McCammon
You the updates you need on the day's biggest headlines.
- [28:31]
Ira Glass
The Senate narrowly passed the debt ceiling.
- [28:34]
Sarah McCammon
Bill that will prevent the country from.
- [28:35]
Ira Glass
Defaulting on its loans.
- [28:37]
Sarah McCammon
Stories from across the world. Knowing how to forage and to live with the land is integral to amese culture and down your block.
- [28:45]
Susan Davis
From CPR News, this is Colorado Matters.
- [28:49]
Sarah McCammon
And you can find all of that and more in your pocket. Download the NPR app today.
- [28:58]
Susan Davis
Listen to this podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR Politics+@plus.NPR.org that's plus.NPR.org.