Episode #1056: Finally Unleashed
First Broadcast: 6/22/26
First: How about those Knicks! From the greatest come-from-behind victory in NBA Finals history, to ending the 53-year-long drought of NBA Championships in New York City, to the celebrations that permeated the entire city after the Knicks' final win was sealed, to the parade downtown that united the city with, in the words of Mayor Mamdani, "pure unfiltered joy," the 2025-2026 New York Knicks will probably be to basketball what the 1986 New York Mets are to baseball: a team of happily victorious underdogs that the city will never stop being pleasantly nostalgic about. The joyous events of this week couldn't stand in starker contrast to the ugliness of the UFC tournament that was held on the White House lawn only one day after the NBA Finals completed. As both Jon Stewart and Kevin Kruse pointed out, while the Knicks' victory and the celebration that followed were uplifting examples of how a team--and a city--could come together and succeed in an atmosphere where violence is an aberration, the UFC fights on President Trump's birthday in his temporary residence were examples of subjugation and degradation where violence is the point, all to supplicate one man who, at times, doesn't even seem capable of enjoyment. Do you suppose it's that same ever-encroaching boredom with his life that's also the reason why Trump is so eager to surrender reach a deal--any deal!--with Iran and be done with the war he started there already? Or perhaps the same lack of true interest is why he half-assed renovations of the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., and turned it into an algae-ridden swamp? Will more progressive Democrats and Democratic Socialists win in this year's primary in New York City, continuing the trend that Mamdani started last year? I guess we'll find out at least one of these answers soon enough! Remember to vote if you still can!
Episode #1057: Not Nothin'
First Broadcast: 6/29/26
Mayor Zohran Mamdani earned the right to do a victory lap after this year's Democratic primary in New York State ended on June 23rd, and all three of the candidates he endorsed for Congress won their primary elections--namely Brad Lander, who beat incumbent Dan Goldman in District 10; Darializa Avila Chevalier, who beat incumbent Adriano Espaillat in District 13; and Claire Valdez, who beat Antonio Reynoso, the candidate endorsed by incumbent Nydia Velasquez in Disctrict 7. Two of those primary winners, Avila Chevalier and Valdez, were also endorsed by the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, which also had several other primary victories with candidates for the State Senate, State Assembly, and City Council. What will all this mean for politics in New York City and the rest of the nation in the future? Who really knows? However, I certainly hope this signals to the Democratic Party in general that Democratic voters are sick and tired of Democratic "centrists" who put the interests of large donors ahead of those of ordinary people; who think compromises can be reached with extremist Republicans who think half the country doesn't deserve the same rights as the other half; and who turn a blind eye towards genocide as long as it's being done by a nation who claims to be an ally of the United States. Will Democrats learn any of these lessons in time for the general election this year, or the Presidential election in 2028? I don't know the answer to that one either, but they better figure it out fast, because whatever the Republicans have planned for life after Trump can't possibly be any good.
