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- [00:01]
A
This message comes from Carvana, who makes car selling easy. Enter your license plate or vin, get a real offer in minutes and have your car picked up from your door. Sell your car the easy way with Carvana. Pickup fee may apply.
- [00:17]
B
Hey there. It's the NPR Politics podcast. I'm Miles Parks. I cover voting. And today is a very special episode of our show. It's to time time for the annual Can't Let It Go extravaganza. Or Can't Let It Go Palooza. I don't know. We're still workshopping a title. But we are gonna look back on the things from 2025 that we cannot stop thinking about, politics or otherwise. And to kick us off, my friends and colleagues Ashley Lopez and Deepa Shivram are here. Hi, guys. Hey.
- [00:47]
A
Hello.
- [00:48]
B
So I am gonna throw it to you, Ashley. Let's start off. I think I'm going with Can't Let It Go a Palooza. I think that's the title. That's their working title. So what can't you let go of this year?
- [00:58]
C
All right, so what I couldn't let go of this year is a TV show I watched, I estimate about 15 times. That is like a real, like, you're holding on. I watched andor over and over again this year. Star wars is a big thing in my family. And the thing about Star wars as an adult is like, you have to put up with a lot of cringe, a lot of bad writing characters like Jar Jar Binks. It really just has to test your patience a lot.
- [01:28]
D
I stand Jar Jar.
- [01:29]
C
Yeah, not me. Not me. This is like one of my all time rants is how much I hate that character. But anyways, but andor was like, was like a gift to people who like Star wars and are an adult and also into politics because it was like a meditation on fascism in a way that I did not expect when this first came out. The last season came out earlier this year. I've had some time with it and I've just like gone back and back and I just like, I cannot believe how much I hyper fixated on the show. But it is so good. I mean, if someone still has not watched this show, I would say give it a try even if you don't like Star Wars. But yeah, I just could not stop watching it.
- [02:07]
B
I feel like it's a sign like your subconscious wants to do politics still, Ashley, but you need it shrouded in fun. Like you're not gonna like go and binge like rewatch the West Wing or something. But you're like, if it's kind of Star wars, ish, I still. Exactly. Yeah.
- [02:21]
D
Yeah.
- [02:21]
C
It's like a fantasy, a different universe. But you know what? There's still fascism, so I can somehow still get into it. So weird.
- [02:30]
E
That's such a good tip, Ashley, because despite our differences about our feelings on Jar Jar Binks, I too am a huge Star wars fan. Really big in my family. And I haven't seen Andor yet.
- [02:40]
F
Ugh.
- [02:40]
C
You are in for a treat. It's written by Tony Gilroy, which is like, he's a, you know, an award winning, like, playwright and screenwriter. It's so good. I cannot say this enough.
- [02:50]
B
I've heard it's great, but I will say, like, I've become a little bit intimidated by like all of these franchises. Like, I kind of stop. I feel like I watched. I think I've seen most of the Star wars movies. Not maybe not all the spin offs, but like, definitely all of the main ones. But I haven't, like followed all of the different franchises on Disney plus and stuff like that. And so when I heard people like raving about Andor I think I was a little scared that, like, am I going to. It's going to be one of those situations. I feel like if you try to watch a Marvel movie now, it's just references to the last seven Marvel movies and you actually. It's really hard to figure out what's going on if you don't remember what the secret stone of whatever is and how Captain America got it or something. I was, I think I was scared that the Star wars thing would be the same thing, but it sounds like.
- [03:32]
C
No, this stands alone.
- [03:33]
B
Yeah.
- [03:33]
C
It's also a prequel of a prequel. Like, you could watch this and nothing else in Star wars and be fine. Yeah.
- [03:39]
B
Deepa, what can't you let go of this year?
- [03:41]
E
I really genuinely believe in my heart of hearts that like, 25 years from now, if you were like, what is the thing you look back on for 2025? I will tell you about the drunk raccoon in the liquor store in Virginia. In my soul, I think this is a very fundamental part of my year. I just feel like this year was very long and very hard and I'm excited for things that bring me joy. And it is the drunk raccoon who. Well, the regular raccoon who broke into a liquor store in Virginia and then subsequently became a drunk raccoon. But the best part about this is that I checked up on said raccoon and it turns out that he's now a suspect for another break in into a karate studio. So he's, he's really on a rampage and apparently has now been nicknamed the trashed Panda. And I love, I love him. I think that he's the best mascot for this year for reasons I can't really state right now, but it just feels, it feels right.
