Life in the Stupid Times

James and Lisa discuss Trump's obsession with tariffs, his anger at the Supreme Court and why he's releasing the X Files. Other topics include the sad case of a South Carolina kid with very stupid anti-vax parents, and some of the reasons why JD Vance is the weirdest vice president of the modern era.

James and Lisa discuss how the Border Patrol used a laser to save El Paso from a party balloon, Trump's threat to mothball a brand-new bridge and a tragic shooting in Texas. In The Main Thing, the topic shifts to the ways the America 250 celebration is already becoming weird and stupid.

James and Lisa discuss Trump's obvious racism, his scary plans for the Kennedy Center and his delusional view of himself.In the Main Thing, experts believe that artificial intelligence could create a utopia in which work is optional, where, like Scarlet O’Hara, nobody goes hungry again. As AI technology advances, we cannot trust the oligarchs to create a fair, new Star Trek economy. We need to start organizing around a fair and decent approach to AI adoption, before the oligarchs make that impossible.

James and Lisa talk about some of the weirdness in the news since the last podcast, including a very creepy Trump fundraising letter, Trumpy's spontaneous napping on the job and how badly the Melania documentary has bombed at the box office. Other themes James and Lisa explore: Is this winter real? Has voting ruined women? And what do right-wingers have in common with suicidal penguins? The answer might surprise you!

James and Lisa discuss Trump's weird obsession with Greenland, the continuing lawlessness of ICE, and what it would mean if the president followed through on his threats to invoke the Insurrection Act.

James and Lisa discuss the murder of Renee Good, RFK Jr.'s new vaccine guidelines, why a Texas university is banning Plato from low-level philosophy classes, Trump's proposed "dream military" budget and the White House's lust for land.