Episode #1058: Big Light
First Broadcast: 7/13/26
If you were fortunate enough (or unfortunate enough, as the case may be) to watch what were arguably the two most significant fireworks displays on the 4th of July this year--namely, the fireworks in New York City presented by Macy's, and the fireworks in Washington, D.C., presented by the Freedom 250 organization--you might have noticed that one of those displays was considerably more stylish, more coordinated, and more synchronized with its music than the other, and that display was the one from Macy's, which made its fireworks the star of its show, and not just an attraction off to the side of the stage, where you might have noticed possibly the most significant difference between these two shows: the musical selection (can you believe that was all one sentence?). If you didn't watch both shows, you might be wondering what the difference was, since no one seems to have listed which songs were played at either event-- that is, no one until now! Witness:
New York City/Macy's Set list (27:00)
Bells of Freedom (David R. Gillingham, 2001)
The Star-Spangled Banner (Francis Scott Key, 1814)
Carry on Wayward Son (Kansas, 1976)
American Girl (Tom Petty, 1976)
Freedom's Call (John Williams, 2012)
My Country, 'Tis Of Thee (Samuel Francis Smith, 1831)
I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) (Whitney Houston, 1987)
Groove Is In The Heart (Deee-Lite, 1990)
Midnight Sun (Zara Larsson, 2025)
Lift Every Voice and Sing (James Weldon Johnson & J. Rosamond Johnson, 1900)
America the Beautiful (Katherine Lee Bates & Samuel A. Ward, 1910)
Cotton-Eyed Joe (composer unknown, before 1861)
This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie, 1945)
Independence Day (Martina McBride, 1994)
Halo (Beyoncé, 2008)
God Bless America (Irving Berlin, 1918)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana, 1991)
R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A. (John Cougar Mellencamp, 1985)
The Stars and Stripes Forever (John Philip Sousa, 1896)
Born In The U.S.A. (Bruce Springsteen, 1984)
Living In America (James Brown, 1985)
The Stars and Stripes Forever (reprise) (John Philip Sousa, 1896)
D.C./Freedom 250 Set List (39:34)
The Star-Spangled Banner (Francis Scott Key, 1814)
25 or 6 to 4 (Chicago, 1970)
Don't Stop Believin' (Journey, 1981)
Livin' on a Prayer (Bon Jovi, 1986)
Y.M.C.A. (Village People, 1978)
Let's Go Crazy (Prince, 1984)
September (Earth Wind and Fire, 1978)
Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American) (Toby Keith, 2002)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours (Stevie Wonder, 1970)
Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond, 1969)
Party in the U.S.A. (Miley Cyrus, 2009)
Right away, you can see that the New York show had more variety in a shorter amount of time than the D.C. show; and the D.C. show--if you don't count "The Star-Spangled Banner," since the fireworks didn't start until after it finished--focused almost exclusively on songs from a narrow 17-year stretch that could have been played at any other party during the year, since they were so generic in comparison. Does all this encapsulate the differences between the left wing and right wing in this country at the moment? "Blue" America vs. "Red" America? Excellence vs. adequacy? Attention to detail vs. carelessness? Art vs. the approximation of art? And, as long as we're on the subject... do you think we can get a do-over for the Tricentennial?
Episode #1059: Put Another Way
First Broadcast: 7/27/26
On July 21, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee that Donald Trump's war of choice against Iran has cost $37.5 billion so far, which made me think: What else could that much money have bought if it had been spent on something--anything!--less stupid? The following ideas came to mind:
Episode #1060: The Worst Timeline
First Broadcast: 8/3/26
Was it the heat, the humidity, or just the collective trauma of the last 10 years (more or less) that made me sound so dazed and confused this week? It could have been all of the above, but at least it wasn't the cyclospora parasite, an epidemic of which has been causing "explosive diarrhea" in almost every state in the union. In response to this outbreak, 40% of Americans are now avoiding fresh fruits and vegetables, which does not sound like a healthy course of action. Indeed, a lot of things lately seem to be making Americans less healthy, like the Center for Disease Control saying "The claim 'vaccines do not cause autism' is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism," a statement that is not only mostly false but not even how science works, since it overlooks how all reputable studies about vaccines and autism to date have not proven that vaccines cause autism in the first place. Or how about the United States this year having the highest amount of measles cases since 1991, even though measles had been eradicated in this country as recently as 2000? Or the sharp increase in raw milk consumption, even though "most scientists and health experts agree has no significant, proven nutritional benefits over its pasteurized counterpart and subjects its consumers to over 100 times the risk of foodborne illness"? What do all these dangers to public health have in common? They all tie back to policies promoted by Secretary of Health & Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Junior, the man who approved cutbacks to cyclospora monitoring, discourages vaccination, supports quack cures for measles, and promotes drinking raw milk, altogether creating a perfect storm that seems purposefully designed to be the opposite of his purported "Make America Healthy Again" policy. Is this inevitably what happens when people forget how good they've had it since vaccinations were required for children? What kind of a country do we have when Taco Bell acts more responsibly than the federal government? Does no one in government have any concept of "the public good" anymore? How much therapy are we all gonna need when this administration is finally gone? Save that last question for later... but hopefully not too much later...