- [04:43]
B
And he's okay. Right? Like so basically there are all these photos of him like passed out in this store after like breaking into all of this booze with. But like is, is he fine now?
- [04:52]
E
No, he's fine. And I cannot emphasize enough. I'm reading this article from the BBC that like has this update about the karate studio break in situation. And I'm not joking. The last line of the story is, he'll be back. He's not a dummy.
- [05:08]
C
Can you imagine that hangover though? Like it was all bottom shelf liquor that he seemed to pilfer through. And he's a raccoon. He's so little. Like I cannot imagine how he felt.
- [05:18]
F
Woof.
- [05:19]
E
It's so good. And it just is. It's my favorite thing that happened this year.
- [05:23]
B
Well, it's. Yeah. Going back to the hangover thing. Ashley. I was going to say, like he's, he. It's probably his first time drinking too, which is also like a brutal experience. But then now I'm thinking like maybe it isn't. Like maybe it's not his first rodeo, you know?
- [05:35]
C
Yeah. Maybe raccoons have like a really strong liver, which makes sense because they eat a lot of trash out in the world. They got like sturdy insides.
- [05:42]
B
So do you see yourself in the trash raccoon? Deepa. Do we want to analyze this at all?
- [05:46]
E
I kind of think so because I'm like maybe, maybe trash, Trash panda, drunk raccoon, whatever we're calling this little guy. Like maybe he also had a really long year. And I'm like, this might have just been. He was like, you know what? Screw it. And like this, this was a choice and maybe not the best choice, but I see, I see a little bit of myself in him.
- [06:06]
G
Yeah.
- [06:06]
B
You know, it could be. Now I'm thinking about it, it could have been the government shutdown because there were a lot fewer people going to national parks and stuff. There was less trash, which means there was like less food for like maybe. Maybe this is an actual. Maybe this is a government shutdown story.
- [06:18]
E
Calculated decision. And also, yeah, now related to politics because we can't let it go.
- [06:22]
C
Look who else can't let it go.
- [06:24]
E
Yeah.
- [06:25]
B
All right, Ashley. And diva. Thank you so much for sharing your can't let it goes on to 2026 guys.
- [06:31]
E
Yeah, more drunk raccoons, hopefully.
- [06:33]
B
Let's take a quick break. When we're back, more can't let it go. What if public radio stopped sounding like this?
- [06:40]
D
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Ramm.
- [06:43]
B
And started sounding like this. NPR is doing everything possible to keep this trusted and free public service going with your support.
- [06:53]
G
We will not be silent.
- [06:55]
B
Please give today@donate.NPR.org thanks. AI data centers use a lot of.
- [07:03]
G
Electricity and you may be paying for it.
- [07:07]
B
I think it's almost inevitable that ordinary people are going to end up subsidizing.
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C
The wealthiest industry in the world.
- [07:14]
B
On the latest Planet Money podcast, how data centers might be hijacking your electric bill. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [07:25]
H
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- [07:59]
B
And we're back with two of my good friends, Domenico Montanaro and Elena Moore. Hi, guys.
- [08:04]
A
Hi, Miles.
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G
Great to be with you.
- [08:05]
B
All right, Domenico, why don't you get us started? What can't you let go of this year?
- [08:09]
G
I think it's really serious thing, but kind of amazing what a big deal it was and how it seems to have completely dissipated. And that's Doge, the so called Department of Government Efficiency created by Elon Musk and a cadre of young folks who are around him where their goal was to go inside the federal government systems, find the waste, fraud and abuse, alleviate that and solve the federal debt problems. All that happened, right? No crickets, right? Instead you had really a lot of federal workers whose lives were upended and contracts some, you know, that were canceled. But you know, one estimate or analysis by Politico, for example, from August, they noted that Doge said that it saved taxpayers $52.8 billion by canceling contracts. Sounds like a lot, but Politico could only find 32.7 billion in actual claimed contract savings. And then when they went over those contracts, the savings were closer to $1.4 billion. Very big difference. But I Think it goes to this whole idea of the way Trump talks, where you just say something is true and then it becomes true because at least your base will believe it.
- [09:23]
B
Well, what about. I mean, you are our polling guru, Domenico. How do people feel? Like Doge Winter. Do you have, do we have any sense on whether people perceive this to have been a success?
- [09:33]
G
Well, no, they don't. There are a lot of things that people felt like that the government and Trump went too far on, move too quickly on. You know, people can accept change, but usually they're able to accept change that happens slowly, not massive change very quickly In a short period of time, it usually is very disruptive. I mean, clearly Republicans were perfectly happy with Trump and Elon Musk trying to go in and kind of blow up the system and make big change. But that's a reason why a lot of them voted for Trump in the first place, because as we've heard from a lot of voters, you know, he was a real thumb in the eye to the way things have been done. But it really wound up being something that I think that they see now didn't exactly work because they had to wind up hiring back a lot of people who they'd fired to try and make the systems actually work.
- [10:27]
A
Also, I'll just step in as self proclaimed, proclaimed Domenico's polling assistant.
- [10:34]
B
You were the researcher like five years ago, right?
- [10:37]
A
I was the researcher. Thank you, Miles, for remembering my roots. But I also feel like we've literally seen the, you know, some of the federal worker cuts backfire electorally. I mean, you look at the exit polls in Virginia and you can see, I mean, obviously we don't know how these folks would have voted before or after, especially if you're a federal worker who lives in Northern Virginia, which does lean more blue anyway. But the federal worker vote was handily for Democrats. But it is also crazy, Domenico, when you said Doge, I was like, my God. Right, that happened too. Yeah, it's. This is definitely a year where there's like a ton of things where you're like, oh, right, yeah.
- [11:14]
G
And Elon Musk became one of the least, you know, liked people in the country. When you look at polling overall, Elon Musk, you know, an AP NORC poll, for example, had him at 52% unfavorable. Only 36% had a favorable opinion of him. 29% had a favorable opinion of Doge, with 39% disapproving. A lot of people not sure or not paying attention to it, but clearly, you know, very unfavorable well, and I.
- [11:43]
B
Think, to your point, Elena, of, like, as we think about, like, takeaways moving forward, as I think this is a great example of something that we. We literally will not be able to. We let it go. Right. I mean, I just feel like in five years, 10 years, we're going to be talking about Doge as for all these different reasons. And one of the thing takeaways, I feel like, I don't know, that all Americans realized how big of an employer the federal government is. I think it was casually mentioned, like it's the nation's largest employer or something like that. But I do think, like, as a voting block, that is a really big deal in a lot of these states, and they're not all, like, beltway focused like, there. I think that was. The other takeaway is that, like, there are a lot of federal workers in middle America, and a lot of them were impacted, too.
- [12:25]
A
Totally. Totally. I mean, yeah, there are federal workers all around the country. Country.
- [12:28]
B
Yeah. Elena, what can't you let go of?
- [12:31]
A
Okay, so I was really kind of racking my brain of what to do, because there are so many things I can't let go of that I feel like I know will make Domenico angry. And so, you know, I was thinking of them, like, my journey from being embarrassed about riding lime scooters to being proud of it, which I'm still embarrassed about. But then I was like, nah, that's too easy. Or I was like, you know, maybe I should talk about how I'm doing this really cool new thing called reading books and how that's really. Welcome to the.
- [13:01]
G
Would all of these things make me angry?
- [13:04]
A
They just feel like reading books and.
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G
Riding scooters or things that would make you.
- [13:08]
B
Generational strength.
- [13:09]
G
I don't understand.
- [13:11]
A
But I'm actually gonna go a little bit somber, which I feel like is very out of character for me because I feel like I'm a goof on the pod. But I'm gonna. I'm gonna do it. I swear. There's a good. There's a happy reason here. But I'm gonna talk about my grandma this month. My grandmother passed away. She was 86. It's okay. I mean, she had life. She had four kids, nine grandchildren. She's one of the smartest people I've ever met. Best memory until the very end. And I'm bringing it up because she was a huge fan of npr. And over the last, you know, honestly, most of my life, she's been losing her vision. And she was so excited when I Interned here. And then when I got a job here as the researcher in the 2020 campaign. And she was one of my first calls when I got offer letter and she was losing her vision. And she told me once, she was like, npr is my eyes.
- [14:12]
B
Wow.
- [14:12]
A
And I think about that all the time, but it's literally like, it's so cool. And I just like, I wanna pay homage to her because she was a huge support for me. And, yeah, just like, we were her eyes. And that's so cool. I mean, I don't know about podcasts, but the radio for sure. And, like, she would always listen. It was on all the time. Big radio family. And so, like, I'm gonna say my Can't Let it Go is Rosanna Manning Moore. And thank you so much for supporting me.
- [14:44]
B
That's so interesting. I'm like getting so. I. Two years ago, I lost my grandmother as well. And the last time I went to see her before she passed, I hadn't seen her in a while. She lives in Florida and a part of Florida that's not really where the rest of my family is. So I went to visit her and when I walked in the door and she was also, like, losing her vision and she pointed to the radio and was like. She would just sit there, like, and, like, wait for me to come on, basically. And like, I got. I don't know. That was the last time. And she was just, like, talking about how proud she was. And I don't know. That is. It's extraordinary. And I'm. Yeah, I'm sorry for your loss, but that's amazing.
- [15:21]
A
That's amazing, too. I'm so glad you had that moment, too.
- [15:23]
G
That is amazing. I do feel like if my parents lost their vision, they would just watch TV and just listen to the tv.
- [15:30]
A
They would be like, I can't see the Mets pitch. How did it go?
- [15:35]
G
Because when I moved from TV at NBC to npr, it was as if I'd lost all jobs. I was unemployed because they were like, oh, it's too bad we won't see you anymore.
- [15:47]
A
That's so funny.
- [15:48]
B
In the time since, have they figured out podcasts yet? Or they just. No.
- [15:52]
A
Yeah, you're a podcast star.
- [15:54]
G
No, no, they're aware that I work at npr. They're convinced that it is a place and that I have a job, but.
- [16:01]
B
And sometimes you go on TV still, everyone.
- [16:04]
G
Yeah. So that's convinced them that I'm still employed in the journalism industry.
- [16:07]
A
You know, you're pretty. Also popular online, and that's a screen.
- [16:12]
G
They don't have online.
- [16:12]
A
Okay, well, sorry, Domenico, sorry for your loss of tv.
- [16:17]
G
You know, I'm okay with it. It's fine. They just, you know, it's.
- [16:21]
B
You're somebody to us. We're really proud of you. Aren't you proud of Domenico?
- [16:24]
A
I'm so proud. Domenico is on the radio and the pods every freaking day. Yeah, let's gas him up. Let's glaze him.
- [16:31]
B
I don't like when people use that word.
- [16:33]
A
That's very Gen Z. I hate that one.
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G
What was the word?
- [16:35]
A
Glaze.
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B
You heard this one when you glazed someone.
- [16:37]
G
Yeah, I've heard that one.
- [16:38]
A
Yeah. Because what's his. Curtis Lewa of New York City.
- [16:42]
G
Oh, yeah.
- [16:43]
A
I heard when Zohan was like, I'm going to rank you second. He was like, don't be glazing me, Zoron. Don't be glazing me.
- [16:50]
B
All right, time for another break, but happy New Year, guys. I'm so glad we get to do this together.
- [16:55]
A
Same.
- [16:55]
G
Happy New Year to you.
- [16:56]
B
Thank you.
- [16:56]
A
Happy New Year, Miles.
- [16:57]
B
And more after the break.
- [16:59]
E
What's in store for the music, TV and film industries for 2026? We don't know, but we're making some fun, bold predictions for the new year, plus setting some personal pop culture resolutions. Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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H
On.
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B
Wait, wait, don't tell me.
- [17:19]
G
Famous actors remember their days of obscurity. Like when Pedro Pascal remembered the stress of being a waiter.
- [17:26]
B
The logistical labor of meeting everyone's needs in the right manner. You know, act one, the water. Act two, the drink. Listen to Wait, Wait.
- [17:37]
G
In the NPR app or wherever you get your podcast.
- [17:43]
I
As we say goodbye to 2025, our reporters are looking back at some of the most memorable international stories they covered in the last year. From a city in Africa emerging from war to resilient Indian turtles, liberated refugees to defiant Austrian nuns. Global favorites from the last year. Listen to State of the World on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. You care about what's happening in the world. Stay informed with NPR's State of the World podcast. In just a few minutes, we take you to stories around the globe. You might hear the latest developments in world conflicts or about what global events mean. For the price of your coffee, Listen to the State of the World podcast from npr.
- [18:30]
B
And we're back. And to bring us home, we have my fellow NPR politics podcast co host, Sarah McCammon and Tamara Keith. Hi, guys.
- [18:38]
D
Hello.
- [18:38]
B
Hey, happy holidays.
- [18:40]
F
First of all, Same to you.
- [18:42]
B
Why don't I go first? Oh, okay. There you go. You first.
- [18:46]
D
Why can't I let go of.
- [18:48]
B
That's what I was gonna say. I just wanna get it off my chest. This is really more of a venting session for me, honestly, because I was thinking about it and there's all these things I can't let go of. But actually what I can't let go of is the gift of running water. The fact that.
- [19:01]
F
How's that vintage?
- [19:02]
B
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
- [19:04]
D
Does this mean that you do not currently have running water at your house?
- [19:07]
B
I am heading into week four of not having a shower or a bathtub in my house right now. I don't know if you've ever done. Like, I personally did not realize that, like, I had never. I think my whole life, like, I've gone camping before for a couple days in a row, for really a couple weeks in a row. But this is the longest period of my entire life where I've not had a place to bathe in my house. And you guys might be thinking, wow, Miles is probably pretty stinky. I have been bathing. We're across the table from you. No, exactly. We're good, we're good. There's a six foot barrier here.
- [19:36]
D
You've been bathing here at npr, taking the.
- [19:39]
B
Hitting the NPR shower every day. Bring a gym back. I feel like people are starting to give me looks because I'm like bringing it with like my entire closet. And it. Long story short, it's. It was a leak in my house like in November and turned into some broader issues. And it should be done later this week. But I, you know, I have a toddler, so we've been bathing her at the neighbor's house.
- [20:03]
F
Oh, my gosh.
- [20:05]
B
And again, I'm not just, I'm not saying this for pity. I'm telling you guys, I want you to take a shower today for me and just think about. I want you to appreciate it. I want you to realize the gift that you have and not take it for granted any longer.
- [20:18]
F
I do, in all seriousness, sometimes, like, turn on the hot water and think, we are so freaking lucky.
- [20:24]
B
That's what I'm.
- [20:25]
F
That's. We really are. We really are.
- [20:26]
B
300 years ago, this was just everyone's life, you know, and they didn't even have the NPR showers.
- [20:34]
D
I'm just, I'm just. I have so many questions about what happened and what's still happening, but the answers are probably boring and so we can move on.
- [20:45]
F
But you're still living in your house?
- [20:46]
B
I am still living in my house.
- [20:48]
F
I had a situation during the pandemic, by the way, where I had a major leak that rendered both of my bathrooms unusable and we had to move out into a hotel for six weeks.
- [20:59]
B
Oh, that's a very long time.
- [21:00]
F
Thank God for insurance.
- [21:01]
B
And I also think about all the modern luxuries we have that I take for granted also, like refrigeration and heat and cooling and all these things. And I was like, shower's actually not even that high up on the list of things that, like, if it went down for four weeks, like, would I just die if my heat went down for four weeks? I don't know. I just am appreciating all of the modern inventions more than I used to, you know, Sarah, what can't you let go of? We can stop talking about my home.
- [21:27]
F
So mine is completely different subject. And this is a story from this summer. It was on Morning Edition. It was in the New York Times. And it's one that I'm having a hard time figuring out how to feel about. Do you remember this story about this woman who spent, like weeks digging for her own diamond for her engagement ring?
- [21:45]
D
Yes.
- [21:46]
B
Vegas. Yes.
- [21:47]
F
Her name is Micher Fox. She basically spent weeks camping out in this tent in this kind of remote part of Arkansas digging for a diamond.
- [21:58]
B
Oh, so she didn't. It's not like a diamond she lost. She was like, looking, trying to find a new diamond. Correct. Okay, got it.
- [22:04]
F
Correct. And like, okay, in the plus column. I like that. This is. I mean, this is very feminist. This is very self empowered. Also very ethical. She said she wanted an ethically sourced diamond, which I respect. The part that I'm struggling with is I feel like a diamond engagement ring is supposed to be like, I'm traditional enough that I'm like, I'm wearing one and I kind of want the guy to do the magical thing for you.
- [22:28]
B
Shouldn't he be digging?
- [22:29]
F
This is the part of the story I don't understand. Like, I read a couple of different accounts of this, and this woman who is, you know, totally impressive, she's like 31 years old. She, like had a tool stolen. She did all this hiking and walking to get the supplies she needed. But, like, I read the New York Times account and she like texted her boyfriend when she found it. And then she got back to their apartment and back in. This is the New York Times back in New York, at their apartment in Manhattan's West Village, her boyfriend was waiting with her favorite French fries from Bubbies a popular home style American eatery. I'm just like, the dude. All he has to do is provide French fries. I don't get it.
- [23:07]
D
Perhaps he was like, okay, you. Do you. Yeah. Like, this is weird, but if you really want to try, you go right ahead and try.
- [23:18]
B
And she found the diamond.
- [23:21]
D
Are there just, like, diamonds laying around in the dirt that we could all be digging for?
- [23:25]
F
Not really. This area, it's called Crater of Diamonds State park in Arkansas. And you can dig for gems. There's a $15 entry fee. Lots of hiking involved, camping involved sifting through dirt involved. Difficult, difficult project. But she did find a 2.3 carat diamond, which apparently is pretty unusual. Like, lots of diamond hunters. Yeah, that's a big one. Yeah, she did.
- [23:50]
B
Well, nice, Tam. What can't you let go of?
- [23:53]
D
So what I can't let go of is what other people can't let go of, which is, I'd like to take you back to the year 2019. President Trump was relaunching his reelection campaign. I think he relaunched it a couple of times. You know, big rally. I went down to Florida to cover it. And then the Monday night, I was on the PBS NewsHour, as I am every Monday, for the Politics Monday segment. And I was trying to explain how, like, all these people come from all over to be at these Trump rallies. And I said this. Trump rallies are, in some ways, like going to see the Grateful Dead. You get to hear the songs you want to hear. And he always plays the greatest hits, if you will. So he does always play the greatest hits. And there are people who follow him around the country, like those lovely ladies from North Carolina he always references and the Brick Wall guy. And there are people who follow him around the country, but they are nothing like Deadheads.
- [24:56]
B
No, that's. I just listened to that. I was like, oh, no, Tam.
- [25:00]
D
Like, within minutes of saying it, I ran into a colleague who was like, tam, you're gonna regret that. And, yes, I did regret that. And it blew up. It became a thing. It was actually my Can't Let It Go that week because I had been so thoroughly scolded by Grateful Dead fans who say that there are no Grateful Dead hits. Really. There are no greatest hits.
- [25:26]
F
Really.
- [25:26]
D
You never know what you're gonna get.
- [25:27]
B
That's the biggest thing is, like, basically, that's why people go to the concerts, like, a bazillion times, 80 times, because there's a different set list every time you go, basically. And so you don't really.
- [25:37]
D
But, I mean, apparently, so did I. I had no idea. And now I know. Well, I was at a member station event in Utah in the year of our Lord 2025, just last month, and this lovely couple comes up to me and they have this little wrapped gift, and they're like, we have something for you. Please open it. And I did. And it is a 3 DVD set. Here it is a 3 DVD set of the Grateful Dead concert at the closing of Winterland, New Year's Eve, December 31, 1978. This is apparently one of the greatest Grateful Dead shows of all time. And what I cannot let go of is that this very lovely couple has been holding this against me for six years.
- [26:30]
F
They're gonna hate me. Cause I had to Google, like, I couldn't even think of a single Grateful Dead song.
- [26:34]
D
Truckin'da da da. Okay. But apparently there are no hits.
- [26:39]
B
I feel like.
- [26:39]
F
I guess not counter.
- [26:41]
B
A different way to think about it is that this is, like, a very generous crowd of people, and they just like, this is a person who just needs to be educated. And so they've been thinking, like, well, if we ever run into Tam, like, we'll educate her. And now, you know. Aren't you gonna watch all three DVDs? You better say yes. You better say yes.
- [26:59]
D
Yes. I can't wait to watch all three DVDs. Yes.
- [27:03]
F
Are they meant to be watched fully sober?
- [27:06]
D
That's the problem. And I am a very, extremely sober person.
- [27:11]
B
The only reason I even know anything about any of this is that actually, like, three weeks ago, my buddy invited me to a Grateful Dead cover band. And I did go to that. And I had never been exposed to, like, any of this subculture, but I went, and it sold out, like, over a thousand people.
- [27:29]
D
For a cover band.
- [27:30]
B
For a cover band. Really? I was, like, shocked that, like, this is, like, still a very, very active.
- [27:35]
F
What was the age of the crowd?
- [27:37]
B
It was interesting. It's a lot of, like, dudes in their 20s.
- [27:39]
D
Oh, really?
- [27:40]
B
Like, a lot of, like, the consultant bros are. Seem to be there, but then also goes all the way up to, like, you know. You know, people like my parents age. And the level of sobriety was definitely, like, I was definitely the most. I had, like, one beer, and I was like, I am. This is not for me, you know?
- [27:57]
D
Yes. And when I say I'm a very, very sober person, just to fact check myself, it's just drugs. I do. I do, like, once a week have a beer or a glass of wine.
- [28:06]
F
It's all right. But no, I was referring More to, you know.
- [28:09]
D
But I have never experienced any sort of hallucinogenic experience. And so that might be why I don't fully understand the whole thing.
- [28:16]
B
This is what's going to happen. So you're going to do this pod, and then in five years from now, some very nice couple is going to come and bring you some mushrooms at the next member station event in, like, 2035. And we, like, we remember you said you have not tried hallucination. So here you go. We grew these in our backyard. Enjoy.
- [28:33]
F
Don't consume anything that somebody grew in their backyard unless you know them really well.
- [28:38]
B
Even then, we can leave it there for this podcast for 2025.
- [28:42]
D
And I am grateful. Just I just. As we end this year, I would like to say that I am grateful. I am grateful to our audience, even if they sometimes hold a grudge. And I'm grateful to both of you for being friends on the pod and friends in real life.
- [28:57]
F
Same.
- [28:58]
B
We keep talking about this every political year. We're like, man, that was the craziest one. And that's like, so I think it's crazy to be like, hopefully 2026 is a little easier on all of us than 2025 was, but maybe we should just not even have those sort of expectations.
- [29:11]
D
Don't have hope.
- [29:12]
F
No, let's just roll with it. Let's just be kind of, I don't know, Zen, chill. It'll be what it'll be. Look at this. Stare at this Grateful Dead artwork.
- [29:22]
D
And, you know, just like this set list of a Grateful Dead show. We don't know what's coming, but we'll.
- [29:28]
B
Enjoy it all the same. Right?
- [29:29]
E
There you go.
- [29:30]
B
Yeah. Thank you so much to everyone who listens, all the member station reporters who've also been on the pod this year. We want to say thank you to you and to our amazing staff. I'm waving at Casey in the control room who make this pod every day, and everybody on the NPR politics team who make this pod happen. And most of all, thank you to our audience. We would not be able to do this without you listening. So with that, thank you. Thank you. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Our producers are Casey Morrell and Bria Suggs. Our editor is Rachel Bay. Special thanks to Krishna Devkalamer. I'm Miles Parks. I cover Bowdoin.
- [30:03]
D
I'm Tamara Keith. I cover the White House.
- [30:05]
F
And I'm Sarah McCammon. I cover politics.
- [30:07]
B
And thank you for listening all year to The NPR Politics PodC.
- [30:20]
J
As you prepare for the ball drop on 2025. Listen to NPR Music's All Songs Considered podcast as we look back at the biggest songs and albums of the year, from the unmissable hits to the fascinating other stuff you might not have heard. Search for All Songs Considered wherever you get Podcasts to hear us run back some of the best of the best.
- [30:40]
B
Of 2025 this holiday season on the.
- [30:44]
C
StoryCorps podcast, we're casting our eyes north.
- [30:47]
B
We have checked and rechecked our tracking screens. I hate to bring you and all your good listeners the bad news, but it doesn't appear.
- [30:53]
A
Just a minute.
- [30:54]
B
We have a sighting. Santa is on his way.
- [30:57]
C
Hear tales of the fears, hopes and joys of Christmas past on a special holiday edition of the StoryCorps podcast from NPR.
- [31:06]
J
Making time for the news is important, but when you need a break, we've got you covered on All Songs Considered. NPR's music podcast. Think of it like a music discovery show, a well deserved escape with friends and yeah, some serious music insight.
- [31:21]
B
I'm gonna keep it real. I have no idea what this story is about.
- [31:24]
J
Hear new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday wherever you get. Podcasts.